Chapter 378: This Is Only Sophomore Year? |
Within the Spiritual Realm Network.
The faculty of the Civil Engineering Department were all watching the tournament matches simultaneously.
This round of elimination matches featured ten concurrent battles, each occupying a floating window in front of them.
Their thoughts could shift the camera angles at will, giving them full control over every battlefield perspective.
Naturally, the spotlight first fell on the two successors of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might.
However, this round did not pair up Mo Shangjin from Class Eight with Ji Yuanshu from Class Ten.
As a result, both crushed their opponents in overwhelming fashion—technically flawless, but devoid of suspense.
Instead, the battles between War Faction and Peace Faction students were far more intense—and attention-grabbing.
On one screen, Su Yanyang darted across the field with explosive speed, pounding his opponent’s position to rubble with torrents of force.
“Once he fully grasps all seven, he’ll be eligible for the military certification, right? That’ll make another student in our department with military-grade power.”
At the same time, in another feed, a towering girl over ten meters tall stormed through the battlefield in her six-armed war form.
Each of her six arms wielded a separate artifact, and with every strike, a glowing advertisement slogan appeared beside her.
“Xiao Yunji's shapeshifting Law Husk must be the latest model. She trains in human form and shifts into combat form only when needed.”
“She took six ad contracts for one match. What a future ahead.”
“She might even get her military certification before Su Yanyang.”
While the teachers buzzed with commentary about the students' performances, one suddenly exclaimed, “Huh? That student used Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force?”
This instantly drew attention. Everyone turned to the match in question—just in time to see Zhang Yu land ten strikes in a single instant, sending Cong Na flying.
Lang Yougong's eyes sharpened with surprise. “Zhang Yu knows Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force too? Ten strikes in an instant... that’s already level 10, right?”
Although Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force was formerly just below military-grade, its performance outclassed nearly every expert-grade Technique on the market.
Years ago, witnessing this level of power without certification would’ve prompted the teachers to detain Zhang Yu on the spot for unauthorized use of military-grade (Techniques).
But now, as they watched Zhang Yu land another barrage of ten strikes, one teacher said in shock, “Has he already cultivated Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force to level 20?”
“He’s just a sophomore, isn’t he? And it’s already at level 20?”
“And that’s after he’s already pushed War Demon Life-Draining Technique to level 20...”
More teachers tuned in to Zhang Yu’s match against Ma Xuan.
When they saw Zhang Yu charge into enemy ranks, using leverage from Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force to disrupt the formation—taking on seniors from Year Four, Five, even Six—all by himself, their astonishment only deepened.
Lang Yougong marveled, “Such martial genius. He’s not just using Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force for simple counter-strikes—he’s replicating his opponents’ moves with Martial Qi, bringing out the full might of their own techniques.”
He added, “It’s the perfect case of ‘using their own moves against them’—without infringing on any copyrights. Brilliant.”
Tu Lishan chimed in, “That’s more than talent. He’s outnumbered.”
“To mimic one person’s movements mid-fight is already tough.”
“But mimicking multiple opponents’ moves at once? That’s on a whole different level.”
“And to synchronize those moves into an effective counterattack... that takes not just technique, but immense mental bandwidth and lightning-fast processing.”
Another teacher nodded, pulling up Zhang Yu’s profile—and found that he had already passed the Spirit-Flesh Fusion stage and purchased a mind-acceleration Heart Technique.
That Heart Technique, of course, was Zhang Yu’s clever cover for his true trump card: Limitless Heart: Inner Incarnate Body. It fit perfectly in this context.
As Lang Yougong and Tu Lishan continued analyzing his combat, and realized Zhang Yu was still just a sophomore, the faculty felt they were witnessing the rise of another prodigy in the Civil Engineering Department.
Immortal Jiao Lei thought to himself, “Give it five or six more years, and he might rival Mo Shangjin.”
“Unfortunately... he’s in the War Faction.”
As Zhang Yu’s homeroom teacher, Immortal Jiao Lei couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
Good grades were a credit to him as a teacher.
But as a member of the Peace Faction, he wasn’t thrilled that Zhang Yu might surpass Ji Yuanshu.
At that moment, another Peace Faction teacher, Wei Huai, said coldly, “Talent aside, charging alone into enemy lines like that—reckless. Completely wrong approach.”
“Civil Engineering tournaments aren’t meant to be played this way.”
“This style’s more suited to the Security Department, not us.”
“Just watch—Ma Xuan’s about to deal with him.”
…
And indeed, Ma Xuan was done tolerating the chaos.
He couldn’t allow Zhang Yu to keep wreaking havoc.
“Cong Na, Ji Yuanshu, I’m pulling back Small Threefold Harmony. Time to shut Zhang Yu down.”
