Chapter 608: Day Two of the Team Competition

Chapter 608: Day Two of the Team Tournament

In the blink of an eye, the second day of the team tournament arrived.

Under Zhang Yu's tireless construction efforts, the fortress originally forged by Yan Qianji had been expanded several times over.

The central prison core was encased in dozens of layers of armor plating, its inner and outer grand formations shielding all Spirit Realm communications, while numerous defensive fortifications were integrated into the structure.

Yet Zhang Yu did not rest; he continued his relentless production and building.

Meanwhile, as the four-school alliance unfolded, the elite fighters, led by Dao Qiankun, launched strikes across the battlefield.

Relying on Dao Qiankun's supreme prowess and Wen Wuya's formidable reconnaissance abilities, multiple elite fighters from rival schools were defeated and captured.

Thus, within this period, the prison constructed by Zhang Yu had already welcomed six captives.

Through the four-school group chat and Bai Zhenzhen's recordings, Zhang Yu also witnessed numerous battles and gathered a wealth of intelligence.

There was Dao Qiankun, sealing heaven and earth with a single finger, trapping three elite fighters from White Bone University.

There was Jiutian Liu, commanding the flow of destiny, severing several of his opponents' cultivation techniques from afar.

Zang Shenyu, the top student of Vajra University, fought many alone, single-handedly blocking the combined assault of four elite fighters.

Tiansheng Gong, the top student of Immortal Armament University, piloted an aerial fortress that transformed into a towering giant over three hundred meters tall, capturing two prisoners in a single battle.

Of course, the four-school alliance on the Wanfa side did not emerge entirely unscathed; one student each from Vajra, Heavenly Sword, and Immortal Armament was defeated and taken captive.

Two of those captives fell to the stealthy ambushes of the elusive Kuang Tianqing.

This top student of Heavenly Demon University was like a sword of Damocles hanging over everyone's head.

No one knew where she would appear or when she would strike, and after every attack, she would immediately vanish into the distance, defeating and capturing only one opponent each time, never giving her enemies a chance to surround her.

Watching these scenes of battlefield intelligence unfold, Zhang Yu felt that as the four-school alliance on the Wanfa side deepened, the elite fighters of the Heavenly Demon side were also gradually converging, escalating the scale and intensity of their clashes with each passing encounter.

During this time, Wen Wuya continuously searched for the location where the enemy was holding their captives.

However, the Heaven-Scouring Flying Sword was not omnipotent; the concealment provided by clouds, mist, flora, and soil, along with various evasion techniques to shake off pursuit, meant Wen Wuya could never pinpoint where the captives were being taken.

"Most likely, they're underground,"

Zhang Yu mused silently, "If they're underground, it will be exceedingly difficult to find them."

"Unlike my approach here—building openly and without concealment, expanding the scale and fortifying the strength as much as possible—their goal is to hide their tracks and remain undiscovered."

"But to achieve that, they must inevitably limit the scale of their construction, meaning the defensive power of their stronghold is surely weak."

Unbeknownst to many, the construction styles of the two prisons had diverged in entirely different directions.

Outside the prison, in addition to other defensive fortifications, there were numerous rest rooms built by Zhang Yu.

After all, following the four-school alliance, at least one top student from each school guarded this place at all times, and many team members flocked to the prison's exterior to rest and maintain their equipment.

Unbeknownst to many, this place had become not only a prison for holding captives but also a gathering and resting spot for the students.

On this day, just as Zhang Yu was arranging the spirit-energy circuits, a student clad in Ultimate Tiger brand Dharma Bones and advertisements approached him.

Ling Pojun, the fourth-ranked student of Immortal Armament University from the Artifact Refining Department.

"You're Zhang Yu, right?"

Ling Pojun looked at Zhang Yu and asked, "Are you currently in charge of the infrastructure here?"

Seeing Zhang Yu nod, the other continued, "I need an artifact refining laboratory to repair my equipment; how long will it take you to finish it?"

Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback, looking at the man as if he were an idiot, and said, "Figure it out yourself; what you're asking for isn't my responsibility."

Ling Pojun stared at him coldly and said, "You're in charge of infrastructure. If you don't do it, am I supposed to build it myself?"

"Zhang Yu, you hole up here all day without going out to fight; you should be serving us properly and saving us time..."

Zhang Yu frowned slightly, sensing the hostility emanating from the other, and thought, "What's with this guy..."

Looking at Zhang Yu before him, Ling Pojun mused silently, "The battles outside are growing increasingly dangerous; even with my strength, I can't guarantee absolute safety."

"The upcoming battles will be the domain of the top students from each school, and a few second and third-ranked students from the stronger schools; it's their arena to showcase their prowess and harvest traffic."

"If I want to continue growing my traffic and popularity, I need to find other ways."

Ling Pojun had never dreamed of taking first place in the Top Ten League.

In his view, leveraging the immense popularity of this Top Ten League to boost his traffic, gain greater attention and investment, and enhance his immortal potential was his primary goal.

"Devouring the weak is one way to increase popularity."

Looking at Zhang Yu before him, Ling Pojun thought, "This Zhang Yu rode on Kuang Tianqing's coattails yesterday; he must have garnered quite a bit of attention, and his strength isn't that impressive..."

He chuckled inwardly, "Add to that the fact that he buried himself in this construction site and hasn't come out since, reeking of dirt; surely quite a few viewers already look down on him."

"If I pressure him next and spark a conflict with him, I should gain a lot of support and attract a massive wave of attention."

As for those who might dislike it? Ling Pojun didn't care; he knew that controversy bred traffic, and even black fame was fame.

