Chapter 713: Kunxu Funeral, Zhang Yu Takes Control
Outside the funeral hall, lines of text scrolled across Zhang Yu’s Bionic Eye:
“Welcome to the graduation ceremony of True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter. Are you a relative, friend, or visitor?”
Zhang Yu knew that “visitors” were those who paid an entrance fee to observe the funeral from the outer hall. Only relatives and friends could enter the inner hall to participate in the actual ceremony and bid on the deceased’s belongings.
The criteria for becoming a relative or friend were simple: in addition to the entrance fee, a deposit was required as collateral for the auction.
After paying the deposit, Zhang Yu entered the hall and was immediately greeted by projections detailing True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter’s life.
As the protagonist of the funeral and the target of the relatives’ and friends’ bidding, True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter’s biography, achievements, awards, certifications, positions, salary, and other accomplishments were meticulously displayed.
As Zhang Yu scanned the projections, he unconsciously absorbed the entirety of True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter’s life.
True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter was the son of a peasant.
Born into a poor tenant farmer’s family, he learned the importance of earning money at a young age.
To make a living, he farmed the land, worked as a laborer, served as a waiter, studied martial arts, and even ran escorts.
His intelligence and exceptional talent for martial arts led to his recruitment as a disciple by a prominent martial arts sect.
But True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter was not content. Even as a child, he harbored boundless ambition and desire, with a relentless pursuit of fame and fortune far exceeding that of his peers.
After mastering supreme martial arts, he participated in the Martial Examination, sweeping through the competition to become the Martial Champion. He then personally led the imperial army in suppressing the various martial arts sects, transforming into a dreaded demonic figure feared throughout the Martial World and a renowned general of the imperial court.
During the suppression of the martial arts sects, True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter’s ambition and desire drove him relentlessly. He craved greater power and sought to control even more formidable martial arts.
He plundered the sects’ martial arts manuals, ultimately creating a cultivation art that transcended mortal martial arts — a technique capable of ascending to the Immortal Dao. At the age of one hundred, he reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, gradually gaining insight into the Immortal Dao World beyond the mortal realm.
In those days, the Immortal Dao World remained feudal and unenlightened, adhering to ancient customs and maintaining a reclusive posture, rarely appearing directly in the mortal realm.
Later, True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter, relying on his extraordinary wisdom and combat prowess, carved a path of slaughter and plunder through the Immortal Dao World. He ascended through the Cultivation Realms by repeatedly facing life-and-death crises, amassing wealth and power along the way.
The era itself was undergoing transformation. During the years True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter climbed to the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao, the Immortal Dao World gradually merged with the mortal realm. Sects and factions embraced the world with increasingly proactive and radical approaches.
By the time True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter finally joined Myriad Laws University, he had already risen to a high-ranking position within a mercenary group, participating in numerous sect wars and achieving a glorious professional combat record.
Yet even as the sect wars raged and the mercenary market thrived, True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter had already discerned the crisis lurking beneath the surface of prosperity.
He believed that… as the Ten Great Sects increasingly standardized and regulated the development of Kunxu, mercenaries would inevitably be relegated to the annals of history.
“My rise was inseparable from the currents of the era. It was because I perfectly aligned with the merging of the Immortal Dao and the mortal realm, the surging tide of sect wars, and the relentless pursuit of combat techniques that I could ride the wind and soar to the heavens.”
“From the perspective of the Great Historical Cycle, war will not be an eternal theme. Some cultivators today, having been born, cultivated, and risen to prominence during times of war, mistakenly believe that war is the world’s immutable reality. This is incorrect.”
“This mindset is no different from that of the old cultivators who clung to the belief that the separation of the reclusive, carefree immortals and the mundane world was the eternal order. Both fail to grasp the objective laws governing the cyclical nature of eras.”
“Now, we stand on the cusp of another epochal shift.”
“The age of war has passed.”
“The education sector is the sunrise industry of Kunxu’s future.”
“To continue advancing on the Immortal Dao, adapting to the changing times is paramount.”
True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter declared these words.
