Layers of Profound Dark Heavy Water pressed down, causing every inch of Zhang Yu’s skin to resist the pressure from all directions.

Under this pressure, he had to exert muscle strength to counteract the water pressure and protect his body structure. Furthermore, he needed to use his muscles to push air through his internal cavities, maintaining pressure differences to prevent damage to vulnerable areas like his eardrums, sinuses, and eyeballs.

As the simulated depth of the Profound Dark Heavy Water continuously increased, the surrounding pressure grew, requiring Zhang Yu to constantly unleash even greater physical strength.

However, at this simulated depth of 1300 meters, Zhang Yu’s diaphragm, which was pushing air within his chest cavity, suddenly weakened slightly, causing his breathing to falter.

“Hm?”

Realizing this, Zhang Yu was slightly startled. It was the first time he had encountered such a situation since achieving high control over his own body.

Meanwhile, the simulated depth of the Profound Dark Heavy Water continued to decrease.

1305 meters.

Zhang Yu’s throat muscles slightly deformed, and he felt a sharp pain in his brow from the internal and external pressure difference. He quickly flexed his muscles to accelerate the airflow within his body.

But as Zhang Yu focused his attention on his neck, a pain shot through his knee, indicating that the surrounding muscles had failed to protect the joint against the water pressure.

Zhang Yu immediately exerted force, using his muscles to protect his knee.

1312 meters.

As the simulated depth continued to drop, Zhang Yu felt more and more subtle pains throughout his body. He knew that many vulnerable parts of his body were being damaged by the Profound Dark Heavy Water’s compression.

Zhang Yu had to repeatedly exert force to resist the Profound Dark Heavy Water and protect his physical body.

However, as the depth continued to descend, Zhang Yu felt the pressure from the Profound Dark Heavy Water becoming increasingly fierce, and the number of easily injured areas on his body began to multiply.

At that moment, he felt as if he had become a submarine sinking into the deep sea, constantly being compressed and deformed.

Although he resisted this deformation with physical strength again and again, as more areas became unable to withstand the pressure, Zhang Yu gradually began to feel overwhelmed.

The distortion from exertion, the exhaustion of muscles, the twitching of flesh, the insufficient reactions…

Zhang Yu felt a sense of losing control unlike ever before.

Despite possessing immense strength, he found it difficult to unleash it to its full potential, much less coordinate his entire body to perfectly counteract the pressure of the Profound Dark Heavy Water coming from all directions.

Furthermore, it wasn’t a lack of skill in controlling his body, but rather a deficiency in his mental power.

“This is…” A flicker of realization crossed Zhang Yu’s mind. He remembered what his teacher had once said during a Dao Heart class.

“The Dao Heart is crucial for cultivators to command all their own power, to wield spiritual energy and the physical body with thought, and to cope with various anomalies using their spirit.”

“When power exceeds the level that the Dao Heart can govern, it can lead to cultivation deviation in severe cases, or loss of control over power in milder cases.”

He glanced at the data displayed on his Feather Scroll: Dao Heart Level 7 (18.5).

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “In the past few months, my physical strength has advanced by leaps and bounds, but the progress of my Dao Heart has been relatively slow.”

“Especially with today’s cultivation conditions, my physical strength surged rapidly, making my Dao Heart fall even further behind.”

“Previously, the simulated depth wasn’t that low, and I could resist the Profound Dark Heavy Water by exerting only a portion of my strength.”

“But as the depth continuously decreased, gradually requiring me to exert my ultimate strength to counteract the Profound Dark Heavy Water, I felt the inadequacy of my Dao Heart more acutely.”

1321 meters.

When Zhang Yu could no longer perfectly protect all parts of his body with his physical strength, it meant that his body was beginning to show significant wear, and the pain, initially subtle, was becoming intense.

Just then, another examinee chose to give up, leaving only Zhang Yu, Meng Tao, and Ye Lingxiao still continuing.

Zhang Yu mused, “I should try my best to hold on for second place. That way, I can secure a spot in the top two overall scores, ensuring entry into the next round and a chance to contend for the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate.”

With this thought, Zhang Yu suddenly ignited the toxins accumulated within his body from Spring Autumn Boundless Zen.

As the “Zen” character on his chest rapidly faded, Zhang Yu’s body was greatly stimulated, constantly squeezing out his life’s potential. He began to unleash physical strength beyond his own limits, helping him resist the Profound Dark Heavy Water’s pressure.

Meanwhile, on the other side, as the simulated depth continuously decreased, Ye Lingxiao’s body underwent various miraculous transformations. He had begun to activate one body-protection technique after another.

His body mass visibly contracted as the depth decreased, with each contraction increasing Ye Lingxiao’s body density and granting him stronger pressure resistance. This was the Level 10 Expert-grade body-protection technique, Ruyi Exquisite Bone.

Soon after, amidst the rippling of his muscles, strange patterns emerged, forming scale-like shapes reminiscent of dragon scales, offering a superior structure to combat the Profound Dark Heavy Water. This was the Level 10 Expert-grade technique, Great Celestial Dragon Divine Power.

And when the depth reached 1400 meters, Ye Lingxiao’s skin began to change color. From its original normal flesh tone, it turned dark greenish-black as his fascia expanded, granting his body enhanced toughness and elasticity to resist the Profound Dark Heavy Water. This was the Level 10 Expert-grade body-protection technique, Elephant Demon Entwining Tendon Transformation.

The combination of Elephant Demon Entwining Tendon Transformation and the recently activated Great Celestial Dragon Divine Power made Ye Lingxiao appear as if he were covered in black dragon scales.

After activating three Level 10 Expert-grade body-protection techniques consecutively, Ye Lingxiao stood steadily within the Sea-Stabilizing Pillar, arms crossed, his face still serene.

