Chapter 754: The Last Poor Bastard to Smash Open the Heavenly Gate!
As Zhang Yu spoke, some of the hidden subtleties within the Nine Heavens Divine Elephant Art gradually came to light before everyone.
This martial art clearly possessed characteristics of monsterfolk techniques.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “It’s as if the original general-purpose martial art was specially innovated for monsterfolk, making it more suitable for them and allowing them to unleash even greater wonders.”
“But the modifications are cleverly hidden. If I didn’t have experience breeding Demon Beasts and transforming into a monsterfolk, I might not have noticed them either.”
“I just don’t know why the description of the Nine Heavens Divine Elephant Art doesn’t mention this. Was it to sell it to Human Race cultivators? Were they worried the ‘monsterfolk martial art’ label would hurt sales? Or was there some other reason?”
Zhang Yu didn’t know the inside story. He simply presented the answer he had obtained through his wholehearted analysis, completing the final interview question.
As Zhang Yu finished his explanation, the air both inside and outside the Examination Field seemed to freeze.
Yun Zhiguang stared intently at the examiners, awaiting the final judgment of the interview.
The countless spectators on layers 1 to 10 of Kunxu held their breath, watching the live broadcast without daring to breathe too loudly, waiting for the examiners’ final scores.
Under the confident gazes of Zhang Yu and True Monarch Martial Village, their scores appeared simultaneously.
Zhang Yu: 98 points. True Monarch Martial Village: 59 points.
The countless spectators who saw this immediately began frantically calculating in their minds and quickly arrived at the two contestants’ total scores.
“Zhang Yu 325, Wu Xiang 294…” Yun Zhiguang sighed inwardly as she saw the result. “That kid still managed to smash his way into the sect.”
Yun Zhiguang understood that with only one person being accepted from this interview, such a wide score gap had completely eliminated any possibility of True Monarch Martial Village snatching the spot from Zhang Yu.
Ying Mingchi watched excitedly. “He did it! He successfully entered the sect by leveraging his understanding of monsterfolk! This is a victory for the monsterfolk, a victory for the Monster Blood within Zhang Yu!”
Meanwhile, on the First Layer, thunderous cheers erupted throughout Songyang City.
Wang Hai led the applause, his heart pounding with excitement as he watched the scene. His mind was already racing, planning to erect a statue complex at the school depicting Zhang Yu’s “Nine Steps to Success” and figuring out how to use this event to motivate students to improve their grades.
Zhang Yu’s former martial dao teacher, Lei Jun — now Songyang City’s most famous Gold Medal Martial Dao Mentor — was also watching. A nostalgic smile touched his lips. “I told you… the martial dao has great use! But I never imagined, Zhang Yu, that you would use it to open the gates of the Myriad Laws Sect.”
At that moment, spectators flooded Zhang Yu’s accounts on various Spirit Realm platforms, leaving their comments. For a long time to come, these accounts would become famous landmarks in the Spirit Realm, receiving messages from generation after generation of students preparing for University and Sect Examinations.
Back in the interview hall, as the interview concluded, the information isolation fields around Zhang Yu and True Monarch Martial Village were lifted one after another.
Seeing Zhang Yu’s score for the first time, True Monarch Martial Village froze. Then, the look in his eyes shifted drastically — shock, rage, terror… A storm of emotions churned violently in his mind, finally coalescing into a bone-deep despair that enveloped his entire being.
“How is this possible?”
“How could Zhang Yu’s score be so much higher than mine?”
True Monarch Martial Village couldn’t imagine it, let alone believe it. How could Zhang Yu have surpassed him by such a wide margin on those four questions?
“Corruption! Cheating!”
Those were the first two accusations that sprang to his mind.
But as he looked at the four Examiners, each radiating an immense aura of light, he dared not voice the thoughts raging within him.
True Monarch Martial Village stumbled out, barely aware of how he even left the Dao Palace.
