Chapter 239: Finally Obtain the Foundation Establishment Certificate (Two-in-One Chapter)

As waves of terrifying acidic mist swept toward him, the intense corrosion immediately caused a wisp of green smoke to rise from Zhang Yu’s skin, and the searing pain forced him to frown involuntarily.

Zhang Yu could sense that if he allowed the acidic mist to continue corroding, his flesh would be severely damaged, even endangering his life.

So he immediately vibrated the muscles all over his body. With every inch of skin exerting force and trembling, a blast of wind seemed to explode from his entire frame, blowing away the oncoming acidic mist.

But this exertion to counter the acidic mist inevitably forced Zhang Yu to hold back some of his strength.

At the same time, on the other side, Ye Lingxiao also failed to take advantage of Zhang Yu’s reduced strength to pull on the Dragon-Capturing Rope, because he too was vibrating his body, sending out gusts of wind to resist the acidic mist.

Yet Zhang Yu could feel that thanks to the self-healing ability granted by his Martial Dao Sacred Fetus, the damage from the earlier high temperature, high pressure, gravity, and now the acidic mist was gradually recovering.

Moreover… he still had two trump cards that he had not used.

He let out a fierce roar, and the character “Zen” on his chest suddenly dispersed. The potential of his body erupted wildly under the stimulation of the poison.

The veins on Zhang Yu’s forehead bulged, but in his heart he was still roaring: “Not done yet.”

Next came the overload of the Martial Dao Sacred Fetus!

Roar!

The muscles in Zhang Yu’s arms swelled another full circle, and his entire body expanded from 2.8 meters to 3.3 meters.

Both the toxin burst from the Spring-Autumn Infinite Zen and the overload of the Martial Dao Sacred Fetus were methods to force the body’s potential, causing it to unleash power beyond its normal capacity.

And when these two methods were used together, Zhang Yu felt as if the flesh and blood throughout his body were burning.

Endless power was squeezed out from every fiber of flesh, and the terrifying force transmitted through his muscles, even pressing his bones until they creaked.

But as a result, Zhang Yu’s physical body was bearing an unprecedented burden at this moment.

His muscles were strained, bones began to show tiny fractures, internal organs were squeezed and deformed, and some small ruptures appeared in his blood vessels…

Even the self-healing ability granted by the Martial Dao Sacred Fetus could not stop the continuous self-damage occurring throughout his body.

But for Zhang Yu, none of this mattered now.

Because even before coming here, Zhang Yu had known one thing.

“Coming here is all about risking my life.”

“If I’m not going to risk my life, why would I even come to take the Foundation Establishment Certificate?”

At this moment, scenes from the past year—test after test, exam after exam, competition after competition—seemed to flash through Zhang Yu’s mind.

And through these repeated experiences, Zhang Yu had come to deeply understand one point.

In Kunxu, a tightly controlled world, to climb up, to stand out, and to master stronger immortal techniques, one had to follow the advancement path laid down by the Ten Great Sects and defeat opponents in one examination after another.

And in this process, almost every opponent would use every possible means to squeeze themselves, their families, and each other, driving their achievements to the limit.

The current Xiandu Ye was no exception.

He would never let go of any chance to win and would exhaust everything to defeat Zhang Yu.

Facing such a situation, Zhang Yu too could only burn all his strength to obtain that extremely precious Foundation Establishment Certificate.

“I have promised Ah Zhen, promised my sister—we’ll go to the Ten Great Sects together.”

“I will enter the Ten Great Sects, I will join a sect!”

“I’ll climb up through Kunxu! Break free from the constraints of the Ritual! Gain freedom!”

At this moment, all the techniques he had painstakingly cultivated over the past year surged in Zhang Yu’s mind, and the pathways of muscles and force throughout his body emerged before his eyes.

Technique, strength, potential… everything he could bring to bear was thrown in at once by Zhang Yu.

Savage power and unwavering determination, channeled through every technique that manipulated force, through every tendon as tough as steel, and finally through the Dragon-Capturing Rope… were transmitted fiercely to Ye Lingxiao.

Bang!

Turning, he stomped hard on the platform, and with an explosive boom, Zhang Yu furiously dragged the Dragon-Capturing Rope toward himself, step by step moving away from the platform’s edge.

