Chapter 205: Zhang Yu Ambushed

As Yue Jincheng’s expression grew darker, he watched Zhang Yu walk out of the breeding base’s main gate and slip his phone into his pocket. A resolution formed in his mind.

With a flicker of his body, he was already closing the distance to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, silent and swift.

With the skills of a proper university graduate, even if I make a move right in front of them, taking one or two items… I guarantee they won’t have a clue, not even a chance to notice a thing.

Yue Jincheng had reviewed Zhang Yu’s and Bai Zhenzhen’s exam data from the past few months. He knew they were roughly at the level of third-year high school students in the late stage of Qi Refinement.

While that was certainly excellent for Songyang High School, in his eyes, they were just a couple of kids.

Especially as a university graduate from the commercial investigation program, he had long since mastered skills like silent movement, covert action, and theft. Dealing with two high school students seemed like child’s play to him.

All I have to do is take their phones, use the company’s tools to copy the information, and then return the phones before they notice.

I can take my time cracking the information back at the office and immediately learn their secrets. Why do I need to keep trailing them like an idiot?

Just two high school kids. I should have done this ages ago!

Just as Yue Jincheng’s form flickered, about to overtake Zhang Yu, Si Zhouyu’s expression changed slightly. She followed, raising a hand to stop him.

But seeing Si Zhouyu’s action, Yue Jincheng sneered inwardly. How can a junior college student like you stop me?

Seeing Yue Jincheng accelerate again, silently closing in behind Zhang Yu, Si Zhouyu cursed under her breath. Giving up on stopping him, she rushed toward Bai Zhenzhen, intending to provide cover for Yue Jincheng’s actions.

Si Zhouyu sighed to herself. Sigh, this kid is too eager for merits, too impulsive.

Dealing with these two high schoolers, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, is easy enough for the two of us. But you’re disobeying the supervisor’s orders. So what if you actually succeed?

Sigh, the amount of paperwork I’ll have to write when we get back is going to kill me…

At the same time, Yue Jincheng’s right arm became a phantom blur as he simultaneously channeled, combined, and unleashed six different martial arts techniques.

In an instant, his arm moved at a speed that defied normal human perception, silently reaching from behind toward Zhang Yu’s pocket.

The moment Yue Jincheng made his move, Fu Ji’s voice sounded in Zhang Yu’s and Bai Zhenzhen’s minds. “Careful, one of them is making a move. He’s coming for Zhang Yu.”

Zhang Yu thought, Oh? He dares to attack directly? Are Zhen and I being underestimated? Or has something else happened?

Bai Zhenzhen thought, There’s no need to let him succeed, so Yu-boy will probably counterattack in time, right? What I need to do… is my best to tie up the two of them if they try to flee immediately after failing.

Just as a slight smile touched Yue Jincheng’s lips and his hand was about to slip into Zhang Yu’s pocket, he suddenly felt his palm touch something as soft as a clump of cotton.

But though this cotton was incredibly soft, a ferocious rebounding force erupted from within.

Pow!

As a shockwave traveled up from his fingertips, he saw mist billowing around the boy before him. Masses of Formless Cloud-Astral Qi had erupted from beneath Zhang Yu’s clothes, shrouding his figure like a swirl of clouds.

“What?!” Yue Jincheng was momentarily stunned. This kid actually detected my movement? And he blocked my strike…

Though surprised, Yue Jincheng wasn’t truly frozen. The slight hesitation came from two choices warring in his mind.

Since I’ve already made a move, I might as well just snatch his bag. The company can clean it up for me afterward as a robbery…

I should leave immediately. Since they haven’t suffered any losses, the constables won’t bother with it, and they won’t be able to find out who attacked them…

But just then, streams of divine power converged in the sky, coalescing into a bolt of lightning that exploded with a deafening crash.

The muffled rumble of thunder rolled across the sky, as if trying to awaken the entire world.

“A Thunderclap Talisman?” Yue Jincheng was shocked again. He hadn’t expected his target to use such a powerful talisman after a single failed attack.

“Go!” Si Zhouyu shouted, her entire body shooting away like a black cloud as she immediately began to retreat.

A flash of unwillingness crossed Yue Jincheng’s eyes, but he knew he couldn’t linger. His body retreated as he too prepared to leave.

At that moment, however, a series of crackles sounded by his side, and a stinging pain like static electricity prickled his cheek.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Bai Zhenzhen, crackling with thunderous light, had already rushed to Yue Jincheng’s side amidst a roar. The formless sword qi at her fingertips sparked with lightning as she thrust her sword toward him.

Yue Jincheng snorted coldly, shattering the formless sword qi with a single punch. Just as he was about to land a second punch on her body, he saw Bai Zhenzhen move, revealing a large flowerbed behind her.

Bai Zhenzhen said coolly, “Careful about the compensation fee.”

Remembering that every plant in this preserve was the property of the Red Pagoda corporation, Yue Jincheng subconsciously halted his punch.

Because of that one sword strike and that one flowerbed, Yue Jincheng was delayed by Bai Zhenzhen for a single instant.

And that instant was all the time Zhang Yu needed.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amidst a sky-shaking roar, the mist around Zhang Yu coalesced into four gigantic white arms, which then hammered toward Yue Jincheng using the techniques of Limitless Cloud Hand, Imperishable Seal Art, Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand, and Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm.

