Chapter 726: The Heavenly Punishment Predicament
Zhang Yu knew that True Monarch Great Luminosity was right.
At least, before his Magic Power ran out and before his opponents could break through his Kunlun in the Palm, the more people who besieged him, the stronger his combat prowess became.
During his battle against True Monarch Great Luminosity and the other twenty Nascent Soul Experts, Zhang Yu continuously used Kunlun in the Palm to expand and shrink the surrounding space. He twisted his opponents’ attacks, causing them to collide and interfere with each other, or… secretly absorbed them into the Immortal Descendant Space.
As his Magic Power plummeted, Zhang Yu absorbed more and more attacks into the Immortal Descendant Space.
Ten techniques… twenty techniques… thirty techniques…
By the time Zhang Yu’s Magic Power dropped below ten thousand units, the Immortal Descendant Space had already absorbed over a hundred attacks from True Monarch Flowing Gold, True Monarch Joyful Ease, and the others.
Rampant power surged and roared within, yet the Immortal Descendant Space acted like an Indestructible Vajra cage, relentlessly suppressing the destructive forces inside, compressing… compressing… compressing…
Until this moment, like a detonated nuclear bomb, when Zhang Yu opened the entrance to the Immortal Descendant Space and unleashed the power within…
The continuously compressed power roared out in an instant, like a flood bursting through a dam, erupting with world-destroying might.
The terrifying power instantly engulfed Zhang Yu’s figure, then rapidly expanded like a sun, swallowing the surrounding Nascent Soul True Monarchs one by one.
“This is…”
In that instant, True Monarch Celestial Seal’s Bionic Eyes locked onto the scene ahead, distinguishing the myriad forces erupting simultaneously: Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water; Sword Qi and Thunderous Resonance; Thunderfire and Malevolent Energy… all distinct, uncoordinated, and even contradictory, clashing against one another.
WARNING: FATAL THREAT DETECTED AHEAD. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.
WARNING: SPIRIT REALM SIGNAL DECAYING ABNORMALLY. INITIATE SELF-DIAGNOSTICS.
WARNING: HIGH CONCENTRATION OF FIEND ENERGY POLLUTION DETECTED IN THE AIR.
A screen full of various danger warnings flashed before True Monarch Celestial Seal, relentlessly conveying the extreme peril ahead.
Simultaneously, True Monarch Celestial Seal’s entire bionic frame activated. Amidst a violent backdraft of wind, he shot backward in a rapid retreat.
If True Monarch Celestial Seal, who was not within the attack’s true range, felt such a threat, what must the Nascent Soul True Monarchs at the epicenter be experiencing?
“Flee!”
That was the last shout True Monarch Flowing Gold heard in the combat channel.
The next moment, he felt the pressure of over a hundred Nascent Soul True Monarchs erupt from Zhang Yu.
In that instant, it was as if more than a hundred Nascent Soul True Monarchs had attacked him simultaneously, unleashing a series of earth-shattering killing blows.
ROAR!
With a furious roar, True Monarch Flowing Gold fought like a cornered beast, burning his cultivation to its absolute limit. His Magic Power, Dao Heart, and physical strength plummeted wildly.
His Nascent Soul, which had already taken the form of an infant, began to regress further, as if reverting to its state before birth.
Even so, he could feel his body gradually disintegrating, his meridians shattering inch by inch, and himself stepping closer to death.
A roar still echoed in his heart, urging him to hold on.
“Hold on!”
Though he didn’t know how Zhang Yu had done it, True Monarch Flowing Gold could sense that Zhang Yu had unleashed all the techniques from their recent siege in a single, devastating blast.
“Zhang Yu is also being attacked! He’s at the center of the explosion, taking the most damage! And according to our calculations, his Magic Power is almost depleted. If we can just hold out until he collapses…”
But the next moment, to True Monarch Flowing Gold’s utter astonishment, a figure emerged from the blazing light and seized his head.
Staring at Zhang Yu, who had removed his armor, and seeing only minor damage on his body, True Monarch Flowing Gold’s mind reeled with disbelief. “How is this possible?! Why is he only lightly injured?”
