When the competition began, the first thing Ma Xuan did was organize his team’s actions, especially regarding the construction personnel. As the defending team, their score would be higher the more complete the building was after one hour. The building specified for this competition was a bunker, and the construction materials had already been placed next to the construction site before the competition began.

“Bu Ziran, Ji Susu… the two of you will be in charge of construction.”

Ma Xuan deliberated for a moment and ultimately decided to leave two people for construction. According to his original plan, he would have left three people for construction and taken the other two team members to intercept the opposing six. Ma Xuan believed their team was significantly stronger than the opposition, fully capable of fighting effectively even when outnumbered. This would allow more people to focus on construction, leading to a higher score. However, Su Yanyang’s reminder echoed in his mind, making him decide to play it safe and leave only Bu Ziran and Ji Susu for construction.

Bu Ziran was a tall young man. If Zhang Yu had been there, he would have recognized him as the person who ignored him when he first joined the group chat and showed off his lung spiritual construct in the competition group. Ji Susu was a tall woman. Zhang Yu didn’t know much about her, as she rarely spoke in the group chat.

Then Ma Xuan added, “Ji Yuanzhu, you’ll be responsible for outer perimeter support.”

With a flash, Ji Yuanzhu vanished, leaving only gusts of wind behind.

As Ma Xuan gave his orders, Shi Huaiyu’s group of six had already shot forward like lightning from the other side. Seeing their opponents streaking towards them like six bolts of lightning, Ma Xuan immediately activated the power of Little Tri-Unity. The ground rumbled, and a tidal wave of mud and sand surged forth, engulfing Shi Huaiyu and the others as they charged.

Shi Huaiyu also activated her Little Tri-Unity to counter, but Ma Xuan could feel that his junior’s mastery of Little Tri-Unity was clearly inferior to his own. If they continued to clash, Ma Xuan would gain the upper hand in the barrage of mud and sand. However, in the very next moment, as Zhang Yu’s figure burst through the smoke and dust and hurtled down towards them, Ma Xuan’s gaze narrowed slightly.

Ma Xuan, having once recruited Zhang Yu to his team, felt he understood him quite well. His powerful physique, extremely high damage resistance, and the ability of Nine Heavens Cloud-Void Force to leverage an opponent’s strength… these implied prolonged battles and severe wear and tear on his spiritual constructs. This made Zhang Yu an opponent many preferred to avoid.

Ma Xuan immediately understood their intention. “Do they think sending Zhang Yu alone will disrupt our formation?” he thought. “Then it seems you’ve… overestimated him somewhat.”

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu, in mid-air, crossed his arms and stepped on nothing, descending towards them at supersonic speed like a falling meteor, tearing through layers of air currents. Zhang Yu stared coldly at Ma Xuan and the others, his lips moving slightly as if he were speaking. Of course, in a supersonic combat state, verbal communication was already difficult for both sides. However, Zhang Yu’s words were sent as messages, appearing directly before everyone’s eye spiritual constructs. This was a common communication method in high-speed combat, and an essential skill for every student in the Security Department.

Zhang Yu: “Not holding onto me will be your biggest regret today.”

While studying the many provocation tactics for the Security Department that Shi Huaiyu had sent him, Zhang Yu had come to understand many principles. For example, simple insults were unlikely to be effective in serious and important battles; the combatants wouldn’t be easily provoked. Instead, one had to tailor words to the situation, speaking in a way that naturally ignited anger, resentment, and fighting spirit within the opponent… Among these, the most conventional, versatile, and effective method was to show off. If you showed off successfully enough, naturally enough, and impressively enough, you would naturally arouse your opponent’s emotions. It could even make them not perceive it as provocation at all, but simply want to unleash their full power. That was the highest level of provocation.

At this moment, as Zhang Yu spoke, their gazes clashed in the air, as if two invisible forces of battle will were pressing against each other. But Ma Xuan’s movements remained unchanged. He steadfastly controlled the swirling mud and sand, sweeping it towards Shi Huaiyu and the others like a roaring mountain and surging sea. At the same time, his voice resonated through their eye spiritual constructs, audible to all team members.

“He’s trying to provoke us. Don’t be affected.”

“Cong Na, go repel him.”

“The rest of you, stick to the original plan. Don’t give him an opportunity to leverage your strength.”

Cong Na looked up at Zhang Yu, descending from the sky, and grinned. “Leaving the team will be your biggest regret today.”

The next moment, she squatted, and as her thigh muscles swelled dramatically, astonishing power erupted instantly. A large crater instantly burst open beneath her feet, and Cong Na’s figure abruptly vanished, tearing through the atmosphere as she shot directly towards Zhang Yu. She thought coldly to herself, “You’re in mid-air, with nowhere to leverage force. Right now, you’re a sitting duck. I know you want to descend and use your immense physique and force-leveraging technique to disrupt our position. But I won’t give you that chance.” Her right palm gathered an extremely dense aura, her muscles roared, and then she unleashed a full-power palm strike, sending a torrent of power hurtling towards Zhang Yu. Cong Na intended to use the opportunity of Zhang Yu being in mid-air, with no solid ground to brace against, to send him flying with a single blow. “This is the best way to deal with Zhang Yu: use a strength advantage to suppress him and drive him off the battlefield, denying him any chance to entangle us.”

