Chapter 390: Rematch with Su Yanyang
To master the hundreds of pages of formation diagrams in a short time, Zhang Yu’s first thought naturally turned to the Supreme Clarity Realm. After all, it offered a staggering 20-fold acceleration of his thinking speed.
“True Monarch Magnetic Pole must have anticipated I’d use the Spirit Realm’s accelerated learning services,” he mused. “After all, which Artifact Refinement Department student doesn’t use them?”
In an instant, Zhang Yu’s consciousness had traversed the Spirit Realm and arrived at the Immortal Abode known as the Supreme Clarity Realm.
Upon arriving, he immediately spotted Zhang Pianpian studying talismans.
Zhang Pianpian glanced at Zhang Yu and asked, “Why did you contact me so urgently? What’s the matter?”
Zhang Yu briefly explained how True Monarch Magnetic Pole had guided him during the competition and tasked him with deciphering Su Yanyang’s formation.
No longer needing to be cautious in the Supreme Clarity Realm, Zhang Yu spoke plainly: “Sis, I need you to prepare the tools for deciphering the formations in smart buildings. You’re more familiar with this area.”
Zhang Pianpian nodded. “Alright, I’ll get them ready for you. Focus on studying the formation diagrams.”
During this time, Zhang Yu sent a message to the contest group, asking them to prepare some items for him.
Before starting his studies, he also requested the “Photographic Memory” daoist arts service.
With his thinking speed accelerated twentyfold, Zhang Yu first swiftly memorized the Meridian connection file for Su Yanyang’s Bionic body.
Then, he divided his consciousness into four streams. Three of these streams each focused on learning the formation diagrams for the Two Realms Separation Great Formation, the Myriad Ghosts Bewildering Great Formation, and the Thousand Mountains Heavy Peaks Great Formation.
The final stream of consciousness studied how these three great formations were nested together and how they controlled each other.
“It’s a pity the Spirit Realm’s thinking acceleration doesn’t stack with the Time-Worn Demonic Eye from the physical world. Otherwise, my efficiency would be even higher.”
Despite this, Zhang Yu’s learning efficiency still far surpassed that of ordinary people. He managed to memorize all the content of the formation diagrams before the break ended, barely managing to grasp the basics.
“Thank goodness True Monarch Magnetic Pole marked the key points for this practical combat exercise. Otherwise, even after studying it once, I doubt I could have applied it directly in battle.”
Outside the arena, Shi Huaiyu and the others rushed to Zhang Yu as he finally arrived. “What’s going on? Why did you suddenly ask us to prepare all this?”
To boost their morale, Zhang Yu invoked Director Gao’s authority.
“Director Gao personally sent a master to guide me, hoping we’ll perform well in the next match.”
“This master’s cultivation is profound, and their understanding of formations is unparalleled. They’ve already shown me how to break the enemy’s formation.”
Zhang Yu’s words sent a ripple of excitement through the group. The mention of Director Gao especially bolstered their confidence.
Given Zhang Yu’s status as Director Gao’s Registered Disciple, his words carried even greater weight.
As Zhang Yu explained the specific tactics and formation-breaking methods, the group nodded repeatedly, their confidence growing steadily.
The thought of potentially defeating Su Yanyang and securing a top-seven spot in the Departmental Competition, even the mere possibility, sent a surge of excitement through Shi Huaiyu, Che Yufei, and the others.
As the second half of the competition officially began, the teachers in the Spirit Realm Space once again turned their attention to the various arenas.
True Person Scorching Thunder, Zhang Yu’s class teacher, was naturally particularly curious about Zhang Yu’s group.
When he saw Zhang Yu’s team of six immediately sprint toward Su Yanyang’s construction site at the start of the half, True Person Scorching Thunder was somewhat surprised. “After their setback in the first half, they still have this much fighting spirit?”
But the team’s subsequent actions left him even more astonished.
True Person Scorching Thunder thought to himself, “Are those… Fiend Energy Contaminants? They’re throwing them directly into the area where Su Yanyang’s team is trying to set up their formation?”
A nearby Teacher chuckled, “Using environmental contamination as a tactic? They won’t be able to establish the spiritual energy circuit needed to complete the formation until they clean it up.”
Lang Yougong praised, “It’s not just simple environmental contamination. They contaminated the area Su Yanyang was planning to use before he even had a chance to set up the formation. This shows they’ve already mastered Su Yanyang’s formation diagram, allowing them to seize the initiative.”
“It seems they didn’t waste their rest time.”