On his way out, he connected to the Spirit Realm and frantically began reviewing the recorded footage of Zhang Yu’s interview.
As Zhang Yu’s performance on each question played out before his Bionic Eyes, the resentment and fury on True Monarch Martial Village’s face gradually gave way to surprise, then alarm, and finally, utter dejection…
“The gap… was really that huge?”
True Monarch Martial Village stared at Zhang Yu’s retreating back. He thought of his two lifetimes of cultivation, how he’d even encountered questions that played to his strengths, yet he was still left far behind. A crushing sense of powerlessness washed over him, the realization that even with his utmost effort, he could never win.
The final scene of Zhang Yu successfully completing the nine steps and instantly advancing the Nine Heavens Divine Elephant Art to Level 20 was seared into his mind. He knew it was a moment he would never forget.
“Why did I have to face such a powerful opponent?”
Envy gnawed at True Monarch Martial Village’s heart, making him wish he could become Zhang Yu.
But no matter what he thought, no one cared about the fate of this loser.
Yun Zhiguang’s full attention had already shifted to the other interviews running concurrently.
“Although True Monarch Martial Village failed to eliminate Zhang Yu as I’d hoped, it only means one person from the lower layers has entered the sect.”
“As long as the other lower layers candidates are eliminated, keeping the total number who pass the interviews below five, we can still prevent the Sect Examination from becoming a permanent fixture…”
Unlike Zhang Yu’s interview, the positions Bai Zhenzhen and the others applied for had no Reincarnated Beings competing against them in the interview stage. Thus, as long as the candidates could meet the passing score, they would pass.
Yun Zhiguang thought to herself, “With four questions, the passing score is 240 points. As long as they score 240 or higher, they’ll pass the interview.”
Though it sounded much simpler, in Yun Zhiguang’s mind, the other candidates were far weaker than Zhang Yu.
“If the questions are difficult enough, it can definitely keep them below the passing score.”
At that moment, in Yun Zhiguang’s mind, the sect’s power seemed to transform into a giant hand, poised to swat down the other five candidates one by one, pinning them firmly below the passing line.
Among the interview scenes she was watching simultaneously, the one that most captured her attention was Bai Zhenzhen’s.
When Yun Zhiguang turned her gaze to Bai Zhenzhen’s interview, the candidate was already facing her final question.
A magnificent power descended from the heavens, like a sword of light forged from the will of heaven and earth, slashing directly toward Bai Zhenzhen’s position.
Before the sword arrived, a terrifying Sword Intent had already swept across the area, slashing countless bloody gashes across Bai Zhenzhen’s body and instantly turning her into a blood-soaked figure.
Watching this scene, Yun Zhiguang’s heart stirred. “Serving at the Sky Patrol Station requires formidable combat strength. Is this final question… a cross-layer strike from the Examiner that Bai Zhenzhen must withstand?”
But facing this sword, Bai Zhenzhen remained calm and composed. She proactively met the sword light, unleashing a sword strike of her own.
As her Extreme Emotion Sword Qi was continuously shattered, the Sect Examination Clone roared inwardly, “I! Love the Heavenly Sword Sect!”
With the clone’s furious roar, surges of Extreme Emotion Sword Qi shot toward the sky, yet they were still steadily pushed back by the descending sword light.
Simultaneously, Bai Zhenzhen’s main body cried out in her mind, “I want to ascend to the Upper Sect with Zhang Yu! I want to climb to the Eleventh Layer together!”
Even pushed to its limit, the Extreme Emotion Sword Qi was no match for the sword light.
However, with the aid of her Dual Divine Spirit Root, each strand of sword qi Bai Zhenzhen unleashed inflicted increasingly powerful damage on the descending sword light.
At the same time, as Bai Zhenzhen actively blocked with her arms, her Feather Spirit Root continuously absorbed the sword light’s power, converting it into energy to heal her injuries.
Destruction and regeneration — these two forces, supported by the Dual Divine Spirit Root, were pushed to their absolute limit by the two Bai Zhenzhens.
