Chapter 302: Zhang Yu Battles Ying Xin

The night wind swept across the 666th floor of Ten Thousand Laws University City, causing several colorful flags to flap loudly.

Ying Xin and Zhang Yu stood facing each other in the moonlight, observed by numerous workers. As their eyes met, two martial arts intentions seemed to collide in the air, emanating a heavy suppressive aura.

Yu Xinghan stood in a nearby corner, observing Ying Xin, a woman with a robust physique and muscles like granite. He couldn't help but feel a hint of admiration. He thought to himself, "This waist... this chest... these arms... and these legs... clearly a body forged through countless trials. Pouring hundreds of tons of concrete in one night would be no problem for her. She truly is a prodigy of the sixth generation of civil engineers, having grown up on construction sites."

Being big means being strong, which means being able to do more work and earn more money. And earning more money naturally makes one more appealing. Yu Xinghan understood this well, and at that moment, he also perceived a certain allure from Ying Xin. The next moment, he discreetly activated the camera function of his ocular frame, beginning to record the scene. His lens occasionally swept between Ying Xin and Zhang Yu.

Meanwhile, Ying Xin's sharp gaze swept over Zhang Yu. She thought to herself, "Why does this guy's vigor feel more robust than it did half a month ago? Did he know he would be competing with me, and so he took a restorative drug to recover his stamina in advance?" But the thought was fleeting and did not concern Ying Xin. After all, her ranking had already surpassed Zhang Yu's half a month prior. Over the past half-month, she had continued as before, not only persisting in her daily arduous training but also daring not to spare any expense. She dared not relax in the slightest, neither in effort nor in expenditure. In contrast, Zhang Yu had not only taken half a month off from classes but also spent significant time working daily, repeatedly wearing down his body... Ying Xin looked at Zhang Yu and thought, "The gap between us is likely even wider now than it was half a month ago."

On the other side, Li Xiao looked at Ying Xin, then at Zhang Yu. He felt that one was a classmate with whom he often studied and trained, and the other was a hometown friend who had helped him. Zhang Yu, in particular, had helped him several times at the construction site, pulling him out of dangerous situations and getting him to safety at the entrance. Had it not been for Zhang Yu, he probably wouldn't have survived. Reflecting on this, he felt a pang of regret for Zhang Yu. Li Xiao sighed inwardly, "Zhang Yu, truly... if only he had interacted more with Ying Xin and the others, like me, he would surely have more leeway now and wouldn't be in this predicament... After Zhang Yu loses, I'll bring him to Ying Xin so they can re-establish their acquaintance and ease the tension between them. Having cultivated with Ying Xin and the others for so long, she should still grant me this favor, right?"

Just then, Tu Lishan, his cultivation body shimmering with golden light, approached and asked the two, "Are you both ready?"

Ying Xin looked at Tu Lishan and respectfully replied, "Teacher Tu, I can start at any time. I'm just not sure what the competition entails."

Zhang Yu also looked curiously at Tu Lishan. After all, this was a competition between civil engineering prodigies, involving a significant technical threshold; it couldn't simply be a brawl like gang members.

Tu Lishan smiled faintly, pointing to the scattered construction waste nearby. "Since Zhang Yu was previously chosen as a model worker for clearing waste, your competition today will be to transport construction debris. The time limit will be five hours. Let's see which of you can transport more construction debris."

Zhang Yu's gaze sharpened upon hearing this. He thought to himself, "This guy... he's not trying to get us to work for him for free under the pretext of a competition, is he?"

Tu Lishan continued, "You must not underestimate the task of transporting construction debris." He said with a solemn expression, "As your teacher, I can tell you that within transportation lies the Great Dao. From the moment you embarked on the Immortal Dao, the very first thing you did was transport spiritual energy. And as you steadily ascend the Immortal Dao, all you do is transport spiritual energy from one place to another, and magical power from one place to another. This extends to transporting qi and blood, water, heat, and even electrical charges and spirit coins... As your Immortal Dao realm improves, you will be able to transport more and more things, and transport them to increasingly distant locations. Indeed, the essence of the Immortal Dao is transportation."

On the other side, Li Xiao's eyes lit up as he listened, and a sense of sudden enlightenment washed over him. He thought, "Yes, from the moment I embarked on the Immortal Dao to my current cultivation at the university, everything I do daily involves transporting spiritual energy, magical power, qi and blood, and building materials... The Immortal Dao is transportation!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Xinghan's gaze subtly shifted. "There's some truth to that. The stronger an Immortal Dao practitioner is, the more they can transport. This ranges from moving the magical power and qi and blood within their own bodies to manipulating external wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. Beyond that, transcending the Immortal Dao itself, transporting information from one place to another, spirit coins from one place to another, or even people from one place to another... that is the true Great Dao." As he thought this, Yu Xinghan vaguely grasped a realization. He aimed the camera of his ocular frame at Ying Xin. "Transporting spirit coins and people, I can't do that yet. But I wonder what the effect would be if I transported information."

Listening to Tu Lishan's words, Fu Ji couldn't help but exclaim, "Your teacher is truly brilliant! He elucidated the mysteries of the Immortal Dao in just a few sentences... It's a shame he isn't an evil god."

