Chapter 528: Spirit Transformation Clash, Heaven and Earth Shatter
The Spirit Transformation disciple, his body fused with his sword, tore through the skies, shattering the atmosphere as his physical form crushed all of Bai Zhenzhen’s attacks.
Yet the more Bai Zhenzhen faced adversity, the greater her resilience grew.
Watching her Sword Intent intensify, Wen Wuya thought to himself, “Zhenzhen’s Divine Spirit Root is perfectly suited for flying swords. It allows her to conceal both herself and her sword artifact. Against opponents weaker than her, she can defeat them in just one or two exchanges.
“But against equally matched foes, the more fiercely she fights, the more her battle spirit blazes. The Seven Emotions Sword Dao is unleashed in its full glory, often granting her extraordinary combat performance and ultimately securing victory.
“And against opponents stronger than her…”
Observing the White Bone University Spirit Transformation disciple on the battlefield, Wen Wuya knew this was precisely such a scenario.
“When she can’t win, her negative emotions begin to accumulate, causing the power of the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao to surge exponentially.
“If she then recalls Zhang Yu and their shared promise, the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao’s power erupts even more violently.”
“So, the stronger the opponent, the greater Zhenzhen’s mid-battle improvement.”
As Wen Wuya considered this, she felt increasingly that this tactic was utterly shameless — or rather, that the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao itself was shameless.
This made her prefer fighting even stronger opponents to facing Bai Zhenzhen. After all, an opponent’s strength, however great, could still be estimated. But Bai Zhenzhen’s unpredictable combat style made her impossible to gauge.
Wen Wuya thought to herself, “If she called a timeout mid-battle to talk to Zhang Yu, who knows how much her combat power would surge?”
Just as Wen Wuya was pondering this, the situation on the field suddenly reversed. Blood mist erupted from the Spirit Transformation disciple’s body as Bai Zhenzhen shattered his body-protecting sword qi.
“She’s won,” Wen Wuya thought. “At this rate, Zhenzhen might even make the top ten this year.”
But just as victory was declared and the match ended, a sudden, violent change occurred on the field.
Streams of crimson sword light pierced through the Spirit Transformation disciple’s body, utterly destroying his physical form.
Wen Wuya stared in shock, muttering to herself, “Zhenzhen got too carried away and lost control?”
Regardless of the circumstances, Wen Wuya knew things were about to get complicated.
With the death of the Spirit Transformation disciple’s physical body, a dispute over compensation erupted between Heavenly Sword University and White Bone University.
Soon after, streaks of seven-colored sword light and White Bone Divine Light exploded across the ten-thousand-mile expanse of the Nine Heavens Cloud Void.
Wen Wuya exclaimed, “Divine Monarch Seven Emotions and Divine Monarch White Lotus have both arrived?”
He knew Divine Monarch White Lotus was the master of the deceased Spirit Transformation disciple from White Bone University.
The conflict between Divine Monarch Seven Emotions and Divine Monarch White Lotus acted like a fuse.
Days later, Joyful Union University accused Myriad Laws University of cheating in the magical artifact competition, sparking a clash between Divine Monarch Myriad Transformations and Divine Monarch Jade Nectar.
As the Ten Greats League progressed, Divine Monarchs emerged one after another, each brief confrontation sending shockwaves through the University Realm.
Over the next month, stock prices plummeted, currencies crashed, commodity prices soared, companies collapsed, and unemployment surged in rapid succession.
It was only then that countless cultivators realized a financial crisis — a great calamity — had already silently unfolded.
Outside the arena, within the temporary cave dwelling constructed by Myriad Laws University, Ye Xingli was filming her legs.
Previously, she hadn’t been so diligent with her video uploads.
However, as the Spirit Transformation cultivators clashed, the stock market plummeted amidst violent fluctuations, causing Ye Xingli’s assets to shrink continuously. Her combat prowess and performance in the arena suffered severely.
She had no choice but to seize the breaks between the Ten Greats League matches to film more videos, supplementing her cultivation and competition expenses.
Zhang Yu: “Senior Sister, how are you? Are you alright?”
Ye Xingli was about to reply when she suddenly remembered she hadn’t activated the Poverty Simulator. She quickly opened it to check.
Poverty Simulator: “The user is once again asking how to respond to Zhang Yu’s question. Hmm… It seems she’s still indulging in the fun of playing poor and wants to further increase his favorability.”
Poverty Simulator: “Given the current financial crisis, a user simulating poverty should respond to his concern with useless worry, mindless comfort, and worthless mutual encouragement, showcasing the incompetence and foolishness of the poor.”
Poverty Simulator: “Junior Brother, I’m fine.”
Poverty Simulator: “How are you doing?”
Ye Xingli: “This financial crisis probably won’t end so quickly. Be careful.”
Ye Xingli: “Come find me anytime if you have any problems.”
Zhang Yu: “Okay, Senior Sister. You be careful too.”
Seeing Ye Xingli’s concern for him, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but feel a flicker of warmth. His senior sister seemed far more humane than True Monarch Magnetic Pole.
“Unfortunately, Senior Sister doesn’t seem to fully understand the conflict between the Spirit Transformation cultivators, let alone the situation with A-Zhen.”
“Spirit Transformation…”
Even a minor clash between a few Spirit Transformation cultivators had unleashed terrifying destructive power. Stock prices plummeted, currencies crashed, and commodity prices soared… This was far more than just a financial storm.
Zhang Yu felt the impact personally. First, his company couldn’t secure project funding or new contracts.
Then, Wen Wuya suspended the 10 Spirit Coin monthly subscription fee, and Zhang Pianpian’s monthly loan repayments were also paused.
Wen Wuya: “Sorry, I don’t know how severe or prolonged this storm will be. Let’s suspend the monthly subscription for now.”