At the same time, a razor-sharp aura patrolled the periphery, aiming at Yue Jincheng with faint glimmers of lightning. It was Bai Zhenzhen, who had temporarily withdrawn after her first strike was thwarted.

“These two brats.”

Seeing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen teaming up to attack him, Yue Jincheng’s already frayed temper worsened.

“You really think I’m afraid of you?”

“Trying to keep me here? Do you think you can?”

With a sudden roar, Yue Jincheng’s muscles bulged explosively. His originally lean frame swelled to a height of nearly 2.8 meters.

This was his true combat form; his usual appearance was merely a guise maintained by a technique to hide his identity.

He unleashed the terrifying aura of a university graduate, letting it sweep toward the two high school students before him.

With a series of explosive sounds, Yue Jincheng became like an avenging vajra. Fists and palms flying, he shattered the four arms of astral qi Zhang Yu had sent at him in the blink of an eye.

But in the next moment, a streak of sword qi crackling with lightning stabbed toward his back, forcing him to turn and dispel it.

Just as he dispersed the sword qi, he heard a pfft.

A bolt of lightning shot from Bai Zhenzhen’s mouth, streaking toward Yue Jincheng’s right eye like a sharp arrow.

Spit? Yue Jincheng scoffed inwardly at the sight. A cheap trick.

I’m a proper university student. You think I wouldn’t know this move in a real fight?

With another pfft, the two streams of saliva collided in mid-air, exploding with a bang before dissipating into nothing.

Zhang Yu used this opportunity to circulate his magic power, once again shaping his Formless Cloud-Astral Qi into four giant arms to slam into Yue Jincheng.

Although it had been a long time since he had participated in a formal martial arts competition, Zhang Yu’s current combat ability had long surpassed that of his former self.

Especially through his constant sparring with Bai Zhenzhen and Yu Xinghan, he had gradually figured out the true fighting style that best suited his array of martial arts.

Initially, Zhang Yu was accustomed to spreading his Formless Cloud-Astral Qi across his entire body, like a suit of heavy armor, to defend against attacks.

But he quickly realized this method was a tremendous waste of astral qi.

After all, if he distributed all ten parts of his astral qi across his body, only one or two parts would end up being struck and used for defense, while the rest went to waste.

So, during his battles with Yu Xinghan and Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu began to practice condensing his astral qi at the point of impact just an instant before a blow landed.

This not only allowed for a more efficient use of his Formless Cloud-Astral Qi but also provided superior defense.

But Zhang Yu soon discovered that even this was not enough to bring out his true potential—his many level-10 martial arts techniques.

Finally, Zhang Yu tried shaping his astral qi into giant arms. These arms could be used for highly efficient defense, and more importantly, they could execute his diverse martial arts, playing to the strengths of his extensive cultivation.

And at this very moment, Yue Jincheng, locked in combat with Zhang Yu, was quickly discovering the ingenuity of this method.

As a graduate of one of the 72 lower-tier colleges, Yue Jincheng’s cultivation had already reached the peak of Qi Refinement. Not only had his Dao heart, magic power, and physical strength all reached their limits, but he had also mastered dozens of cultivation techniques to the tenth level.

Now, every punch and kick he threw exploded with immense power, a single blow sufficient to send an outstanding high school student like Song Hailong flying.

But Zhang Yu’s four astral qi arms would parry, block, redirect, shift, absorb, or rebound. With incomparably profound martial arts skill, he managed to withstand the force of Yue Jincheng’s attacks.

Yue Jincheng felt as if he had stepped into a quagmire, hopelessly bogged down by his opponent.

However, he was a university graduate, after all. Under his full-powered assault, the giant arms formed from Zhang Yu’s astral qi soon shattered and dispersed.

Yet, whenever that happened, Bai Zhenzhen, who was circling the periphery, would strike at his vital points with her thunder magic power and a variety of vicious sword techniques, forcing him to repel her first.

And by the time he had driven Bai Zhenzhen back, Zhang Yu would have already regenerated his astral qi and would be charging him head-on once more.

On top of that, he had to be wary of Bai Zhenzhen’s electrified saliva. In contrast, Yue Jincheng’s own saliva had little effect on Zhang Yu’s astral qi or the elusive Bai Zhenzhen.

Realizing he was being temporarily tied down by the two of them, Yue Jincheng was once again shocked. These two kids hid this much of their strength during the exams?!

With this level of skill, they could rank among the very top of the third year even in the three great high schools.

And the two of them—one fast, one slow; one yin, one yang; one unorthodox, one orthodox—their coordination is simply flawless…

Just as surprise filled Yue Jincheng’s heart, streams of divine power materialized in the air, forming lines of text that floated in every corner, completely surrounding the battling Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Yue Jincheng.

Warning! Warning!

Patrol team enforcing law on-site! All personnel, restrain your magic power and cease all actions!

In the distance, Si Zhouyu, who had been about to turn back to help Yue Jincheng escape, frowned. Seeing this, she sighed inwardly. The patrol team arrived too quickly.

She shook her head helplessly, her form melting back into the darkness and vanishing without a trace.