Chapter 206: Zhang Yu's Best Cultivation Conditions

Watching the medical insurance quotas both drop to zero, Dai Xingzhi thought to himself, "Mutual destruction?"

The rule immediately flashed through Dai Xingzhi's mind: "If one side's medical insurance quota hits zero, they lose; but if both hit zero simultaneously, the battle continues..."

But the next moment, after exhausting all his medical insurance quota, he felt an extreme weakness in his body, wobbled slightly, and then knelt on one knee.

On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen wiped the corner of her mouth, slowly stood up, and then, with electric light swirling around her body, walked step by step toward Dai Xingzhi.

Dai Xingzhi's heart sank: "After spending 1 million in treatment costs, she recovered better than me?"

"That means she was less injured than me? How is that possible? She clearly took my full-power strike too."

A confident smile curled at the corner of Bai Zhenzhen's mouth, and her electric-glimmering eyes fixed on Dai Xingzhi as she thought to herself, "This rich immortal capital lord really isn't... as willing to risk it all as I am."

The next moment, Bai Zhenzhen activated the Lightning Step, her whole body flashing like a bolt of lightning as she shot toward Dai Xingzhi.

Although Bai Zhenzhen's body was still heavily damaged and not fully healed, Dai Xingzhi's condition was even weaker, even more powerless.

In just a few exchanges, Dai Xingzhi was knocked off the arena, thoroughly losing this match.

Watching this scene, Huang Zichou sighed inwardly: "This Bai Zhenzhen really dares to fight and risk it all. Although she might have backers now, she must have originally crawled up from the very bottom of the poor."

"After all, it's only by risking her life again and again—surviving ten or twenty such gambles—that such poor people have any chance to catch up a little with the rich. This fearless, fierce aura born of poverty can't be faked."

Below the arena, Dai Xingzhi replayed every detail of this battle in his mind, and finally thought with some reluctance: "Was it because I didn't go all-in at that moment?"

But risking it all, going all-in, betting everything... these were all contrary to what Dai Xingzhi had been taught since childhood, and had always been actions he disdained.

"I actually lost here?"

"Could there be a flaw in the family rules passed down through generations of our clan..."

Dai Xingzhi shook his head: "No, it was that I wasn't careful enough, wasn't cautious enough in this battle. I should never have let myself fall into such a situation where I had to risk it all."

Looking at Bai Zhenzhen on the arena, Dai Xingzhi thought to himself: "Outsider woman. If we ever get another chance to fight, I will definitely beat you."

As this match ended, the moment Bai Zhenzhen stepped off the arena, she immediately slumped to the ground.

Feeling her injuries, she thought to herself: "There's no way I can fight Yun Jing in the next round, right?"

"But it doesn't matter. At least I've secured top two this time, so I can participate in the final round of foundation-building exams and compete for the foundation-building qualification."

"That being the case, I might as well just concede to Yun Jing directly, right?"

"I wonder how Feather is doing..."

Just as Bai Zhenzhen was defeating Dai Xingzhi, on Zhang Yu's exam field, the simulated depth of the Sea-Calming Pillar had already reached -300 meters.

At this moment, the Xuanming Heavy Water in the Sea-Calming Pillar had become extremely heavy, making Yu Xinghan feel as if he were bound by iron chains one after another, making every breath heavy and difficult.

Especially some fragile parts of his body, constantly compressed by the intense water pressure, became particularly prone to injury.

For example, Yu Xinghan could feel his ears beginning to ache, as if needles were stabbing into them.

Besides that, the positions of his brow, throat, and chest were all being continuously squeezed by the Xuanming Heavy Water.

Yu Xinghan knew this was because the internal cavities of his body had not achieved pressure equilibrium with the external Xuanming Heavy Water.

"It's like diving..."

Yu Xinghan took a deep breath of air from his oxygen mask, then flexed his pectoral muscles, diaphragm, and throat muscles to push the inhaled air toward his body's cavities. After rounds of pressurization, he achieved a balance between the air pressure in his internal cavities and the external Xuanming Heavy Water pressure.

