CHAPTER 201: ZHANG YU’S BEST CULTIVATION CONDITIONS

Watching both of their Health Coverage points drop to zero at once, Dai Xingzhi thought to himself, “Mutual destruction?”

But then the rules flashed through his mind: “If one side's coverage hits zero, it's a loss. But if both hit zero, the match continues…”

The next moment, after burning through his entire coverage quota, a wave of intense weakness swept through Dai Xingzhi. He staggered, knees buckling as he half-collapsed to the floor.

Meanwhile, Bai Zhenzhen wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, then slowly stood up. Electricity crackled around her body as she stepped forward toward Dai Xingzhi.

His heart sank. “She burned a full million in medical coverage… and recovered better than me?”

“That means she took less damage than I did? Impossible! She took my full-power strike head-on!”

But Bai Zhenzhen's lips curled into a confident smile. Her lightning-filled eyes locked onto Dai Xingzhi as she thought, “These rich Xiandu brats… they still don’t know how to fight like they’ve got nothing to lose.”

A flash of lightning burst out—Bai Zhenzhen had launched Thunderstep.

Though her body was still battered and far from fully healed, Dai Xingzhi was clearly in worse shape—drained and powerless.

Within a few brief exchanges, she struck him from the stage.

Defeated.

Watching from below, Huang Zichou murmured inwardly, “That Bai Zhenzhen really is fearless. Maybe someone’s backing her now, but you can tell she clawed her way up from rock bottom.”

“Only the truly broke fight like this. They risk it all ten, twenty times, and if they’re lucky enough not to die, they finally start to catch up. That kind of desperate, vicious willpower—you can’t fake that.”

Below the platform, Dai Xingzhi ran the entire match through his mind, over and over. Finally, he thought with a twinge of unwillingness, “Was it because I didn’t go all in at that crucial moment?”

But risking everything, going all in, making desperate gambles—those had always gone against everything he was taught, everything he stood for.

“I actually lost… like this?”

“Could our family's sacred, generational code really be flawed?”

He shook his head. “No. I just wasn’t cautious enough. I should never have let the battle devolve into a death match in the first place.”

Looking up at Bai Zhenzhen on the stage, Dai Xingzhi thought grimly, “You're from out of town. Next time we fight—I will win.”

As the match ended, Bai Zhenzhen walked down from the stage—and immediately collapsed to the ground.

Feeling the damage inside her, she thought, “No way I’ll make it through the match against Yun Jing now.”

“But that’s fine. Top two is locked in—I can take the final Foundation Establishment exam and fight for the Foundation License.”

“So I might as well just forfeit to Yun Jing directly?”

“I wonder how Yuzi’s doing…”

…

At that exact moment, in Zhang Yu’s testing chamber, the simulated depth inside the Sky Pillar had reached -300 meters.

The Profound Dark Heavywater within the pillar had become oppressively dense, making Yu Xinghan feel like he was shackled head to toe in invisible chains. Every breath grew heavier, harder. řÅΝ𝘰BË𝒮

Certain fragile parts of his body were especially vulnerable under the intense pressure—his ears began to ache, as if countless needles were stabbing into them.

His brow, throat, and chest all felt like they were being crushed.

Yu Xinghan knew it was because the pressure inside his body's air cavities didn’t match the pressure outside.

“Just like deep-sea diving…”

He took a deep breath through the oxygen mask, then tensed his chest, diaphragm, and throat muscles, forcing the air into his inner cavities. Gradually, he equalized the pressure between his body and the Profound Dark Heavywater.

“You have to be careful doing this. Too much internal pressure, and you risk rupturing organs. Too little, and the water pressure shatters your eardrums…”

Even while resisting the crushing weight, he worked his muscles to fine-tune the pressure difference. The difficulty only grew clearer.

“You don’t just need strong muscles—you need full control over your body’s responses to fight back against the Profound Dark Heavywater.”

He glanced around. Meng Tao and another examinee were, like him, silently adjusting their breathing, resisting the pressure.

But Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao stood out.

Especially Ye Lingxiao—under everyone’s shocked gaze, he yanked off his oxygen mask in disgust, eyes wide open, standing at the bottom of the Sky Pillar like nothing was wrong.

Yu Xinghan was stunned. “Is his cognitive inhibitor pill still in effect? Is he about to get himself eliminated?”

Zhang Yu perked up. “Ha! So the pill did lower his IQ—he’s gonna flunk this!”

But everyone quickly realized they were wrong. Ye Lingxiao stood perfectly still, without the slightest sign of distress. No oxygen. No pressure compensation. No struggle. As if the pillar was filled with air.

