Chapter 686: Blowing Up Layers 2-5, World-Piercing Cone is on its way
Just as Zhang Yu logged into the Spirit Realm after a long absence, preparing to check the latest news, a flood of messages appeared before him — all the notifications he had received during his seclusion.
Seeing messages from friends like Zhang Pianpian, Bai Zhenzhen, Yu Xinghan, Le Mulan, Shi Huaiyu, and many others, Zhang Yu’s initially grave expression softened slightly.
Instead of replying to his companions immediately, Zhang Yu first scanned the news. He froze when he saw an advertisement:
“Junior College Students Preferred! Local Recruitment: Management Trainees Wanted!”
“Scam ads are now brazenly appearing on the homepage?” Zhang Yu thought. “The situation must be truly dire. The pressure on the Ten Universities must be immense.”
But as Zhang Yu continued browsing, he began to suspect his initial assessment might be wrong.
“Strict Implementation of the Junior College Student Sleeplessness Plan: Guaranteeing Every Junior College Student’s Freedom to Stay Awake.”
“The measure of a civilized society lies in whether Junior College Students can find employment.”
“To ensure Junior College Students and monsterfolk work at least 50 hours of overtime per week, Myriad Laws University has implemented comprehensive measures, including intensified publicity campaigns and online/offline meetings, urging company executives to uphold social bottom lines…”
Zhang Yu was overwhelmed by the flood of news and policies suddenly favoring Junior College Students, treating them well, and showing kindness to monsterfolk.
“Is this still Kunxu? Where did they send me?”
Feeling the world had changed too much, Zhang Yu decided not to investigate each detail himself.
“I’ll just ask someone to summarize it for me.”
With that thought, Zhang Yu sent a message to Feng Tingting: “What’s been happening these past six months? Why does society suddenly value Junior College Students and monsterfolk so much?”
Feng Tingting: “Senior, you’re back?”
Feng Tingting: “You don’t even know about this? You really haven’t been in touch with society these past few months, have you?”
Through Feng Tingting’s explanation, Zhang Yu gradually began to understand the changes in the situation.
The root of all these changes, of course, was the existence of the Righteous Qi Alliance.
The alliance’s supply of cultivation arts, knowledge, and services, combined with the rampant spread of viruses, had caused the number of users in the Dark Spirit Realm to skyrocket.
The surge in Vocational College users, in particular, had provided the alliance with a massive boost in Qi Luck, while simultaneously eroding and infiltrating the Kunxu Second Layer’s lower strata. This not only reduced the efficiency of all schools but also dramatically increased governance costs, with vast amounts of intelligence being leaked daily.
In response, the Ten Great Universities and other schools and companies began enhancing benefits for Junior College Students and monsterfolk.
Initially, vocational colleges simply offered discounts on various cultivation arts.
Later, as the Righteous Qi Alliance began awarding an Expert-Grade Technique each month for daily sign-ins, the colleges launched their own promotions, gifting three Expert-Grade Techniques of the student’s choice.
The Righteous Qi Alliance then began recruiting vocational college students, offering them the same benefits as Lower College Students upon joining the Demonic Cults.
In response, vocational colleges started offering free courses, gifting five free courses per semester…
Feng Tingting sighed, “Then the Righteous Qi Alliance introduced a priority recruitment program for vocational college students, reserving a large number of positions and missions specifically for them.”
Feng Tingting continued, “The Ten Great Universities countered by creating the ‘Honorary Ten Universities Student’ title, selecting outstanding Upper College, Lower College, and Vocational College students each month to become Honorary Ten Universities Students, granting them the same privileges as Ten Universities Students and treating their resumes as if they were Ten Universities graduates.”
Feng Tingting added, “After that, the Righteous Qi Alliance launched large-scale airstrikes on the Second Layer, directly attacking our doorstep and offering free transportation for vocational college students and monsterfolk to work on the Fifth Layer.”
Feng Tingting concluded, “To counter all this, the major universities pledged to guarantee the overtime rights of all vocational college students and monsterfolk, strictly enforcing a minimum weekly overtime requirement of 50 hours.”
Feng Tingting sighed again, “To defeat their opponents and win the war, both sides have resorted to increasingly desperate measures, escalating the conflict to a fever pitch.”
Zhang Yu then asked about the situation on the battlefield.
