Above the arena, projections from the spirit world appeared, standing invisibly to the students as they observed the situation in the arena below. These spirit world projections belonged to Director Gao and Director Lin of the Civil Engineering Department, as well as many other teachers and professors. Their physical bodies were still engaged in various tasks elsewhere, some not even in the university town. Yet, at this moment, they had all projected a part of their consciousness to follow the competition’s outcome. Even True Monarch Lingyue, the Head of the Civil Engineering Department who had just been speaking on stage, had sent a spirit world projection here to facilitate communication with his colleagues.

Though standing individually, these projections were subtly divided into three factions: the Civil Engineering Department’s War Faction, Peace Faction, and Neutral Faction. However, seeing the Neutral Faction subtly leaning towards the Peace Faction, Tu Lishan’s brows unconsciously furrowed. He thought to himself, “A bunch of opportunists. When projects were handed to them, they were as docile as dogs. Now that the Finance Department is approving more loans, they’ve run off to that side again.”

Tu Lishan looked down at the arena, thinking, “If the Peace Faction gains an advantage from the outcome of this competition, I fear more neutral teachers and students will side with them.” The interface of his stock holdings popped up in his eye display. He wondered, “In that case, the stock price will fall, won’t it? Should I sell now?” But with a glance at Director Gao beside him, he knew that if he sold his shares now, Director Gao would surely notice. He silently decided against it.

“Besides… we might not necessarily lose.” Tu Lishan considered, “At least Mo Shangjin has a high probability of taking first place. Director Gao has funneled most of the student development resources towards him. Even if we lag behind in other rankings, as long as first place is secured, it won’t be a big problem. After all, only by winning first place in the departmental competition can one represent the school in inter-university leagues.”

Meanwhile, other teachers were also commenting on the situation in the arena.
“Mo Shangjin’s Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power is becoming increasingly refined.”
“I think Xuan Liangtian’s Mountain-Moving Divine Power is even more profound, and he used less time.”
“Hmm… is that a second-year student? He’s that fast already as a sophomore?”

Tu Lishan looked in the direction a teacher was pointing and saw Zhang Yu charging into the gravity field. Zhang Yu let out a low roar. As spiritual energy circulated within him, his muscles bulged with prominent veins. His body temperature rapidly rose, causing steam to constantly emanate from him, and his skin gradually turned a deep crimson. With the activation of the Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art, Zhang Yu’s physical strength instantly surged by 0.5 levels, reaching above Level 17. But for Zhang Yu, this was just the beginning. This time, he had decided to unleash the full power of Level 20 Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art.

“After all, I’ve been practicing this technique for over a dozen months. Reaching Level 20 now shouldn’t be an issue.” Before making this decision, Zhang Yu had checked the spirit world network. It wasn’t unheard of for people to cultivate the Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art to Level 20 within a year; at least several individuals at Ten Thousand Laws University had achieved this in the past two decades, and that was without many top talents even practicing this technique. “Given the talent I’ve consistently displayed, revealing Level 20 Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art now shouldn’t be a problem. This technique can temporarily enhance my physical strength, perfectly compensating for the gap between me and upper-year students in this regard.”

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu took a slow breath, then swung his arms and shook his legs for a brief warm-up before continuing to push the Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art. As veins bulged on his forehead, sweat continuously poured from his body, and his heart pounded violently, like a giant hammer striking a drum within his chest.

Physical Strength: Level 1.0!
Physical Strength: Level 1.5!
Physical Strength: Level 2.0!

In one go, he pushed the Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art to the limit of its second burst. This was a move Zhang Yu had always been hesitant to use, simply because it caused significant physical damage, making it too impractical for daily study or overtime work. However, the current elimination round only required a brief burst, and Zhang Yu felt confident he could endure it. With the second burst of the Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art, Zhang Yu’s physical strength temporarily surged past Level 18.5, his entire skin turning a deep crimson, as if dripping blood.

“Whoosh…” Zhang Yu let out a slight breath, and the hot airflow caused a ripple in the air. Feeling his body operating under immense strain, Zhang Yu secretly thought it was fortunate he had activated the Earth-Wood Sacred Body at this moment, and that the Ruined Ox Body-Sacrifice Mind Art’s bodily activation was continuously healing him. Otherwise, the life reduction would be too severe. Although he could still use the Pill Toxin Burst of the Endless Spring and Autumn Zen, Zhang Yu decided to save the accumulated pill toxins in his body for later stages of the competition.

