You dare to cultivate without money?!-Chapter 690 - 623: Hot Search Controversy

"Finally won."

As he crossed the finish line, Zhang Yu handed the relay ball to Tao Qiankun who came up to him.

Zhang Yu said, "Brother Dao, it was worth the effort."

Receiving the relay ball, Tao Qiankun smiled and said, "You did very well, thank you for your hard work."

At the same time, as Zhang Yu and Jiutian Liu raced past the finish line one after the other.

A giant dragon burst through the surface of the sea with a loud crash, hitting the water heavily and sending water splashing everywhere.

The giant dragon then floated motionlessly in the sea, with no further movement, like a corpse.

Large patches of blood continued to pour from the gaping wounds at the back of the dragon’s body, quickly dyeing the whole sea red.

Just when many spectators thought that Ying Zhoufan might have been seriously injured or even killed...

...the middle part of the dragon’s body suddenly swelled, followed by an explosion from which a figure shot up into the sky, crossing the finish line in the blink of an eye.

Third place, Ying Zhoufan.

As Ying Zhoufan crossed the finish line and landed, he glanced with hatred at the dragon’s body, resembling a corpse, and at Zhang Yu not far away, covered in blood.

"This scum..." Ying Zhoufan recalled the recent events in his mind.

As Zhang Yu, Jiutian Liu, and he engaged in the final fierce battle, competing for the fastest champion spot in the underwater cave, Ying Zhoufan secretly activated his Heavenly Demon transformations, preparing his body for the final victory.

He reformed a human shape internally, gradually turning the dragon’s body into an outer shell.

Ying Zhoufan was waiting for the final sprint, planning to entangle Zhang Yu and Jiutian Liu with the dragon’s body, breaking through the encirclement himself to take first place.

He could already see himself breaking through the fight between Zhang Yu and Jiutian Liu, surpassing the two Human Clan geniuses, achieving first place, then trending on social media, being interviewed, and worshipped by countless Demon Descendants...

Until the Heavenly Sun Divine erupted with surging flames within the dragon’s body, blasting a large hole at the back.

At the same time, the dragon’s body, which had transformed into an outer shell, became a temporary magic treasure under Zhang Yu’s enhancement.

"This scum..." Ying Zhoufan thought to himself, "He noticed that my dragon body was gradually losing vitality and turning into a dead object, then used the Heaven and Earth Destruction Invisible Heart Soldiers to temporarily turn it into a magic treasure, both accelerating the final push and hindering my breakout."

"This shows that even in the last fierce battle with Jiutian Liu, he never eased his guard against me, and could even spare the attention to counteract..."

"How could this guy be so flawlessly strategic? Our overall strengths are similar, yet he managed to utilize every ounce of power to achieve this step..."

Although securing third place, Ying Zhoufan didn’t feel a tinge of happiness or excitement.

He felt that ever since Zhang Yu took control, the competition slipped out of his control, fully entering Zhang Yu’s rhythm, and his last desperate counterattack was nipped in the bud.

This made Ying Zhoufan feel like a horse with a bridle forced upon it, without a single highlight in this battle.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhang Yu waved towards the sea, and the next moment, a dark shadow broke through the water and flew directly to him.

It was the Green Water Gold Crystal Armor.

Watching this, Jiutian Liu thought to himself, "Sure enough, the reason for his entire body being injured is because he took off the Green Water Gold Crystal Armor, choosing to endure the shuttle’s impact with his body to avoid damaging the armor."

"Did he consider the post-competition matters even before jumping onto the shuttle?"

"Should I say he’s bold... or does he have sheer courage?"

As the owner of the Nine Heavens Divine Shuttle, Jiutian Liu was well aware of the shuttle’s speed and impact, especially when traversing through the earth, where the pressure and impact between the rock layers and the shuttle increased drastically.

And Zhang Yu’s act of removing his armor before jumping from the vehicle not only displayed absolute confidence in his body but also a dedicated effort to protect his property, which even made his opponent Jiutian Liu feel a tinge of admiration.

At the same time, Zhang Yu shook his whole body, shaking off the blood covering him, revealing a body full of injuries and bruises.

After that, he wore the Green Water Gold Crystal Armor again, and the wounds on his body, under his effortful control, temporarily closed up, continuously dissipating the bruises and striving to heal themselves.

Upon donning the armor, Zhang Yu immediately checked if he could obtain more from the "Demon Saint’s Ten Thousand Transformations Scripture" through the Green Water Gold Crystal Armor.

"Is it not working?"

After all, a large amount of blood expelled from the dragon’s body had stained the entire sea red, and the Green Water Gold Crystal Armor, situated within, naturally got soaked with a lot of demon blood, yet Zhang Yu found that he did not obtain more cultivation technique content in the process...

Zhang Yu speculated, "Is it that a single type of Demon Descendant, no matter how many, isn’t enough? Do I need numerous different types of Demon Descendants?"

Then Zhang Yu tried to manipulate the remaining demons in the sea, discovering that a large number of Fish Demons had lost contact.

"Did their lifespan expire?"

Zhang Yu knew that these temporarily bred and forcibly grown demons effectively unleashed their life potential in a short period, contributing no edible value, having short lifespans, typically exhausted right after a battle.

Meanwhile, his fellow teammate and Taoist Skills Department student Li Shiwu was looking complexly at Zhang Yu, who had taken first place.

Especially seeing Zhang Yu hand the relay ball to Tao Qiankun, and Tao Qiankun encouraging him with a smile, made her feel even more that her place had been taken.

