Chapter 479: The Fuse of War?

Yue Guanqun’s heart trembled as he felt the explosive surge of Zhang Yu’s aura and watched the colossal mountain, vast enough to obscure the sky, that Zhang Yu was about to hurl down.

“An on-the-spot breakthrough? And twice in a row?”

“Or perhaps Myriad Dao concealed information, and the breakthrough from the Yin Artifact experiment allowed Zhang Yu to reach Level 18 Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Shifting Divine Power, not Level 16?”

“Or could it be the lingering effects of the Yin Artifact experiment? Perhaps the accumulation and resources needed for his skill advancement were already complete when Zhang Yu underwent the experiment, and today’s intense competition merely accelerated the assimilation process, leading to this new breakthrough…”

These thoughts flashed through his mind, but Yue Guanqun quickly suppressed them.

He knew he had no time to ponder any of it, regardless of the reason behind Zhang Yu’s breakthrough.

His immediate priority was to stop the colossal mountain descending with the force of a collapsing sky.

With a furious roar, Yue Guanqun unleashed his Grand Freedom Instant Prison Sword Qi at full power. Countless sword constructs shot up from the sword array like torrents of metal, roaring fiercely as they slammed into the colossal mountain.

“Break this mountain!”

Amidst thunderous explosions, the colossal mountain was continuously pulverized by the metallic torrents. Vast amounts of rock instantly shattered, turning into a sky filled with debris and dust.

But even as the colossal mountain was being continuously sliced apart, Zhang Yu reached out and grasped the ground from a distance. Large quantities of sand and rock shot into the sky, merging with the colossal mountain.

“Shift the mountain!”

“Force them all down!”

Behind him, Su Yanyang, Shi Huaiyu, and the others simultaneously channeled their power, activating the array in unison.

Su Yanyang: “Zhang Yu! We’ll lend you a hand!”

Shi Huaiyu: “Don’t give them a chance to counterattack!”

With a thunderous boom, a torrent resembling a mudslide was suddenly stirred up, creating earth dragons that merged with Zhang Yu’s colossal mountain.

Simultaneously, Yue Guanqun gave a low shout: “Hold the line with me!”

“If he wants to shift mountains, we’ll break them open and shatter the earth!”

“Swords!”

Under the concerted efforts of the other Heavenly Sword University team members, vast amounts of sand and rock were transformed into sword constructs and sent to Yue Guanqun. He wielded them to pulverize the descending colossal mountain, which was getting closer and closer to their sky fortress.

Amidst thunderous roars, mountain mass, rock layers, metal, and mud violently collided according to the will of both sides, unleashing deafening explosions.

The smoke and dust rising skyward almost entirely engulfed the arena.

Xiang Shan from Heavenly Demon University watched the scene, exclaiming, “Myriad Dao is digging earth and shifting mountains, while Heavenly Sword is breaking them apart and shattering the earth.”

“This is the purest and most fundamental contest of construction capabilities.”

Wan Gouxuan from Immortal Armament University nodded beside him. “With extreme focus and ultimate power, they’re pushing their construction instincts, honed countless times,” he said. “The victor will undoubtedly be the one with the highest construction efficiency.”

The next moment, as the colossal mountain gradually descended, it violently collided with the sky fortress.

Amidst deafening noises, Heavenly Sword University’s sky fortress gradually tilted, slowly descending downwards like a sinking ship disappearing into the water.

Xiang Shan lamented, “Yue Guanqun is still leading his people in desperate resistance, but just like in previous battles, the Grand Freedom Instant Prison Sword Qi relies on distance to suppress Zhang Yu.”

“But now that the distance between them has closed, Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Shifting Divine Power has the advantage…”

As he spoke, the sky fortress floating in mid-air suddenly began to crumble, as if being continuously torn apart by invisible giant hands, sending large fragments scattering across the sky.

As the colossal mountain and the fortress descended together, sword qi roared and smoke and dust billowed skyward, clearly indicating that Heavenly Sword University’s resistance was still ongoing.

This resistance did not cease even after the fortress crashed to the ground; instead, it intensified.

However, as the battle moved to the ground, Zhang Yu’s advantage was further amplified.

Watching the ground violently heave like boiling water, continuously shattering and scattering everything, Xiang Shan calmly stated, “It’s over.”

Wan Gouxuan, standing beside him, nodded slightly but remained silent.

Although the match had concluded, both their expressions grew more solemn as they recalled Zhang Yu’s on-the-spot breakthrough.

To be honest, in Xiang Shan and Wan Gouxuan’s view, an on-the-spot breakthrough wasn’t particularly rare. After all, cultivators practiced their skills daily, and a breakthrough occurring during a competition was usually just a coincidence.

Two consecutive on-the-spot breakthroughs in a short period were much rarer, yet not unprecedented in history. If intense battles dragged on, there were even cases of some geniuses “cultivating through battle” and achieving 3 or 4 breakthroughs in a single major conflict.

Furthermore, in ancient history, it wasn’t uncommon for exceptionally talented individuals to achieve on-the-spot breakthroughs directly from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, or from Golden Core to Nascent Soul, as ancient times had no certification requirements, thus no “illegal breakthroughs.”

But if Xiang Shan had a say, he desperately wished Zhang Yu was such a peerless genius and that he had achieved this two-level skill breakthrough purely through his own talent.

“No matter how powerful a peerless genius is, it’s still just one person’s power.”

Xiang Shan thought to himself, “However, Zhang Yu’s breakthrough now most likely represents a breakthrough in Myriad Dao’s immortal cultivation technology.”

“If that’s truly the case, then Myriad Dao in the future will likely produce many more such students.”