The next moment, Zhang Yu’s figure blurred. With an explosive roar beneath his feet, he tore through the atmosphere. Accompanied by the sound of a sonic boom, he plunged headfirst into the gravity field. The instant he rushed into the gravity field, Zhang Yu felt as if invisible hands were pressing on him from all directions, dragging him up, pulling him down, or pushing him in every direction. The chaotic, constantly shifting gravity field tore at his body, as if intending to rip him apart. Only then did Zhang Yu understand why students would stagger around like they couldn’t walk after rushing in. “Because you have to constantly change your posture to fight this chaotic gravity field…”

The next moment, Zhang Yu let out another low roar and condensed his body, reducing his height and volume to minimize the area affected by the chaotic gravity field. Immediately after, the Four-Headed White Ox in his mind let out a roar, and Zhang Yu’s Four-Fold Thought suddenly activated. With one thought as the dominant, the remaining three thoughts controlled his torso, hands, and feet respectively, adapting to the changing gravity field. Since receiving guidance from Bai Zhenzhen and through Zhang Yu’s conscious training, his control over his body using multiple thoughts had become increasingly proficient. Upon activation, this allowed him not only to smoothly adapt to the gravity field’s changes and quickly adjust his force, but also to coordinate various parts of his body, propelling him to accelerate further. Thus, Zhang Yu’s figure paused for a moment, then instantly surged forward, rapidly overtaking student after student.

Above the arena, the teachers’ spirit world projections expressed admiration.
“This Zhang Yu is only a sophomore, and he already possesses such high physical strength?”
“Look closely, this isn’t his true physical strength at the moment; he’s activated the Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art.”
“But judging by the way he activated the Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art, it seems this technique has reached Level 20?”
A teacher checked when Zhang Yu purchased the cultivation method, then remarked in surprise, “He only started practicing last August? Then he’s exceptionally talented in this technique.”
Another teacher added, “Crucially, his body control is also excellent. After entering the gravity field, he was hardly affected and continued to accelerate, which shows he can completely adapt to such a sudden surge in physical strength. This indicates truly outstanding martial arts talent.”

Just then, another teacher from the Peace Faction said blandly, “What’s the use of mastering the Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art? The better you use it, the faster you die. The more you practice, the poorer you get, and the poorer you get, the more you practice.” Tu Lishan glanced at the speaker, recognizing Wei Huai, the geology teacher. He looked at Director Gao next to him and saw that Director Gao’s previously slightly upturned lips suddenly drooped. Tu Lishan knew that Wei Huai was ostensibly talking about Zhang Yu, but was actually referring to the conflict over the two factions’ approaches.

He immediately spoke up, “That’s incorrect. People’s physiques vary; how can one generalize? Zhang Yu has a naturally robust physique. Even as a freshman, he consumed lifespan-reducing medicines daily, enough for several people. The Fiend-Slaying Life-Sacrifice Art, which is a heavy burden for others, is nothing to him. Pushing himself to the limit is precisely his best path forward. By pushing himself, he was able to secure first place in his class at the end of freshman year with lower financial expenditure…”

Just as Tu Lishan was halfway through his sentence, a red figure streaked across the entire arena below. Zhang Yu felt a slight flicker in his eye display; a red projection had appeared before him, like a runway, extending through the entire gravity field. At the same time, a male voice reached everyone.

“This is my path forward. When I pass through at five times the speed of sound, please remain still to avoid being hit.”

The next moment, a streak of light and fire shot into the sky, and a crimson blur, like a meteor streaking across the sun, slammed into the gravity field with a powerful wave of air, leaving only a red afterimage as it reached the end of the field in an instant. Reaching out to push away the incoming airwave, Zhang Yu watched the figure stop and thought, “Suo Yanyang? He’s the guy who injured Shi Huaiyu. This person is really a bit arrogant. And his set of Dharma Bones isn’t cheap, is it? For someone so rich, he’s actually unwilling to compensate Shi Huaiyu.”

Suo Yanyang paid no attention to others’ opinions. He just checked his elapsed time and thought, “Not bad.” Then he extended his hand, and an iron coffin from a distance flew towards him. As the iron coffin opened, several rectangular streams of light flew out, transforming with clicking sounds into Dharma Bones for various body parts. Concurrently, the Dharma Bones on Suo Yanyang’s body suddenly contracted and deformed. After being replaced by the new set, they automatically flew back into the iron coffin. In an instant, he had completed the switch from his speed-type Dharma Bones to his everyday Dharma Bones set. After a slight head turn to adjust, he walked towards his teammates. As for the iron coffin, which carried the Dharma Bones, it floated silently beside him.

In Suo Yanyang’s eye display, lines of text appeared. These were the soul cultivators he had recruited to perform auxiliary work within the Dharma Bones. In Suo Yanyang’s view, these were far cheaper and much more useful than artifact spirits of equivalent intelligence. The soul cultivator assisting the hand Dharma Bones asked, “Boss, how was it? Our auxiliary operation was quite good, wasn’t it?”

Suo Yanyang replied, “It was alright. Keep up the good work. Out of you five, I’ll only keep one as a permanent employee at most.” Upon hearing this, the five soul cultivators controlling the auxiliary Dharma Bones worked even harder. Suo Yanyang smiled slightly, observing this scene, but he knew… in reality, he wouldn’t keep any of the five soul cultivators. Compared to hiring soul cultivators as permanent employees, he preferred soul cultivators on probation.