https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-499-Zhenzhen-s-True-Heart-The-Will-of-the-Great-Saint/13687167/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-501-Xumi-Shanwang-Jing-Thank-You-Yin-Yue-for-Becoming-the-Alliance-Leader-/13687169/
Chapter 500: Breeding Tax and Bonds
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Just as Mo Ejin issued a warning, he and Zhang Yu had already activated the Tian Kunlun Shifting Mountain Divine Power, lifting their companions into the air to avoid unnecessary contact with the Demon Descendants. Following the navigation data displayed in their Eye Armors, they pressed deeper into the heart of Tianyao University.
Yet even mid-flight, they couldn’t escape the constant flashes of Demon Descendants darting through the air around them.
Tianyao University’s skyscrapers were packed so densely they formed a wall of steel and stone—like an impenetrable jungle, with only narrow gaps between buildings for passage. And in those gaps, countless small Demon Descendants—twisted insects, monstrous rodents, and other grotesque creatures—had claimed every inch of space, making the urban wilderness even more suffocating.
Suddenly, a crimson mist exploded nearby. Zhang Yu looked up to see a bull demon’s body torn apart, its limbs scattered as dozens of Demon Race members tore it to pieces, each dragging off a different limb.
Watching the scene, Zhang Yu blurted, “They’re murdering someone right in the open?”
Mo Ejin replied calmly, “Not a person. Just an animal.”
He explained, “In the Outer District of Tianyao University, these Demon Descendants aren’t considered human. They’re treated like livestock—animals the school raises and breeds.”
“Would you care if animals killed each other?” he continued. “Tianyao University doesn’t bother with constant tracking or management. They only maintain broad control.”
“If numbers drop, they increase breeding quotas.”
“If numbers rise, they cut back on food supply.”
“This is their laboratory, their farm, their raw material warehouse, and their reserve stock of demonic talent.”
As they spoke, Zhang Yu’s group crossed the boundary—leaving the Outer District behind and stepping into the Inner District.
To be honest, Zhang Yu found little difference. The Demon Descendants here were simply quieter, more disciplined. The environment looked almost identical.
At the border between the two zones, waves of divine energy swept back and forth, instantly reducing any stray Outer District Demon Descendants who strayed too far into dust.
But Zhang Yu soon furrowed his brow—because he noticed something strange.
Everywhere he looked, students were visibly pregnant.
Mo Ejin clarified, “This is the Breeding Tax. Every student at Tianyao University must fulfill an annual reproduction quota, surrendering their Bloodline Offspring to the school.”
“Exact details? I don’t know. But I’ve heard that aside from Hua Shen, the higher your cultivation level, the more offspring you’re required to produce. Yuan Ying Period Immortals might be expected to give birth to dozens in a single year.”
“Still, the tax can be paid in currency instead of children.”
Zhang Yu inhaled sharply. “What about male Demon Descendants?”
Mo Ejin waved it off. “Tianyao University has long since solved the technical challenges.”
At that moment, they arrived at the edge of a massive stadium.
Even before approaching, the roar of voices thundered through the air. From outside, they could see waves of Demon Descendant students—like a relentless flood—pouring into the venue.
“Hundreds of them?” Zhang Yu muttered, surprised. “Are Tianyao University students this invested in the Civil Engineering Competition finals?”
Mo Ejin looked just as taken aback. “The Civil Engineering Department has always been strong here, but this level of turnout? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Something’s changed. Something we don’t know about.”
---
Meanwhile, deep beneath Tianyao University, in a hidden underground chamber, Xiang Shan walked slowly down a winding tunnel.
Before him, towering pillars rose like colossal giants—each one a monument of solidified power, holding up the entire foundation of Tianyao University.
Xiang Shan knew: the density of Demon Descendants and the sheer weight of the city’s architecture demanded massive underground support. These pillars weren’t built from stone or steel.
They were made from the bodies of countless generations of the Xiang Yao Clan.
After a lifetime of labor, drowning in debt, they gave up their perfected Physical Bodies. Even in death, their forms were fused into the earth—becoming the unyielding foundation that held the entire university above.
“Tianyao University… was built by us.”
As he stared at the pillars, feeling the lingering rage, the unbroken will, the silent fury embedded within each, Xiang Shan whispered, “Now… it’s our turn to break through the soil. To stand upon the surface of Tianyao University.”
He turned his head—and in his Eye Armor, he saw them.
A vast array of elephant demons, floating in the data stream.
There was his older brother.
A native demon who had fled the Breeding Tax during high school, only to be betrayed in his final year. He was caught, fined tenfold, and forced to give birth to thirty litters in just one year. The strain shattered his Bloodline, and he failed to pass the university entrance exam.
Then came his younger brother—his elementary school age. His cousin, in middle school. His sister, in high school.
All of them, their bellies swollen, their futures already sacrificed.