To align with the evolving era and market demands, True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter resolved to prepare early. Amidst the bewildered gazes of his colleagues and family, he pursued studies in the field of education.
Subsequently, adopting the mindset of a complete novice, he started from scratch, dedicating years to cultivating expertise in the education sector. He transformed his martial instincts into pedagogical skills, eventually securing a position at Myriad Laws University and gradually rising through the ranks to become the Department Head of the Security Department.
Watching the projected scenes, Fu Ji remarked, “What a load of hype! They’re really pushing True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter to the max to drive up the auction price.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Well, he is a renowned Nascent Soul cultivator. It’s understandable. When buying corpse components from Converging Dragon Garden, they only list the dimensions and parameters. Who cares about the corpse’s life story?”
As Zhang Yu’s gaze swept across the projections, he noticed that in addition to biographical details, they also listed True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter’s signature cultivation arts.
One of them was a military-grade technique from the Security Department called No Harm, No Kill, No Touch Fist.
As the department’s flagship technique, this fist art emphasized controlling opponents without causing any harm or even making physical contact. It aimed to disrupt their Magic Power flow and neutralize their combat capabilities.
Using this technique, True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter had achieved an astonishing record of a hundred battles with a hundred victories, but zero kills and zero injuries — a dazzling highlight on his resume.
Furthermore, True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter had been nurtured by the sect, where he learned a True Inheritance-level Immortal Sect Technique called Boundless Swiftness Sutra. This technique was said to grant him eternal initiative, allowing him to strike with terrifying speed.
After the introduction to Heavenly Fiend True Lord’s various achievements and abilities concluded, the final projection displayed before Zhang Yu revealed rows of items up for auction.
Remains, Bionics, magical artifacts, Bionic Eyes…
Spirit Realm browsing history, video collection records, Spirit Realm posts, Spirit Realm photo albums, social media…
Every item used by True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter during his lifetime, along with all associated data, was now presented as auction items before Zhang Yu.
“Truly a Nascent Soul True Monarch who adapted to the times,” Zhang Yu mused inwardly. “Instead of desperately deleting his browsing history before his last breath, he deliberately preserved it for auction. This Kunxu-level funeral is far more modern than Brother Dao’s.”
As Zhang Yu scrolled past the item list, he truly entered the funeral venue.
At the center stood True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter’s remains, resembling a lifelike statue.
Within a hundred-meter radius of the center lay the inner sanctum of the funeral, where attendees could observe, touch, and even examine the deceased up close.
Beyond this radius stretched the outer sanctum, where casual visitors could only observe the funeral from a distance.
When Zhang Yu arrived at the inner grounds, he saw many Nascent Soul True Monarchs from Myriad Laws University already present.
In addition to familiar faces like True Monarch String Tone, True Monarch North Sea, and True Monarch Thunder Pole from the Artifact Refinement Department, there were also True Monarch Celestial Seal from the Talisman Department, True Monarch Miraculous Hand from the Medical Department, True Monarch Grand Harmony from the Investment Management Office, and others.
At that moment, each Nascent Soul True Monarch wore a solemn expression. Even before Zhang Yu approached, he felt a heavy atmosphere pressing down on him, like a dark undercurrent surging beneath the surface, threatening to tear apart anything that drew near.
Through Zhang Yu’s Nine Nether Demon Eye, he could see that every Nascent Soul True Monarch present was continuously exchanging vast amounts of Spirit Realm information with one another.
“Though they appear silent…” Zhang Yu thought to himself, “the Nascent Soul True Monarchs here are already engaged in intense communication.”
However, this communication was strictly confined to the high-ranking Nascent Soul True Monarchs of Myriad Laws University. The other cultivators present, especially those in the outer grounds, had no chance of participating or even gleaning a hint of its content.
Just as Zhang Yu was contemplating how to join the exchange, he received a message from True Monarch Thunder Pole.
Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole’s Junior Brother greeted Zhang Yu before pulling him into a group chat.
Zhang Yu glanced at the group’s name: Heavenly Slaughter Funeral Temporary Communication Group.
As soon as he joined, True Monarch String Tone’s furious roar echoed through the chat.