Zhang Yu, however, was not surprised by his own condition at all.
Under the enhancement of his Physical Mystic Power, formed from a Thirteen-Layered Dao Foundation, repeated similar attacks over a short period only strengthened his adaptability, granting him targeted defensive enhancements.
Throughout the battle, Zhang Yu had deliberately controlled the rhythm of combat, occasionally using his physical body to endure minor attacks from his opponents, steadily stacking up targeted defenses against them.
“Absorbing their attacks while simultaneously stacking targeted defenses against them…”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “This way, by the time I unleashed the power from the Immortal Descendant Space all at once, my resistance to those forces was already extremely high, naturally suppressing the damage I took to a minimum.”
Furthermore, the effect of his 3rd-tier Azure Lotus Sword Embryo allowed him to continuously absorb a portion of the energy from the onslaught to repair his body’s injuries, further increasing his safety.
His 3rd-tier Profound Cold Meridian served as the final safeguard, instantly freezing any critically injured parts of his body and then accelerating their repair.
Ordinary damage was handled by the body activation from the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art.
Of course, if he hadn’t worried about damaging the Heaven-Shattering War God Armor and taken it off, Zhang Yu believed his defenses would have been even higher, and he would have weathered the recent explosion with even greater ease.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. “Absorbing attacks, diverting attacks, reflecting attacks, stacking defenses, healing upon taking damage, plus self-healing and self-recovery… Honestly, even I wouldn’t want to fight myself.”
At this moment, True Monarch Flowing Gold looked at Zhang Yu and felt as if a flicker of pity flashed in the other’s eyes.
The next instant, intense cold qi surged from Zhang Yu’s palm and was directly infused into True Monarch Flowing Gold’s body, gradually freezing him solid.
Of course, Zhang Yu only used his Profound Cold Meridian to freeze the True Monarch’s body; he did not heal him. At the same time, Zhang Yu’s gaze swept over the other Nascent Soul True Monarchs who had been killed instantly in the explosion. He thought to himself, “Consider yourselves lucky to have escaped.”
Zhang Yu understood that for the Righteous Qi Alliance, which possessed resurrection methods, death on the battlefield still offered a chance of revival. Being captured, however, meant there was absolutely no hope of a comeback.
After casually suppressing True Monarch Flowing Gold, Zhang Yu shot like lightning toward another severely injured Nascent Soul True Monarch.
True Monarch Great Luminosity watched as Zhang Yu successively suppressed four severely injured Nascent Soul True Monarchs. He watched as the remaining dozen or so injured True Monarchs scattered and fled, and he watched as True Monarch Celestial Seal and the others on the perimeter moved to intercept them.
True Monarch Great Luminosity knew that in this battle… he had lost again.
True Monarch Great Luminosity continuously replayed the entire course of the battle in his mind.
“To deal with Zhang Yu, surrounding him is absolutely the worst choice.”
“From the very beginning, we shouldn’t have tried to surround and kill him. He doesn’t possess any truly devastating offensive power on his own. We should have just ignored him. I alone could have kept him occupied while the others went to kill those paupers below.”
“Even if he used Kunlun in the Palm to drag us back, we should have just kept pushing outward, forcing him to waste his Magic Power for nothing…”
The more he replayed the battle, the more True Monarch Great Luminosity regretted their strategy. He realized it had been flawed from the start, leading them into an increasingly passive and disadvantageous position as the fight wore on.
“If I had another chance, next time I would definitely…”
Just as the thought arose, True Monarch Great Luminosity felt his current state and knew that everything was irreversible.
During Zhang Yu’s recent assault, True Monarch Great Luminosity, who had been in Zhang Yu’s other hand, had also suffered grievous injuries. If not for Zhang Yu’s deliberate control, he would likely have been killed outright in that attack.
But for True Monarch Great Luminosity, being killed outright would have been a blessing.
Unlike his current state, where he was grievously wounded and completely frozen by wisps of chilling energy, unable to do anything but think.
