Chapter 634: Livestream, Talk, War Starts

Chapter 634: Livestream, Conversation, and the Eve of Battle

Zhang Yu had to admit that Ye Xingli made a compelling point, so he simply decided to start a livestream right there in the mourning hall.

In his mind, the four-headed white ox roared in unison; splitting off a strand of consciousness to continue cultivating his technique, he then initiated the broadcast.

As the stream went live, his ocular implant quickly flooded with a torrent of vitriol and curses.

Zhang Yu was hardly surprised by this; ever since he was branded as discriminatory toward the demon-blooded, a great many demons had been hurling insults at him daily in the Spirit Realm.

And ever since his last bout with Ling Pojun, his daily barrage of abuse had been bolstered by a fresh wave of Jihu fans.

If one were to ask who paid him the most attention in the Spirit Realm, it would undoubtedly be these demon-blooded individuals and Jihu enthusiasts.

Now, with Zhang Yu going live, these crowds immediately flocked to his channel, unleashing a barrage of abusive remarks.

As for being cursed at, Zhang Yu had grown accustomed to it and cared very little.

What did concern him was that merely being insulted didn't earn him any money, nor did it yield any cultivation benefits.

He posed this question to Ye Xingli, who replied: Don't rush it, the hype isn't high enough yet; give it ten minutes and I'll connect with you.

Ye Xingli: I have a lot of junior college fans, and they'll definitely be interested in you.

Zhang Yu: A lot of junior college students use Jihu, right?

Ye Xingli: Jihu fans are still fans.

Ten minutes later, as Zhang Yu connected with Ye Xingli, he instantly felt his viewer count surge more than tenfold; an ever-growing swarm of junior college students poured into his stream just to hurl a few insults his way.

Though there were occasional tips, they were mere fractions like 0.001 or 0.0001 spirit coins, which in Zhang Yu's eyes earned him less than if he had gone out to haul bricks.

Zhang Yu: Senior Sister, what's the next move?

Ye Xingli: Let's try voice chats first.

Ye Xingli: 0.1 spirit coins for a one-minute voice chat with you.

Thus, Zhang Yu enabled the service, and instantly, his ocular implant displayed a continuous stream of voice chat requests.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Damn junior college students, wouldn't they be better off studying and cultivating with that money? Yet they come to me for voice chats, no wonder they're stuck in junior college."

Accepting the first request, he heard a slightly nervous voice ask, "Zhang Yu! Let me ask you, what gives you the right to look down on Jihu?"

Zhang Yu asked, "Are you a junior college student?"

The other party retorted, "What does that have to do with what school I attend?"

Zhang Yu replied, "Because the vast majority of Jihu users are junior college students. Jihu is made specifically for you lot, which is why it's cheap, why it's clunky, riddled with bugs, and starts lagging after a year."

"I want to tell everyone, university students must never buy Jihu; for magical treasures and ocular implants, use the Myriad Paths Artisan Sect; for mana, buy from Mana Treasure; for Spirit Realm services, use Hammer Heart Pavilion; everything else is garbage..."

As Zhang Yu finished his tirade, the livestream chat grew even more outraged; watching the screen fill with curses, he calmly accepted the next voice chat.

The second user opened with a single word, "Scum," followed by a relentless string of profanities interspersed with beast-like roars, making Zhang Yu frown repeatedly.

Zhang Yu said, "Demon-blooded?"

The other party continued their frantic, unhinged tirade.

Zhang Yu said, "You're a Jihu demon, aren't you?"

The user paused, then shouted in fury, "Bullshit! Since when do the demon-blooded care about Jihu or not?"

Zhang Yu: "Where do you live?"

The user replied, "Shuizhou Demon-Blooded Vocational College."

Zhang Yu confirmed, "A Jihu demon."

As Zhang Yu took call after call, the stream's popularity surged once more in the blink of an eye, to the point where the demon-blooded and Jihu fans, who had been united in cursing him, began arguing amongst themselves.

