Chapter 62: Decimation, Friend

Within the dilapidated shell of a half-finished building, Zhou Tianyi, after patiently waiting for over two hours, believed he had finally seized the perfect opportunity to ambush Zhang Yu.

But the strike, executed with lightning speed, was unexpectedly deflected by a wave of astral energy surging from Zhang Yu's back, catching him completely off guard.

Zhou Tianyi had launched his attack with one foot already in the air, leaving him precariously balanced on the other.

The sudden rebound of force from the Unfettered Cloud罡 destabilized his footing, sending him tumbling backward.

"What?!"

Zhang Yu had only studied the Unfettered Cloud Hand for less than a month! How was it possible that his罡 energy could be emitted from his back?

As Zhou Tianyi felt the overwhelming power emanating from the astral energy, shock involuntarily erupted within him.

But one wave of misfortune was swiftly followed by another. As he rolled on the ground and abruptly looked up,

A figure brimming with murderous intent had already arrived with terrifying speed, appearing directly before him.

Previously, when observing Zhang Yu practicing from afar, Zhou Tianyi had merely sensed a certain imposing aura.

Now, face-to-face, he truly understood the essence of that aura.

A wild killing intent, an endless battle spirit. Gazing at Zhang Yu, who, under the influence of the Heavenly Martial Tempering Heart Incantation, seemed like a demon lunging towards him, he felt an instinctive urge to turn and flee.

But just as Zhou Tianyi instinctively took a step backward, Zhang Yu unleashed his full power.

Seeing the masked assailant (Zhou Tianyi) who sought to ambush him, Zhang Yu, under the influence of the Heavenly Martial Intent, had fully entered a state of combat.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Crush all enemies into dust!

The Unfettered Cloud Hand, at level 10, was activated with all its might.

As Zhang Yu thrust out a palm, the spiritual power within his dantian surged forth, undergoing a seven-fold tremor in an instant, transforming into a torrent of surging Unfettered Cloud罡, which was then unleashed.

Facing the oncoming surge of Unfettered Cloud罡, Zhou Tianyi knew he had reached a moment of life and death. He planted his foot firmly on the ground and, with a furious roar, mustered all his strength to deliver a fierce kick.

Boom!

The instant the two forces collided, Zhou Tianyi felt his own spiritual power crumble. The Unfettered Cloud罡 crashed into him like a juggernaut, sending him flying backward to collide heavily with the concrete wall not far behind.

The concrete wall was also pierced, with a resounding bang.

Finally, Zhou Tianyi landed on the ground amidst a pile of shattered concrete and bricks.

He tried to struggle to his feet, but the slightest exertion sent waves of excruciating pain through his body. He was unsure how many bones and muscles had been fractured, causing him to collapse once more.

Zhang Yu slowly approached his fallen foe, his eyes still clouded with the fierce and baleful aura of the Heavenly Martial Tempering Heart Incantation. He coldly looked down at the masked Zhou Tianyi and demanded, "Who are you? Why did you attack me?"

Zhou Tianyi did not answer. Instead, he assessed the severity of his injuries, his heart sinking into despair.

Injured to this extent, he did not know how much it would cost to recover. It was a devastating blow to his cultivation journey, possibly even shattering his path to immortality entirely.

Lost in thought, Zhang Yu seized the opportunity to rip off his mask.

When he saw Zhou Tianyi's face beneath the mask, a look of astonishment flashed across his face. "Zhou Tianyi?"

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

Seeing Zhang Yu pause to listen, Zhou Tianyi continued, "It's because your physical body has a high compatibility with certain wealthy individuals. That's why they selected you to cultivate within the high school."

"Just like many other poor students at Songyang High School, physical compatibility, in addition to academic results, has always been a hidden criterion."

Zhang Yu frowned. He did not immediately believe Zhou Tianyi. Instead, he asked, "Then why recruit us into Songyang High School? Why not cultivate us elsewhere?"

Zhou Tianyi chuckled coldly. "What do you think Songyang High School is? It holds far more complex and sinister secrets than you can imagine."

"The poor within Songyang High School can be their dogs, but they can also be spare part repositories. Of course, it's more efficient to cultivate you all together, giving you the same training."

Zhang Yu suddenly thought of the Devilish Parasite Incantation. Could it truly be that a student within Songyang High School was practicing that technique?

Zhang Yu stared at Zhou Tianyi. "So, you were sent by the student council?"

"I told you, Songyang is complex..." Zhou Tianyi shook his head, but he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Under the influence of the Heavenly Martial Tempering Heart Incantation, Zhang Yu had shown almost no mercy towards the masked attacker. He had aimed for the kill.

Now, feeling the severity of his injuries, Zhou Tianyi knew that if he did not seek immediate treatment, not only would his immortal cultivation be severely impacted, but his very life could be at risk.

A flash of urgency appeared in his eyes, and Zhou Tianyi quickened his pace, "Zhang Yu! You were blessed by an Evil God, triggered your hidden potential and gained some kind of power, right?"

Zhang Yu's gaze sharpened, but he remained silent. He would never reveal anything about his involvement with the Evil God's ritual.

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

A morbid flush crossed his face, the pain from his injuries momentarily silencing him.

"Zhang Yu… we… are on the same side…"

"Send… send me to a nearby clinic."

Seeing that Zhang Yu was still unmoving and feeling his life force rapidly draining away, the urgency in Zhou Tianyi's eyes grew stronger. Finally, he blurted out, "I… I also have an Evil God backing me. That being… is very interested in you…"

Just then, his body temperature began to rise rapidly, and sparks of fire flickered across his face.