“It’s not just the Civil Engineering Department that might see more Zhang Yus; even students from other departments will become stronger.”

“If this is the case, then it’s no longer just a matter of competitions.”

“Just in civil engineering projects, if Myriad Dao possesses more highly efficient construction personnel, they can further lower construction costs and gain a massive advantage in project bidding.”

Xiang Shan knew that Myriad Dao University and Heavenly Demon University had always been in fierce competition over construction projects.

Once Myriad Dao University gains an advantage and secures more projects, it would mean Heavenly Demon University would have fewer projects, less work, and reduced income…

“If such a thing happens, especially before I graduate…”

Just thinking about this, Xiang Shan desperately wished at that moment that Zhang Yu was a truly peerless genius, one who had broken through purely by relying on his own martial arts talent.

“Break through relying on his own talent? How is that possible?”

Wang Yin, also standing in the spirit realm’s spectator stands, looked toward the arena, an inscrutable gleam in his eyes.

“His Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Shifting Divine Power was already forcibly raised from Level 10 to Level 16 by Yin Artifacts. Is it possible for him to achieve another breakthrough on his own within just a few days?”

“Either Myriad Dao hid information, and he already broke through to Level 18 in the lab initially, but what would be the point of that?”

“The greater possibility, I’m afraid, is that with the help of the Yin Artifacts, he had already completed the accumulation needed for breakthrough, and only broke through repeatedly after being stimulated during the competition.”

“Perhaps if the battle continued and he was stimulated further, he could still achieve more breakthroughs.”

Thinking of this, Wang Yin’s heart gradually grew agitated.

“Anyway, no matter the specific process, the result is the same: Myriad Dao has indeed made significant breakthroughs in Yin Artifact and dual cultivation techniques.”

“The situation is about to change.”

“The university war’s progress will greatly accelerate.”

“Chaos is coming.”

“Unprecedented opportunities are also descending.”

Thinking of this, Wang Yin couldn’t help but feel excited.

“The Grand Freedom Instant Prison Sword Qi is still too weak. Its range is short, its operation lacks the subtlety of refined sword arts, and it particularly lacks the ability to create multi-front battlefields. It’s only suitable for civil engineering work.”

Wen Wuya glanced at the collapsed sky fortress, a casual evaluation of the Grand Freedom Instant Prison Sword Qi flashing through her mind, and then she stopped thinking about the competition.

After all, for her, Zhang Yu’s breakthrough was what interested her most, far more than the outcome of the competition.

“Myriad Dao’s dual cultivation technique has indeed made a breakthrough, but where does this breakthrough come from?”

“They lack the heritage of dual cultivation techniques, so it’s unlikely they achieved the breakthrough on their own.”

Recalling the recent Yin Artifact riot incident at Joyful Harmony University, Wen Wuya felt the situation was already quite clear.

“Either Myriad Dao seized a batch of Yin Artifacts, or they took in a batch afterward. In any case, it’s highly probable that they achieved this temporary result with Zhang Yu by cracking the Divine Monarch of Nectar’s Yin Artifacts.”

“However, there’s still a long way to go from the laboratory to true practical application, and then to mass production. There will also be many variables along the way.”

“Especially since only a few months have passed between the Yin Artifact riot and this current achievement.”

“In such a short time, Myriad Dao has most likely only deciphered how to use the Divine Monarch of Nectar’s Yin Artifacts.”

“It should still be far from being able to replicate the technology within them, let alone use it for product manufacturing.”

Thinking of this, a subtle smile appeared on Wen Wuya’s lips. “But next, the Divine Monarch of Nectar will certainly not let this go,” she mused. “Will a God Transformation-level conflict erupt between Myriad Dao and Joyful Harmony?”

“Then what will our school’s two Divine Monarchs choose to do?”

Thinking of this, Wen Wuya couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

In the spectator stands.

As the ground boiled and Heavenly Sword University’s contestants surrendered one by one, Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t help but clench her fist and pump it, cheering inwardly, “Yu Zi won!”

The Seven Emotions Divine Monarch’s message flashed in her eye-socket: “You’re not cheering for Myriad Dao University’s victory now, are you?”

Bai Zhenzhen denied, “How could I be! I’m a student of Heavenly Sword University.”

The Seven Emotions Divine Monarch smiled faintly, then calmly said, “Currently, it seems Zhang Yu has completely fallen into the path of dual cultivation.”

“His military-grade skill has progressed entirely through dual cultivation breakthroughs, so in the future, he will inevitably become addicted to it.”

“Especially as he must cooperate with Myriad Dao’s experiments, he will go further and further down this path.”

The Seven Emotions Divine Monarch sighed, then continued, “This means that he and you, who cultivate the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao, are no longer on the same path.”

“Outsiders may not know the conflict between the two.”

“But you, who cultivate the Extreme Emotion Dao, should understand…”

Bai Zhenzhen nodded slightly and said, “Indeed, unlike me, who has embarked on the wicked path of Extreme Emotion, Yu Zi has embarked on the righteous path of dual cultivation.”

After three years of cultivation, Bai Zhenzhen had confirmed one thing: while the Extreme Emotion Dao was not as demonic as the Dual Cultivation Sect or the Unemployed Sect, it was still a thoroughly wicked path.

Seven Emotions Divine Monarch: “How many times have I told you? Extreme Emotion is the righteous path, dual cultivation is the wicked path.”

Bai Zhenzhen casually nodded, thinking to herself, “Right, right, right, the whole world is wrong, and you’re the only one who’s right.”

As the competition drew to a close, Bai Zhenzhen’s figure flashed, and she had already rushed towards the dust-filled arena.