With Zhang Yu’s eruption, Ye Lingxiao felt an irresistible monstrous force coming from the other end of the Dragon-Capturing Rope, pulling him step by step toward the very edge of the platform.

In an instant, Ye Lingxiao, who had just dragged Zhang Yu to the edge, was now himself pulled to within merely two or three steps of that edge.

And beyond that edge, in Ye Lingxiao’s eyes, now seemed to become a bottomless cliff.

Once fallen, it is like falling from the clouds — not only would one lose the Foundation Establishment qualification certificate but also a great deal of wealth, and the best chance to climb upward.

In a daze, Ye Lingxiao seemed to hear some sound ringing in his heart.

"Little brother, let us brothers fight him together!"

"Elder brother?" Ye Lingxiao murmured in his heart: "So you've been with me all along, together with your heart?"

"Don't let our sacrifice be in vain."

"Don't let the Ye family's generations upon generations, those tens of thousands of clansmen, sacrifice in vain."

"Little brother, borrow our power and charge upward with the Ye family — charge out of this muddy pit on the first layer, up to the higher layers of Kunxu..."

Unconsciously, Ye Lingxiao had already bitten open the second Fenshen Ling in his mouth.

As the temperature of his brain soared, he felt a dizziness in his head, yet miraculously maintained three streams of thought, like three versions of himself, operating his physical body and executing three times the number of techniques in his normal state.

Blood flow, internal organs, bones, fascia... every inch of flesh and blood throughout his body was fully mobilized, pushing Ye Lingxiao's physical capability to an unprecedented peak.

This also caused the wildly dragged Binding Dragon Rope to abruptly slow down.

But... it was still not enough!

With a crisp crack, Zhang Yu's finger bones suddenly split under his own terrifying strength.

Correspondingly, Ye Lingxiao was one step closer to the cliff.

"Still not working?"

"Are we... still no match for him?"

"Then keep fighting."

"Representatives of the University, don't you like watching the geniuses down there fight for their lives?"

"Then today, watch your fill."

The next moment, Zhang Yu only felt that after the force from the other end of the Binding Dragon Rope increased once, it actually increased again, showing a tendency to pull him over.

"He still has a trump card like this?"

"No, that sound is..."

Zhang Yu suddenly turned his head to look at Ye Lingxiao, only to see green smoke rising from another high platform, accompanied by a sizzling sound, as large amounts of acid mist continuously corroded Ye Lingxiao's flesh and blood.

"This guy... gave up using part of his strength to resist the acid mist, and is putting all his effort into fighting me?"

At the same time, the high-risk environment changed again. Waves of poison mist swept toward both Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao.

Zhang Yu vibrated his muscles and sinews, stirring up a gust of wind to blow away the poison mist.

But at this moment, Ye Lingxiao still had no intention of wasting any strength to blow away the poison mist.

His eyes were fixed on Zhang Yu and the Binding Dragon Rope. At this moment, only one thought seemed to remain in his mind: he wanted to win! He would use all his strength to obtain the Foundation Establishment qualification certificate!

Watching Ye Lingxiao fight so recklessly and desperately, at this moment Zhang Yu suddenly understood the true purpose of this test.

"Those Orthodox Gods, they had already calculated this — they knew if we were to fight to the end, we would have to decide victory under a life-or-death crisis, right?"

"Do these lofty spectators up in the stands really enjoy watching us fight for our lives so much?"

Zhang Yu looked at Ye Lingxiao, whose body was gradually becoming bloodied, bruised, and purple, and thought to himself: "I still don't know your name."

"But from the force transmitted through this Binding Dragon Rope, I have already felt your will and understood your determination."

"But I absolutely will not admit defeat either."

"Besides, when it comes to fighting for my life... I am definitely better at it than you!"

Zhang Yu also stopped resisting the poison mist, concentrating all his spirit and all his strength onto the Binding Dragon Rope.

Boom!

As the two people's forces fiercely locked on the Binding Dragon Rope, a violent vibration came from the chain itself.

At the same time, the high-risk environment began to change again.

High temperature, high pressure, strong acid, toxins...

