Chapter 227: Teaching Level Spirit Armor
Zhang Yu thought to himself: "The High School Saint Body grants me a superior drug metabolism capacity compared to my opponent."
"If he accumulates a large amount of toxic drugs, it might harm his body and weaken his performance."
"But I won’t have that problem."
"By storing the toxic drugs through my High School Saint Body, then detonating them with the Chunqiu Wujin Chan, and finally combining it with the explosive power of my Martial Dao Holy Embryo—this is truly my full strength."
At the same time, Ye Lingshao sensed the fierce battle aura radiating from Zhang Yu and thought inwardly: "This man is extremely strong."
"At his current level… if he were in the previous batch, he’d already be formidable. Now, with him here, his strength is undeniable."
"To completely defeat him, I’ll have to push myself to the limit once more."
Just as Zhang Yu and Ye Lingshao were deep in thought, analyzing the current state of the match and planning their next moves, Huang Zichou began instructing them to remove their Xuanjia Linggen, preparing for the next phase of the exam.
At the same time, Huang Zichou’s Light Screen flickered to life, displaying vivid scenes of Foundation Establishment cultivators activating the Xuanjia Linggen.
"Both candidates are only at the Qi Gathering stage—limited to triggering just 100% of the Xuanjia Linggen’s base power."
"If a Foundation Establishment cultivator activated it, injecting sufficient Martial Energy, its power would be ten times greater."
Zhang Yu stared at the screen, watching the hundred-meter-long fire dragon and the tornado-like storm, and couldn’t help but lick his lips. "This is clearly just an advertisement, right?"
He glanced toward the Audience Stand. "Is this meant for universities?"
Then, with a reluctant sigh, Zhang Yu withdrew the Martial Energy from his combat suit. He felt the fire dragon on his back and the whirlwind beneath his feet slowly fading, the mystical Xuanjia armor dissolving around him. His heart sighed: "When will I ever be able to possess a Divine Spirit Root like that?"
Even though this was only a test mode—no real use of the Xuanjia Linggen—Zhang Yu could already sense its overwhelming power.
"The combat strength of this Combat Spirit Root is in a completely different league from the Celestial Spirit Root."
"And this is with me still underpowered. If I could use the Xuanjia Linggen to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, it would be unimaginably strong!"
"No, no… the Xuanjia Linggen is a Combat Spirit Root. My goal is far beyond that—definitely Jin Dan, or even Nascent Soul. I should stick with cultivating a true Spirit Root…"
But then he realized he’d been daydreaming too much. Reality was, he couldn’t even afford a Divine Spirit Root, let alone a Celestial Spirit Root.
After Huang Zichou retracted the Divine Spirit Root, he began explaining the second phase of the exam.
"As everyone knows, once Martial Energy reaches 100 units, one can equip a Spirit Armor."
"The higher the Martial Energy, the more Spirit Armor one can carry and sustain."
"Therefore, the higher one’s cultivation level and the greater one’s wealth, the more Spirit Armor a cultivator wears."
"So the next part of the exam will test which of you two has a better physical body’s compatibility with Spirit Armor—whose adaptability is higher."
As he spoke, Huang Zichou’s divine aura rippled through the air, and devices began floating toward Zhang Yu and Ye Lingshao, arranging themselves around them like a surgical suite.
"During this exam, I’ll use a spell from the Health Department to temporarily sever your connection to your physical bodies, rerouting your neural signals directly to the Spirit Armor."
"This isn’t actual possession of the armor, nor do you need to supply Martial Energy. It’s just a simulation of replacing your flesh with Spirit Armor."
"Throughout the process, you’ll each experience three different Spirit Armor simulations. Your final score will be based on the synchronization rate between you and the armor."
As Huang Zichou explained, the synchronization rate reflected the host’s control over the Spirit Armor.
The higher the rate, the better the host could unleash the armor’s power.
If the rate was too low, not only would the armor’s strength go unused, but there was also a risk of the armor going berserk—leading to self-immolation from internal chaos.
As Huang Zichou spoke, Zhang Yu and Ye Lingshao had already been laid down on the surgical platforms, surrounded by wires, patches, and sensors.
From the Audience Stand, the Dogs Head remarked: "This round is actually well-designed."
"Zhang Yu and Ye Lingshao both obtained such powerful bodies—undoubtedly through years of brutal training and intense drug stimulation."
"Having survived hellish trials to build such formidable flesh, they’ve grown deeply connected to their physical forms. But that very strength can become a weakness."
"Many freshmen fail precisely because their original bodies are too strong, their minds too fused with their flesh, making it impossible to adapt to Spirit Armor."
