Chapter 478: Breakthrough on the Battlefield

Zhang Yu had landed on the ground before he knew it.

As a barrage of flying sword fragments bombarded him, he stopped trying to suppress the swords. Instead, he conjured large quantities of earth and stone for defense.

At the same time, he activated two magic treasures: the Golden Thread Jade Bi and the Two-Polar Yin-Yang Shield.

Beams of chilling rays shot out from the Golden Thread Jade Bi, continuously hindering the flying swords' movements.

Concurrently, the Two-Polar Yin-Yang Shield spewed forth icy mist, freezing the air to further impede the flying swords' attacks.

"Even when shattered into pieces, they can continue fighting and automatically aim. Just as Mo Shangjin said, is this the Sword Spirit of Heavenly Sword University?" Zhang Yu recalled Mo Shangjin's previous words.

To aid in the remote operation of flying swords, Heavenly Sword University possesses its own unique basic intelligent spirit-artifact technology, which they call Sword Spirit.

These Sword Spirits have virtually no ability in dialogue, creation, or thinking. Their strongest capabilities lie in image recognition and automatic aiming.

When combined with Heavenly Sword University's unique cultivation method, which allows cultivators to nurture the Sword Spirit with their mental techniques, there's no need for overly precise maneuvers once the sword-wielding technique is cast. Cultivators simply need to channel the most violent magic power and fierce strength to propel the sword towards the target.

The Sword Spirit assists the cultivator, guiding the flying sword to perform various cutting, striking, and flying maneuvers.

When combined with different sword-control techniques, they can produce various marvelous effects.

It is said that cultivators who specialize in this path, by using Sword Spirits in conjunction with a spiritual network built from Heaven-Patrolling Flying Swords, can even perform millimeter-accurate operations from thousands or tens of thousands of kilometers away.

The Yue Guanqun before him was certainly not that powerful, but after combining the Sword Spirit with the Great Freedom Instant Prison Sword Qi, the flying swords under his control maintained their combat effectiveness regardless of how they were shattered or damaged.

In the blink of an eye, sword qi crisscrossed, and the ground beneath Zhang Yu was sliced layer by layer, unfolding like an intricate chessboard across the land.

However, relying on the layered defenses of the Earth-Suppressing Seal, Thunder-Suppressing Seal, Golden Thread Jade Bi, and Two-Polar Yin-Yang Shield, Zhang Yu firmly withstood this wave of attacks.

Observing this, Yue Guanqun's eyes flickered: "Oh? More magic treasures than in the last match? And specifically designed to defend against flying swords."

"Let's see how long these magic treasures of yours can last."

Yue Guanqun lightly flicked his finger, and inside the airborne fortress below, countless sword artifacts resonated as if summoned, emitting an increasingly powerful hum.

These sword artifacts were not true flying swords; they merely possessed a rudimentary sword shape and a certain degree of sturdiness, not much stronger than ordinary blades.

But the crucial point was that these sword artifacts, designed by Heavenly Sword University, could house Sword Spirits.

After the recent construction and preparations, Yue Guanqun's other teammates had already used onsite materials to fabricate a large number of sword artifacts and infused them with Sword Spirits.

This was precisely the specialty of Heavenly Sword University's Civil Engineering Department: the Sword Array.

Highly efficient, low-cost, yet remarkably powerful, as Yue Guanqun tapped his finger, hundreds of sword artifacts shot into the sky, sweeping towards Zhang Yu like a torrential storm.

Amidst crackling explosions, numerous sword artifacts violently struck the earth and stone conjured by Zhang Yu. Even when shattered into pieces, the fragments still emitted sharp sword qi, continuing to slash towards Zhang Yu.

With each successive collision of attacks, the sword artifacts' offensive seemed to continuously expand.

If at first it was merely a torrent of hundreds of flying swords, then as the sword artifacts repeatedly shattered, they quickly transformed into a cloud of flying sword fragments, completely enveloping Zhang Yu.

Hundreds of thousands of sword fragments continuously encircled and assailed Zhang Yu, and the atmosphere seemed to boil from the ultra-high-speed friction of countless sword artifacts.

The protective barriers raised by Zhang Yu's magic treasures, under this high-speed assault, produced a series of crackling impacts—the sound of sword artifacts continuously shattering, and the expanding momentum of the sword attacks.

