Chapter 621: Breeding Demon Beasts

Chapter 621: Breeding Demonic Beasts

Composed of thousands of scales, the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor clung to his body like a second skin, radiating an emerald-like cyan glow that felt as warm and lustrous as jade and as fluid as flowing water.

To Zhang Yu, the armor was intimately bound to his flesh and blood; it not only constantly channeled his magical power but also maintained a continuous exchange of vital energy with him, as if it had become yet another organ of his body.

"Calling it an organ isn't entirely accurate, though, since there are no neural or vascular connections; it's still quite different from a Dharma Relic."

Feeling the operation of the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, Zhang Yu mused inwardly, "It's more akin to an intermediate state between a magical treasure and a Dharma Relic."

As someone who had mastered the relevant artifact-refining techniques, Zhang Yu had harbored a certain intuition when he first perused the blueprints for the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor.

"According to the history of artifact-refining technology, Dharma Relics evolved step by step from magical treasures, the result of countless researchers integrating treasures into the human body until, after generations of iteration, they ultimately became new bodily organs."

"Armor like the Azure Water Golden Crystal resembles an intermediate stage in that historical evolution, where certain magical treasures were gradually transforming into Dharma Relics."

"It isn't a genuine historical artifact, of course, but rather draws upon that very design philosophy."

As Zhang Yu plunged into the water, the formidable capabilities of the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor became increasingly apparent.

He not only felt his physique and strength augmented by the armor's empowerment, but the surrounding currents also seemed to become an extension of his own will.

With a mere thought, a hydrodynamic field swept out to envelop his entire being, propelling him and his sword casket forward at high speeds through the depths like a series of swirling vortexes.

With a thunderous boom, driven by the mountain-moving divine power of Heavenly Kunlun, Zhang Yu's speed surged once more as he raced along the course at a breakneck pace.

At the same time, his vigilance heightened, for he knew that in this underwater racing stage, competitors were permitted to attack one another.

As a target whose popularity countless others sought to devour, Zhang Yu remained on high alert whenever he spotted another contestant along his route.

Within his ocular relic, his current ranking materialized.

"I was the fourth to depart, so there are still three ahead of me."

"The first one I need to overtake should be Ling Pojun."

Bolstered by the dual enhancements of Heavenly Kunlun's mountain-moving divine power and the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, Zhang Yu's speed was indeed astonishing, closing the distance to Ling Pojun in the blink of an eye.

Amidst the raging, tumultuous waves, Zhang Yu left his opponent in his wake before the man could even react.

The numbers in Zhang Yu's ocular relic flickered: "Surged to third place."

Racing at full tilt, Ling Pojun felt a violent surge of water crash past him, followed by a dark shadow that swiftly darted past his body and surged fiercely ahead.

"Zhang Yu?!" Ling Pojun's heart jolted; he urged his Water-Avoiding Pearl to accelerate, yet no matter how much speed he gained, he could only watch Zhang Yu's figure grow ever more distant, much like the massive traffic and popularity that were slipping further and further out of his reach.

Ling Pojun sighed inwardly, "Damn it... how can he be this fast?"

Having left Ling Pojun far behind in an instant, Zhang Yu watched jungle-like coral reefs flash past his vision and massive schools of fish scatter in the wake of his rush, thinking to himself, "Not bad."

"My speed is even faster than I anticipated."

"This underwater racing stage is indeed perfectly suited to me."

Meanwhile, as Zhang Yu continued to accelerate, his vital energy surged within him, and he could feel himself syncing ever more seamlessly with the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor.

Especially amidst the relentless roars of the four-headed white ox in his mind, his flesh and blood seemed to come alive, constantly brushing against the armor as if striving to merge with it completely.

"Sure enough, the Remnant Ox Body-Sacrificing Heart Mantra and the Boundless Heart Inner Dharma Body—these two techniques passed down from the Great Sage's lineage... have they resonated with the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor?"

From within the armor emanated a profound yearning, a thirst for blood.

Yet Zhang Yu had sensed this very craving when he first donned the armor, and he had already tried offering his own blood... to no avail.

He suspected this might be tied to the dark arts concealed within the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor.

"Does it require blood to be awakened?"

"But what kind of blood? Whose blood?"

Lost in thought, Zhang Yu gradually slowed his pace in the water, coming to a halt in the registration zone.

This underwater race required following a map to circumnavigate this sea-like seabed, passing through eighteen zones in sequence and checking in at each one.

The method of registration involved locating the check-in device within the zone and using one's relay orb to complete the process.

With a tap on his sword casket, twenty-four flying swords shot forth like swimming fish, instantly unfolding a sword domain to probe in all directions.

"The detection skills tested in this stage happen to fall right within my area of expertise."

As the twenty-four flying swords scouted in various directions, the topographical data of the entire area materialized within Zhang Yu's ocular relic.

Simultaneously, he picked up on some faint spiritual signals.

Moments later, a black orb appeared before Zhang Yu; as it collided with the relay orb in his hand, his registration was complete, and the black orb shattered instantly, losing all function.

Zhang Yu mused inwardly, "So they're all single-use, then? I have to find a new check-in device every time."

Tossing aside the shattered black orb, Zhang Yu accelerated once more, summoning a waterspout that propelled him like a bolt toward the next zone.

At the same time, an idea surfaced in his mind.

"Searching zone by zone like this is far too slow."

Thus, upon reaching the next registration zone and beginning to manipulate his flying swords to seek out the check-in orb,

the scales of the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor trembled, and another hydrodynamic field rippled outward.

"Let's see if this trick works."

As the water churned and rolled back, a massive school of fish was drawn right before Zhang Yu.

