Chapter 535: I Seem to Have a Golden Core Too
In the brief exchange between Zhang Yu and Wuying, the ground shattered layer by layer under the force of their collisions.
Each earth-shattering impact twisted and pulverized the land, sending plumes of dust and debris soaring into the sky and scattering in all directions, gradually enveloping the entire battlefield.
Several bursts of blood mist erupted from Zhang Yu’s body. Despite sustaining repeated grievous injuries, he endured thanks to the formidable defenses of his Civil Engineering Sacred Body.
“Oh?” Wuying remarked, his surprise growing. “It seems subduing you without killing you will take a bit more time than I thought.”
Zhang Yu’s gaze deepened, his entire being becoming like a silent abyss.
He understood that a Foundation Establishment cultivator stood no chance against a Golden Core master.
Just as a Qi Refining cultivator couldn’t hope to defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the gap between realms was simply too vast.
In every fundamental aspect, his opponent far surpassed him. Add to that the unique techniques of a Golden Core cultivator, and Zhang Yu’s chances of victory vanished entirely.
The few brief clashes had confirmed this beyond any doubt.
“I have to use the Divine Spirit Root now,” Zhang Yu thought. “Otherwise, I won’t last much longer.”
“This is a choice with no retreat.”
Under the control of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, the surrounding dust and smoke continued to spread wildly, obscuring the battlefield in layers.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “If I’m going to use the Divine Spirit Root, I should be able to conceal it to the greatest extent possible by using the all-enveloping dust and Gang Qi as cover…”
Although the Spirit Realm was currently severed, Zhang Yu hadn’t detected any surveillance through the Evil God’s detection ritual.
Still, with so many people and Bionic Eyes watching, even if he planned to use the Divine Spirit Root, Zhang Yu needed to conceal it as much as possible.
At the same time, his battle plan solidified in his mind.
“I’ll use the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power to manipulate the pulverized earth into sand and dust, then combine it with Gang Qi and the Divine Spirit Root to stall for time.”
“Meanwhile, I’ll focus on destroying the surrounding environment to create an opportunity to retreat.”
Zhang Yu thought, “After all, I’m better at construction and environmental modification than fighting Golden Core cultivators.”
Simultaneously, structural blueprints flooded Zhang Yu’s mind — memories of construction projects he had participated in on the 666th, 667th, 668th, and other floors… each floor’s construction details flashing through his mind.
Though they were on different floors, Zhang Yu knew the general layout of each floor in University City was the same.
To his eyes, the many weak points in this battlefield were glaringly obvious.
“If I can create an opportunity for everyone to scatter, I’ll be even more agile fighting alone.”
As Zhang Yu wrestled with his inner turmoil and finally resolved to activate his Divine Spirit Root, the surrounding crowd watched in awe. Despite facing a Golden Core cultivator, Zhang Yu fought to the death, refusing to yield.
Yu Xinghan gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing his fear of the Golden Core Demonic Cult member.
Watching Zhang Yu fight with such desperate determination, Yu Xinghan felt both admiration and envy, along with a deep shame for his own fear.
“This guy… where does he get his courage? He’s just Foundation Establishment, yet he dares to stand alone against us. Isn’t he afraid of dying?”
“There’s no Spirit Realm support here. If he dies… he’ll be truly gone, his soul scattered…”
In that moment, Yu Xinghan seemed to see again the figure from the livestream, the one who had faced President Wang head-on with the same unwavering resolve.
In the brief moments of intense combat, Yu Xinghan quickly grasped the situation.
“If even one person joins the Demonic Cults, the others will either be silenced or forced to join as well.”
“Death or conversion — this Golden Core expert from the Demonic Cults… leaves us with no other choice.”
Should they join the sect? Abandon all their past efforts and struggles to join the Demonic Cults?
Yu Xinghan’s heart recoiled at the thought.
He had paid such a high price, spent so much money, and risked everything to reach this point. How could he possibly join the Demonic Cults now?