But at this moment, no matter what threat or harm, it could no longer distract Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao in the slightest.

Whether it was the burning of their bodies under high heat, their internal organs ablaze.

Or the rupture of body cavities from high pressure, causing bodily damage.

Or their flesh and blood mangled, severe burns inside and out.

Or the poisoning reaction of their bodies, as the increasingly intense operation caused the toxins to spread continuously.

At this moment, all of this had become unimportant in the eyes of the two.

They had staked their lives, gambled all the power they could expend.

At this moment, the only thing left in their eyes was each other, and only that one thought.

Win!

Use their fucking strongest power and strongest will to viciously drag the opponent over!

With a crisp crack, the bones of Ye Lingxiao's right leg finally snapped completely from the repeated injuries, causing him to fall to one knee on the ground.

On the other side, Zhang Yu, relying on his powerful self-healing ability, although likewise covered in blood and mangled flesh, still maintained his full structure.

This fracture of Ye Lingxiao's leg was like breaking the balance of a scale, making it impossible for him to stop the movement of the Binding Dragon Rope.

"Am I going to lose?"

Watching himself being dragged step by step toward the edge of that bottomless abyss-like cliff, a trace of despair suddenly flashed through Ye Lingxiao's heart. "Is this the end?"

The heavy trust of his clan, the dying entrustments of his siblings, the endless exams, grades, awards, first place time after time...

All of this had once made Ye Lingxiao feel more and more like layers of shackles, strands of spider silk, tightly entangling him, binding his life, making him feel increasingly tired, increasingly weary.

But later he gradually came to understand that even without these, he still wanted to climb the path of immortality; his clan had given him heavy burdens, but even more so, they had given him opportunities and support far beyond what others had.

"I want future children of the Ye clan to no longer have to make such sacrifices, no longer have to pay the price of tens of thousands of lives, just to reach the starting line that some above trample underfoot at birth."

"I want to move the Ye clan to the second layer, have household registration in the second layer, become a second-layer family.

Ye Lingxiao understood perfectly in his heart: whether the heavy trust of the clan or the entrustments of his siblings, none of this had ever been his shackles.

They were like his heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, and lungs — accompanying him at every moment, silently pushing him from behind, delivering him to his current position.

Until this very moment, Ye Lingxiao felt as if they had given him another push.

At the same time, amidst the roaring howls, on the high platform on the other side, Zhang Yu, who had inhaled large amounts of poisonous mist, had now activated a second explosion of the Spring-Autumn Endless Zen.

!

The previous explosion originated from the toxins accumulated after he had consumed large amounts of medicine.

This explosion, on the other hand, came after inhaling the poisonous mist in the highly dangerous environment; he found that the "Zen" character on his chest had accumulated quite a bit of toxins again.

Although Ye Lingxiao had already knelt to the ground, Zhang Yu had no intention of relaxing until the final moment of victory was achieved.

Because whether from his own life experience or the combat experience passed down by Bai Zhenzhen, the more crucial the climax of the battle, the more one must be wary of the opponent's counterattack at the last moment.

At this moment, the second explosion of Spring-Autumn Endless Zen caused Zhang Yu's entire body to erupt with clouds of blood mist, every cell in his body seeming to groan, wail, and let out dying roars.

But under these conditions of extreme danger and no retreat, accompanied by the operation of the Crippled Ox Body-Forsaking Heart Art, Zhang Yu instead felt a kind of excitement. Even the pain on his body seemed to be suppressed quite a bit, and his Dao heart was even more enhanced.

Zhang Yu let out a furious roar: "I'm taking that Foundation Establishment Certificate!"

On the other side, Ye Lingxiao bit down and crushed the last Soul-Severing Pill in his mouth.

In his mind, he recalled the warning of the lab director: "Never take more than three pills within a single day."

"Otherwise, your brain won't be able to withstand it, not even with your perfect bloodline."

Counting the Soul-Severing Pill he took during the first round's divine-root assessment, this was already the fourth Soul-Severing Pill Ye Lingxiao had consumed within a day.

Feeling the medicinal power surging through his body and rushing wildly toward his brain, Ye Lingxiao suddenly found his thoughts becoming clear, as if something had awakened in his mind.

