Chapter 499: Zhenzhen's True Heart, The Will of the Great Sage (Thanks to 'Passing Scale')

Chapter 499: True Intent, The Will of the Great Sage (Thanks to 'Guolu Chengzi' for the alliance-level tip)

The design blueprint for the Azure Water Gold Crystal Armor, offered as a prize in the Civil Engineering finals, made Zhang Yu’s team anticipate the match with growing fervor.

Over the next few days, he threw himself into the preparations for the competition with increasing intensity.

That evening, Zhang Yu was in the laboratory, practicing the third technique of the Artificing Prodigy: the Imperial Fire Divine Mirror.

He gathered a blue flame into his palm, channeling his mana through the prescribed methods of the technique, gradually refining it into wisps of true fire-controlling energy.

Just then, Zhang Yu received a message from Wen Wuyai.

Wen Wuyai: [Image]

Seeing the vague thumbnail, Zhang Yu warned himself not to click recklessly, then skillfully parsed the image’s contents.

Zhang Yu was well-versed in this by now; in the blink of an eye, a video of Bai Zhenzhen popped up in his ocular implants.

"Yu-zi," Bai Zhenzhen said in the recording, "the Civil Engineering finals should be coming up soon, right?"

She smiled. "With your talent and wit, taking the championship will be a breeze."

"Keep working hard, and don't worry about me."

"I've been preparing for the Ten Great Leagues lately, and the Seven Emotions Divine Monarch won't make things difficult for me."

"However..."

Bai Zhenzhen paused. "If... if the Seven Emotions Divine Monarch comes to find you, wanting to pass on her sword techniques or adopt you as her son, remember: do not agree to it."

"That old hag has no good intentions."

Bai Zhenzhen smiled, a flash of pride crossing her face. "Don't worry about me, either. With my peerless talent, I can reach the pinnacle on any path; practicing any sword style is effortless for me."

"Oh, and about the Dharma-remains experiment with the Nectar Divine Monarch—if you can withdraw, try to do so as soon as possible. Several Divine Monarchs are already watching the conflict between the Ten Thousand Laws and the Joyous Union; the waters in this matter are far too deep..."

As she spoke, Bai Zhenzhen pondered, voicing her worries one by one, as if terrified that Zhang Yu might take a wrong step and fall into a trap.

Though there was much more to say, her time was limited. She hurried to convey what she deemed most critical, while burying her deeper emotions firmly in the depths of her heart.

...

After recording the video, Bai Zhenzhen let out a long breath. Her relaxed smile vanished, and she spoke coldly to Wen Wuyai, who stood before her. "I'm done."

At this moment, sword intent surged within her, like a suppressed volcano struggling against its own internal pressure.

For just as she had recorded the video, a thought had lingered in her mind—one she had forced herself not to voice.

"Should I ask Yu-zi to cultivate the Extreme Emotion Sword Path with me?"

"No. The Extreme Emotion Sword Path is a crooked road. I have already stepped onto it and cannot turn back, but Yu-zi... he must not follow me down this path."

"Yu-zi has a brilliant future ahead. How could he possibly cultivate the Extreme Emotion Sword Path?"

The turbulent emotions swayed the sword intent within her.

Suddenly, she looked up at Wen Wuyai.

In an instant, several crimson sword auras materialized out of thin air, slashing violently toward him.

With a sharp crackle, just as the aura was about to graze Wen Wuyai’s face, he let out a sharp shout, his fingers forming a sword seal to shatter the incoming blades one by one.

Watching the dissipating energy, Wen Wuyai exhaled. "Zhenzhen, you nearly scratched my face. I only had this one done yesterday."

"Your emotional fluctuations have been quite intense every time you finish recording these videos lately."

Bai Zhenzhen curled her lip, remaining silent.

Wen Wuyai shook his head, sighing, "I’ve helped you record quite a few videos during this time, and I’ve delved deep into intelligence regarding the Extreme Emotion Sword Path."

"Based on my observations... your feelings for Zhang Yu are far from pure."

Bai Zhenzhen glared at him. "What nonsense are you spouting? Zhang Yu is merely a resource for my cultivation of the Extreme Emotion Sword Path. Like you, I am at most just craving his body, wanting to use him to aid my progress."

"Am I spouting nonsense?" Wen Wuyai smiled faintly, dodging a barrage of sword auras that manifested around him. "Bai Zhenzhen, you call that 'craving his body'?"

"You are a devout believer in celibate cultivation."

"I’m almost embarrassed to say it—you’ve fallen for him. You’ve fallen into true love, you’ve succumbed to heart-demons. If you continue like this, you’re finished; the Extreme Emotion Sword Path will consume you."

"Speak such nonsense again and I’ll tear your mouth off!" Bai Zhenzhen roared. Several crimson sword auras erupted directly inside Wen Wuyai’s mouth, clashing from within to without, creating a metallic ringing sound.

Blue smoke poured from Wen Wuyai’s seven orifices, and his tongue flickered out, trembling in agony.

Bai Zhenzhen glared at him. "Wen Wuyai, what garbage 'true love.' If you ever use such drivel to insult the brotherhood and mother-son bond between me and Yu-zi again, the next time won't just be a slash to the face."

"Leave. I need to continue my training and prepare for the Ten Great Leagues."

"As long as I can complete the Grand Slam and be granted an Immortal-tier technique, my master will have no reason to keep me locked away."

