Chapter 701: True Monarch Heaven Devourer, Great Sage’s Heir
Kunxu’s Third Layer, Grand Void.
Myriad Laws University, located in an office within the Third Layer’s academic district.
Mo Shangjin, now formally a graduate student in the Artifact Refinement Department, was receiving guidance from his mentor.
“Mo Shangjin, since you transferred from the Civil Engineering Department, you should understand how rare this opportunity is.”
“In the past, a student like you wouldn’t even have been allowed to set foot in the Artifact Refinement Department.”
“But ask yourself: have you truly given your all? Don’t tell me you need to juggle part-time work and combat duties. The Artifact Refinement Department is full of students who balance war and exams. Does fighting in a war exempt you from exams?”
“Mo Shangjin, don’t think that just because Principal Greenwood is your teacher, you can coast by under my supervision.”
“I despise nepotism more than anything. Connections mean nothing here.”
Mo Shangjin listened respectfully to True Monarch North Sea’s lecture. He knew his admission to the Artifact Refinement Department owed much to Divine Monarch Greenwood’s influence, making him cherish this opportunity all the more.
True Monarch North Sea wasn’t singling him out; he held every student to the same rigorous standards.
After scolding Mo Shangjin, True Monarch North Sea turned to another student beside him. “What about the materials I asked you to review last time? Which papers and literature have you read? Don’t give me excuses. Graduate students aren’t undergraduates. If you maintain this attitude, I’ll have you reassigned to a different mentor.”
“And you — the task I assigned three days ago? Still not finished? Three whole days! The Civil Engineering Department could have built an entire building in that time, and the Security Department could have slaughtered hundreds or even thousands of people. You can’t even complete such a simple task? This isn’t about ability; it’s about your attitude…”
As True Monarch North Sea continued his reprimand, the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly oppressive.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and a smile spread across his face.
Mo Shangjin and the other students exchanged glances, wondering who their mentor was addressing. They had rarely seen True Monarch North Sea display such a warm smile.
In the next moment, True Monarch North Sea said, “True Monarch Blazing Light, everyone in the department knows your situation. At your level, why would you even need to attend classes? Should we be teaching you, or should you be teaching us?”
As a Nascent Soul True Monarch who had participated in the earlier operation to support Zhang Yu, True Monarch North Sea had long understood Magnetic Pole’s deep regard for Zhang Yu.
With a humble expression, he said, “No need to worry. Take as much time off as you need.”
“Our course scheduling is inadequate. We must not hinder the Research Association’s plans.”
“Very well… very well… very well. Please send my regards to Principal Greenwood.”
After ending the call, True Monarch North Sea turned to his students and said calmly, “If you all had True Monarch Blazing Light’s capabilities, I wouldn’t have to lecture you every day.”
“Alright, everyone disperse. Implement everything I’ve just said. I’ll speak with you again in a few days.”
The students scattered like pardoned prisoners.
Mo Shangjin sighed inwardly as he listened to this exchange. “True Monarch Blazing Light is Zhang Yu, isn’t he? I never imagined that the junior brother who used to follow me around a few years ago would have reached such heights.”
Meanwhile, after obtaining permission from True Monarch North Sea, Zhang Yu once again devoted himself to his cultivation, steadily advancing the level of the Three Realms and Ten Directions Great Void Barrier.
After all, the level of this Immortal Sect Daoist Art directly correlated with his progress in Spatial Technology research.
The intensity of the battlefield, the universities’ relentless pursuit of Spatial Technology, and the fierce competition among various spatial products all seemed like invisible hands pushing Zhang Yu from behind, urging him to accelerate… accelerate… and accelerate even further.
However, Zhang Yu couldn’t neglect his own cultivation while studying the Three Realms and Ten Directions Great Void Barrier.
After his battle against three Nascent Soul experts and learning of the Righteous Qi Alliance Leader’s interest in him, Zhang Yu grew increasingly focused on enhancing his personal strength.
Improving his fundamental attributes was crucial not only for maximizing his abilities but also for the growth of his Nascent Soul.
As Zhang Yu practiced Immortal Sect Daoist Arts, his Nascent Soul, resembling a human figure formed from swirling clouds, executed martial arts techniques nearby. It unleashed waves of fist winds and palm shadows, constantly adapting to the power inherited from his physical body.
“Dao heart, Magic Power, and physical strength — once each fundamental attribute reaches the Nascent Soul Peak and is fully inherited by the Nascent Soul, the Nascent Soul will undergo an evolution.”
“Only after three complete evolutions will the Nascent Soul reach its final form in the Nascent Soul Stage.”
While Zhang Yu immersed himself in cultivation and study, the battlefield erupted into even fiercer clashes.