Just then, Zhang Yu’s voice cut through the swirling sand and dust: “I’ll do my best to create some openings. When you see a chance, run!”
As he spoke, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Once you’re gone, I’ll have fewer reservations about using my Divine Spirit Root…”
The group froze at his words.
Yu Xinghan paused, staring at the figure blocking the Demonic Cults’ Golden Core expert. Something seemed to ignite within him.
In the next instant, a roar erupted in his mind: “Damn it! Let’s fight!”
Empowered by the Third Eye Mystic Power, Yu Xinghan learned martial arts with extraordinary speed.
While massaging senior Civil Engineering students and members of the competition team like Shi Huaiyu and Su Yanyang, he discovered that his Third Eye Mystic Power’s microscopic perception allowed him to sense the wear and tear on their muscles and Magic Power.
As the Third Eye Mystic Power continued to upgrade, he repeatedly experienced the changes in these seniors’ bodies after their overtime work. Combined with his constant observation, he realized he seemed to be gradually learning their martial arts — cultivation arts that Yu Xinghan himself had no right to learn.
He carefully concealed this secret, afraid to reveal it to anyone.
Until this moment, watching Zhang Yu still locked in bloody combat, Yu Xinghan unleashed his long-hidden trump card.
With a shift in his palm seals, the Minor Threefold Combination activated.
Amidst the swirling dust and smoke, the earth trembled with a thunderous roar, surging upward like an enraged dragon as it coiled toward Wuying.
Shi Huaiyu was the first to react.
As a senior Civil Engineering student who had mastered the Minor Threefold Combination years ago, she was intimately familiar with its movements and power.
The moment Yu Xinghan activated his technique, Shi Huaiyu turned to him in astonishment.
She never imagined Yu Xinghan had secretly mastered the first three Absolutes of the Seven Absolutes of Civil Engineering, let alone that he would dare to unleash them in public.
Even though the Spirit Realm was severed, even though they were cornered by the Golden Core Demonic Cult disciples with no retreat, even though Zhang Yu stood before them like a radiant beacon…
“This is copyright infringement!”
Yu Xinghan, however, paid no heed to how many had noticed his mastery of the Minor Threefold Combination. Instead, he roared, “What are you all standing around for? No Spirit Realm! No surveillance! If you don’t fight for your lives now, do you really want to join the Demonic Cults?”
Shi Huaiyu gritted her teeth, glaring at the Golden Core Demonic Cult disciple. “Damn it! I’m going all out!”
Her hand seals shifted, and she unleashed a palm strike through the swirling dust and smoke, targeting the Golden Core disciple.
Instantly, waves of Earthly Fiend Gravity surged forth, like an invisible hand clamping down on Wuying.
As a seventh-year student, a disciple of Tu Lishan, and a member of the competition team that had secured first place, Shi Huaiyu had gradually become a key figure in the Civil Engineering Department’s War Faction, especially after Zhang Yu’s transfer.
With five first-place finishes in her class and two successful trials after the loosening of the Seven Trials of Civil Engineering, Shi Huaiyu successfully mastered the final Absolute of Civil Engineering this year.
During her cultivation of this final Absolute, as she worked day after day on construction sites, Shi Huaiyu gradually discovered the connections between the Seven Absolutes.
Through daily practice and application, these connections grew stronger. Before she realized it, a wisp of Earthly Fiend Gravity had already begun to rise within her body.
Shi Huaiyu hastily dispersed it, her heart pounding with fear that someone might discover her secret. Without a Military Certificate, she dared not attempt to activate any of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power.
Yet as she continued to cultivate the final Absolute, the feeling of inevitability persisted, like water flowing naturally into a channel.
Shi Huaiyu could only endure, repeatedly interrupting the flow of energy between the cultivation arts of the Seven Absolutes within her body.
But the power of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power did not diminish. Instead, it continued to grow stronger as her mastery of the final Absolute deepened.
