Chapter 918: Ascending to the Mountain’s Summit, I Am the Peak
Just as Zhang Yu and Tai Yuebai were communicating, the Thought Tides across the entire land were undergoing an unprecedented and intense transformation.
Whether in the material world, the Spirit Realm, or the Dharma Realm… the seemingly silent Material Humans had turbulent waves surging in their hearts.
Looking at the ever-increasing bills, the ever-mounting workloads, and the streaks of divine light flashing back and forth in the sky… symbolizing the Righteous Gods, more and more people felt that bankruptcy, unemployment, and death were drawing closer and closer to them…
Within this gradually collapsing testing ground, more and more Material Humans realized that… doomsday was approaching, and the entire world was heading towards bankruptcy.
“Why? Why did we suddenly go bankrupt?”
“We obviously didn’t spend much money! Why do we owe so much debt…”
“Where did all the money go?”
The happiness brought by Dual Rest was instantly obliterated by greater pressure and heavier burdens.
As debt coiled around people’s necks like a noose, as unemployment spread to them like a virus, and as their account savings and Immortal Dao Potential constantly evaporated, Zhang Yu’s call seemed to ignite a flame within their hearts.
“Can the Law Edicts that make us repay debts… that make us mortgage… also be frozen?”
“These bullshit Law Edicts, we didn’t cause these great tribulations! Why should we repay so much debt?”
“Why subject me to mandatory resurrection? Just to make me owe debt?”
“I still want to climb the Immortal Dao, I don’t want to spend my whole life repaying an endless debt.”
At this moment, more and more Material Humans felt an emerging agreement with the expiration date for Law Edicts in their hearts, along with support for the freezing of the Law Edicts.
And what this brought about… was a sudden surge in the Thought Tide amplification for the Law Edict Expiration Date.
The numerous trainees watching the battle also noticed this change.
Countless streams of data appeared before Yue Qinglan’s eyes, and she exclaimed in shock in her heart, “These Material Humans have long since accumulated opposition against the regular old Law Edicts in their hearts.”
“That’s right, it’s Zhang Yu! This guy is not only fighting with us, but starting from at least half a month ago, he has been preparing for today. He used the effect of ‘The More One Obeys, The More One Opposes’ to make the Material Humans gradually disapprove of the regular Law Edicts.”
“So… so that’s why there was a surge in the crime rate earlier. Because the disapproval of the regular Law Edicts had long been accumulating, which is why more Material Humans chose to commit crimes before and after going bankrupt.”
On the other side, Di Xuan was also collecting data and observing the situation.
Di Xuan analyzed in his mind, “Under the Aspiration for the Immortal Dao, as long as there is still a glimmer of hope, these Material Humans will not give up. And Zhang Yu’s Expiration Date for Law Edicts is exactly their silver lining in this desperate situation.”
Di Xuan watched Zhang Yu’s figure and thought to himself, “Is this also part of your plan, Zhang Yu? Using this apocalyptic desperation to turn the masses on this land into your bargaining chips for victory.”
“I originally thought it was a misstep for you to freeze the other trainees’ Law Edicts so early and fight Tai Yuebai one-on-one.”
“But it seems I was wrong…”
Di Xuan sighed in his heart, “What you want to take all of is not just our batch of new Law Edicts, but all the Law Edicts within the entire testing ground, using this apocalypse of the common people as fuel to light up your number one Law Edict.”
On the other side, after his Law Edict was frozen, Lie Jinghong had also been paying close attention to the battle between Zhang Yu and Tai Yuebai.
Feeling the intense changes in the Thought Tides at this moment, Lie Jinghong thought to himself, “Declaring war on all Law Edicts? Indeed… only with such audacity is it worthy of becoming the Law Edict that manages Law Edicts, and worthy… of being heavily relied upon by the Immortal Emperor.”
Just as the numerous trainees were analyzing the situation in their hearts, Bu Yingshu took a step forward, desperately sending a message to Zhang Yu: “Zhang… Yu! Stop this right now!”
At this moment, Bu Yingshu’s mind was already a tangled mess.