Although the Ten Great Universities continuously introduced spatial products, greatly enhancing cultivators’ combat power and resistance to Spatial Lockdowns, the Righteous Qi Alliance’s technology had also advanced. Their deployments became faster, covered wider areas, and increasingly featured Spatial Barriers capable of completely isolating Spirit Realm signals.
This technological arms race intensified the conflict between the two sides.
However, ordinary people remained unaware of the front-line situation, only sensing the escalating intensity of the war through propaganda formulas disseminated in the Spirit Realm and Dark Spirit Realm.
In the Spirit Realm, Ye Xingli sighed in her livestream: “Another plea for help from the Righteous Qi Alliance. This Junior College Student claims that after joining the Alliance, he’s been left without work or income, forced to hunt and farm for survival, living a primitive and hopeless existence.”
“I want everyone to understand: the Righteous Qi Alliance is no paradise for Junior College Students. They lure you in only to leave you idle, crush your hopes, and turn you into useless shells, forcing you to worship the Demonic Cults and Evil Gods.”
In the Dark Spirit Realm, True Monarch Calculated Deduction projected a line graph and explained: “This chart shows the magical artifact production data from the Ten Great Universities over the past year. As you can see, production has plummeted for the last three months, now less than 50% of its original level.”
“The Ten Great Universities are facing wave after wave of internal unemployment. Even cement is being fought over as food, and prices have skyrocketed severalfold. The entire society is in dire straits, with countless Junior College Students fleeing to the Righteous Qi Alliance every day.
“I dare predict that the Ten Greats are on the verge of collapse. They won’t be able to hold out much longer.”
As the war between the two factions intensified, Netherworld University soon unveiled its own spatial product.
During the launch event, Divine Monarch Nether Spring declared, “Traditional spatial products, though touted for their ability to deflect attacks, often deplete their Magic Power after only a few deflections. They struggle to maintain spatial compression, rendering their defensive capabilities largely symbolic.”
“Our Profound Nether Pearl addresses these shortcomings by significantly increasing Magic Power capacity, enabling extended standby time and vast spatial storage. This transforms attack deflection into a truly reliable defensive measure.”
“To ensure quality, each Profound Nether Pearl is crafted from bone materials cultivated and refined for six months in our Human Bone Fields. We absolutely refuse to use three-month, hastily grown bones!”
Watching Netherworld University’s product launch, Tian Shengong frowned inwardly. “This is specifically designed for battlefield environments, aiming to seize the war market.”
He soon learned that many universities, and even numerous cultivators from the Ten Greats, had purchased Profound Nether Pearls specifically for battlefield use.
In response to the competition, Immortal Armaments University launched the first price-cutting offensive, announcing discounts on interest rates for all installment plans.
After the high-end and low-end markets, the war market was now being gradually eroded as well, intensifying the competition for Personal Space products.
In the factory outside the Grand Void, Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu walked side by side, Yu Xinghan explaining the factory’s construction progress.
This was Zhang Yu’s specially designed magical artifact factory.
After earning considerable wealth for his company through Spatial Technology, Zhang Yu had begun planning his own assembly line to produce the magical artifacts he needed.
“Although my personal combat strength is lacking, if I can unleash a sky-full of magical artifacts by activating the Great Void Cloud Repository, that weakness will be well compensated,” Zhang Yu thought. “If I’d had more magical artifacts prepared during my battle with the Great Luminosity trio, the fight might have been much easier.”
Yu Xinghan could only describe Zhang Yu’s approach as a Spirit Coin offensive.
Just as they finished discussing the factory’s construction details, Yu Xinghan’s voice suddenly echoed in Zhang Yu’s mind: “Zhang Yu, are we really… part of the Righteous Qi Alliance?”
This was the power Fu Ji had gained after her Evil God Power surged, allowing believers to communicate directly mind-to-mind across vast distances.
The question had been brewing in Yu Xinghan’s heart for a long time.
After all, they were believers of an Evil God, while the Righteous Qi Alliance was teeming with Evil Gods and their followers, inevitably sparking this doubt in Yu Xinghan’s mind.
Since his Third Eye Mystic Power had been upgraded, he could instantly learn any martial arts technique with just a glance.
Even during the last incident when he informed Zhang Yu of the ambush, Yu Xinghan had personally witnessed Zhang Yu’s solo battle against three Nascent Soul cultivators. Ever since then, he felt like he had learned something new.
But Yu Xinghan dared not use it, so he felt stifled and restless.
Especially after the Great Upheaval, when unlicensed cultivators and forbidden cultivation arts proliferated everywhere, Yu Xinghan’s frustration grew. He possessed immense power but dared not unleash it, even deliberately suppressing his cultivation.
Hearing Yu Xinghan’s question, Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and replied telepathically, “Though we are both believers of the Evil God, we are not members of the Righteous Qi Alliance. We can’t even truly be considered followers of the Evil God. At most, we merely borrow the Evil God’s power to achieve our own goals.”