Ye Lingxiao tilted his head, thinking, “So what now? Just stand here? Probably hasn’t really started yet.”

He frowned. “Is this really the test? They can’t expect us to just… stand here?”

Yu Xinghan’s eyes widened. “Is he using some kind of advanced breathing technique?”

“No, wait. He’s not breathing at all. He’s not adjusting his internal pressure either. He’s just… tanking it? With raw physical strength?”

“You’re telling me he’s trained even his eardrums to withstand Profound Dark Heavywater unassisted?”

Yu Xinghan shivered at the thought—and was quietly relieved that he wouldn’t have to face a monster like this in next year’s Foundation Establishment exam.

Then he looked toward Zhang Yu. The guy was twisting his body in steady motions, deep in body-refining training.

Yu Xinghan sighed inwardly. “I’m the weakest of the five. Physically, at least.”

Zhang Yu, meanwhile, felt his body strengthening with every pulse of effort, every surge of Longevity Mana.

The pseudo-Phoenix Enhancer he’d taken earlier was still in effect.

Waves of medicinal power roared through his body like fire, spurring muscle and bone growth, while its phoenix hormones worked in tandem with the Longevity Mana to repair damage.

To his surprise, even the Profound Dark Heavywater was boosting his training results.

The omnidirectional pressure felt like layer after layer of weighted clothing, pushing his limits as he cultivated the Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation.

“It’s tearing my body apart faster—and healing it even faster. The strain and recovery are both enhanced. This combo is seriously overpowered.”

If you stacked the Level 10 Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation, the top-tier Qi Refinement enhancer Phoenix Enhancer, and the Profound Dark Heavywater…

That would already qualify as elite-tier training conditions.

But Zhang Yu’s case was even more extreme—because his High School Saint Body tripled the results of any Qi Refinement stage (Technique) he practiced.

So at this moment, Zhang Yu felt like a volcano roaring to life, his muscles surging under the crushing water as every movement became hyper-efficient.

“Glorious!”

“This is the best training environment I’ve had since coming to Kunxu—the best conditions, the best efficiency!”

Physical strength: 9.92.

As time passed and the simulated depth continued to drop, the pressure and strain only increased—pushing Zhang Yu’s body toward even greater efficiency.

At -500 meters, his body reached strength level 9.93.

Every twist of his limbs now felt like lifting mountains. But the training effects also soared.

The Sacrificial Oxheart Technique began to kick in, pushing his limits further by triggering deep reserves of potential.

Meanwhile, Ye Lingxiao remained motionless, arms folded, not even breathing. The -500 meter mark didn’t faze him in the slightest.

He stared at the number on the display, puzzled. “What does that mean?”

“…Wait.”

“I remember now. The Sky Pillar, Profound Dark Heavywater…”

“I’ve been doing this since I was a kid.”

His ears twitched slightly, muscles folding to seal his ear canals—blocking out the pressure.

Little tricks like that were second nature to him.

For Zhang Yu, this was unprecedented. For Ye Lingxiao, it was just another Tuesday.

His body, already at the peak of Qi Refinement, bolstered by layers of defensive (Techniques), made the -500 meter pressure feel like a leisurely swim.

As the effects of the cognitive inhibitor pill faded and his mind returned to clarity, he felt even more at ease.

But thinking back on what he’d done while drugged, Ye Lingxiao frowned darkly. “That pill lowers your IQ?”

But then he reconsidered. “No… it’s not dumber. More like… another train of thought running in parallel. Maybe the side effects aren’t a drawback after all.”

While Ye Lingxiao pondered, Yu Xinghan was on the verge of collapse.

His bones and muscles groaned under the unrelenting pressure, and he could no longer keep his internal pressure stable.

“Damn it… if I hadn’t pulled an all-nighter yesterday, maybe I could’ve held on longer.”

At -511 meters, Yu Xinghan had no choice but to give up.

But in that moment, he made a firm decision: “No more overwork. It’s wrecking my studies and my cultivation.”

Time ticked on.

At -900 meters, Zhang Yu’s strength had risen to 9.94—his fastest improvement ever.

But even for him, things were getting too intense.

His enhancer’s effects were fading. No more phoenix hormones to fuel recovery.

Now it was all raw willpower, fighting through the mounting pressure.

He glanced at the others—Meng Tao was curled into a ball, his body compressed nearly in half by the crushing force.

But Ye Lingxiao still stood calm and composed, arms folded.

The simulated depth kept dropping… -1300 meters.

Zhang Yu felt like steel plates were stacking atop his body, crushing his bones and muscles flat.

He tried to move, to resist—but found his strength starting to falter…