“Has this guy Zhang Yu gone mad? The Law Establishment Ceremony isn’t even over yet, and he wants to declare war on all Law Edicts?”
“If he becomes so troublesome, how can I use him in the future? How will he help me achieve immortality?”
“My peerless talent hasn’t even grown to its peak yet!”
Bu Yingshu’s mind was surging with myriad thoughts. One message after another shot towards Zhang Yu, her voice constantly crossing the Spirit Realm… transmitting into Zhang Yu’s ears.
Bu Yingshu: “Zhang Yu! Stop provoking the evil of the masses, you are destroying the order of Kunxu! It is the most taboo—”
Hearing this, Immortal Slayer said lightly in Zhang Yu’s mind: “The evil of the masses? It’s better called the aversion of the masses. This is the anger, the hatred, the unwillingness of all living beings…”
Without answering Bu Yingshu, Zhang Yu already felt that under the surging Thought Tide, his “Expiration Date for Law Edicts” was about to surpass Tai Yuebai’s “Two-Day Weekend Every Week” once again.
Accompanied by the continuous reinforcement of the surging Thought Tide, Zhang Yu’s name on the rankings flashed increasingly fiercely. Finally, as if breaking through layers of restraints, he reached the top once again.
First place! Grade 1 Law Edict! Zhang Yu!
“Big Brother Tai…”
Zhang Yu took a step forward and said slowly, “The vacation should end now.”
Boom!
Accompanied by the wild surge of the Thought Tide Amplification, Tai Yuebai’s Law Edict could no longer suppress Zhang Yu.
From this moment on, when the “Law Edict Expiration Date” and “Two-Day Weekend Every Week” conflicted, the “Law Edict Expiration Date” would take priority.
Zhang Yu reached out with one hand, seemingly about to tear apart and freeze Tai Yuebai’s Law Edict!
However, facing this scene, Tai Yuebai remained calm. Surging hidden Immortal Qi swarmed out, and in the blink of an eye, he had already changed the underlying architecture of his own Law Edict technique.
Previously, Lie Jinghong had used [One Qi Swallows the Universe] to dynamically adjust the underlying technique of his Law Edict to resist Zhang Yu’s cracking.
This move had long been secretly observed and mastered by Tai Yuebai.
Between heaven and earth, countless great floods of power and information swept back and forth. Zhang Yu and Tai Yuebai had already engaged in a fierce martial duel of cracking and counter-cracking.
Tai Yuebai’s consciousness swept over in the Spirit Realm, persuading once again, “Stop! Zhang Yu!”
His heart was incomparably heavy at this moment: “Zhang Yu’s Law Edict cannot be allowed to grow any further. If this continues, his Law Edict will only turn all living beings… into fuel for the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor to further control everything.”
“Our world will be one step closer to the point where all living beings become a useless class, one step closer to that final doomsday…”
Tai Yuebai wanted to explain his reasoning to Zhang Yu, to tell him of the approaching crises and the risks involved.
However, he knew that during the current Law Establishment Ceremony, with countless eyes and the wills of the higher-ups gathered here, he simply had no chance to speak it aloud.
Facing Tai Yuebai’s intent, Zhang Yu replied indifferently, “Big Brother Tai, at this stage, neither of us can turn back. If you want to decide the future, then use your own will and strength to speak.”
Pressed step by step by Zhang Yu, Tai Yuebai could only sigh. “Words are exhausted. Since that is the case… then let us fight to the bitter end.”
“Zhang Yu! If you want to forge the number one Law Edict of this age, you’ll have to step over the shattered fragments of my Law Edict first!”
With a furious shout, countless amounts of calculation power between heaven and earth crossed the Spirit Realm and Dharma Realm, blessing Tai Yuebai’s body and helping him rapidly transform the underlying architecture of the Law Edict.
As the battle between the two sides grew more intense, the Immortal Coins in Zhang Yu’s account also evaporated rapidly.
Zhang Yu: “Today, I validate my law. It is only right that it be so.”
Surging calculation power crossed the Spirit Realm and Dharma Realm, blessing the bodies of the two.