“You two fall back—don’t get tangled with Shi Huaiyu’s group.”
With that, Ma Xuan retracted his power—and the towering wave of mud and sand collapsed instantly.
Without his suppression, Shi Huaiyu’s Small Threefold Harmony surged forward, an avalanche of debris barreling toward the construction zone.
But Ma Xuan ignored it. He had to take Zhang Yu out before that assault landed.
“Zhang Yu, I admit it—I underestimated you.”
“I thought I could suppress Shi Huaiyu and still deal with you on the side.”
“If I’d just focused on crushing you from the start… we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
As he spoke, Ma Xuan unleashed Small Threefold Harmony again. He stomped the ground—and the battlefield quaked violently.
“Did you really think I hadn’t prepared a countermeasure for you?”
He thrust both hands downward—and the earth tore apart as if rended by invisible hands, forming a massive pit.
In an instant, everyone fighting nearby plummeted downward.
But planks of condensed sand rose beneath Bu Ziran and the others, helping them leap clear.
Zhang Yu fired bursts of Martial Qi at the cliff wall, preparing to rebound out—only for a massive shadow to fall over him.
A colossal sand-formed hand descended like a mountain.
With raw force smashing down on him, Zhang Yu grunted and was slammed into the depths.
Ma Xuan clapped his palms—and the pit refilled, earth returning to normal.
Zhang Yu’s presence vanished without a trace.
Deep underground, Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes, feeling the cramped cavity around him. “You want to bury me here for good?”
With Zhang Yu temporarily suppressed, Ma Xuan turned back to command.
He watched Shi Huaiyu’s mudslide approach and unleashed his own wave of sand to counter it.
But in the next moment, Che Yufei and Shi Yunxiang flanked from both sides, Martial Qi blazing like a hammer and drill—forcing their way through the debris.
Ma Xuan scowled. “Too close. Not enough charge-up time.”
“Hmph. Zhang Yu’s interference gave them the opening.”
Cong Na and Yang Yan rushed forward to block Che Yufei and Shi Yunxiang.
Their collision left both attackers groaning.
“These two's Law Husks are tough as hell. Gonna cost a fortune in repairs after this…”
At that moment, Tian Yang unleashed Storm-Dust Palm.
He thought to himself, “This Technique, derived from construction-site dust control protocols, is tailor-made for this environment.”
With Tian Yang’s support, the group advanced again—
Only for a burst of lightning to streak in from behind.
A shell of thunder-infused Martial Qi rocketed from hundreds of meters away—straight at Che Yufei.
The shooter: Ji Yuanshu.
Wind swirled around him as he zipped through the rear lines at supersonic speed.
His Law Husk arms, augmented with external meridians, formed a high-speed rail system—heating his Martial Qi and accelerating it electromagnetically to create a 500-meter range cannon.
Thunderfire blasts erupted repeatedly, hammering Shi Huaiyu’s group from behind.
Locked in by his Sixth-Gen Soul-Hunting Eye, Ji Yuanshu fired the instant any target revealed themselves.
After syncing his network with Ma Xuan’s, target markers appeared in Ji Yuanshu’s ocular feed—identified by Ma Xuan in real time.
Every time he fired, Ma Xuan parted the sand just enough to expose the target, making Ji Yuanshu’s artillery seem near-omniscient.
One shell met its match—dispersed by Xiao Qingxuan’s dragon-shaped Martial Qi.
Shi Huaiyu’s face darkened as he glared at Ji Yuanshu.
With him circling their rear and bombing from every angle, they were constantly pinned down.
Trying to retaliate only gave Ji Yuanshu room to kite them at triple-sonic speed—while still blasting the battlefield.
Combined with Ma Xuan’s Small Threefold Harmony for crowd control…
That’s what had stalled them for so long.
“More annoying than a swarm of flies.”
Shi Huaiyu hadn’t expected that while they threw Zhang Yu into the mix to throw off the enemy, the enemy had done the same—by sending Ji Yuanshu.
Watching it all, Ma Xuan mused, “Power isn’t everything in a match between equals.”
“Sometimes, the real key to victory isn’t the strongest fighter.”
“Ji Yuanshu’s specialized artillery mode… might win us this war.”
“Keep firing, Ji Yuanshu. I’ll make sure your firepower gets to shine.”
As Shi Huaiyu activated Small Threefold Harmony to chase Ji Yuanshu, Ma Xuan led the others in attacking Che Yufei’s group.
Whenever Shi Huaiyu focused on the front line, Ji Yuanshu resumed his bombardment from behind.
Ma Xuan smiled.
“Doesn’t matter who they chase—it’ll always expose a weakness.”
But just then, Ma Xuan’s expression changed.
He felt the ground beneath him begin to shake.
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