"I can do it..."

"I can handle four pills."

At this moment, Ye Lingxiao felt as if there were four selves in his body, dividing labor and cooperating, like a work group where each could take on different bodily functions, competing with each other, performance reviews...

At the same time, the Binding Dragon Rope, under Zhang Yu's violent exertion, transformed into a true giant dragon, writhing fiercely in Ye Lingxiao's hand.

Ye Lingxiao's mind raced with thoughts of how to suppress this "giant dragon" and resist Zhang Yu's savage power, but in the next moment his arm had already snapped under the strain of the force.

At this moment, although Ye Lingxiao's mind and spirit had made progress, his physical body was already on the verge of collapse, leaving no room for him to act.

Meanwhile, the side effects of the fourth Separation Spirit began to manifest. Ye Lingxiao felt a sharp pain in his brain, as if his head were being torn apart and an iron spike driven into it.

In the next instant, Ye Lingxiao could no longer resist Zhang Yu.

Dragged by that ferocious power, Ye Lingxiao felt his now-elevated spirit, like a dream full of color, ultimately unable to withstand the cold reality and gravity, and was ruthlessly yanked toward the abyss.

Boom!

Under the infusion of Zhang Yu's overwhelmingly violent strength, the Binding Dragon Rope was hurled into the sky with a deafening boom.

Ye Lingxiao, who was gripping the rope tightly, was likewise flung into the air.

He slowly glanced downward, still able to see the towering figure standing amidst a mist of blood on the high platform.

Great clouds of white steam billowed outward with each surge of the other's power, mingling with the sprays of blood bursting from Zhang Yu's body, making him resemble a war god blazing with blood and fire.

Ye Lingxiao sighed inwardly: “This guy… how can his physical body be so ferocious?”

Zhang Yu grabbed the Binding Dragon Rope with both hands and hurled Ye Lingxiao, rope and all, flying away.

Swish!

With that mighty fling from Zhang Yu, Ye Lingxiao, along with the Binding Dragon Rope, shot toward the spectator stands like a long comet.

Many in the audience showed surprise at this sight; none had expected that at the end of the match, Zhang Yu would gain such an overwhelming advantage, even flinging Ye Lingxiao away.

Watching Ye Lingxiao, who was about to crash into them, the spectators on the stands wore varied expressions, each lost in their own thoughts.

At the same time, as waves of divine power rippled through the air, Ye Lingxiao, who was moments away from colliding with the stands, gradually came to a halt in midair.

Zhang Yu looked at Huang Zichou, who had appeared before him, and asked earnestly, “Did I win?”

“Is the Foundation Establishment Certificate… mine?”

Huang Zichou waved his hand and cast several talismans, first using the divine power of the Ministry of Health to stabilize Zhang Yu’s injuries, then slowly announced: “The winner of the third round is Zhang Yu!”

“The overall winner of the third round of the Foundation Establishment Examination is Zhang Yu!”

“I declare that the final victor of this Foundation Establishment Examination’s sports track—Zhang Yu—shall be granted the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate by the Heavenly Court, possessing the foundation establishment qualification!”

After hearing Huang Zichou’s words, Zhang Yu felt all the strength drain from his body, and he collapsed into a pool of blood.

“Finally…”

After days and nights of relentless struggle, one life-threatening battle after another, paying almost everything he could afford, plus the millions in debt at the bank, and finally risking his own life—Zhang Yu had at last set half a foot over the threshold of the Top Ten.

Looking back on the path he had traveled, Zhang Yu felt it was so hard—so very hard to climb upward in Kunxu.

Thinking this, he let out a long roar, as if to vent all the pent-up frustration and resentment in his heart.

Watching Zhang Yu roar toward the sky, Huang Zichou paid it no mind. He had seen all kinds of reactions after obtaining the Foundation Establishment Certificate—heart attacks, strokes, even people going crazy from qi deviation on the spot. Zhang Yu’s reaction was relatively normal.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ye Lingxiao had fallen unconscious from the side effects of the medicine and the injuries on his body.

The “crying-laughing emoji” on the spectator stands said: “Mother, it seems this Ye family you mentioned isn’t all that great—their strongest heir still lost.”