In the intense cracking and counter-cracking, to bless the extra calculation power, their savings continuously evaporated, magical artifacts were mortgaged one by one, loans were raised step by step, and various advertisements even began to appear on their bodies…
Whether it was Zhang Yu or Tai Yuebai, both entered the battle state more and more, and Zhang Yu was getting closer and closer to bankruptcy.
While mortgaging another set of his Bionics, Tai Yuebai said: “Zhang Yu! Competing in Immortal Dao Potential and Immortal Dao heritage, how could you be my match?”
“Four Great Sect Banks! Manifest for me!”
With a loud boom, four bank portals opened in the sky, and massive amounts of Immortal Coins transformed into loans, sweeping across the human world like a rolling flood, rushing towards Tai Yuebai.
This time, Zhang Yu failed to deduce Tai Yuebai’s dynamic technical adjustments in advance like he did when dealing with Lie Jinghong, giving Tai Yuebai the opportunity to strike at leisure and allowing him to thoroughly unleash his Immortal Dao Potential.
Fu Ji watched this scene with excitement and shouted in Zhang Yu’s mind, “Beat him to death, Zhang Yu! The greater the caliber of this battle, the more valuable our Law Edict Expiration Date will be in the eyes of the Immortal Emperor!”
Immortal Slayer sighed, “Only by giving it our all will we have a better chance… to manage the world’s Law Edicts and fight for this sliver of opportunity to scale the Apex of the Immortal Dao in the future.”
The Sect Examination Clone laughed heartily, “For the Immortal Emperor! So what if we become enemies with the entire world? I will be the sharpest blade in the Immortal Emperor’s hands.”
Just as the voices in his mind began to roar wildly, Zhang Yu reached out and tore at the empty air, causing streaks of shattered light bands to abruptly emerge in the sky.
Several Law Edicts had been explosively frozen by Zhang Yu.
At the same time, the divine light that was originally falling from the sky suddenly dissipated, and a large number of Righteous Gods handling law enforcement returned to the Spirit Realm.
This was precisely because Zhang Yu had frozen several conventional Law Edicts in a single breath, leaving the Righteous Gods with no Law Edicts left to enforce.
Although Zhang Yu’s operation of freezing the regular Law Edicts only took effect within this testing ground.
Although the special environment of the testing ground caused the inside and outside to be sealed off, preventing it from affecting the outside world and making it impossible for the owners of those Law Edicts to counterattack Zhang Yu.
Seeing this scene, Tai Yuebai’s expression still changed drastically.
He originally thought that Zhang Yu was merely using the slogan of freezing all Law Edicts to stir up the desires of the masses, using it to boost his Thought Tide amplification to counter his “Two-Day Weekend Every Week.”
He never expected that Zhang Yu would actually dare to take action to ban all the regular Law Edicts?!
Such an action was already equivalent to completely declaring war on the owners of these Law Edicts.
But this was only the beginning. Zhang Yu struck out another palm through the air, and streaks of shattered light bands suddenly emerged in the sky with a loud boom.
Law Edicts shattered! Frozen!
“Zhang Yu!” Tai Yuebai shouted. “Enough! Don’t freeze any more…”
Zhang Yu still did not stop. As the regular Law Edicts were frozen one after another, the divine light that originally filled the testing ground grew increasingly sparse, and the Righteous Gods who had come to participate in asset recovery and bankruptcy processing also dispersed.
Amidst the booming roars! One Law Edict after another was shattered.
And the Material Humans, who had originally been drowning in bankruptcy, drowning in massive debts, and drowning in a lifetime of endless labor… only felt that with every strike Zhang Yu made and every Law Edict he froze, it was as if he was shattering the chains on their bodies, peeling off their shackles layer by layer.
“We don’t have to pay back our debts anymore?”
“I… I don’t have to go bankrupt?”
“Can I… can I live on for free?”
Countless Material Humans looked up at the sky towards Zhang Yu’s direction, boundless reverence seemingly surfacing in their eyes.