With a soft thud, True Monarch Great Luminosity, still in his kneeling posture, crashed to the ground.
Chang Buxiu and several other Junior College Students who were evacuating stared in shock at the True Monarch who had fallen before them.
The next moment, Zhang Yu’s words projected in front of them.
Zhang Yu: “Help me transport him back down. Someone will come to pick him up later.”
Zhang Yu: “[1 Spirit Coin]”
“True Monarch Blazing Light transferred money to me!”
Chang Buxiu and the others, who had received Zhang Yu’s transfer, immediately grew excited and quickly surrounded the kneeling True Monarch Great Luminosity.
Watching the Junior College Students stand before him, even starting to take photos and videos of his kneeling form, a wave of sorrow washed over True Monarch Great Luminosity.
“To think that I, Great Luminosity, have spent my life kneeling before Golden Core cultivators, Nascent Soul True Monarchs, Spirit Transformation experts, principals, and Immortal Disciples — all of them heaven’s chosen, elites of the Immortal Dao. Yet today, I find myself kneeling before this bunch of Immortal Scum.”
Meanwhile, True Monarch Celestial Seal and his allies suppressed several more Nascent Soul True Monarchs before the remaining enemies completely retreated.
True Monarch Celestial Seal approached Zhang Yu with a respectful expression and said, “True Monarch, how should we handle these prisoners?”
In True Monarch Celestial Seal’s eyes, Zhang Yu was no longer the penniless, powerless Civil Engineering student he once knew. He was now a super-tycoon — wealthier, more influential, and far more powerful than himself.
Zhang Yu replied casually, “Just imprison them according to standard procedure. You all carry on; don’t mind me.”
With that, Zhang Yu activated his Great Void Cloud Repository, releasing the Heaven-Shattering War God Armor once more.
A flash of black light revealed a suit of armor that enveloped Zhang Yu, transforming him into a small giant.
This armor, a personal combat platform, not only seamlessly integrated with Zhang Yu’s body and Bionic Frame but also allowed him to control its external plating at will — for instance, exposing his palm to channel the power of the Immortal Descendant.
At the same time, the bead that Fu Ji had transformed into pulsed with increasing intensity, urging him, “I can’t suppress the call from the Evil God Register much longer! We must respond immediately.”
“Quick, find a secluded spot! Don’t let anyone detect our connection to the Dark Spirit Realm…”
Now clad in his armor, Zhang Yu moved swiftly, flying at high speed to a deserted corner.
In the Dark Spirit Realm, the Herald God finally received a response from the Fortune God.
Fortune God: “What is it?”
Herald God: “Fortune God, why haven’t you been responding?”
Fortune God: “I’m busy. It’s not like I’m on standby all day waiting for your orders.”
Herald God: “Where are you now?”
Fortune God: “Asking such a personal question right away? Where are your manners?”
Fortune God: “Just tell me what you want.”
The Herald God wasn’t surprised by the Fortune God’s reply. It was standard practice for Evil Gods to conceal their real-world locations.
Herald God: “The Ten Universities are searching for the formation nodes on the outer perimeter of the great formation. These nodes are crucial to its operation. Have your believers assist in defending them as much as possible.”
At the same time, the information before the Herald God updated.
“The fact that the Fortune God replied at this specific moment means… just a moment ago, it was still inconvenient for them to respond, but now they no longer need to worry about being exposed…”
Using this timestamp as a baseline, the Herald God filtered through all personnel on the battlefield whose battles had ended around that time.
A series of portraits appeared, among them True Monarch Celestial Seal, True Monarch Great Luminosity, and Zhang Yu.
On the other side, Fu Ji and Zhang Yu both sighed in relief after ending their call with the Herald God.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “This Evil God Register is too troublesome. If the Herald God keeps summoning us on the battlefield, I can’t just have Fu Ji communicate with the Dark Spirit Realm and speak with him in plain sight… It’s too easy to be discovered.”
As this thought crossed his mind, an idea began to form: “Perhaps… I should entrust Fu Ji to A-Zhen, or maybe Yu Xinghan.”