It was then that they learned the Third Layer Battlefield had become a scorched wasteland. Facing the Righteous Qi Alliance’s relentless Spatial Lockdown, the Ten Great Universities were frantically constructing defensive fortifications.
Dense clusters of fortresses lined the front lines, acting like meat grinders that continuously devoured lives and vast quantities of resources.
However… while the Ten Universities’ strategy had slowed the enemy’s advance, it had failed to completely halt their progress.
Leveraging the superiority of their Spatial Lockdown, the Righteous Qi Alliance advanced slowly but steadily, inching forward step by step, gradually eroding the Ten Great Universities’ territory.
Feng Tingting sighed, “With the Grand Void as our base, the Ten Great Universities now control only about 30% of the Third Layer. The rest has already fallen completely.”
In addition to the unfavorable situation on the main battlefield, the Second Layer’s air raids were sowing panic among the schools.
Feng Tingting: “After all, under the Spatial Lockdown, only the areas around the Grand Void remain connected between the layers. Elsewhere, the Third Layer can strike the Second Layer at will, while the Second Layer can only passively defend.”
Feng Tingting: “Ah, I heard the other schools are demanding our principal take action immediately to break the blockade between the Second and Third Layers.”
Feng Tingting: “But the principal hasn’t moved yet. They say the World-Piercing Cone’s repairs are stalled, and it still hasn’t been restored to operation.”
As Feng Tingting spoke, Zhang Yu’s gaze swept across numerous news articles from other schools.
“According to anonymous sources, the World-Piercing Cone repair project has encountered a major impasse, with no hope of completion in the near future.”
“Where has the blood and sweat of teachers and students gone? The whereabouts of Myriad Laws University’s vast resources remain a mystery.”
“Three questions for Magnetic Pole: When will the Spatial Lockdown be broken? Who will bear the immense losses it has caused? Should the Ten Universities revise their battle plan?”
Zhang Yu realized that behind these news articles, the Spirit Transformation cultivators from the other schools were undoubtedly fanning the flames, relentlessly pressuring Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole.
“Judging by the news from the Spirit Realm alone, the situation is growing increasingly dire. I wonder what the Dark Spirit Realm is like?”
As Zhang Yu pondered this, he returned to the laboratory where he had been cultivating in seclusion. There, he found Feng Yuhuan and Fu Xinyao had been captured and imprisoned by cultivators sent by Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole.
Feng Yuhuan, whose consciousness had been sealed by Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole, was under particularly strict surveillance, with all communication channels blocked.
Clearly, the exposure of such a senior Nascent Soul cultivator’s defection would trigger another massive uproar, further exacerbating the already chaotic situation.
He and Fu Ji then logged into the Dark Spirit Realm.
As always, they were immediately bombarded with layers of fraudulent advertisements, followed by a deluge of information. A densely packed list of regions appeared before Zhang Yu, making his eyes swim.
Fu Ji sighed, “The Dark Spirit Realm’s user base has grown tenfold, perhaps even a hundredfold, since last time.”
Zhang Yu checked the task board and found that the top-ranked mission was “Steal the World-Piercing Cone from Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole of Myriad Laws University,” offering a reward of one million Righteous Qi Value.
Of the next ten missions, nearly half were related to Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole, either involving stealing the Yin Artifacts or providing intelligence.
The Righteous Qi Value price for Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole’s Yin Artifacts had been steadily rising since the Lunar War, now several times higher than before.
Clearly, in the past six months, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole had faced not only pressure from the Spirit Transformation cultivators of the Ten Great Universities but also relentless infiltration and targeting by the Righteous Qi Alliance.
Just then, Zhang Yu noticed a message constantly scrolling and flashing above his head.
Fu Ji explained, “This appears to be a pinned announcement sent to all Dark Spirit Realm users. Everyone who logs in will see it.”
Zhang Yu opened the message and felt another shock.
“The Righteous Qi Alliance has completed preparations on Kunxu’s fifth layer and can detonate it at any time… Further severing Kunxu from the Heavenly Court? Delaying the Heavenly Court’s descent?”
“Our future goal is to completely detonate Layers 2 through 5, splitting them into Three Thousand Minor Worlds, making it impossible for the Heavenly Court to ever find them again…”
Zhang Yu was shocked by this news. He noticed the pinned message had been posted half a month ago.
