Chapter 754: Ultimate Formless Martial Arts Drill, Ramming Open the Heavenly Gate

Chapter 754: Ultimate—Formless Martial Display, Shattering the Heavenly Gate

On the day the final interview commenced.

Zhang Yu sat cross-legged in his meditation chamber, silently opening his eyes. Countless memories and thoughts flowed through his heart.

Years of study, arduous cultivation, labor… Nearly a decade had passed since he first arrived in Kunxu.

For almost ten years without rest, he dared not slacken even a hair’s breadth—scarcely sleeping a single night, never allowing himself a moment’s reprieve from cultivation.

Ah, such hardship!

Today—this very day!—he had finally reached the threshold of the Ten Thousand Dharmas Sect. If only he could shatter this final gate of the interview, he would truly be accepted into the sect, bringing a perfect close to nearly ten years of relentless study and toil.

At that moment, the Yushu unfurled before Zhang Yu, revealing the contents of the Chain Dharma Diagram.

Through recent cultivation, his Formless Martial Display had now reached its perfected state of 10/10, unlocking two additional tiers of effects, which he had spent the past few days rigorously testing.

Advanced—Formless Martial Display (8/8): When simulating a martial art, one may integrate one’s own martial principles.

Ultimate—Formless Martial Display (10/10): One may simultaneously simulate two martial arts and merge their operation.

His gaze swept over these two effects, and a faint sigh stirred within Zhang Yu’s heart.

When he first obtained them, he had been uncertain of their meaning, unsure what purpose they served.

But after experimentation, understanding gradually dawned upon him.

“The second-tier Advanced effect allows me to fuse my personally cultivated martial mechanisms into simulated techniques.”

“The third-tier Ultimate effect merges the mechanisms of two simulated martial arts together.”

Zhang Yu mused inwardly, “Could it be that these three tiers represent the true intent behind the tenfold Formless Martial Display?”

“To simulate, then to fuse—to foresee, without actually mastering them, the combinatorial effects, synergies, and ultimate fusion outcomes of various martial arts.”

Initially, upon receiving the first tier of Formless Martial Display, Zhang Yu had assumed it was merely a tool created by the Yufa Pavilion for simulating martial arts to facilitate copyright approvals.

Now, however, another notion took root.

He sensed that Formless Martial Display was not an end in itself, but a tool—a method for experimentation, for testing, for discovering optimal martial combinations.

At this realization, a chill ran down his spine.

“If such an infinitely versatile martial art was conceived merely as a tool…”

“What unimaginable, earth-shattering martial art must its creator have truly sought?”

In that instant, Zhang Yu gained a more concrete sense of the sect’s unfathomable depths—and a flicker of anticipation for his future cultivation within it.

Carrying that anticipation, he stepped out of his room. His Eye Bones shimmered, revealing countless advertisements surrounding the sect-enrollment interview.

Interview livestream previews… cross-layer broadcasts… prize contests… betting on results… payments accepted in Feather Debts…

His eyes idly scanned streams of Spirit Realm notifications, each revealing commercial ventures spun around the interview.

“This final interview isn’t just being broadcast live across Layers 1 through 10—the Celestial Sovereigns have orchestrated endless hype campaigns and business strategies…”

“Traffic, ads, lotteries, gambling—it’s all staged like the Olympics or the World Cup.”

“No, even more so. To the people of Kunxu, this stirs far greater passion than any Olympic Games or World Cup ever could.”

Recalling his journey from high school to university to corporate life—and reflecting on the countless cultivators of Kunxu and their obsession with the Immortal Path—Zhang Yu understood: the fervor surrounding sect enrollment dwarfed anything from his past life.

“This is a spectacle watched by virtually the entire populace—a grand performance whose commercial value likely surpasses any event ever held across Layers 1 to 10.”

“Especially…”

His eyes fell upon a news bulletin featuring a Celestial Sovereign’s statement on the future normalization of sect enrollment.

By now, nearly everyone across Layers 1 through 10 knew the condition for making lower-layer sect enrollment a regular occurrence:

If five among the finalists—Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, Yu Xinghan, Le Mulan, Kuang Tianqing, and Starfire True Lord—passed the final interview and were formally accepted into the sect, annual Sect Clerk Selection Examinations would henceforth be held across Layers 1 to 10.

This announcement struck like thunder, echoing from Layer 10 all the way down to Layer 1, igniting feverish excitement among countless souls.

During this period, Zhang Yu and his fellow finalists became objects of intense public scrutiny, inundated daily with hundreds of thousands—even millions—of messages flooding their platform accounts.