"True cultivation in the martial path means being able to take up, and let go of, the body. To keep growing, constantly embracing stronger Spirit Armor—this is the true way of the immortal sects."
The Cat Head didn’t respond at first, but when Huang Zichou revealed the first Spirit Armor, he finally spoke: "Is that Tianyan Company’s eye Spirit Armor?"
"Hmph. Of course it’s an ad for us."
"They’re trying to push more universities to buy their Teaching Level eye Spirit Armor, right?"
Meanwhile, floating before Huang Zichou were two translucent, gem-like orbs—perfectly clear, like two precious jewels.
He introduced: "This is Tianyan Company’s latest development—the eye Spirit Armor, Yuanjian…"
Hearing Huang Zichou, Zhang Yu finally learned that Spirit Armor was classified into Teaching Level, Professional, Enterprise, and above that—Military and Sect-level, on par with talismans and Techniques.
The one Huang Zichou held was a Teaching Level eye Spirit Armor.
Once implanted, it allowed users to retrieve information through vision, and the spirit within possessed basic intelligence—capable of recognition, search, and marking functions.
But its most crucial feature?
Network connection and Ling Realm observation.
Huang Zichou continued: "In university life, using eye Spirit Armor to connect to the network for payments, communication, or consultations—this is utterly routine."
"And the Ling Realm is even more common on campus. Without an eye Spirit Armor, you’re as good as blind."
Huang Zichou thought to himself: "That’s why every university issues eye Spirit Armor to students upon enrollment—so they can survive."
"These are purchased in bulk by universities and then charged to students."
"They can pay in installments, or temporarily pledge their real eyes as collateral."
"But the armor isn’t expensive—most students pay it off before graduation. However, unless they stay in the Second Layer, there’s no need for it. Most graduates return to their natural eyes and sell their university-issued eye Spirit Armor to recoup funds."
Still, Huang Zichou knew: though a single Teaching Level eye Spirit Armor wasn’t worth much, the volume of bulk purchases across universities made it a goldmine.
Tianyan Company, a specialist in eye Spirit Armor, had clearly targeted this market—investing heavily in advertising here.
Looking at the representatives in the Audience Stand, Huang Zichou thought: "I should’ve charged more for this ad."
After Huang Zichou finished his explanation, the Health Department’s spell activated.
Zhang Yu felt a searing surge of divine energy pierce through his eyes.
In an instant, darkness swallowed him—complete, absolute blindness.
But it wasn’t just the loss of sight. With his deep mastery of his body, he couldn’t even sense his own eyeballs. It felt as if the bright light had torn both eyes out of his head.
The sensation unsettled him, stirring a strange tension.
Huang Zichou reassured: "Don’t panic. This is only a temporary disconnection from your eyes. Your eyes are perfectly fine."
"Now, I’ll reroute your neural signals to the Tianyan-brand eye Spirit Armor—Yuanjian."
"This is a Teaching Level armor, suitable even for Qi Cultivation cultivators with just 100 units of Martial Energy. The process is simple and light—no need to worry."
Before Huang Zichou could finish, Zhang Yu felt a sharp sting in his eyes—then, a blur of flickering light.
Huang Zichou added: "Yuanjian will automatically adapt to your visual system. At first, it may be blurry—but it’ll clear up soon."
Like a camera focusing, everything initially appeared hazy, pixelated, covered in a mosaic.
But soon, Zhang Yu felt his eyes adjusting—contracting, expanding—until the world sharpened.
Yet the scene before him was no longer the exam hall.
"This is…"
Looking up, he saw an endless, cloudless blue sky stretching to infinity.
Looking down, a vast, boundless ocean—like a shimmering blue silk ribbon spread across the earth.
Huang Zichou’s voice returned: "We’ve temporarily expanded a layer of the Ling Realm within the exam hall. Can you both see it now?"
Then, with a flick of Huang Zichou’s divine power, the sky and sea vanished.
But the cold exam floor now burst with flashing Spirit Root and Spirit Armor ads—videos, promotions, discounts, and deals—flooded their vision.
Zhang Yu blinked in surprise. "This is Zheng Shen… the exam hall as seen by the Second Layer university representatives?"
"Information only visible after implanting eye Spirit Armor."
A thought struck him: "If the Ling Realm accessed through a Spiritual Interface Mask is a virtual world…"
"Then the Ling Realm’s real-world manifestation is like AR technology—blending the virtual and real. A world only visible through eye Spirit Armor."
"Without it, you can’t even see the ads?"
(End of Chapter)
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