True Monarch String Tone: “Have you all gone mad? You want to withdraw at a time like this?”
True Monarch Miraculous Hand replied calmly, “String Tone, the Celestial Monsters have already retreated from the Grand Void. Now that Divine Monarch Bloodfall has fallen, Netherworld University’s withdrawal is inevitable.”
“With both universities withdrawing, the collapse will be like an avalanche. The longer we delay, the greater our losses will be.”
True Monarch String Tone snorted coldly. “The Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs may need our support at any moment. If we withdraw and cause the Fifth Layer to shatter, preventing the Heavenly Court from descending, who will bear the responsibility for that?”
True Monarch Miraculous Hand sighed. “String Tone, I know your Artifact Refinement Department has staked everything on Magnetic Pole, but… it’s time to abandon your illusions.”
He continued, each word deliberate: “If Magnetic Pole and the others could breach the firmament and reopen the passages to the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Layers… they would have done it already!”
“They’re going to lose.”
“We’ve already lost.”
“Defeat demands responsibility, the spirit to face it. We must plan new strategies based on the premise of failure.”
Hearing True Monarch Miraculous Hand’s words, the Artifact Refinement Department’s True Monarchs immediately protested.
True Monarch Thunder Pole roared, “Myriad Hands! You’re just trying to seize power and profit from this chaos! Do you think we can save ourselves by retreating? Or have you already decided to surrender?”
True Monarch Miraculous Hand replied calmly, “Look at yourselves now. You’re like gamblers blinded by desperation, clinging to the last shred of hope and betting everything on a slim chance of turning the tide.”
“I’m sorry, but I have no interest in dying with you. If you refuse to retreat, we’ll withdraw on our own.”
With these words, the Nascent Soul True Monarchs present split into two factions. One, led by the Artifact Refinement Department, vowed to defend the Grand Void, unite the schools, and prepare to support the Spirit Transformation cultivators. They could be called the “Defenders.”
Another faction, primarily composed of members from the Medical, Dao Techniques, and Security Departments, was larger in number and believed the battle’s outcome was already decided. They argued for early preparations to minimize losses and could be termed the “Retreat Faction.”
The two sides clashed fiercely, trading insults and accusations. The “Stay Faction” saw retreat as surrender, accusing the “Retreat Faction” of planning to surrender to the Righteous Qi Alliance.
The “Retreat Faction” countered that the “Stay Faction” was blinded by desperation, insisting that continuing the fight would lead to utter ruin.
As the argument escalated, a voice cut through the chaos:
True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter: “Everyone, please listen to me. Let’s discuss this calmly and maintain harmony.”
True Monarch Thunder Pole: “Heavenly Slaughter, shut your mouth! The dead should remain silent. You’re nothing but a wisp of Yin Soul salvaged by Myriad Hands. You have no right to speak here.”
Watching the protagonist of the funeral — True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter, who had once dominated the world — reduced to a mere bystander in the group, Zhang Yu felt a pang of melancholy.
As Zhang Yu listened to the group’s exchanges, he pondered how to persuade them to support his plan.
Just as the Nascent Soul True Monarchs’ argument reached its peak, a notification flashed across their Bionic Eyes:
The observation of the remains has officially begun.
During this funeral segment, all participating relatives and friends could approach the corpse, touch it, and examine it closely to ensure there were no issues before the formal auction began.
True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter chuckled, “Everyone, please give me this final respect. Put aside your anger and send me off properly.”
True Monarch Miraculous Hand sighed softly and stepped forward to stand before Heavenly Slaughter’s corpse.
“Rest assured,” Miraculous Hand said. “As your friend, I will ensure you receive a proper send-off.”
Whether driven by the desire to find a bargain or by ancient funeral traditions, the other Nascent Soul True Monarchs present also approached, encircling Heavenly Slaughter’s corpse to begin their examination.
However, just as True Monarch String Tone and the other Artifact Refining True Monarchs drew closest, they suddenly saw Heavenly Slaughter’s corpse tremble slightly.
A faint human-shaped figure emerged from Heavenly Slaughter’s body.
