Chapter 197: First in Potions, Netherworld Heavy Water
Hearing Huang Zichou’s confidentiality requirement, Yu Xinghan boldly asked, “Is there any compensation for this contract?”
Huang Zichou didn’t speak, but his cold gaze swept over, instantly extinguishing all of Yu Xinghan’s courage.
Huang Zichou thought, I don’t even get a cut, and you think you’re getting paid?
While everyone was signing one by one, Ye Lingxiao, who was standing to the side, said, “How could I casually speak about matters of the Foundation Establishment examination? But this contract, I need to discuss it with my family before I can sign…”
Deng Bingding’s mouth twitched. She shot him a glare and said, “Just sign it.”
Two minutes later, everyone had signed the confidentiality agreement, and the examination resumed.
However, due to the overly intense side effects of the Dao-Dissolving Sustained-Release Capsule, each person was now limited to taking only one.
Zhang Yu, however, decided to forgo the Dao-Dissolving Sustained-Release Capsule altogether.
Who knows how long this intelligence drop will last? What if this damn thing causes a permanent reduction in intelligence?
So Zhang Yu simply picked up the other enhancers for the Dao heart, at least those with relatively clear adverse reactions, and downed them bottle after bottle.
As he continued to take enhancers and cultivate, Zhang Yu felt his Dao heart, magic power, and physical strength all surge dramatically.
His score, which had been lagging behind Ye Lingxiao’s, began to steadily close the gap with his frantic consumption.
On the other side, Ye Lingxiao watched his opponent’s score draw ever closer, and so over the next ten-plus minutes, he took two more Phoenix-Mimic Functional Factor tablets.
At this moment, he looked flushed, with blood vessels bulging on the surface of his skin as if he were about to explode at any second. A twisting pain emanated from his internal organs, as though his stomach and intestines were melting.
But what brought him a small measure of comfort was that Zhang Yu before him had finally stopped.
“Finally reached his limit?”
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Zhang Yu raise his hand and ask, “Proctor, may I use the restroom? I feel too full. I’d like to use the restroom before I continue eating.”
Yu Xinghan, listening from the side, was slightly stunned. “Fullness?”
And so, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, after returning from the restroom, Zhang Yu once again took a Phoenix-Mimic Functional Factor tablet, administered a Magic Power Meridian Injection, and then picked up can after can of Dao heart-type enhancers and drank them down.
Ye Lingxiao wanted to take another divine potion to maintain his lead several times, but feeling his body on the verge of its limit, he could only clench his jaw and reluctantly give up, watching helplessly as Zhang Yu’s score surpassed his own.
As the one-hour medication period came to an end, the first half of the second round of the Foundation Establishment examination’s body tempering arts track was over.
Ye Lingxiao looked at the current score rankings, at Zhang Yu in first place and himself in second, and a strong sense of unwillingness welled up in his heart.
It’s fine… there’s still the second half. With my strength, I can catch up in the second half. But with my strength, what if I can’t catch up in the second half?
With a loud rumble, five cylindrical tanks rose from the center of the examination hall.
Deng Bingding introduced them, “These tanks are called Dinghai Pillars. Although they are only 5 meters tall, the Netherworld Heavy Water within them can simulate pressures from 1 meter to 10,000 meters underwater.”
“Next, we will see how much pressure you can withstand with your physical bodies while enduring the side effects of the enhancers you’ve taken.”
“Only those with stronger pressure resistance, greater physical strength, and superior physical technique will be able to withstand the pressure at greater depths within these Dinghai Pillars.”
“The second half of the exam will test this kind of all-around physical prowess.”
“And the final result of today’s second round of the examination will be ranked based on the combined scores of the first and second halves.”
“Gentlemen, into the water.”
Zhang Yu put on an oxygen mask and jumped into a Dinghai Pillar, his entire body submerging into the Netherworld Heavy Water and landing directly at the bottom.
Despite being submerged in water, he felt no pressure at all, as if the surrounding water was as light as air.
“Is this Netherworld Heavy Water? It can actually be as light as air?”
But the next moment, as the examination officially began, a number appeared above the Dinghai Pillar: -1 meter.
Zhang Yu suddenly felt his entire body tighten. The previously weightless Netherworld Heavy Water pressed in, surrounding his body like ordinary water.
Only the area of the oxygen mask remained unaffected by the Netherworld Heavy Water, providing him with necessary oxygen.
Watching the number on the Dinghai Pillar continuously change, gradually dropping from -1 meter to -10 meters, and then towards -100 meters, Zhang Yu began to feel the ever-increasing pressure coming from all directions, pressing down on his entire body.
Zhang Yu glanced at his Feather Book and thought, Has my physical strength reached level 9.91?
That Number 23 (Ye Lingxiao), as a top-tier young master from the Immortal Capital, is probably at a level 10 physical strength. He’s likely cultivated more techniques than me, so his control over his body is probably superior to mine… he has a huge advantage in this event.
Hopefully, his intelligence has dropped low enough for him to make a few major mistakes.
No… with my score from the first half, even if I lose to him in this event, it’s enough for me to be in the top two overall today and advance to the next round of the Foundation Establishment examination to compete for a qualification certificate.
