Chapter 638: Copyright Bet, War Starts

Chapter 638: The Copyright Wager, The Battle Begins

In the waiting area, Jiu Tianliu gazed at Zhang Yu before him and said, "Junior brother, didn't we agree you'd be gathering intelligence for me?"

Zhang Yu smiled faintly and replied, "Senior brother, what could be more decisive than simply crushing the opponent outright, rather than skulking about for intel?"

"Besides, you won't need to fight Ying Mingchi anymore anyway."

Jiu Tianliu stared intently at Zhang Yu and said, "Indeed... from here on out, it shall be a contest between you and me."

"Junior brother..." Jiu Tianliu looked deeply into Zhang Yu's eyes, enunciating every word, "Do you truly wish to defeat me?"

At this moment, Zhang Yu no longer shied away from the challenge.

With each successive victory and every solid achievement laid as his foundation, the confidence in Zhang Yu's voice had grown ever more resolute.

This latest triumph over Ying Mingchi, in particular, signified that his comprehensive strength had ascended to the pinnacle of his academy, granting him the qualification to clash with the foremost champions of other schools.

"Senior brother..."

What followed, whether facing Jiu Tianliu right there or addressing the post-match press, was Zhang Yu's first declaration of his grand ambition to the world, his voice ringing out to all living beings under heaven.

"I am going to take first place."

"Senior brother Dao Qiankun has already departed."

"In this Top Ten League, there is no one left whom I would willingly elevate to the throne."

"Since that is the case, I have decided to vanquish every opponent myself."

"I shall ascend the throne and become the strongest among the ten academies."

As Zhang Yu's proclamation echoed forth, countless reverberations rippled through the Spirit Realm.

Some demon-blooded individuals lamented in agony, "Why did Zhang Yu win! Seeing him triumph is more agonizing than being devoured alive."

Fans of the Extreme Tiger posed questions, "Why do I feel Zhang Yu is the most undeserving among the top eight contestants?"

Students from the Artifact Refining Department were analyzing Zhang Yu's physical resilience, while those from the Breeding Department debated his creation of dragon beasts; meanwhile, many others were calculating the infringement compensation he would owe after this bout.

Still other demon-blooded adherents clung to the theory of shared human-demon origins, arguing that Zhang Yu had merely unleashed the demon bloodline within his own veins to defeat Ying Mingchi and secure his spot in the top eight.

As for Zhang Yu's comment section, it had been overrun by a motley crowd, descending into a toxic cesspool of vitriol.

Beyond mere verbal abuse, many even sent him a barrage of private messages laced with dire threats.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Demon University, the Extreme Tiger Corporation, and Ying Mingchi himself had successively threatened lawsuits, accusing him of insulting the demon-blooded, slandering the Extreme Tiger, and infringing upon dragon blood rights.

In this very moment, Zhang Yu truly felt himself standing at the crest of the storm, the focal point of myriad gazes, as countless people and matters surged toward him.

Yet, propelled by this very notoriety, the advertising fees for his next match skyrocketed, swiftly breaching the threshold of two hundred spirit coins.

True Lord An Zhen also reached out to him after the match, saying, "The legal team at the academy will handle the lawsuits so as not to waste your time and energy; you need not worry about it for now, just keep your full focus on the competition."

"However, you must prepare the infringement compensation yourself; if you lack sufficient spirit coins, you may borrow from the academy."

Zhang Yu exhaled a soft breath of relief, acutely appreciating the advantage of having the Myriad Laws University as his backing.

Zhang Yu asked, "Then what of the outcome between Jiu Tianliu and me in the next round..."

True Lord An Zhen replied, "For the next bout, the academy will not heavily favor either of you for the time being; rather, we shall support whichever of you emerges victorious to fight Kuang Tianqing."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's mind settled; the academy's decision to cease backing Jiu Tianliu and instead let them compete against each other was already a highly favorable outcome for him.

With only a week of preparation left, Zhang Yu still had a multitude of tasks to attend to.

His bodily wounds required healing, his damaged Seven Absolutes Spell Remnant needed urgent repairs, and other assets like the Heavenly Sun Radiant God, the Taihao Holy Law Flying Sword, and the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor all demanded maintenance.

Then there was the combat copyright for the dragon blood, which Zhang Yu also hoped to acquire, as it would significantly bolster his strength.