Lang Yougong then saw Shi Huaiyu and Tian Yang working together in the footage. Using the Minor Threefold Combination in conjunction with the Great Wind Heavenly Dust Palm, they unleashed a massive wave of fiend energy-contaminated sand and dust, sweeping it toward Su Yanyang’s construction site.
Tu Lishan nodded. “Fiend energy contamination plus dust pollution. Su Yanyang and his team will have their work cut out for them cleaning this up.”
Su Yanyang spread his hands, activating the Minor Threefold Combination with the enhancement of his Bionic. Layer upon layer of earthen barriers rose to block the dust cloud, but even so, many areas were still tainted by the fiend energy-laden dust, requiring cleanup crews to be dispatched.
Wei Huai said calmly, “This will only slow them down. Su Yanyang excels at constructing great formations and fighting protracted battles. They’ve already laid the foundation for the central formation. Now they just need to systematically clear and expand outward. Zhang Yu and his team won’t be able to stop them.”
As if on cue, Su Yanyang controlled the earth, coordinating with his teammates’ construction efforts. They simultaneously built bunkers and expanded the formation outward.
In the arena, Su Yanyang gazed at the distant, sky-obscuring miasma of fiend energy and dust, thinking to himself, “Hmph, they’ve come up with some tricks after all.”
“As a team of the old, weak, young, and poor, you’ve certainly put in the effort.”
“But this year… no one will stop me from claiming the Seven Absolutes.”
Su Yanyang clasped his hands together, manipulating the barrier to transform into sand, which swept away the contaminated portions into the distance. He then directed the uncontaminated sand to fill the void, repeating this process continuously to cleanse the Fiend Energy Contaminants.
Just then, the Formation Spirit reported that over a dozen intruders had breached the formation. They had already shattered the Two Realms Separation Great Formation with the Sky-Patrolling Flying Swords and were now under attack by the Myriad Ghosts Bewildering Great Formation.
Within the Spirit Realm Space, Tu Lishan’s eyes lit up slightly. “They’re actually charging in with a swarm of Bionic Eyes while the hastily deployed formation is still incomplete and its functions imperfect?”
Watching Zhang Yu and his companions remotely control the swarm of Bionic Eyes with Gang Qi, sending them scattering into the formation, Tu Lishan realized their strategy: to overwhelm the formation with false targets, causing identification errors.
Each pair of Bionic Eyes, distorted by the Myriad Ghosts Bewildering Great Formation’s visual and informational distortions, would be mistakenly identified by the Formation Spirit as a separate enemy.
These Bionic Eyes were precisely the cheap, obsolete models Zhang Yu had instructed Shi Huaiyu and the others to prepare.
Beside him, Wei Huai’s eyes flashed with disdain. “By intercepting the information streams, it should be trivial to distinguish the True Body’s Bionic Eye from the decoys,” he thought.
Inside the arena, Su Yanyang’s gaze swept across the battlefield, immediately noticing the messages emanating from the Bionic Eyes.
He coldly instructed the Formation Spirit, “Don’t send me this chaotic mess of records directly. Organize them by conversation order and format before sending them.”
Under the influence of the Myriad Ghosts Bewildering Great Formation, the intruders’ messages were distorted and intercepted by the Formation Spirit.
Su Yanyang thought to himself, “They must know their messages are being intercepted… What trick are they up to now?”
Just as the Formation Spirit finished organizing the intercepted communication logs and resent them, another Formation Spirit sent a message: “I’ve intercepted their battle plan.”
Seeing this, Su Yanyang sneered, “Fools. This is clearly a document they deliberately let you intercept. Delete it immediately.”
But the next moment, Su Yanyang’s expression changed drastically. “Who opened it?!”
Within the Spirit Realm Space, Tu Lishan’s eyes shone brighter. “Zhang Yu, that kid, actually found the Spirit Realm interface of the formation and connected those discarded Bionic Eyes to it?”
“There seems to be a Soul Cultivator in there too. Did that Soul Cultivator infiltrate the great formation and help Su Yanyang and the others open those so-called ‘files’?”
In the next moment, layers upon layers of advertisements flooded the Bionic Eyes of Su Yanyang and his group.
Endless streams of financial loan information surged forth. With the slightest movement of their Bionic Eyes, new loan ads would instantly appear.
Director Gao watched this scene with a faint smile. “Heh, Finance Department’s ‘shake-to-advertise’? Some talisman expert must have sealed these in, disguising them as files.”
“Su Yanyang’s hasty formation setup left an opening for Zhang Yu to exploit.”
“But… does Zhang Yu know any students from the Talisman Department?”
