Chapter 229: The Outcome is Decided

As Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao quietly prepared for their final exam, most of the audience in the stands were no longer focused on the Physical track's examination area. After all, these viewers, watching remotely via the Spirit Realm Network, were simultaneously observing the finals of all four tracks of the Foundation Establishment examination on Kunxu Layer 1. Many university representatives, with specific recruitment requirements driven by their interests, had not paid much attention to the Physical track, keeping most of their focus on the other tracks. And when Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao were temporarily resting, even the audience members who had been following the Physical track naturally turned their attention to other arenas.

"Dao Heart and Mana aren't very exciting to watch," one viewer commented after glancing at the Dao Heart and Mana examination areas, ultimately deciding to check the Martial Arts arena instead. "Among the Qi Refining stage's Dao Heart, Mana, Physical, and Martial Arts exams, the most interesting ones seem to be Physical and Martial Arts. However, the Physical track attracts more viewers, as it's relevant to many different specializations. As for Martial Arts, it's always practical combat each year, mainly attracting representatives from security, weaponry, warfare, military, and at most, combat-oriented refining, magic bone, and medicine specializations." Just as these thoughts crossed the viewer's mind, they paused, surprised to find the Martial Arts match had already concluded.

"That quick?" Seeing the woman collapsed on the arena floor, her body almost disintegrating, the viewer curiously opted for the replay function. The screen before them rewound rapidly, quickly arriving at the beginning of the match.

In the examination area, also hosted by Huang Zichou, who was clearly distracted, the arena first materialized, followed by explanations of the examination content and rules, and then the participants' preparations. After all this was complete, Bai Zhenzhen and Yun Jing ascended the stage from opposite sides. This final Martial Arts examination would be a best-of-three series, consisting of three arena battles. After each battle, both participants would receive unlimited medical treatment. Furthermore, in every match, True Gods would intervene to save them before death. This meant that in each of the three rounds, both sides could fight with their utmost power, desperation, and abandon, unleashing their full combat potential without any reservations. In addition, various combat spirit roots and weapons were displayed nearby, available for both to choose freely.

However, neither Yun Jing nor Bai Zhenzhen chose to use combat spirit roots. Bai Zhenzhen, on the other hand, selected a Primal Magnetic Oscillation Sword; when infused with mana, its blade could vibrate at high frequencies, unleashing powerful destructive force. Feeling the coldness emanating from the sword hilt, Bai Zhenzhen mused, "An enterprise-grade magic artifact like this would normally be completely out of my reach, wouldn't it?" A slight smile touched Bai Zhenzhen's lips as she thought of this. "And the unlimited medical insurance after each round… I've truly never fought a battle with such generous provisions in my life."

As the countdown above the arena gradually reached zero, Bai Zhenzhen suddenly raised her longsword high and declared, "University representatives in the audience, pay close attention." Pointing her sword at Yun Jing, she continued, "Next, I will defeat my opponent in a single move. You should all consider what offers to extend to me."

Yun Jing, at the other end of the arena, maintained a calm expression upon hearing her words, merely thinking, "Does she want to provoke me, just like when I fought Dai Xingzhi? This woman really likes to use provocation." Yun Jing did not respond verbally to Bai Zhenzhen's provocation; instead, at the exact moment the countdown hit zero, he reacted with action. Both his chest and lower abdomen Dantians activated simultaneously, continuously unleashing lava-like mana. As Yun Jing thrust out his palm, it transformed into a raging wall of fire, surging forth like a waterfall, sweeping towards Bai Zhenzhen's position.