Furthermore, the adaptability of her True Spirit Root and the slight bonus effect from the Chain Method Diagram Set provided by her Feather Spirit Root continuously supported Bai Zhenzhen in blocking this sword strike.
But in the end, the sword light completely engulfed her.
However, in the next moment, under the watchful eyes of countless onlookers, as the sword light slowly dissipated, Bai Zhenzhen — her arms shattered and much of her body disintegrated — slowly stood up.
Seeing Bai Zhenzhen survive the strike, Yun Zhiguang couldn’t help but frown.
When she saw Bai Zhenzhen’s final total score, her expression darkened even further.
“277 points.”
Another person from the lower layers had passed the interview, casting a shadow over Yun Zhiguang’s heart.
Meanwhile, in another interview room, the examination was also nearing its end.
Kuang Tianqing looked at the Examiner seated in the main chair and thought to himself, “Son… no, at this moment, I should call you father. Because right now, you are wealthier, more powerful, hold a higher rank, and control my future. You are truly my deserving father.”
“Son, without realizing it, you have truly grown from a son into a father.”
“And as your son, I am proud of you.”
“The family’s legacy, the continuation of the bloodline, it all happens through this father-to-son succession.”
“So, esteemed father, I leave the rest to you.”
Kuang Tianqing: 255 points.
At this moment, Kuang Tianqing had to admit that the new era’s father-son theory had its merits.
He knew that his reincarnated identity had always been strictly confidential, known to only a few.
“After all, this information was meticulously hidden by the Reincarnation Group.”
A suspicion now arose in Kuang Tianqing’s mind: “Could this Sect Examination be the true purpose for sending me down here? Is the normalization of the Sect Examination the Reincarnation Group’s real goal?”
Seeing this, Yun Zhiguang took a deep breath and thought, “A third one.”
One after another, people from the lower layers passed the Sect Examination, not only infuriating Yun Zhiguang but also stirring discontent among the other sect disciples watching the interviews.
It was like watching a pack of arrogant wild dogs barge into their home, constantly testing their nerves.
When Yun Zhiguang’s gaze swept over to True Monarch Starfire’s results, her face became coated with a layer of frost.
True Monarch Starfire: 248 points.
Although he had barely scraped by with a low score, he had still passed the interview.
“Four people!”
At this moment, it wasn’t just Yun Zhiguang; countless people from the First to the Tenth Layers were staring at that number, all screaming silently in their hearts.
Four people! Only one more was needed to reach the five required for the Sect Examination to become normalized.
Wang Yin couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly. Watching the last two candidates from the lower layers undergo their interviews, he roared inwardly, “Win, damn it!”
Countless cultivators fixed their gazes on Le Mulan and Yu Xinghan, wishing they could push them forward with thousands of hands, physically shoving them over the passing line.
Yun Zhiguang cursed in her mind, “That True Monarch Starfire was already a sect member before… Damn it, this is a setup! A trap the Heavenly Court prepared long ago, filled with their hidden schemes.”
“The last one… must be stopped!”
Le Mulan: 150 points.
Staring at her score, the Sect Examination Clone controlling Le Mulan felt a surge of intense unwillingness.
“Damn it!”
In that moment, she felt as if she had stepped into an abyss, plummeting from a great height.
“I… I can’t become a Sect Scion anymore?”
“I have to stay in the lower layers, living with those filthy, stinking paupers.”
“No… No! No!”
Shortly after Le Mulan’s silent, agonizing scream, a message appeared in her Bionic Eye — an invitation from an examiner.
“Le Mulan, although you didn’t pass the Sect Examination, you possess the potential to join a sect; you just lack opportunities. We are willing to offer you an outsourced position on the Eleventh Layer, along with related Sect Examination resources, to properly cultivate you.”
Le Mulan’s heart stirred as she read the message. “Is it because my Longevity Extension ability was revealed during the re-examination, and the sects now know about it?”
