Chapter 223: Battle with Ye Lingxiao
1.12%
1.56%
2.27%
Bang!
As Zhang Yu’s steps grew heavier, his flesh and blood seemed to swell by a size, releasing waves of heat.
With each subsequent step, his muscles expanded, like a rubber balloon being inflated with air.
Bang, bang, bang, bang…
After nine consecutive strides, the level 10 expert-grade cultivation technique, Whale Tendon Nine Transformations, was operating at full power. It made Zhang Yu himself resemble a giant whale breaching the surface of the sea, and as his qi and blood surged wildly, his height shot up to 2.8 meters in an instant.
Simultaneously, the level 10 Blood Exchange Grand Art, the level 10 Five Qi Organ Refining Art, the level 10 Technique-Resisting Primal Body, the level 10 Grand Art of Kan-Ice and Li-Fire Forging… one body tempering cultivation technique after another operated at full capacity, completely mobilizing Zhang Yu’s physical strength.
And with this frenzied mobilization of physical power, the Black Armor Spiritual Root, which was in test mode, seemed to be stimulated, and its power output began to skyrocket.
10.55%!
As the power output exceeded 10% and the spiritual energy field activated, Zhang Yu felt a faint, almost imperceptible connection form between himself and the spiritual energy within a several-dozen-meter radius. It was as if a single punch could send its force to any corner of this area.
30.89%!
The moment the power surpassed 30%, the Black Armor Magic Barrier suddenly activated, materializing as a shield of light that enveloped Zhang Yu’s body.
The power continued to rise!
31.51%!
41.15%!
This was not yet the limit. Sensing the intense activity of Zhang Yu’s physical body, the Divine Spiritual Root’s power could still increase.
But as the Divine Spiritual Root’s power continued to grow, Zhang Yu did not stop. He directly activated the second-level ability derived from his Martial Dao Holy Embryo: Overload!
Boom!
The qi and blood within his body seemed to ignite in that instant, exploding with tremendous force!
His qi and blood surged like a tsunami, erupted like a volcano!
With the activation of the Overload ability, Zhang Yu’s muscles and organs all entered a state of super-overload.
Correspondingly, under the propulsion of this physical overload, every cultivation technique currently in operation was forcibly elevated, reaching a level that surpassed its original limits.
A series of sharp cracking sounds emanated from within Zhang Yu’s body, and his frame, which had already grown to 2.8 meters, unexpectedly expanded once more, shooting up to a height of 3.3 meters.
Roar!
With a furious roar, the blood flow driven by the level 10 Blood Exchange Grand Art accelerated again, rushing through Zhang Yu’s blood vessels like a raging mudslide.
In its overloaded state, the level 10 Five Qi Organ Refining Art pushed his internal organs to operate with incredible ferocity, making them explode with unprecedented internal power like a series of gasoline barrels.
There was also the level 10 Grand Art of Kan-Ice and Li-Fire Forging, which, in its overloaded state, continuously raised his temperature. Zhang Yu’s body heat rose higher and higher, constantly evaporating his sweat until layers of white, mist-like vapor rose from all over his body.
This single activation of the overload state caused the Divine Spiritual Root’s power to surge instantaneously!
60.1%!
The moment the Divine Spiritual Root’s power surpassed 60%, a bright light flashed in Zhang Yu’s eyes. He felt the spiritual energy in the air suddenly take on color, and he could even see the traces left in the air by his movements and the operation of the Divine Spiritual Root.
Huang Zichou remarked with awe, “Once the Divine Spiritual Root breaks past 60% power, it can activate its spiritual energy detection function. By detecting changes in the surrounding spiritual energy, it can be used to scan opponents, track enemies, and observe martial arts and Daoist arts…”
But before Huang Zichou could finish speaking, the power output of Zhang Yu’s Divine Spiritual Root continued to skyrocket, reaching 85.11% in the blink of an eye!
89.83%
90.05%!
With a soft hum.
