https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-543-Beginning-the-Refinement-of-the-Prototype-Machine/13687255/
Chapter 542: Self-Selected Xianmen Technique (Requesting Monthly Tickets)
Outside the Ling Realm arena of the Top Ten League.
Zhang Pianpian stared at the student from Tianmo University before her, her voice quiet but steady:
"Finally... we meet."
The other laughed lightly. "I can sense something different about you. If I devour you, I’ll be one step closer to the God Emperor."
Zhang Pianpian replied coolly:
"We’re just two among countless competitors. And even if this path exists, there may be no one who makes it to the end."
The student shook his head. "Then why did you come here, if you have no faith?"
In an instant, their consciousnesses clashed fiercely within the Ling Realm, exchanging blows for over a thousand rounds in the blink of an eye.
Watching her opponent tremble uncontrollably, Zhang Pianpian sighed.
"I’m not without faith. I simply foresaw myself taking one step down this dead-end path—and the sorrow of it is unbearable."
Not long after, the body of the Tianmo University student was discovered. Another wave of chaos followed.
...
Before the Du Jian competition.
Bai Zhenzhen stared at the messages flooding in through her Eye Armor, a growing unease tightening in her chest.
"Tianmo University City was attacked by the Demon Sect?"
"Zhang Yu went offline?"
"Is he okay?"
"Damn Demon Sect..."
"What if Zhang Yu joins the Unemployed Cult and becomes a useless, non-working wastrel?"
The thought sent chills down her spine. A cold dread surged through her.
"It’s fine," she whispered, "even if Zhang Yu stops working, I’ll take care of him."
But she knew it wasn’t that simple.
A person who stops working suffers a drastic drop in Xian Dao Potential. They’ll lose access to loans, be unable to rent housing, and their Ling Realm account will be restricted. They’ll be mocked by classmates, scorned by teachers, abandoned by society—reduced to the lowest rung of the immortal world, a wandering cultivator with no foundation.
And that descent will severely erode their Dao Heart.
Worse still, prolonged inactivity leaves gaping holes in their resume. Once a person falls into that void, it’s nearly impossible to rise again.
Lack of Immortal Dao cultivation will also cripple their lifespan and power. Soon, they’ll be as fragile as a Lower School Student—unable to even withstand the accidental leakage of their own sword qi.
The thought of accidentally stabbing Zhang Yu in a moment of carelessness made her blood run cold.
She wanted to contact him immediately—but then, Qingqing God’s voice echoed in her mind.
Qingqing God: "Finish the Du Jian first."
Bai Zhenzhen clenched her fists, suppressing her rage.
"What kind of time is this to worry about the competition? What if Zhang Yu gets drawn into the Demon Sect and becomes a non-working failure?"
Qingqing God: "He’s in Wanfa University City. His teachers will protect him. If even that fails, then he’s not worth saving."
Bai Zhenzhen forced her voice to remain steady, though her emotions were tearing her apart.
"Do you have any idea what it feels like right now? It’s like ten thousand volcanoes are erupting inside me—anger, fear, panic… I’m going to lose my mind!"
Qingqing God: "Stay like this. Keep it."
Bai Zhenzhen snapped:
"F this! If this keeps up, I’m gonna snap and kill the opponent!"
Qingqing God chuckled.
"Like anyone here doesn’t want to."
Above, crimson sword beams slashed across the sky like lightning.
Qingqing God: "We’ve come this far. If you want to kill, then kill."
"I’ve been waiting to unleash hell," Bai Zhenzhen muttered, her heart pounding.
A chill ran through her.
"Damn it… she acts so normal, but she’s the craziest one of all."
Moments later, fueled by fury, Bai Zhenzhen stepped onto the battlefield, vying for a top-eight spot in the Du Jian.
She shot upward like a blazing red comet, directly targeting the student from Baigu University.
With thunderous cracks, every sword technique the opponent unleashed was obliterated by Bai Zhenzhen’s surging sword aura—crushed head-on.
What terrified the opponent even more was the relentless, accelerating growth of her sword energy—seemingly endless.
Every attack that struck her grew weaker, as if Bai Zhenzhen were adapting at an impossible speed, effortlessly countering each move.
After a brutal, back-and-forth exchange, a deafening explosion split the sky. The Baigu University student plummeted.
Red sword beams materialized in midair—living, sentient like serpentine dragons—chasing the falling figure.
Then, before the final blow could land, a protective hand intervened.
"Enough—this is settled—"
The voice was cut short.
Qingqing God let out a long, mocking laugh.
"Ah, but you were the ones who stepped in first."
Lightning-fast sword light erupted across the clouds, weaving a web of destruction. A cry rang out—then, white lotuses bloomed in midair, blooming like divine shields, blocking Qingqing God’s onslaught.
"Seven Emotions, you dare defy me?"
...
In the Wanfa University outpost.
Dao Qiankun watched the crimson sword beams and white lotuses flashing across the distant sky, his expression grim.
