Chapter 629: Funeral

Chapter 629: The Funeral

Demon Saint's Myriad Transformations Sutra, Level 11 (0/110)

As his mana coursed through him, Zhang Yu watched two strands of hair fall from his head, twisting and morphing in midair until they took the shape of two swimming fish.

At the same time, the moisture in the air rapidly condensed under the influence of the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, coalescing into a suspended sphere of water that caught the two fish born of his hair.

As the fish darted back and forth within the water, Zhang Yu sensed its temperature, currents, texture, and visual depths, as if the fish were extensions of his own body, obeying his every command as they plunged into the aqueous realm.

"I've finally reached Level 11 just in time for the finals."

"I wonder what kind of battle the finals will bring."

Reaching Level 11 of the Demon Saint's Myriad Transformations Sutra did not disappoint Zhang Yu; after a brief trial, he immediately grasped its profound utility.

If asked just how useful it was, Zhang Yu might say it was like being back on Earth, able to conjure North Africans, East Africans, West Africans, South Africans, West Coasters, and East Coasters, each with astonishing physiques and distinct talents in singing, dancing, rapping, or shopping, every one of them capable of holding their own and bringing him profit.

"I hope the finals will offer me the time and opportunity to elevate my strength once more."

"Sigh, if only it were half a year later, no... even just three more months would have vastly improved my chances of seizing the championship."

Thinking this, Zhang Yu shook his head sharply, casting aside these distracting thoughts: "This is no time for such musings; no matter what, I must give it my all and fight for the immortal sect's technique this time."

Just as Zhang Yu proceeded to inventory his magical treasures, organize his sword case, and make his final preparations, two patrol officers found him via a spiritual realm projection to question him about certain matters.

Zhang Yu glanced at the two in surprise, finding their arrival rather inexplicable.

Frowning involuntarily, he said, "Gentlemen, I am about to participate in the Top Ten League, and I'm afraid I have no time to cooperate with you."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu deliberately flashed his ranking, hoping they would take the hint and retreat.

The two patrol officers, however, looked at Zhang Yu with polite expressions, and one of them said, "Please rest assured, Student Zhang Yu, this will not affect your participation in the Top Ten League."

"Because the Top Ten League has been postponed."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback and said in disbelief, "What did you say? The Top Ten League is postponed?"

The patrol officer nodded. "The exact number of days hasn't been decided, but there will certainly be no matches today."

Zhang Yu immediately messaged True Lord Anzhen, and upon receiving an affirmative reply, was asked in return if someone had come to question him.

True Lord Anzhen: Cooperate fully, there's no need to be nervous, just answer whatever they ask.

A tempest had already been stirred in Zhang Yu's heart, and countless questions surged within him: "What on earth has happened? That even the Top Ten League must be delayed?!"

He looked at the two patrol officers before him and asked, "Gentlemen, has something major happened?"

The patrol officer shook his head with a bitter smile. "Student Zhang, please don't make things difficult for us; leaking information against regulations would plunge us into massive debt."

Zhang Yu nodded. "Alright then, ask whatever you need to ask, and I'll do my best to cooperate."

Patrol officer: "Student Zhang, may I ask where you went yesterday?"

"Were there any eyewitnesses?"

"What is your opinion of Dao Qiankun?"

"What did you and Student Dao Qiankun talk about yesterday?"

After a round of routine questioning, Zhang Yu felt that their questions were increasingly focused on Dao Qiankun, inevitably giving rise to a certain thought in his mind.

Thus, when the interrogation ended and the projections of the two patrol officers vanished, Zhang Yu immediately sent a message to Dao Qiankun, but received no reply.

To his astonishment, Zhang Yu also discovered, "Why is Brother Dao offline?"

Zhang Yu tried asking others, but most were either as clueless as he was or remained silent, as if under a gag order.

The entire encampment of Myriad Methods University spent the day in an atmosphere of tense apprehension.

Meanwhile, the news of the Top Ten League's postponement stirred up various whirlpools of public opinion in the spiritual realm.

Some said Nascent Soul cultivators were fighting on the spot, others claimed the Heavenly Court had ordered a change in the tournament format, and still others whispered of cult attacks causing casualties among the contestants; wild guesses abounded, leading many to wonder if an economic crisis would return, even causing fluctuations in stock prices, currency values, and commodity costs.

Amidst this widespread panic, Myriad Methods University officially issued an announcement the next day.

"Brother Dao is dead?"

Staring at the contents of the announcement, Zhang Yu's mind was filled with sheer disbelief.

"How is that possible?"

He continued reading the subsequent investigation results, growing more shocked with every line: "Suicide?"

"Bewitched by the Ascension Cult?"

"Soul scattered and spirit dissipated..."

Zhang Yu's mind drifted back to the night he last saw Dao Qiankun, and the words the other had spoken seemed to echo in his ears once more.

...

"If you encounter a danger you cannot resolve yourself, just run."

"Preserve your useful body, and do not lightly sacrifice your own life."

"You can also flee behind me, and I will do my utmost to shield you..."

Zhang Yu took a deep breath. "How could Brother Dao possibly commit suicide? And how could he possibly join the Ascension Cult?"

He refused to believe the investigation's findings, feeling only that it was shrouded in deep conspiracies, with no telling how dark the waters ran.

Thinking especially of the rift between Dao Qiankun and the Nascent Soul cultivators, an unsettling guess surged in Zhang Yu's heart: "Could it be the work of a Nascent Soul cultivator? The Nascent Soul cultivators of the Four Schools of Myriad Methods... did they kill Brother Dao because of their disagreements?"