Facing Cong Na’s palm strike, Zhang Yu calmly said, “You want to send me flying? That’s exactly what I was thinking too.” Zhang Yu likewise unleashed a palm strike. However, from this single palm strike, a series of dragon roars erupted. Ten consecutive dragon roars seemed to shake heaven and earth, as ten dragon-shaped auras surged forth. This was Xiao Qingxuan’s Nine Dragons Heavenly Aura Palm. Just before they sent Zhang Yu flying, Xiao Qingxuan had unleashed twenty consecutive palm strikes, all of which landed within Zhang Yu’s aura, temporarily stored by Zhang Yu using the apertures of the Nine Heavens Cloud-Void Force. The sudden burst of ten strikes at once unleashed a violent aura that instantly shredded Cong Na’s palm force and completely engulfed her figure.

“You can quiet down for a bit, Cong Na.”

A loud blast resounded in mid-air, and as ripples of air spread, Cong Na’s figure was sent whistling away.

After sending Cong Na flying with one move, Zhang Yu continued his accelerated descent, his cold gaze sweeping over the people below, a fierce battle intent pressing down on everyone. “Come at me, all of you.” Zhang Yu unleashed a palm strike from the sky, and streaks of dragon-shaped aura, accompanied by whistling sounds, rained down on the formation like meteors. Once again, ten strikes instantly. With this, Zhang Yu had completely unleashed all twenty strikes previously delivered by Xiao Qingxuan. This revealed a crucial piece of information to everyone, both inside and outside the arena, who understood the characteristics of the Nine Heavens Cloud-Void Force. Twenty strikes… Zhang Yu’s Nine Heavens Cloud-Void Force had reached a full Level 20!

This was the second Level 20 cultivation technique Zhang Yu planned to reveal in the competition, besides the War Demon Life-Depleting Art. He mused inwardly, “After all, on the very first day I learned Nine Heavens Cloud-Void Force in my senior year of high school, I already demonstrated astonishing talent, advancing its level on the spot and ultimately defeating Wang Yin. Now, in my sophomore year of university, having pushed this technique to Level 20 is quite reasonable.”

As the people below defended against Xiao Qingxuan’s dragon-shaped auras, Zhang Yu finally landed with a resounding thud. With the violent impact of his feet on the ground, a visible ripple exploded outwards, sending waves of air and dust billowing in all directions.

Ma Xuan continued to maintain his Little Tri-Unity state, coordinating with Ji Yuanzhu to attack Shi Huaiyu and the others from a distance, hindering the approach of the main opposing force. At the same time, he calmly directed his team members, and messages appeared within their spiritual constructs.

“Ignore Zhang Yu. The borrowed power he had is exhausted.”

“Bu Ziran, Ji Susu, the two of you continue with construction.”

“Ji Yuanzhu, follow my markers to attack Shi Huaiyu.”

“Cong Na, don’t rush back. Instead, coordinate with me to intercept the others.”

“Yang Yan, you alone will suppress Zhang Yu. The others, don’t carelessly engage, or he’ll leverage your strength…”

A series of commands were issued in an instant, appearing in everyone’s eye spiritual constructs.

Yang Yan was a powerfully built man clad in alloy armor. Zhang Yu remembered him as the person who, along with Bu Ziran, discussed spiritual constructs and ignored him when he first joined the group. He was also the most welcoming person after Ji Yuanzhu joined the team. Yang Yan took a step, and with a slight tremor of the ground, he, clad in alloy armor, charged like a tank towards where Zhang Yu had landed.

But just as Ma Xuan gave his order, Zhang Yu suddenly unleashed a vast expanse of Formless Cloud Aura, engulfing everyone like a surging sea of clouds. Within the swirling mists, Yang Yan saw the figure rushing towards him and thought, “Did he come for me first?” At the same time, a blurry figure emerged from the sea of clouds next to almost every person present, striking out at them. Faced with this situation, almost everyone had the same instinctive reaction. “Has Zhang Yu targeted me?”

Without thinking, Yang Yan unleashed a punch, and the surging force instantly tore apart the figure before him. As Zhang Yu’s Formless Warrior was utterly shattered, Yang Yan cursed inwardly and roared, “Everyone, hold your fire!” But his roar came too late. As loud bangs echoed through the swirling sea of clouds, the people present had already shattered the attacking Formless Warriors. This meant that Zhang Yu had now leveraged one strike from every person present. Consequently, in the next moment, even more Formless Warriors emerged, fighting against the people on the scene.

“Yang Yan! Why are you striking so hard?!”

“Ji Susu! Stop it now!”

“Bu Ziran! Don’t use that move…”

Surging auras fluctuated violently under the impact of the forces, transmitting wave after wave of power beyond their capacity. Each opponent’s techniques were learned and mimicked under the gaze of the Three-Eyed Divine Ability. Quadruple-layered thought processed the combat rhythm of everyone present. Zhang Yu’s physical body, magical energy, mental power, martial arts, and Dao Seed—everything was pushed to its absolute limit at this moment, fully displaying his expertise in group combat. He single-handedly managed to throw the entire scene into chaos.

Everyone felt their teammates’ power continuously striking towards them. Faced with this situation, they couldn’t allow the attacks to continue unimpeded, so they had to fight back, which in turn allowed Zhang Yu to leverage even more techniques and power with his Nine Heavens Cloud-Void Force.