"This process has to be very careful. If the internal gas is pressurized too high, it can easily cause air to blow out fragile internal parts. If the pressurization isn't enough, the internal and external imbalance will cause the eardrums to be crushed by the Xuanming Heavy Water..."

While enduring the pressure of the Xuanming Heavy Water, Yu Xinghan flexed his muscles to adjust the internal and external pressure difference, increasingly feeling the difficulty of this environment.

"It's not just that your physical body has to be strong enough and tough enough; you also need to constantly control your physical strength to actively resist the Xuanming Heavy Water."

Yu Xinghan glanced at the contestants around him. Meng Tao and another contestant, like him, were silently resisting the Xuanming Heavy Water and adjusting their breathing.

But Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao stood out from the rest.

Especially Ye Lingxiao, who, under everyone's astonished gaze, tore off his oxygen mask with a look of disgust, casually opened his eyes, and stood calmly at the bottom of the Sea-Calming Pillar.

Yu Xinghan was shocked: "The effect of his intelligence-reducing capsule hasn't worn off yet? Is he about to be eliminated just like that?"

Zhang Yu also felt a surge of joy: "Haha, he really made a mistake due to his reduced intelligence?"

But soon everyone realized they were wrong, as Night Lingxiao stood motionless like a statue, clearly without an oxygen mask yet completely unaffected, as if the surroundings were air rather than Dark Mystic Heavy Water.

Night Lingxiao tilted his head, thinking to himself: "What to do next? Just stand here... is standing here enough? That should be it, I guess the exam hasn't officially started yet."

Night Lingxiao couldn't help frowning: "This exam... what exactly is this exam testing? It can't be that I just stand here."

Seeing Night Lingxiao acting as if nothing was wrong, Yu Xinghan was shocked and couldn't help analyzing: "Is this guy using some technique that allows internal breathing?"

"No, it seems he's not breathing at all, nor adjusting the internal-external pressure difference? Is he relying purely on physical strength to withstand Dark Mystic Heavy Water?" "That would mean this guy has even tempered vulnerable parts like his eardrums to the point of resisting Dark Mystic Heavy Water?"

Thinking this, Yu Xinghan gasped inwardly, then couldn't help feeling relieved, glad he wouldn't have to face such a terrifying opponent in next year's Foundation Establishment exam.

Then he looked over at Zhang Yu on the other side, who was twisting his body inside the Sea-Calming Pillar, engaging in body-tempering cultivation.

Yu Xinghan sighed inwardly: "Alas, I am the one with the lowest physical strength among the five."

Meanwhile, with each round of physical refinement and the nourishment of Longevity Divine Power, Zhang Yu felt his physical strength gradually improving.

In particular, the Imitation Phoenix Functional Pill he took in the first half of the exam was still taking effect.

Waves of medicinal power surged through his body like flames, stimulating muscle and bone growth, and providing Phoenix hormone to repair physical damage, working together with Longevity Divine Power to restore his body.

What surprised Zhang Yu was that the Dark Mystic Heavy Water also enhanced his body-tempering results.

The water pressure pressing from all directions made him feel as if he were wearing multiple weight suits, causing his body to endure more severe wear and tear while cultivating the Spring-Autumn Infinite Zen.

"On one hand, it increases wear and tear; on the other, it enhances repair. This back-and-forth actually makes the body-tempering effect of Spring-Autumn Infinite Zen even stronger."

And if level 10 Spring-Autumn Infinite Zen, the top body-tempering pill of the Qi Refining stage—Imitation Phoenix Functional Pill—and Dark Mystic Heavy Water were a triple combination of premium body-tempering conditions, then what Zhang Yu was experiencing now was premium times three!

No mistake, not a single error in the content!

Because with his High School Saint Physique, whenever he cultivated any Qi Refining stage technique, he could double the body-tempering effect, achieving three times the original result!

So at this moment, Zhang Yu felt his body erupting like a volcano during cultivation, surging back and forth with the surrounding Dark Mystic Heavy Water, achieving unprecedented efficiency.

