After stepping into the Two-Realms Separation Array, the Spirit Realm network disconnected. Zhang Yu could no longer see messages in the competition chat group or communicate with his teammates. Moreover, the world before his eyes changed dramatically.

He could no longer see the various marks his teammates had annotated on their Eye-Skull interfaces.

He couldn’t see the various pieces of information that had been constantly updating.

Even the lighting across the entire arena dimmed, and the warnings, competition rules, and advertisements that had been floating in the air all vanished.

Turning his head to look beyond the barrier, he found that the flashing neon lights and vibrant colors around the arena had completely disappeared.

With communication to the Spirit Realm cut off, all that remained before him were drab, grey buildings, like a primitive, unawakened world. There was no longer any trace of the vibrant energy from the Spirit Realm, making the real world appear utterly pale and uninteresting.

Zhang Yu realized that he had, without knowing it, become accustomed to a world constantly communicating with the Spirit Realm. Without the Spirit Realm’s enhancement, he felt that everything he tried to do was difficult.

The next moment, as Tian Yang slapped Zhang Yu on the back, Zhang Yu felt a sharp sword intent descend as if from the heavens, pouring into his body. It cut through numerous obstructions, helping him reconnect with the Spirit Realm and making the world before his eyes clear and vibrant once more.

At the same time, Shi Huaiyu’s messages reappeared on everyone’s Eye-Skulls.

Shi Huaiyu: Where are you all?

Tian Yang: We just used the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword to break through the Two-Realms Separation Array.

Tian Yang: Don’t send anything that uses too much data.

Tian Yang: Otherwise, if we run out of credit and I become a Spirit-Deprived Body, it’ll be troublesome.

As they exchanged messages, Zhang Yu, Xiao Qingxuan, and Tian Yang had already quickly moved deeper into the fortifications built by Su Yanyang.

As they ventured further, they could feel the interior of the hive-like structure becoming increasingly winding and complex.

Concurrently, the spiritual energy gradually thinned, causing their magic power recovery rate to decline repeatedly.

Shi Huaiyu reminded them: As Su Yanyang’s array completion rate increases, and his control over the spirit veins grows, the spiritual energy in the air will gradually decrease.

Shi Huaiyu: The deeper you go, the worse the situation will become, so you need to conserve your magic power during the upcoming actions.

Just then, Zhang Yu stopped, frowning as he asked, “Are we going in circles?”

He reviewed the footage recorded by his Time-Decay Demonic Eye along the way, and a quick comparison revealed that they had definitely been down this path before.

But Xiao Qingxuan, standing beside him, shook his head. “I compared our previous route, and we shouldn’t have been here before.”

Shi Huaiyu: Zhang Yu, are you mistaken?

Zhang Yu paused slightly. “Did I see it wrong?”

He sent the comparison footage to the group. Tian Yang exclaimed, “Don’t send such high-definition images!”

Xiao Qingxuan looked at the image and said, “Is your Eye-Skull malfunctioning? We haven’t been to the place you photographed.”

Zhang Yu furrowed his brows, a deep sense of doubt rising in his mind.

In the Spirit Realm space.

During the three-hour break, the teachers naturally wouldn’t let their separated consciousnesses wait idly there.

Now, with the new round of competition officially beginning, many teachers from the Department of Civil Engineering had arrived one after another.

Although True Monarch Magnetic Pole arrived late, being the last to appear, no one present dared to say anything.

Upon seeing True Monarch Magnetic Pole finally arrive, Director Gao subtly breathed a sigh of relief. He had genuinely feared that the other party might not bother to continue watching the competition and simply not show up.

Director Gao messaged privately: What took you so long? Where were you?

True Monarch Magnetic Pole: My new student achieved something, and out of curiosity, I looked into it more.

Director Gao: Oh? The one you mentioned who got in through the back door?

True Monarch Magnetic Pole: Indeed. It seems those who get in through the back door truly have their unique qualities.

Director Gao: Of course. It’s not like before; in the past, only the incompetent used back channels. Now, being able to use them implies capability.

Director Gao: What’s the student’s name?

True Monarch Magnetic Pole didn’t answer Director Gao. Instead, he looked at the five ongoing competitions and suddenly said, “Oh? Someone at our Myriad Law University is using a Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword?”

At this moment, not many teachers were watching the competition between Zhang Yu and Su Yanyang.

After all, from most teachers’ perspectives, the power gap between the two sides was too wide, offering little to see. The process was bound to be Su Yanyang’s crushing victory over his opponent.

However, as True Monarch Magnetic Pole spoke, many teachers immediately shifted their attention.

When they saw Zhang Yu draw his Azure Silk Flying Sword, intending to use Sky Sword University’s Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword to break the Two-Realms Separation Array, Lang Yougong commented with slight surprise, “Zhang Yu can use a Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword? When did he apply for that with Sky Sword University?”

A teacher commented, “It’s not a common commercial method. This flying sword, forged from azure silk, possesses the authority to directly connect to the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword. It appears to be a gift from someone of considerable standing at Sky Sword University.”

Director Lin’s expression remained unchanged, his gaze seemingly as calm as an ancient well, but his mind was racing with thoughts.

In particular, he recalled the recent meeting between Wen Wuya, a Transcendent God disciple from Sky Sword University, and Zhang Yu.