Clearly, she was the second in the Taoist Skills Department who had always followed Brother Dao and had been instructed by leaders before the competition to fully assist Tao Qiankun in winning the championship.

She couldn’t help but send a message to Tao Qiankun: Brother Tao, Zhang Yu’s speed isn’t the fastest on his own. If not for that Demon Descendant assisting him, he probably wouldn’t even see Jiutian Liu’s back. Does this count as good luck?

Tao Qiankun: Luck?

Tao Qiankun: You could say so, but what in this world is truly devoid of luck?

Tao Qiankun: If you ask me, at least in this performance, Zhang Yu’s speed is the fastest.

Li Shiwu: Ah? Why?

Tao Qiankun: If Jiutian Liu’s way of advancing is like embezzling money and running away, then Zhang Yu is smuggling.

Tao Qiankun: In this world, just being fast yourself doesn’t mean you’re truly the fastest.

Tao Qiankun: The one who can step on the body of the fastest person is the truly fastest. Using others to move forward is the fastest way in this world.

Li Shiwu looked at the message from Tao Qiankun, a thoughtful expression flashing in his eyes.

Li Shiwu: Bro! In the next match, please use me to advance!

Tao Qiankun: Don’t overthink it, you are all younger ones I admire. I will use you well, and after reaching the throne, I will share the glory with you.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kuang Tianqing stared in Zhang Yu’s direction, excitement flashing in his eyes: "Hmph, excellent... this Zhang Yu is becoming more worthy of defeating."

"This prey is becoming tastier."

An Zhen True Monarch stood on the other side of the arena, his eye sockets filled with a great deal of Spirit Realm information, including various hot discussions about Zhang Yu, filled with criticism and attacks.

"Zhang Yu’s behavior is nakedly stomping and discriminating against Demon Descendants, strongly suggesting Zhang Yu be withdrawn from the competition."

"In this competition process, is it necessary to blast the opponent’s butt? Isn’t this truly humiliating for the Demon Descendants?"

"Demon Descendants’ butt is still a butt!"

Xiang Shan, who was working to pay off debts, glanced at the news and immediately ran to leave comments under Zhang Yu’s account: This person is a habitual offender of discriminating against Demon Descendants. Back when he was in the Civil Engineering Department, he bullied many Demon Descendants before being whitewashed by the Artifact Refining Department for a while. Recently, he’s started again.

Bei Wufeng, running a small account, sneered and commented below: The little beast needs chaining again? [Dog Chain] So repulsive, look at your address still in Wanfa? Can you roll back to Heavenly Demon? [Vomit][Vomit][Vomit]

An Zhen True Monarch glanced at the trending words on social platforms, looking at Zhang Yu’s comment section which had become a battlefield, he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

In his view, controversy brings heat, brings traffic, brings higher value.

Moreover, discrimination against Demon Descendants isn’t a glaring fault that’s hard to tolerate; on the contrary, it appears distinctive and unique.

As for other hot topics, An Zhen True Monarch surveyed them all...

Things like Zhang Yu refusing Mu Qiansi representing the revival of classical aesthetics, confronting Hehuan University with the best strategy of ugly worship, Zhang Yu possibly having a liking for physiological males, having talent for homosexual Dual Cultivation... In An Zhen True Monarch’s view, these are nothing and will only continue to increase Zhang Yu’s heat.

Suddenly, An Zhen True Monarch’s gaze focused, realizing a Divinity Transformation had spoken.

Seven Emotions Divine Monarch: Reject big and strong, reject admiring, cultivators don’t necessarily have to be tall and strong; they can also be small and skinny, pursuing a differentiated path.

The words from the Divinity Transformation Divine Monarch immediately sparked widespread discussion in the Spirit Realm.

Initially, some older Golden Core and Nascent Soul jumped out to show support.

Then many believed that Seven Emotions Divine Monarch’s remarks were aimed at undermining Hehuan University, as Hehuan University has always been a staunch supporter of mainstream aesthetics, and many Immortal Path techniques within the university were born for this reason.

Then some proposed to reject mainstream aesthetics in order to gain advantages against existing Dual Cultivation techniques...

As an old Nascent Soul, An Zhen True Monarch watched the Kunxu aesthetics and fashion change step by step.

He saw one generation after another of cultivators pursuing strength, gradually recognizing that big is beautiful, strong is beautiful, tall is beautiful.

And now he watched cultivators begin pursuing small and skinny to gain advantages on the Dual Cultivation path, his heart filled with emotion: "Aesthetics are a circle; one can like big and strong to become powerful, and then pursue small and skinny for power."

"Zhang Yu might just be the catalyst for the next Immortal Path aesthetic revolution."

"However..."

Glancing at the latest ad rates, An Zhen True Monarch felt joyful: "Indeed the wealthy are the most beautiful."

In the current ad rate rankings, Zhang Yu had surged to second place, only behind Kuang Tianqing in first.

An Zhen True Monarch knew that once the relay race started, various companies began quoting for the final race ads.

This new ranking’s initial state naturally wouldn’t be the same as the previous, continually changing based on the contestants’ relay performance.

Kuan Tianqing directly rose to first due to his spectacular performance in the third round stealth stage.

While Zhang Yu also moved to second because of his victory in the fourth round and the skyrocketing heat that followed.

An Zhen True Monarch believed that when Tao Qiankun entered the next fifth stage, ad rates would inevitably soar, making him a strong contender for the top.