Zhang Pianpian: “Loan repayment is paused, I need Spirit Coins to get through this. You be careful too; don’t spend your Spirit Coins recklessly.”
Finally, True Monarch Magnetic Pole and Director Gao suspended the company’s monthly reimbursement of 30 Spirit Coins.
With these cascading impacts, Zhang Yu’s primary income was suddenly reduced to just the 40 Spirit Coins he earned monthly from the Spirit Transformation Laboratory.
“As expected of a project involving Spirit Transformation Bionics — it seems largely unaffected.”
Zhang Yu couldn’t help but feel grateful he had joined this project.
He sighed, “But how long will this Financial Storm last? Until the Ten Greats League ends? That’s another two months!”
He couldn’t imagine the devastation Myriad Laws University would suffer if this situation persisted for two months.
Fu Ji said, “I fear it’s not just a Financial Storm.”
“The last Financial Storm was triggered by the collapse of Divine Monarch Jade Nectar’s group.”
“This time, multiple Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs are involved.”
“If their conflict continues to escalate, it could lead to the reforging of Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire, causing heaven and earth to collapse.”
Zhang Yu asked, “Reforging Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire?”
Fu Ji explained, “When ordinary cultivators clash, they mobilize their Magic Power, channeling it from their Dantian throughout their bodies, right?”
“Spirit Transformation cultivators also mobilize their power, but what is their power?”
“It’s stocks, companies, countless assets and personnel under their control, and the vast Spirit Coins in your accounts.”
“Moreover, every conflict between Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs erodes public confidence in investments.”
“The current simultaneous crash of the stock and crypto markets has triggered a Financial Storm, causing countless liquidations and bankruptcies, turning people into ghosts. This Financial Storm is a true calamity.”
On the streets, beams of divine power occasionally descended, disintegrating the physical bodies of bankrupt debtors and dragging their souls into the depths of the Spirit Realm.
On the Spirit Realm Network, alerts blared intermittently: 【Storm Warning】Emergency! A financial storm, estimated at approximately Level 1.8 in intensity, is expected to occur in your area due to conflicts among Spirit Transformation cultivators from the Ten Greats League. Small-scale debt collection activities are anticipated. Please avoid crowds, minimize outings, and safeguard your account funds. Exercise caution when investing after the crisis and refrain from believing rumors. — Myriad Laws University
Fu Ji continued with a sigh, “The floods have triggered a wave of unemployment. As the Spirit Transformation cultivators mobilize their forces to combat the disaster, vast resources are being diverted to them. Many projects have ground to a halt, and companies are struggling with cash flow, leading to mass layoffs.”
“If the unemployment rate continues to skyrocket, triggering a massive wave of job losses, it will exacerbate poverty and cause countless cultivators to fall from the path of the Immortal Dao, their cultivation levels plummeting.”
At the newest construction site on the 670th floor, a massive influx of highly cultivated graduates rushed to compete for jobs.
Xiao Qingxuan watched the scene in bewilderment. “Why are so many people fighting for temporary construction work?”
He even spotted several senior cultivators who had graduated years ago and already established their own engineering teams now scrambling for temporary labor.
As the wages plummeted further and further, Xiao Qingxuan couldn’t help but consider giving up.
But the thought of graduating straight into unemployment made him grit his teeth. He continued submitting resumes while waiting outside the construction site, desperate for any job he could get.
“Our graduating class has the worst luck. This is the most brutal job market ever.”
Fu Ji sighed to Zhang Yu, “Next comes the Earth Disaster. The power of the Spirit Veins will be drained by Spirit Transformation cultivators, causing many civil engineering projects to be abandoned and Formations to fall into disrepair. This will gradually lead to a shortage of spiritual energy. Rent in areas with stable spiritual energy supplies will skyrocket, and the market will experience a Magic Power famine.”
Ji Yuanshu walked out of his dormitory with his bag slung over his shoulder.
Forced to leave due to the sudden rent hike, he felt the increasingly thin spiritual energy in the air and headed underground.
He planned to sneak into the Converging Dragon Garden’s Spirit Vein under the guise of visiting the cemetery.
On the way, he ran into Li Xiao, and the two walked together to the garden’s entrance, only to find an endless queue stretching as far as the eye could see.
Fu Ji sighed. “Finally, there will be the fire calamity.”
“As vast numbers of people go bankrupt, fall into poverty, and lose their magic power, social order will be severely disrupted. A large number of Righteous Gods will need to be deployed to maintain order.”
“These Righteous Gods will also have to handle an increasing number of debt crises, which will strain the basic services of the divine power network.”
“Crime rates will skyrocket, and violent clashes and conflicts will become increasingly common.”
“The Dark Seed Territory, the Dark Magic Power Realm, the Dual Rest Cult, the Ascension Cult, the Unemployment Cult… all these forces will desperately emerge, spreading like wildfire and igniting the entire world.”
As Zhang Yu listened to Fu Ji’s words, he could almost visualize the simultaneous eruption of the Four Calamities of Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire, each fueling the others, plunging the world into utter chaos.
“This…” Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Could things really get that bad?”
Fu Ji continued, “If the Spirit Transformation cultivators remain indifferent, the situation will only worsen.”
“Of course, it’s unlikely they’ll remain indifferent.”
“The course of this world is ultimately determined by the collective will of the powerful elites. They can’t afford to continue their conflicts indefinitely, risking their own ruin.”
“Therefore, our best course of action is to hide ourselves well, quietly observe the chaos, and pray we can survive this calamity unscathed.”
“Fortunately, your debts are manageable, and you have a monthly income of 40 Spirit Coins. Surviving this crisis shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“In short, hold onto your Spirit Coins tightly and avoid any unnecessary actions.”