Chapter 379: No Money, What Competition?

Ma Xuan’s thoughts raced as he quickly made a decision. "Alright," he thought, "I'll seize this opportunity to directly overwhelm Zhang Yu and force him out of the match." He then issued an order directly through the competition group chat: "Attack! Use the method we discussed earlier to take him out!"

After the first half of the competition, Ma Xuan and his team had naturally summarized their battle experience, especially insights gained from fighting Zhang Yu, and had updated their combat strategies. At this moment, relevant thoughts flashed through Ma Xuan's mind.

"Compared to his performance during his first training session half a year ago, Zhang Yu has made rapid progress," he mused. "Whether it's his basic physical strength, spiritual power capacity, combat techniques, or the level of his Nine Heavens Cloud Vigor... everything far surpasses what it used to be." He realized that "Previous plans, like knocking him far away or single-handedly suppressing him, have proven ineffective in combat. Especially with his Level 20 Nine Heavens Cloud Vigor, he can redirect up to 20 attacks..."

After the first half of the battle, Ma Xuan and his team had thoroughly begun to take Zhang Yu seriously. Under these circumstances, Ma Xuan’s chosen combat strategy was, firstly, to reduce the power of their attacks while increasing their number. "Instead of heavy blows, we'll unleash more combo attacks within a given timeframe," he planned. "This way, the power of each strike will be much weaker, so we won't fear him redirecting the force. Moreover, a continuous, torrential assault can quickly wear Zhang Yu down. Secondly, remote attacks are preferable, as they further reduce the risk of bounced-back attacks."

To implement this new combat strategy, Ma Xuan and the others had each ordered supplies and either replaced or added to their equipment before the second half began. "Also," Ma Xuan thought, "the attack medium is very important."

Ma Xuan opened his mouth and spat out a stream of silver particles, which poured onto the ground below. It was the Sand Silver he had ordered during the break. Once mixed with soil, this substance could greatly enhance the strength and resilience of the earth. Combined with his Minor Triple Fusion and Earth-to-Steel Touch abilities, it would significantly increase the destructive power against Zhang Yu's Gang Qi.

Although powerful, its effects came at a considerable cost. Ma Xuan had originally not intended to use such a material in the competition against Shi Huaiyu's team. "I wonder how much I'll be able to recover after this match," he mused. As he thought this, he activated the recording function of his eye prosthetic, determined to recover the Sand Silver after the battle.

As the Sand Silver infused the ground, a silver hue rapidly spread out from where Ma Xuan stood. The next moment, Ma Xuan channeled his spiritual power, and silver arms began to rise from the ground beneath him. Minor Triple Fusion controlled and shaped the earth, Earth-to-Steel Touch increased its strength, and the Sand Silver further enhanced both strength and resilience.

As the silver arms rose, they rapidly extended like tree branches, then slammed fiercely towards Zhang Yu. Amidst the booming sounds of air exploding, each palm struck like a battering ram. Initially, there were a dozen or so, but their numbers quickly surged to dozens... then hundreds of silver arms, in the form of fists, palms, or fingers, assailed Zhang Yu like a violent storm. This was Ma Xuan's Level 20 martial art, Formless Thousand Hands, propelled by his Earth-to-Steel Touch, augmented by Minor Triple Fusion, and empowered by Sand Silver.

Facing this overwhelming assault, Zhang Yu let out a low cry and immediately deployed his Formless Cloud Barrier to defend. Amidst the pounding explosions, Zhang Yu's Gang Qi surged and vibrated violently around him like turbulent cloud waves. Feeling the continuous onslaught, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Hmph... have they found a tactic to counter my Nine Heavens Cloud Vigor?"

As Ma Xuan made his move, the other three also acted simultaneously. During the recent break, Yang Yan had replaced his prosthetics with newly rented heart and hand Dharma prosthetics. As the heart prosthetic pulsed intensely, streams of spiritual power infused it, then transformed into surging electrical charges that instantly coursed through his entire bloodstream.

At the same time, he tapped his fingertips, and the blood, electromagnetically accelerated by the hand prosthetic, activated its built-in Level 20 martial art, Blood-Shock Flick. The next instant, countless blood phantoms, flickering with electricity, burst from his body, raining down on Zhang Yu. Each Blood Bolt consumed spiritual power, was enhanced and accelerated by the heart and hand Dharma prosthetics, and ultimately propelled by the Level 20 Blood-Shock Flick.

However, since the Dharma prosthetics were rented, each Blood Bolt was priced at 0.02 Spirit Coins based on the number fired. Watching the rising bill in his eye prosthetic, Yang Yan's fighting spirit surged, and he roared internally, "Zhang Yu! Just you lose already, damn it!" With his fighting spirit ignited, Yang Yan felt his heart prosthetic beat faster and the bill in his eye prosthetic climb more rapidly. This, in turn, fueled his internal cultivation method, granting him an even more intense fighting will.

All of this was as Yang Yan expected, as he primarily used rented Dharma prosthetics. This approach not only allowed him to flaunt his wealth and display his financial power but also spurred his fighting spirit through the constantly updating bill. When using rented Dharma prosthetics, one needed to operate them more efficiently and quickly to save on rental fees. And completing the same task while paying less in rent—wasn't that a form of earning? Whenever he thought of this, he felt his cultivation method in his mind operate more fiercely, stimulating him to unleash greater fighting spirit, stronger power, and swifter thinking...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ji Susu also made her move. To better deal with Zhang Yu, she needed to change her combat methods. But for this competition, Ji Susu, a senior, had already gradually spent all her savings over the month leading up to the battle to enhance her strength. However, seeing Ma Xuan, Yang Yan, and others confidently placing orders without hesitation, Ji Susu had no choice but to take out a loan of Spirit Coins to rent a hand Dharma prosthetic, replacing her original one.