Especially as a top student of Immortal Armament University and a user of the Ultimate Tiger brand Dharma Bones, he was long accustomed to harvesting traffic from controversy and conflict.

Compared to the risk of injury or capture in continued combat, arguing and clashing with Zhang Yu right here seemed far more cost-effective to Ling Pojun. It was only because Kuang Tianqing was on the same floating continent and in the same arena, with a genuine chance to kill him, that he held back; otherwise, he would have definitely picked a fight with her.

"Zhang Yu, I have no personal grudge against you."

Ling Pojun thought with utmost calm, "But the struggle for the immortal path is just like this; it's either you devour me or I devour you. If you have the heat but lack the strength, don't blame me..."

As his mind raced, Ling Pojun snorted coldly, stepped forward, and unleashed a surging aura, while the Ultimate Tiger brand Dharma Bones on his body burst forth with an even brighter glow.

Looking at Zhang Yu, he said coldly, "While you're safely holed up here playing in the dirt, we're out there fighting for our lives, burning spirit coins every minute and every second."

"Now I'm asking you to do some logistical work, and you're reluctant?"

"Do you still have the bearing of an outstanding student of Wanfa University? Do you have any spirit for the team tournament?"

Watching the other's self-righteous expression, Zhang Yu thought, "This guy... why does it feel like he's not even talking to me?"

Looking at the increasingly conspicuous Ultimate Tiger Dharma Bones and advertisements on the other, Zhang Yu's eyes suddenly shifted, and he thought thoughtfully, "This is a live broadcast; could this guy be trying to boost his popularity by clashing with me?"

Zhang Yu frowned; he had no time for internal squabbles.

To hunt Kuang Tianqing, Zhang Yu knew that every single minute and second ahead was incredibly precious.

Seeing Zhang Yu unresponsive, Ling Pojun was about to continue his reprimand: "What's the use of digging around here all day and building these two broken walls? Do you expect to rely on this junk to resist when the enemy attacks?"

As he spoke, Ling Pojun thought silently, "It's useful to some extent, of course, but the vast majority of viewers will think it's useless."

"The audience's attention isn't drawn to logistics, civil engineering, or defensive fortifications."

"Only offense, suppressing opponents, and capturing prisoners are the most dazzling things in the eyes of the viewers."

Just as Ling Pojun was about to continue speaking, Zhang Yu, too lazy to deal with him, simply said, "I'm going to cultivate now."

"If you have nothing else to say, just leave."

Ling Pojun was slightly stunned, and the next moment, he saw the other directly project a cultivation technique, looking as if he were about to begin his practice.

"This guy..." Ling Pojun knew that in this live broadcast, once a contestant began cultivating, especially in Zhang Yu's manner of projecting the technique's content, it would inevitably trigger widespread blurring and muting due to copyright issues.

If he stayed any longer, it would be tantamount to giving up all the live broadcast camera angles.

With a cold snort, and with no live broadcast cameras left, Ling Pojun didn't bother saying another word and left directly.

After Ling Pojun left, Zhang Yu immersed himself back into his work.

In the time that followed, amidst the ceaseless construction and production, Zhang Yu was also constantly pondering another matter.

"Besides luring Kuang Tianqing into a battlefield where I hold the advantage, I must also elevate my own strength to better execute the plans that lie ahead."

Zhang Yu knew full well that in the remaining two days of the team tournament, seeking to enhance his strength in such a short span of time could never mean a mere increase in raw power.

"I need to make better use of the power I already possess."

Recalling the scenes of Kuang Tianqing in combat, Zhang Yu could sense the seamless coordination and mutual supplementation among various military-grade forces, forging a complete and cohesive combat system.

And apart from Kuang Tianqing, through the intelligence he had gathered and the recordings from Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu could also perceive that many of the top scholars from various academies operated in the very same manner.

Dao Qiankun, Jiutian Liu, Yan Qianji, Wen Wuya... their military-grade forces formed interconnected systems, capable of perfect synergy, pushing their combat prowess to the absolute limit.

"My military-grade forces can also coordinate with one another, but not with such tight-knit cohesion."

Zhang Yu knew that it was ultimately because he had cultivated his level twenty military-grade power for too short a time, lacking the process of continuous application, constant correction, and relentless integration.

"Their military-grade forces, to a greater or lesser extent, bear personalized modifications, honed through the process of refining their own systems... accumulated bit by bit through endless trials and experiments."

"I must now make such changes as well."

"How should my military-grade forces coordinate? How should they transform? Only then can I better contend against Kuang Tianqing?"

With a mere shift of thought, the earth before him was tapped by Tiankun's Mountain-Moving divine power, extracting sword after sword of stone, which, under the infusion of the Formless Mind-Weapons of Heaven and Earth's Great Kalpa, transformed into temporary flying swords, bursting forth with threads of sharp, piercing aura.

Then, as the gravitational pull of the Earthly Fiends surged upward, the flying swords shot into the heavens, seemingly forming a vast array of swords.

"This counts as a form of coordination, I suppose."

"And then there are the Heavenly Sun Brilliant God and the Taihao Sacred Law flying swords."

Zhang Yu glanced once more at his Dao Heart; during yesterday's battle with Kuang Tianqing, to break through the opponent's Dao arts, he had employed Tiangong Kaiwu to burn his Dao Heart, which now stood at level nineteen, at eighty-six percent.

Zhang Yu mused silently, "As long as my Dao Heart is maintained at level nineteen, it will not significantly affect my combat strength."

"That means I can still use Tiangong Kaiwu a few more times."

"But how should I use it?"

Time flew swiftly amidst Zhang Yu's preparations and the fierce clashes of the team tournament.

In the blink of an eye, the final day of the team tournament had arrived.

(End of this chapter)