He immediately asked Fu Ji, “Is what the Righteous Qi Alliance says true? Is such a thing… even possible?”
Fu Ji replied, “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Zhang Yu pressed.
Fu Ji said gravely, “How could I know if the Righteous Qi Alliance’s claims are true or false? But one thing is certain: after they announced this plan, many people will likely believe it.”
Zhang Yu’s heart sank. He understood Fu Ji’s point.
Within Kunxu’s Layers 2 through 5, countless individuals had already broken through without authorization, practicing cultivation illegally. They must be terrified of the Heavenly Court’s impending arrival.
Now, the Righteous Qi Alliance had presented this plan, whether true or false, offering these people a glimmer of hope.
Conversely, what had originally sustained many university faculty and students in their continued resistance was precisely the Heavenly Court’s imminent arrival.
“Many believe that with just under eleven months remaining after more than a year of war, the Heavenly Court will descend.”
“For them, enduring just eleven more months meant victory — a crucial source of spiritual support.”
“But now that the Righteous Qi Alliance has managed to delay the Heavenly Court’s descent again, it’s likely to be a devastating blow to many people’s morale.”
As Zhang Yu gazed at the Dark Spirit Realm, he sensed that behind the surging torrent of information, countless Kunxu People were gradually converging their wills, poised to unleash an unprecedented storm.
And standing at the forefront of this storm… was his teacher, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole.
Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. Even witnessing these news reports and intelligence updates filled him with immense pressure. How terrifying must the burden be for Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole, who stood at the crest of the tide, personally bearing the full force of this pressure?
As these thoughts flooded his mind, an idea surged within him: “Perhaps I shouldn’t remain in seclusion any longer.”
Withdrawing from the Dark Spirit Realm, Zhang Yu immediately sent a message to Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole.
Zhang Yu: “Master, now that I’ve broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, I can come and assist you.”
Reading Zhang Yu’s message, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole thought to herself: “Foolish child. If I intervene again, the other Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs from the other nine universities won’t let me off so easily. They might even try to seize the World-Piercing Cone on the spot. If that happens… I might have to help countless times more.”
“No matter how strong one person is, how can they break through the enemy’s thousands upon thousands of spatial lockdowns?”
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole understood that a major disparity between their forces lay in the enemy’s ability to disregard copyright, allowing every Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch to cultivate Spatial Immortal Sect Techniques and master the power of Spatial Lockdown.
On their side, only Zhang Yu could legally cultivate and use Kunlun in the Palm.
The question remained: Had Zhang Yu comprehended the underlying technology and developed a product earlier? Or had the enemy’s Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs advanced their Immortal Sect Techniques to higher levels, mastering increasingly powerful spatial technologies?
Whose Immortal Dao Technology could shift the tide of battle first? In Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole’s view, this was one of the true keys to victory.
Therefore, even though Zhang Yu had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole still hoped he would continue his secluded cultivation, seizing every moment to advance further.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu, reading Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole’s message, held a different perspective.
“The power of the Immortal Descendant… the technology it contains is inherently impossible to disseminate,” Zhang Yu thought to himself. “If it were truly spread, the Heavenly Court’s arrival would likely trigger a purge of us all… No, more accurately, anyone who learned it would probably be forced to join the Righteous Qi Alliance immediately.”
“The dissemination of Immortal Authority is something the Heavenly Court would absolutely never tolerate or accept.”
“Moreover, Immortal Descendants are a type of authority. I myself don’t fully understand the underlying technology and principles, so I couldn’t promote it even if I wanted to.”
“And purely relying on Kunlun in the Palm…”
For Zhang Yu, who had cultivated Kunlun in the Palm to Level 40, the myriad mysteries within it were as familiar as the back of his hand.
“Simply relying on Kunlun in the Palm and its spatial distortion techniques… it would be extremely difficult to break through the Spatial Lockdown. These are two entirely different approaches to spatial technology.”
As this realization dawned on him, a flicker of doubt arose. If Kunlun in the Palm couldn’t breach the Spatial Lockdown, why had Brother Dao believed this cultivation art would interfere with their plans?
After seeing the Righteous Qi Alliance’s propaganda today, Zhang Yu suddenly understood.