As someone possessing a perfect bloodline, his control over his body was naturally unparalleled; he could grasp any technique just by looking at it and master it quickly.

Coupled with his Level 10 Dao Heart, he could effortlessly control his Level 10 physical strength and various Qi Condensation stage techniques.

Having cultivated from his first year of high school to the present first semester of his third year, the number of techniques he had mastered far exceeded common imagination. His physical body, refined through countless techniques, was even rated by Oasis Group as the most perfect physique in Kunxu’s first-tier high schools.

The current simulated depth was still far from his limit, allowing him to calmly continue his thoughts.

“That Dao Dissolution Extended-Release Capsule isn’t simply about lowering IQ; it splits my consciousness into two, as if there’s another person in my mind.”

“If there was a way to control both lines of thought simultaneously…”

Ye Lingxiao mused, “Hmph, the company that developed that Dao Dissolution Extended-Release Capsule might have stumbled upon something good.”

As an heir of the Xian Du Ye Clan, Ye Lingxiao knew that during the development of many medicines, results sometimes emerged that were entirely different from the intended goals.

This was clearly the case with the Dao Dissolution Extended-Release Capsule; in Ye Lingxiao’s view, its side effects were more valuable than its intended Dao Heart enhancement.

“Once I return, I can try to get the family to invest in this Dao Dissolution Extended-Release Capsule.”

Having reached a conclusion, Ye Lingxiao finally raised his head to observe the other examinees’ performances.

Naturally, Zhang Yu was Ye Lingxiao’s primary focus of observation.

Watching Zhang Yu continuously adjust his posture and struggle to resist the Profound Dark Heavy Water, Ye Lingxiao thought with a hint of disbelief, “Hm? This guy… he’s already at his limit?”

To be honest, Ye Lingxiao had been somewhat shocked by Zhang Yu’s performance in the previous round.

From that moment on, he had paid great attention to Zhang Yu, already considering him his biggest rival for the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate in this competition.

After all, Ye Lingxiao’s own ability to absorb, withstand, and metabolize medicine was already top-tier among Xian Du high school students.

The scent of medicine exhaled from his mouth could ordinarily cause ordinary mortals to drop dead, and his single annual excretion could sell for a high price, deemed highly valuable for research by Oasis Group.

For Zhang Yu to surpass him in drug consumption, in Ye Lingxiao’s view, meant his strength was unfathomable.

Furthermore, the other party’s performance in the previous round, learning an eight-star difficulty technique within half an hour, was also quite impressive.

Ye Lingxiao had already acknowledged Zhang Yu’s formidable strength.

However, Ye Lingxiao never expected that after displaying such terrifying drug metabolic abilities in the first half, the other party would perform so… so ordinarily in the second half.

“Is he hiding his strength?”

Depth: 1422 meters.

Not long after Ye Lingxiao activated his triple body transformation, Meng Tao, who was nearby, could no longer endure and chose to give up.

At this moment, only Ye Lingxiao and Zhang Yu remained in the arena.

Through continuous observation, Ye Lingxiao gradually confirmed one thing.

“Number 55 (Zhang Yu) isn’t hiding his strength; his physical body is indeed much weaker than mine.”

The Profound Dark Heavy Water tested the physical body comprehensively. Ye Lingxiao not only confirmed through observation that Zhang Yu was not hiding his strength but also gradually understood his true capabilities during this observation.

“He hasn’t mastered enough body-protection techniques, and his control over his physical body isn’t even complete. Is it because there’s a disparity between his Dao Heart and his physical strength?”

“But if that’s the case, why was he able to exhibit such strong drug tolerance and metabolic abilities in the first half?”

What could be the reason for someone to display abilities inconsistent with their true strength?

For Ye Lingxiao, the answer was all too obvious in Kunxu.

“Is it some new Immortal Dao technology? Has his physical body undergone some kind of modification?”

Ye Lingxiao’s brow furrowed slightly at this conclusion.

From a personal perspective, he was certain that the other party’s overall physical quality was far inferior to his own, making him completely unqualified to compete for the Foundation Establishment Certificate.

However, from the perspective of the company and his clan, the technology potentially embodied in the other party was very important.

Ye Lingxiao thought to himself, “I should have someone investigate and see if similar technology exists elsewhere.”

On the other side, Zhang Yu glanced at Ye Lingxiao, who stood motionless, his full strength seemingly limitless.

Zhang Yu felt the metallic taste of blood in his chest and sensed his body, stimulated and burst open, slowly weakening. He thought to himself, “Although my High School Saint Body gives me stronger drug metabolism and absorption abilities than him, in terms of overall strength, there’s still a clear gap between me and this top Xian Du master.”

“How much are all this guy’s techniques worth? He’s a damn rich person.”

“It’s not just the vast difference in the number of cultivation techniques; my physical strength hasn’t reached Level 10’s limit, and my Dao Heart is also insufficient.”

However, Zhang Yu was glad he had managed to secure second place. Including his performance from taking medicine in the first half, he was confident he had enough to secure a spot in the top two overall scores, so he also chose to give up.

With that, only Ye Lingxiao remained in the entire examination arena.

Looking at him, Zhang Yu vowed silently, “Next time… next time I’ll catch up to you, and then surpass you.”

Under the gaze of Zhang Yu, Yu Xinghan, Meng Tao, and others, Ye Lingxiao remained standing in the Profound Dark Heavy Water as if nothing were amiss, his body continuing to undergo various transformations as the depth steadily decreased.

Ye Lingxiao understood that his next task was simple: to continue standing until his total score surpassed everyone else’s, making him the first-place winner of today’s Foundation Establishment examination.

He lightly clenched his fist and thought to himself, “I will always stand in first place, until I reach the peak of the Immortal Dao that I can achieve.”