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Chapter 452: The Spa Explosion Case
In the Meditation Chamber, Zhang Yu lightly tapped his fingertip, and the metallic powder before him began to float and shift in response to his Mana Oscillation—shaping into a sphere one moment, dispersing into a mist-like cloud the next.
Nian Tu Cheng Jin, the sixth supreme technique among the Civil Engineering Seven Supreme, was a martial art capable of refining metal using Martial Energy. But for Zhang Yu, cultivating this technique was far simpler than for others. All he needed was to repeatedly manipulate the metallic particles, reshaping them into various forms—each transformation counting as a practice session.
After several hours, Zhang Yu exhaled in relief. He had finally pushed Nian Tu Cheng Jin to level 10.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Xiao Yunji’s voice came from outside.
Xiao Yunji: “Zhang Yu, are you done? We’re ready to go.”
Zhang Yu opened the door. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Walking beside him, Xiao Yunji suddenly asked, “Zhang Yu… why don’t you use Spirit Armor? Why rely solely on your physical body to practice?”
“If you don’t want to answer, it’s fine.”
Zhang Yu paused, then shrugged casually. “I want to keep developing my physical body. Later, I’ll use customized Spirit Armor. Once I’ve forged this body through relentless refinement, turning it into both Spirit Armor and Spirit Artifact, I can control it entirely with my own will. Isn’t that stronger?”
Xiao Yunji replied, “But that path… is extremely expensive.”
Zhang Yu smiled. “Take it slow. Earn as you go, spend as you earn.”
Xiao Yunji’s expression flickered with complexity. Her brow twitched slightly, a sharp pain shooting through her nerves. Instantly, the medicinal agent within her Spirit Armor activated, delivering an automatic injection.
Zhang Yu noticed the change in her face. “Still struggling with Spirit Armor synchronization? Have you considered switching to a lighter model?”
Xiao Yunji froze—this was the first time someone had suggested she use a weaker Spirit Armor.
She said, “That would lower my strength. My scores, ranking, income—all would drop.”
“True,” Zhang Yu admitted. “But won’t you burn out eventually, like this?”
Xiao Yunji clenched her teeth. Originally, she’d planned to pass the Military License exam, which would allow her to replace her current transformation-type Spirit Armor and redirect her investments toward refining her Civil Engineering Seven Supreme cultivation. But failing the exam left her even more dependent on this powerful armor to boost her performance.
Especially now—this Inter-School League was her chance to prove herself to her teachers and her school.
When Zhang Yu reached the entrance, he noticed Su Yanyang was still missing. After repeated calls, beams of divine light descended from above, and several Zheng Shen materialized before the spa.
“Zheng Shen? What are they doing here?” Zhang Yu wondered. Could they really be here to sweep this place?
Moments later, one of the Zheng Shen approached them.
“Is Su Yanyang one of your classmates?”
Mo Ejin’s holographic projection replied, “He’s joining us for the competition. Is there an issue?”
The Zheng Shen said, “No major problem—his Mutual Cultivation partner suddenly suffered a Yin Device malfunction.”
“I’m just here to confirm the details with you.”
To the students from Wanfa University, the Zheng Shen remained courteous, offering a small smile. “Don’t worry. Once our investigation concludes and everything checks out, he’ll be released. It won’t delay you long.”
---
Inside the room, Su Yanyang stood with a sullen expression, still haunted by what had just happened.
“Damn it… why did the Yin Device blow up halfway through?”
“And it wasn’t a malfunction—it felt intentional. But…”
His brows furrowed. The explosion had come from within the Yin Device, yet he sensed the Soul Cultivator inside hadn’t retreated to the Ling Realm. Instead, their spirit had vanished—completely obliterated.
“A Soul Cultivator just died… that’s not a routine malfunction. This was a self-sacrifice incident.”
Su Yanyang had seen many Soul Cultivators, and even more deaths. But this—complete annihilation of a spirit—was the first time he’d witnessed it.
Meanwhile, two Zheng Shen scanned the wreckage of the Yin Device, communicating rapidly through the Ling Realm.
The male Zheng Shen said gravely, “The device was forcibly overloaded and detonated.”
The female Zheng Shen added, “So… the Soul Cultivator deliberately triggered it? He blew himself up in his own device? Why would he do that? Why would anyone want to die so badly?”
The male Zheng Shen replied, “Normally, such self-sacrifice shouldn’t happen.”
“Check his chat logs. See if he was influenced by something.”
A flood of text and images appeared before the man.
So tired… so tired… so tired… so tired…
I don’t want to live anymore!
Debts are impossible to repay!
