Chapter 203: Exam Paused?

As this injection of the mana-channel needle was pushed into his body, Zhang Yu could feel the mana within him, which originally circulated day and night without rest, churning with even greater ferocity.

Under the fierce absorption of the Great Sun Qi Sea, the surrounding spiritual energy converged like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, continuously surging in, eventually turning into strands of mana within Zhang Yu's dantian.

"Pity, what a pity that I have no spiritual root. If I had one, and was also situated on a spirit vein... I could have pushed my mana to the Qi Refining limit of 100 units today, right?"

At the same time, Zhang Yu could feel the meridians in his body beginning to twitch slightly, his heart starting to race, and his breathing becoming rapid.

"Side effects of the mana-channel needle? It's different from the Imitation Phoenix Energy Pill; it seems to put a heavier burden on the respiratory system and blood circulation."

"Indeed, different types of drugs place strain on different parts of the body."

"So if I want higher points and want to cultivate more comprehensively during this buffet process, I should take more different types of drugs, making full use of the carrying capacity of different areas of the body..."

"Dao heart, mana, and physical strength—I can take drugs that target each of these three, both to spread out the side effects and to comprehensively improve my strength."

Although he felt another layer of burden added to his body, Zhang Yu did not stop. Instead, he continued twisting his body to cultivate the Spring and Autumn Boundless Zen, constantly enhancing his physical strength.

Because he knew very well that today’s opportunity for free, all-you-can-take drug injections was extremely rare.

"The total self-service time is only one hour."

"In this one hour, I need to make the most of the time to cultivate, not wasting any of the drug’s effects in my body..."

Thus, under the effects of the Great Sun Qi Sea and the Spring and Autumn Boundless Zen, the potency of the mana-channel needle and the Imitation Phoenix Energy Pill was fully utilized, continuously improving Zhang Yu's cultivation efficiency and accelerating the growth rate of his mana and physical strength.

On the side, Ye Lingxiao, seeing Zhang Yu inject the mana-channel needle, refused to be outdone and also administered one to himself.

Feeling the drug's power entering his body, his blood, meridians, and mana all seemed to boil. Ye Lingxiao knew that, for a short time, his capacity to bear the mana-channel needle had reached a temporary limit.

He tried hard to control his muscles from violently twitching and thought to himself, "So, for the next drug, I'll choose either the Dao-Release Slow-Release Capsules or the Imitation Phoenix Energy Pill."

"After I digest some of this drug's power..."

Over the next few minutes, Ye Lingxiao continued to circulate the Spring and Autumn Boundless Zen to digest the drug's effects, while in his mind he considered which drug to take next.

But before he could make his final choice, he saw Zhang Yu on the other side, after a round of digestion, pick up another mana-channel needle and inject it into his body.

Watching this, Ye Lingxiao's eyelids twitched: "This guy..."

Faced with Zhang Yu taking the lead again, Ye Lingxiao—who had always been first from childhood to adulthood and had dominated every exam as the genius of the Celestial Capital—naturally could not accept defeat.

Taking a deep breath, he grabbed a Dao-Release Slow-Release Capsule and swallowed one.

Instantly, he felt all kinds of negative emotions in his heart suppressed, and even the pain from the side effects in his body was largely alleviated.

Feeling this, Ye Lingxiao was delighted: "Indeed, the Dao-Release Slow-Release Capsule can effectively ease my nervousness and reduce the mental impact of the drug's side effects."

"Taking this drug first will help me perform better in the next part of the exam."

"But what are the adverse reactions of this drug?"

"I don't feel anything? Could it be that this drug has no adverse reactions? But it’s unlikely it has none..."

A few minutes later, while Zhang Yu injected himself with another mana-channel needle and also took a Imitation Phoenix Energy Pill,

Ye Lingxiao directly followed up with two more Dao-Release Slow-Release Capsules.

After more than half an hour of the exam time, both of their scores had reached an impressive 9,000 points.

In the process, Zhang Yu’s mana and physical strength had also improved, reaching 97.6 mana and a physical strength level of 9.90, getting one step closer to the Qi Refining limit data.

Watching the high scores of the two, the other examinees, whether it was Yu Xinghan or Meng Tao, were all stunned and alarmed.

Although they were not the ones consuming such fierce drugs themselves, just imagining the terrifying drug power inside Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao’s bodies at this moment gave them a sense of shock.

Meng Tao thought to himself: "Only a little over halfway through the time, and they’ve already taken six rounds of divine drugs? These two guys have metabolism abilities that much stronger than mine? If I were to compare today’s drug-eating contest to a dung-eating contest, I would be like a dung beetle seeing a septic tank—a world of difference..."

Yu Xinghan stared deeply at Zhang Yu: "This kid... he’s actually keeping up with the pace of that top Celestial Capital prodigy? It seems he was also hiding his strength when he was selling seeds in the Red Tower. If he had been producing at the same time as taking drugs, his output would have far exceeded mine."

At that moment, Zhang Yu grabbed a Dragon-Elephant Formulation and injected it into his body.

