“We finally won.”

The moment he crossed the finish line, Zhang Yu looked at Dao Qiankun approaching him and immediately handed him the relay ball.

Zhang Yu said, “Dao-ge, I finally accomplished my mission.”

Dao Qiankun, who received the relay ball, smiled and said, “You did very well, thank you for your hard work.”

Meanwhile, as Zhang Yu and Jiu Tianliu crossed the finish line one after another,

The giant dragon, breaking through the sea, crashed down with a thud, heavily hitting the water and sending up a huge splash.

Then, the giant dragon floated motionless in the sea, without any further movement, like a corpse.

Large patches of fresh blood continuously poured out from the ruptured wound at the back of the dragon’s body, quickly dyeing the entire sea red.

Just when many spectators thought Ying Zhoufan might have been seriously wounded or even killed by the explosion… a fleshy bulge suddenly appeared in the middle of the dragon’s body. Then, the bulge exploded, and a figure shot up into the sky from within, instantly crossing the finish line.

Third place, Ying Zhoufan.

Ying Zhoufan, having crossed the finish line, landed and looked with hatred at the corpse-like dragon body and the blood-soaked Zhang Yu not far away.

“This scumbag…” Ying Zhoufan recalled the scene that had just unfolded.

Just as Zhang Yu, Jiu Tianliu, and he were engaged in their final fierce struggle, vying for the fastest champion spot in the underwater cave, Ying Zhoufan also secretly activated Tianyao Baibian, beginning his physical transformation to prepare for the final victory.

He reformed his human shape inside the dragon’s body, gradually turning the dragon’s body into an outer shell.

Ying Zhoufan was only waiting for the final sprint to use the dragon body to entangle Zhang Yu and Jiu Tianliu, break through the encirclement himself, and seize first place.

He even envisioned Zhang Yu and Jiu Tianliu fighting each other, while he broke through, overpowering the two great Human Race Tianjiao, securing first place in this stage, then trending on hot searches, accepting interviews, and being worshipped by countless Yaoyi…

Until Tianri Huangshen erupted with surging flames inside the dragon’s body, blasting a large hole in the rear of the dragon.

At the same time, the externalized dragon body, with Zhang Yu’s enhancement, gradually transformed into a temporary magical artifact.

“This scumbag…” Ying Zhoufan thought to himself, “He noticed my dragon body gradually losing vitality and turning into a dead object, then used Tiandi Huaijie Wuxing Xinbing to temporarily transform it into a magical artifact. This not only accelerated the final push but also hindered me from breaking out.”

“It shows that even in the final struggle, at the most intense moment of his fight with Jiu Tianliu, he did not relax his guard against me, and could even spare the attention to make a corresponding counter-measure…”

“Just how meticulously does this guy plan? His overall strength is almost on par with mine, yet he managed to exert every ounce of power to achieve this…”

Although he secured third place, not a single trace of happiness or excitement welled up in Ying Zhoufan’s heart.

Only because he felt that ever since he was “ridden” by Zhang Yu, the race was no longer under his control, completely falling into Zhang Yu’s rhythm, and his final desperate counterattack was also stifled in the cradle.

This made Ying Zhoufan feel like a horse with a bridle, completely unremarkable in this grand battle.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu waved towards the sea, and in the next moment, a black shadow broke out of the water and flew directly in front of him.

It was precisely the Bishui Jinjing Jia.

Jiu Tianliu, witnessing this scene, thought to himself, “Sure enough, the full-body injuries are because he took off the Bishui Jinjing Jia, preferring to endure the impact of the flying shuttle with his own body rather than let the Bishui Jinjing Jia be damaged.”

“Did this kid consider what would happen after the race even before he jumped onto the flying shuttle?”

“Should I say he’s bold… or daring?”

As the owner of the Jiu Tian Shensuo, Jiu Tianliu naturally understood how powerful its speed and impact force were, especially when burrowing, where the pressure and impact force between the rock layers and the flying shuttle increased sharply.

Zhang Yu’s act of taking off his armor and then abandoning the shuttle, besides showing absolute confidence in his own body, was also a dedication to protecting his property, which elicited a hint of admiration from Jiu Tianliu, his opponent.

At the same time, Zhang Yu shuddered, shaking off all the bloodstains, revealing his wounds and bruises.

Then he put on the Bishui Jinjing Jia again, and under his strenuous control, his wounds temporarily closed, continuously dissolving bruising and actively self-healing.

And after putting on the armor, the first thing Zhang Yu checked was whether he could obtain more content from the “Yaosheng Wanbian Shenjing” through the Bishui Jinjing Jia.

“It’s not working?”

After all, the large amount of blood discharged from the dragon’s body dyed the entire sea red, and the Bishui Jinjing Jia within it naturally became stained with a lot of demon blood. Yet, Zhang Yu found that during this process… he did not gain any more cultivation method content.

Zhang Yu speculated in his mind, “Is it because it’s a single type of Yaoyi, and quantity doesn’t matter? Do I need more different types of Yaoyi?”

Then Zhang Yu tried to control the remaining Yaoshou in the sea, only to find that many fish demons had lost contact.

“Has their lifespan ended?”

Zhang Yu knew that these Yaoshou, temporarily bred and forcibly grown, had exploded their life potential in a short period. They had no edible value and a short lifespan, often being consumed after a single battle.

Meanwhile, Li Shiwei, a Daoist Arts student and teammate, looked at Zhang Yu, who had taken first place, with a complex expression.

Especially seeing Zhang Yu hand the relay ball to Dao Qiankun, and Dao Qiankun smiling encouragingly, made her feel even more that her position had been usurped.