He murmured to himself, “Kunlun in the Palm might not be able to break through the Spatial Lockdown, but its spatial distortion techniques could be used to prevent the Righteous Qi Alliance from detonating the various layers.”
“That’s the true threat Kunlun in the Palm poses to them.”
“If I want to break through the Spatial Lockdown…”
When Zhang Yu returned to the Supreme Clarity Realm, he saw the Immortal Sect daoist art floating in the Soul-Guiding Pool: the Three Realms and Ten Directions Great Void Barrier.
“Perhaps only the spatial technology contained within this daoist art can break through the Righteous Qi Alliance’s Spatial Lockdown.”
After the Battle of the Sun concluded and Divine Monarch Chain Nexus perished, Zhang Yu had seized the opportunity to enter the Supreme Clarity Realm to see what cultivation art the Divine Monarch had dropped.
Upon discovering this Immortal Sect daoist art, Zhang Yu was naturally overjoyed.
Especially after examining its contents, Zhang Yu became even more certain.
“Divine Monarch Chain Nexus must have used this daoist art to establish the Spatial Lockdown.”
Yet, even at this moment, Zhang Yu had not begun cultivating this daoist art.
“Cultivating daoist arts is inherently expensive, and cultivating Immortal Sect-level daoist arts is even more exorbitant.”
As Zhang Yu studied the Three Realms and Ten Directions Great Void Barrier, he thought to himself, “To cultivate this daoist arts, I’ll likely need to build several factories, establish over a hundred production lines, and integrate the resources of a dozen upstream and downstream companies to meet the requirements.”
“In ancient times, if cultivators relied solely on their own accumulated resources, it might have taken them centuries to master this daoist art.”
Reflecting on the current state of the war, Zhang Yu sighed, “If the Righteous Qi Alliance hadn’t successively occupied the fourth and fifth layers and plundered vast quantities of resources beforehand, they likely wouldn’t have been able to supply the massive quantities of Spirit Transformation cultivators needed for this daoist art.”
“For me, continuing to bury myself in solitary cultivation while watching the situation deteriorate… isn’t the optimal choice.”
Zhang Yu mused inwardly, “As a cultivator’s cultivation level increases, they gain access to greater resources.”
“The same holds true for me.”
As he pondered, Zhang Yu’s mind conjured his current stats:
Just as his strength had surged upon breaking through to Foundation Establishment and Golden Core, his power had also dramatically increased the moment he reached the Nascent Soul Realm.
His dao heart had first undergone a violent surge, reaching Level 33 (7.44%). His physical strength had climbed to Level 33.25, and his Magic Power had repeatedly broken through barriers, ultimately reaching 31,989 units.
This formidable and profound foundation had granted Zhang Yu a massive boost to his base strength the moment he broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Judging solely from these three fundamental stats, his transformation compared to his Golden Core Realm self was nothing short of a complete rebirth — a qualitative leap forward.
“With my current cultivation level and the power of an Immortal Descendant, I can definitely gain an advantage in the war. Then, through Teacher Magnetic Pole, I can unite the Ten Universities and gather even more resources.”
“Using these resources to advance my cultivation and master this daoist art… that’s the best approach.”
“While diligent cultivation is essential, blind devotion alone won’t suffice. If I can’t leverage greater power as my cultivation grows, how can I progress along the Immortal Dao?”
With this realization, Zhang Yu’s resolve solidified.
Just then, his gaze shifted, drawn to the cultivation arts and knowledge within the Soul-Guiding Pool.
During his five months of seclusion, the number of cultivation arts in the Soul-Guiding Pool had steadily increased. This was clearly due to Zhang Pianpian’s activities, witnessing countless deaths and causing numerous cultivation arts to be deposited into the pool.
Most of these arts held little interest for Zhang Yu, while a few intrigued him but lacked the time to study.
However, one particular daoist art caught his eye: “Primordial Qi Invisible Great Handprint? Isn’t that a military-grade martial art from the Finance Department?”
“Did it drop when Jiutian Liu died just now?”
Zhang Yu had always been fascinated by the Finance Department’s Qi Luck technology. After memorizing the art, he withdrew from the Supreme Clarity Realm.
Next, he sent a direct message to Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole, but received no response.
Zhang Yu then contacted Divine Monarch Greenwood to inquire about Magnetic Pole’s situation.