Desolate Ox let out a soft sigh and said, “With sorrowful cries everywhere and the world bleeding, being lawless and heavenless saves the common people.”
At this moment, following the freezing of the Law Edicts, countless Material Humans broke free from their debt crises and escaped this catastrophe.
The Thought Tide within the testing ground whipped up like a tsunami, turning into an unprecedentedly intense amplification that continuously empowered Zhang Yu’s Law Edicts.
In the sky, countless shattered ribbons of light merged into the back of Zhang Yu’s head, becoming a part of a crown and making it increasingly heavy and solid.
Di Xuan was shocked. “How does he dare? How dare he go to this extent?”
Lie Jinghong stared intently at Zhang Yu. “Immortal Emperor… is this why you chose Zhang Yu? This kind of thing… I really couldn’t do it.”
Bu Yingshu wailed in her heart, “It’s over! It’s over! My stinky animal is going to die!”
At the same time, there was silence in the judges’ office.
Before the eyes of the many judges, notifications of Law Edicts being frozen appeared one after another, like glaring declarations of war, stimulating who knows how many people’s nerves at this moment.
Meanwhile, Fa Liuyuan stared at Zhang Yu’s name, which was already ranked first on the rankings but was still flashing violently. This continuously flashing name seemed to indicate that Zhang Yu’s Law Edict Potential Evaluation was still sprinting upwards. But having already ranked first and been evaluated as a grade 1 Law Edict, if it were to continue sprinting upwards… where would it go?
Inside the testing ground, Tai Yuebai let out a long sigh. “Zhang… Yu…”
In Tai Yuebai’s eyes, Zhang Yu was currently standing on the edge of a cliff.
Such an act of freezing conventional Law Edicts had made Zhang Yu’s Law Edict far too dangerous, both to Zhang Yu himself and to this world.
“To make an enemy out of all Law Edict possessors?”
“But at the same time… such an overbearing Law Edict is exactly what the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor wants.”
At this moment, Tai Yuebai had already confirmed one thing.
“Zhang Yu has made up his mind to be the Immortal Emperor’s solitary minister, to be the sharpest sword in the Myriad Laws Sect, and to help the Immortal Emperor sweep away the Law Edicts.”
“I have to stop him.”
Tai Yuebai’s expression was incredibly resolute. “At this moment… I am the only one who can stop him.”
Zhang Yu said, “Big Brother Tai, be careful. Right now, even the slightest mistake on your part will lead to defeat.”
Tai Yuebai knew Zhang Yu was right. The other party’s Law Edict Expiration Date currently had the absolute approval of almost all beings in the testing ground, and its Thought Tide amplification had grown to an unprecedented level.
In this state, the various performances of Zhang Yu’s Law Edict had surged, and its effect of “the more it is complied with, the less it is approved of” was also unprecedentedly powerful.
Tai Yuebai knew that if his cracking was delayed by even a single step, and if he received the “uplifting effect” by the other party for just a moment, he would likely suffer a drastic plunge in Thought Tide amplification due to the effect of “the more it is complied with, the less it is approved of”
He might even be reduced to a Law Edict without the blessing of the Thought Tide and face direct suppression.
Tai Yuebai had no choice but to burn more funds, bolster himself with more calculation power, and further accelerate his counter-cracking speed.
But right at this moment, a massive amplification of calculation power suddenly appeared on Zhang Yu’s body.
“This is…”
Tai Yuebai’s gaze narrowed slightly as he immediately recognized it: “Gambling? He used Kuang Zhiqian’s Gambling Law Edict to mortgage his future calculation power? To exchange for an amplification of calculation power right now?”
“Zhang Yu…” Tai Yuebai let out a sigh. “For the sake of victory, are you really willing to gamble even this?”
“What is the difference between your insistence on setting a Law Edict Expiration Date this time and gambling? If you keep going like this, you will go bankrupt.”
Tai Yuebai thought to himself, “Just like what you are doing right now, no matter how many risks you take or how much profit you seek, as long as you keep gambling like this, the winner in the end will always be the house.”