Bai Zhenzhen steeled her resolve: "Righteous path or evil path—as long as I am strong enough, I will surely find a way through!"

Wen Wuyai thought to himself: "Angry because she’s ashamed? I suppose if I were like Zhenzhen, unable to restrain the evil thoughts in my heart and falling into 'true love,' I would be just as unable to face others, terrified of being mocked by the heroes of the world."

"But since a mistake has been made, one must face it early to have a chance at redemption."

"I hope that by pointing out this filthy aspect of your inner self, you will resolve to change your ways and, in the future, bring your best state... to cultivate with me using your Divine Spirit Root."

However, thinking of Bai Zhenzhen’s vow to win the Grand Slam of the Ten Great Leagues, Wen Wuyai shook his head again. "If not for the evil thoughts rising in her heart, how could she harbor such delusions?"

"Win the Grand Slam and be granted an Immortal-tier technique?"

"If she could truly achieve that, it would be equivalent to gaining access to Immortal-tier techniques while still in university."

"How could that be possible?"

"Every university, every Deity-Transformation expert... I fear none of them would allow such a thing to happen."

Wen Wuyai mused, "If someone obtains it, the balance between the ten top universities would be shattered. Therefore, everyone ensures that no one can get it; whoever does will likely be targeted by all."

...

"The life seeds of a human body contain an excessive amount of genetic information."

"Every cell carries information equivalent to a video file."

"A single drop of life seed contains hundreds of millions of cells; a few drops are enough to encompass a cultivator's century of memories, all in ultra-high definition."

"Such massive information can be transferred by Deity-Transformation Dharma-remains in just five seconds of joint cultivation—a speed millions of times faster than downloading in your dorm."

Magnetic Pole Divine Monarch sighed, "Such an efficient means of information transfer is something life has possessed since its inception. This is the mystery of the Heavenly Dao."

"And the strength of the Nectar Divine Monarch’s Dharma-remains lies in the fact that she completes the transfer of cultivation solely through the exchange of mana."

"This indicates that the Nectar Divine Monarch’s Yin-Yang path has long transcended mere physical reactions, delving into the mysteries of Yin and Yang and the principles of Heaven and Man."

Zhang Yu listened from the side, then asked about another matter that concerned him: "Teacher, have you heard of the prize for the Civil Engineering finals, the Azure Water Gold Crystal Armor?"

The Magnetic Pole Divine Monarch shook his head. "Never heard of it."

"It must be military-grade technology that hasn't appeared below the 11th level. It’s likely something newly developed within the sect."

"But that is merely my conjecture."

"If you can defeat the Heavenly Demon University, bring it to me then, and I will be able to determine exactly what it is."

On the way out of the laboratory, Zhang Yu thought to himself: "The appearance of the Azure Water Gold Crystal Armor—could it be part of the Great Sage’s set? Is it too much of a coincidence? I have collected three of the Great Sage’s techniques in succession, and now there is news of a fourth?"

Zhang Yu shared his thoughts with Fu Ji.

Of course, he didn't mention the Chain-Dharma Diagram or the Great Sage’s legacy, only that he felt an inexplicable attraction to the Azure Water Gold Crystal Armor, as if it were something originating from the Great Sage of the Desolate Ox, much like the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Technique, the Residual Ox Self-Sacrifice Heart Technique, and the Boundless Heart Inner Dharma Body.

"Oh?" Fuxi remarked, "That may not be a coincidence after all."

"Are you suggesting human intervention?" Zhang Yu asked.

"When a cultivator's power reaches a sufficient zenith," Fuxi explained, "even after death, their lingering strength—or even their legacy—retains a vestige of will."

"Perhaps as you gathered fragments of the Great Sage of the Desolate Ox, his remaining legacy has begun to gravitate toward you of its own accord."

"It is entirely possible that you are the one drawing them in."

...

In the blink of an eye, the day of the Earth-Wood Finals arrived.

As their airship pierced the horizon, Zhang Yu and his party descended upon the skies above Sky Demon University.

Below them stretched a vast plain, dominated by rows of pitch-black skyscrapers that resembled nothing so much as upright coffins.

To Zhang Yu, it looked as if countless miniature versions of Myriad Dharma University had been driven into the earth, packed so tightly together that they formed an impenetrable, suffocating thicket.

Each of these towers was teeming with demon-kin; Zhang Yu could see heads jostling for space at every window, while swarms of others crawled along the exterior walls, constructing ramshackle, clearly illegal dwellings in the narrow gaps between the buildings.

From the heights, refuse was tossed recklessly into the air, and Zhang Yu even witnessed a corpse plummeting from a high floor, triggering a cacophony of shrieks and curses.

As Zhang Yu stepped off the airship, a pungent stench assaulted him—a grotesque cocktail of excrement, blood, and rot that made him recoil and furrow his brow in disgust.

Beside him, Mo Shangjin offered a warning: "Everyone, rent a magical artifact to filter the air."

"Sky Demon University adheres to the law of the jungle: the weak are prey, and only the fittest survive."

"Open-ended animal experimentation is conducted everywhere on campus, and all manner of volatile technologies are unleashed upon the demon-kin population without restraint."

"The risk of disease and contagion here is the highest in the second layer. Any demon-kin passing by could be carrying lethal bacteria, viruses that induce qi deviation, or highly infectious psychic pollutants. Stay vigilant; the school will not reimburse your medical expenses if you fall ill."