"Exhilarating!"

"This is the best cultivation environment, the strongest cultivation conditions, and the highest cultivation efficiency I've encountered since arriving at Kunxu!"

Physical strength: 9.92!

As each second passed, the simulated depth of Dark Mystic Heavy Water increased, and the pressure and wear on Zhang Yu's body during cultivation grew more severe, but the efficiency of his cultivation also rose!

When the depth reached -500 meters, Zhang Yu's physical strength had also increased to 9.93.

At this point, every exertion of force and every twist made his body feel much heavier, and the cultivation effect increased again with the added pressure of Dark Mystic Heavy Water.

Especially as the cultivation became more difficult, the Residual Ox Sacrifice Mind Technique gradually took effect, continuously stimulating his potential.

In contrast to Zhang Yu's intense training, Night Lingxiao on the other side remained completely still, not breathing at all, standing silently with his arms crossed at the bottom of the Sea-Calming Pillar.

He looked up at the -500 meters displayed and thought to himself: "What does this mean?"

"Wait..."

"I remember now." He thought: "Sea-Calming Pillar and Dark Mystic Heavy Water..."

"I got bored of this stuff a long time ago."

As his mind gradually recovered, his ears twitched slightly, then pressed flat against his head, completely covering the ear canals, thereby resisting the pressure of Dark Mystic Heavy Water.

Such techniques were already second nature to him.

Because what was a completely new experience and unprecedented cultivation condition for Zhang Yu was a common, everyday routine for Night Lingxiao.

Especially with Night Lingxiao's already formidable physical strength at the limit of the Qi Refining stage, along with one body-protection technique after another, a depth of -500 meters was as easy as ordinary swimming for him.

And as the side effects of the Dao-Release Slow-Release Capsule gradually faded, and his thinking returned to normal, he felt even more relaxed.

But recalling his series of actions after taking the pill, Night Lingxiao gradually frowned, a trace of gloom flashing across his face: "Does this pill lower intelligence?"

Gradually, however, his brow relaxed: "No, it doesn’t seem to lower intelligence. Rather than lowering it, it’s more like adding a parallel thought process. The side effect of this pill might not... be a bad thing."

While Night Lingxiao was pondering, Yu Xinghan on the other side was about to give out. Not only was the pressure from Dark Mystic Heavy Water making his bones and muscles creak, but the balance between internal and external pressure was gradually exceeding his control.

"Damn it, if I hadn't worked overtime yesterday, I could have held on a bit longer today."

Finally, when the depth reached -511 meters, Yu Xinghan had no choice but to give up.

And at this moment, Yu Xinghan also made a decision: "I need to cut back. I've been working too much overtime lately, and it's starting to affect my studies and cultivation."

Time continued to tick by, second by second.

When the depth reached -900 meters, Zhang Yu's physical strength had also been elevated to a full 9.94 level, making it the fastest improvement in body refinement he had ever experienced.

But at -900 meters, even Zhang Yu at this point found it difficult to continue cultivating.

In particular, the medicinal power within his body was gradually dissipating, and there was hardly any Phoenix Hormone left to accelerate his body's growth and repair.

Instead, the pressure of the Xuanming Heavy Water became more and more terrifying, forcing Zhang Yu to expend more physical strength to resist the water pressure and balance the internal and external pressure difference.

Zhang Yu turned his head to check on the other contestants. He saw that Meng Tao had curled up, his muscles and tendons squeezed to nearly half their size under the terrifying pressure.

On the other side, Ye Lingxiao still stood with his arms crossed, unmoving, clearly indicating that the current depth was still far from his limit.

The simulated depth continued to drop bit by bit, finally reaching the level of -1300 meters.

Zhang Yu felt as if the Xuanming Heavy Water around him had turned into heavy steel plates, tightly covering his body's surface, compressing his muscles, tendons, and bones, seemingly intent on crushing his body flat.

Zhang Yu exerted his muscles to resist the overwhelming pressure, but gradually discovered that his physical strength at this moment could no longer be perfectly mobilized.