Chapter 398: Two Realms Division, Patrolling Heaven Flying Sword

Che Yufei, having participated in few competitions, couldn't understand Su Yanyang's actions. He asked, "What's happening? Aren't they going to attack? Shouldn't the attacking side be seizing every moment to launch an assault?"

Shi Huaiyu exhaled and slowly explained, "A direct assault is only used when there's an enormous disparity between the two sides. Most matches between the top ten won't be fought that way. Since this is a civil engineering competition, the primary objective is naturally civil engineering prowess; combat is merely the environment of the competition. Otherwise, the rule about not killing anyone wouldn't have been established. Su Yanyang is too cautious, so he won't give us an opportunity for a direct fight. He's going straight for crushing us with their strongest abilities. Their first step will likely be to cover the area with an armor layer..."

As Shi Huaiyu spoke, everyone felt the ground beneath their feet vibrate violently. Simultaneously, the distant earth surged up and down, and layers of black barriers rapidly rose, spreading quickly into their view like a series of towering walls.

Shi Huaiyu murmured, "This is 'Minor Triple Union' combined with 'Earth-to-Steel Finger,' reinforced by 'Soil-to-Gold Twist,' after being augmented by the Earth Fiend God. First, they move the earth and sand, then shape and reinforce it, and finally refine metal elements to further increase its strength. Next should be the formation arrays..."

The next moment, everyone felt a change in the spiritual energy in the air, and their expressions shifted slightly. Immediately after, various tremors continuously emanated from underground, growing in number and extending further, as if the entire arena had transformed into a massive construction site.

Shi Huaiyu explained, "The armor layer is to protect the formations. Once the formations are set up, they will begin to absorb spiritual veins, destabilize the foundations, and alter the terrain... Once the spiritual veins are absorbed, we will struggle to restore our magical energy. Once the terrain is controlled, they will alter the geological structure to make it unsuitable for construction, causing our bunkers to deform and collapse directly..."

Che Yufei sighed, "Their abilities are too strong. I'm afraid we don't stand much of a chance." Facing such a grand display, everyone present felt a desire to retreat.

Zhang Yu frowned as he watched this scene, knowing he couldn't let his teammates' morale continue to plummet. His eyes moved, and he spoke, "Everyone, do you know how many teachers are watching us right now? The vast majority of teachers from the entire department, all three directors, are watching our competition. If we just surrender directly in front of all the teachers like this... do you think you'll ever be able to hold your heads high in the Civil Engineering Department again?"

Hearing Zhang Yu's words, Che Yufei and the others, who had just been contemplating retreat, were jolted. Zhang Yu continued, "And have you considered this? What a rare opportunity this is to showcase your abilities? How difficult was it for you to get such a chance to demonstrate your skills to so many teachers before? Regardless of whether we win or not, at least give it your all and show your best."

Listening to Zhang Yu, Che Yufei had to admit that he had a point. Especially recalling the changes after reaching the top ten in the competition... if they surrendered now, it would likely leave a bad impression on many leaders in the Civil Engineering Department. Conversely, if they demonstrated their abilities in this match, even if they ultimately lost, it would probably be more beneficial than submitting a stack of resumes. Moreover, Zhang Yu was a registered disciple of Director Gao, which further increased Che Yufei, Shi Yunxiang, and others' trust in his words.

"Hahahaha," Che Yufei burst out laughing. "You're right, Zhang Yu. This is a great opportunity for us to display our skills! How could we easily retreat?" With a roar, his muscles trembled violently, and he visibly aged by a year or two amidst wisps of white vapor, his facial wrinkles deepening without him noticing. Che Yufei grinned and said, "Let's give it one more shot." But even as he aged, his aura surged repeatedly, leaving a faint afterimage as he instantly appeared beside the construction materials.

As his body repeatedly flickered back and forth, the bunker's foundation rapidly transformed at a visible rate. Zhang Yu watched this scene, his mouth slightly agape. Seeing the aging Che Yufei, he couldn't help but say, "You don't have to go that hard..." Shi Yunxiang, standing by, said, "Don't worry, it's just a bit of life essence. Old Che knows his limits. And you're right, we've come so far, all the way to the leaders. We can't let it be for nothing. How else can we show our civil engineering spirit if we don't sacrifice a little life essence?"

Shi Yunxiang let out a roar, similarly activating a burst cultivation method, then activated his hand bone artifact, creating a deep pit with a few swift strikes. The abilities the two displayed at this moment weren't just powerful construction skills like building foundations and manufacturing concrete; they were also highly proficient in setting up formations, as if they had done it countless times. This was because they were accustomed to setting up their own formations during their usual construction work, simply to earn an extra fee for formation installation, and had thus memorized all the basic formations taught by the Civil Engineering Department's professors.

Watching this scene, a squad of Formless Warriors appeared behind Zhang Yu, while dragon-shaped qi roared around Xiao Qingxuan. Everyone unleashed their full power, rushing to help and further accelerating the bunker's construction.