In their battle three months prior, Bai Zhenzhen had been forced off the stage by this very wide-ranging technique, losing that examination. But now, three months later, the move that Bai Zhenzhen once found insurmountable was riddled with flaws in her eyes. During the intervening period, Bai Zhenzhen had experienced countless battles in gang fights, witnessing how the lowest-tier cultivators in Songyang City, driven by the desire to earn money, to kill, for business, or simply to survive, could devise an astonishing number of ingenious ways to fight. It was through this continuous combat that Bai Zhenzhen felt her True Spirit Root constantly adapting, making the experts of the Jinke Gang seem weaker and their moves increasingly flawed. She had once thought that all the Qi Refining peak experts of the Jinke Gang had been eliminated. Later, she realized it wasn't that the Jinke Gang members had grown weaker, but that she was growing stronger, increasingly able to discern an opponent's weaknesses based on the changes in spiritual energy in the air. Just like now, that seemingly impenetrable wall of fire had several points of weakened force in her perception. With a flick of her longsword, Bai Zhenzhen had already pierced through the wall of fire and was advancing towards Yun Jing.

"Here I come," Bai Zhenzhen smiled faintly. The next instant, she shot towards Yun Jing like a bolt of lightning.

Yun Jing thought to himself, "Is that the Myriad Swords Without End Art?" Bai Zhenzhen's attack was swift, but it still did not escape the observation of Yun Jing's eyes. His eye-based magic artifact almost instantaneously analyzed Bai Zhenzhen's move, including potential follow-up attacks and the weaknesses in each one. "I can't possibly learn a mountain of cultivation techniques like that freak Ye Lingxiao did during three years of high school," he mused, "but the techniques I've acquired the rights to are certainly no less than his!"

The reason Yun Jing purchased the copyrights to various cultivation techniques was to store vast amounts of data from them into his eye-based magic artifact, enabling him to instantly assess an opponent's moves and identify their weaknesses during combat. Achieving this, of course, required an amount of money far beyond what an ordinary student could imagine. Even Yun Jing himself had invested significant time and effort into it. Although he came from an influential family, the funds provided by his household were not unlimited. To acquire more money, he had to earn it himself. And so, starting in second grade of elementary school, Yun Jing, encouraged by his father, began his entrepreneurial journey.

He still remembered what his father once told him. "There are two truths in this world I want to tell you," his father had said. "First, while one can only cultivate the immortal path in high school, the act of making money can begin from the moment a person is born. Second, the upper limit an individual can reach on the immortal path is determined by the wealth they possess. From these two facts, one conclusion can be drawn. True immortal cultivation, in fact, begins the moment you are born. Start earning money, Yun Jing. The earlier you start, the more proficient you become, and the more wealth you accumulate, the further you can go on the immortal path."

Yun Jing deeply agreed with his father's words. Thus, even in kindergarten, he had already begun investing, becoming an angel investor in several companies. In second grade of elementary school, he founded his first company. While his classmates were doing homework, he was pulling all-nighters working on reports. While his classmates were reviewing, he was chairing midnight meetings. While his classmates were practicing exams, he was working overnight alongside his employees. Even after entering Xianyun High School, Yun Jing did not abandon his chosen path.

"While others were practicing breathing techniques, I was making money. While others were engaged in practical combat, I was making money. While others were tempering their bodies, I was still making money. It is precisely because I persisted in earning money day after day, year after year, that I could reach this point today… I started immortal cultivation as early as five years old!" Just like over the past three months, Yun Jing's cultivation consisted of continuously earning money. It was because he earned more money that, despite his family's limited budget, he could still enable his eye-based magic artifact to master more cultivation technique copyrights, outsource the tempering of his meridians and flesh to individual university graduates, and use parasitic spirit roots to purchase mana from university students.

With both palms extended, Yun Jing, guided by his eye-based magic artifact, attacked the weaknesses in Bai Zhenzhen's moves. But in the next instant, he was startled to find Bai Zhenzhen inexplicably changing her move, executing a basic high school sword technique. Without time to ponder, Yun Jing immediately followed suit, altering his own offensive. Watching this scene, a faint smile appeared on Bai Zhenzhen's lips.

"Our battle, in fact, began half a year ago." Half a year ago, at the conclusion of the second round of Foundation Establishment examination, Bai Zhenzhen realized that her strongest opponent in her track was the man standing before her. Consequently, based on her observations, she began researching: what model was his magic artifact? What martial arts did he employ? What was the deal with his dual Dantians? And what did the various anomalies during digestion and combat truly signify? Bai Zhenzhen seized every opportunity to observe, and afterward diligently gathered information, bit by bit completing her understanding of her opponent's combat data. For instance, his magic artifact. Through repeated searches on shopping websites and comparisons of appearances, Bai Zhenzhen finally confirmed the model of this magic artifact. "It's Heaven's Will, an enterprise-grade magic artifact from Tianyan Company, usable even at the Qi Refining stage."