As Le Mulan was eliminated, a collective sigh seemed to ripple through the hearts of countless spectators from the lower layers.
At this moment, they were still one person short of the five needed for the Sect Examination to become normalized.
At this moment, only one candidate from the lower layers remained in the interviews.
Yu Xinghan of Myriad Laws University.
Countless gazes from the First to the Tenth Layers converged on his interview room.
Every spectator understood that the fate of the Sect Examination’s normalization, the destinies of countless cultivators from the First to the Tenth Layers, the future landscape of those levels, and even the future of the sects themselves would all be decided here.
Yu Xinghan’s performance would ripple through countless futures.
At this moment, nearly every cultivator from the First to the Tenth Layers hoped Yu Xinghan would pass the interview. Even True Monarch Martial Village felt the same.
Originally, after being eliminated by Zhang Yu, True Monarch Martial Village had fallen into despair.
In his view, the normalization of the Sect Examination for the lower layers was impossible. Having lost this time… he would have no future opportunities in the lower layers Sect Examination.
But as one lower layers candidate after another passed, and the count reached four, True Monarch Martial Village couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
“That guy… Yu Xinghan! You have to win!”
If the Sect Examination were normalized, it would mean he still had a chance to participate in future lower layers Sect Examinations.
But could Yu Xinghan really pass?
Who was Yu Xinghan? Before today, many had never even heard his name.
Unlike Zhang Yu, who had shaken the world with feats like “Wealth Pierces the Firmament!”, “Ten Billion Heaven Mending,” issuing “Yu Bonds,” and earning the title “Master of Ten Billion Talisman”
And unlike Kuang Tianqing and Bai Zhenzhen, who had dominated the University League, Yu Xinghan’s reputation was nonexistent. He was utterly obscure.
But now, as countless gazes converged on him, details about Yu Xinghan began to surface one by one.
First Layer origin… Civil Engineering student… part-time massage therapist… Reading this information, many people’s hearts sank.
Wang Yin sighed. “Yu Xinghan… a guy who’s never won a single competition championship. Even among the Ten Universities students, he’s third-rate at best.”
Looking at Yu Xinghan’s current score, Wang Yin’s heart chilled further.
“170 points for three questions. His average for the first three is less than 57.”
“He needs at least 70 points on the final question to reach the passing threshold…”
Wang Yin’s heart sank to the depths. The possibility of the Sect Examination being normalized seemed to be fading into nothingness.
“Yu Xinghan?” Tian Shengong quickly searched his memory. “He’s about our age. Did he ever participate in the Ten Greats League?”
After scouring the records and finding nothing, Tian Shengong shook his head, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. “He’ll probably be eliminated, just like Le Mulan was.”
Tu Lishan watched Yu Xinghan in the interview, his brow furrowing slightly.
He had never held high hopes for this student, not since his first year.
A First Layer origin, a impoverished background, and none of Zhang Yu’s world-shaking talent, a student like that had no chance of making a name for himself at Myriad Laws University.
“If not for Zhang Yu’s support, he probably wouldn’t have even achieved his current results.” This had been Tu Lishan’s past judgment of Yu Xinghan.
Watching the battle that would decide the fate of countless cultivators now resting in Yu Xinghan’s hands, Tu Lishan couldn’t help but feel a flicker of resignation.
Yet, like the countless cultivators from the First to Tenth Layers, he clung to a final sliver of hope.
“What if the last question is easy? What if… Yu Xinghan performs exceptionally well?”
At that moment, the final question Yu Xinghan faced slowly materialized.
He had applied to the Martial Arts Pavilion, an institution perennially responsible for martial dao research and development. As expected, this last interview question was also related to the martial dao.
“A cultivator with a Spinal Bionic implant experiences periodic spiritual energy short-circuits while circulating the cultivation art Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual. Design a troubleshooting procedure to determine if the problem stems from one of the following: 1. Inherent flaws in the cultivation art. 2. Compatibility conflicts with the cultivation art. 3. Individual physiological differences.”