In Zhang Yu’s view, Fu Ji had three believers: himself, Bai Zhenzhen, and Yu Xinghan. Besides himself, Bai Zhenzhen was the most capable of self-preservation.
With this in mind, Zhang Yu made his decision. He would hand Fu Ji over to Yu Xinghan, who would then pass her to Bai Zhenzhen for temporary safekeeping.
Fu Ji naturally had no objections. In fact, she was inwardly thrilled: “Finally! I’m finally free from Zhang Yu’s side!”
The next moment, Zhang Yu’s figure flickered and shot toward the rendezvous point he had arranged with Yu Xinghan.
Simultaneously, his Bionic Eye displayed a flood of intelligence on the current battle situation.
At this moment, the Fifth Layer’s battlefield was divided into two major fronts: one internal and one external.
Within the Cosmic Galaxy Great Formation lay the Spirit Transformation Battlefield. However, due to Fu Xiantian’s interference with the “Underworld Soul-Washing Scripture”, more than half of the Spirit Transformation experts from the Ten Great Universities had their combat power severely weakened. Under the leadership of Divine Monarch Magnetic Pole and Divine Monarch Greenwood, they were steadily being pushed back.
Outside the Cosmic Galaxy Great Formation was the battlefield for Nascent Soul True Monarchs. The Nascent Soul experts from both factions were engaged in fierce battles across the vast expanse, fighting over 360 formation nodes.
“According to Teacher Magnetic Pole’s observations, these 360 nodes are the key to breaking the great formation. Occupying them will halt its operation.”
“And judging by the Herald God’s orders to seize these nodes, that seems to be the case.”
But as Zhang Yu reviewed the intelligence on the 360 formation nodes, a sense of foreboding washed over him.
After the Ten Universities’ Nascent Soul experts began searching for these nodes, they were shocked to discover that the nodes’ positions had started to shift and move.
“If the formation nodes are constantly moving, we’ll have to disperse more forces to track them down. We won’t be able to concentrate our strength to break them one by one.”
Zhang Yu thought grimly, “This will just drag things out.”
Gazing toward the Cosmic Galaxy Great Formation, he watched as the divine light surrounding the Ten Universities’ Spirit Transformation experts steadily dimmed. Zhang Yu knew that the longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for them. They had to break the great formation as quickly as possible.
If another batch of the Ten Universities’ Spirit Transformation experts fell, breaking the formation might become pointless.
Just then, blood-red text materialized in the sky, announcing that another Spirit Transformation expert from the Ten Universities had fallen. The hearts of countless cultivators on the Ten Universities’ side sank.
Zhang Yu thought grimly, “Only 33 left…”
A moment later, Zhang Yu met up with Yu Xinghan and handed him Fu Ji, who was now in the form of a black pearl.
“Xinghan, you must deliver ‘her’ to A-Zhen personally. Do not reveal ‘her’ existence to anyone else.”
“Also, don’t believe a single word she says. If she makes any unusual moves… don’t hesitate. Destroy this pearl immediately.”
Hearing Zhang Yu’s words to Yu Xinghan, Fu Ji understood he was warning her not to recklessly grant wishes to her believers.
Fu Ji pouted and thought, “Hmph, after all the help I’ve given you, you still distrust me so much? Am I the kind of Evil God who would grant wishes recklessly?”
Yu Xinghan nodded. He now understood that the pearl in his hand was the Evil God in disguise, and the matter was of grave importance.
“Don’t worry,” Yu Xinghan said. “As long as I draw breath, I will never let ‘her’ cause trouble.”
After repeatedly cautioning Yu Xinghan, Zhang Yu watched him depart before turning his gaze back to the Cosmic Galaxy Great Formation.
However, he didn’t rush into action. Instead, he sat cross-legged and began restoring his Magic Power.
Meanwhile, cultivators hurried to Zhang Yu’s side, maintaining his Armor and Bionic Frame, and loading magical artifacts into his Great Void Cloud Repository.