Bai Zhenzhen had thoroughly memorized all the data and performance specifications of this eye-based magic artifact. She scoured the internet for reviews and evaluations, repeatedly reading them, and even sent private messages to review bloggers and influencers, asking for details and even tipping them for their insights. Through this process, Bai Zhenzhen had gained an unparalleled understanding of the artifact. "Heaven's Will's biggest flaw is its overly rigid artifact spirit. When I perform a basic high school sword technique, because it's so simple and common, its weaknesses are well-established. Thus, Heaven's Will's method of counteracting it can be predicted." For Bai Zhenzhen, the moment she executed this basic sword move, she already knew how her opponent would counter it, which meant she could anticipate their next move in advance.

Bai Zhenzhen neither dodged nor parried. Instead, having anticipated the outcome, she chose to sacrifice half her body to be engulfed by flames and severely burned, in exchange for an opportunity to thrust her sword into her opponent's body. With a thud, Bai Zhenzhen, emitting a scorched odor, was already half-kneeling on the ground. Simultaneously, with a soft thud, the electrically shimmering sword had pierced Yun Jing's shoulder.

But Yun Jing dismissed it, thinking, "With my body-protecting technique, plus my combat spirit root, her sword definitely wouldn't break through—" The next moment, the slight wound on Yun Jing's shoulder suddenly expanded with the surge of mana, and large gushes of blood sprayed out like a fountain, causing his body to rapidly collapse. "What?!" Yun Jing watched this in disbelief, utterly unable to comprehend how his body, tempered and refined by hundreds of outsourced university students, could be breached by such a seemingly light sword strike.

After this battle, following three months of investigation, Yun Jing discovered that several university graduates, upon receiving his outsourcing project, had in turn outsourced it to a group of vocational college graduates. Among these vocational college graduates, one had further outsourced their work to a high school student. It was due to that high school student's oversight that Yun Jing's physical body contained a subtle flaw. Bai Zhenzhen detected this minute flaw, and that was how she bypassed his body-protecting technique. At that moment in the arena, with a swift swish, the longsword, following the exploited weakness, almost cleaved through half of Yun Jing's body. It was at this exact moment that True Gods intervened, saving both Yun Jing and Bai Zhenzhen. While Bai Zhenzhen was severely injured, Yun Jing had sustained a near-fatal wound.

Round one: Bai Zhenzhen wins.

After treatment, Bai Zhenzhen, who ascended the stage for the second round, looked at Yun Jing with a haughty expression and calmly stated, "I told you I'd defeat you in one move, didn't I?" Seeing Bai Zhenzhen's condescending demeanor, Yun Jing had to admit he was indeed somewhat provoked. This anger was also tinged with anxiety, a nervousness stemming from not knowing how his opponent had breached his body-protecting technique. So, at the start of the second round, Yun Jing unleashed his full power, no longer giving his opponent any chance to approach. Leveraging the insane output from his dual Dantians, Yun Jing transformed almost the entire arena into a sea of fire, giving Bai Zhenzhen no opportunity whatsoever to get close. Under his relentless barrage, Bai Zhenzhen struggled for over ten minutes before ultimately being forced off the stage.

After the second round's battle, Yun Jing regained his confidence, knowing that his raw power was, after all, superior. As long as he performed steadily and didn't fall for her tricks, he wouldn't lose. "It's one win each now," Yun Jing thought to himself. "As long as I win this final round, I'll secure my Foundation Establishment qualification."

But as the third round began, Bai Zhenzhen once again pointed her sword to the sky and addressed the audience, "Everyone, watch closely. This round is already over. Soon, I will still defeat him with a single sword strike. My only university target is the Top 10. Prepare your competitive offers to recruit me."