Chapter 591: The Monster Rations Run Out
Zhang Yu formed a Dao Seal with his hands, channeling the power of the Level 20 Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon. He felt a subtle connection forming between himself and every object in the laboratory.
By infusing Magic Power, he could temporarily transform these objects into his own magical artifacts. Further channeling Magic Power would activate the Fire Tribulation, pushing these temporary artifacts into an overloaded state. By injecting Spirit Realm Flow, he could integrate these temporary artifacts into the Spirit Realm Network.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “With the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon’s amplification, connecting to the Great Sky Sword Realm would allow all the empowered temporary artifacts to become part of my Great Sky Sacred Law Sword Formation.”
As he practiced with the Level 20 Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon, Zhang Yu mentally reviewed his current military-grade capabilities.
“The Heavenly Kunlun and Heavenly Sun Radiance God remain my most effective construction methods,” he mused. “The sword formation’s Sword Realm can unify all my power, and under this unified state, the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon can further enhance my abilities.”
“But that’s still not enough.”
“After all, I lack a Divine Spirit Root that I can fully utilize in combat. The Azure Lotus Sword Embryo can only provide a passive effect.”
“And I don’t possess a single military-grade Bionic.”
“Even the number of military-grade magical artifacts I can wield hasn’t reached my limit.”
Zhang Yu knew that the top students from the Ten Great Universities all possessed Divine Spirit Roots, military-grade magical artifacts, military-grade Bionics, and had mastered military-grade cultivation techniques.
“Even with Bei Wufeng’s assistance during the competition, forming a sword formation with twenty-four Great Sky Sacred Law Flying Swords still won’t be enough.”
“To defeat powerhouses like Dao Qiankun and Kuang Tianqing and claim first place in the Ten Greats League, I need even greater strength.”
Zhang Yu understood that compared to the years of accumulated experience of the top academic overachievers from the Ten Great Universities, his own growth period had been far too short.
Especially now, with only a little over a month remaining until the competition.
After completing his cultivation of the Heaven and Earth Cataclysmic Formless Heart Weapon, Zhang Yu immediately threw himself wholeheartedly into a new project.
The Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, the magical artifact blueprint awarded to the first-place winner of the Civil Engineering Competition, became Zhang Yu’s latest research target.
The armor’s design blueprint had been deciphered by the Artifact Refinement Department just recently, revealing all the refining steps and processing methods with perfect clarity.
Zhang Yu chose this armor not only for its military-grade power but also because, according to his observations, it belonged to the “Great Sage’s Heir” Chain Formation Diagram.
Based on Zhang Yu’s speculation, the armor likely contained one of the cultivation arts of the Great Sage’s Heir. This led him to ultimately choose the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, as it offered both an additional military-grade power and the cultivation art within, achieving two goals with a single stroke.
Currently, Zhang Yu was studying the blueprints and purchasing online courses, planning to use the Supreme Clarity Realm’s Spirit Realm acceleration feature to quickly absorb the foundational knowledge.
It wasn’t until he saw the detailed design diagrams of the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor for the first time that Zhang Yu truly began to understand the armor.
“To be precise, the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor is a bio-armor crafted using Monster Mimicry Technology.”
“Once refined, the armor will envelop the physical body like a living organism, even connecting to the flesh and blood to become an additional organ.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “In that case, the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor is actually something between a magical artifact and a Bionic.”
“But what cultivation art does it contain?”
After his initial review, Zhang Yu hadn’t found any clues about the cultivation art. However, he remained confident that with further study, he would eventually unlock its secrets.
Time flew by, and August arrived in the blink of an eye.
Just as Zhang Yu was fully immersed in studying the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor, another major event shook the Second Layer of Kunxu.
A vocational college affiliated with Myriad Laws University, known as Mountain and Sea Vocational College, was exposed for systemic corruption. Investigations revealed that a significant number of individuals, from the Principal down to the students, were members of the Dual Rest Cult.
The revelation sparked widespread attention from various factions, and several Righteous Gods descended to seal off the entire school.
By the time Zhang Yu learned of the incident, all Dual Rest Cult members within the college had already been detained. The school was being dismantled piece by piece, with teachers and students transferred to different vocational colleges.
“This Mountain and Sea Vocational College… isn’t that Shui Haiyu’s school?”
Zhang Yu remembered the student from the junior college student profiles he had collected. After all, it was Shui Haiyu’s involvement with the Dual Rest Cult that had prompted True Person Rising Sun to investigate Zhang Yu himself.
“The entire school was dismantled because of the Dual Rest Cult?”
“Could this mean Shui Haiyu’s investigation finally yielded results?”
Zhang Yu asked Zhang Pianpian, and her response confirmed his suspicions.
Zhang Pianpian said, “Shui Haiyu was indeed framed. Because he sent his investigation recordings to too many places, the Dual Rest Cult fabricated evidence to make it appear he had joined their ranks, hoping to silence him.”
Zhang Yu pressed, “But Shui Haiyu committed suicide, didn’t he? Didn’t his soul manage to transmit any messages through the Spirit Realm?”
Zhang Pianpian replied, “The Dual Rest Cult intercepted his soul.”