Tu Lishan continued, "Returning to the competition task: as Foundation Establishment students of the Civil Engineering Department, your transportation naturally incorporates more Immortal Dao techniques. To defeat your opponent, to transport more and faster, you must pay attention to the flow of Gang Qi and effectively apply Gang Qi fluid dynamics. There are also heat dissipation issues from prolonged energy exertion, the integration challenges between the physical body and magical power, wind resistance under high-speed movement, and the effective use of dynamics to prevent transported items from dropping or tipping... One could say the entire task seems simple, yet every detail is a manifestation of Immortal Dao techniques. The ultimate winner will inevitably be the one who demonstrates superior mastery in the application of Civil Engineering Immortal Dao techniques."

Simultaneously, a map projection appeared before everyone, displaying a 21-kilometer route from the construction waste pile on the 666th floor of Ten Thousand Laws University City to the waste treatment plant on basement level 1. Tu Lishan stated, "Your goal is to transport the construction debris from here to the waste treatment plant within five hours. I've already coordinated with the treatment plant; they will independently record the total weight transported by each of you. After the competition, whoever has transported more weight will be the victor. And the victor will earn the opportunity to participate in an outdoor project internship next month." With that, Tu Lishan looked at them and asked, "Do either of you have any further questions?"

Ying Xin calmly replied, "I have no questions."

Zhang Yu, however, raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, is there a payment for this competition?"

Tu Lishan replied indifferently, "You are not obligated to compete."

Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, "Damn it, this guy must have made a fortune from the transportation fees." Then Zhang Yu looked at Ying Xin again and asked, "Classmate, how about we make an agreement? The loser of this battle will pay the winner double the remuneration, calculated according to standard waste clearing fees."

In Ying Xin's view, this was simply her opponent willingly offering her money, so she naturally agreed without hesitation.

Tu Lishan announced, "Since both sides have no objections, the competition will officially begin in three minutes."

With a loud boom, a resonating sound erupted within Ying Xin's body, accompanied by vibrations of magical power and muscles. She had begun to warm up. Zhang Yu twisted his body, his spinal bones audibly clicking and shifting, like the impact of massive boulders. As the two warmed up, their muscles gradually swelled, and their entire physiques seemed to inflate. They slowly surpassed three meters in height, transforming into two small giants. Clearly, for the upcoming competition, both had chosen to stretch their muscles and bones, aiming to exert their power more smoothly.

Three minutes later, as the countdown in the spiritual world projection reached zero, Ying Xin and Zhang Yu moved simultaneously.

Ying Xin unleashed a palm strike, and fierce Gang Qi roared out like a long dragon, sweeping up a sky full of construction debris as she surged wildly towards the magnetic channel. Zhang Yu, on the other hand, conjured a sky full of cloud energy, as if riding a cloud dragon, sweeping along large sections of construction debris as he surged forward.

Within Ying Xin's ocular frame, all advertising projections had been completely blocked, leaving only navigation route guidance and various marked and highlighted obstacles and pedestrians. Amidst thunderous roars, she dashed wildly like a giant god commanding wind and clouds, carrying a sky full of construction debris, accelerating relentlessly. Every subtle movement of Gang Qi, every flight trajectory of the construction debris, every obstacle on the path, and every predicted movement of passersby were displayed in her ocular frame's vision.

Ying Xin wasn't sure if Tu Lishan's lengthy speech was merely a pretext to have them transport the debris for free. But she understood that the principle he stated was correct; transportation... encompassed a vast amount of Immortal Dao techniques. Having grown up on civil engineering sites, Ying Xin had a profound understanding of this.

"Anything, once its scale grows and its speed increases, its difficulty will skyrocket, and the required techniques will rise proportionally... And now, I am carrying 25 tons of material, moving at nearly 200 meters per second. Every one of my movements, every twitch of my muscles, every burst of Gang Qi, is the culmination of my long and arduous cultivation and the countless funds I've invested... it's the crystallization of Immortal Dao techniques."

Accompanied by the roaring atmosphere, every wisp of Gang Qi controlled by Ying Xin surged forth along the pre-simulated path from her ocular frame, in a manner most compliant with martial arts dynamics and Gang Qi fluid dynamics. Simultaneously, internal heat was rapidly expelled with the flow of sweat, explosively evaporating within the Gang Qi. As Ying Xin took her first step onto the magnetic channel, the magical power in her Dantian surged, instantly transforming to allow her feet to firmly adhere to the channel. Simultaneously, her waist and abdomen twisted, as she felt tons of power transmitting through her muscles. Her entire body seemed to transform into a high-strength rail, pulling the blazing Gang Qi and the sky full of construction debris into the magnetic channel.

Amidst explosive popping sounds, as Ying Xin's every step in the magnetic channel created a wave of air, she continuously accelerated. The surrounding construction debris, enveloped by streams of Gang Qi, resembled countless meteors, following her as she sped from the 666th floor towards basement level 1. Whether it was the burst of physical strength, the control of Gang Qi fluid, the reduction of wind resistance, the manipulation of magnetic magical power, or the selection of movement trajectory... at this moment, Ying Xin felt that her performance was flawless.

"Zhang Yu, take a good look at the gap between you and me..."

The next moment, before Ying Xin could finish her thought, she saw a white dragon, carrying a sky full of cloud energy, already bypass her and accelerate downward. She saw Zhang Yu's figure at the forefront of the long dragon formed by Gang Qi. She felt the terrifying heat wave emanating from him, and saw Zhang Yu's bulging veins and crimson skin...

Ying Xin's expression subtly changed. "The War Demon's Life-Eroding Art?"

"Are you serious? Are you going to risk your life against me right from the start?"