The hand Dharma prosthetic, named Empty Roar Sword, could absorb and compress air after being infused with spiritual power, turning it into air-bolts. These air-bolts were then enveloped in Gang Qi and fired as Air-Blast Swords. Since it was a temporary rental, the fees were extremely high, and knowing she intended to use it for the competition, she was directly denied insurance.

Therefore, since the start of the battle, Ji Susu had been meticulously protecting her hand prosthetic, constantly checking its durability display from the self-diagnostic reports. The hand prosthetic's durability had dropped from 95 at the start of the battle to 94. Durability was an estimated value based on the prosthetic's various wear-and-tear metrics. Generally, below 20 durability, severe malfunctions would occur; below 10, it would cease to function properly; at 0, it would be completely scrapped. Ji Susu also knew that for this rented Empty Roar Sword, every drop in durability by more than 10 points would result in a sharp increase in additional maintenance fees. She resolved internally, "I must end this battle before the durability drops below 85."

At this moment, Ji Susu channeled her spiritual power, activated her hard-cultivated Level 15 Crimson Fire Gang Qi, and infused the Gang Qi into her hand prosthetic, firing volleys of Flame Air-Blast Swords towards Zhang Yu. Amidst the pounding explosions, Formless Warriors surged forth, actively meeting the Air-Blast Swords and setting off intense blasts.

Amidst surging heatwaves and gales, Bu Ziran on the other side finally unleashed the Sword Qi he had accumulated for a long time. During the break, every time Bu Ziran recalled the frustrations he suffered at Zhang Yu's hands in the first half, his heart would feel heavy. To better counter Zhang Yu in the second half, he first changed the Sword Qi output mode of his lung Dharma prosthetic, switching from his usual Lung-Gold Sword Qi to Gengjin Ox-Hair Sword Qi. He also replaced his hand Dharma prosthetic with one capable of executing high-speed sword techniques, named Swift Sword.

However, because Swift Sword was a backup hand prosthetic Bu Ziran rarely used, it hadn't been maintained or serviced, and its self-diagnosed durability was only at 33. Noticing this, Bu Ziran frowned slightly, thinking, "It's fine, this battle shouldn't wear down too much durability. I'll find time to repair it after the fight." And at this very moment, Bu Ziran propelled Gengjin Ox-Hair Sword Qi with his lung Dharma prosthetic, infused it into the Swift Sword in his right hand, and then unleashed his Level 15 martial art, Heavenly Waterfall Sword. In an instant, golden Sword Qi, like a heavenly river pouring down, flowed with overlapping and intertwining golden threads, surging towards Zhang Yu.

In that instant, Zhang Yu faced the greatest crisis of the battle so far. Whether it was Ma Xuan's Formless Thousand Hands, Yang Yan's Blood-Shock Flick, Ji Susu's Air-Blast Swords, or Bu Ziran's Heavenly Waterfall Sword... all had been enhanced by various materials, Dharma prosthetics, and cultivation methods, unleashing power far beyond their original forms through successive amplifications. What was worse, facing this continuous, quantity-over-quality assault, Nine Heavens Cloud Vigor seemed to suddenly lose its effectiveness.

Amidst the violent vibrations and depletion of his Gang Qi, Sword Qi, flames, Blood Bolts, and silver palms occasionally tore through his Formless Cloud Barrier, fiercely striking Zhang Yu's body. In a blink, his skin and flesh were covered in over a dozen wounds, making him appear drenched in blood. "If only I had Xiao Qingxuan's 20-strike Nine Dragons Heavenly Gang Palm in this state," he thought. But Zhang Yu knew that while his Nine Heavens Cloud Vigor could redirect force, the borrowed power could only be stored briefly in his acupoints, and currently, there was no Nine Dragons Heavenly Gang Palm power stored within them.

However, Zhang Yu, who was continuously observing the entire scene with his Third Eye Clairvoyance, remained calm. He mused, "I can't keep taking hits passively. I must find a breakthrough."

"Hmph!" With a fierce roar from Zhang Yu, the Formless Cloud Barrier within him suddenly expanded, spreading out in all directions around his body. Simultaneously, figures emerged from the cloud sea, surging fiercely in all directions. Bang, bang, bang, bang, figure after figure was utterly blasted apart under the combined assault of the four. But Zhang Yu's true body seized the opportunity presented by the diverted attacks and charged towards Bu Ziran, who was closest to him.

"Remote attacks certainly counter my fighting style," he thought. "But remote attacks also have a flaw: when I engage in close combat with one of your teammates, your attacks will inevitably weaken... or even hit your own allies. If I'm going to take a beating, I'll make sure someone else takes it with me." Grinning ferociously, Zhang Yu charged towards the rapidly retreating Bu Ziran. As for why he chose this target, it was naturally because Zhang Yu still remembered how the other person had flaunted his wealth in the competition group chat. Fu Ji thought to herself, "That Zhang Yu kid has always been quite hostile towards the wealthy."