Opening his contact list, Zhang Yu saw messages fluttering like snowflakes, leaping toward him to deliver their contents.

He knew these were voices of encouragement from countless people who, over recent days, had cheered him on, hoping he would break open the sect’s gates.

He also understood that, due to maintaining his Sect-Enrollment Avatar persona, many companions now saw him as someone else entirely—but even so, they still reached out.

Ye Xingli: Senior Brother, I know you may no longer care about us, but I still want to thank you—you’ve given us hope.

Mo Shangjin: True Lord, the immortal paths of all in the lower layers rest entirely in your hands.

Wang Yin: You must win! Your victory is our victory!

Zhao Tianxing: True Lord! You’ll surely lead us into the sect! We all believe in you!

Ying Mingchi: No matter how much you’ve forgotten, we will always remember your contributions to the Yaoyi. Please, True Lord, shatter the Heavenly Gate and grant all yaoguai a chance to enter the sect.

Zhang Yu grasped the weight of their expectations. With normalized sect enrollment looming, countless cultivators would gain annual opportunities to join the sect.

“Even if those above reincarnate down here, it would take them at least thirty or forty years to grow up, study, and cultivate anew.”

“Those three or four decades of reincarnation gap would become a golden window for lower-layer individuals to ascend—allowing the sect to absorb countless disciples from below.”

As Zhang Yu continued forward, Deng Bingding appeared before him.

Gazing at Zhang Yu, Deng Bingding spoke with palpable emotion: “A deity above instructed me to tell you: From here on, unleash yourself fully. Harbor no reservations. Crush your opponents utterly.”

“No matter the consequences, the Heavenly Court shall bear them alone.”

Zhang Yu nodded to Deng Bingding, thinking inwardly, “So the Heavenly Court truly desires to open channels between upper and lower layers, admitting more lower-layer cultivators into the sect—likely to better influence sect affairs in the future.”

Fu Ji remarked, “Naturally. Power, by its nature, hungers for expansion. From the moment the Heavenly Court was born, the great deities could never cease their ambitions… governing heaven, earth, humans, beasts—there is nothing they do not seek to control.”

Just then, Kuang Tianqing stood waiting ahead, nodding respectfully toward him.

Memories surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind—his recent secret conversation with Kuang Tianqing.

…Kuang Tianqing had said calmly, “Those above instructed me to tell you: Unleash yourself freely. Give your all. The interview is your finest stage.”

Zhang Yu had smiled at that. “My all? Do you even know what my ‘all’ looks like?”

Kuang Tianqing replied, “Whatever it may be—if you tear open the heavens connecting Layers 1 through 10 to the sect today, if you rack up another trillion in debt, Reincarnation Group will still stand behind you.”

“We wish to see where your limits lie.”

…

Recalling Kuang Tianqing’s promise, Zhang Yu thought, “Reincarnation Group… the Reincarnation Immortal Emperor… Naturally, they desire as many reincarnations as possible.”

Fu Ji added, “Lower-layer cultivators ascending, upper-layer beings reincarnating downward to take the exams—constant circulation, some rising, some falling, an unbroken cycle of reincarnation… That is where their greatest profits lie.”

“Zhang Yu, you carry the hopes of the masses in this interview. This is indeed your best opportunity to make a grand display.”

“In such a monumental event—with the backing of both the Heavenly Court and Reincarnation Group—openly reveal your potential, proclaim your talent, and announce your existence to all of Kunxu.”

“Thus, for a long time to come, you need not fear exposing your gifts.”

Zhang Yu gave a slight nod, thinking inwardly, “Indeed… This time, I can reveal more of my talents—laying groundwork for my future work within the sect.”

Stepping out of the Research Society’s gates, he saw Bai Zhenzhen, Yu Xinghan, Le Mulan, and Starfire True Lord already waiting outside.

Yet at this moment, Bai Zhenzhen, Yu Xinghan, and Le Mulan radiated scholarly aura piercing the heavens—they had clearly activated their Sect-Enrollment Avatars, allowing those avatars to command their physical bodies.

This, too, was something Zhang Yu had long ago agreed upon with them.

After all, the upcoming interviews would inevitably involve all manner of questions demanding answers grounded in sect doctrine—only in their current states could Bai Zhenzhen, Yu Xinghan, and Le Mulan stand the best chance of passing.

Zhang Yu, who possessed the Hell Soul-Scouring Scripture, could access relevant memories without needing a sect-assigned avatar.

Since this round no longer demanded the frantic urgency of the preliminary exam, Zhang Yu decided to take control of his own body and lead this interview himself.

