Chapter 450: Club Explosion Case

Inside the quiet room, Zhang Yu lightly tapped his fingertip. The metal powder in front of him floated back and forth, vibrating with his magic power, sometimes forming a sphere and then dispersing into a misty cloud.

As the sixth of the Seven Wonders of Earth and Wood, "Turning Earth into Gold" is a martial art that uses magic power to refine metals.

However, for Zhang Yu, practicing this art wasn't as troublesome as it was for others. He only needed to repeatedly manipulate the metal powder in front of him, making it undergo various transformations, to continuously increase his practice.

Several hours later, Zhang Yu, who had finally pushed "Turning Earth into Gold" to Level 10, let out a sigh of relief.

Just then, a knock came at the door, and Xiao Yunji's voice could be heard from outside.

Xiao Yunji said, "Zhang Yu, are you done? We're about to leave!"

Zhang Yu opened the door and replied, "Yes, let's go!"

Walking beside Zhang Yu, Xiao Yunji suddenly asked, "Zhang Yu... what's your reason for cultivating using only your physical body instead of a magic construct?"

"If it's inconvenient to answer, you don't have to."

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and replied casually, "I want to maintain my physical cultivation, and later, I'll use a customized magic construct. At that time, if I can strengthen this tempered body into a magic construct and a magic treasure, and control it with my own will, wouldn't that be even more powerful?"

Xiao Yunji said, "But that path... is very expensive!"

Zhang Yu smiled and replied, "Slowly, then. I'll refine as much as I earn!"

Xiao Yunji looked at Zhang Yu with a somewhat complicated expression. Suddenly, her brow furrowed slightly as she felt a sharp pain in her nerves. The antidote inside her magic construct immediately completed an auto-injection.

Zhang Yu noticed the change in Xiao Yunji's expression and said, "Is your magic construct synchronization still not improving? Have you considered switching to a lighter model?"

Xiao Yunji was slightly taken aback by his words. It was the first time anyone had suggested she switch to a weaker magic construct!

Xiao Yunji replied, "My strength would decrease, and my scores, ranking, and income... would all drop as well!"

"True," Zhang Yu said, "But if it continues like this, won't you eventually collapse?"

Xiao Yunji gritted her teeth. Originally, she had planned that if she obtained her military license, she could switch out her current transforming magic construct and, with more investment, focus on cultivating the Seven Wonders of Earth and Wood!

However, without the military license, she needed this transforming magic construct even more to enhance her strength! Especially now, participating in this inter-school league, she needed to seize the opportunity to prove herself to her teachers and the school through outstanding performance!

When Zhang Yu reached the door, he noticed that Su Yanyang had not yet arrived. After repeated urgings from everyone, beams of divine light descended, and several Deities actually arrived at the club!

"Why are the Deities here?" Zhang Yu wondered. "It can't be that they're here to raid this club, can it?"

A moment later, one of the Deities approached them and asked, "Is Su Yanyang your classmate?"

Mo Shangjin's projection spoke up, "He's with us for the competition. Is there a problem?"

The Deity replied, "No major problem, but his dual cultivation partner's Yin Vessel suddenly malfunctioned! I'm just here to confirm the information with you."

Towards the students from Ten Thousand Law University, the Deity was quite polite. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, once the investigation upstairs is complete and there are no issues, he'll be allowed to come down. It won't delay you for too long!"

Inside the room, Su Yanyang stood to the side, looking annoyed, his mind still replaying the recent scene. "What the hell... how did the Yin Vessel just explode halfway through? And it seemed like the spirit cultivator inside the Yin Vessel did it on purpose, but..."

Su Yanyang's brow furrowed slightly. From the exploding Yin Vessel, he sensed that the spirit cultivator inside had not returned to the spirit realm but had instead utterly perished, their soul scattered.

"The spirit cultivator died instantly. This isn't just a regular Yin Vessel malfunction, is it? This could be considered a spirit cultivator's suicide!" Su Yanyang had seen many spirit cultivators in his life, and many dead people too, but this was truly the first time he had witnessed a soul utterly perish.

Meanwhile, two Deities were still scanning the exploded Yin Vessel, communicating rapidly through the spirit realm. The male Deity among them said with a grave expression, "The Yin Vessel was intentionally overloaded and then detonated!"

The female Deity beside him said, "So... the spirit cultivator did it themselves? They detonated the Yin Vessel they were working with? Why would they do that? Do they not want to live anymore?"

The male Deity said solemnly, "Normally, this kind of suicide should not happen! Check his chat logs to see if he was influenced by something!"

A large amount of text and image information appeared before the male Deity.

"So tired... so tired, so tired, so tired, I don't want to live anymore. The debts are endless. Why won't they let me die? Why won't they let me die? Why won't they let me die?"

Seeing the deranged content, the male Deity's brow furrowed even deeper. "As expected, there's a problem with his mind. He was clearly misled! Moreover, most of the chat logs have been deleted, with no information about today's actions! Hmph, it seems this was premeditated! Not only did they arrange for a suicide, but they also wanted to... incidentally harm a student from Ten Thousand Law University?"

