A wave of horrifying acidic mist assaulted Zhang Yu, the intense corrosion causing his skin to sizzle and emit a greenish smoke. The excruciating pain made him furrow his brow.

Zhang Yu sensed that if this acid mist were allowed to continue its assault, his flesh would be severely damaged, even endangering his life.

Immediately, he channeled the power within every inch of his muscles, causing them to tremble and erupt in a violent burst of wind that blew away the oncoming acid mist.

However, this act of using his strength to combat the mist inevitably diverted some of his power.

Similarly, Night Lingxiao on the other side couldn’t seize the opportunity of Zhang Yu’s reduced strength to pull on the Binding Dragon Rope. He too was convulsing, unleashing gusts of energy to fend off the acid mist.

Yet, Zhang Yu could feel that with the enhanced self-healing capabilities granted by his Martial Dao Sacred Embryo, the damage from the previous heat, pressure, gravity, and now the acid mist, was gradually being repaired.

Moreover… he still had two trump cards he hadn’t played.

With a thunderous roar, the ‘Zen’ character on Zhang Yu’s chest suddenly dissipated. His body’s hidden potential was unleashed under the stimulation of the toxins.

Veins bulged on Zhang Yu’s forehead, but he roared inwardly, “Not yet!”

Then came the overload of his Martial Dao Sacred Embryo!

The muscles in Zhang Yu’s arms swelled again, and his height increased from 2.8 meters to 3.3 meters.

Both the unleashing of the Endless Spring Zen’s toxins and the overload of the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo were methods of forcing the body’s potential, unleashing a power beyond its normal limits.

When Zhang Yu used these two methods simultaneously, he felt as if every inch of his flesh was on fire.

A ceaseless torrent of power was extracted from every cell, the terrifying force coursing through his muscles, even causing his bones to crack.

As a result, Zhang Yu’s body was bearing an unprecedented burden at this moment.

Muscles were strained, bones began to show fine cracks, internal organs were squeezed and deformed, and tiny ruptures appeared in blood vessels…

Even with the self-healing capabilities of the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo, he couldn’t stop the constant self-destruction occurring throughout his body.

But to Zhang Yu, none of that mattered now.

Because before coming here, Zhang Yu knew one thing.

“Coming here is about staking your life.”

“If you’re not willing to fight to the death, why even bother taking the Foundation Establishment exam?”

At this moment, the countless tests, exams, and competitions of the past year flashed through Zhang Yu’s mind…

It was through these experiences that Zhang Yu deeply understood one thing.

In Kunxu, a strictly controlled world, if you wanted to climb higher, stand out, and master more powerful immortal techniques, you had to follow the promotion path laid down by the Ten Great Sects, defeating your opponents in one exam after another.

And in this process, almost every opponent would do everything possible to exploit themselves, their families, and each other, pushing their performance to the extreme.

The Immortal Capital Lord before him was no exception.

He would not let go of any possibility of victory, and would fight with all his might to defeat him.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Yu could only burn all his strength to obtain the invaluable Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate.

“I promised Ah Zhen, promised my sister, that we would all attend the Ten Great Sects together.”

“I want to go to the Ten Great Sects, join a sect!”

“I want to climb up in Kunxu! Break free from the shackles of the Ritual! Gain freedom!”

At this moment, all the cultivation techniques Zhang Yu had practiced in the past year surged in his mind, and the muscle and power flow throughout his body appeared before his eyes.

Technique, strength, potential… everything he could muster, Zhang Yu unleashed in one go.

Fierce power, unparalleled determination, all were transmitted along the power-circulating techniques, along the steel-like muscles, and finally through the Binding Dragon Rope… towards Night Lingxiao.

Turning and stomping heavily on the platform, creating a burst of sound, Zhang Yu frantically dragged the Binding Dragon Rope towards himself, step by step moving away from the edge of the platform.

With Zhang Yu’s outburst, Night Lingxiao felt an irresistible force coming from the other end of the Binding Dragon Rope, dragging him step by step towards the edge of the platform.