He recalled that among the students sharing Zhang Yu’s dormitory, there was indeed an outstanding student from the Talisman Department, and they seemed to have a good relationship.
“Knowing some people from the Talisman Department is useful. You never know when you might need their skills.”
As he observed the unfolding scene on the Spirit Realm Projection, Director Gao knew that clicking on any of these ads would trigger Spirit Realm’s big data algorithms, flooding the user with loan recommendations. The more loans one had, the more related advertisements would appear.
Su Yanyang and the others were clearly overwhelmed by loan offers, their Bionic Vision screens completely flooded with advertisements. They had to keep their Bionic Eyes still and manually close each one.
Even worse…
Looking at the chat logs of Su Yanyang’s contest group, advertisements had begun to appear there as well, even crossing over from the Spirit Realm and threatening to surface before the teachers.
Director Gao thought to himself, “Hmph, Finance Department advertisements… Widely disseminated, pervasive in the Spirit Realm, sticking to you the moment you glance at them. Truly domineering.”
“Old Lin, with the Finance Department’s ruthless tactics, do you really think you can outsmart them?”
Director Gao didn’t stop the advertisements from appearing. Partly, because he wanted the teachers to witness the Finance Department’s overbearing methods firsthand. Partly, because True Monarch Magnetic Pole had offered to intervene.
“Why is Magnetic Pole suddenly showing off? She hasn’t flaunted her magical artifacts in ages, has she?”
As Director Gao pondered this, a shimmering pagoda projection materialized above True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s text box, radiating layers of divine light. Wherever it passed, the advertisements vanished into nothingness.
But it wasn’t just the advertisements. The teachers present felt their Golden Core Domains and Nascent Soul Domains temporarily suppressed, and even the Spirit Realm Projection began to flicker.
But the next moment, as the pagoda’s illusory form vanished, everything returned to normal.
Director Lin, watching from the other side, felt his heart leap. “Magnetic Pole’s Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Pagoda? Ghost-God Evasion, All Evils Repelled — it can erase external information from the Spirit Realm, including making advertisements vanish without a trace.”
“And it’s directly borrowing power from the Spirit Realm to operate remotely. This magical artifact is about to break through to Level 41 and transform into a Pure Yang Supreme Treasure, isn’t it?”
Director Lin knew that once it became a Pure Yang Supreme Treasure, the artifact would rival the power of a Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch in certain aspects.
With the Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Pagoda’s appearance, the atmosphere within the Spirit Realm Space shifted. The teachers’ gazes toward True Monarch Magnetic Pole now carried an added layer of respect.
Sensing this change, Director Gao thought to himself, “Magnetic Pole is backing the War Faction, isn’t she? Doing this without even asking for more money… It seems our centuries-long friendship hasn’t been in vain after all.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole mused inwardly, “Old Gao, I hope you can see the gap between us now. Don’t waste your energy on futile struggles in the future, or you’ll only end up hurting yourself.”
Her gaze shifted to the competition screen. “Zhang Yu… In such a short time, he’s not only memorized every detail of the formation diagram but also prepared countermeasures to break it. He’s performing even better than I anticipated.”
Meanwhile, in the arena…
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “True Monarch Magnetic Pole was right. The best time to break a formation is before it’s fully deployed.”
He sent a message: “Old Zhao, did you find it?”
Zhao Tianxing replied, “I’m following your directions…”
Zhao Tianxing was the Soul Cultivator Zhang Yu had hired. Using a discarded Bionic Eye, Zhang Yu had connected Zhao Tianxing to the formation within Su Yanyang’s smart building, activating the advertisements.
Next, Zhang Yu guided Zhao Tianxing through the formation based on his memory of the formation diagram, directing him to a specific target location.
Just then, Zhao Tianxing said, “Found it! I’ll point you in the right direction.”
An arrow appeared in Zhang Yu’s Bionic Eye’s field of vision.
A moment later, Zhang Yu’s figure flashed repeatedly, and he burst into a hastily constructed warehouse.
But the warehouse was empty, save for Su Yanyang floating silently in mid-air.
Su Yanyang glared at Zhang Yu and said coldly, “Did you really think I’d neglect such a crucial location for storing construction materials?”
With a palm strike enhanced by his full-body Bionic, Su Yanyang unleashed the Level 20 Profound Yellow Mountain-Suppressing Seal, which violently propelled the Level 20 Profound Yellow Great Hand Seal. The rampaging Profound Yellow Qi instantly engulfed Zhang Yu’s figure.
Amidst a series of explosive booms, Zhang Yu’s weight increased exponentially, his feet pounding the ground with earth-shattering force.