It was his Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul’s hand gently brushed against the bodies of the cultivators.
It was a divine speed that surpassed them all. By the time the assembled cultivators even registered the movement and attempted to react, everything had already been settled with astonishing swiftness.
In this blinding speed, True Monarch String Tone and the others couldn’t even fully track the trajectory of True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter’s Nascent Soul. They could only glimpse a blurry, shimmering form that seemed to vibrate before them.
The Nascent Soul’s hands pierced the air like lightning, yet swept across their bodies like a gentle breeze.
Only when True Monarch String Tone collapsed to the ground did the sound of shattering air erupt through the hall like thunder.
The cultivation art known as the No Harm, No Kill, No Touch Fist, when amplified by the Nascent Soul, unleashed an even more potent suppression of Magic Power.
Despite its name suggesting “no touch,” the art’s true power lay in direct contact, where its ability to suppress Magic Power reached its peak.
At that moment, the Magic Power within True Monarch String Tone’s body had been completely silenced, and all his Bionics had ceased functioning.
He wasn’t alone. Every Nascent Soul True Monarch of the stay faction present had been struck by True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter in that instant, their internal Magic Power forcibly severed.
Meanwhile, the retreat faction — True Monarch Miraculous Hand, True Monarch Celestial Seal, and others — had coordinated with Heavenly Slaughter to launch a simultaneous attack. Each unleashed their cultivation arts, summoned magical artifacts, and released their Nascent Souls, locking onto their targets.
True Monarch String Tone, observing the scene, also took action.
Though their Magic Power and Bionics had been forcibly shut down, they released their Nascent Souls and summoned magical artifacts, preparing for battle.
A full-scale internal conflict within Myriad Laws seemed poised to erupt.
True Monarch String Tone said, “No Harm, No Kill, No Touch Fist, and Heaven’s Edge Divine Speed… Heavenly Slaughter… you faked your death and then ambushed us?”
Everything had happened too quickly and at too close a range. True Monarch String Tone knew that if Heavenly Slaughter had allowed them to create sufficient distance and prepare for battle, he would never have succeeded so easily.
But the current environment was precisely the domain in which Divine Monarch Heavenly Slaughter excelled.
The Heavenly Slaughter who had been a corpse moments ago now seemed fully revived. He twisted his neck and gazed at True Monarch String Tone and the others.
“Funerals are truly special occasions,” he said. “Whether Old Nascent Souls or New Nascent Souls, all are willing to attend and even approach me at close range.”
True Monarch Thunder Pole glared at True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter, his voice cold as ice. “Heavenly Slaughter! What are you planning?”
True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter replied, “Fellow cultivators, Myriad Laws University stands at the brink of survival. We have been defeated and must retreat.”
“With the fall of each Spirit Transformation cultivator in recent days, our defeat on the Spirit Transformation Battlefield is now inevitable.”
“Currently, the Righteous Qi Alliance is focusing its main forces on encircling the Divine Monarchs above, which is why they haven’t yet attacked the Second and Third Layers.”
“In the coming days, they may turn their attention to us after eliminating all the Spirit Transformation cultivators.”
“But… there’s also the possibility that after Divine Monarch Bloodfall’s demise, or after the next Divine Monarch falls, or even in the very next moment… the Righteous Qi Alliance’s Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs could break through the firmament and target us directly.”
“We need only one. Just a single Spirit Transformation cultivator descending into the Grand Void could annihilate us utterly, vaporizing all our assets here.”
“The risk… is escalating rapidly with each passing second.”
True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter spoke each word deliberately: “Our only option now is to retreat as quickly as possible, gather our forces and assets, find a place to hide, and stall for time…”
True Monarch String Tone retorted angrily, “How is that any different from surrendering? Do you think they won’t find us?”
True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter sighed. “What else can we do?! Everyone, the war is over. We’ve lost! We must accept defeat! It’s time to face reality. Stalling for time and preserving our strength are the only things we can do now.”
“I don’t have time to waste arguing with you. If you refuse to retreat with me, I’ll have to move you myself.”
