Chapter 537: I Seem to Be a Golden Core Too (Thanks to 'Dream3r')

Chapter 537: It Seems I Am Also a Golden Core (Thanks to 'Dream3r' for the Alliance Leader donation)

The ground fractured in layers as Zhang Yu and Wuying clashed, their brief exchange tearing the earth asunder.

Terrifying force twisted and pulverized the terrain with every strike, sending plumes of smoke and dust spiraling into the sky, scattering in all directions until they gradually veiled the entire battlefield.

Blood mist erupted from Zhang Yu’s body time and again; though repeatedly wounded, the formidable defensive power of his Earth-Wood Saint Body kept him standing.

"Oh?" Wuying watched this, his surprise growing. "It seems that subduing you without taking your life will require a bit more of my time."

Zhang Yu’s gaze deepened, his entire being turning into a silent abyss.

He understood that fighting a Golden Core as a Foundation Establishment cultivator offered no hope of victory.

Just as it was with a Qi Refining cultivator facing a Foundation Establishment one, the chasm between realms was simply too vast.

The opponent’s baseline stats alone far exceeded his own, and if one factored in the unique techniques of a Golden Core, Zhang Yu had no path to triumph.

A few moments of collision had only confirmed this reality.

"I must use the Divine Spirit Root, or I won't last much longer."

"This is a path with no retreat."

Under the control of the Tiankunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, the surrounding dust continued to spread wildly, shrouding the battlefield in layers.

Zhang Yu thought to himself: "If I am to use the Divine Spirit Root, the swirling dust and gang-qi should provide the best possible cover..."

Although the Spirit Realm was severed and Zhang Yu’s Evil God detection ritual sensed no surveillance, the presence of so many eyes and observers meant he had to be as discreet as possible, even while planning to unleash the Divine Spirit Root.

Simultaneously, his combat plan crystallized in his mind.

"Use the Tiankunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power to manipulate the pulverized earth, then combine it with gang-qi and the Divine Spirit Root to stall the opponent."

"Focus my attention on destroying the surrounding environment to create an opportunity for retreat."

Zhang Yu mused: "After all, compared to fighting a Golden Core, I am far more skilled at construction and environmental modification."

Meanwhile, structural blueprints flashed through his mind—the construction details he had recorded while working on the 666th, 667th, and 668th floors.

Though the floor was different, Zhang Yu knew the general structure of every level in the University City was identical.

To his eyes, the weak points of this battlefield were clear.

"Once I create an opening for everyone to scatter and flee, I will be far more agile on my own."

As Zhang Yu wrestled with the decision to activate the Divine Spirit Root, the others watched his refusal to surrender, moved by his stubborn, desperate stand against the Golden Core.

Yu Xinghan gritted his teeth, forcing down his terror of the Golden Core cultist.

Watching Zhang Yu fight to the death, he felt a mixture of admiration, envy, and shame for his own fear.

"This guy... where does he get the nerve? He’s only Foundation Establishment, yet he dares to stand alone before us. Is he not afraid of death?"

"There is no Spirit Realm support now. If you die... you are truly gone, your soul scattered to the winds..."

In that moment, Yu Xinghan seemed to see the figure who had confronted President Wang during the live stream, just as unyielding as he was now.

In the few moments of their struggle, Yu Xinghan quickly grasped the situation.

"If one person joins the cult, the others will either be silenced or forced to join as well."

"Death or conversion—this Golden Core powerhouse leaves us no other choice."

Should he join? Should he abandon his past efforts and struggles to join the cult?

Yu Xinghan felt a million reasons to refuse.

He had paid so much, spent so much money, and staked everything to get this far; how could he possibly join the cult now?

Just then, Zhang Yu’s voice drifted through the dust: "I will do my best to create an opening. Everyone, run the moment you see a chance."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu thought: "Once you are gone, I will have fewer reservations about using the Divine Spirit Root..."

The group was stunned by his words.

Yu Xinghan froze, staring at the figure blocking the Golden Core, and felt something ignite within him.

The next moment, a roar echoed in his mind: "Damn it! Let's do this!"

Relying on the blessing of his Three-Eye supernatural ability, Yu Xinghan learned martial arts with incredible speed.

When he massaged the senior Earth-Wood students, or competitors like Shi Huaiyu and Su Yanyang, his microscopic perception allowed him to sense the wear and tear in their muscles and mana.

As his Three-Eye ability continued to upgrade, and through constant observation of the changes in these seniors after their overtime work, he realized he could gradually learn their martial arts—techniques he, Yu Xinghan, had no right to learn.

He hid this secret carefully, daring not reveal it to anyone.

Until this moment, seeing Zhang Yu in a bloody battle, Yu Xinghan unleashed his long-hidden trump card.

As his hand seals shifted, the Small Three-Harmony was unleashed.

Amidst the swirling dust, the ground heaved with a thunderous roar, surging toward Wuying like an angry dragon.

Shi Huaiyu was the first to react.

As a senior Earth-Wood student who had mastered the Small Three-Harmony years ago, she was intimately familiar with its signature.

The moment Yu Xinghan acted, Shi Huaiyu looked at him in utter shock.

She never expected that Yu Xinghan had secretly mastered the first three of the Seven Earth-Wood Absolutes, nor that he would dare to display them in public.

Though the Spirit Realm was severed, though they were trapped before a Golden Core cultist, and though Zhang Yu’s stand was so dazzling...

