Chapter 36: Devious Tactics

Qi Yue swallowed the dark red pill and immediately felt a cool sensation emerge from within his body, rushing directly towards his glabella.

This pill was called the Soul Strengthening Pill. It could temporarily boost one's spirit, but it had a side effect: after use, the spirit would be depleted for a period.

At this moment, however, Qi Yue clearly couldn't afford to worry about such consequences.

As his spirit expanded, a faint light emerged between Qi Yue's eyebrows, seemingly transforming into an ethereal light shadow—his very spirit. Evidently, aided by the Soul Strengthening Pill's power, Qi Yue's spirit had also entered the Illusionary Realm.

With his spirit now in the Illusionary Realm, Qi Yue immediately perceived something he hadn't noticed before: threads of Jade Marrow Qi within the Jade Spirit Waterfall were continuously and actively surging towards Zhou Yuan.

"So that's it! You've been able to hold out in the Jade Spirit Waterfall for so long because of your spirit!" Qi Yue's pupils contracted. At this moment, he finally uncovered the secret to Zhou Yuan's superior endurance.

"Hmph, thankfully I came prepared today, or else I would have truly suffered an unexpected defeat!"

Qi Yue's expression darkened. Immediately, a Genesis Rune slowly emerged between his eyebrows. This rune, called the "Soul Needle Rune," was a first-grade Genesis Rune. He had specially arranged for someone to carve it for him beforehand. Its purpose was to condense the spirit into a needle shape for an attack.

Generally speaking, a spirit attack could only be performed after reaching the mid-stage Illusionary Realm. Qi Yue, relying on the Soul Strengthening Pill, had barely entered the early-stage Illusionary Realm, so he had to depend on external aid to launch a spirit attack.

Within the waterfall, Qi Yue couldn't engage in direct physical combat, so he could only resort to a subtle spirit attack, known only to him.

As the "Soul Needle Rune" was activated, a flash of light appeared between Qi Yue's eyebrows, and a phantom long needle formed from a wisp of spirit shot out. This spiritual long needle pierced through the layers of water, heading straight for Zhou Yuan.

When the spiritual long needle shot towards him, Zhou Yuan immediately sensed it. His eyes darkened. "A spirit attack? How could Qi Yue's spirit be so strong?!"

Though startled and suspicious, Zhou Yuan dared not show the slightest negligence. While the spirit attack appeared to lack any visible force and inflicted no physical harm, it was extremely destructive to the spirit itself.

Once the spirit was wounded, recovering from it was far more difficult than healing physical injuries.

Therefore, Zhou Yuan immediately ceased absorbing the Jade Marrow Qi. His spirit contracted, gathering at his glabella, forming multiple layers of defense.

A faint sound seemed to emerge, and as a wisp of spiritual power entered his vision, Zhou Yuan saw a spiritual long needle pierce through the water and strike directly between his eyebrows.

A slight stinging sensation pierced Zhou Yuan's glabella, and his expression grew increasingly grim, as the spiritual long needle was remarkably sharp, piercing through his spiritual defenses one layer after another.

"Since you're seeking death, I'll grant it to you!" Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered, and a cold smile played on his lips. If it came to physical combat, he might not truly be Qi Yue's match right now. But if it was a spiritual confrontation, Qi Yue was making a grave mistake.

He circulated his spirit, continuously wearing down the sharpness of the spiritual long needle. After a moment, with a thought, his defenses suddenly dispersed.

"It's done!"

Sensing this, a cruel smile appeared on Qi Yue's face.

However, just as the cruel smile formed on his face, a roaring sound seemed to erupt in his ears. Then, his vision drastically changed, and his surroundings transformed into an endless chaotic starry sky.

Rumble!

The sudden change caused Qi Yue's expression to drastically shift. Immediately after, a colossal sound resonated, and when he looked up, he was horrified to see an endless, massive millstone slowly emerging from the chaos, casting a sky-obscuring shadow as it ground down upon him.

An boundless terror surged through Qi Yue's heart at that moment.

The giant millstone pressed down, and he had no room to resist. He felt his spirit shattering at that very instant.

Crack!

Zhou Yuan heard the faint cracking sound from within his glabella, knowing it was Qi Yue's spiritual long needle shattering. He immediately let out a cold chuckle. Within his glabella lay the mark of the Primordial Chaos Millstone, left by Cang Yuan. Thus, Zhou Yuan had no fear of such spirit attacks; any spirit that entered, as long as he focused on the Primordial Chaos Millstone, would naturally be completely crushed.

Just as Zhou Yuan crushed the spiritual long needle, a shrill scream suddenly echoed from nearby.

The scream immediately drew the attention of everyone outside the Jade Spirit Waterfall. Then, to their horror, they saw Qi Yue's body tremble within the waterfall before he was directly washed down by the immense current, plunging into the cold lake below.

"How is this possible?!" Xu Hong's expression changed abruptly. He watched Qi Yue, who had fallen into the lake, his face ashen, his entire body trembling.

Liu Xi, standing beside him, also had her mouth wide open, her pretty face filled with disbelief.