Zhang Yu, however, shouted softly, “If I am the world’s number one Law Edict, who can make me go bankrupt? And who would dare make me go bankrupt?” In an instant, Zhang Yu had already bet his future 1 year of calculation power!
Tai Yuebai’s expression changed. Left with no choice, he also utilized the Gambling Law Edict, mortgaging his future 1 year of calculation power.
But very quickly, Zhang Yu had already bet his future 10 years of calculation power!
Tai Yuebai’s expression changed drastically, and he had no choice but to continue matching it.
But just as he matched the bet, Zhang Yu had already bet his future 100 years of calculation power! 1000 years of calculation power!
Boom!
The Dharma Realm and Spirit Realm within the entire testing ground seemed to suddenly boil over.
Terrifying calculation power augmented Zhang Yu, bringing the breadth, depth, and speed of his thinking to an unprecedented level.
At this moment, it seemed that the entire testing ground held no secrets from him.
Sensing this, Tai Yuebai felt a trace of instinctive hesitation in his heart: “Should I match it? Owing a millennium of calculation power, even if I win this match, the loss will be too great. It will severely affect my immortal path…”
In the very instant of Tai Yuebai’s hesitation, that suddenly skyrocketing calculation power… allowed Zhang Yu to calculate all of Tai Yuebai’s flaws, and he reached out, firmly seizing the opponent’s Law Edict in his hand.
Tai Yuebai, however, looked at Zhang Yu with a complex expression and said, “Declaring war against all the Law Edicts in the world, owing a thousand years of calculation power, paying such a price… is it worth it?”
Zhang Yu merely reached out his palm, and with his other hand, he seized Kuang Zhiqian’s Gambling Law Edict.
“Owe?”
“From today onwards, I am the highest Law Edict within the Myriad Laws Sect.”
Zhang Yu enunciated word by word, “Whether any Law Edict is executed or not, it all has to get past me!”
As he spoke, Kuang Zhiqian and Tai Yuebai’s Law Edicts were already gradually shattering in Zhang Yu’s hands.
Following the shattering of the Law Edicts… owning a thousand years of calculation power… this debt would also freeze along with the freezing of the Law Edicts!
A furious shout rang out from the Spirit Realm, “Brat! How dare you…”
But in the next moment, the divine light of countless Righteous Gods had already blocked the other party, completely shutting their voice out of the testing ground.
Tai Yuebai’s eyelids twitched as he watched Zhang Yu’s actions. Using Law Edicts to freeze a massive debt was something he could not do, nor would he dare to do.
The risks involved were too high; the slightest misstep could lead to eternal damnation.
Yet, Zhang Yu had already done this sort of thing too many times in this battle.
Just then, Zhang Yu said: “Big Brother Tai, the Law Edicts you dare not break, the enemies you dare not oppose, leave them to me.”
Listening to Zhang Yu’s words and recalling his actions, Tai Yuebai sighed inwardly: “I can only gamble a few times, while you can gamble again and again until you win? As for the debts you owe, you just flip the table… and not pay them back?”
“Is this your answer?”
Tai Yuebai thought in his mind: “In the end… are you going to flip the table?”
In Tai Yuebai’s mind, the words Zhang Yu had previously spoken involuntarily surfaced: “From the descent of the third-generation Law Edicts, this world has been destined to collapse… The momentum is set, and a heavenly collapse is right before our eyes.”
Tai Yuebai thought to himself: “Zhang Yu, is it because of this? Is it because of this realization… that makes you take such a bizarre risk? I’m afraid it’s still too hasty. Although the apocalypse is in the future, there is no need to rush to this extent. Being so hasty… might actually worsen the situation.”
The next moment, the Law Edicts completely frozen by Zhang Yu turned into shattered bands of light, merging into a crown behind his head.
Meanwhile, with the blessing of the skyrocketing thousand years of calculation power, the surging power was easily commanded by Zhang Yu. More Law Edicts shattered one after another in his hands and palms, constantly being frozen.
In the sky, Zhang Yu let out a long shout, “When the sea reaches its boundless limits, the sky becomes its shore; when reaching the mountain’s absolute peak, I become the summit!”
