Chapter 680

Just as Zhang Yu logged into the Spirit Realm after a long absence and was about to check various messages, he saw a stream of messages appearing before him, all of which he had received during his seclusion.

Seeing messages from friends like Zhang Pianpian, Bai Zhenzhen, Yu Xinghan, Yue Mulan, Shi Huaiyu... and others, Zhang Yu's originally somewhat stern gaze softened a little.

Not rushing to reply to his companions, Zhang Yu first scanned the news, then stared blankly at an advertisement on it.

"Priority for college students! 'Locals' recruiting reserve cadres!"

Zhang Yu thought to himself: "Scam ads can already appear brazenly on the homepage? It seems the situation is really bad, and the pressure on the Ten Academies is indeed very great."

But when Zhang Yu continued browsing various messages, he felt that his previous judgment seemed to be mistaken.

"Strictly implement the College Student Sleepless Plan, guaranteeing every college student the freedom to not sleep."

"The standard for whether a society is civilized is whether college students can find jobs."

"To ensure that college students and demon descendants work overtime for more than 50 hours per week, Wanfa University has implemented multiple measures, strengthened publicity, and through online and offline meetings, demanded that company cadres hold the social bottom line..."

All kinds of news and policies favorable to college students, treating college students well, and treating demon descendants well, left Zhang Yu bewildered.

"Is this still Kunxu? Where have I been brought to?"

Feeling that the world had changed too much, Zhang Yu decided not to check one by one himself.

"Let me find someone to summarize it for me."

With that thought, Zhang Yu sent a message to Feng Tingting: "What has happened in the past half year? It seems the whole society now attaches great importance to college students and demon descendants?"

Feng Tingting: "Senior, you're back?"

Feng Tingting: "You don't even know this? It seems you really haven't been in touch with society these past few months."

And as Feng Tingting explained, Zhang Yu gradually came to understand the changes in the situation.

The source of all changes was, naturally, the existence of the Zhengqi Alliance.

The supply of various techniques, knowledge, and services, along with the rampant spread of viruses, caused the number of Dark Spirit Realm users to skyrocket.

In particular, the surge in the number of college users provided a massive boost of luck to the other side, and also caused the lower levels of Kunxu's Second Layer to be constantly corroded and infiltrated, while reducing the efficiency of all schools, greatly increasing governance costs, and a large amount of intelligence was being leaked every day.

So to deal with this situation, various schools and companies, led by the Top Ten Academies, began to increase benefits for college students and demon descendants.

At first, it was just discounts on various techniques at junior colleges.

Later, as the Zhengqi Alliance gave one expert-level technique per month for signing in, schools launched promotions offering three expert-level techniques to choose from for free.

Then the Zhengqi Alliance specially recruited college students, granting them treatment equal to lower-school students after joining the demon sect.

So junior colleges began to offer free courses, giving 5 free courses per semester...

Feng Tingting sighed: "Then the Zhengqi Alliance launched a priority recruitment plan for college students, with many positions and tasks prioritizing college students."

Feng Tingting: "The Top Ten Academies then introduced Honorary Ten-School Students, selecting outstanding upper-school, lower-school, and junior college students each month to become Honorary Ten-School Students, granting them the treatment of Ten-School Students, and their resumes were treated as if they graduated from the Ten Academies."

Feng Tingting: "Later on, the Zhengqi Alliance began large-scale air raids on the Second Layer, directly attacking, and offering to transport college students and demon descendants to the Fifth Layer for work for free."

Feng Tingting: "To counter this, the major universities promised to guarantee the right to overtime for all college students and demon descendants, strictly implementing a minimum weekly overtime of no less than 50 hours."

Feng Tingting said with emotion: "In order to defeat the opponent and win the war, both sides have used all sorts of tricks, and the conflict is becoming increasingly intense."

Then Zhang Yu asked about the battlefield situation.

Only then did he learn that the Third Layer battlefield was now in a stalemate, and faced with the Zhengqi Alliance's steadily advancing spatial blockade, the Top Ten Academies were frantically building defensive fortifications.

Dense fortresses were set up on the front line, like meat grinders constantly devouring lives and a huge amount of resources.

But... although the Ten Academies' strategy slowed the opponent's offensive, it could never completely stop their advance.

Relying on the superiority of the spatial blockade, the Zhengqi Alliance's advance, though slow, was steadily encroaching on the territory of the Top Ten Academies step by step.

Feng Tingting sighed: "Now, with the Great Void as the base point, only about 30% of the entire Third Layer is actually controlled by the Top Ten Academies; the rest has completely fallen."

Besides the disadvantage on the main battlefield, the air raids on the Second Layer also made everyone in the schools anxious.

Feng Tingting: "After all, under the spatial blockade, except for the area around the Great Void where upper and lower layers are connected, in other places the Third Layer can attack the Second Layer at any time, while the Second Layer can only passively defend."

Feng Tingting: "Sigh, I heard that all schools are demanding that our principal take action immediately to completely break the blockade between the Second and Third Layers."

Feng Tingting: "But the principal has not acted yet; it is said that the Boundary-Breaking Drill is not being repaired well and has not been able to resume operation so far."

Just as Feng Tingting was speaking, Zhang Yu's gaze also swept over quite a few news items from the other schools.

"According to relevant sources who wished to remain anonymous, the repair project for the Boundary-Breaking Cone has encountered major difficulties, and there is no hope of completion in the short term."

"Where have the teachers' and students' blood and sweat gone? The whereabouts of a massive amount of resources from Wanfa University have become a mystery."

"Three questions for the Magnetic Deity: When will the spatial blockade be broken? Who will bear the astronomical losses? Should the ten schools change their battle plans?"

Zhang Yu could imagine that behind this news, various Deities from the other schools were fanning the flames, constantly pressuring the Magnetic Deity.

