https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-387-Severing-Hair-to-Forge-the-Sword/13686977/
Chapter 388: Intelligent Architecture
Inside the Ling Realm Space, every competing team’s communication group shared their internal discussions with judges and teachers throughout the contest period—showcasing the team’s coordination in real time.
Zhang Yu’s team was no exception.
Watching Zhang Yu’s messages in the competition chat, one teacher remarked, “This Zhang Yu seems to have figured something out.”
Another teacher replied, “His conversation with the substitute suggests he’s testing the waters.”
“Arrangement deployment was too rushed—there wasn’t enough data collected. The Ten Thousand Ghosts Confusion Array couldn’t perfectly simulate all scenarios. Now it’s inevitable he’s spotted the flaw.”
Lang Yougong chuckled. “Never thought Zhang Yu, who looks so bold and reckless, could be so meticulous.”
Wei Huai added, “But just now, Su Yanyang’s team was still fully focused on construction—they weren’t even trying their hardest. Now that Zhang Yu’s team has found the weakness, Su Yanyang’s team is about to truly unleash the power of Intelligent Architecture.”
…
On the battlefield.
Su Yanyang’s gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of obstruction, as if he could see Zhang Yu and the others already deep within his Array.
Yet, in the next instant, the three figures vanished without a trace.
Now, the Soul Cultivator operating the Array Spirit sent a message: They dug their own tunnel underground.
Su Yanyang: “Useless. How did he find out?”
Array Spirit Soul Cultivator: “Our manpower is too limited.”
Su Yanyang: “You want a bad review?”
Seeing the other fall silent, Su Yanyang shook his head slightly. “That’s the problem with Soul Cultivators—they always make excuses. Compared to them, Artifact Spirits are far more obedient.”
He had once personally tested a High-Intelligence Artificial Spirit. From obedience and work efficiency to initiative and learning speed, in his eyes, it outperformed most Soul Cultivators.
“But… it’s just too expensive.”
After thinking about the price difference between the High-Intelligence Artificial Spirit and a regular Soul Cultivator, Su Yanyang decided to make do with the latter.
…
Dragon-shaped Gang Qi surged like a storm, tearing through the earth. The soil erupted violently, rapidly carved into a tunnel half a man’s height.
Zhang Yu and Tian Yang followed behind Xiao Qingxuan, stunned as she dug faster and faster.
Zhang Yu exclaimed, “Is this Xingxiao Chongmai Fa? What martial art is this? How can you dig so fast?”
Xiao Qingxuan didn’t answer. Instead, she thought to herself: I can’t possibly tell them… this is ancient Jin Dan-level tomb-robbing technique, refined over decades of underground excavation.
She remained silent, then said, “The arrangement laid down by them is likely the Ten Thousand Ghosts Confusion Array. But given the time they had, it was hastily constructed. Once we escape the building’s range, we’ll be free from its influence.”
“But underground… direction is impossible to judge. Zhang Yu, can you sense where the Spirit Energy is gathering?”
Using his Third Eye Ability, Zhang Yu could detect the flow of Spirit Energy. At her words, he marked the direction directly onto his Eye Armor, guiding Xiao Qingxuan.
Xiao Qingxuan thought: Even if it’s not the core point of the Array, this concentration must be a critical node. If we can destroy it, we could seriously delay their construction.
At the same time, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but ask: “So just now, was it the Array Spirit pretending to be Shi Huaixu and Yu Xinghan, sending us replies?”
Now free from the Array’s influence, Zhang Yu had re-established contact with Shi Huaixu and the others.
From the competition chat, Shi Huaixu said, “Technically speaking, it’s called an Array Spirit—but Su Yanyang usually uses Soul Cultivators.”
“Soul Cultivators?” Zhang Yu frowned. “Are they helping them compete? Does that mean their team size is now under six?”
Shi Huaixu blinked. “Soul Cultivators count as participants?”
She felt like Zhang Yu was asking whether Artifact Spirits counted as competitors—like asking if a tool counted as a team member. It was absurd.
Zhang Yu fell silent. He realized, for the first time since entering Wanfa University, just how others viewed Soul Cultivators.
But then again, he mused, this only applies to the cheap ones. The wealthy ones probably have a whole different story.
…
Su Yanyang smiled faintly. “Three little mice.”
Though the three had vanished underground after digging, Su Yanyang’s vision was filled with a full map of the battlefield.
On the screen, data streams from temperature fluctuations, Spirit Energy flow, construction progress, Spirit Vein parameters, and underground tremor sources were overlaid—compiled from the six team members’ various detection systems. The map offered a remarkably complete view of the entire arena.
Now, Su Yanyang’s eyes locked onto a rapidly moving tremor source on the map. That was where Zhang Yu and the others were.
…
Boom!
Mud and sand flew as Zhang Yu and the others burst into a subterranean chamber.
The moment they emerged, a barrage of data notifications flashed before their eyes.
Your account is now overdue by 35 Lingbi. Service will be suspended in one minute. Please recharge immediately to restore access…
Tian Yang froze, his heart skipping a beat.
Xiao Qingxuan snapped, “We’ve re-entered the Array’s domain—these illusions are designed to trap your mind. Resist them!”
…
Su Yanyang felt the tremors through the earth, watching the video feed from the Array Spirit.
He sneered. “Finally, they’re here.”
At this moment, the great array beneath his feet became an extension of his mind. With a single palm thrust, he struck the space where Zhang Yu’s team was hidden—then clenched his fist shut.