In the spectator stands of the spiritual realm, Wang Yin was also watching the match.

Watching Zhang Yu being forced down from the sky to the ground, completely suppressed by the crisscrossing sword artifacts, the occasional flickering spiritual light of his magic treasures seemed like a tiny candle flame in a storm, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

Wang Yin thought to himself, "Zhang Yu, if you lose here, won't all my years of arduous cultivation of my Dao Heart be in vain?"

"Don't you dare lose."

"What about the power you gained from the cursed artifact?"

"If you can't manage, just call a timeout and use that cursed artifact again right here."

As the sword artifacts' assault grew fiercer, numerous warnings continuously appeared in Zhang Yu's ocular implants.

Golden Thread Jade Bi magic power below 5!Two-Polar Yin-Yang Shield magic power below 5!Thunder-Suppressing Seal magic power below 3!Earth-Suppressing Seal magic power below 1! Please replenish magic power within 30 seconds.

As the Earth-Suppressing Seal's aura completely collapsed and the Thunder-Suppressing Seal's lightning attacks rapidly weakened, Yue Guanqun's assault grew even more ferocious.

Just then, Zhang Yu's protective qi suddenly surged, and waves of golden aura shot skyward.

Under the enhancement of the Grand Unity Golden Liquid Pill, Zhang Yu's protective qi instantly unleashed astonishing defensive power.

Upon impact from the sword artifacts, the protective qi first defended in a solid state, then transformed into a liquid state for buffering, and finally converted into a gaseous state to disperse the force.

With this triple-state transformation, Zhang Yu once again stabilized himself under the torrential assault.

After a period of stalemate, Yue Guanqun intensified his offensive once more.

A flying sword, appearing and disappearing like a faint wisp of green smoke, floated before Yue Guanqun.

This particular flying sword was precisely the former military-grade flying sword that Wen Wuya had lent him—the Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword.

In fact, Yue Guanqun was not without professional-grade or enterprise-grade flying swords.

However, these two types of flying swords, especially the enterprise-grade ones, were not cheap for him.

In comparison, simply using someone else's flying sword was more cost-effective and made it easier to suppress Zhang Yu.

The Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword shot skyward, and in a single flicker, transformed into 81 streaks of sword light, swirling towards Zhang Yu.

As the sword lights assailed, they simultaneously appeared and disappeared like phantoms.

Yue Guanqun thought to himself, "As expected of Wen Wuya's former military-grade flying sword."

"When wielded, this Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword can split into 81 streaks of sword light, but only one of them is real. This true sword can transfer arbitrarily among the 81 streaks at any time and then re-split."

"For me, wielding this Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword means any streak of sword light can be false, because the moment it's caught, I can transfer the true sword to another streak."

"But for Zhang Yu, any streak of sword light can be real, because as long as a gap is seized, it can transform into the true sword to launch a fatal assault."

On the battlefield, 81 streaks of sword light crisscrossed, appearing like phantoms. Even collisions with chilling rays, earth-fiend gravity, and protective qi had no effect on these illusions.

And after the phantom-like sword light penetrated the protective qi, it instantly materialized into a true sword, striking at Zhang Yu.

With a sudden bang, just as Zhang Yu activated his Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power to grab the Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword, it had already transferred to another streak of sword light on the periphery.

Amidst the onslaught of countless sword artifacts, the 81 streaks of sword light flickered in and out.

Zhang Yu had to resist the suffocating sword qi while also constantly guarding against the infinite permutations of the Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword, facing various unpredictable strikes. In an instant, he was once again at a disadvantage.

Wen Wuya, watching the competition, stirred inwardly, muttering to himself, "Is he nearing his limit?"

"It truly is level 16 Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power."

Satisfying his curiosity, Wen Wuya nodded slightly.

As for Zhang Yu losing because of the Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword?

So what?

To Wen Wuya, this was no big deal; it was perfectly normal for the lives of the less fortunate to change with a mere thought from those in power.

At this moment, Wen Wuya had no further expectations for the competition's outcome, instead shifting his thoughts to Zhang Yu's inherent value.

"He hesitated before; perhaps with a bit more interaction, I can finally witness the Dual Cultivation techniques of the Myriad Law University..."

But in the very next moment, Wen Wuya's eyebrows suddenly shot up.

"Hm?"

On the field.

Zhang Yu, who had been suppressed, suddenly let out a roar, and his aura surged wildly.

Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, Level 17 — Thrust!

The terrifying earth-fiend gravity suddenly contracted, like a massive black hole devouring large swathes of sword qi and sword light one by one.

"What?!" Yue Guanqun's eyes narrowed: "He broke through?"

"He actually broke through during combat?!"

This breakthrough in Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power immediately disrupted Yue Guanqun's offensive.

The range that he had calculated Zhang Yu's Level 16 Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power could cover suddenly expanded, not only enveloping a large number of sword artifacts but also engulfing the Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword's 81 streaks of sword light.

However, after multiple successive differentiations of its sword light, the Light-Splitting Shadow-Shifting Sword barely managed to escape Zhang Yu's suppression.

But the next moment, with a cold snort, Zhang Yu suddenly stepped forward and soared into the sky.

Infused with Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, he instantly shattered the atmosphere, broke the sound barrier, and shot towards Heavenly Sword University's airborne fortress.

Observing this, Yue Guanqun scoffed and looked towards the Myriad Law University's construction site, seeing that the entire area was now defended by layers of earth.

"Hmph, you think that just because the construction site is completely blocked, you can rush over and give it your all?"

Concurrently, Heavenly Sword University's array formation was complete. Under its sustained power, the entire competition arena was within Yue Guanqun's observation.

At the same time, the sword artifacts previously hidden in the high sky suddenly activated. With a light flick of his sword-finger, they pierced directly through the earth, striking towards the location of Myriad Law University's students.

However, Myriad Law University's array formation was also complete; the earth seemed to transform into an iron wall at that moment, drastically reducing the sword artifacts' speed.

And in Yue Guanqun's perception, the figures of Myriad Law University's members vanished in an instant.

"They actually blocked my senses?"

Meanwhile, with a furious roar, Zhang Yu unleashed a powerful grasp towards the airborne fortress.

Amidst a thunderous boom and the airborne fortress's violent shaking, the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power and the array formation's energy within it clashed wildly.

Yue Guanqun let out a cold shout, once again activating the Great Freedom Instant Prison Sword Qi, controlling countless sword qi to converge with the 81 streaks of sword light, intending to drive Zhang Yu out again.

This time, he deliberately expanded the range, ensuring that he wouldn't be completely enveloped by the opponent's Level 17 Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power.

However, Zhang Yu suddenly retreated, then powerfully slammed his palm towards the ground from a distance.

Amidst the violent undulations of the terrain, the horizon surprisingly began to rise little by little with Zhang Yu's exertion.

"Hm?" Seeing this, Yue Guanqun frowned, already guessing Zhang Yu's intention: "Does he want to grab the earth... and then smash it over?"

"But with your cultivation and no magic bone enhancements, how much terrain can you lift?"

Before Yue Guanqun could finish his thought, surging spiritual energy gathered towards Zhang Yu.

With the array formation's power bolstering him, Zhang Yu felt his consciousness continuously expand, spreading outward towards the competition arena, the ground, and the rock layers beneath his feet.

At this moment, he felt the effective range of his Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power continuously expanding, and the earth trembled with his will.

His internal magic power roared! The earth-fiend gravity continuously spread! Spread! And spread further!

Perceiving this, Yue Guanqun urged his sword artifacts, continuously assailing Zhang Yu and gradually tearing his golden protective qi to shreds.

Zhang Yu, however, disregarded the attacks, continuing to focus on the earth, expanding the influence of the earth-fiend gravity as much as possible.

As the earth's undulations grew increasingly violent, Yue Guanqun's brows slowly furrowed.

"If this power continues to increase..."

The next moment, seeing that the degree of the earth's undulations was no longer increasing, Yue Guanqun's eyes flickered, and a faint smile touched his lips: "After all, it's only Level 17 Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power. The attack Zhang Yu wants to launch has already exceeded his capabilities; even with the array formation's boost, he can't achieve it."

But just then, Zhang Yu let out a furious roar: "Level 18 Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power!"

"Come forth!"

The earth was seized as if by an invisible colossal hand.

The horizon across more than half the arena rapidly lifted, like a rectangular mountain rising into the sky, casting a colossal shadow that enveloped the entire airborne fortress.

Then, under Zhang Yu's fierce grasp, the massive mountain hummed loudly, accompanied by whistling winds, as it pressed down violently towards Heavenly Sword University's airborne fortress.