Just then, reading through the comments, Zhang Yu said, "Tian Shenggong from the Immortal Armament University? You say he's deeply dissatisfied with me and wants a voice chat?"

"I don't see Tian Shenggong requesting to connect."

"If he wants to chat, tell him to come here himself."

As the stream's heat continued to rise, another user connected and immediately began reciting martial arts mantras.

However, at the mere utterance of half a mantra, the livestream was automatically shut down.

Staring at the twenty-four-hour ban notice, Zhang Yu shook his head helplessly, "These guys really... can't they take a joke?"

Although the stream was halted, Zhang Yu still received a few scattered transaction requests, such as offers to pay for a custom-made insulting video.

There were also summoning services, hoping to call forth his remote projection when needed to inflict mental strikes and spiritual pressure.

"Insulting videos are no problem, but forget the remote summoning; where would I find the time?"

"Hmm? You want me to talk about the 'Locals' brand?"

Though its market positioning was similar to Jihu, Zhang Yu naturally wouldn't provoke the 'Locals' brand, after all, that company was also affiliated with the Myriad Methods University.

Relying on these occasional voice chats and insulting videos, Zhang Yu actually managed to rake in seven or eight spirit coins a day, boosting his popularity while padding his account balance.

Even his advertising fee for the next match had climbed from seventy to ninety spirit coins.

Until the night before his second bout, through relentless cultivation, Zhang Yu finally pushed the Demon Saint's Myriad Transformations Scripture to the twentieth level.

At this moment, Zhang Yu could feel that whenever he wished, he could split off four demon-blooded avatars, controlling them as seamlessly as if they were extensions of his own body.

And among these selectable demon-blooded avatars, aquatic species were the primary focus.

After all, to complement the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, the demon blood Zhang Yu had been acquiring lately was predominantly from various aquatic demon-blooded creatures.

Whether it was the Demon Saint's Myriad Transformations Scripture or the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, breeding demon-blooded beings or demonic beasts required choices based on the refined demon blood; refining fish demon blood could only breed fish demons, not conjure lion or ox demons out of thin air.

Just as Zhang Yu concluded his cultivation, Sovereign Anzhen reached out to him.

Sovereign Anzhen: Zhang Yu, your next opponent is Ying Mingchi; after careful deliberation, the school believes your chances of winning are slim.

Sovereign Anzhen: I hope you can support your teammates in the subsequent matches by providing a foundation. Sovereign Anzhen: Someone will come to discuss the specifics with you later.

Zhang Yu furrowed his brows, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he saw a familiar figure arrive at the mourning hall.

"Jiu Tianliu?" Looking at the newcomer, Zhang Yu said, "Are you here to see Brother Dao?"

Jiu Tianliu shook his head, "Brother Dao is dead; I am here to see you, Zhang Yu."

Zhang Yu's gaze shifted slightly, "To see me?"

As far as Zhang Yu knew, his only interactions with Jiu Tianliu were rejecting his recruitment to the Finance Department and overtaking him in the relay race; there was no real friendship between them.

The message Sovereign Anzhen had just sent immediately surfaced in his mind.

Jiu Tianliu said, "You're fighting Ying Mingchi tomorrow, aren't you?"

"I hope you can help me gather some intelligence."

Looking at the battle plan the other party sent, Zhang Yu instantly understood.

The arena tournament bracket materialized in his ocular implant, and he located the positions of Ying Mingchi and Jiu Tianliu.

"If Jiu Tianliu defeats his opponent, and Ying Mingchi beats me, then the next match will be between the two of them."

"And this battle plan operates on the premise of my certain defeat, aiming to gather as much intelligence on Ying Mingchi as possible to support the subsequent fight between Ying Mingchi and Jiu Tianliu."

Looking at Jiu Tianliu, Zhang Yu said, "So you want to fight for the championship too?"