Hearing the male Deity's words, the female Deity who was also checking the records' eyes moved. She said, "Senior, you seem very familiar with this matter?"

The male Deity nodded. "Making people commit suicide and perish completely, leaving no value behind... it's most likely the Feathered Demonic Cult again!"

The female Deity asked curiously, "The Feathered Demonic Cult?"

The male Deity explained, "A group of cultists who go around bewitching people, causing them to commit suicide and perish utterly! Sigh, when the Nectar Coins were rising, the Dual Cultivation Sect gained many followers. Now that Nectar Coins have finally fallen and the Dual Cultivation Sect's numbers have dwindled, the Feathered Demonic Cult is showing signs of growth!"

The male Deity sighed emotionally, "Ah, with frequent conflicts between universities, these evil cults are becoming increasingly active!"

The female Deity, however, was more concerned about the Feathered Demonic Cult, and said in surprise, "A demonic cult that makes people commit suicide and completely perish? Do people actually believe in this? Only fools would, right?"

The male Deity nodded. "There are always those who can't endure hardship, who are unwilling to work, unwilling to take responsibility, unwilling to pay their debts, and unwilling to contribute to the construction of Kunxu. Such people are eventually exploited by this demonic cult, whose dark arts corrupt their minds! Every year, this demonic cult causes countless bad debts in Kunxu, and loses how much valuable talent? They are even more insane and wicked than the Dual Cultivation Sect or the Unemployed Cult..."

The female Deity looked at Su Yanyang, who was standing nearby, and asked, "What about him? Could he also be involved?"

The male Deity replied, "I've checked this fellow's records. He's ambitious, works 24/7 without rest, and has never hesitated on the path of immortality. He doesn't resemble those cult members!"

At this point, the male Deity added, "But I'm afraid he might have been influenced! The Feathered Demonic Cult's actions are always insidious and easily imitated! And... it's possible that members of this cult might try to contact Su Yanyang in the future! However, the owner of this Yin Vessel is even more important. They might also have been brainwashed by the Feathered Demonic Cult. Let's investigate that first!"

After a brief conversation, the male Deity looked at Su Yanyang, who still had an annoyed expression, and said, "Young man, are you alright?"

Su Yanyang nodded. "Sirs, I need to participate in a competition. When can I leave?"

The male Deity smiled faintly and said, "The specific details have been clarified. Once we wrap things up, you'll be free to go. Don't worry, it won't take long!"

Su Yanyang asked, "Is it clear now? Did the Yin Vessel explode on its own? How will its owner compensate me?"

The male Deity replied, "Regarding compensation, you'll need to negotiate directly with the other party. If you can't reach an agreement, you can pursue legal action; that's not our jurisdiction! What I need to discuss with you is confidentiality! As a top student from Ten Thousand Law University, you should know that incidents like self-detonation should not be made public. Officially, it can only be stated that the Yin Vessel malfunctioned and exploded!"

Su Yanyang nodded. He knew that such acts were always severely criticized and suppressed in Kuncheng. The male Deity continued, "To prevent others from imitating this, the details of this case must remain confidential. Therefore, we'll need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement with us!"

Su Yanyang was slightly taken aback. The image of the spirit cultivator's soul utterly perishing inside the Yin Vessel flashed through his mind. He thought to himself, 'Is that why?'

Su Yanyang nodded and said, "No problem!"

The male Deity then added, "Also, since it was a magic construct malfunction and you were in close proximity, if you experience any issues yourself, remember to contact us immediately!"

Ten minutes later!

Zhang Yu, Xiao Qingxuan, and the others waiting at the club entrance were getting a bit impatient.

Li Zhen said, "Why is he taking so long? If we wait any longer, we'll be late for the competition!"

Xiao Yunji said, "How about we go ahead? Even with just five of us, we're strong enough to beat Golden River University!"

Just as they were discussing, there was a loud bang, and Su Yanyang leaped out of a window, landing steadily in front of them!

Zhang Yu looked at Su Yanyang, who had finally appeared, and said, "You're finally here! What took so long?"

Su Yanyang replied helplessly, "I ran into a magic construct malfunction; the Yin Vessel exploded, and then they had to discuss compensation with me!"

Zhang Yu exclaimed, "The Yin Vessel exploded?"

Zhang Yu had originally asked casually, but now he felt that such a major incident needed thorough understanding! "Come on, come on!" Zhang Yu said with keen interest, "Tell me all about it. What exactly happened?"

Su Yanyang replied, "It's almost time for the competition!"

Zhang Yu, looking eager to learn, said, "We can talk on the way!"

And so, all the way to the competition venue, Su Yanyang recounted the story he had agreed upon with the Deities.

After his narration, Su Yanyang concluded, "...In short, it was just a magic construct malfunction, nothing special!"

Mo Shangjin asked, "Were you hurt?"

Su Yanyang replied, "No, I maintained utmost caution from start to finish, determined not to give them any advantage or let them earn a single Spirit Coin from me! So when it exploded, I pulled away immediately! But the compensation is still negotiable!"

As they spoke, Zhang Yu, Su Yanyang, and the others had already arrived at the competition venue!