Chapter 636: Copyright Gamble, War Declared
In the waiting area, Jiutian Liu gazed at Zhang Yu and said, “Junior Brother, didn’t we agree you’d gather intelligence for me?”
Zhang Yu smiled. “Senior, what’s more effective than directly defeating the opponent?”
“Besides, you won’t need to fight Ying Mingchi anymore.”
Jiutian Liu stared intently at Zhang Yu. “Indeed, next… it’s you and me competing.”
“Junior Brother…” Jiutian Liu fixed Zhang Yu with a deep gaze, his voice measured. “Do you want to defeat me?”
Zhang Yu no longer evaded the question.
With each victory and every achievement, his confidence grew.
His triumph over Ying Mingchi, in particular, signified that his overall strength had reached the level of the school’s top contender, making him eligible to compete with the champions from other universities.
“Senior…”
From that moment onward, whether facing Jiutian Liu or the post-match reporters, Zhang Yu for the first time declared his ambition to the world, making his voice heard across the heavens and earth.
“I’m going to take first place.”
“Senior Dao Qiankun has already left.”
“In this year’s Ten Greats League, there’s no one I’d willingly push onto the throne.”
“Since that’s the case, I’ve decided to defeat all my opponents myself.”
“I will ascend the throne and become the strongest among the ten universities.”
Zhang Yu’s declaration reverberated throughout the Spirit Realm, triggering countless reactions.
A monsterfolk lamented, “Why did Zhang Yu have to win?! Watching him win is more painful than being eaten alive!”
An Extreme Tiger fan questioned, “Why do I think Zhang Yu is the most undeserving of the top eight contenders?”
Students from the Artifact Refinement Department were studying Zhang Yu’s physical strength, while those from the Department of Reproduction were discussing his creation of dragon beasts. Many others were calculating how much Zhang Yu would have to pay in copyright infringement damages after this battle.
Some monsterfolk, clinging to the Human-Monster Origin Theory, argued that Zhang Yu had merely tapped into his latent Monsterfolk Bloodline to defeat Ying Mingchi and secure his place among the top eight.
As for Zhang Yu’s comment section, it had been overrun by all sorts of people, descending into utter chaos.
Beyond the insults, many were sending Zhang Yu threatening private messages.
Celestial Monsters University, Extreme Tiger Company, and Ying Mingchi all filed lawsuits against him, accusing him of insulting monsterfolk, defaming Extreme Tiger, and infringing on dragon blood usage.
At that moment, Zhang Yu truly felt like he was standing at the eye of the storm, under the intense scrutiny of the masses. Countless people and matters were converging on him.
However, this surge in attention also caused the advertising fees for his next match to skyrocket, quickly surpassing the 200 Spirit Coin mark.
True Monarch Tranquility contacted him after the match, saying, “The university’s legal team will handle the lawsuits, so you don’t need to waste your time or energy on them. For now, focus all your efforts on the competition.”
“However, you’ll need to prepare for the infringement compensation yourself. If you don’t have enough Spirit Coins, you can borrow them from the university.”
Zhang Yu let out a sigh of relief, realizing the benefits of having Myriad Laws University as his backing.
He asked, “What about the outcome of my next battle against Jiutian Liu?”
True Monarch Tranquility replied, “For the next match, the university won’t strongly support either of you. Instead, whoever wins will receive our full support to challenge Kuang Tianqing.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu felt a sense of relief. The school had decided not to continue supporting Jiutian Liu, instead letting them compete against each other. For him, this was already a very satisfactory outcome.
With only a week left to prepare, Zhang Yu had a mountain of tasks to tackle.
His physical injuries needed healing, and his damaged Seven Absolutes Bionic required urgent repairs. He also needed to maintain his Heavenly Sun Radiance God, Great Sky Sacred Law Flying Sword, and Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor.
Then there was the matter of acquiring the combat copyright for dragon blood, which Zhang Yu hoped to secure, as it would significantly enhance his combat capabilities.
Additionally, he needed to visit the Spirit Hall to accompany Dao Qiankun’s remains, hoping to replicate the Dao Seed from his body.