Xiang Shan’s jaw clenched.
“Breeding Tax…”
His trunk curled like a coiled spring.
In his Eye Armor, more figures emerged—hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.
The Bloodline Offspring of the Xiang Yao Clan—like stars across the night sky—flashing in the void before him.
“How many?”
“One thousand?”
“Ten thousand?”
“More?”
He murmured, “How many of our kind have we given to the school over the years? How many Bloodline Offspring have we surrendered to pay this tax?”
“…How much Lingbi have we lost?”
His fangs lengthened, his Blood surged, and his body subtly expanded.
“It’s time to change all this.”
“I’ll break through the Construction Site. I’ll walk out of the Civil Engineering Department.”
“I’ll shatter the chains of race. I’ll break the shackles of profession.”
Then, the surrounding spirits—ghosts of his kin, Soul Cultivators of the Demon Race—rushed toward him, merging into his Spirit Armor as if becoming part of his flesh and bone.
Instantly, the power of his Spirit Armor surged. The Ling界的 Computing Pool Resources flooded in, amplifying his presence.
With a single step—thud—Xiang Shan stepped forward.
---
Thud.
The moment Xiang Shan entered the arena, the stands erupted.
Rats, insects, cats, plant spirits—every low-status Demon Descendant in the stadium roared in unison, cheering him on. Their voices shook the ground, the air, the very sky.
A thick, cloying stench of demonic energy rose into the heavens, like a storm of blood and ambition.
Zhang Yu saw some Demon Descendants on the stands—overcome with emotion—urinating, defecating, even engaging in Mutual Cultivation and reproduction right there in the crowd.
Shi Huaixu frowned. “What’s going on? Why are they so worked up over a competition?”
Mo Ejin, flipping through data in his Eye Armor, replied, “We may have stumbled into Tianyao University’s internal power struggle.”
“It looks like someone’s using this Civil Engineering Competition to push for reform—trying to get Xiang Shan onto the school team, aiming for the future Top Ten League. That way, they can challenge the rigid racial and academic hierarchies.”
“Most of the crowd? Probably paid to hype things up.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes narrowed. “So Xiang Shan… might be stronger than we thought?”
Mo Ejin nodded, grim. “Good thing you held off on buying him earlier. If we’d acted sooner, the cost would’ve been astronomical. And if any piece of his Spirit Armor were missing, we’d have been defeated before the match even started.”
He turned to Zhang Yu. “I’ll face him head-on. You flank him—target his teammates. Distract him. Break his focus.”
Zhang Yu glanced at the seven Supreme Spirit Armors glowing on Mo Ejin’s body. He gave a firm nod.
At that moment, Xiang Shan’s Eye Armor flickered—revealing the figure of Tian Xiang Zhenjun.
The very same Immortal who had judged the Military License Exam at Wanfa University, and had once supported Zhang Yu’s victory. A legendary figure in the field of Civil Engineering.
Tian Xiang Zhenjun spoke, “Fate is strange. I never thought the man I helped pass would become your greatest rival.”
Xiang Shan remained calm. “It doesn’t matter, Master. Only by facing true strength can one prove their worth. Only by showing real power and wealth can one earn respect.”
“To defeat Zhang Yu and Mo Ejin… this victory will be the perfect proof. The ultimate fuel for my rise.”
As he spoke, Xiang Shan and his teammates stepped forward, facing Zhang Yu and Mo Ejin.
He lowered his trunk, his small eyes calm—still as a still pool.
“Zhang Yu. Mo Ejin.” He looked at them. “You’ve come this far. I know the Blood and Lingbi you’ve poured into this journey.”
“If it weren’t for me, you’d have won this competition without a doubt.”
“But I’m sorry. This victory… is mine.”
He exhaled. A thick, steaming white breath burst from his mouth, warming the air around him as if raising the temperature.
“I’ll give it everything once the fight begins,” he said. “If you don’t want to suffer heavy losses… then fight back with everything you have. And when you can’t anymore—surrender quickly.”
Then, he closed his eyes.
No longer watching. No longer listening. Only waiting.
As both teams took their positions, the match officially began.
Mo Ejin shot into the sky. The Seven Supreme Spirit Armors flared to life. The Tian Kunlun Shifting Mountain Divine Power roared across the field—cracking the earth, flipping the entire stadium upside down.
All at once—players, mud, sand, construction materials, the very ground—were hurled into the sky, as if falling into a bottomless void.
In the chaos of the spinning battlefield, a single figure tore through the atmosphere, appearing before Mo Ejin in an instant—then delivering a punch.
For a split second, the world froze.
“Go down!”
With a thunderous roar, Xiang Shan struck—just as the stadium flipped back to its original orientation.
Mud, debris, stone, and soil crashed back from the sky in a deafening explosion.
(End of Chapter)
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