Beyond that, he needed to visit the mourning hall to accompany Dao Qiankun, hoping to replicate a Dao Seed from the deceased.

After a moment's reflection, Zhang Yu felt that time was ever too scarce, and spirit coins seemed to slip through his fingers all the faster as his power grew.

Thus, as soon as the day's match concluded, he first returned to the laboratory to assign tasks to his assistants.

Leaving the Heavenly Sun Radiant God behind as his avatar to oversee the lab's operations, Zhang Yu himself plunged into the mourning hall, keeping watch over Dao Qiankun's corpse while contacting Ying Mingchi to negotiate the dragon blood copyright.

Ying Mingchi's projection looked at Zhang Yu and said, "You want to buy the combat copyright? Hmph, even if you buy it now, you'll still have to pay for the prior infringement."

Zhang Yu said, "Just name your price first."

Ying Mingchi said, "Three hundred spirit coins."

Zhang Yu snapped in irritation, "Have you lost your mind to a fever?"

Ying Mingchi replied calmly, "For three hundred spirit coins, I can bundle the breeding rights and sell them to you as a package; you may cultivate them however you please."

Zhang Yu frowned, "That's still too expensive, and I only need it for combat; I have no interest in breeding rights."

Ying Mingchi said, "My true dragon bloodline is one that has genuinely awakened; you should know this is no ordinary dragon blood."

"If you want it cheaper, it isn't entirely out of the question."

"Trade your blood for it; I want to buy your breeding rights."

Without a second thought, Zhang Yu refused, "Absolutely not."

Seizing the momentum, Zhang Yu laid out his own terms, "From now on, every product I create using your dragon blood will bear your name to indicate its origin; how does that sound?"

Ying Mingchi's draconic eyes arched slightly, "Oh?"

Zhang Yu continued, "I will defeat Jiu Tianliu, vanquish opponent after opponent, and ultimately stand in the finals to decide the victor against Kuang Tianqing, claiming the championship."

"Wouldn't you want to see your name displayed in the finals? Wouldn't you want to see your blood contesting for the championship?"

Ying Mingchi suddenly laughed, "Zhang Yu, who exactly said you discriminate against the demon-blooded? I see no discrimination in you at all."

Zhang Yu also smiled, "I don't discriminate against the demon-blooded, I only discriminate against the Extreme Tiger demons..." In the next instant, however, Ying Mingchi's expression shifted abruptly as he said, "But all of this hinges on you defeating Jiu Tianliu first."

"You are quite right," Zhang Yu said, "which is why we should sign a tiered valuation adjustment agreement."

"If I lose the next match, I will pay to buy your dragon blood copyright."

"But if I win the next match..."

Ying Mingchi looked at the contract handed to him, which clearly stipulated that with each of Zhang Yu's victories, the cost to purchase the copyright would decrease.

Should he even reach the final bout against Kuang Tianqing, the fee for the dragon blood copyright would be a mere thirty spirit coins.

And if he were to defeat Kuang Tianqing, Ying Mingchi would instead have to pay one hundred spirit coins in advertising fees.

Ying Mingchi sneered, "I'd have to pay you advertising fees on top of everything?"

Zhang Yu said, "Picture this scenario: a dragon forged from your blood trampling Kuang Tianqing ruthlessly underfoot, subjecting her to utter humiliation."

"A human ultimately securing victory relying on the dragon blood of the demon-blooded—what do you think of that headline?"

Ying Mingchi had to admit, he was tempted.

Yet he still could not believe Zhang Yu could defeat Kuang Tianqing.

"Tell you what, I won't screw you over," Ying Mingchi said. "If you make it to the finals, I'll charge you one spirit coin for the copyright. But if you lose any match before the finals, you'll have to pay two hundred and eighty-eight spirit coins for the full rights to my dragon blood."

"As for the infringement from this battle..."

Ying Mingchi smiled, "If you truly can best Kuang Tianqing, we'll wipe that slate clean as well."

Having signed the wager contract, Zhang Yu let out a slight breath of relief; while operating the Heavenly Sun Radiant God to work in the lab, he had already initiated the live broadcast from the mourning hall.

Zhang Yu could feel that as the Top Ten League progressed, the intensity of the battles grew ever fiercer, and the consumption of spirit coins escalated accordingly.

Taking advantage of his current high popularity, Zhang Yu was determined to earn more money to prepare for the upcoming matches.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed, and Zhang Yu's broadcast room was once again banned for twenty-four hours due to a copyright bomb attack orchestrated by his anti-fans.