He added, “In the future… whenever you have time, come to the Research Association’s office to find me. You can observe A-Zhen and my cultivation, and I’ll help you enhance your Magic Power.”
Kunxu’s Third Layer, amidst the ruins of a battlefield.
A monsterfolk with an ox head leaped through the darkness.
This Ox Monster was an incarnation of Zhang Yu, created using the Monster Saint’s Myriad Transformations Divine Scripture and controlled through the Spirit Realm.
The Monster Saint’s Myriad Transformations Divine Scripture, a black art passed down from the Great Sage’s Heir, not only allowed for self-transformation but also enabled the creation of monsterfolk incarnations.
During the Ten Greats League, Zhang Yu had used this technique in conjunction with the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor to create several small dragons.
However, to conceal the scripture’s true nature, those dragons had been crudely made, lacking the lifelike realism of the current Ox Monster, which seemed like a genuine monsterfolk with its own wisdom and will.
Under Zhang Yu’s control, the Ox Monster was now carrying out a mission for the Righteous Qi Alliance.
In recent times, Zhang Yu had remained at the Research Association, sending out his monsterfolk incarnations as believers of the Fortune God to complete missions.
Though Zhang Yu hadn’t yet had time to cultivate the Monster Saint’s Myriad Transformations Divine Scripture beyond level twenty-odd, leaving this incarnation with only early-stage Golden Core realm strength, it was still sufficient to accumulate merit points and enhance Fu Ji’s authority within the Righteous Qi Alliance.
When Zhang Yu arrived at the mission site and saw the wary cultivators before him, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s with those looks?”
“Hmm? You think I’m a monsterfolk, so I must be evil, disregard rules and morality, and would double-cross you to steal your things?”
“Are you discriminating against monsterfolk?”
“Discriminating against me, a monsterfolk who has risked my life countless times for the Righteous Qi Alliance, whose brother and younger brother died completing missions, and who still fights on the front lines?”
Having undertaken numerous missions using his monsterfolk Incarnation recently, Zhang Yu was well-versed in handling monsterfolk discrimination.
After his barrage of scolding, the Righteous Qi Alliance members present, who had also come to complete the mission, couldn’t help but feel awkward and eventually apologized to him.
Just then, a burst of maniacal laughter echoed through the air. “Good! Well said!”
A Monkey Demon descended from the sky with terrifying pressure, its long staff sweeping horizontally to point at the crowd. Baring its fangs, it roared, “Who here is discriminating against monsterfolk?”
Zhang Yu froze momentarily, inwardly remarking, “A Nascent Soul-Tier Great Monster?”
In the next moment, the Monkey Demon roared again, “Hand over everything in your pockets! If you do, I’ll spare you this time.”
“You fucking…” Zhang Yu cursed inwardly. “How can you expect people to stop discriminating against monsterfolk when you act like this?”
The Monkey Demon’s gaze swept across the group and landed on Zhang Yu. “Little Ox, you’re quite impressive. This True Monarch admires you. You only need to hand over half your possessions.”
Zhang Yu couldn’t help but retort, “I still have to give up half? I’m a monsterfolk too!”
A fierce glint flashed in the Monkey Demon’s eyes. “Youngster, that’s why I’m only taking half from you.”
“Remember this: I am the Great Sage’s Heir! In Kunxu, above and below, who doesn’t owe the Great Sage? You all owe him! This is just repayment! Everything I take, from heaven to earth, is my rightful due!”
With a flash of movement and a gust of demonic wind, he snatched away all the magical artifacts and Bionics from the group. When his gaze swept over Zhang Yu, he spat out a curse, “Poverty-stricken beast!” before vanishing without a trace.
Only his parting words lingered in the air: “I’ve taken the goods and accepted the mission. You can all go home now.”
At the Research Association, Zhang Yu, who was practicing Immortal Sect Daoist Arts, frowned. “Is that guy really True Monarch Heaven Devourer? The Great Sage’s Heir from the Righteous Qi Alliance?”
Shaking his head, Zhang Yu controlled his monsterfolk Incarnation to lie low, preparing for his next mission.
Just a few days later, Heavenly Demon University unveiled its latest spatial product.
Zhang Yu’s projection appeared at the launch event, where Divine Monarch Sinful Lotus stood on the stage. “To deliver the ultimate product experience,” she announced, “every Heavenly Demon Secret Treasury we produce will be equipped with an artifact spirit-like entity.”
“Our proprietary artifact spirit-like technology will provide each user with cutting-edge intelligence, allowing your Personal Space to effortlessly handle multitasking, store and retrieve massive quantities of materials, and provide support in high-intensity combat scenarios. The overall performance and responsiveness have been dramatically improved…”