Chapter 377: The Hidden Health Bar of the Competition

After Ma Xuan buried Zhang Yu in the underground cavity, Zhang Yu knew he had to get out quickly.

This was because while he was buried underground, his side on the field was short one person.

“If Ma Xuan and his team used this time to eliminate one of us, it would be troublesome.”

Zhang Yu knew that while it was rare for students to be killed in the Civil Engineering Competition, it was not uncommon for students to surrender and temporarily withdraw from a match.

After all, medical expenses, construct repair costs, and magic weapon maintenance fees all had to be borne by the participants themselves.

Once a participant sustained continuous damage and the medical and repair costs exceeded their financial capacity, surrendering and temporarily withdrawing became a natural choice.

“Our team’s overall strength is already inferior to Ma Xuan’s team.”

“With one less person, Che Yufei and Shi Yunxiang would face even greater pressure.”

“If their physical bodies and constructs were constantly damaged...”

Zhang Yu felt that if he were in their position, surrendering would be normal; otherwise, even winning the match wouldn't be worth it if they couldn't afford the medical treatment or repairs.

“In the competition, besides the visible ‘health bar,’ each participant also has a hidden ‘health bar’ representing their financial resources.”

“The stronger one’s financial resources, the more damage they can withstand, and the longer they can fight to the end.”

“Conversely, the weaker and poorer one’s financial resources, the less damage they can endure, and the more likely they are to surrender.”

So Zhang Yu was well aware that while he was buried underground, his teammates’ savings were being constantly depleted.

He had to rush back quickly and re-enter the battlefield before any of his teammates were eliminated.

As Zhang Yu’s thoughts surged, a figure of Gang Qi appeared behind him, emanating a chilling cold.

Amidst waves of cold, the skeletal structure of the humanoid Gang Qi solidified, eventually transforming into one of Zhang Yu’s Deepfrost Vassals within mere seconds.

As the Deepfrost Vassal slammed its fist into the soil above, a large amount of dirt and sand was shaken loose.

Immediately after, another Deepfrost Vassal punched out, violently shaking the ground above Zhang Yu.

One Deepfrost Vassal after another emerged under Zhang Yu’s Gang Qi infusion, unleashing a flurry of punches.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…

After summoning a total of nine Deepfrost Vassals, Zhang Yu himself activated the Star-Vein Rushing Grand Technique, punching upwards with pulsating spiral force.

Beneath the earth, it was as if a small engineering team had suddenly appeared. With Zhang Yu leading the Deepfrost Vassals in a barrage of punches, large quantities of dirt and sand were continuously dislodged, as Zhang Yu forcefully carved out a path.

The tremors in the earth continuously propagated upwards as Zhang Yu advanced, causing increasingly greater disturbances on the surface.

Until Ma Xuan also detected the tremors coming from underground...

With a deafening boom, Zhang Yu, accompanied by nine Deepfrost Vassals, burst forth from the earth, rejoining the battle.

Zhang Yu: “My apologies for the long wait, everyone.”

On the battlefield at that moment, Cong Na and Yang Yan were on the front lines.

Ji Yuanxu, meanwhile, was moving around at a distance, bombarding the area.

Only Ma Xuan, who was providing remote crowd control support with the Lesser Tri-Formation, remained at the construction site, along with Bu Ziran and Ji Susu, who were working on the project.

Seeing Zhang Yu suddenly burst out of the ground, all three people present were startled.

Ma Xuan clearly remembered how he had buried Zhang Yu. He had calculated that with Zhang Yu’s cultivation level, even if he could dig himself out, it would take at least 20 minutes, which would be enough time for them to drive back one or two opponents.

By that point, even if Zhang Yu returned to the battlefield, he wouldn’t be able to change the overall situation, and Ma Xuan would have ample time to deal with him slowly.

Ma Xuan’s gaze swept over the nine Deepfrost Vassals, and he thought to himself, “Did he use these to speed things up? In that case, his magical energy consumption must be enormous…”

At the same time, Zhang Yu’s gaze, filled with battle intent, swept across the field. “Now… let’s continue our fight.”

With a slight shimmer, the nine Deepfrost Vassals generated a cold gust of wind and charged towards Bu Ziran and Ji Susu, who were busy with construction on the other side.

Bu Ziran roared and instinctively stepped forward to block. “I’ll handle this!”

Simultaneously, his intended message appeared on his teammates’ ocular constructs.

Bu Ziran: “This guy has been fighting intensely and just used such a massive amount of Gang Qi to rapidly dig his way out from underground. His Gang Qi must be severely depleted, and his internal magical energy must be weak. He shouldn’t have much fighting power left.”

“He’s bluffing now, trying to disrupt our construction and prevent you, Ma Xuan, from supporting the front.”

“Don’t fall for his provocation. I’ll deal with him.”

Bu Ziran’s lung construct vibrated, and a stream of Lung-Metal Sword Qi emerged from his body, converging at his right fingertip.

As he lightly tapped with his fingertip, a series of Mysterious Gold Free-Form Swords slashed towards the Deepfrost Vassals before him.

Bu Ziran’s lung construct could continuously refine and accumulate Lung-Metal Sword Qi during his normal breathing.

Furthermore, the Mysterious Gold Free-Form Sword he cultivated was specifically designed to shatter Gang Qi.

Now, by wielding his Mysterious Gold Free-Form Sword with Lung-Metal Sword Qi, he pushed this expert-level technique far beyond its normal power.

With continuous sword slashes, Bu Ziran instantly tore a Deepfrost Vassal to shreds.