They exchanged glances, and in the next moment, they were already aboard the flying vessel.

Amidst howling gales, the vessel shot straight into the heavens, racing toward the site of the interview.

Watching it vanish into the distance, Tu Lishan murmured inwardly, “Carry all our futures up there.”

Elsewhere, Miao Shou Zhenjun stood beside Tian Sha Zhenjun, both gazing after the departing vessel.

Miao Shou Zhenjun remarked, “Since when did you start caring about interviews? Even if they become routine, we’re far too old to sit for them now, aren’t we?”

Tian Sha Zhenjun replied coolly, “At least my disciples—my students—can. That alone brings me greater returns… and gives my next life a better shot.”

“And besides…” A memory flashed through Tian Sha Zhenjun’s mind—his days undergoing training within the sect—and he added coldly, “I simply want those sect disciples who’ve always looked down on us, mocked us, and sought to keep us trampled beneath their feet forever… to see for themselves: if the gates open wide, even those born from the lower strata can enter the sect.”

“This is the first time we’ve had a real chance to beat them.”

…

Layer after layer of clouded sky tore apart.

Zhang Yu felt as though the vessel pierced through realm after realm, carrying them from Kunxu Layer 3 to Layer 5, then Layer 7, 8, 9… all the way to Layer 10!

Kunxu Layer 10 was the final venue for this interview.

And thanks to this opportunity, Zhang Yu caught his first glimpse of Layers 7 through 10 of Kunxu.

From what he’d previously learned, Layers 7 to 10 belonged entirely to corporate titans—enterprises directly subordinate to the Ten Great Sects. Their primary business involved downstream investments, raw material procurement, and establishing vast industrial processing chains, ultimately supplying the sects with massive quantities of refined materials and finished goods.

Though he couldn’t see the full expanse of each layer during his ascent, what little he glimpsed revealed an endless sea of immortal-cultivation factories.

Only upon reaching Layer 10 did he finally spot scattered traces of classical architecture and greenery—according to Xinghuo Zhenjun, these were imitations of sect environments crafted by Layer 10 residents.

Yet even upon arrival at Layer 10, the vessel didn’t stop. It surged higher still, piercing through the clouds until it reached the very peak of Layer 10.

There, floating amidst the heavens, stood a celestial palace. Zhang Yu and the others knew at once: this was where their interview would take place.

“Everyone, please follow me,” came a voice.

Several Zheng Shen appeared before them, ready to escort each candidate to separate interview chambers.

Kuang Tianqing departed first.

Xinghuo Zhenjun cast a complex glance at the studious-looking Yu Xinghan and the others, sighed deeply, and followed a Zheng Shen away.

Inside, Yu Xinghan roared silently: “At last… at last I’ve made it this far!”

Gazing down at Kunxu Layer 10 beneath his feet, he vowed fiercely, “From this day forward, I shall forever tread upon Kunxu Layer 10!”

Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, “From Layer 1 to Layer 10, no one loves the sect more than I do! If not me, then who else deserves entry?”

Le Mulan’s lips curled faintly. “Years of grueling study—all for this day! At last, Le Mulan shall become a true sect lord. Farewell, you wretched paupers of the lower layers.”

Without so much as a word to Zhang Yu, they each followed their assigned Zheng Shen and disappeared.

Watching their retreating figures, Zhang Yu’s mind conjured images of Bai Zhenzhen, Yu Xinghan, and Le Mulan’s true original forms. He murmured inwardly, “Today, we’ll break the sect’s gates wide open—together.”

Proceeding onward, after winding through corridors of the celestial palace, Zhang Yu arrived with his guide outside a chamber door.

There, waiting beside the entrance, stood Wu Xiang Zhenjun.

Zhang Yu greeted him politely: “Hello, Wu Xiang Zhenjun?”

Wu Xiang Zhenjun snorted coldly and gave Zhang Yu a dismissive glance. “No need for greetings. This will likely be the only time we ever meet in this lifetime—and we certainly won’t cross paths again afterward.”

As they spoke, the great doors before them burst open with a thunderous roar. Beams of divine light flickered, beckoning both men inside.

Within the vast hall, four figures sat enthroned at its center, their gazes sharp and appraising.

Behind them shimmered countless silhouettes of sect disciples—and among them, Zhang Yu spotted Yun Zhiguang.

“So all the sect disciples who came down to the lower layers are here merely as spectators for the interviews?”

Zhang Yu tried to scrutinize the four central figures but found their features stubbornly indistinct, no matter how hard he looked. Only the spirit-realm projection beside them clearly displayed their identities.

(End of Chapter)