Zhang Yu understood that anything physical — be it the Bionic Frame or the Armor — would wear down with use, especially in such intense combat.
Although the battle against True Monarch Great Luminosity hadn’t caused severe wear, Zhang Yu wanted to ensure he was in peak condition for the potential fierce battles ahead.
Meanwhile, new intelligence regarding the formation nodes continuously appeared before Zhang Yu’s eyes.
As the Nascent Soul True Monarchs at the front explored, fought fierce battles, and investigated, they gradually discovered patterns in the changes of the formation nodes.
“If we can quickly understand these patterns,” Zhang Yu thought, “we won’t have to waste so much time searching. The progress on the battlefield nodes will speed up significantly…”
Just as this thought crossed his mind, someone he hadn’t seen in a long time contacted him.
“Teacher Starfire?” Zhang Yu stared at the projection before him, surprised. “You’ve already broken through to the Nascent Soul realm?”
True Monarch Starfire nodded casually. “I got the Nascent Soul Certificate from Greenwood. Don’t worry, my breakthrough wasn’t illegal.”
After displaying his Nascent Soul Certificate, True Monarch Starfire continued, “According to my investigation, this Cosmic Galaxy Great Formation is a formation-within-a-formation, with inner and outer layers that are interconnected.”
“The inner formation is the Cosmic Galaxy Great Formation, which has trapped the Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs of both factions.”
“The outer formation is the hidden Stars Filling the Sky Great Formation, which is the key to unlocking the inner formation.”
True Monarch Starfire’s expression turned nostalgic as he said, “I studied this Stars Filling the Sky Great Formation back when I was standing guard as a security officer in the sect.”
“This Immortal Formation appears to have 360 formation nodes, but only one of them is real — the formation core. The other 359 are all false and utterly useless.”
“To break this formation, one must find that single true formation core.”
“Moreover, not only do the 360 nodes constantly shift, but the formation core also jumps and shifts among them. All 360… any one of them could be the real one, and any one could be false. The only way to determine their authenticity is to enter them…”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu’s brow furrowed deeply. Although True Monarch Starfire had brought crucial new intelligence, it only highlighted how difficult this outer formation would be to deal with.
Zhang Yu said, “Doesn’t that mean in the worst-case scenario, we’d have to investigate all 360 formation nodes and leave behind detection methods just to have a chance of finding the true formation core?”
After sharing his intelligence with Zhang Yu, True Monarch Starfire continued, “Exactly. That’s what makes the Stars Filling the Sky Great Formation so troublesome.”
“Given your current status, you’ll have more credibility when you announce this intelligence. As for how to use this information, I’ll leave that to your discretion.”
After ending his call with Zhang Yu, True Monarch Starfire gazed at the formation node before him and thought to himself, “Something still feels wrong. I can’t shake the feeling… that I’ve missed something crucial.”
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu uploaded the intelligence from True Monarch Starfire to the Ten Great Universities.
After a brief discussion, the Ten Great Universities began transporting Detection Artifacts from the rear. Their plan was to search for the formation nodes while simultaneously planting the artifacts to continuously monitor whether the formation cores were real or fake.
While Zhang Yu was recuperating and conferring with the university leaders, he received another message from Zhang Pianpian.
Zhang Pianpian: “Meet at the usual place.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes flickered, and he immediately hurried to the Supreme Clarity Realm.
As the realm’s 20x time acceleration activated, Zhang Yu asked the projection of Zhang Pianpian before him, “Sister, what’s the matter?”
Zhang Pianpian looked at him and, with a light tap of her finger, sent a blueprint flying toward him.
Shortly after the firmament had shattered, Zhang Pianpian had leveraged the divine power network’s computational might to continuously analyze the situation based on all available intelligence in the Spirit Realm.
Upon realizing the Ten Great Universities’ current disadvantage, she had quickly accessed all surviving Spirit Realm data from the Kunxu Fifth Layer.
Although the Righteous Gods had vanished without a trace, the divine power network on the Fifth Layer had continued to operate ceaselessly.