Streams of spiritual energy converged behind Zhang Yu’s head, first forming a crimson halo. Then, as the halo spun, it emitted waves of heat and a whistling sound, gradually transforming into a fire dragon.
Huang Zichou quickly provided another introduction. “At 90% power, it can activate the Black Armor Flame Dragon, which gathers the yang-aspected spiritual energy in the atmosphere to condense a flame dragon of over a thousand degrees.”
“The dragon’s temperature is contained yet unreleased, and its power is controllable. Furthermore, the dragon moves in accordance with the user’s will…”
With a slight flicker of thought from Zhang Yu, the Black Armor Flame Dragon circled around him once.
He could feel that this flame dragon was like a part of his own body; it could fly nimbly around him in response to his thoughts, ready to strike wherever he directed.
While the power of Zhang Yu’s Divine Spiritual Root had skyrocketed in an instant, Ye Lingxiao, after his initial surprise, began to furiously catch up.
“Excellent, excellent. This is the kind of opponent a Foundation Establishment exam should have. My preparations over this past period have not been in vain.”
One after another, body tempering cultivation techniques were ferociously activated by Ye Lingxiao. Although the power of his Divine Spiritual Root did not surge as quickly as Zhang Yu’s, it never stopped, steadily climbing upward step by step.
But upon seeing Zhang Yu activate his Overload ability, causing the power of his Divine Spiritual Root to surge at a greatly increased rate, even Ye Lingxiao, a prodigy of the Immortal Capital, showed a slight change in his expression.
This power…
This might…
He had never seen it in any high school student from the Immortal Capital.
Except for himself!
“That guy, his slow consumption of alchemical enhancers earlier wasn’t him giving up on the match, but him making preparations?”
A savage grin appeared on Ye Lingxiao’s face. “Very good. It is only by defeating such a powerful enemy in front of so many university representatives that my own value will be highlighted.”
With that, Ye Lingxiao had already taken a box of capsules from his pocket.
It was precisely the Dao-Dissolving Sustained-Release Capsules that he had participated in developing over the past three months.
Of course, the drug’s name had now been changed to Spirit-Splitting Elixir.
As soon as the capsule entered his stomach, it was quickly absorbed and digested by Ye Lingxiao, transforming into a surging medicinal power that crashed into his brain.
At the same time, the heart art in his mind shifted, and he began to circulate a heart art specifically designed for the Spirit-Splitting Elixir.
Ever since the last Foundation Establishment exam, when he had experienced the peculiar side effects of the Dao-Dissolving Sustained-Release Capsules, Ye Lingxiao’s interest had been greatly piqued.
In the time that followed, he participated in the development of this drug, wanting to use its side effects to further unlock his own potential.
The bad news was… these side effects were extremely difficult to utilize and develop, and the drug could not yet be commercialized.
The good news was… through the operation of multiple level 10 cultivation techniques, Ye Lingxiao could use this drug to push his physical body into a state that surpassed its limits.
Boom!
The moment the medicinal power crashed into his mind, Ye Lingxiao felt as if his consciousness had split in two, as if another version of himself had appeared inside his head.
But both were him, both were Ye Lingxiao, and as the targeted heart art circulated, they now jointly controlled Ye Lingxiao’s physical body.
“The number of cultivation techniques I have mastered is unmatched by any other high school student on the first layer of Kunxu.”
“But no matter how many techniques I have, there is always a limit to the number my Dao heart and mind can operate at the same time.”
Such a vast sea of cultivation techniques, mastered within Ye Lingxiao’s body, had always been like his Immortal Dao potential—only a limited portion of it was ever utilized.
“But when I have an extra layer of thought, when there is another me inside my mind…”
At this moment, different parts of Ye Lingxiao’s body began to operate different cultivation techniques.
Muscles, fascia, bones, organs… the number of cultivation techniques he was running at once had doubled.