Inside Yu Xinghan’s body, his true self and his Sect Examination Clone studied the interview question together.
As the final question appeared, Yu Xinghan’s true self couldn’t help but think, “I wonder how many people are watching my interview right now.”
“I probably… won’t pass, will I? I hope the others can make it.”
As the content and temporary license for the Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual were transmitted to him, Yu Xinghan’s heart sank even further.
“A martial art that includes both fist techniques and a mental cultivation technique?”
Yun Zhiguang, who was also observing the question, felt her heart stir. “Excellent,” she thought secretly. “Mental cultivation techniques… compared to other martial arts, they are the most demanding to research. They are extremely selective, filtering practitioners based on their thoughts, beliefs, and life experiences.”
“And this Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual is even more so…”
Yun Zhiguang sneered inwardly. “A True Inheritance-Tier Immortal Sect Technique on the verge of being eliminated and downgraded.”
“The so-called Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual is about enacting heavenly punishment, simulating the overwhelming might of celestial thunder to chastise the world’s cultivators. It draws upon the supreme majesty of heavenly lightning.”
“This fist art has nine techniques. While executing the strikes, one must also channel the resplendent might of heaven to defeat all cultivators and forge one’s own Invincible Fist Intent. How could someone from the lower layers even conceive of such a thing?”
“Especially… Yu Xinghan’s background is too poor, too humble.”
Poor, weak, and without connections — the more he learned about the sect and the power of the upper-echelon cultivators, the less likely he would be to align his mindset with a mental cultivation technique like the Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual.
Yun Zhiguang understood. The sect’s ideology, injected into his mind, clashed violently with his impoverished origins.
The stronger his Sect Examination Memories and the more he understood the sect, the more likely he was to pass the previous tests. Yet, this very knowledge made it impossible for him to condense the resplendent might of heaven into Invincible Fist Intent, let alone circulate such a mental cultivation technique.
“This question is an inevitable defeat for those from the lower layers.”
Yun Zhiguang could almost see an insurmountable barrier — a heavenly chasm that only the Heavenly Chosen of the upper echelons could cross — materializing before Yu Xinghan, completely sealing off his hope of entering the sect.
Meanwhile, the more the Sect Examination Clone tried to learn, the deeper his despair grew.
He attempted to execute the fist techniques, to condense the Fist Intent, but felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
As the Third Eye in his mind reflected upon himself, he saw chain after chain binding his body, preventing him from circulating the martial art and condensing the Fist Intent.
These chains were named “Origin,” “Background,” “Poverty,” “Hardship”…
At that moment, memories surfaced in the Sect Examination Clone’s mind, memories that had been suppressed deep within by the Sect Examination Memories.
The memory of signing a servitude contract with True Person Starfire just to get ahead…
The memory of endlessly clicking ads in high school to save money, the money-saving strategies and tricks seared into his impoverished heart…
The memory of having to sell seeds to earn cultivation resources…
The memory of painstakingly learning massage techniques in university for a part-time job…
Scene after scene, memories he thought he had long forgotten, now surged from the depths of his heart, transforming into chains that bound his body, preventing him from advancing even an inch.
The Sect Examination Clone roared, trying to break free from these restraints, only to find himself utterly powerless.
Especially when juxtaposed with the vast trove of sect intelligence, these memories felt glaringly shameful, unbearably wretched.
“I was born a pauper, my parents were paupers, my Master, my senior sister, my friends… all paupers from the lower layers…”
“Having crawled up from the mud of the First Layer, what right do I have to circulate such a mental cultivation technique?”
“If I can’t even pass the Sect Examination, what right do I have to compare myself to sect disciples? What right do I have to practice this martial art, to condense Invincible Fist Intent?”
The Sect Examination Clone let out a wretched howl. “I’m unworthy! With this burden dragging me down, I’m unworthy!”