Watching everyone working at full capacity, Shi Huaiyu touched his waist and spoke to the spirit item in his ghost kidney, "Help me calculate how much time we have left." The soul cultivator within the kidney replied, "I'm here to suppress your ghost kidney, not for other services." Shi Huaiyu retorted, "I ordered the ghost kidney suppression and portable calculation package. It specifically stated that the ghost kidney provides calculation services. I know you can access the spiritual realm's calculation pool; don't play dumb with me." The soul cultivator reluctantly agreed and, a moment later, provided the result: "Based on your current progress, you should complete the bunker and formations in approximately 40 minutes."

Shi Huaiyu then asked, "What about the other side?" The soul cultivator replied, "Based on the data we currently have, their spiritual vein control will exceed 50% in about 20 minutes."

Shi Huaiyu's gaze sharpened upon hearing this. "That fast?" The soul cultivator said, "According to my calculations, their final spiritual vein control will be around 74%, while yours will be 26%. The terrain will be completely under their control. Once they use their power to alter the geological structure, all your current efforts will be in vain."

Shi Huaiyu frowned slightly and directly sent the calculated data to the group chat. Everyone immediately understood that they couldn't outcompete their opponents in construction speed if they kept pushing.

Inside the spiritual realm space. A teacher watching Zhang Yu and Su Yanyang's match nodded slightly and remarked, "Now this is what a civil engineering competition should be! Su Yanyang is playing it safe and steady, setting up grand formations, fighting a tough battle, and simply dominating with overwhelming power." Wei Huai, a teacher from the Peace Faction, said, "This is simply a disparity in funding and assets. What's the use of Zhang Yu's side struggling so hard? Can they out-compete that much money?" Neither Tu Lishan nor Lang Yougong, nor any of the War Faction teachers, refuted this. After all, Su Yanyang's team had demonstrated completely overwhelming abilities.

Tu Lishan completely ignored Wei Huai's comment and instead steered the conversation towards Mo Shangjin, who was currently dominating on another side. But just then, Wei Huai continued, "Still wrong." He shook his head repeatedly. "Rushing out at a time like this, isn't that just reckless bravery? Storming someone else's grand formation? Only the Security Department would be so rash." Tu Lishan turned his head to look and saw Zhang Yu, Xiao Qingxuan, and Tian Yang all rushing out of their construction site towards the fortifications built by Su Yanyang's team.

The tall, winding, metallic-sheened barriers grew larger and larger in the eyes of Zhang Yu and the other two. Simultaneously, Shi Huaiyu's voice, relayed through the competition group chat, continuously reached their ears.

Shi Huaiyu: "With the assistance of the Earth Fiend God and their formations, he can completely suppress my Minor Triple Union. I will stay at the construction site with Che Yufei and Shi Yunxiang to complete our build. But no matter how fast we are, we can't be faster than Su Yanyang's team. To gain an advantage in this round, the only way is to find a method to slow down Su Yanyang's construction efficiency. Steal materials, sabotage... In short, you must find a way to cause them trouble..."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "We're supposed to be the defending side this round, yet we have to counterattack. Is this the disparity in construction capabilities?" As Zhang Yu and his companions stepped into the barriers, they discovered that these towering, layered walls, one after another, covered each other, obscuring the sky. Their structure was complex and winding, resembling a twisted, deformed insect nest.

Shi Huaiyu's voice vanished completely after they entered. Xiao Qingxuan frowned. "The network's down." Tian Yang, beside him, shook his head. "It's a Dual-Realm Severance Formation, capable of blocking communication between the material realm and the spiritual realm's network." Zhang Yu said, "Shi Huaiyu has a lot of information about Su Yanyang's team and can constantly update us on both sides' progress. We can't lose contact with her."

Thinking of this, Zhang Yu looked at the Azure Silk Flying Sword wrapped around his finger and asked, "If we use Sky Sword University's Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword to connect to the spiritual realm's network, can we break through the Dual-Realm Severance Formation?" "Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword?" Tian Yang's eyes lit up. "This Dual-Realm Severance Formation was hastily set up by Su Yanyang in the arena. With the advantages of a Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword, we can naturally break through it easily. However, there are three of us. If all three use this method to break through the Dual-Realm Severance Formation, the consumption might be significant."

Zhang Yu nodded. The data fees for the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword were much higher than regular internet fees. Xiao Qingxuan helplessly said, "Breaking into someone else's formation naturally incurs costs. Those without enough spirit coins wouldn't even qualify to attempt it. For example, I'm currently in debt, so I can't use the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword."

Tian Yang looked at the Azure Silk Flying Sword in Zhang Yu's hand and said, "I have a method. I can communicate with the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword and then transfer the spiritual realm's sword intent into your bodies. That should break through this Dual-Realm Severance Formation." The Azure Silk Flying Sword was inserted into Tian Yang's head like an antenna. As a pained expression flickered across his face, he extended a palm with each hand, striking Zhang Yu and Xiao Qingxuan respectively. "Here you go. This is my last bit of data for the year... It's all for you two, so use it sparingly."