In an instant, Night Lingxiao, who had just dragged Zhang Yu to the edge of the platform, was now dragged to within two or three steps of the edge.

That place beyond the edge now seemed like a cliff in Night Lingxiao’s eyes.

Once fallen, it would be like falling from the clouds, losing not only the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate, but also a large amount of wealth and the best opportunity to climb higher.

In a daze, Night Lingxiao seemed to hear something in his heart.

“Brother, let our brothers fight him together!”

“Brother?” Night Lingxiao murmured in his heart, “So you’ve always been with your heart, accompanying me all along?”

“Don’t let us sacrifice in vain.”

“Don’t let the countless members of the Night family, generation after generation, sacrifice in vain.”

“Brother, borrow our strength, lead the Night family to break free from this mud pit, to climb to the higher levels of Kunxu…”

Unknowingly, Night Lingxiao had bitten open the second Divine Split Pill in his mouth.

As his brain temperature rose rapidly, he felt a wave of dizziness, but miraculously maintained three streams of thought, as if three selves were operating his body, running three times the number of cultivation techniques he would normally perform.

Blood, organs, bones, fascia… every inch of flesh throughout his body was mobilized to its full potential, bringing Night Lingxiao’s body power to an unprecedented peak.

This caused the frantically pulled Binding Dragon Rope to suddenly slacken.

But… it wasn’t enough!

With a crisp snap, Zhang Yu’s finger bone suddenly cracked under his own terrifying power.

Correspondingly, Night Lingxiao was one step closer to the cliff.

“Still not enough?”

“Are we… still not his match?”

“Then let’s keep fighting.”

“University representatives, don’t you like to watch the geniuses below fight to the death?”

“Then watch enough today.”
In the next instant, Zhang Yu felt the power from the other end of the Dragon-Binding Cord increase again, and then surge once more, threatening to drag him over.

“Does he have such a trump card?”

“No, this sound is…”

Zhang Yu abruptly turned his head towards Ye Lingxiao, only to see plumes of green smoke rising from the other platform, accompanied by sizzling sounds. A large amount of acidic mist was continuously corroding Ye Lingxiao’s flesh.

“This guy… has given up using some of his strength to resist the acidic mist and is going all out to fight me?”

At the same time, the hazardous environment changed again. Waves of poisonous mist swept towards both Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao.

Zhang Yu vibrated his muscles, creating a gust of wind to blow away the poisonous mist.

But at this moment, Ye Lingxiao still had no intention of wasting any strength to blow away the poisonous mist.

His eyes were fixed on Zhang Yu, fixed on the Dragon-Binding Cord. At this moment, only one thought seemed to remain in his mind: he had to win! He had to use all his strength to seize the Foundation Establishment qualification!

Watching Ye Lingxiao desperately fight with such abandon, Zhang Yu suddenly understood the true purpose of this exam.

“Those True Gods, they calculated this long ago, knowing that if we were to fight to the end, we would have to determine the victor in a life-or-death crisis, right?”

“Do those high and mighty fellows in the audience really enjoy watching us fight to the death so much?”

Zhang Yu looked at Ye Lingxiao, whose body was gradually covered in blood, turning blue and purple, and thought to himself, “Although I still don’t know your name.”

“But from the power transmitted through this Dragon-Binding Cord, I have felt your will and understood your determination.”

“But I will definitely not admit defeat either.”

“Besides, when it comes to fighting desperately… I am definitely better at it than you!”

Zhang Yu also stopped resisting the poisonous mist, gathering all his spirit, all his strength, all on the Dragon-Binding Cord.

As the power of the two fiercely clashed on the Dragon-Binding Cord, a strong tremor transmitted from the cord itself.

At the same time, the hazardous environment began to change again.

High temperature, high pressure, strong acid, toxins…

But at this moment, no matter what kind of threat, what kind of harm, could distract Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao in the slightest.

Whether it was the scorching of the body under high temperature, the burning of the internal organs,

Or the rupture of cavities and bodily damage under high pressure,

Or the bloody mess on the body, the severe burns inside and out,

Or the body’s toxic reaction, with the toxins constantly spreading as the operation became more intense…

At this moment, all of this was no longer important to the two of them.