Various monitoring systems, detection systems, and weather systems — all built with the divine power network — ran day and night.
By accessing this vast amount of data, Zhang Pianpian reconstructed the construction trajectory of the Righteous Qi Alliance’s Cosmic Galaxy Great Formation and Stars Filling the Sky Great Formation.
Then, using the divine power network’s computational might, she deduced the movement trajectories of the Stars Filling the Sky Great Formation’s 360 nodes across the land.
Zhang Pianpian explained, “…My deductions of the nodes’ movements are all contained within this diagram. It should help you speed up your search for the formation nodes.”
Looking at the formation diagram from Zhang Pianpian, Zhang Yu’s heart leaped with joy. “Sister, with this diagram, can we find the formation core?”
Zhang Pianpian looked puzzled. “formation core?”
Zhang Yu immediately recounted the intelligence True Monarch Starfire had provided.
Zhang Pianpian shook her head. “I only deduced the current operational trajectory of the formation nodes based on the Righteous Qi Alliance’s construction patterns. After the formation was activated, only the person who set it up would know the rules governing the formation core’s movements.”
Zhang Yu sighed. Although they couldn’t directly find the formation core, confirming the nodes’ movement patterns was still a significant gain.
Just then, Zhang Pianpian suddenly asked, “Brother, have you considered temporarily abandoning the Fifth Layer?”
Zhang Yu was momentarily stunned, then replied firmly, “I won’t consider that step unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Zhang Pianpian smiled. His answer was exactly as she had expected.
Without saying more, she simply nodded and urged Zhang Yu to be careful.
Watching Zhang Yu’s figure disappear, Zhang Pianpian turned back and once again activated the divine power network’s Chaos Heavenly Fate Algorithm.
Countless pieces of information and intelligence, combined with Qi Luck observations and supplemented by deductions of karmic causality, couldn’t yield a clear process, but they did produce a vague result.
It was a result Zhang Pianpian had already calculated over ten thousand times, yet it remained stubbornly the same.
An outcome worse than “Great Calamity” or “Extreme Calamity.”
“Heavenly Punishment…”
Zhang Pianpian sighed. In her eyes, the Kunxu Fifth Layer was now a place of certain death, its death qi soaring to the heavens.
“Although the Chaos Heavenly Fate Algorithm only provides a vague result, its accuracy has never been low.”
“Heavenly Punishment… if it were just about destroying the Fifth Layer as Fu Xiantian claimed, that alone probably wouldn’t trigger it.”
“In fact, nothing within the Second to Fifth Layers should be capable of invoking Heavenly Punishment.”
“So, was it brought down from above?”
“No wonder a Great God-level being is coming here personally.”
“That guy… what exactly did he bring down from above?”
At this thought, the vast sea of information about the Fifth Layer once again flooded Zhang Pianpian’s eyes. She needed to comb through every piece of data collected by the divine power network over the past dozen months, to find out what Fu Xiantian had truly done.
As Zhang Yu released the formation diagram, the Nascent Soul True Monarchs from the Ten Great Universities immediately sprang into action. They scattered in different directions, each heading toward a different node, hoping to locate the formation core as quickly as possible.
Zhang Yu didn’t rush. He waited until his bionic body and armor were fully repaired, his physical strength and magic power restored to their peak, and his supply of magical artifacts replenished before setting out.
With a flicker of his Bionic Eye, a map of the entire Kunxu Fifth Layer materialized before him.
On the map, 360 dots moved continuously. Some were black, indicating they hadn’t been found yet. Others were red, signifying they had been located but were not the formation core.
In addition, he could see the names of the Nascent Soul True Monarchs moving across the map, their search paths toward formation nodes, the locations of ongoing battles, and the possible positions of certain enemy Nascent Soul True Monarchs.
“The closest to me…”
Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened. “True Monarch Celestial Elephant and True Monarch Heaven Devourer, currently clashing at a formation node?”
Zhang Yu recalled Divine Monarch Greenwood mentioning True Monarch Celestial Elephant. He had been one of the judges during Zhang Yu’s Civil Engineering Military Use Certificate exam and had supported him at the time.