Just then, Fu Ji's voice rang in Zhang Yu's mind: "I rather doubt it was the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Four Schools of Myriad Methods who acted."

"Fu Ji?" Zhang Yu said in surprise. "Why are you awake?"

Because the Top Ten League drew too much attention, not to mention the watchful eyes of numerous Nascent Soul sovereigns, Fu Ji had remained mostly asleep since arriving at the arena to avoid unnecessary complications.

Hearing Zhang Yu's words, Fu Ji replied, "Your emotions were too turbulent; they woke me up long ago."

"Let's get back to the matter of Dao Qiankun."

"Even if the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Four Schools of Myriad Methods couldn't reach an agreement with him, Dao Qiankun would still be an important bargaining chip; whether negotiating with Vajra, Immortal Armament, and Heavenly Sword, or with the Four Schools of Heavenly Demons, Dao Qiankun, with his chance at the championship, is highly valuable."

"Then who did it?" Zhang Yu asked. "It can't really be that he was bewitched by the Ascension Cult and committed suicide, can it?"

Fu Ji sighed. "I don't know who did it, but to accomplish this outside the arena of the Top Ten League, under layers of prohibitions and right under the noses of Nascent Soul cultivators, the perpetrator's strength must be truly formidable."

As the news of Dao Qiankun's death was made public, Zhang Yu soon found the spiritual realm embroiled in a massive uproar.

Setting aside the various bizarre theories and wild speculations, the most discussed topic next was Kuang Tianqing claiming the championship of the Top Ten League.

Clearly, in the eyes of many, with Dao Qiankun's fall, Kuang Tianqing was now utterly invincible in the entire tournament, and his victory in the Top Ten League and selection of an immortal sect technique were considered absolute certainties.

Consequently, Heavenly Demon University was regarded as an institution destined to benefit from immortal dao technology in the future, brimming with imagination and room for appreciation, causing its stocks and currency to surge across the board.

The Hehuan, Youming, and Baigu schools, allied with Heavenly Demon University, also saw respective gains.

Myriad Methods University, having lost Dao Qiankun, saw its related stock prices plummet continuously, dragging Immortal Armament, Vajra, and Heavenly Sword into fluctuations as well.

...

Just as the public opinion in the outside world grew ever more tumultuous, as if whipping up a relentless tempest of wind and rain.

Within the encampment of Myriad Methods University, a funeral was being held.

Zhang Yu quietly watched Dao Qiankun sitting cross-legged on the dais; his eyes were closed in a gentle smile, his complexion so rosy he hardly looked like a dead man.

Meanwhile, messages from Ye Xingli flickered to life within his ocular implants.

Ye Xingli: I heard they did not find a single wound on Brother Dao's body.

Ye Xingli: There were no signs of a struggle at the scene either.

Ye Xingli: They say his physical body died of natural causes.

Zhang Yu: What about the Spirit Realm? Did no true god claim Brother Dao's soul?

Ye Xingli: I do not know, but if they had, he would have been resurrected by now.

Just then, a representative of Dao Qiankun's family took the stage to deliver a eulogy, recounting his stellar academic records, impeccable career, and profound potential in the immortal path.

This was followed by the director of the Dao Arts Department, and then Jiu Tianliu, who spoke on behalf of the students.

Brother Dao's myriad awards, cultivation achievements, and exceptional physical metrics were projected one by one, showcasing his brilliance and unparalleled excellence from every angle.

As the speeches and displays drew to a close, the true spectacle of the funeral finally began.

We shall now begin the auction for the first body part, the right arm.

The starting bid is thirty spirit coins, with minimum increments of ten.

Yan Qianji raised his hand and called out, Fifty spirit coins!

Jiu Tianliu countered, Sixty.

Watching the attendees eye the corpse of Dao Qiankun with ravenous greed, their burning gazes fixed upon him as they called out their bids, Zhang Yu felt as though he were watching a pack of hyenas tearing at the carcass of a lion.

He thought to himself, So this is what a funeral for the wealthy of Kunxu looks like?

It was entirely different from the memorial recruitment fairs held in the Spirit Realm for ordinary folk after they passed.

The corpses of the rich, especially renowned magnates like Dao Qiankun, commanded a steep premium and were traded at memorial auctions, with the proceeds distributed among their families and sects to offset the financial loss of their demise.

And the higher the auction prices, the more face the deceased retained.

After all, a corpse is just another garment to the rich, Zhang Yu mused inwardly. I may find it distasteful, but to the people of Kunxu, it is probably no different from auctioning off a celebrity's personal effects after they die.

Just as the bidding grew increasingly fierce, a piercing female voice rang out, drowning out the entire hall.

I bid five hundred spirit coins.

Zhang Yu snapped his head up to see Kuang Tianqing, who had arrived at the funeral at some unknown moment, standing with her arms crossed and her back against the wall, her gaze resting indifferently on Dao Qiankun upon the stage.

Meeting the stares of the crowd, Kuang Tianqing grinned, her expression utterly arrogant as she declared that she was taking his entire corpse today and the rest of them had better not fight her for it.

Li Shiwei shot to her feet, shouting in fury, Kuang Tianqing! You are the one who killed Brother Dao! You lacked the courage to face him in fair competition on the arena! You plotted against him, and now you dare to desecrate his corpse?!

She raged on, You think that paltry sum lets you buy it all? I will not allow you to insult Brother Dao like this!

End of Chapter.