Seeing this, Ye Lingxiao’s eyes narrowed, a gleam flashing within them.

"Dragon-Elephant Formulation? Using Dragon-Elephant Formulation to temporarily surpass me?"

Watching this, Ye Lingxiao felt as if he had seen an opponent at an auction, who, having no more money left, threw in an extra 100 bucks trying to outbid him. "Has this guy reached his limit?"

"And even now, he hasn’t taken a Dao-Release Slow-Release Capsule—is he afraid of its unknown side effects?"

"If that's the case, then I'm going to take this exam!"

Ye Lingxiao grabbed a Daojie Slow-release Capsule, a flicker of determination flashing in his eyes.

Although even up to now he still didn't know what the adverse effects of this Daojie Slow-release Capsule actually were, he could perceive that his body had not yet reached its limit.

"First place is always mine, and can only be mine."

Standing at the apex, forever taking the lead, forever seizing first place—this was not only the philosophy Ye Lingxiao had been taught since childhood, but also an ancestral precept handed down through generations of the Ye clan.

"In this Kunxu, if you don't become first, then whether you are a noble clan or a genius, you will always face the day when you are eliminated."

Thinking of how the Ye clan had strived with determination generation after generation, step by step approaching the goal of becoming the strongest prominent clan in the first layer of Kunxu, Ye Lingxiao felt a surge of emotion in his heart.

Especially thinking that after this Foundation Establishment Exam, the clan would use him, after establishing his foundation, to publicize the perfect bloodline, which would cause the news of passing the Foundation Establishment Exam to be known by more and more people.

This was both an ambition and a confidence.

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It was only because the Ye clan and several other prominent clans of Xiandu who had joined forces believed that the average wealth and strength of the prominent clans of Xiandu had already far surpassed other local forces in the first layer of Kunxu, and no other local forces could threaten them anymore.

The Foundation Establishment Exam no longer needed to be concealed; on the contrary, the recipients of the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate each year could be used for publicity, boosting the expansion of corporate business, making it convenient for them to infiltrate other cities.

Thinking that the Ye clan was about to break out of Xiandu and begin expanding toward the entire first layer of Kunxu, Ye Lingxiao felt an even greater surge of lofty pride after generations of struggle.

"As the pride of the Ye clan, how could I lose to an outsider here?"

Then Ye Lingxiao opened his mouth and swallowed another Daojie Slow-release Capsule.

On the other side, Zhang Yu had been observing Ye Lingxiao's reaction after taking the Daojie Slow-release Capsule.

The reason he had never taken this medicine was precisely because of the still unclear adverse effects.

But Zhang Yu hadn't completely given up on taking this medicine; rather, he wanted to observe Ye Lingxiao, to see Ye Lingxiao's reaction after taking the medicine, and then determine whether he should take it himself.

"With my High School Sacred Body, my ability to metabolize drugs will surely surpass Ye Lingxiao's."

"As long as Ye Lingxiao can hold on, I can definitely hold on too."

In Zhang Yu's observation, at this moment Ye Lingxiao's muscles were swollen and engorged with blood, his face was purple, and there was even a small bump rising on the top of his head.

"It seems okay, I should be able to withstand it too."

After waiting a few minutes, Zhang Yu saw that apart from the small bump on top of his head swelling a bit more, Ye Lingxiao had no major problems, so he decided in his heart to also try this Daojie Slow-release Capsule.

Seeing Zhang Yu pick up a Daojie Slow-release Capsule, Ye Lingxiao gave a cold snort and said, "You still haven't given up?"

He murmured, "I'll catch up to you soon. Once I eat this Imitation Phoenix Functional Element, you won't be able to catch up to me."

Zhang Yu was slightly stunned, looking at the medicine in the other's hand, and said, "What you're holding is a Daojie Slow-release Capsule, right?"

Ye Lingxiao smiled slightly and said, "Take another Daojie Slow-release Capsule? This medicine's side effects are indeed severe; I can't take another one. But actually, the side effects are nothing. Once I take this Daojie Slow-release Capsule, I'll completely suppress you!"

Hearing Ye Lingxiao's words, Zhang Yu was immediately shocked—was the other person even speaking human language? Was it that he himself had a comprehension problem, or was there something wrong with the other person?

"Could this be the side effect of the Daojie Slow-release Capsule?"

"It couldn't be that it's lowering his IQ, right?"

Yu Xinghan, Meng Tao, and others nearby also all heard Ye Lingxiao's incoherent speech and looked at him in some surprise.

It was at this moment that Huang Zichou suddenly called a stop to the exam.

Huang Zichou said, "Contestant No. 23 (Ye Lingxiao) is currently experiencing some physical issues and needs a two-minute break..."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Going to treat Ye Lingxiao? These orthodox gods do have a bit of conscience, thinking about the health and safety of the examinees..."

Huang Zichou continued, "Next, all examinees will sign a contract with me, to keep confidential the reaction of contestant No. 23 after taking the Daojie Slow-release Capsule, and in the future, not disclose any negative information about this product..."

"Fuck..." Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, "The exam is paused because they need to keep the drug's side effects confidential for the company?"