Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao stood on separate, elevated platforms.

The two platforms were about five or six meters high and tens of meters apart.

Beneath the platforms and in the surrounding air, wisps of divine power permeated, transforming into various runes that formed a grand array.

As this grand array operated, it created all sorts of high-risk environments on the platforms, threatening both Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao.

A Dragon-Binding Cord was stretched taut between the two platforms, its ends held firmly in the hands of Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao!

Ye Lingxiao took a deep breath, every inch of his flesh and blood adjusted to its optimal state, like a rocket fully fueled and ready for launch, poised to strike with all its might!

At the same time, he moistened the Spirit-Dividing Pill (a sustained-release capsule of Daode) he held in his mouth. Once the trial began, he planned to crush the capsule and swallow the pill in one gulp!

Ye Lingxiao gazed at Zhang Yu on the other platform, his eyes burning with intense battle intent. He had already resolved to unleash his full power from the very beginning!

Ye Lingxiao thought to himself, “Judging from the results of the previous two rounds, his physical body is now roughly on par with mine, but perhaps due to his Dao Heart, or lack of experience, his control over his physical form is lacking!”

Recalling Zhang Yu’s clumsy performance in the Xuanming Heavy Water during the previous Foundation Establishment trial, Ye Lingxiao grew even more certain of this!

“This fellow’s physical strength has only recently caught up to my level, so his control is insufficient!”

“The best approach is to unleash my full power from the start, using my superior control over my physical form to exert the most powerful physical force and defeat him in one fell swoop!”

“Otherwise, as the high-risk environments change in succession, and our physical bodies are constantly worn down and weakened, my advantage in physical control will diminish!”

Feeling the Spirit-Dividing Pill in his mouth, Ye Lingxiao thought, “Thankfully, I haven’t been idle these past three months. My initial burst will surely defeat him!”

Just as Ye Lingxiao made his decision, a countdown timer suddenly appeared in mid-air!

Seeing the countdown appear, Zhang Yu on the other platform also tensed his muscles, gripping the Dragon-Binding Cord tightly!

At the same time, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “This round, I need to drag it out.”

“My control is inferior to his. A direct head-on confrontation would be unpredictable!”

“I must rely on the massive toxin eruption of the Spring and Autumn Endless Chan technique to defeat my opponent with brute force in one go!”

“Even if Ye Lingxiao has a similar technique, he doesn’t possess the High School Sacred Body like me, so the toxins he can unleash will certainly be far inferior!”

Feeling the “Chan” character on his Linkage Diagram still absorbing toxins, Zhang Yu thought, “The longer I drag it out, the more medicinal power I will digest, and the more toxins I will accumulate, allowing me to unleash even stronger power in a short period. Then I can directly defeat my opponent with sheer strength!”

“So I must stall for as long as possible, until I can’t hold on any longer, then I will erupt the toxins to stimulate my potential!”

With that thought, Zhang Yu glanced at the High School Sacred Body on the Linkage Diagram, ultimately deciding not to switch it to the Martial Dao Sacred Fetus!

He decided to allow the High School Sacred Body to continue absorbing more medicinal power and accumulating more toxins with the digestion and metabolism capabilities of a peak Qi Refinement cultivator!

Zhang Yu could feel that every extra second he could steal would add more strength to his subsequent eruption, increasing his chances of victory in this trial!

As Zhang Yu’s mind raced through these thoughts, the countdown numbers in mid-air changed again!

Ye Lingxiao fiercely bit open the Spirit-Dividing Pill, swallowing it in one gulp. In an instant, the medicinal power dissolved within his body, sending waves of cool energy rushing to the top of his head!

Zhang Yu took a deep breath, his muscles erupting, his entire body swelling into a small giant of 2.8 meters!

With a roar, Zhang Yu twisted his muscles together, like a series of explosions, abruptly yanking the Dragon-Binding Cord in his hand!

On the other platform, Ye Lingxiao, under the influence of the Spirit-Dividing Pill, seemed to freeze in place!

As if he hadn’t reacted, he was suddenly dragged forward by Zhang Yu, leaving him only three meters from the edge of the platform!

In that instant, it was as if two voices echoed in his mind, one urging him to activate the As-You-Wish Exquisite Bone, the other to unleash the Great Heavenly Dragon Divine Power!

His body alternately expanded and contracted, as if conflicting energies clashed!

Ye Lingxiao cursed inwardly, “Is there a problem with the Spirit-Dividing Pill? Did I take it too soon after the last one?”

The looming threat of the platform’s edge brought a sense of overwhelming pressure, the word “failure” like a collapsing sky, bearing down on Ye Lingxiao!

“I cannot lose.”

In that brief moment, Ye Lingxiao’s mind seemed to flash back to the past!

He recalled his deceased brothers and sisters, and the ancestral rules that the Ye Clan had upheld generation after generation!

“People are born with different talents. Instead of wasting resources on the mediocre, it is better to abandon them and only cultivate the most outstanding one in each generation!”

These were the words the clan leader had spoken to him before he entered high school!

“Talent determines the upper limit of every clansman!”

“And the easiest way to obtain clansmen with great talent is to have many children!”

“Lingxiao, do you remember the gacha games the company operates? It’s like drawing character cards. If you draw enough, you’ll always draw a powerful character!”