A flicker of terror flashed across Zhou Tianyi's eyes, and he roared, "I didn't want to say it! I didn't mean to say it! Wait, I was just using him…"

Feeling that the flames showed no signs of stopping, Zhou Tianyi finally cursed, "You fool!!"

"This fool!"

In the next instant, torrents of crimson flames erupted from his body.

Watching Zhou Tianyi turn to ashes in the blink of an eye, Zhang Yu frowned deeply.

"Zhou Tianyi was actually in league with an Evil God?"

But considering the stinginess of the Eight Righteous Gods and the life-threatening nature of Evil Gods, Zhang Yu suddenly realized that Evil Gods might have... certain advantages.

After all, the Kunxu was full of paupers who had lives but no money.

"Thinking of it that way… perhaps the Evil God's followers are not few in the Kunxu."

Looking at the dissipating ashes on the ground, he thought to himself, "Was he devoured by some ritualistic power?"

"It certainly feels like some kind of mentally-deficient ritual."

And thinking about today's events, Zhang Yu also considered, "Am I making too much noise lately, attracting the attention of the Evil Gods? No, Zhou Tianyi knew Zhang Yu long ago, so was I targeted from the beginning?"

His heart sank, especially since he felt he could not talk to anyone about this.

Three famous 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 must increase my strength."

Especially thinking about the process of defeating Zhou Tianyi just now, he understood that if he wasn't strong enough, he might have already fallen into the other side's hands.

Recalling the events of this day, advancing and retreating in the illusion test, being protected by Zhang Pianpian's intervention, defeating Zhou Tianyi with his own martial strength...

At this moment, Zhang Yu suddenly seemed to understand something, then suddenly smiled.

Before, when he was switching back and forth between the Desolate Bull Soul-Quelling Incantation and the Heavenly Martial Tempering Heart Incantation, he felt a kind of ideological contradiction.

But at this moment, he suddenly thought, "Fight when you should fight, retreat when you should retreat. Face different environments and respond with different mindsets. What was I being so conflicted about with such a simple principle..."

In that instant, Zhang Yu felt the operation of the Heavenly Martial Intent become more harmonious and smooth, and the switch to the Desolate Bull Soul-Quelling Incantation also became smooth and seamless, without the slightest hint of stagnation.

"Keep practicing."

Whether facing enemies in the dark, or opponents in Songyang High School, and the three famous schools, Zhang Yu needed to further improve his strength.

In the blink of an eye, the night passed, and Zhang Yu's Heavenly Martial Tempering Heart Incantation 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, surprised: "He was devoured and died? He betrayed us?"

Listening to the other end of the phone, Su Haifeng nodded repeatedly, saying: "I will cooperate with your side and complete Zhou Tianyi's expulsion."

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

"But what about Zhang Yu next?"

"To be honest, the school board, the student council, the patrol team... I think he has attracted too much attention. Since Zhou, this hidden pawn, has failed, the rest of us are not suitable to risk exposure to act. Maybe we can temporarily let Zhang Yu go and see how the other candidates fare."

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

……

Songyang High School.

The school was still peaceful, full of an atmosphere of learning.

Zhang Yu felt this peace, looking at the students focusing on their books and cultivation, it was as if the fierce conflict that happened on the training field yesterday... had never happened.

Even today, Zhou Tianyi's disappearance was not noticed by anyone in the class. They only heard that someone had handled his withdrawal from school, just like Liang Qin's withdrawal from school, it caused almost no waves. After all, withdrawal from school was never a rare thing in Songyang High School.

Unlike someone jumping off a building, which could make the students talk about it during meals for a couple of days.

But Zhang Yu felt some subtle differences.

For example... no students wanted to approach him anymore.

The students who originally greeted him from time to time, asked him questions, and asked him for cultivation advice... had all disappeared at once.

It was as if there was an invisible wall around him, driving away all the surrounding students.

Of course, he knew why.

"Are they all afraid of being implicated by the student council, so they don't even dare to talk to me?"

Pa!

Bai Zhenzhen put down his plate and sat down opposite Zhang Yu.

Looking at A-Zhen, Zhang Yu sighed that it was good to have a good brother like A-Zhen.

Bai Zhenzhen quickly ate while looking at Zhang Yu and said: "Yuzi, lend me the talisman book to play with for a few days."

Zhang Yu withdrew his previous thoughts, I don't have this kind of brother who opens his mouth to borrow expensive items worth 100,000.

With a bang.

Qian Shen also put his plate on the table and sat next to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu smiled. Although Lao Qian's score was a little lower than his, his tinted glasses were a little thicker, and he was a little discriminatory towards students with lower scores, but it seemed that he was also a reliable friend.

Qian Shen first ate a few mouthfuls of rice, and then suddenly asked: "That... are you very familiar with that 699-scoring Zhang Pianpian yesterday?"

"Can you introduce me, I want to add her as a friend..."

Zhang Yu glared at Qian Shen.

He retracted his previous thoughts.

You brat!

I'm treating you as a brother, and you want to plot against my sister?

Don't you even look to see if there's still a place for you on this thigh?

However, Zhang Yu thought about it and suddenly realized that Qian Shen was also a rootless person, and then looked at the adoring light in the other person's eyes.

Zhang Yu understood, this is a hardcore fan who wants a friend spot, right?

Zhang Yu said: "Adding a friend should be no problem."

"But the friend spot is 3000, you can transfer it to me."