Director Lin thought: “That old fox, Gao Chongguang, actually made contact with that Transcendent God from Sky Sword. Could they have reached some agreement regarding the use of the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword?”

True Monarch Magnetic Pole also couldn’t help but glance at Director Gao again, then privately messaged him, “Are you collaborating with Sky Sword University on the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword?”

The Spirit Realm… could be said to be extremely important to every cultivator.

After being disconnected from the Spirit Realm, not only does daily life and cultivation become inconvenient, but even work and study efficiency are greatly reduced.

Therefore, ensuring stable communication with the Spirit Realm, especially outside the university city, becomes crucial.

A pair of suns and moons in the sky appeared in True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s mind, and he thought to himself, “Our Myriad Law University’s World-Illuminating Sun and Moon is good, but it’s simply too expensive.”

“If we could introduce the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword for competition, who knows how much funding we could save in a year.”

True Monarch Magnetic Pole knew very well that the scale of Spirit Realm usage by both the Artifact Forging Department and the Civil Engineering Department far surpassed that of individual students.

The monthly cost of using the Spirit Realm was a considerable expense for any department.

“That old Gao, he really found a leverage point.”

“From the perspective of using the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword to reduce costs and increase efficiency, it’s a much more convenient way to get Sky Sword University involved than any debates about aggressive or peaceful stances…”

Director Gao looked at the message from True Monarch Magnetic Pole but didn’t reply, maintaining an inscrutable expression on his face.

Director Gao recalled the relationship between Wen Wuya and Zhang Yu.

“That flying sword forged from azure silk… could it be that Wen Wuya cut his hair and forged a sword from it to give to Zhang Yu?”

“Their friendship has reached this level?”

Director Gao was utterly surprised. Could such things still happen among the younger generation in Kunxu these days?

A Transcendent God disciple, striking up an immediate friendship with a student from the first tier, then gifting a sword forged from his own hair, and even providing a channel to connect to the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword…

Director Gao even couldn’t help but wonder if Zhang Yu had become a mole for Myriad Law University, selling information to the other side.

But he immediately dismissed this absurd thought, thinking to himself, “I’ll have to ask him properly next time.”

“This disciple of mine is truly becoming more and more unpredictable.”

Meanwhile, the competition continued.

Observing the changes after Zhang Yu entered the fortifications, Wei Huai, a teacher from the Peace Faction, said, “They must have fallen into the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array.”

A teacher beside him added, “It is indeed the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array. They likely fell victim to it when sharing the Sky-Patrolling Flying Sword’s Spirit Realm connection.”

“Now, what they see through their Eye-Skulls is a mix of reality and illusion, and the messages they receive are generated by the array spirit. Every move they make is essentially under Su Yanyang’s watchful eye.”

Another teacher from the Neutral Faction praised, “Su Yanyang’s team has set up this Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array quite well, indicating they’ve mastered the relevant courses in intelligent architecture.”

Tu Lishan knew that the intelligent architecture course for senior students involved combining architecture with array formations to add array spirits and house spirits to buildings, achieving architectural intelligence, digitalization, and information integration.

Wei Huai said, “Su Yanyang’s cost control is also excellent. He successfully activated the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array with just three soul cultivators, achieving good results.”

In the arena.

Fu Ji suddenly said, “Zhang Yu, you should have fallen into a trap. Your vision has been deceived, and the information sent and received by your Eye-Skulls has been distorted.”

Zhang Yu’s heart stirred. “My Eye-Skull has been tampered with?”

To allow his natural eyes to constantly adapt to his enhanced body, Zhang Yu had long alternated wearing an Eye-Skull on each eye.

Although this prevented his Time-Decay Demonic Eye from achieving optimal performance, it also allowed him to observe with his natural eyes at that moment.

However, Zhang Yu alternately closed his left and right eyes, yet saw no abnormalities before him.

Fu Ji calmly said, “Don’t bother trying. If they can target your Eye-Skull, they can naturally target your natural vision too.”

“This kind of array formation, capable of deceiving perception, has been improved from ancient versions.”

Fu Ji spoke fluently: “Ancient array formations were originally created to deceive physical senses. It was only after Eye-Skulls appeared, and it was discovered that these arrays had no effect on them, that they were improved to interfere with both the physical body and the magic-skull simultaneously.”

“Do you know why what you just saw conflicted with what Xiao Qingxuan and Tian Yang saw? Because you’re using the Time-Decay Demonic Eye, which performs far better than their Eye-Skulls, so it held out longer.”

“If you want to test it, try sending a message. The messages you send and receive are probably all distorted now.”

Zhang Yu thought for a moment, then sent a message to the competition group chat.

Zhang Yu: Yu Xinghan, do you remember what Senior Sister Hongxiao’s latest work is?

Yu Xinghan: *The Blooming Secret Bud*, released last month.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Hmph, in the competition chat… how could Yu Xinghan say that so openly?”

“After all, people like us, who appreciate these works purely from a non-dual cultivation artistic perspective, have always been a persecuted and discriminated-against minority group in Kunxu.”

“The real Yu Xinghan would pretend not to see my message or act as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.”

“It seems Fu Ji was right; the messages being sent and received now are all false.”

Thinking this, Zhang Yu grabbed Xiao Qingxuan, who was beside him, and spoke directly, “Our vision has been deceived, and the messages we send and receive have been distorted…”