“The same goes for descendants. If you have enough children, you’ll always get talented offspring. The Dao of Heaven is that mysterious!”

The clan leader stroked his head and said with a smile, “That’s why our Ye Clan creates more than ten thousand descendants in each generation, but only a handful of them can become true bloodline inheritors. This is how, generation after generation, combined with the latest Immortal Dao technologies, we can condense our clan’s perfect bloodline!”

“But I have made new changes based on this!”

“After all, although some descendants may not have strong overall talent, certain parts of their bodies have unique advantages!”

“Just as some people are born with long arms, some have naturally stronger hearts, and some have naturally tougher meridians. These differences are common among your brothers and sisters, even though you are all of the same bloodline!”

The clan leader said with pride, “Lingxiao, your own talent is already outstanding enough, ranking first among your ten thousand brothers and sisters!”

“That’s why you deserve the surname Ye!”

“But fused with your excellent older and younger siblings! Gathering the outstanding talents within them, you will be the strongest generation of the Ye family!”

“You must cooperate sincerely and unite as one, understand?”

On the high platform of the examination hall!

In the instant he was dragged out by Zhang Yu, perhaps stimulated by the crisis, or perhaps pressured by the memories in his mind, the two contradictory thoughts in Ye Lingxiao’s mind suddenly began to cooperate sincerely!

Seeing Ye Lingxiao being pulled by him, Zhang Yu’s spirit lifted, “What’s wrong with him?”

“Am I going to win directly?”

Zhang Yu wanted to unleash the power of the Spring and Autumn Endless Chan technique immediately, to defeat his opponent in one go!

But Ye Lingxiao, who had only been in a momentary daze, did not give Zhang Yu this opportunity!

Ye Lingxiao stomped on the ground, his muscles expanding, revealing dragon-scale-like patterns, simultaneously activating the As-You-Wish Exquisite Bone and the Great Heavenly Dragon Divine Power!

Then, the two thoughts in Ye Lingxiao’s mind cooperated seamlessly, activating one martial art after another: the toxin eruption of the Spring and Autumn Endless Chan technique, the continued expansion of tendons and fascia brought about by the Elephant Demon Tendon Binding Transformation!

In an instant, Ye Lingxiao steadily stopped at the edge of the platform!

As Ye Lingxiao stopped, the Dragon-Binding Cord suddenly snapped taut in mid-air, emitting a burst of explosive sounds!

In Ye Lingxiao’s mind, the two thoughts roared in turn, each expressing its own voice!

“We are the most outstanding.”

“How can we lose?”

“If we lose to him, wouldn’t we tarnish the name of the perfect bloodline? How can we promote the new technology then?”

“The massive funds invested in stocks, do you know how much less we’ll earn?”

“Without this money, how will we go to school? How will we compete with those rich people above?”

“Whoever makes us earn less, we will make them die.”

Under the joint operation of the two thoughts, Ye Lingxiao felt as if his body was being controlled by two versions of himself. As one martial art after another erupted, his strength skyrocketed!

At this moment, Ye Lingxiao summoned more power from within his body than Zhang Yu!

As Ye Lingxiao stepped backward, Zhang Yu was dragged forward, taking a step!

Seeing Zhang Yu being dragged step by step towards the edge of the platform, a hint of scorching heat suddenly filled the air!

As the divine power array changed, a high-temperature environment descended!

The air was rapidly heated, and every breath felt as if it were searing Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao’s lungs, with a stinging sensation spreading across their skin!

The two almost simultaneously stopped breathing. Then, Zhang Yu activated the low-temperature form of the Ice and Fire Body Refinement technique to resist the high-temperature environment!

Ye Lingxiao activated his protective technique, wrapping his entire body in a thick layer of keratin, to isolate the heat as much as possible!

After this series of actions, Ye Lingxiao gritted his teeth and continued to pull the taut Dragon-Binding Cord, dragging Zhang Yu two more steps forward, leaving him only five steps from the edge of the platform!

At this moment, the high-risk environment changed again!

The scorching heat disappeared, and a change in gravity descended upon Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao. They felt as if they were suddenly carrying a mountain on their backs!

In particular, the internal organs suffered increased stress, and the two had to activate their organ strength to resist!

After adjusting slightly, Ye Lingxiao pulled again, dragging Zhang Yu two more steps forward, leaving only three steps from the edge!

Then the high-risk environment changed again, this time to high pressure!

The atmosphere seemed to become countless times heavier, as if they had been dropped into the depths of the sea, several thousand meters down!

The sudden and dramatic change in pressure directly caused Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao to bleed from all seven orifices, their eardrums ruptured!

The two had to adjust the pressure within their body cavities, trying to fight against this environment!

But Ye Lingxiao seized the opportunity, dragging Zhang Yu two more steps, leaving only the final step from the edge of the platform!

“I can’t wait any longer!”

Zhang Yu focused his attention on the Linkage Diagram, spending two seconds switching the High School Sacred Body to the Martial Dao Sacred Fetus!

With this switch, Zhang Yu felt a surge of self-healing power in his flesh and blood, and the surrounding high pressure seemed less terrifying in the face of the Martial Dao Sacred Fetus!

But in those two seconds, the high-risk environment changed again. The high pressure disappeared, but waves of acidic mist appeared out of thin air, assailing the two!