Chapter 238: Zhang Yu's Final Battle with Ye Lingxiao

Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao each stood on a raised platform.

The two platforms were about five or six meters high and separated by several dozen meters.

Below the platforms, as well as in the surrounding air, strands of divine power permeated, transforming into various runes that formed a grand formation.

As this grand formation operated, various high-risk environments would form on the platforms, threatening both Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao.

A Binding Dragon Rope ran between the two platforms, with its left and right ends held by Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao respectively.

Ye Lingxiao took a deep breath, every bit of flesh and blood in his body adjusted to its optimal state, like a rocket fully fueled and ready to launch, prepared to go all out at any moment.

At the same time, he licked the Spirit-Splitting Pill (Dao-Dissolving Slow-Release Capsule) held in his mouth—once the exam started, he planned to bite through the outer shell of the sealed medicine and swallow the Spirit-Splitting Pill in one gulp.

Ye Lingxiao looked at Zhang Yu on the other platform, a fierce battle intent burning in his eyes, and had already made up his mind to unleash his full power right from the start.

Ye Lingxiao thought to himself, "From the results of the previous two rounds, his physical body is now roughly at the same level as mine, but probably because of his Dao heart or insufficient settling time... in any case, his control over his body is somewhat lacking."

Especially recalling Zhang Yu's poor performance in the Profound Nether Heavy Water during the previous Foundation Establishment exam, Ye Lingxiao became even more convinced of this.

"This guy must have only recently caught up to my level of physical strength, which is why he lacks control."

"So the best approach is to explode with full power at the start, relying on my advantage in body control to unleash even stronger physical force and defeat him in one go."

"Otherwise, once the high-risk environments rotate repeatedly and both our bodies are worn down and weakened, my advantage in body control will diminish more and more."

Feeling the Spirit-Splitting Pill in his mouth, Ye Lingxiao thought to himself, "Fortunately, I've also made plenty of progress over the past three months. My initial burst will definitely defeat him."

Just as Ye Lingxiao made up his mind, a countdown suddenly appeared in midair.

3!

The moment the countdown appeared, Zhang Yu on the other platform also tightened every muscle in his body, gripping the Binding Dragon Rope tightly with both hands.

At the same time, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "In this round... I need to drag it out!"

"My control is inferior to his. If I go head-to-head directly, the outcome is uncertain."

"I must rely on the massive burst of toxins from the Spring and Autumn Boundless Zen to overwhelm him with raw force in one go."

"Even if Ye Lingxiao has the same move, he doesn't have the High School Saint Body, so the toxins he can burst out will be far less than mine."

Feeling the "Zen" character within him still constantly absorbing toxins, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "The longer I drag it out, the more medicinal power I digest and the more toxins I accumulate, allowing me to unleash even greater strength in a short burst. At that point, I can directly overpower him with brute force..."

"So I'll drag it out as long as possible, until I absolutely can't hold on anymore, then burst the toxins to stimulate my potential."

Thinking this, Zhang Yu glanced at the High School Saint Body on the Chain Diagram, but ultimately did not switch it to the Martial Saint Fetus.

He decided to let the High School Saint Body use its peak Qi Refining digestion and metabolic capacity to continue absorbing more medicinal power and accumulating more toxins.

Zhang Yu could feel that every extra second he lingered now would add more strength to his later burst, giving him a slightly higher chance of passing this round of the exam.

Just as these thoughts flashed through Zhang Yu's mind like lightning, the countdown digits in midair changed again.

2!

Ye Lingxiao abruptly bit through the outer shell of the Spirit-Splitting Pill, swallowed it in one gulp, and in an instant, the medicinal power spread through his body, sending streams of cool energy rushing straight to the crown of his head.

Zhang Yu took a deep breath, his muscles exploded with power, and his entire body swelled into a 2.8-meter-tall little giant.

1!

Roar!

With a roar, Zhang Yu's muscles twisted into a single strand, exploding like strings of dynamite, and with a thunderous pull, he yanked the Binding Dragon Rope toward himself.

On the other platform, after the effect of the Spirit-Splitting Pill kicked in, Ye Lingxiao fell into a dazed state.

It was as if he hadn't reacted in time; in that instant, Zhang Yu dragged him forward, leaving him only three meters from the edge of the platform.

In that moment, two voices seemed to clash in his mind—one telling him to activate the Wish-Fulfilling Exquisite Bones first, the other telling him to activate the Great Heavenly Dragon Divine Power first.

His body alternately swelled and contracted, as if conflicting techniques were clashing.

Ye Lingxiao silently cursed, "The Spirit-Splitting Pill malfunctioned? Is the interval between consecutive doses too short?"

The three-meter distance to the edge of the platform brought a tremendous sense of threat, and the word "failure" pressed down on him like a collapsing sky.

"I cannot lose!"

In that brief instant, Ye Lingxiao's mind seemed to replay all sorts of past events.

He thought of his fallen brothers and sisters, and of the clan rules the Ye family had upheld generation after generation.

"From birth, people differ in talent. Rather than waste resources on mediocrities, it's better to abandon them outright and only nurture the most outstanding one of each generation."

Those were the words the clan chief had spoken to him before he entered high school.

"Talent determines the upper limit of every clan member."

"And the simplest way to obtain clan members with powerful talent is to have many children."