"Just from the news in the Spirit Realm, it seems the situation has become increasingly difficult. I wonder what things are like in the Dark Spirit Realm?"

As Zhang Yu pondered, he had already returned to the laboratory where he had been in seclusion, and saw that Feng Yuhan and Fu Xinyao had both been arrested and held in custody by cultivators sent by the Magnetic Deity.

In particular, Feng Yuhan, whose consciousness had been sealed by the Magnetic Deity, was under the strictest supervision, and all information was blocked.

Clearly, once the defection of such a senior Nascent Soul cultivator was exposed, it would inevitably cause another uproar, worsening the already chaotic situation.

Then, together with Fuji, he logged into the Dark Spirit Realm.

Still greeted by layers of scam advertisements, followed by a torrent of information, dense lists of regions appeared before Zhang Yu's eyes, dazzling him.

Fuji sighed, "The user base of the Dark Spirit Realm has expanded tenfold, a hundredfold or more compared to before."

Zhang Yu looked at the mission area and saw that the top-ranked mission was "Steal the Boundary-Breaking Cone from the Magnetic Deity of Wanfa University," offering one million Righteousness Points.

Next, among the following ten missions, nearly half were also related to the Magnetic Deity, either stealing yin artifacts or providing intelligence.

Among them, the Righteousness Point price for the Magnetic Deity's yin artifacts had been rising continuously since the Moon Battle, and had now multiplied several times over.

Clearly, over the past half year, the Magnetic Deity had not only faced pressure from the Deities of the ten major schools but also relentless infiltration and targeting by the Righteous Alliance.

At that moment, Zhang Yu noticed a message scrolling and flashing repeatedly above his head.

Fuji said, "This seems to be a pinned message sent to everyone in the Dark Spirit Realm. Everyone who enters the Dark Spirit Realm can see it."

Zhang Yu opened the message and was once again startled.

"The Righteous Alliance has completed preparations on the fifth layer of Kunxu and can blow it up at any time... Further detachment from Kunxu? Delaying the descent of the Heavenly Court."

"The future goal is to completely detonate layers two through five, splitting them into three thousand small worlds, so that the Heavenly Court can never find them again..."

Zhang Yu was shocked by this message, and saw that this pinned message had already been posted for half a month.

Zhang Yu immediately asked Fuji, "Is what the Righteous Alliance says true? Is such a thing... possible?"

Fuji replied, "I don't know."

Zhang Yu: "You don't know?"

Fuji said solemnly, "How would I know whether what the Righteous Alliance says is true or false? But one thing is certain: after the Righteous Alliance proposed this plan, many people are likely willing to believe it."

Zhang Yu's heart sank, and he understood that Fuji was right.

Now, within layers two through five of Kunxu, no one knows how many people have made unauthorized breakthroughs and cultivated through infringement, all inevitably worried about the future descent of the Heavenly Court.

Now that the Righteous Alliance has offered such a plan, whether true or false, it gives these people a glimmer of hope.

And from another perspective, what had originally supported many teachers and students from the schools to continue fighting and persevering was the arrival of the Heavenly Court.

"In many people's eyes, the great war has already lasted over a year, and with less than eleven months remaining, the Heavenly Court is about to descend."

"For them, holding on for another eleven months would bring victory—this was an important spiritual pillar."

"But now, the Righteous Alliance's propaganda that they can further delay the descent of the Heavenly Court is likely a heavy blow to many people's spirits."

Looking at the Dark Spirit Realm before him, Zhang Yu felt that behind the countless surging messages, countless Kunxu people were gradually converging their thoughts, about to stir up an unprecedented storm.

And at this moment, standing at the forefront of the storm... was his teacher, the Magnetic Deity.

Zhang Yu inwardly sighed. Just seeing these news and intelligence reports already put immense pressure on him. For the Magnetic Deity, standing at the crest of the wave, how terrifying was the pressure she personally bore?

Thinking all this, Zhang Yu couldn't help but have a thought: "Perhaps I should no longer remain in seclusion."

So, after logging out of the Dark Spirit Realm, Zhang Yu first sent a message to the Magnetic Deity.

Zhang Yu: Master, now that I have broken through to Nascent Soul, I can come and lend you a hand.

Seeing Zhang Yu's message, the Magnetic Deity thought to herself, "Foolish child, if you intervene this time, the other nine school Deities won't let you off so easily. They might even seize the Boundary-Breaking Cone on the spot. Then... you might have to help countless more times."

"And no matter how strong a single person is, how can they break through the countless spatial seals of the enemy?"

Lord Magnetic Pole understood that one major difference between the two sides was that the opponent could ignore copyright, allowing every Nascent Soul lord to cultivate the spatial celestial sect techniques and master the power of spatial sealing.

On their side, only Zhang Yu could legitimately cultivate and use "Kunlun in the Palm."

So was Zhang Yu the one who first comprehended the technology within it and turned it into a product? Or were the opponent's Nascent Soul lords advancing the rank of the celestial sect techniques and mastering stronger spatial technologies?

Whose immortal cultivation technology could first change the battlefield situation—in Lord Magnetic Pole's view, this was one of the true keys to this conflict.

Therefore, even though Zhang Yu had broken through to Nascent Soul, Lord Magnetic Pole still hoped he would continue seclusion, continue cultivation, and seize the time to progress.

On the other side, Zhang Yu looked at the message from Lord Magnetic Pole yet held a different thought in his mind.

"The power of immortal descendants... the technology contained within it is destined to be impossible to popularize."

Zhang Yu thought to himself: "If it were truly popularized, I'm afraid that after the descent of the Heavenly Court, all of us would be liquidated... No, I should say that once this thing is spread, everyone who studies it would probably have to join the Righteous Alliance directly."