Pressing on with their lives, wagering all the strength they could muster.

At this moment, only the other remained in their eyes, only that one thought.

Use your damn strongest power, your strongest will, to drag the other over!

With a crisp crack, Ye Lingxiao’s right leg bone finally completely fractured under the repeated damage, causing him to kneel on the ground.

On the other side, Zhang Yu, relying on his powerful self-healing ability, although also looking bloody, still maintained a complete structure.

Ye Lingxiao’s fracture broke the balance, preventing him from stopping the movement of the Dragon-Binding Cord.

“Am I going to lose?”

Watching himself being dragged step by step towards the cliff edge like a bottomless abyss, a trace of despair flashed in Ye Lingxiao’s heart.

“Is it over?”

The family’s heavy trust, the dying entrustments of his brothers and sisters, the endless exams, grades, awards, and repeated first places…

All of this had made Ye Lingxiao feel more and more like layers of shackles, strands of spider silk, tightly entangling him, binding his life, making him feel more and more tired and exhausted.

But later, he gradually understood that even without these, he still wanted to climb the path of immortality. The family gave him heavy responsibilities, but also gave him opportunities and help far beyond others.

“I want the future generations of the Ye family to no longer have to make such sacrifices, no longer have to pay the price of tens of thousands of people, to be able to reach the starting line that some people are born with under their feet.”

“I want to move the Ye family to the second level, to have a second-level household registration, to become a second-level family.”

Ye Lingxiao knew very well that the family’s heavy trust and the entrustments of his brothers and sisters were never his shackles.

They were like his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, always accompanying him, silently pushing him forward, sending him to where he was today.

Until this moment, Ye Lingxiao felt as if he had been pushed again.

At the same time, amid the roaring sounds, Zhang Yu, who had inhaled a large amount of poisonous mist, had now undergone a second explosion of the Boundless Spring Autumn Zen.

The previous explosion originated from the toxins accumulated after he took a large amount of medicine.

This time, however, after inhaling a large amount of poisonous mist from the hazardous environment, he found that the “Zen” character on his chest had accumulated a lot of toxins again.

Although Ye Lingxiao had fallen to his knees, Zhang Yu had no intention of relaxing in the slightest as long as he had not reached the final moment of victory.

Because, according to his life experience and the combat experience taught to him by Bai Zhenzhen, the more important the battle, the more careful you had to be about the opponent’s counterattack at the last moment.

At this moment, the second explosion of Boundless Spring Autumn Zen caused Zhang Yu’s body to explode with clusters of blood mist. Every cell in his body seemed to be groaning, wailing, and roaring with near-death cries.

But the more dangerous, the more hopeless the conditions, the more Zhang Yu felt a kind of excitement with the operation of the Unscrupulous Ox Sacrifice Heart Art. Even the pain in his body seemed to be suppressed a lot, and his Dao Heart was even improved.

Zhang Yu shouted angrily, “I am determined to get the Foundation Establishment Certificate!”

On the other side, Ye Lingxiao bit down on the last Divine Spirit Splitting Pill in his mouth.

His mind recalled the laboratory director’s warning: “You must not take more than three pills in a day.”

“Otherwise, your brain will not be able to withstand it, even with your perfect bloodline.”

Counting the Divine Spirit Splitting Pill he took during the first stage of the Divine Spiritual Root assessment, this was the fourth Divine Spirit Splitting Pill that Ye Lingxiao had taken in one day.
Feeling the medicinal power surging within his body, rushing wildly towards his brain, Ye Lingxiao suddenly found his thoughts remarkably clear, as if something had awakened within his mind.

“I can do it…”

“I can handle four.”

At this moment, Ye Lingxiao felt as if four separate selves were cooperating within him, like a work team, each taking on different aspects of his body’s operation, competing and evaluating performance…

At the same time, the Dragon Binding Cord, under Zhang Yu’s violent exertion of power, seemed to transform into a true dragon, writhing fiercely in Ye Lingxiao’s hands.