Zhang Yu was shocked. “Intercepted his soul? Has the Dual Rest Cult discovered a loophole in the Spirit Realm? Or have they influenced the Righteous Gods themselves?”
Regardless of the answer, Zhang Yu sensed that the situation was far more complex than he had initially imagined.
Zhang Pianpian didn’t elaborate on these deeper implications. Instead, she continued, “Junior Brother, I expect to be heading to Kunxu’s Third Layer for graduate studies in September. What are your plans?”
In truth, Zhang Pianpian didn’t want Zhang Yu to participate in the upcoming Ten Greats League. Through her investigation of the Dual Rest Cult, she had sensed the undercurrents stirring throughout Kunxu’s Second Layer.
It was as if several invisible giant hands were manipulating the Ten Great Universities from behind, preparing to unleash some earth-shattering event.
This undercurrent of tension gradually subsided as the Ten Greats League approached.
But Zhang Pianpian understood that this wasn’t the end, but rather the calm before the storm — a prelude to an even more turbulent tide.
She had a premonition that during the Ten Greats League, amidst the Ten Great Universities, some cataclysmic event would erupt.
And the Ten Greats League, as the most highly anticipated stage, would inevitably become the epicenter of conflict.
“Zhang Yu, you shouldn’t participate in the Ten Greats League.”
In the end, Zhang Pianpian couldn’t bring herself to say these words. She knew Zhang Yu had already sacrificed too much to prepare for this battle, his resolve unshakable. No amount of persuasion could sway him.
“At least Zhang Yu won’t be the main target of attention during the Ten Greats League.”
With this thought, Zhang Pianpian cautioned, “Be careful during the Ten Greats League. This year’s competition, with its reward of a self-selected Immortal Sect Technique, has drawn far too much attention. Conflicts are highly likely to erupt on-site.”
“Remember, if you’re in danger, run immediately. Don’t worry about forfeiting the competition.”
“If anything happens, contact your teacher.”
“If you can’t reach your teacher, text me.”
“I’ll get the message on the Third Layer and reply as soon as possible.”
After Zhang Pianpian’s repeated reminders, Zhang Yu ended the call and returned to studying the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor.
Soon, another piece of news began circulating widely within Myriad Laws University.
Unlike the uproar caused by the vocational college split, this news spread almost exclusively through word of mouth among teachers and students, remaining confined to gossip. There were no official reports or reactions.
Feng Tingting: “Jin Guangyuan, second-ranked in the Finance Department, has been kicked off the school team and expelled from the university!”
Zhang Yu was shocked: “Expelled? What did he do?”
Feng Tingting: “No one knows. They say a Righteous God took him away right after work.”
Feng Tingting: “No one’s seen him since.”
A sudden thought struck Zhang Yu, reminding him of True Person Rising Sun’s words.
“Could Jin Guangyuan and the Finance Department student who contacted True Person Rising Sun be the same person?”
Zhang Yu opened the school team group chat and confirmed that Jin Guangyuan was indeed no longer a member.
He then checked the Top 50 All-School Group chat, where Jin Guangyuan was also absent.
However, Shan Congning, who had been removed from the group after Zhang Yu’s rise to the top 50, reappeared.
Shan Congning: “I’m back.”
Seeing this, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel, “The second-ranked student in the Finance Department, among the top 50 in the entire school, just got expelled?”
He sent a message to True Person Rising Sun to inquire, but the reply came back: “Young friend, this matter cannot be discussed at present.”
Staring at the response, Zhang Yu pondered, “It seems… it’s likely related to True Person Rising Sun’s affairs after all.”
With Jin Guangyuan’s expulsion, whether it was Zhang Yu’s imagination or not, the monsterfolk’s outcry against him suddenly diminished.
The most noticeable change was the rapid decline in comments on his posts. The monsterfolk’s messages had dwindled to less than one-tenth of their previous volume.
Fu Ji chuckled. “Heh heh, the Finance Department’s second-ranked student got expelled. That must mean the department lost the power struggle and got crushed by Magnetic Pole and her faction.”
“And the monsterfolk who came to Myriad Laws University were backed by the Finance Department.”
“My guess is the department cut off funding. With their monster rations gone, the monsterfolk who were leading the charge stopped working, and their momentum fizzled out.”
Zhang Yu found Fu Ji’s theory plausible. However, even with the ringleaders gone, the monsterfolk still harbored considerable prejudice against him.
For instance, on this rare visit to the construction site, Zhang Yu could feel the hostility in the monsterfolk’s gazes.
After all, in the monsterfolk’s Spirit Realm Vision, the aura above Zhang Yu’s head glowed crimson, placing him among the top hundred most hated figures on the monsterfolk Discrimination List.
Zhang Yu remained unfazed.
Two Military Certificates materialized behind him, and with his overall ranking of 18th in the university hovering above his head, he said calmly, “You lot…”
“You little beasts!” Shi Yunxiang roared, standing beside Zhang Yu, under the shocked gazes of the monsterfolk.
Zhang Yu: “I hate redoing work. You’d better cooperate with me from now on, or else…”
Shi Yunxiang: “We’ll eat you all.”
Zhang Yu: “Did you hear that, everyone…?”
Shi Yunxiang: “You little beasts!”