Countless streams of light merged into the back of Zhang Yu’s head, turning into layers of a shattered circular Law Crown, floating under the gaze of all living beings in the world.
“The Number One Law Edict of this Age, today I shall prove my law here.”
At this moment, within the entire Testing Ground, apart from the Expiration Date Law Edict, there was not a single Law Edict left.
All the Law Edicts had been completely shattered by Zhang Yu, turning into a part of his crown.
Numerous trainees watched this scene. Looking at the Law Crown made of countless fragments, their gazes trembled as monstrous waves churned in their hearts.
Di Xuan sighed and thought to himself, “No matter what, even if you are beaten to death by someone later, the number one Law Edict at this moment is indeed yours, Zhang Yu.”
Lie Jinghong thought to himself, “I concede… I concede to Grandpa Immortal Emperor. The person you chose is indeed worthy of this blank Law Scroll.”
Bu Yingshu felt both excited and worried in her heart, “What should we do? What on earth should we do next? Stinky Zhang Yu! Who told you to make such a big scene?”
Tai Yuebai thought to himself, “Our world is one step closer to the final doomsday. Immortal Emperor… is this your choice?”
At the same time, on the rankings that the judges were scanning, Zhang Yu’s name underwent a new change amidst violent flashing.
The Law Edict Potential that had originally been evaluated as grade 1 unexpectedly rose again!
“Special Grade?” Fa Liuyuan looked at this scene, his heart trembling violently. “First place, Special Grade Law Edict? Above the 108 grades of the Law Edict Potential Evaluation, there is actually a Special Grade?”
As a participant in the development of the Third-Generation Law Edict Technology, Su Xianchen already knew of the existence of the Special Grade evaluation level.
But at this moment, he felt equally shocked. “Special Grade… was originally a redundant grade designed for all Law Edicts that surpassed grade 1, or rather, those that are difficult to label and judge by grade 1 standards.”
“I never expected that in the very first Law Establishment Ceremony for the third-generation Law Edict, someone would be able to reach the Special Grade.”
Bu Yuangui sighed as he watched this scene, thinking to himself, “Zhang Yu… has not only defeated all the trainees but also demonstrated his determination to freeze all Law Edicts.”
“And in his performance during this battle, the more he makes enemies out of everyone, the more audacious he is, and the more he draws a clear line between himself and other Law Edicts — though it seems fraught with boundless danger — the more he will be valued by the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor.”
“What the Immortal Emperor wants… is probably exactly such a person who is the enemy of all Law Edicts, yet is able to sweep clean all Law Edicts.”
“I’m afraid Zhang Yu sees this very clearly. That is why he did this, and why he dared to do this.”
“It is foreseeable… that at least until all the Law Edicts are completely cleaned up, Zhang Yu will be heavily relied upon by the Immortal Emperor.”
In Bu Yuangui’s eyes, Zhang Yu, this Myriad Laws Divine Sword, was now shining coldly upon the Myriad Laws, and would become the Immortal Emperor’s sharpest weapon to sweep away the Law Edicts.
“But what about after the cleanup is complete?”
Bu Yuangui thought of an idiom: “When the cunning hare dies, the hunting hound is boiled.”
In Bu Yuangui’s view, Zhang Yu’s willingness to be this Myriad Laws Divine Sword was an all-in gamble to climb to the Apex of the Immortal Dao.
But it also nailed shut his own upper limit.
Especially regarding his future attempt to achieve immortality…
“I’m afraid Zhang Yu’s… immortal path has already been severed.” Fa Liuyuan sighed in his heart, seemingly already seeing Zhang Yu stopping at the Rank 10 Sect Staff Ascension Realm, unable to take another step forward.
“He has to manage the Law Edicts before achieving immortality. If he achieves immortality, will he also have to manage the Dao Lineages?”
“No matter which Immortal Emperor it is, they probably won’t allow his Law Edict to continue advancing and subsequently become a Dao Lineage.”
“They would never allow Kunxu to have such a heaven-defying Dao Lineage.”