Ye Lingxiao was thinking about how to suppress this “dragon”, how to resist Zhang Yu’s berserk strength, but the next moment, his arm had already fractured in the force of the clash.

Although Ye Lingxiao’s mind and spirit had improved at this moment, his physical body was already on the verge of collapse, leaving no room for him to exert his newfound mental abilities.

At the same time, the side effects of the fourth Spirit Division Pill began to manifest. Ye Lingxiao felt a sharp pain in his brain, as if trying to tear his head apart, and then ram a branding iron inside.

The next moment, Ye Lingxiao could no longer contend with Zhang Yu.

Under the violent pulling force, Ye Lingxiao felt his elevated spirit, like a colorful dream, ultimately unable to withstand the cold reality and gravity, being dragged into the abyss.

The Dragon Binding Cord, infused with Zhang Yu’s unparalleled, berserk power, was flung into the sky with a loud bang.

Ye Lingxiao, desperately holding onto the Dragon Binding Cord, was likewise flung into the air.

He slowly scanned downwards, seemingly still able to see the burly figure standing in a cloud of blood mist atop the high platform.

Vast amounts of white steam billowed outwards as the other party channeled his energy, coupled with the blood mist constantly erupting from Zhang Yu’s body, making him look like a war god burning with blood and fire.

Ye Lingxiao sighed inwardly, “How… how can this fellow have such a powerful physique?”

Zhang Yu, gripping the Dragon Binding Cord with both hands, flung Ye Lingxiao, along with the cord, far away.

With Zhang Yu’s mighty heave, Ye Lingxiao, carrying the Dragon Binding Cord, shot towards the audience stands like a long comet.

The faces of the many spectators showed surprise as they watched this scene. No one had expected Zhang Yu to gain such an overwhelming advantage in the end, even flinging Ye Lingxiao away.

Looking at Ye Lingxiao, who was about to fly in front of them in the blink of an eye, the people in the audience had different expressions and thoughts.

At the same time, accompanied by bursts of divine power rippling back and forth in mid-air, Ye Lingxiao, who was about to crash into the audience, slowly stopped in mid-air.

Zhang Yu looked at Huang Zichou, who appeared before him, and asked earnestly, “Did I win?”

“Is the Foundation Establishment Certificate… mine?”

Huang Zichou waved his hand and cast a series of spells, first stabilizing Zhang Yu’s injuries with the divine power of the Department of Health, and then slowly announced, “The winner of the third round is Zhang Yu!”

“The winner of the overall score in the third round of the Foundation Establishment Examination, Zhang Yu!”

“I announce that the final winner of the physical track of this year’s Foundation Establishment Examination – Zhang Yu – will be granted a Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate by the Heavenly Court, and will possess the qualifications for Foundation Establishment!”

After hearing Huang Zichou’s words, Zhang Yu felt all the strength in his body being drained away. He collapsed limply into the pool of blood.

“Finally…”

Countless days and nights of tireless struggle, near-death fights, after paying almost everything he could afford, plus the millions of yuan in debt from the bank, and ultimately risking his life, Zhang Yu finally stepped halfway into the threshold of the Ten Greats.

Looking back on the road he had traveled, Zhang Yu felt how difficult it was, how difficult it was to climb up in Kunxu… so difficult.

Thinking of this, he let out a long roar, as if to release all the accumulated unhappiness and resentment in his heart.

Huang Zichou did not pay attention to Zhang Yu’s roaring appearance. He had seen too many reactions to obtaining the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate. Some had heart attacks, some had cerebral infarctions, and some had gone mad on the spot due to qi deviation. Zhang Yu’s reaction was relatively normal.

At the same time, on the other side, Ye Lingxiao had fallen into a coma due to the side effects of the medicine and the injuries on his body.

The “Laughing-Crying Emoji” in the audience said, “Mother, it seems that the Ye family you mentioned is not that great after all. Even their strongest heir lost.”

Looking at Ye Lingxiao, who was being casually dragged in mid-air by divine power, and was already unconscious, the “Smiling Emoji” frowned, feeling that Ye Lingxiao looked like a dead dog on the side of the road, and found him unpleasant no matter how he looked at him.