She, the second-ranked student in Daoist Arts, was the one who had always followed Dao-ge, and was also the person instructed by the leaders before the race to fully assist Dao Qiankun in winning the championship.

She couldn’t help but send a message to Dao Qiankun: “Dao-ge, Zhang Yu’s own speed isn’t the fastest. If it weren’t for that Yaoyi’s assistance, he probably wouldn’t have even seen Jiu Tianliu’s back. Isn’t that just good luck?”

Dao Qiankun: “Luck?”

Dao Qiankun: “You could say that, but what in the world isn’t reliant on luck?”

Dao Qiankun: “If you ask me, at least in this performance, Zhang Yu’s speed was the fastest.”

Li Shiwei: “Huh? Why?”

Dao Qiankun: “If Jiu Tianliu’s way of advancing is like absconding with money, then Zhang Yu’s is like smuggling.”

Dao Qiankun: “In this world, being fast by yourself isn’t truly the fastest.”

Dao Qiankun: “The one who can step on the fastest person is truly the fastest. Being able to advance by stepping on others is the fastest path in this world.”

Li Shiwei looked at the message from Dao Qiankun, a thoughtful expression flashing in her eyes.

Li Shiwei: “Ge! For the upcoming races, please step on me and advance!”

Dao Qiankun: “Don’t overthink it. You are all juniors I admire. I will make good use of you, and after I ascend to the throne, I will share the glory with you.”

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kuang Tianqing stared in Zhang Yu’s direction, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes: “Hmph, very good… this Zhang Yu is becoming more and more valuable to defeat.”

“This prey is getting more and more delicious.”

An Zhen Zhenjun stood on the other side of the arena, his eye sockets displaying a vast amount of Spirit Realm information, filled with heated discussions about Zhang Yu, including various criticisms and attacks.

“Zhang Yu’s actions are a blatant trampling and discrimination against Yaoyi. We strongly recommend disqualifying Zhang Yu.”

“Is it really necessary to blow up the opponent’s backside during such a competition? Is it really not humiliating the Yaoyi?”

“Yaoyi’s butt is also a butt!”

Xiang Shan, who was working to pay off his debts, glanced at the news and immediately ran to the comment section of Zhang Yu’s account to leave a message: “This person is a habitual offender of Yaoyi discrimination. When he was in the Civil Engineering Department, he bullied many Yaoyi. Later, he was whitewashed by the Artifact Forging Department for a while, and recently he couldn’t resist again.”

Bei Wufeng, logged into his alt account, sneered and commented below: “The little beast needs to be leashed again? [dog leash emoji] So annoying, why are you still in Wanfa according to your address? Can you roll back to Tianyao? [vomit emoji] [vomit emoji] [vomit emoji]”

An Zhen Zhenjun scanned the trending topics on social media, looking at Zhang Yu’s comment section, which had become a war zone. Yet, a smile couldn’t help but appear on his lips.

In his opinion, controversy generates buzz, traffic, and higher value.

Moreover, discriminating against Yaoyi was not an unbearable black mark; rather, it made one’s personality distinct and unique.

As for other trending topics, An Zhen Zhenjun had scanned them all as well…

Things like Zhang Yu’s rejection of Mu Qiansi representing the revival of classical aesthetics, or the best way to oppose Hehuan University being to embrace ugliness, or Zhang Yu possibly liking physiological males and having a talent for dual cultivation with the same sex… these were nothing to An Zhen Zhenjun; they would only further increase Zhang Yu’s popularity.

Suddenly, An Zhen Zhenjun’s gaze narrowed, discovering that a Huashen had actually spoken.

Qi Qing Shenjun: “Reject tall and muscular, reject fixed gazes. Cultivators don’t have to be tall and strong; they can also be small and slender, pursuing a differentiated path.”

The Huashen Shenjun’s statement immediately sparked widespread discussion in the Spirit Realm.

First, some older Jindan and Yuanying cultivators came forward to express their views.

Then, many people believed that Qi Qing Shenjun’s words were meant to strike at Hehuan University, as Hehuan University had always been a firm supporter of mainstream aesthetics, and many immortal cultivation techniques in the university originated from this.

Then, some began to propose that by rejecting mainstream aesthetics, one could gain a bonus in countering existing dual cultivation techniques…

As an old Yuanying, An Zhen Zhenjun had witnessed the changes in Kunxu aesthetics and fashion step by step.

He watched generations of cultivators, in pursuit of power, gradually come to believe that big is beautiful, strong is beautiful, and tall is beautiful.

Now, seeing cultivators again pursuing slender and petite figures to gain an advantage in the dual cultivation race, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: “Aesthetics is a circle. One can like tall and muscular for strength, and also pursue short and slender for strength.”

“Zhang Yu might be the fuse for the next generation’s immortal cultivation aesthetic revolution.”

“However…”

Glancing at the latest bid, An Zhen Zhenjun felt delighted: “Indeed, the richest is the most beautiful.”

In the current bidding rankings, Zhang Yu had surprisingly climbed to second place, second only to Kuang Tianqing in first.

An Zhen Zhenjun knew that after this relay race began, various companies started bidding for the next ultimate final.

This new ranking, in its initial state, would naturally not be exactly the same as the previous one, constantly changing based on the players’ performance in the relay race.

For example, Kuang Tianqing, due to his brilliant performance in the third stealth stage, directly surged to first place.

And Zhang Yu, due to his victory in the fourth stage and successive spikes in popularity, was now in second place.

An Zhen Zhenjun believed that after Dao Qiankun entered the arena for the fifth stage, the bids would inevitably soar, making him a strong contender for first place.