Why won’t you let me die?! Why won’t you let me die?! Why won’t you let me die?!
The man’s frown deepened. “Confirmed—his mind is compromised. Clearly brainwashed.”
“And most of his messages have been deleted. No trace of today’s operation.”
“Hmph. This was planned. Not only did they arrange the self-sacrifice… they may have wanted to harm students from Wanfa University.”
Hearing this, the female Zheng Shen glanced up. “Senior, you seem familiar with this kind of case.”
The man nodded. “A soul completely destroyed, leaving nothing behind… it’s almost certainly the Yuhua Demon Sect.”
The woman blinked. “The Yuhua Demon Sect?”
He explained, “A cult that spreads madness, manipulating people into self-destruction and soul annihilation.”
“Ah, when Qiongjiang Coin was rising, Double Rest Cult believers surged. Now that Qiongjiang Coin has dropped, their numbers are down—but the Yuhua Demon Sect is growing again.”
He sighed. “University conflicts are increasing. And the evil sects are becoming bolder.”
The woman, however, was more intrigued. “You’re saying a cult that makes people kill themselves and erase their souls… people actually believe that?”
The man nodded. “There are always those who can’t endure hardship, who refuse to work, refuse to take responsibility, refuse to repay debts, refuse to contribute to Kunxu’s development. They’re the ones the cult preys on—twisting their minds with forbidden arts.”
“The Yuhua Demon Sect ruins more lives each year than Double Rest Cult or the Idle Sect combined. They’re worse. More dangerous. More evil.”
She turned to Su Yanyang. “What about him? Could he be affected?”
The man said, “I’ve checked his file. Driven, relentless—24 hours a day, never hesitated on Xian Dao Road. Doesn’t match the profile of a cultist.”
He paused, then added, “But the risk remains. The Yuhua Demon Sect’s methods are seductive. Easy to imitate. And… they might reach out to him in the future.”
“Still, the bigger concern is the Yin Device’s owner. He might have been brainwashed too. We should investigate him first.”
After a moment, the male Zheng Shen turned to Su Yanyang, who stood quietly, face dark.
“Are you alright, young man?”
Su Yanyang nodded. “I need to get to the competition. How long until I can leave?”
The Zheng Shen smiled. “The matter’s been resolved. We’re just wrapping up. You’ll be free soon—no need to worry.”
Su Yanyang asked, “So it was just a malfunction? The device blew up on its own?”
The Zheng Shen replied, “Compensation is between you and the owner. If negotiations fail, go to court. We don’t handle that.”
“Actually, I want to talk about confidentiality.”
Su Yanyang nodded—he knew such incidents were strictly suppressed in Kunxu.
The Zheng Shen continued, “To prevent imitation, this case must remain secret. So we’ll need you to sign a Confidentiality Contract.”
Su Yanyang hesitated. Images of the Soul Cultivator’s soul dissolving in the explosion flashed in his mind.
That’s why…
He nodded. “No problem.”
The Zheng Shen added, “Also, since it was a Spirit Armor malfunction, and you were in direct contact—should anything strange happen to you, contact us immediately.”
---
More than ten minutes later, Zhang Yu and the others outside the spa grew restless.
Li Zhen said, “What’s taking so long? We’ll be late for the competition if we wait much longer.”
Xiao Yunji suggested, “Maybe we should go ahead. Five of us are still enough to beat Jinhe University.”
Just as they debated, a loud boom echoed—Su Yanyang leapt through the window, landing perfectly in front of them.
Zhang Yu looked up. “You’re finally here. What took so long?”
Su Yanyang sighed. “Had a Spirit Armor malfunction. The Yin Device blew up. Then I had to negotiate compensation.”
Zhang Yu froze. “The Yin Device exploded?”
He’d asked casually, but now realized this was far more serious than he’d thought.
“Come on, tell me everything,” Zhang Yu said eagerly. “Spill it.”
Su Yanyang groaned. “The competition’s about to start!”
Zhang Yu grinned. “We’ll walk and talk. No time lost.”
So, as they headed toward the arena, Su Yanyang recounted the story he’d agreed upon with the Zheng Shen.
When he finished, he concluded, “It was just a Spirit Armor failure. Nothing special.”
Mo Ejin asked, “Were you hurt?”
“No,” Su Yanyang said. “I stayed 120% alert the whole time. I didn’t want to give them even a sliver of an edge. Not a single Lingbi point to lose.”
“So when it blew, I pulled back immediately.”
“But the compensation talk’s still open.”
As Zhang Yu and the others reached the competition venue, the chapter ended.
(End of Chapter)
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