Yu Xinghan’s physical body abruptly halted, seemingly abandoning his punches and the cultivation of the “Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual” in response to the Sect Examination Clone’s wretched howl.
But soon after, Yu Xinghan’s physical body began to tremble slightly, as if caught in a state of paralysis. It was as if another consciousness was fighting to seize control, determined to continue punching.
It was Yu Xinghan’s true self: “They are not my burdens…”
“Perhaps they are inferior to those from the Upper Levels, perhaps they can’t compare to the Heavenly Chosen, but they have always been my strength.”
“However weak, however insignificant, they have been my support on the path of the Immortal Dao.”
Starfire, Li Xuelian… the schools, teachers, and students of the First Layer… The former Yu Xinghan had also seen these as his weaknesses.
But his later experiences, Zhang Yu’s actions, the unity of “Wealth Pierces the Firmament!”, the grandeur of “Ten Billion Heaven Mending”… the repeated convergence of everyone’s power… had shown him a different truth.
Boom!
Under the self-reflection of his Third Eye, the things that had bound Yu Xinghan’s body like chains transformed in the next instant. They became countless pairs of hands, pressing against him, seemingly pushing him forward.
Yu Xinghan’s physical body began to move again, once more displaying the fist techniques of the “Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual” move by move.
The Sect Examination Clone roared, “What’s the use? You have no idea how terrifying the sects are! We can’t possibly defeat their disciples! The gap between us and them is too vast…”
“You’re the one who doesn’t understand!” Within his Sea of Consciousness, Yu Xinghan suppressed the Sect Examination Clone’s thoughts. The Third Eye in his mind grew increasingly crystalline and translucent, granting him ever greater clarity on the fist intent within his heart.
“The ‘Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual’ draws its intent from heavenly thunder, but is heavenly thunder truly so shallow as to be merely aloof and arrogant?”
“When heavenly thunder descends, all its lightning and electricity, its fire and heat, are consumed in a single strike… vanishing completely, dissipating into the heavens and earth.”
“This is inherently a path of no return, a desperate resolve to perish together with the enemy!”
“Just like us paupers who have clawed our way up from the very bottom, yet still dare to dream of entering a sect and climbing to the Apex of the Immortal Dao, it’s a path of nine deaths and one life!”
Simultaneously, Yu Xinghan’s physical body rumbled as his fist momentum flowed ever more smoothly, driven by his intent.
“As long as I can pass the Sect Examination, as long as I can climb to the Apex of the Immortal Dao, then even if I’m like the heavenly thunder… shining for just a single instant before dissipating completely… it doesn’t matter.”
With each punch Yu Xinghan threw, he condensed his thoughts, his desires, his self-loathing, his indignation, his humiliation, his hope… and his ambition to charge to the Apex of the Immortal Dao.
In that moment, he poured his entire being into his fist, declaring his existence to the entire world. It was like a startling thunderclap exploding across Levels 1 to 10.
Outside the Dao Palace, True Monarch Starfire watched the scene and thought, “Disciple, I can feel your thoughts, your ambition… Charge forward. Break through this great gate.”
Li Xuelian gazed at Yu Xinghan on the interview screen. “Junior Brother, I see your resolve.”
Zhang Yu silently observed Yu Xinghan’s fist techniques, thinking, “Yu Xinghan, declare your ambition to climb to the Apex of the Immortal Dao to all of Kunxu.”
Within the interview arena, under the self-illumination of the Third Eye Mystic Power, every move and stance of the “Nine Heavens Thunderclap Manual” appeared with perfect clarity in Yu Xinghan’s mind. He continuously deepened his understanding and absorption of this martial art, even visualizing the circulation of its mental cultivation technique with flawless detail.
Boom!
In the next instant, his fist intent coalesced. Arcs of thunder erupted around Yu Xinghan, and the blinding electrical light illuminated the faces of countless people watching their screens.