Chapter 453: The Non-Loser Loses, the Non-Winner Wins
Amidst the blazing flames, Chan Rong’s Magic Power surged within his body, transforming into waves of luminous Martial Dao Gang Qi that erupted outward.
Within his Sea of Consciousness, his will rose like a great sun, dispelling all negative emotions from his heart.
As he finished speaking, Chan Rong’s eyes, glowing with incandescent fire, turned toward the Myriad Laws construction site.
After observing the battle between the Myriad Laws Team and the Golden River Team through the Spirit Realm, Chan Rong had reviewed the Myriad Laws University’s roster and identified Li Zhen and Xiao Qingxuan as the most noteworthy.
Upon returning, he had instructed his subordinates to investigate these students, confirming his suspicions.
“Xiao Qingxuan’s background is unclear, but owing over ten thousand Spirit Coins makes him worth watching.”
“Li Zhen possesses a unique mastery of Earthly Fiend Qi. While he can’t determine the outcome of a battle, his presence could shorten my lifespan and affect my medical insurance. We must avoid close contact.”
However, Zhang Yu had slightly surprised Chan Rong.
“I didn’t expect Zhang Yu to pass the Military Certificate Examination as a third-year student. He’s even somewhat renowned at Myriad Laws University.”
“As a third-year student, he couldn’t possibly have mastered the Seven Absolutes of Civil Engineering from Myriad Laws, and therefore couldn’t wield the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power.”
“This kid needs at least a few more years to refine his skills before he can truly contend with me.”
“Though the subsequent investigation yielded some surprises, my initial assessment was largely correct…”
These thoughts flashed through Chan Rong’s mind like lightning. A fierce radiance surged around him as the battlefield below began to emit wisps of blue smoke.
Vast patches of sand ignited spontaneously, melting into grotesque, high-temperature formations.
With his mastery of the Great Sun Manifestations, Chan Rong was confident that even standing motionless and merely circulating his martial arts would be enough to defeat his opponent.
Under the ever-increasing heat, his opponent would struggle to perform even the most basic construction tasks.
But then, a figure leaped into the air.
“Zhang Yu?”
“Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve?”
Chan Rong’s gaze sharpened as he watched the figure soar skyward, immediately adopting a defensive stance.
Though his rational mind assured him of victory, his instinctive respect for all opponents prevented him from granting any openings that might cost him.
Zhang Yu let out a hearty laugh. “Impressive military-grade cultivation technique! I never imagined my first battle against a member of the Ten Greats would be against such a formidable foe.”
But in the next moment, Chan Rong noticed his opponent was rapidly retreating, about to flee the arena.
At the same time, Zhang Yu declared arrogantly, “I bestow upon you my first defeat in the Inter-University League.”
“Once I master the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, I’ll challenge you again.”
Chan Rong sneered inwardly, thinking, “My judgment was correct. Unless Mo Shangjin returns, Myriad Laws University has no chance of winning this year.”
On the other side, Su Yanyang watched the scene and secretly praised, “Impressive! As expected of someone with a Military Certificate — daring to be the first to surrender shows true courage!”
Just as he was about to let out a triumphant shout and leave, he saw Xiao Yunji dart away like lightning, calling out, “Vajra University, today’s battle was uneven. We look forward to a fair rematch.”
As she glanced at Zhang Yu’s retreating figure, Xiao Yunji thought, “While we were hesitating, he fearlessly took the first step. Zhang Yu might be one of the few truly courageous individuals in the Civil Engineering Department.”
Immediately afterward, Li Zhen surged forward, surpassing Xiao Yunji in an instant and racing toward the arena exit. He laughed, “Using military-grade power right from the start? Only an idiot would fight you!”
Watching his teammates accelerate their retreat one by one, Su Yanyang hurried to catch up, muttering to himself, “These guys react so quickly. They must have been ready to bail out from the start.”
Within the Spirit Realm Network:
A spectating student from Vajra University commented, “They’re surrendering without even fighting? Is Myriad Laws finished?”
Li Zhen retorted, “What’s your ranking at Vajra University? How many competitions have you participated in? Do you think you understand contests better than us?”
Yu Xinghan, another spectator, chimed in, “If you’re not in the top 100 of your department, keep your mouth shut.”
Gongshu Jin added, “Exactly. Facing Military-Grade power, retreating after a single strike is a victory in itself.”
Ying Xin argued, “Being able to set aside pride and face, leading your teammates to preserve their Immortal Dao potential, and becoming the first to surrender — isn’t that the true victory of this battle?”
Shi Yunxiang advised, “Learn from this. Civil engineers who don’t know when to run will be stuck grinding away forever.”
Meanwhile, Mo Shangjin nodded approvingly as Zhang Yu emerged first from the arena. “Well done. Decisive action. Knowing when to retreat. Your performance didn’t disappoint me.”
Mo Shangjin sighed, “In this world, the key is to avoid fighting stronger opponents and instead focus on battling weaker ones.”
“True strength lies in accumulating experience from crushing the weak. A true powerhouse only strikes downward, never upward — that’s the fundamental law of the strong.”
“Your performance today was flawless. If anyone fails to understand you, it’s simply because they lack the heart of a true powerhouse. Pay them no mind.”
Zhang Yu waved his hand modestly. “It’s nothing. I just wanted to ensure our team wouldn’t suffer any losses here before the Inter-University League. We needed to execute a strategic retreat and secure a strategic victory.”