"Lingxiao, do you still remember the card-drawing games our company runs? It's like drawing character cards—draw enough times, and you'll eventually get a powerful character."

"The same goes for offspring. Have enough children, and you'll eventually get talented descendants. The Heavenly Dao works in such a mysterious way."

The clan chief stroked his head and said with a smile: "That's why our Ye clan produces over ten thousand offspring each generation, but only a handful become true bloodline inheritors. Generation after generation, combined with the latest immortal cultivation technology, we can condense the clan's perfect bloodline." "But on that foundation, I've made a new change."

"After all, while some descendants may not have great overall talent, certain parts of their bodies possess unique advantages."

"For instance, some are naturally long-armed, some have stronger hearts, some have tougher meridians… Such differences are common among your siblings, and you all share the same bloodline."

The clan chief said with great pride: "Lingxiao, your own talent is already outstanding—you rank first among your ten thousand siblings."

"That's why you're worthy of the surname Ye."

"But after chimerizing with your excellent older and younger brothers and sisters… gathering their superior talents, you will become the strongest generation of the Ye family."

"You must cooperate sincerely and stay united, understand?"

On the examination platform.

In that instant of being dragged out by Zhang Yu, perhaps spurred by the crisis or the pressure of those memories, the two conflicting thoughts in Ye Lingxiao's mind suddenly began to cooperate sincerely.

On the other side, Zhang Yu saw Ye Lingxiao pulled by his grip and felt a jolt: "What's wrong with him?"

"Could I be about to win directly?"

!

Zhang Yu immediately wanted to unleash the power of Spring-Autumn Infinite Zen and defeat his opponent in one go.

But Ye Lingxiao, only dazed for that instant, did not give Zhang Yu the chance.

Boom!

Ye Lingxiao stomped hard on the ground. As his muscles swelled, scale-like sinews emerged—he had simultaneously activated the Ruyi Linglong Bone and the Great Heavenly Dragon Divine Power.

Then, the two thoughts in Ye Lingxiao's mind cooperated seamlessly, unleashing one martial art after another: the toxin burst of Spring-Autumn Infinite Zen, the continued expansion of fascia from Elephant Demon Tendon Entanglement…

In an instant, Ye Lingxiao firmly stabilized his stance at the edge of the platform.

Snap!

As Ye Lingxiao stopped, the Dragon-Binding Rope suddenly snapped taut in midair, emitting a sharp crack.

In Ye Lingxiao's mind, the two thoughts roared in turn, each voicing its own opinion.

"We are the best!"

"How can we lose?"

"If we lose to him, wouldn't that tarnish the name of the perfect bloodline? How can we promote the new technology?"

"Do you know how much profit we'll lose from the massive funds invested in stocks?"

"Without that money, how can we attend university? How can we compete with those rich people above us?"

"Anyone who makes us earn less—we want them dead!"

Under the joint operation of the two thoughts, Ye Lingxiao felt as if his body were being controlled by two versions of himself. As each martial art erupted, his strength surged directly.

At this moment, Ye Lingxiao commanded a power from within his body that was stronger than Zhang Yu's.

Bang!

As Ye Lingxiao stepped back, Zhang Yu was dragged forward one step.

As Zhang Yu was being pulled step by step toward the edge of the platform by Ye Lingxiao, a wave of heat suddenly permeated the air.

With the change in the divine power formation, a high-temperature environment descended.

The air was rapidly heated; every breath seemed to sear Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao's lungs, and waves of stabbing pain spread across their skin.

Both of them almost simultaneously stopped breathing, then Zhang Yu activated the low-temperature form of the Ice-Fire Body Tempering Art to resist the high-temperature environment.

Ye Lingxiao activated his protective technique, wrapping his entire body in a thick layer of keratin to isolate heat transfer as much as possible.

After such an ordeal, Ye Lingxiao gritted his teeth and once again pulled hard on the taut Dragonbinding Rope, dragging Zhang Yu two more steps forward until only five steps remained from the edge of the platform.

Just then, the hazardous environment changed again.

The scorching heat just now vanished, and a change in gravity descended upon Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao. They felt as if a great mountain had suddenly been placed on their shoulders.

In particular, the strain on their internal organs increased, forcing them to circulate their visceral power to resist.

After adapting slightly, Ye Lingxiao gave another fierce tug, dragging Zhang Yu two more steps forward, leaving only the last three steps to the edge.

Then the hazardous environment changed again. This time it was high pressure.

The atmosphere seemed to become thousands of times heavier, as if they had been suddenly thrown to the bottom of an ocean several thousand meters deep.

The abrupt, drastic change in pressure directly forced blood from Zhang Yu's and Ye Lingxiao's seven orifices and ruptured their eardrums.

Both had to adjust the pressure in their body cavities, striving to resist the environment.

Yet Ye Lingxiao still seized the opportunity, dragging Zhang Yu another two steps forward until only one step remained from the edge of the platform.

“Can’t wait any longer.”

Zhang Yu focused his attention on the Diagram of Chains, spending two seconds to switch from the High School Sacred Body to the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo.

With this switch, Zhang Yu felt a surge of self-healing power emerge from his flesh and blood, and the surrounding high pressure seemed less terrifying in the face of the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo.

But in those two seconds, the hazardous environment changed again—the high pressure vanished, but waves of acidic mist materialized out of thin air and surged toward them.