After a moment’s reflection, Zhang Yu realized that time was slipping away faster than he thought, and Spirit Coins seemed to vanish as quickly as his strength grew.
As soon as the day’s competition ended, he hurried back to the laboratory and assigned tasks to his assistants.
Leaving the Heavenly Sun Radiance God as his avatar to oversee operations in the laboratory, Zhang Yu dove into the Spirit Hall. While watching over Dao Qiankun’s corpse, he contacted Ying Mingchi to discuss acquiring the combat copyright for dragon blood.
Ying Mingchi’s projection gazed at Zhang Yu. “You want to buy the combat rights? Hmph, even if you buy them now, you’ll still have to pay for the previous infringement.”
Zhang Yu replied, “Just give me a price first.”
“300 Spirit Coins,” Ying Mingchi stated.
Zhang Yu snapped, “Have you lost your mind from the heat?”
Ying Mingchi calmly countered, “For 300 Spirit Coins, I’ll bundle the breeding rights with the combat rights. You can cultivate them however you please.”
Zhang Yu frowned. “Still too expensive, and I only need them for combat. I have no interest in breeding rights.”
“My True Dragon Bloodline is a truly awakened lineage,” Ying Mingchi explained. “You should know it’s different from ordinary dragon blood.”
“If you want a cheaper price, that’s not impossible.”
“Trade your blood for it. I want to buy your breeding rights.”
Zhang Yu rejected the offer without hesitation. “Absolutely not.”
Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Yu proposed his own terms: “From now on, every product I create using your dragon blood will bear your name, clearly indicating its origin. How does that sound?”
Ying Mingchi raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Zhang Yu continued, “I will defeat Jiutian Liu, overcome every opponent, and ultimately stand in the finals to challenge Kuang Tianqing for the championship. And I will win.”
“Don’t you want to see your name in the finals? Don’t you want your blood to be part of the championship battle?”
Ying Mingchi suddenly laughed. “Zhang Yu, who said you discriminate against monsterfolk? I see no trace of such prejudice.”
Zhang Yu chuckled. “I don’t discriminate against monsterfolk. I only discriminate against Extreme Tiger Monsters…”
In the next instant, Ying Mingchi’s expression turned serious. “But all of this depends on you defeating Jiutian Liu.”
“You’re right,” Zhang Yu replied. “That’s why we should sign a tiered wager contract.”
“If I lose the next match, I’ll pay to acquire the rights to your dragon blood.”
“But if I win…”
Ying Mingchi examined the contract Zhang Yu had handed him. It clearly stipulated that the cost to acquire the Dragon Blood rights would decrease with each victory Zhang Yu secured.
In the final match against Kuang Tianqing, the price would drop to just 30 Spirit Coins.
And if Zhang Yu defeated Kuang Tianqing, Ying Mingchi would instead pay him 100 Spirit Coins in advertising fees.
Ying Mingchi sneered, “You want me to pay you for advertising?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Imagine this: a dragon created from your dragon blood crushes Kuang Tianqing underfoot, relentlessly humiliating her.”
“Humanity’s final victory secured by the dragon blood of a monsterfolk. What do you think of that headline?”
Ying Mingchi had to admit, he was intrigued.
But he still doubted Zhang Yu could defeat Kuang Tianqing.
“Alright, I won’t cheat you,” Ying Mingchi said. “If you reach the finals, I’ll charge you 1 Spirit Coin for the copyright. But if you lose any match before the finals, you’ll have to pay 288 Spirit Coins to acquire full rights to my Dragon Blood.”
“As for your copyright infringement in this battle…” Ying Mingchi smiled. “If you truly defeat Kuang Tianqing, we’ll call it even.”
After signing the wager contract, Zhang Yu let out a small sigh of relief. While operating the Heavenly Sun Radiance God in the laboratory, he had already started the Spirit Hall livestream.
Zhang Yu could feel the intensity of the battles in the Ten Greats League escalating, and the consumption of Spirit Coins was growing exponentially.
Now that his popularity was high, he needed to earn as much as possible to prepare for the upcoming matches.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Yu’s livestream was once again banned for 24 hours due to a copyright bomb attack from his haters.