She could sense this growing power, yet she dared not activate it, even briefly halting her cultivation of the final Absolute.
Shi Huaiyu knew she possessed talent, but this talent offered no advantage in her current circumstances. She remained confined to competing through the Seven Absolutes, using them for work, overtime…
It felt like a suffocating weight had been pressing down on Shi Huaiyu’s chest, leaving her constantly gasping for breath even within the 670-story University City.
To escape this suffocating feeling, she worked tirelessly, took on extra shifts, traded cryptocurrencies, and invested in stocks, all in the desperate hope of accumulating wealth quickly. She yearned to pass the Military Certificate exam as soon as possible, believing it would finally free her from this suffocating existence.
But the arrival of the economic crisis only intensified her sense of suffocation.
Now, at this very moment, Shi Huaiyu unleashed the full force of her Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, fueled by her furious roar.
A violent surge of Earthly Fiend Gravity erupted toward her opponent, as if to release all the pent-up frustration, anger, resentment, and fear that had been building within her.
“Hmm?”
Sensing the influence of two distinct Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Powers on his body, Wuying’s gaze shifted unexpectedly toward Yu Xinghan, Shi Huaiyu, and the others.
At the same moment, he noticed Shi Yunxiang and Ying Xin had already darted away, frantically digging into the ground on either side.
“So, two are trying to escape, while the rest actually want to confront me head-on?”
“You can’t even assess basic strength… How did you ever make it into the Ten Greats?”
With a thunderous roar, the earth Yu Xinghan had upheaved coiled around Wuying like a colossal dragon.
Seeing Yu Xinghan and Shi Huaiyu unleashing their full power to restrain Wuying, Zhang Yu let out a long howl. His body surged with golden and crimson Gang Qi as he reactivated the Mountain-Moving Warrior transformation.
The Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power Zhang Yu had accumulated during the battle erupted from his Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force.
He unleashed a double palm strike. His left hand channeled the Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force, crowned with the white comet of the Ten Phases of Suppressing Stars. His right hand, fueled by pure Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, unleashed Earthly Fiend Gravity, creating a pitch-black domain that devoured all in its path.
Nine Heavens Mountain-Moving — Comet Strike X Stardust Bind!
Amidst the earth-shattering roar, Yu Xinghan and Shi Huaiyu felt their grip on Wuying shatter instantly.
Wuying’s head snapped back from the impact, and he staggered backward.
One step, two steps, three steps…
He stopped, brushed off the dust, and said calmly, “So, this should finally make the difference clear, right?”
“The gap between Golden Core and Foundation Establishment is insurmountable for you.”
“Have you considered joining the Cult more seriously now?”
As he spoke, Wuying struck Zhang Yu’s right arm again with a finger.
A deafening explosion erupted, sending a cloud of blood mist flying as Zhang Yu felt his arm bones shatter.
But the next moment, just as Wuying was about to strike again, Zhang Yu’s figure vanished into the smoke and dust, leaving him without any trace.
“Hmm?” Wuying’s heart jolted. “What kind of movement technique is this? Or is it a function of a magical artifact or Bionic?”
Just as Wuying was about to disperse the swirling smoke and dust, an overwhelming aura forced him to turn his head.
In Xiao Qingxuan’s eyes, memories flashed: their dormitory life these past days, Zhang Yu standing before the Demonic Cult’s Golden Core cultivator, the explosive outbursts of Yu Xinghan and Shi Huaiyu…
He murmured to himself, “Sigh, that ancient ghost’s values are starting to influence me again.”
“Damn it… I’m truly losing my mind.”
“I should never have kept that Golden Core you gave me…”
As he spoke, he swallowed a golden pill. A terrifying pressure erupted from his body.
Surging Gang Qi completely enveloped his figure, obscuring his features.
Sensing Wuying’s gaze, Xiao Qingxuan said calmly, “I almost forgot.”
“I seem to have a Golden Core as well.”