"The intensity of the battle… has escalated again."
He touched the faint half-ghost of a Jin Dan within his body, a flicker of resignation crossing his face.
During his clash with Kuang Tianqing for the top spot in Du Fa, he had failed to suppress the Jin Dan’s bloom. The surge had forced him into the Jin Dan Cultivation Stage—costing him his place.
But since the breakthrough occurred during the competition, it was considered a workplace injury. When he later dissolved the Jin Dan and fell back to the Foundation Establishment Realm, no one held it against him.
Still, the lingering half-ghost of the Jin Dan in his core reminded him of the gulf between him and Kuang Tianqing.
"I can’t fully dissolve the Jin Dan in one strike. Instead, I leave behind a phantom core. A slight stimulus, and I risk breaking through again."
He recalled how, in their battle, he had shattered the Jin Dan ten times. Each time, the remaining phantom grew heavier. By the tenth time, he could no longer contain it—his body had forced a full breakthrough.
But Kuang Tianqing? Each time, he shattered the Jin Dan completely, revealing a terrifyingly superior power.
Dao Qiankun clenched his fists.
"Just ten times… and I can’t hold it back. What’s the difference between me and those ancient cultivators who were forced to breakthrough mid-battle? I’m no longer the strongest student at Wanfa University."
Determined, he vowed:
"This time, I’ll train Jin Dan suppression every day—shattering the Jin Dan at the very moment I’m about to breakthrough. I’ll strengthen my control, no matter what."
"Kuang Tianqing… next year, I won’t lose to you again."
Yet as he watched Qingqing God and Bailian God’s battle still intensify in the distance, a quiet dread settled in his heart.
"The Top Ten League next year… it’s going to be even more brutal."
...
On the other side of the Wanfa University outpost.
Jiutian Liu of the Finance Department observed the Qi Yun Model’s operation through his Spirit Armor.
He watched the data of countless students shift and surge, and sighed.
"Indeed, the winds are rising, the dragons and snakes stirring."
"History shapes heroes. When the times change, the tide of Qi Yun draws forth countless talents, setting them into fierce competition."
Images of fallen competitors from the Top Ten League flashed through his mind—images of the losses and casualties in Wanfa University City.
"Many will die. But those who survive… they’ll absorb more nourishment. They’ll grow stronger."
He stared toward the direction of Qingqing God and Bailian God’s clash.
"But above… they won’t allow endless slaughter within the universities."
"Are they about to act?"
For the next few days, the conflicts among the Hua Shen gradually faded.
One by one, the Hua Shen vanished from the scene.
Stock prices stabilized. Coin values rebounded. The Financial Storm subsided.
With the Hua Shen ceasing hostilities, the Spirit Veins reopened and resumed flow. Rent prices dropped. The Earth Disaster began to calm.
Lingbi poured from banks like a divine flood, spreading across the land.
Projects restarted. Wobbly companies, once on the brink, were saved by Lingbi support. The Unemployment Wave receded.
At the same time, countless Zheng Shen descended from the heavens, taking charge of local management. Any signs of Cult Followers rising up were swiftly crushed.
To Jiutian Liu, it felt as if an invisible hand had descended from the sky—calming everything in an instant, forcibly ending the Top Ten’s conflict and halting the economic crisis.
But Jiutian Liu sensed the truth beneath the surface.
Though the crisis had been suppressed, the rifts among the Top Ten were now fully exposed—like a half-ignited medicine barrel, forcefully capped, now gathering unimaginable pressure.
"Still… as long as the upper echelons want control, any conflict below can only happen at designated times, in designated places, under strict rules."
"University Wars won’t truly erupt. The Top Ten won’t ever truly step onto the field."
Jiutian Liu believed in the Finance Department’s judgment.
...
Back on the flying barge of Wanfa University.
The Alchemy Department’s Yan Qianji blinked in surprise.
"Is the next Top Ten League being restructured?"
Beside him, Ye Xingli studied the same document on her Eye Armor, her eyes widening.
"Are they planning to use the Top Ten League to resolve university conflicts? The competition will decide more than just pride—it’ll determine how resources are distributed."
"And…" Yan Qianji licked his lips, excitement flickering in his eyes.
"The Xianmen Technique awarded won’t be assigned. Instead, the winner can choose any technique from the open Daozang Catalog?"
Ye Xingli felt her pulse quicken.
"Already this year, the universities are at war—openly hostile. Next year, the fight for the Xianmen Technique could ignite."
"Now… self-selection of the Xianmen Technique? The prize is too heavy. Even the Hua Shen will be tempted. They’ll push their students to compete—this rivalry will spill beyond the battlefield."
She could already envision the coming year: a storm of schemes, manipulation, and hidden struggles unfolding both inside and outside the arena.
The ability to choose one’s own Xianmen Technique—like a bait—was drawing the entire Top Ten universities, their faculty and students, into a desperate chase.
(End of Chapter)
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