Chapter 63: Blast Kill, Friend

In the unfinished building, after waiting bitterly for over two hours, Zhou Tianyi felt he had finally seized an opportunity to ambush Zhang Yu.

But in that lightning-fast strike, he was caught off guard by the protective Qi surging from Zhang Yu's back.

Originally, Zhou Tianyi had kicked out with one foot, leaving only his other foot on the ground.

This sudden rebound of force from the Unseen Cloud Qi made him lose his footing, sending him flying backward entirely.

"What?!"

Zhang Yu's Wuji Cloud Hand had been learned for less than a month! How could his Qi already be emitted from his back?

As Zhou Tianyi felt the immense force surging from that Qi, a shock of disbelief involuntarily welled up in him.

But before one wave subsided, another rose—just as he tumbled to the ground and jerked his head up,

a figure brimming with killing intent had already chased after him, appearing directly before his eyes.

Earlier, watching Zhang Yu practice from afar, Zhou Tianyi only thought the other looked imposing.

Now, facing him head-on, he truly felt what that imposing aura was.

Wild killing intent, boundless battle will—looking at Zhang Yu, who under the influence of the Heavenly Martial Heart Tempering Art chased after him like a demon, Zhou Tianyi felt a surge of impulse to turn and flee.

But just as Zhou Tianyi instinctively stepped back, Zhang Yu struck with full force.

Looking at the masked man (Zhou Tianyi) who had tried to ambush him, Zhang Yu, driven by the Heavenly Martial will, had fully entered combat mode.

Fight, fight, fight! Grind all enemies to dust!

The Level 10 Wuji Cloud Hand was activated at full power.

Zhang Yu struck out with his palm; the mana in his dantian surged wildly, vibrating seven times in an instant, transforming into torrents of Unseen Cloud Qi that poured forth.

Facing the oncoming Unseen Cloud Qi, Zhou Tianyi knew life and death hung in the balance. He stomped his foot, let out a roar, and mustering all his strength, kicked fiercely.

Boom!

The instant the two forces collided, Zhou Tianyi felt his mana retreat step by step; the Unseen Cloud Qi, like a massive truck, slammed into him, blasting his entire body backward, finally crashing heavily into the concrete wall not far behind.

The concrete wall also burst with a bang, forming a hole.

Finally, Zhou Tianyi fell to the ground along with a pile of shattered concrete and brick fragments.

He tried to struggle to his feet, but with one exertion, he felt excruciating pain all over—he didn't know how many bones and muscles were broken—and collapsed weakly to the ground again.

Zhang Yu walked slowly in front of him, still immersed in his Heavenly Martial Heart Tempering Art, exuding a ferocious aura. He coldly looked at the masked Zhou and said, "Who are you? Why did you attack me?"

Zhou Tianyi did not answer but silently assessed his injuries, his heart filled with despair.

Injured this severely, he had no idea how much money it would take to recover. This would be a serious disaster for his immortal cultivation, possibly even destroying his path entirely.

As he stood there in a daze, Zhang Yu grabbed his mask and tore it off.

When he saw Zhou Tianyi's face beneath the mask, even he was momentarily stunned: "Zhou Tianyi?"

Zhou Tianyi's mind raced as he looked at Zhang Yu and said, "Zhang Yu, do you know why you were allowed into Songyang High School?"

Seeing Zhang Yu make a listening gesture, Zhou Tianyi continued, "It's because your physical body has a high compatibility with certain rich people. So they selected you for the high school to be cultivated."

"Just like many other poor students at Songyang High, besides grades, physical compatibility has always been a hidden criterion."

Zhang Yu frowned. He certainly didn't believe Zhou Tianyi entirely at first, and said, "Then why recruit into Songyang High? Can't you take them somewhere else to cultivate?"

Zhou Tianyi sneered, "What do you think Songyang High is? There are dark sides far beyond your imagination here."

"For the poor in this school, they can be their dogs, but they can also be spare parts warehouses. Of course they need unified cultivation, to practice the same methods as them."

Zhang Yu suddenly thought of the Demonic Parasitic Art. Could it really be that some student at Songyang High was practicing it?

Zhang Yu stared at Zhou Tianyi: "So the student council sent you?"

"I told you, Songyang is complicated..." Zhou Tianyi shook his head, but couldn't help spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

Under the state of the Heavenly Martial Heart Tempering Art, Zhang Yu showed no mercy to the masked man who attacked him, going all out with lethal moves.

Now, feeling the severity of his injuries, Zhou Tianyi knew that if he didn't get treatment soon, not only would his immortal cultivation suffer greatly, even his life would be in danger.

A flicker of urgency flashed in his eyes as Zhou Tianyi spoke faster: "Zhang Yu! You were stimulated by an evil god, unlocking some kind of ability, right?"

Zhang Yu's gaze sharpened, but he did not respond. Of course, he could not reveal to anyone the matter of himself and the Evil God's ritual.

Zhou Tianyi: "You don't need to deny it so quickly, you..."

A sickly flush flickered across his face. The pain from his internal injuries made him unable to speak for a moment.

"Zhang Yu... we... are on the same side..."

"Take... take me to a nearby clinic."

Seeing that Zhang Yu still stood motionless, feeling his own life continuously draining away, Zhou Tianyi's eyes grew more and more anxious. Finally, he couldn't help blurting out: "I... I also have an Evil God behind me. That existence... is very interested in you..."

At that moment, his body temperature kept rising, and tiny specks of firelight appeared on his cheeks.