If I recklessly fought a Military-Grade powerhouse now, it would be foolish, Zhang Yu thought to himself. I’ll master the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power soon enough.
“Heh, well said.”
Mo Shangjin turned his gaze toward the sky, where the “sun” was slowly dimming. A faint smile crossed his lips. “When Vajra University faces us in the Losers’ Bracket, they’ll finally realize they were the true losers of this battle, and we were the victors.”
“Their failure to inflict significant losses on us in this fight will ultimately be their downfall — and one of the reasons for our triumph.”
Just as Zhang Yu led his team to successfully complete their strategic retreat, Wan Gouxuan from Immortal Armaments University remarked in the Spirit Realm Network’s spectator booth, “Mo Shangjin didn’t even appear in this match against Vajra University. It seems his injuries are indeed severe.”
He sighed, “What a pity. With Myriad Laws University falling into the Losers’ Bracket, I doubt I’ll get to face them now.”
Memories flashed through Wan Gouxuan’s mind: last year, Mo Shangjin had seized an opportunity to critically injure his entire team, one by one shattering their medical insurance before his eyes. A deep-seated hatred flickered in his eyes.
At that moment, another voice sounded beside him: “You’re not the only one eager to fight Myriad Laws… or Mo Shangjin.”
“Mo Shangjin has injured so many opponents in recent years. Who wouldn’t want to strike while he’s down?”
Wan Gouxuan turned to the Spirit Realm Projection beside him. “Xiang Shan, you’ve come as expected.”
The projection revealed Xiang Shan, the Civil Engineering Department’s Academic Overachiever from Celestial Monsters University, and last year’s champion — a Military-Grade powerhouse.
Xiang Shan observed the shifting dynamics of the competition arena, thinking to himself, “Just as teacher Celestial Elephant predicted, Zhang Yu may have passed the Military Certificate exam, but without years of refinement, he can’t master a military-grade cultivation technique. He’s not a threat for now.”
With a faint smile, Xiang Shan remarked, “It seems that if Mo Shangjin continues to remain hidden, he’ll eventually be eliminated by universities like Immortal Armaments or Vajra after falling into the Losers’ Bracket.”
Wan Gouxuan’s eyes narrowed at Xiang Shan’s words, and he sneered, “Are you implying that Celestial Monsters University will definitely eliminate us in the next round?”
Xiang Shan replied calmly, “Do you think otherwise?”
“As everyone knows, our monster race enjoys the advantage of low monster rights. Out of ten billion monsters, only one hundred million are monsterfolk. The remaining ninety-nine billion are merely animals.”
“This is a decisive advantage in the Civil Engineering Domain, securing Celestial Monsters University’s dominance in construction.”
Xiang Shan casually glanced at Wan Gouxuan and continued, “This is a structural flaw in your Human Race. If you want to defeat us, first ensure your lower-tier cultivators can afford to eat humans every day.”
Wan Gouxuan scoffed, his anger bubbling over. “You fucking… what do you even know? The reason Celestial Monsters University can’t catch up to us in high-end Immortal Dao Technology is precisely because of this! Do you think your advantage of cheap monster power will last forever?”
“Just wait until high-intelligence Artifact Spirits are mass-produced…”
Xiang Shan waved dismissively. “Wait until they succeed. Didn’t Joyful Union University just have a scandal recently? They even joined a cult.”
“At least Celestial Monsters University only uses Soul Cultivators, not artifact spirits. That’s why we’re more stable.”
Wan Gouxuan snapped, “These are just growing pains in the advancement of Immortal Dao Technology…”
Xiang Shan curled his lip. “If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about such grand issues. Those are concerns for Spirit Transformation cultivators.”
“Instead, focus on whether your lower-level cultivators can afford to eat properly, or keep an eye on Chan Rong from Vajra University. I think he poses a real threat to your Immortal Armaments University…”
As he spoke, Xiang Shan’s figure flickered and vanished without a trace.
Wan Gouxuan glared in the direction Xiang Shan had disappeared, snorted coldly, and severed his connection to the Spirit Realm.
Meanwhile, despite their strategic victory in the battle, Su Yanyang and the others remained concerned about facing a similar situation again.
In the contest group:
Su Yanyang: “Now that we’re in the Losers’ Bracket, what if we encounter another Military-Grade force?”
Xiao Yunji: “Senior Mo, how much longer are you going to lie around?”
Mo Shangjin: “If everyone’s willing to chip in for my treatment, I can recover faster.”
Xiao Yunji: “Zhang Yu, can you master the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power before the Inter-University League ends?”
Su Yanyang: “It would give us another Military-Grade combatant and boost our performance in the competition. Why is the department dragging its feet? They’re still making you wait until next year to learn the final Seven Absolutes?”
Zhang Yu: “Don’t put it like that. The department has its own constraints. Everything has to follow procedure.”
Just as Zhang Yu finished skimming the messages in the contest group, he noticed a message from Director Gao.
Director Gao: “That was a brilliant performance in the battle!”
Director Gao: “After news of our entry into the Losers’ Bracket spread, True Monarch Cloud Haven put pressure on them. Director Lin won’t dare to obstruct your progress in the Seven Civil Engineering Techniques now.”
Director Gao: “And we’ve accelerated your schedule. You’ll be able to learn the seventh Absolute on January 1st — the first day of the new year!”