The next moment, clad in the Heaven-Shattering War God Armor, Zhang Yu soared into the sky. Like a black bolt of lightning, he streaked across the heavens, hurtling toward his target.
With a deafening boom, True Monarch Celestial Elephant shot out like a meteor, crashing through several mountain peaks before finally halting mid-air.
But he had barely stabilized himself when a massive fist appeared above his head, slamming him downward. He plummeted toward the earth like a falling star, triggering tremors akin to a magnitude-8 earthquake.
Boom!
Shaking off the shattered rocks and debris, True Monarch Celestial Elephant looked up to see True Monarch Heaven Devourer slowly descending from the sky.
“Who are you?” True Monarch Celestial Elephant demanded, his face grim. “How do you know so many of our university’s martial arts?”
He wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with True Monarch Heaven Devourer. The man’s reputation in the Dark Spirit Realm was immense, rumored to have mastered more cultivation arts than any other Nascent Soul cultivator alive. It was said he was proficient in every cultivation art from every department of the Ten Great Universities, and that the copyright infringement fines he’d accumulated could buy half of Kunxu.
This fame had even spilled over from the Dark Spirit Realm, becoming a legend whispered among the monsterfolk of the Spirit Realm.
True Monarch Celestial Elephant had never believed such tales. In his view, no matter how talented a cultivator was or how fast they progressed, it was impossible to master the cultivation arts of every university and department. He had always dismissed it as propaganda from the Righteous Qi Alliance.
It wasn’t until their recent clash that True Monarch Celestial Elephant was truly shaken. True Monarch Heaven Devourer had unleashed over a dozen military-grade martial arts from Celestial Monsters University in rapid succession, leaving him utterly defenseless.
Hearing True Monarch Celestial Elephant’s question, True Monarch Heaven Devourer sneered. Fangs erupted from his monkey-like mouth, radiating an aura of savage power. “I am the direct disciple of the Great Sage, the new generation’s Monster Saint. You may call me True Monarch Heaven Devourer, or address me as Great Sage Heaven-Swallower.”
“Still hiding your true identity?” True Monarch Celestial Elephant roared. “If you never attended Celestial Monsters University, how could you have learned so many of our martial arts?”
True Monarch Heaven Devourer snorted, his tail cracking through the air like a whip. “Are the martial arts of Celestial Monsters University so difficult to learn?” he scoffed. “They’re nothing but cheap imitations of the Great Sage’s techniques. A few glances are all I need to master them.”
With that, True Monarch Heaven Devourer moved, descending from the sky like a rainbow piercing the sun, hurtling toward True Monarch Celestial Elephant.
A thunderous explosion rocked the landscape as they collided, causing the mountain ranges for hundreds of miles around to tremble and heave violently.
“The Mount Sumeru King Sutra?” True Monarch Celestial Elephant cried in shock. “You even know this martial art?!”
The Mount Sumeru King Sutra was the signature military-grade cultivation technique of Celestial Monsters University’s Civil Engineering Department.
True Monarch Celestial Elephant had no memory of such a figure in the Civil Engineering Realm. Yet, his opponent’s execution of the Mount Sumeru King Sutra was flawless. Not only did every punch and kick unleash overwhelming power that suppressed him, but Heaven Devourer also redirected all incoming force into the surrounding mountain ranges, shattering them to dust while remaining completely unharmed.
Bang!
True Monarch Heaven Devourer seized True Monarch Celestial Elephant, opened his maw, and tore a massive chunk of flesh from his body.
True Monarch Celestial Elephant roared in fury, struggling violently. But his opponent’s strength felt boundless, pinning him down completely. Soon, a second piece of flesh was ripped away.
In the blink of an eye, True Monarch Celestial Elephant was a bloody mess, having already lost a third of his body to Heaven Devourer’s savage feasting.
“You claim to be the Great Sage’s Heir, a Monster Saint,” True Monarch Celestial Elephant howled in agony, “yet you devour your own kind?”