A flicker of fear flashed in Zhou Tianyi's eyes, and he shouted: "I didn't mean to say it, I really didn't say it! Wait, I was just using him..."

Feeling the firelight had no intention of stopping, Zhou Tianyi finally couldn't help cursing: "Idiot!!"

"This idiot!"

The next moment, waves of crimson flames violently erupted from his body.

Watching Zhou Tianyi turn to ashes in an instant, Zhang Yu's brows furrowed tightly.

"Zhou Tianyi turned out to be a subordinate of the Evil God?"

But thinking about how the Eight Ministries of Righteous Gods only cared about money, and how the Evil God took lives, Zhang Yu suddenly realized that the Evil God also... wasn't without advantages.

After all, Kunxu was full of poor people who had only their lives and no money.

"Thinking about it this way... perhaps the Evil God's followers are not few in Kunxu." Watching the ashes gradually dissipate on the ground, he thought to himself: "Was this a backlash from something like ritual power?"

"Really does feel a bit like that idiotic ritual."

And thinking about today's scene, Zhang Yu further thought: "Have I been making too much noise lately, drawing the Evil God's attention? No, Zhou Tianyi had known Zhang Yu for a long time—had they been watching me long ago?"

His heart sank, but he also felt that he couldn't tell anyone about this matter.

The Three Great Schools, the Student Council, the Evil God... recalling the opponents he would face in the future, Zhang Yu finally sighed in his heart: "In the end, I still need to strengthen my strength."

Especially thinking about the process of just defeating Zhou Tianyi, he understood that if he hadn't been strong enough, he would likely have fallen into the other's hands.

Reflecting on the day's experiences—fighting or retreating in the illusion assessment, receiving Zhang Pianpian's stepping forward to protect him, using his own martial power to defeat Zhou Tianyi...

At this moment, Zhang Yu suddenly seemed to have a thought, and then he suddenly laughed.

Earlier, when he was switching back and forth between the Wild Bull Soul-Calming Heart Sutra and the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, he had felt a contradiction in his thinking.

But now he suddenly thought: "Fight when it's time to fight, retreat when it's time to retreat. Facing different circumstances, respond with different mindsets. Such a simple principle, what was I agonizing about before..."

In that instant, Zhang Yu felt the operation of the Heavenly Martial intent become more harmonious and smooth, and the switching with the Wild Bull Soul-Calming Heart Sutra was also extremely fluid, without any sluggishness.

!.

"Keep training."

Whether facing enemies in the darkness, or opponents from Songyang High School and the Three Great Schools, Zhang Yu needed to further improve his strength.

In the blink of an eye, a night passed, and Zhang Yu's Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art also rose to level 6 (41/60).

On the other side.

Inside the office of Songyang High School.

Su Haifeng listened to the voice on the other end of the phone and said in surprise: "He died from backlash? He betrayed?"

Listening to the other side's words, Su Haifeng nodded repeatedly and said: "I will cooperate with you to complete Zhou Tianyi's expulsion."

"Don't worry, no one in the school should notice anything unusual."

"But how should we handle Zhang Yu next?"

"To be honest, the School Board, the Student Council, the Patrol Team... I think he has already drawn too much attention. Since this hidden piece Zhou has already failed, the rest of us are not very suitable to take action at the risk of exposure. Perhaps we can let Zhang Yu go for now and look at the other candidates."

"After all, that Zhang Pianpian can only protect him for at most half a year..."

Songyang High School.

The school remained calm, filled with an atmosphere of study.

Feeling this peace, Zhang Yu watched the students focused on their textbooks and cultivation as if the fierce conflict that had broken out on the training field yesterday… had never happened.

Even Zhou Tianyi's disappearance today drew little attention from the class; someone only mentioned that he had withdrawn from school, just like Liang Qin before him, causing almost no ripples—after all, dropping out was never a rare event at Songyang High School.

It wasn't like someone jumping off a building, which could give students something to talk about during meals.

But Zhang Yu could still sense some subtle differences.

For instance… no students wanted to get near him anymore.

The classmates who used to greet him, ask him questions, or seek his advice on cultivation… had all vanished at once.

It was as if an invisible wall had formed around him, driving away everyone else.

He certainly knew the reason.

"Are they all so afraid of being implicated by the Student Council that they don't even dare speak to me?"

Slap!

Bai Zhenzhen casually set down her tray and sat down opposite Zhang Yu.

Looking at Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu sighed, grateful to have such a good brother.

Bai Zhenzhen wolfed down her food while saying to Zhang Yu, "Yu, lend me your Talisman Book for a few days."

Zhang Yu retracted his earlier thought—he didn't have a brother who would casually borrow something worth a hundred thousand.

Another slap sound.

Qian Shen also placed his tray on the table and sat down next to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu smiled. Old Qian might have lower scores, wear thicker tinted glasses, and discriminate against low-scoring students, but apparently he was still a reliable friend.

Qian Shen first wolfed down a few mouthfuls of rice, then suddenly asked, "Um… are you close with that Zhang Pianpian who scored 699 yesterday?"

"Can you introduce me? I want to add her as a friend…"

Zhang Yu glared at Qian Shen.

He retracted his earlier thought.

You little rascal!

I treat you like a brother, and you're scheming to get with my sister?

Don't you see if there's even room for you on that thigh?

But then Zhang Yu reconsidered, suddenly realizing that Qian Shen was also rootless, and looking at the adoration shining in the other's eyes.

Zhang Yu understood—this was a fanatic wanting a friend slot, wasn't it?

Zhang Yu said, "Adding as a friend shouldn't be a problem."

"But the friend slot costs 3000—just transfer it to me."