The “smiling emoji” on the stands frowned as he watched Ye Lingxiao hanging limp in midair by divine power, unconscious, looking like nothing more than a dead dog by the roadside—an eyesore in every way.

The “smiling emoji” said coolly, “If you don’t want to use this man, then don’t. But the Ye family is very useful on the First Layer; you can’t give up on them.”

The “crying-laughing emoji” said: “Actually, this Ye Lingxiao is already pretty strong—stronger than most high school students on the Second and Third Layers, right? He just had bad luck, running into an even stronger opponent.”

“I’ll still use him.”

“But compared to him…” At this point, he looked at Zhang Yu with keen interest: “I’m more interested in this Zhang Yu.”

The “smiling emoji” frowned and asked: “You want to sign him as a formal employee?”

The “crying-laughing emoji” said: “Why not? As long as he satisfies me—whether it’s him, Bai Zhenzhen, or this Ye Lingxiao—I can make any of them a formal employee.”

The “smiling emoji” shook his head and sighed: “A dog shouldn’t be fed too full. Sigh… you’ll understand sooner or later.”

The “crying-laughing emoji” was dismissive and had already decided to contact the Oasis Company on the First Layer, sending a representative directly to Songyang City to throw money at the problem.

At the same time, among the representatives of the various universities in the audience, many also turned their gaze toward Zhang Yu.

After all, although Ye Lingxiao was very outstanding, he now seemed eclipsed against Zhang Yu's backdrop—especially considering that Zhang Yu was a year younger, which made many university admissions representatives already rub their hands together, determined to recruit Zhang Yu into their universities.

The Cat Head from Wanfa University watched this scene and said to the Husky Head beside him, "Looks like the price you were planning to offer won't be enough."

The Husky Head frowned and said, "It's fine if we just compete among the Top Ten."

He glanced toward a certain part of the audience and snorted, "I can even understand why the 36 Upper-Colonels and 72 Lower-Colonels would have ideas."

"But damn, even junior colleges want to recruit talent like this?"

"Are they worthy?"

"If Zhang Yu goes to a junior college, what's the difference between that and serving time in prison? He'll never be able to take the graduate exams in this life, nor achieve a Golden Core."

The Cat Head reminded him from the side, "If you want to snatch him, you'd better make a move quickly. Otherwise, with Zhang Yu being so poor and inexperienced, if he's too shortsighted, he might be tricked by some junior college pretending to be a university."

"Once the Foundation Establishment qualification certificates are handed out here, the examinee information should no longer be kept confidential. You'd better act fast."

Hearing this, the Husky Head's heart sank. The other was right; such things had indeed happened before.

He thought to himself, "I really should quickly contact Zhang Yu through a representative from a first-tier company."

But before leaving, as if something occurred to him, he confirmed again, "Are you sure your Finance Department isn't recruiting any of these students?"

The Cat Head said calmly, "Their aptitudes are indeed not bad—good for security or civil engineering. Want to enter the gates of finance? After they can stand firm up there and struggle for a few generations, maybe their descendants will have a tiny chance."

At the other end of the audience, a teacher from a junior college was already on the phone with his school's president. He said resolutely, "President, as long as we secure this student and cultivate him with all our strength to become a Golden Core, who will dare say from now on that a junior college can't produce a Golden Core? Our school's rating is bound to rise!"

Just as the number of people in the audience was dwindling, with one after another withdrawing.

The injuries on Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had also been fully healed.

At this moment, they gathered together with all the other contestants, about to begin the ceremony for awarding the Foundation Establishment qualification certificates.

Seeing Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu hurried over and asked, "Zhen, did you make it?"

Bai Zhenzhen laughed heartily and nodded, "I made it, Yu. What about you?"

"I made it too!" Zhang Yu laughed and hugged Bai Zhenzhen. "Zhen! We can go to university together!"

Hearing these words, Bai Zhenzhen felt a huge weight lift off her heart. She had truly been worried that Zhang Yu hadn't passed. Now she hugged him tightly, unable to stop laughing as well. "Have you thought about which of the Top Ten to choose? Should we start planning for graduate school and doctoral studies?"

Yun Jing beside them watched the two hugging and spinning around. His already gloomy face turned even darker.