He couldn’t help but sigh, shut down the livestream, and turned to face Dao Qiankun’s corpse before him.
He noticed the artifact spirit’s translucent form had materialized from within the corpse, its gaze fixed on him.
Seeing Zhang Yu stop, the artifact spirit spoke, “You’re still livestreaming your cultivation even during the competition break? Are you working this hard to win the championship?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “Yes. Jiutian Liu has a Spirit Transformation Master backing him and the resources of the Finance Department.”
“Kuang Tianqing has the support of the entire world.”
“To compete with them, I need to seize every possible moment.”
The artifact spirit countered, “Not everyone in the world supports Kuang Tianqing. Even if the living support her, the dead certainly won’t.”
Zhang Yu paused, slightly puzzled. “The dead? You mean Soul Cultivators?”
He chuckled. “Perhaps. I wonder if the Longevity Art can extend the lifespans of Soul Cultivators.”
The artifact spirit mused, “Extending the lifespans of Soul Cultivators is possible… it’s possible… but it’s also highly unlikely…”
Zhang Yu shook his head, wondering how he’d gotten into a conversation with this mentally deficient artifact spirit. He refocused his attention on his own matters.
At the same time, Zhang Yu could sense the Dao Seeds within Dao Qiankun’s corpse manifesting with increasing frequency, soon to fully reveal themselves before him.
While Zhang Yu was seizing every moment to develop his skills, Jiutian Liu never stopped his own relentless pursuit of power.
Feng Tingting, Mo Shangjin, Su Yanyang, Bei Wufeng, Jin Jun… Whether from the Civil Engineering Department or the Artifact Refinement Department, nearly every student who had interacted with or competed against Zhang Yu was approached by Jiutian Liu’s agents, who gathered extensive intelligence on him.
Furthermore, Jiutian Liu poured vast resources into the Spirit Realm, both to amplify the hype surrounding the upcoming battle and to frantically increase his Qi Luck.
Countless famous influencers and renowned instructors publicly predicted Jiutian Liu’s victory, claiming he would defeat Zhang Yu and secure a spot among the final four.
Students began widely promoting Jiutian Liu’s status as the top finance student across ten universities.
Jiutian Liu connected with monsterfolk communities, publicly denouncing monsterfolk discrimination and emphasizing his many monsterfolk friends, earning widespread support from the monsterfolk.
During a public event, Jiutian Liu’s master, Divine Monarch Golden Citadel of Myriad Laws University, expressed his strong belief that Jiutian Liu would reach the finals.
As more and more people rallied behind him, convinced of his victory over Zhang Yu and his advancement to the final four, Jiutian Liu’s Qi Luck intensified dramatically. Public opinion polls showed that over 70% of respondents believed Jiutian Liu would undoubtedly win the battle.
When Jiutian Liu stepped onto the battlefield, his Qi Luck had reached an unprecedented level of intensity. A faint azure halo seemed to encircle his head, while auspicious clouds gathered beneath his feet.
Simultaneously, the floating continent was awash with Jiutian Liu’s name, plastered everywhere as advertisements.
Now at his peak, Jiutian Liu took a single step forward, and the very earth trembled beneath his overwhelming presence.
Across the continent, holographic projections from various universities continuously displayed Jiutian Liu’s image, broadcasting his victory declaration on loop.
In the arena, Jiutian Liu raised a finger to the sky, drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth with his will.
The live broadcast cameras focused on him, his battlefield footage and live data soaring to the top spot, ten times higher than any other competitor, thanks to the relentless efforts of his online supporters.
With a soft shout, Jiutian Liu shattered the clouds, bathing in a torrent of celestial light as his aura surged once more.
Locking eyes with Zhang Yu, Jiutian Liu, now at his peak, unleashed an unprecedented Immortal Dao killer move with a single finger strike.
This strike transcended the Foundation Establishment stage, bridging the gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.
With this strike, he would utterly crush Zhang Yu.
He would secure an undeniable, absolute victory, ascending from one peak to the next, step by step toward the pinnacle, claiming his rightful place upon the throne.