In that case, since I’m certain to pass this round of the examination, I might as well use this opportunity to become even stronger.
Compared to a temporary victory or defeat, Zhang Yu clearly valued long-term strength more.
With this thought, Zhang Yu began to slowly twist his body in the Netherworld Heavy Water.
He planned to take advantage of the still-surging medicinal power in his body, while the simulated depth was not yet too great, to continue cultivating the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen and further strengthen his physical body.
While Zhang Yu was cultivating, the entire examination hall was quiet. All the examinees were submerged in the Netherworld Heavy Water, silently conserving their stamina and resisting the pressure.
At this moment, the expressions of Deng Bingding, Huang Zichou, and the other righteous gods shifted slightly.
They had all simultaneously noticed a change in another examination area.
In the martial arts arena.
Before a massive ring.
Dai Xingzhi was slowly warming up, stretching his arms and legs, while his gaze continuously swept over Bai Zhenzhen on the other side of the ring.
At the same time, a row of numbers was displayed above both of their heads.
Dai Xingzhi’s read 1,000,000, and Bai Zhenzhen’s also read 1,000,000, representing their medical coverage amount for the upcoming ring match.
This was the medical coverage provided by the proctoring righteous gods like Deng Bingding for the 5 examinees in the martial arts track.
In today’s Martial Arts Examination, all examinees would have this one-million-point medical coverage provided by the righteous gods, which would be reset before each ring match.
During the exchange of blows in the ring, any injury suffered by either examinee would be instantly healed by a divine formation set up on the ring, consuming their medical coverage.
This meant that as long as the 1,000,000-point medical coverage for each match was not depleted, both fighters in the ring would always be in their peak physical condition.
Once the medical coverage of either fighter was depleted to 0, they would lose the match.
If a contestant was knocked down or knocked out, although they would be healed immediately, it would be ruled as a loss, just like being knocked out of the ring.
Each match would last for a total of 10 minutes. If a winner had not been decided after 10 minutes, the contestant with the higher remaining medical coverage would win.
At this moment, Dai Xingzhi looked at Bai Zhenzhen, a hint of fighting spirit in his eyes.
As a prodigy from within the sixth ring of the Immortal Capital’s 1.5 layer, Dai Xingzhi had always looked down on any outsider.
But the Bai Zhenzhen before him was an exception.
One reason was that her performance in the last Foundation Establishment examination was commendable.
Another reason was that during the recent series of ring matches, she had defeated two opponents in a row.
Dai Xingzhi thought to himself, This woman has already defeated all the other examinees except for Yun Jing and me.
Considering that Yun Jing is guaranteed to take first place… the outcome of the match between her and me will decide who comes in second.
Although even if he took second place, Dai Xingzhi didn’t think he could defeat Yun Jing in the next round of the Foundation Establishment examination to seize a qualification certificate.
But Dai Xingzhi was certain that if he took second place, the rewards for the next round of the examination would be much more generous.
“Judging from her previous fights, this woman is fast, and her fighting style leans towards high-speed sword techniques.”
In terms of speed, Dai Xingzhi had always been very confident.
If you were to ask why… it was naturally to save money.
Although he was a young master of the Immortal Capital, for Dai Xingzhi, money was never enough.
So when choosing a direction for his martial arts cultivation, compared to the strength-based or physical-conditioning-based combat styles that incurred huge medical expenses, Dai Xingzhi chose a speed-based style, specializing particularly in evasion.
This was both his own choice and his family’s legacy.
When encountering a battle, first dodge. If you can’t dodge, run. If you can’t outrun them, wear them down. Not getting hurt is better than not losing. If you lose, you can try again. If you’re poor, it’s hard to make a comeback… This was the ideology passed down through generations of the Dai clan.
Therefore, to avoid injury in battle after battle, the first martial art Dai Xingzhi learned was a movement technique.
And to improve his sensitivity in battle and enhance his evasion skills, the private tutors he hired were almost all speed-type martial arts masters.
Things like dodging hidden weapons, sneak attacks, and group assaults… were all part of his daily training routine.
Thus, in the three ring matches just now, his medical coverage consumption had consistently been the lowest.
He hadn’t even consumed any medical coverage in his fight against Yun Jing… because he had chosen to surrender directly.
Dai Xingzhi had realized something: “If I suffer an injury that 1,000,000 points can’t heal, I’ll have to enter the next match injured.”
“So since I’m going to lose to Yun Jing anyway… it’s better to just surrender and not affect the next match.”
“Now, as long as I defeat this woman, I’ll be second.”
With the call from the righteous god, Dai Xingzhi and Bai Zhenzhen walked onto the ring together.
With each step he took, an illusionary afterimage appeared around Dai Xingzhi, his figure becoming increasingly ethereal, as if he had transformed into several clones advancing together.
But to Dai Xingzhi’s surprise, Bai Zhenzhen on the other side sat down on the spot after getting on the ring, as if she had no intention of making a move at all.
“This woman…”
Dai Xingzhi’s figure flickered around Bai Zhenzhen, but he found that she didn’t even glance at him.
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen spoke, “You people from the Immortal Capital are just lucky to be born there. You can get into college with minimal effort. If it were back where I’m from… I don’t think you could even get into high school.”