The other students from Class Yi trembled, speechless, their faces pale.

And it wasn't just them; even students from Class Jia like Chu Tianyang and Su Youwei were full of astonishment. Clearly, this outcome had exceeded everyone's expectations.

The entire area outside the Jade Spirit Waterfall fell silent. Everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost.

As everyone remained silent, a figure darted out from the Jade Spirit Waterfall, gracefully landing on the bank with a light touch of his toes on the water. With his tall and upright posture, who else could it be but Zhou Yuan?

He looked at the extremely unpleasant expressions on Xu Hong, Liu Xi, and the others, and calmly stated, "The victor has been decided. What more do you have to say?"

A student from the side fished Qi Yue out of the lake. He was pale, his eyes filled with terror, and his trembling, pathetic appearance was utterly disheveled.

This left everyone puzzled, clearly not understanding how he had ended up in such a state.

"This is... spirit damage?" Seeing Qi Yue's condition, Xu Hong's expression immediately changed.

Hearing this, Liu Xi immediately pointed at Zhou Yuan and shrieked, "You cheated! Despicable!"

Many students also looked at Zhou Yuan with surprise and suspicion.

"Cheated?" Zhou Yuan sneered, pointing at Qi Yue's glabella, where a faint, residual light pattern was slowly fading. "If I'm not mistaken, that should be a first-grade Genesis Rune, the 'Soul Needle Rune', right?"

"If he hadn't attacked me with a spiritual needle earlier, he wouldn't have ended up like this."

At his words, everyone immediately burst into an uproar, their gazes shifting to Qi Yue's glabella. Sure enough, they saw the Genesis Rune, which hadn't completely dissipated. Those skilled in Genesis Runes immediately identified what it was.

"This Qi Yue, despite clearly being stronger than His Highness Zhou Yuan, actually resorted to such a despicable trick!" Many students grumbled, their eyes now holding a hint of disdain for Qi Yue.

Noticing those gazes, Liu Xi's pretty face turned livid, her eyes practically spitting fire. Yet, she couldn't utter a single word, because the facts were laid bare before them: if Qi Yue hadn't made a move, what purpose would that "Soul Needle Rune" have served?

If she tried to argue further, she would likely be drowned in the collective scorn of the crowd.

Amidst the murmuring of the crowd, the students from Class Yi exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions grim. The veiled glances they cast towards Qi Yue no longer held their former reverence, but rather a hint of reproach.

After all, with Qi Yue losing this bet, their Class Yi would lose an hour and a half of Jade Spirit Waterfall cultivation time, meaning they would only have half an hour left in the future.

This was a severe blow to Class Yi.

"Challenging someone without absolute certainty, and now look, he's lost everything." Someone couldn't help but grumble.

Hearing the comment, Liu Xi angrily scanned the crowd but couldn't identify the speaker, leaving her to clench her teeth in frustration.

"Heh heh, Dean Xu, Class Jia will gladly accept the hour and a half of Jade Spirit Waterfall cultivation time that Class Yi will be losing from now on." Chu Tianyang burst into laughter at this moment. Seeing Xu Hong's ashen face, his mood significantly brightened.

Dean Xu likely never dreamed that his attempt to trouble Class Jia would result in Class Yi losing everything.

Xu Hong was filled with fury but couldn't vent it. He forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes, glanced at Chu Tianyang and Zhou Yuan, and said, "Don't celebrate too soon. The Prefectural Exam isn't far off. As long as Class Yi gets first place again then, everything you've taken now will be returned twofold!"

With that, he didn't linger. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and left.

Liu Xi and the other students from Class Yi had no choice but to follow, their spirits low and their appearance utterly dejected.

As soon as they left, Class Jia erupted in earth-shattering cheers. They swarmed forward, eager to hoist Zhou Yuan into the air.

Zhou Yuan quickly stopped their revelry and smiled at the students from the other classes nearby. He announced, "Of the hour and a half Class Jia won, half an hour will be given to the three other classes from now on, as thanks for your support today."

At his words, the students from the other three classes were stunned, then immediately looked ashamed. Their classes had, in fact, been somewhat opportunistic today, hoping to gain some benefit from Class Jia's predicament. They never expected Zhou Yuan not only to bear no resentment but also to share half an hour with them. This act of repaying ill will with kindness filled them with both shame and admiration.

"Then we thank Your Highness!" Many students cupped their fists towards Zhou Yuan, their expressions filled with gratitude.

Watching this scene, Chu Tianyang couldn't help but show a trace of admiration in his eyes. Zhou Yuan's move was utterly brilliant; he had completely won over the hearts of the people. From now on, within the Great Zhou Prefecture, Zhou Yuan's reputation would likely surpass Qi Yue's.

Moreover, having benefited from Zhou Yuan this time, if Class Yi tried any more tricks in the future, no one would support them.

Qin Xiao and the other three deans also looked at Zhou Yuan with complex expressions, secretly feeling a sense of awe. At this moment, they truly felt that their prince was far from simple. It seemed that in the future, he absolutely could not be offended.