Zhang Yu: “Teacher, is Teacher Magnetic Pole under a lot of pressure?”
Divine Monarch Greenwood: “Why do you ask?”
Zhang Yu: “Teacher, I’ve broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm and want to help Teacher Magnetic Pole.”
Reading Zhang Yu’s message, Divine Monarch Greenwood was instantly torn.
He could sense that the pressure on Magnetic Pole was growing with the changing situation.
Though he had tried to share the burden, he felt helpless against the combined pressure from the Nine Schools.
The ongoing Spirit Transformation Conference was becoming increasingly tense, with growing divisions among the schools.
Yet, for Zhang Yu… Divine Monarch Greenwood still hoped he would continue his secluded cultivation to accumulate strength.
Just as Greenwood was struggling with this dilemma, Zhang Yu said, “Teacher, trust me. I can now be Teacher Magnetic Pole’s strongest ally.”
Divine Monarch Greenwood replied: “Come to the Grand Void.”
Divine Monarch Greenwood: “Magnetic Pole is in a closed-door meeting with the other nine Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs. I’ll take you to see her.”
Meanwhile.
Within a magnificent conference hall surrounded by layers of formations, Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole sat silently in the main seat, coldly observing the Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs below.
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus of Heavenly Demon University spoke first: “Magnetic Pole, your World-Piercing Cone remains unrepaired, and you continue to withhold information about Spatial Technology…”
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole replied calmly, “I’ve said before, the World-Piercing Cone will be repaired soon. As for Spatial Technology? Would you even understand it?”
“Enough!” Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus snapped coldly. “For the past five months, you’ve been repeating the same excuses, constantly stalling. I suspect you’re not unwilling, but incapable. If you lack the ability, relinquish your position!”
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole glared back, retorting, “Very well, Sinful Lotus. I’ll gladly relinquish my position to you. Let’s see how you handle the war situation.”
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus smiled faintly. “The war on the Third Layer has already drained too many of our resources. Continuing this conflict will only lead to further losses.”
Zhipan Divine Monarch of Vajra University interjected, “You want to withdraw?”
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus retorted, “What else? Continue pouring vast resources into the battlefield, endlessly depleting ourselves against the enemy?”
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole countered, “Sinful Lotus, if we scatter, we’ll be picked off one by one. It’s precisely because we’ve concentrated our main forces here that we’ve forced the enemy to engage us head-on. If we withdraw… without the pressure on the front lines, they’ll be free to rampage across the Second Layer without restraint…”
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus laughed. “Magnetic Pole, your words sound noble, but how much has been built on the front lines in the past six months? How many Civil Engineering companies have grown fat? How much has your subordinate Greenwood profited? Of course you don’t want to leave, but we can no longer afford to indulge you.”
She sneered. “Besides, I never suggested we split up. I propose we consolidate the resources and populations of all ten universities into a unified defense. Wouldn’t that negate the enemy’s spatial advantage?”
Divine Monarch Thousand Puppets of Immortal Armaments University objected, “With so many people, how can we simply concentrate them at will?”
Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus replied, “We can use the cryopreservation technology from our Heavenly Demon University. We’ll categorize and compress everyone’s souls and bodies, then freeze them.”
“They were planning to join the Righteous Qi Alliance, weren’t they? How can they possibly do that now?”
Divine Monarch Wisdom Foundation frowned. “I don’t agree. Who knows how much you Heavenly Demon University will secretly use after storing it all?”
The Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch from Joyful Union University proposed, “I have a suggestion. Let all the Spirit Transformation and Nascent Soul cultivators from each school come and engage in dual cultivation with me. I will gather everyone’s strength, uniting our hearts and minds to defeat the Demonic Cults!”
Divine Monarch Thousand Puppets from Immortal Armaments University objected, “That’s impractical. How would we determine who contributes more or less during dual cultivation? How would we divide the results? I propose we pool our resources to construct an aerial fortress city based on my design.”
He projected a design blueprint and explained, “This aerial fortress city can accommodate the entire population of the Ten Universities. Not only will it concentrate our forces, but its mobility will allow us to shift from a defensive posture to an offensive one…”
Meanwhile, the Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch from Heavenly Sword University remarked, “Heavenly Sword University’s main campus has always been capable of aerial movement. Building your contraption would be a waste of resources. We might as well just modify our existing campus…”