True Monarch Heavenly Slaughter fixed his gaze on True Monarch String Tone and the others. “I’ve temporarily suppressed your Magic Power and Bionics. With only your Nascent Souls and magical artifacts, you stand no chance.”
“Surrender. It’s the wisest choice you can make now. The power of Myriad Laws shouldn’t be wasted here.”
Meanwhile, many cultivators outside the inner chamber had begun to sense the changes within.
Jin Jun, who had entered as a tourist, exclaimed in surprise, “What just happened?”
To the Golden Core Cultivators who couldn’t perceive Nascent Souls, the scene had unfolded like this: True Monarch String Tone and the others had been surrounding the corpse one moment, and the next, they were collapsing to the ground one by one, only for the corpse to suddenly come back to life.
Bei Wufeng frowned, observing the tense standoff between the two sides. “Something’s not right here,” he said.
Yan Qianji, standing beside him, was stunned. “The Spirit Realm Network is down too.”
Feeling the oppressive aura emanating from True Monarch Miraculous Hand and the others in the inner arena, and seeing the magical artifacts being activated, Jin Jun and his companions paled. “Are they going to fight here?”
The thought of multiple Nascent Soul True Monarchs engaging in a full-scale battle sent shivers down their spines. They could already imagine themselves being killed by the collateral damage.
In the next instant, an overwhelming pressure erupted from the Nascent Soul factions, as if two active volcanoes had simultaneously erupted within the arena. Magical artifacts and cultivation arts blazed with blinding light, threatening to engulf everything.
Just then, a figure stepped between the warring parties.
Barely able to make out the blurry silhouette, Jin Jun hesitated. “True Monarch Blazing Light?”
In the next moment, as the figure clasped his hands together, darkness began to spread outward from his palms.
Then, the radiant light emitted by countless magical artifacts transformed into spiraling streams, converging toward Zhang Yu’s palm.
“Everyone…”
As Zhang Yu’s words appeared in the Bionic Eyes of the crowd, the next instant… darkness had completely engulfed his body, then surged outward in all directions.
Wherever the darkness spread, it devoured the Thunderfire, qi blasts, sword qi, Magic Power, and magical artifacts unleashed by the numerous Nascent Soul experts.
The grand hall, which should have been brilliantly illuminated, capable of illuminating every inch of the corpse’s skin, was plunged into absolute darkness.
Jin Jun strained his eyes, but found he could see nothing.
He tried to open his mouth to speak, but no sound escaped, nor could he hear anything.
He attempted to activate his Bionic Eye, but it showed no signal whatsoever.
Even the Heavenly Sun Radiance God, which had been blazing with light just moments before, now saw its fiery streams spiraling downward into the encroaching darkness.
The Heavenly Sun Radiance God itself seemed to be sucked into the void, vanishing without a trace.
Jin Jun could no longer connect to the Heavenly Sun Radiance God through the Spirit Realm, as if the military-grade magical artifact had fallen into another dimension, severing all contact.
At that moment, Jin Jun felt as if he had fallen into an endless abyss, completely severed from the outside world.
For a fleeting instant, he even suspected he had died in the aftermath of the Nascent Soul clash.
Jin Jun wasn’t alone in this experience. Bei Wufeng and Yan Qianji beside him felt the same way. No matter how they struggled, what power they unleashed, or what magical artifacts they summoned, everything seemed to be sucked into the bottomless darkness before them.
Perhaps it was a moment, perhaps an eternity.
In this world devoid of light, sound, and connection, Jin Jun lost all sense of time. Finally, the darkness completely dissipated, and light returned to his eyes.
Simultaneously, the Nascent Soul True Monarchs who had been on the verge of a fierce battle now stood motionless, their earlier momentum vanished without a trace of combat remaining.
Only Zhang Yu stood between the two sides, his arms outstretched, each palm supporting a cube.
These cubes were constructed from spatial barriers. The cube in Zhang Yu’s left hand pulsed with intense light, within which lightning crackled and thunder rumbled, radiating destructive power.
The cube in Zhang Yu’s right hand shimmered with treasure light, revealing glimpses of magical artifacts swirling and churning within.
“Gentlemen, can we talk now?”