But before a smile could form on Bu Ziran’s lips, or he could fully conclude that Zhang Yu was indeed bluffing… a terrifying cold current abruptly erupted from within the Deepfrost Vassal.

Waves of cold poison, following the dispersed Gang Qi, continuously surged into Bu Ziran’s body, instantly turning his face purple and causing his internal temperature to drop sharply.

“Zhang Yu still has so much magical energy?”

Bu Ziran was startled as he looked at the remaining eight Deepfrost Vassals still charging towards him. Feeling his body temperature continuously dropping, he immediately retreated.

At the same time, Bu Ziran realized the dilemma he faced.

“If I destroy these things, I’ll be afflicted by the cold poison.”

“But if I don’t attack them, should I just let them destroy the construction?”

At that moment, Bu Ziran deeply felt that Zhang Yu was not only disgusting to fight in person, but his humanoid Gang Qi was equally nauseating to deal with.

He could only warn, “Ji Susu, first circulate your energy to raise your body temperature, then destroy these things.”

In an instant, Bu Ziran and Ji Susu had to stop their work, circulating their energy to raise their body temperature while dodging the encirclement of the eight Deepfrost Vassals.

While Zhang Yu used the Deepfrost Vassals to temporarily stall the two, his own body surged with muscle, pushing the Battle Demon Lifefall Technique to its limit. Then, with a single step, he generated a fierce gale and charged directly towards Ma Xuan.

Ma Xuan’s gaze swept over Bu Ziran and Ji Susu nearby, then focused on Zhang Yu charging towards him. He mused, “He wants to fight me while dealing with Bu Ziran and Ji Susu?

“How arrogant.”

However, Ma Xuan did not dismantle the Lesser Tri-Formation to confront Zhang Yu directly.

He pondered, “If I dismantle the Lesser Tri-Formation now, Shi Huaiyu and the others will immediately rush in.”

“If so many people start fighting on the construction site, this round will devolve into the worst possible scenario.”

“In comparison, Zhang Yu in front of me… what if I simply endure a few of his moves?”

As Ma Xuan pondered, Zhang Yu arrived, his Battle Demon Lifefall Technique driving the Limitless Tremor Zen, tearing through the pervasive chill, and he unleashed a punch directly at Ma Xuan’s head.

A surging protective Gang Qi rose from within Ma Xuan, directly blocking Zhang Yu’s punch.

But feeling the deep coldness within Zhang Yu’s punch, Ma Xuan couldn’t help but frown.

Zhang Yu smiled, looking at Ma Xuan before him, and calmly stated, “How will you choose?”

“Will you be beaten into an icicle by me, or will you let Shi Huaiyu and the others come in and cause chaos?”

“Ma Xuan, it’s your turn to choose.”

Looking at Zhang Yu, Ma Xuan said indifferently, “Zhang Yu, the Nine Heavens Cloud-Void Force has given you unwarranted confidence.”

“I won’t let Shi Huaiyu and the others in.”

“And you… cannot harm me.”

As he spoke, a golden light blossomed from Ma Xuan’s glabella, rapidly spreading in the next moment to cover his entire body, emitting an ethereal glow that enveloped him.

Seeing the continuous emergence and movement of runes beneath Ma Xuan’s golden skin, Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened, and he thought, “A skin construct?”

He sent a screenshot to the competition chat group and immediately received an answer from Tian Yang.

Tian Yang: “It’s the Vajra Mystic-Forge’s Vajra Rune Skin. Once activated, it can unleash the Vajra Body-Protection Rune, offering extremely high resistance to physical attacks and magical energy. Ordinary methods cannot break through it.”

Zhang Yu’s heart stirred. “It’s a Daoist spell-type construct?”

Zhang Yu launched several more punches, but all the Gang Qi was completely repelled by the golden aura. Ma Xuan’s body remained absolutely still, seemingly unaffected by Zhang Yu’s power.

Watching this scene, a confident smile appeared on Ma Xuan’s lips, feeling that the situation was once again in his control.

But in the very next moment, another figure suddenly shot out from the tunnel Zhang Yu had dug.

“Xiao Qingxuan?!”

Seeing Xiao Qingxuan, enveloped in dragon-shaped Gang Qi, emerge from the tunnel, a look of astonishment flashed across Ma Xuan’s eyes.

But in the next moment, he immediately understood. “No wonder he didn’t do much on the front lines… This guy has been digging a tunnel all along? No, Shi Huaiyu should have even been helping him on the front lines.”

“And since Zhang Yu was also digging an upward path, he simply dug towards Zhang Yu’s location, saving a significant amount of time and magical energy…”

Immediately, a scenario played out in Ma Xuan’s mind: Shi Huaiyu manipulating earth to assist, Xiao Qingxuan digging the first half of the tunnel, and Zhang Yu digging the second half, until the two sections connected.

And seeing the dragon-shaped Gang Qi swirling around Xiao Qingxuan, Ma Xuan also understood why the opponent had still been able to intermittently engage in combat on the battlefield earlier.

“His true body was underground, using Gang Qi with a transmission range of nearly 100 meters to support the battlefield through the tunnel, creating the illusion that he was still actively present.”

Watching Zhang Yu and Xiao Qingxuan exchange a knowing smile, Ma Xuan further realized that the two must have coordinated their efforts moments ago.

“This is troublesome.”

Seeing Xiao Qingxuan unleash a palm strike immediately upon appearing, sending nine dragon-shaped Gang Qi manifestations, each over a hundred meters long, hurtling towards the partially constructed bunker, Ma Xuan instantly knew he had no time left for choices or hesitation.