He could not help but sigh, shutting down the stream and turning his gaze to the corpse of Dao Qiankun before him.

Yet he found that the ethereal phantom of the artifact spirit had emerged from it at some unknown moment, watching him intently.

Seeing Zhang Yu pause, the artifact spirit spoke, "Still persisting in your broadcast cultivation during the tournament break; are you striving so hard because you want to win the championship?"

Zhang Yu nodded, "Indeed, Jiu Tianliu has a Soul Transformation master backing him, along with the vast resources of the Finance Department."

"And behind Kuang Tianqing stands the support of the entire world."

"To compete with them, I must seize every single minute and second."

The artifact spirit replied, "It is not as if the whole world supports Kuang Tianqing; even if all the living back him, the dead certainly will not."

Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback, "The dead? You mean soul cultivators?"

Zhang Yu chuckled, "Perhaps, though I wonder if life-prolonging techniques can even extend the lifespan of a soul cultivator."

The artifact spirit murmured, "It is possible for soul cultivators to extend their lives, it is possible... yet it is also highly unlikely for them to do so..."

Zhang Yu shook his head, wondering how he had ended up chatting with an imbecilic artifact spirit, and refocused his mind entirely on his own affairs.

At the same time, Zhang Yu could sense that the manifestation of the Dao seeds on Dao Qiankun's body had grown increasingly frequent these past few days, on the verge of fully materializing before his very eyes.

...

Even as Zhang Yu seized every moment to strengthen himself.

Jiu Tianliu had not ceased his own relentless march toward greater power.

Feng Tingting, Mo Shangjin, Su Yanyang, Bei Wufeng, Jin Jun... whether from the Civil Engineering Department or the Artifact Refining Department, nearly every student who had ever interacted or competed with Zhang Yu was approached by Jiu Tianliu's envoys, amassing a wealth of intelligence on his rival.

Beyond that, Jiu Tianliu poured massive resources into the Spirit Realm, simultaneously elevating the hype for this battle and wildly amplifying his own destiny.

Countless famous influencers and renowned masters stepped forward one by one to predict that Jiu Tianliu would emerge victorious, defeat Zhang Yu, and secure a spot in the top four.

Hordes of students began to propagate Jiu Tianliu's status as the number one finance student across the ten academies.

Jiu Tianliu connected with the demon-blooded, proclaiming his opposition to discrimination against them and boasting of his many demon-blooded friends, thereby garnering immense support from their community.

Jiu Tianliu's master, the Golden Tower Divine Lord of the Myriad Methods University, expressed his confidence in an event that his disciple would reach the finals.

As more and more people rallied behind him, believing he would defeat Zhang Yu and enter the top four, the aura of destiny surrounding Jiu Tianliu grew ever more profound; polls showed that over seventy percent of the public believed his victory in this match was inevitable.

And when Jiu Tianliu finally stepped onto the battlefield, the destiny enveloping him had reached an unprecedented density, with a halo of azure light crowning his head and auspicious clouds gathering beneath his feet.

Meanwhile, the name of Jiu Tianliu floated everywhere across the floating continent, plastered across every conceivable advertisement.

Having entered his peak state, Jiu Tianliu took a single step forward, and the very earth seemed to tremble beneath the weight of his aura.

On the holographic projections across the various universities, the image of Jiu Tianliu continuously materialized, broadcasting his declaration of championship.

In the arena, Jiu Tianliu was seen pointing a single finger toward the heavens, drawing the spiritual essence of heaven and earth to converge at his will.

The broadcast lenses locked onto him, his battlefield feed and streaming metrics surging to the absolute peak of popularity, inflated to ten times that of other contestants by an army of paid trolls.

On the field, with a soft shout from Jiu Tianliu, the clouds parted and endless radiance cascaded over him, causing his momentum to skyrocket once more.

Gazing at Zhang Yu ahead, Jiu Tianliu in his peak state extended a finger, unleashing an unprecedented immortal dao killing technique.

This strike transcended the Foundation Establishment realm, hovering in the liminal space between Foundation Establishment and the Golden Core.

With this single blow, he intended to utterly obliterate Zhang Yu.

He would claim this match with an indisputable, absolute victory, striding from one pinnacle to the next, ascending step by step to the very zenith to claim his throne.

(End of Chapter)