"This is copyright infringement!" Yu Xinghan didn't care who noticed his mastery of the Small Three-Harmony, shouting instead: "What are you all staring at? No Spirit Realm! No surveillance! If you don't fight now, do you really want to join the cult?"

Shi Huaiyu gritted her teeth, staring fixedly at the Golden Core cultist, raging internally: "Fine! I'll go all out with you!"

Her hand seals shifted, and she struck out at the Golden Core cultist through the air.

In an instant, waves of Earth-Shattering Gravity descended, grabbing Wuying like an invisible hand.

As a seventh-year student, a disciple of the Earth-Power Mountain, and a top-ranked competitor, Shi Huaiyu had become a key focus of the Earth-Wood department’s war faction following Zhang Yu’s transfer.

With five class-first finishes and two trials after the Seven Earth-Wood Absolutes were loosened, Shi Huaiyu had successfully mastered the final absolute this year.

During her practice and her days working on construction sites, she had gradually discovered the connections between the seven absolutes.

Day after day of practice and application tightened those bonds, and before she knew it, a thread of Earth-Shattering Gravity had risen within her.

Shi Huaiyu panicked and dispersed it, terrified of being discovered; without a military permit, she dared not attempt any activation of the Tiankunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power.

But as she continued to practice the final absolute, that feeling of inevitability refused to fade.

She could only endure, repeatedly disrupting the flow between the techniques.

Yet the power of the Tiankunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power did not diminish; it grew stronger as her mastery of the final absolute increased.

She could feel the growth, but she dared not use it, even halting her practice of the final absolute for a time.

Shi Huaiyu knew she possessed talent, but it was a talent that offered no help to her situation; she could only compete with the Seven Earth-Wood Absolutes, work with them, and work overtime with them...

It was like a stifling pressure trapped in her chest, leaving Shi Huaiyu feeling breathless within the 670-story University City.

She worked, she did overtime, she traded crypto, she played the stocks... hoping only to earn money quickly, to get her military permit, and to escape this suffocating feeling.

But the arrival of the economic crisis only made her feel more suffocated than ever.

It was only at this very moment, amidst Shi Huaiyu’s thunderous roar, that she unleashed the full, unbridled might of the Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Shifting power within her.

A violent, terrestrial gravity surged toward her opponent, as if she were purging every ounce of stifled frustration, rage, resentment, and terror in one desperate, final release.

"Hmm?"

Sensing his body suddenly caught in the tug of two distinct Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Shifting forces, Wuying cast a glance of genuine surprise toward Yu Xinghan, Shi Huaiyu, and the others.

At the same time, he caught sight of Shi Yunxiang and Ying Xin, who had already darted away, frantically digging into the earth on either side.

"Two are fleeing, and the rest actually intend to face me head-on?"

"You cannot even gauge the most basic disparity in strength... how did you ever earn the title of the Top Ten?"

With a deafening boom, the earth Yu Xinghan had upheaved coiled around Wuying like a gargantuan dragon.

Seeing Yu Xinghan and Shi Huaiyu exerting their full power to restrain him, Zhang Yu let out a long cry, his body wreathed in a golden and crimson aura as he once again invoked the Mountain-Shifting Warrior.

The Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Shifting energy he had accumulated throughout the battle erupted violently from his Nine Heavens Void Force.

He thrust both palms forward; one hand was anchored by the Nine Heavens Void Force, crowned with the white comet of the Ten Phases of the Ruling Star.

The other was propelled by the pure Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Shifting power, conjuring a terrestrial gravity that devoured all, transforming the space into a domain of absolute darkness.

Nine Heavens Mountain-Shifting—Comet Strike X Stardust Bind!

Amidst an earth-shattering roar, Yu Xinghan and Shi Huaiyu felt the force restraining Wuying suddenly pulverized.

Under the impact of Zhang Yu’s strike, Wuying’s head snapped back, and his entire frame was forced into a sudden, staggering retreat.

One step, two steps, three...

He came to a halt, brushed the dust from his robes, and said indifferently, "So, surely this makes the gap clear to you now?"

"The chasm between a Golden Core and a Foundation Establishment is not one you can bridge."

"Can you finally consider joining the sect?"

As he spoke, Wuying flicked a finger, striking Zhang Yu’s right arm.

With a sharp explosion, a mist of blood sprayed outward, and Zhang Yu felt the bones of his arm shatter.

But the next instant, just as Wuying prepared to strike again, he found that Zhang Yu had vanished into the swirling dust, leaving him with no trace to follow.

"Hmm?" A jolt of surprise ran through him. "What movement technique is this? Or is it the function of some artifact or relic?"

Just as Wuying reached out to disperse the billowing dust, a staggering pressure forced him to turn his head.

In Xiao Qingxuan’s mind, the memories of their days in the dormitory flickered by: the image of Zhang Yu standing before the Demonic Sect’s Golden Core, the scenes of Yu Xinghan and Shi Huaiyu erupting in succession...

He murmured to himself, "Sigh, that ancient ghost’s values are beginning to influence me again."

"Damn it... I must be insane."

"I never should have kept that Golden Core you gave me..."

As he spoke, he swallowed a golden pill, and a terrifying pressure erupted from within his body.

A surging aura enveloped his figure completely, rendering his features impossible to discern.

Feeling Wuying’s gaze fixed upon him, Xiao Qingxuan said calmly, "I almost forgot."

"I, too, happen to be a Golden Core."