The “Smiling Emoji” said faintly, “You can discard this person if you don’t want to use him, but the Ye family is very useful in the first layer, you cannot give up on them.”

The “Laughing-Crying Emoji” said, “Actually, this Ye Lingxiao is already quite powerful. He’s more powerful than most high school students in the second and third layers, right? It’s just that he was unlucky and met a more powerful opponent.”

“I will still use him.”

“But compared to him…” Speaking of this, he looked at Zhang Yu with interest, “I am more interested in this Zhang Yu.”

The “Smiling Emoji” frowned and said, “Do you want to sign him as a full-time employee?”

The “Laughing-Crying Emoji” said, “Why not? As long as they can satisfy me, whether it’s him, that Bai Zhenzhen, or even this Ye Lingxiao, I can make them full-time employees.”

The “Smiling Emoji” shook his head and sighed, “A dog shouldn’t be fed too much… Alas… you will understand sooner or later.”

The “Laughing-Crying Emoji” scoffed inwardly and had already decided to contact the Oasis Company in the first layer to send a representative to Songyang City to throw money at him.

At the same time, many representatives from other universities in the audience also focused their attention on Zhang Yu.

After all, although Ye Lingxiao was very excellent, he now paled in comparison to Zhang Yu. Especially considering that Zhang Yu was a year younger, this made many university recruitment representatives eager to recruit Zhang Yu into their university.

The Cat Head from Wanfa University looked at this scene and said to the Husky Head beside him, “It seems that the price you planned to offer is not enough.”

The Husky Head frowned and said, “It’s one thing for us Ten Greats to snatch people from each other…”
He glanced towards a certain direction in the audience, scoffing, “I can understand the intentions of Colonel 36 and Lieutenant Colonel 72.”

“But those *diploma mill* graduates also want to recruit such a talent?”

“Are they worthy?”

“If Zhang Yu ends up at a *diploma mill*, isn’t that the same as serving time in prison? Forget about postgraduate studies for life, and forget about achieving the Golden Core stage.”

Cat Head reminded him from the side, “If you want to snatch him, you’d better act quickly. In case this Zhang Yu is too poor and hasn’t seen much of the world, and is easily deceived by some *diploma mill* masquerading as a university.”

“Once the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates are issued, the candidates’ information won’t be confidential anymore. You’d better move fast.”

Hearing this, Two Dog Head’s heart sank. What the other said was true; such things had indeed happened before.

He thought to himself, “I really should quickly contact Zhang Yu through a representative from the company.”

However, before leaving, he seemed to think of something and confirmed again, “Are you sure your finance department isn’t recruiting any of these students?”

Cat Head said indifferently, “Their aptitudes are indeed decent, but they’d be better suited for security or construction. Wanting to enter the realm of finance? Maybe after they’ve gained a foothold and several generations of struggle, their descendants might have a slim chance.”

On the other side of the audience, a teacher from a *diploma mill* was already on the phone with his school principal, stating resolutely, “Principal, as long as we get this student and nurture him to become a Golden Core cultivator with all our might, who will dare say that *diploma mills* can’t produce Golden Core cultivators in the future? Our school’s ranking will definitely have a chance to rise!”

As the figures in the audience thinned out, one by one exiting.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s injuries had also been completely healed.

At this moment, they gathered together with all the other contestants, about to begin the awarding of the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates.

Seeing Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu quickly walked up to her and asked, “Zhen, did you make it?”

Bai Zhenzhen laughed heartily and nodded, saying, “I made it, Yu! What about you?”

“I made it too!” Zhang Yu laughed and hugged Bai Zhenzhen, “Zhen! We can go to university together!”

Hearing these words, Bai Zhenzhen felt a great weight lifted from her heart. She was truly worried that Zhang Yu hadn’t made it. Now, she hugged Zhang Yu tightly, unable to stop herself from laughing as well, “Have you decided which of the top ten universities to choose? Should we start planning for graduate and doctoral studies?”

Yun Jing, watching the two hugging each other and spinning around, had his already gloomy face darken even further.

(End of this chapter)