This allowed every part of his body to operate a more suitable cultivation technique, allowing his physical potential to be unleashed with greater refinement.
To others, this Spirit-Splitting Elixir might be a poison.
But to Ye Lingxiao, it was a divine medicine that could unleash the countless cultivation techniques contained within him.
Boom!
This mobilization of physical strength directly stimulated the power of the Divine Spiritual Root to surge repeatedly. Following in Zhang Yu’s footsteps, the power of Ye Lingxiao’s Divine Spiritual Root soon surpassed 90% as well!
Amidst a dazzling flash of fire, a fire dragon was born from the spiritual energy, suspended behind Ye Lingxiao’s head like a fiery halo.
But seeing the slightly dazed look on Ye Lingxiao’s face, Huang Zichou frowned.
“Ye Lingxiao, are you all right?”
Ye Lingxiao laughed. “What could be wrong with me? I just took some alchemical enhancer, that’s all. I’m definitely fine. My brain’s just a little bit off, is all. I mean, I took an alchemical enhancer, just an alchemical enhancer, how could there possibly be a problem?”
Although the Spirit-Splitting Elixir could greatly stimulate Ye Lingxiao’s potential, because his brain now had to manage an extra layer of thought to control his body, his mental capacity in other areas was slightly diminished.
Huang Zichou frowned. Although he couldn’t understand what the other was saying, as long as it didn’t affect his performance in the match, he didn’t bother with it any further.
As the power outputs of both Zhang Yu’s and Ye Lingxiao’s Divine Spiritual Roots surpassed 90%, their rate of increase gradually began to slow.
The two looked at each other, the fighting spirit in their eyes erupting, filled with both excitement and tension.
Zhang Yu: This guy… he’s definitely improved a lot since three months ago!
Ye Lingxiao: This guy! Who is he?! In any case… no one can surpass me!
Fueled by their intense fighting spirit, the two began to mobilize their physical strength even further.
Zhang Yu let out a ferocious roar, and all the idle flesh and blood in his body began to circulate the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm.
93.3%
Ye Lingxiao took a sharp breath, a crimson flush spreading across his cheeks, as he unleashed a set of incomparably explosive fist techniques.
95.61%
In overload mode, hidden injuries constantly surfaced within Zhang Yu’s body—fine cracks appeared in his bones, his internal organs suffered slight damage, and micro-inflammations erupted in his muscles… but they were quickly healed by the effect of the Martial Dao Holy Embryo.
He was like an overloaded engine, being repaired even as it hurtled forward at full speed.
Zhang Yu roared in his heart: I will become stronger! I will become richer! I will possess… freedom!
I will… get into one of the Ten Greats with Zhen… with my sister!
I will get that Foundation Establishment qualification certificate!
98.17%
Ye Lingxiao’s Perfect Bloodline was pushed to its absolute limit as never before. Under the secretion of various hormones, his body suppressed all pain and injury, constantly erupting with its maximum potential.
He could no longer form coherent words in his mind, but one thought grew increasingly fierce, increasingly turbulent.
If someone were to summarize it, it would be something like: “I refuse to rot away on the first layer of Kunxu.”
“Representatives from all the universities!”
“All of you, watch me closely!”
“As geniuses of Kunxu’s first layer, our aptitude, our will… will absolutely not lose to those guys from the upper layers!”
100%!
Boom!
As both of their Divine Spiritual Roots reached 100% power, two storms erupted from their bodies almost simultaneously, transforming into whirlwinds that coiled around their feet.
Huang Zichou stated coolly, “The Black Armor Divine Wind, the ability unlocked when the Black Armor Spiritual Root reaches 100% power. It allows for low-altitude gliding and high-speed movement, and can be coordinated with the Black Armor Flame Dragon to launch wind-and-fire attacks…”
But Huang Zichou could sense that very few of the spectators were listening to his explanation of the Black Armor Spiritual Root’s functions.
The gazes of all the university representatives were fixed intently on the two figures on the examination field.