Jiu Tianliu asked with solemn gravity, "And why should that not be so?"

"Brother Dao is dead, and as it stands, I am the most formidable force within the Myriad Methods."

"My prowess has always been more than sufficient to rival the top champions of every academy."

"Provided the academy is willing to lend me greater support, it is far from impossible for me to vanquish Kuang Tianqing."

"When all is said and done, Kuang Tianqing is merely at the Foundation Establishment realm."

"Zhang Yu..." Jiu Tianliu gazed at him with an expression of profound goodwill. "You were willing to elevate Brother Dao to the throne; you could just as easily help me ascend it, and I shall share the spoils with you."

As he spoke, his gaze remained earnest and sincere, as though every past grievance and conflict had been utterly laid to rest.

Zhang Yu, naturally, had no interest in helping Jiu Tianliu seize the championship; indeed, to his mind... once he had vanquished Ying Mingchi, Jiu Tianliu would simply be his next adversary.

Thus, Zhang Yu was profoundly curious about the intelligence and quiet confidence Jiu Tianliu harbored.

Zhang Yu finally spoke, saying, "The entire world now stands with Kuang Tianqing. She fights for the chance of extended lifespans for all humanity and has garnered overwhelming support—who could possibly contend against her?"

Jiu Tianliu let out a cold sneer. "Everyone claims to act for the greater good, but do they truly mean it, or is it for themselves? No matter how eloquently Kuang Tianqing speaks, her ultimate aim... is merely to serve the interests of the Four Heavenly Demon Academies, seeking to subjugate the world through the monopoly of life-extension technology."

"If lifespans are to be extended, it should be we who secure the technology and sell it to them, rather than begging them to sell it to us."

"The difference between the two scenarios is as vast as the gulf between heaven and earth."

Zhang Yu asked, "Are the Soul Formation elders of our academy also interested in extending their lifespans?"

Jiu Tianliu replied indifferently, "Who wouldn't be interested in living a few more years? But Kuang Tianqing's talk of universal life extension? That is merely a ploy to deceive the poor."

Zhang Yu echoed, "Deceive?"

Jiu Tianliu gave a cold snort. "With the sects possessing such formidable technology, why do people still die?"

"Once lifespan itself becomes a tradable asset, it will plummet just as swiftly as it soars."

"Zhang Yu, do not delude yourself into thinking that if Kuang Tianqing takes first place, you will be granted a few more years of life. When that time comes, whether it is you, or I, or everyone across the entirety of Myriad Methods University, we will all be far poorer than before. Perhaps the Soul Formation masters might eke out a few extra years, but our own lifespans will be shorter still."

"We shall either be harvested by the Four Heavenly Demon Academies, or we shall harvest them. These are the only two possible outcomes of this Grand Decathlon."

Zhang Yu nodded slowly. "I can help you."

"But I have demands of my own."

Jiu Tianliu offered a faint, confident smile. "Name them."

...

The following day, as the week drew to a close, the second round of the arena tournament officially commenced.

The fourteen contestants on the field soared into the heavens, enveloped in divine light and dispatched to battlefields scattered across the floating isle.

Kuang Tianqing alone was left behind, having drawn a bye for this round.

Watching Kuang Tianqing's solitary figure, Zhang Yu mused to himself, "Come to think of it, the Heavenly Court arranged this tournament bracket, didn't they? One wonders if the draw was truly random..."

Just then, a draconic roar echoed from not far away.

Zhang Yu looked up to see Ying Mingchi, shrouded in divine power, plummeting alongside him toward a distant snowfield.

The very atmosphere trembled with their descent, erupting in a series of violent, thunderous booms.

Boom!

Amidst the echoing explosions, Zhang Yu landed and stood firmly within a massive crater.

As he raised his head, he beheld a colossal draconic silhouette eclipsing the sun, dragging a canopy of roiling black clouds down upon him.

(End of Chapter)