…
Zhang Yu and the others felt the ground around them come alive, as if the earth itself had transformed into high-strength alloy, closing in on them from all sides.
The crushing pressure from every direction made their breath catch.
Zhang Yu roared, unleashing a punch. A thunderous dragon’s cry echoed through the cavern.
Just before this moment, Xiao Qingxuan had secretly infused him with twenty strikes of the Nine Dragons Gang Qi Palm.
Now, all twenty struck simultaneously.
The air boiled. Waves of shockwaves surged outward, tearing through the underground chamber and shattering the closing earth.
One strike—then retreat.
Zhang Yu and the others vanished back into the tunnel, following Xiao Qingxuan as she rapidly dug deeper.
Zhang Yu: He was prepared all along.
Tian Yang: Probably our digging made too much noise. He detected us.
Xiao Qingxuan: Split up.
…
Su Yanyang studied the map. More tremor sources were appearing.
He muttered, “Splitting up, huh?”
“No… not just three individuals separating. They’re also using humanoid forms and Dragon-shaped Gang Qi to disguise their movements.”
As a meticulous man, Su Yanyang never fought unprepared.
He had thoroughly questioned Ma Xuan about the battle’s progression. He knew Zhang Yu’s techniques inside out.
He knew Zhang Yu excelled at Human-Form Qi Aura—effective up to sixty meters.
He knew Xiao Qingxuan specialized in the Nine Dragons Gang Qi Palm—Gang Qi could travel nearly a hundred meters.
They’re using long-range Gang Qi transmission to create false tremor signals, confusing my detection.
“Fine,” Su Yanyang said, glancing at the construction progress bar. “Fifty percent already?”
He sent a message to his competition group: Begin setting the foundation piles.
At the same time, in the construction site, five corners each contained a desiccated corpse. Each was injected with underground Ling Realm connections, then infused with soul fragments drawn from the Ling Realm.
…
Inside the Ling Realm Space.
Jiao Lei’s eyes lit up. “Is that an Intelligent Living Pile? A Building Butler?”
Wei Huai nodded vigorously. “Not just that—this is a fusion of living pile technology, Intelligent Architecture, and Blood Sacrifice Technique.”
“If I’m not mistaken, those five corpses are likely Original Body Transformed into Original Soul.”
“The Array’s progress has surged. The system is now far more efficient, and the building’s strength has increased dramatically.”
As the team watched, vast amounts of Spirit Energy began flowing along the Spirit Veins toward Su Yanyang’s team’s structure. The Spirit Vein Proportion skyrocketed to 40% in moments.
Lang Yougong watched, murmuring inwardly: Now things will get tough. What will Zhang Yu’s team do next?
Hmm? Splitting up again?
With the Array and building strength now so high, continuing to scatter would make it nearly impossible to cause damage.
But then, Lang Yougong blinked in mild surprise.
…Eating?
There, Zhang Yu opened his mouth wide and swallowed a massive chunk of food in one gulp. He immediately began cultivating, slapping his body rhythmically to aid digestion.
Lang Yougong nodded slowly, thoughtful. “Eating… yes, that’s actually a brilliant strategy.”
“Feeding—this is the best way to hide materials, tools, even workers, within the construction site. It’s almost a mandatory skill for every laborer.”
If Su Yanyang is fighting with grand strategy, with large-scale engineering and a macro view…
Then Zhang Yu is fighting like a craftsman—using small tricks, small tactics, fighting like a worker.
Yet Lang Yougong didn’t underestimate this approach. He knew that a thousand-mile dike could collapse from an ant’s hole. Many massive, critical projects had fallen not to direct assault, but to slow, relentless erosion.
Especially now, with no way to resupply materials on the battlefield, eating was an extremely effective way to halt the opponent’s progress.
But Zhang Yu can only eat so many times before needing to leave. That’s too slow. What’s next?
Yet, before long, Zhang Yu’s team’s strategy shifted again.
Tu Lishan’s gaze sharpened. Zhang Yu is hiding deep underground, focused solely on digesting the materials. Wait—no, he’s not just digesting. He’s processing them. Is he building something on-site?
Xiao Qingxuan is digging tunnels, creating a complex underground network, while also marking storage locations for materials.
Tian Yang is shuttling around, carrying materials straight to Zhang Yu—feeding him, feeding the process.
To Tu Lishan, the three had become a single production line—continuously harvesting materials from the construction site, transforming them, and slowing down Su Yanyang’s team’s progress.
One teacher nodded in admiration. “Zhang Yu’s team has grasped the layout of the construction site so quickly. They’ve built a transport network, moved materials at high speed, identified materials, and now they’re eating and processing them. Their Civil Engineering skills are truly impressive.”
Hearing the Civil Engineering Department teachers’ analysis, Ciji Zhenjun turned to Director Gao and asked, “They’re doing so well—so your disciple is going to win?”
Director Gao sent a private message: They’re losing. Don’t ask.
Ciji Zhenjun: Oh? Why?
Director Gao: Su Yanyang has already won. He’s just trying to drive Zhang Yu’s Building Completion Rate as low as possible.
Director Gao: The lower the completion rate, the lower Zhang Yu’s ranking in the top ten.
Director Gao: That increases Su Yanyang’s chance of securing a top-seven spot.
Director Gao: And it lowers the War Faction’s overall ranking.
—
Monthly ticket lottery winners and guaranteed top-20 entries, please check the pinned post in the review section.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