Then, streams of demonic aura seeped from the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, infusing the school of fish; their flesh and blood pulsed violently, transforming into demonic beasts at a visibly rapid pace.

...

Just as Zhang Yu was searching for the check-in orbs while simultaneously using the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor to breed demonic beasts,

many students and teachers had already gathered at the finish line. Dao Qiankun watched the live broadcast of the race when he heard someone nearby say, "Xue Jiuyou, having started first due to Kuang Tianqing's absolute lead in the previous stage, still holds the first position."

"Next is Yu Yunzhan, who took over Bai Zhenzhen's relay orb and started second; with his sword and body united, he cleaves through the waves at a blistering pace, closing in on Xue Jiuyou—it won't be long before he takes the lead."

"Oh? Zhang Yu's underwater speed is incredibly fast too; he's overtaken Ling Pojun and moved up to third place."

Observing this scene, An Zhen Zhenjun nodded slightly and asked, "Did you know all along that Zhang Yu excels at underwater racing, which is why you chose him first?"

Dao Qiankun smiled faintly, shaking his head as he replied, "I didn't think that far ahead; regardless of how far behind they fall in the early stages, I'll catch up in the final one."

"I chose Zhang Yu simply because I want to bring him into the grand finals."

"After all... he is the one who will place me upon the throne."

An Zhen Zhenjun naturally didn't buy this excuse, thinking to himself, "Does he not trust the others? Like... Jiu Tianliu, perhaps?"

Watching the team formed by Jiu Tianliu and students from the finance departments of other schools, An Zhen Zhenjun was not surprised.

After all, the rules of this competition made it impossible for a team to consist entirely of students from the same school.

Aside from the two major factions—the Four Heavenly Demon Schools and the Four Myriad Methods Schools—which remained strictly divided and avoided cross-selection to prevent sabotage, there was plenty of cross-selection within the four schools themselves.

From a macro perspective, the alliance of the four schools was the administration's directive, aiming only to advance as many teams and faction-aligned students as possible in this stage.

"Hmm?" An Zhen Zhenjun suddenly frowned and said, "Why isn't Zhang Yu moving? Is he breeding demonic beasts? At a time like this?"

Witnessing this, not only was An Zhen Zhenjun puzzled, but many others at the scene were equally bewildered.

Just then, a voice rang out from the crowd: "Jiu Tianliu has set off."

"So fast!!"

An earth-shattering roar erupted across the broadcast feed, revealing Jiu Tianliu already piloting a shuttle-shaped artifact, darting through the underwater depths like a bolt of lightning.

True Lord An Zhen mused to himself, "A military-grade artifact from the Finance Department—the Nine Heavens Divine Shuttle."

"The wealthy elites of the Finance Department prize victory without battle and value their lives above all else; this Nine Heavens Divine Shuttle is renowned as the ultimate military-grade artifact for making a swift escape."

"With this treasure at his command, Jiu Tianliu should have no trouble securing first place in this stage."

Just as True Lord An Zhen had anticipated, Jiu Tianliu arrived at the first checkpoint in the blink of an eye.

As the Divine Shuttle fractured into eighty-one phantom afterimages sweeping back and forth, it swiftly located the black registration orb, logged his passage, and surged toward the next sector.

Before long, Jiu Tianliu had caught up with Zhang Yu, who had just finished breeding his demonic beasts, and pressed on in a fierce sprint for the first and second places.

"Jiu Tianliu is now in third place, and Zhang Yu has dropped to fourth."

Meanwhile, another contestant set off from the starting line.

"Mu Qiansi is on the move!"

"Is that her swimsuit? Incredible!"

"Truly worthy of being a prodigy of the Hehuan University; just laying eyes on her feels like completing a whole session of cultivation."

...

"Give it your all, Zhang Yu."

"I'm heading off first."

"See you at the finish line."

Zhang Yu caught only a fleeting glimpse of the string of projected words lingering in the water before the Nine Heavens Divine Shuttle, piloted by Jiu Tianliu, gradually faded from his sight.

"So fast."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "As expected, relying solely on the speed of the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor and the Heaven Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Strength, I am still not the fastest in this race; even if I push on without rest, I will eventually be overtaken, for underwater velocity is hardly the forte of these two military-grade powers."

"I cannot simply bury my head and rush forward to compete for rank in this stage."

Shaking his head, Zhang Yu banished all distracting thoughts and resumed breeding the demonic beasts before him.

Moments later, because of Zhang Yu's pause, Ling Pojun, whom he had just surpassed, overtook him once more, plunging Zhang Yu straight down to fifth place.

At the same time, within his aquatic domain, fish-shaped demonic beasts, infused with the demonic qi converted by the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, gradually grew to over two meters in length, sprouting a pair of arms from their bellies.

Through the spiritual realm connection of the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, he could control these beasts from afar.

"It is finally done."

"Go."

With a single stir of Zhang Yu's will, the massive school of fish demons before him suddenly scattered, gradually vanishing from his view.

Just then, a voice suddenly seemed to traverse the rippling shockwaves of the water, reaching Zhang Yu's ears.

"Zhang Yu."

Zhang Yu whipped his head around, only to see a familiar face appearing not far away, drawing closer to him.

"A Zhen?"

The A Zhen before him smiled faintly, radiating an otherworldly allure from head to toe, and stepped across the water to stand right in front of Zhang Yu.

"Zhang Yu..."

Seeing the slightly dazed look on Zhang Yu's face, A Zhen smiled and reached out a hand toward him, grasping for the relay orb nestled in his arms.

But in the very next instant, Zhang Yu's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he lashed out with a ferocious palm strike, aiming squarely at the chest of the A Zhen before him.

(End of Chapter)