True Monarch Heaven Devourer’s fangs pierced through a large section of flesh on True Monarch Celestial Elephant’s chest. A low growl rumbled from his throat. “Our own kind?”
“Don’t get it twisted, monster scum.”
“In my eyes, you’re indeed a step above human trash, but you’re still just edible units. Especially traitors like you who’ve sold out to the Ten Universities and willingly serve as the Heavenly Court’s lapdogs.”
“All monsters were born from the Great Sage. By devouring you now, I am merely returning your lives to the Great Sage, to the source…”
With that, True Monarch Heaven Devourer tore another massive chunk of flesh from True Monarch Celestial Elephant’s chest.
Just as True Monarch Celestial Elephant was being eaten to the brink of death, a figure shot forward like a bolt of black lightning.
Sensing a threat, Great Sage Heaven-Swallower’s monkey fur bristled. He violently raised his blood-soaked face, his beastly eyes glaring at the approaching figure.
Clap!
The newcomer clapped his hands together, and darkness instantly swallowed everything, dragging True Monarch Heaven Devourer into an endless void.
At the same time, True Monarch Heaven Devourer felt his grip lighten — the mangled remains of True Monarch Celestial Elephant had vanished from his grasp.
“Blazing Light!”
With a furious roar, True Monarch Heaven Devourer, still shrouded in absolute darkness, instinctively threw a punch, smashing it violently toward his right.
Boom!
As light returned, True Monarch Heaven Devourer’s massive fist collided fiercely with Zhang Yu’s palm. A terrifying shockwave erupted from the point of impact, unleashing a thousand gales that churned the shattered mountain peaks into a sandstorm-like maelstrom.
Fangs jutting from his mouth, True Monarch Heaven Devourer glared at Zhang Yu, who had caught his fist with one hand and rescued True Monarch Celestial Elephant with the other.
As their powers clashed, True Monarch Heaven Devourer sneered, “You want a bite too? If you want some, just say so. But you can’t just snatch it.”
Zhang Yu replied coldly, “I am human, not a beast that eats indiscriminately.”
A flash of fury crossed True Monarch Heaven Devourer’s eyes. “You’re courting death!”
With that, he unleashed another punch at Zhang Yu.
Empowered by the 333 Bionics of the Platinum Emperor, the Heaven-Shattering War God Armor, and his own Physical Divine Abilities, Zhang Yu managed to block the second punch, but the force still pushed him back a step.
True Monarch Heaven Devourer didn’t pause for a moment. Fists, palms, legs, fingers — even his tail, lashing like a steel whip or a long staff — unleashed a barrage of military-grade martial arts, transforming him into a storm that threatened to completely engulf Zhang Yu.
“This Monkey Demon…” Zhang Yu could feel that he was no match for his opponent in close combat. Not only were his techniques completely suppressed, but the Monkey Demon’s raw physical power surpassed his own, even with the enhancements from his numerous Bionics and magical artifacts.
“There’s no need to compete with him in close combat…”
Zhang Yu casually tossed True Monarch Celestial Elephant out of the battlefield and immediately activated Kunlun in the Palm.
Space twisted, and True Monarch Heaven Devourer, who had just been attacking like a raging storm, was instantly reduced to an egg-sized monkey held in Zhang Yu’s palm.
But the next moment, Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened.
The tiny True Monarch Heaven Devourer in his palm clenched his fists, unleashing a terrifying surge of Earthly Fiend Gravity.
“Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power?” Zhang Yu stared in surprise. He hadn’t expected his opponent to have mastered even this military-grade martial art.
At the same time, as Zhang Yu held True Monarch Heaven Devourer in one hand, the earth began to tremble. A massive amount of rock and stone, manipulated by the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power and the Mount Sumeru King Sutra, coalesced into a colossal Stone Monkey that reached the heavens. With a hand the size of a city, it gently reached up to cup Zhang Yu.
The Stone Monkey’s mouth gaped open, its voice shaking the clouds as True Monarch Heaven Devourer’s sneer echoed: “Now, who’s in whose hand?”