Chapter 542: Self-Selected Immortal Sect Techniques

Outside the Spiritual Realm arena of the Top Ten League.

Zhang Pianpian gazed at the student before her from Heavenly Demon University and said slowly, “So… we finally meet.”

Her opponent chuckled lightly. “I can sense something unique about you. Once I devour you, I’ll draw closer to where the Divine Emperor resides.”

Zhang Pianpian replied calmly, “You and I are but among countless competitors. Not to mention, this path may not lead a single one of us to the end.”

The other shook his head. “With such little confidence, why dare to face me?”

In the blink of an eye, the two clashed with their minds within the Spiritual Realm, exchanging over a thousand blows in an instant.

Seeing her opponent trembling uncontrollably, Zhang Pianpian sighed. “It’s not that I lack confidence—I’ve merely foreseen myself taking one more step along this dead-end path… and felt sorrow.”

Not long after, the student from Heavenly Demon University was found dead, stirring another wave of unrest.

…

Before the Sword Duel Tournament.

Bai Zhenzhen sat before the EyeNet feed, watching the endless stream of reports, her heart heavy with unease.

“Wanfa University City was attacked by the Demon Sect?”

“Zhang Yu went offline?”

“Is he alright?”

“Damn the Demon Sect…”

“If Zhang Yu joins the Unemployed Devil Sect… and becomes a jobless waste, what should I do?”

At that thought, Bai Zhenzhen shuddered, her mind overwhelmed with dread.

“No… even if Zhang Yu doesn’t work, I could support him.”

But she knew it wasn’t that simple.

A person without work meant a drastic decline in Immortal Dao potential. Without it, they couldn’t get loans, rent housing, or even access their Spiritual Realm accounts.

They would be mocked by classmates, scorned by teachers, cast aside by society—reduced to a wandering rogue cultivator, one of countless vagrants at the bottom of the Immortal world. Such decline would corrode the Dao Heart, leading to collapse.

Worse, once someone stayed unemployed for too long, the gaps on their résumé would make it nearly impossible to find work again—like falling into an abyss with no way out.

Their stagnation in cultivation would shorten their lifespan and weaken their strength until they became like those who dropped out—unable even to withstand a stray burst of sword qi.

Imagining herself accidentally killing Zhang Yu with her own sword qi one day, Bai Zhenzhen’s emotions grew more and more agitated.

She wanted to contact Zhang Yu immediately—but the voice of the Seven Sentiments Lord echoed in her ear.

Seven Sentiments Lord: “Finish the Sword Duel first.”

Bai Zhenzhen suppressed her rage. “How can you care about that now? If Zhang Yu’s drawn into the Demon Sect and ends up never working again, what then?”

Seven Sentiments Lord: “He’s in Wanfa University City—his teachers will protect him. If he still falls for demonic temptation, then he was never worth much to begin with.”

Bai Zhenzhen trembled, her emotions boiling. “Do you have any idea what it feels like right now? It’s like ten thousand volcanoes about to erupt—rage, fear, panic—I’m going insane!”

Seven Sentiments Lord: “Good. Keep it that way.”

Bai Zhenzhen: “Damn it! If this continues, I’m going to end up killing my opponent!”

Seven Sentiments Lord laughed. “As if that’s not what you want.”

Crimson sword light tore through the sky like lightning.

“Since it’s come to this,” Seven Sentiments Lord said, “kill if you want.”

“I’ve longed to go on a killing spree.”

Bai Zhenzhen’s heart clenched, followed by helplessness, then a surge of burning fury.

“Damn it… she pretends to be normal, but she’s the craziest of us all!”

Moments later, Bai Zhenzhen strode into the arena, anger blazing, to fight for a top-eight spot in the Sword Duel.

She soared upward like a red comet, heading straight for the student from Whitebone University.

Amid thunderous explosions, no matter what sword techniques her opponent unleashed, Bai Zhenzhen’s surging sword qi shattered them all head-on.

What truly terrified her opponent was how her sword qi only grew fiercer and faster—each exchange stronger than the last, as though her body adapted instantly to every attack.

After several intense rounds, the sky erupted with a deafening boom, and the student from Whitebone University fell from the air.

Crimson sword qi materialized one after another, like serpentine dragons, chasing down the falling student.

Another explosion—then silence. The student was barely saved by a teacher’s intervention.

“The match is decided—stop!”

Before the words finished, the Seven Sentiments Lord laughed. “You interfered first, remember?”

In a flash, sword light filled the sky. Screams rang out as white lotuses bloomed in the air, blocking the Seven Sentiments Lord’s attack.

“Seven Sentiments—how dare you act up again?!”

…

At Wanfa University’s base.

Dao Qiankun looked toward the distant sky, where sword light and white lotuses clashed, and thought grimly, “The battles are growing even more intense.”

He felt the half-formed Golden Core shadow within his body and sighed helplessly.

During his duel for first place in the Dao Combat competition against Heavenly Demon University’s Kuang Tianqing, he failed to suppress his Golden Core’s eruption and broke through mid-match—resulting in immediate disqualification.

Fortunately, breakthroughs during competition were considered occupational accidents. After dissolving his Golden Core to return to the Foundation Establishment stage, no one held him accountable for “unauthorized advancement.”

But staring at the lingering half-core within him, Dao Qiankun couldn’t help but feel his inadequacy.

“Even when I give it my all, I can’t completely dissolve the Core. Each attempt leaves a remnant, and one more push could force me to break through again…”

He remembered his clashes with Kuang Tianqing—how every time he shattered his core, the remaining fragments grew denser, until after ten rounds he could suppress it no longer and ascended to Golden Core Realm.

Meanwhile, Kuang Tianqing shattered his core flawlessly every time, displaying even greater mastery.

Dao Qiankun thought bitterly, “After only ten cycles of shattering, I can’t suppress the breakthrough… Am I any better than those ancient cultivators who couldn’t restrain their realms? I hardly look like Wanfa University’s top student.”

He swore that once back, he would train daily in “Golden Core Halt” exercises—crushing the core at the brink of breakthrough to strengthen his combat control.

“Kuang Tianqing, I’ll never lose to you again next year.”

Yet as he watched the battle between Seven Sentiments Lord and White Lotus Lord, Dao Qiankun thought, “Next year’s Top Ten League will be even more brutal…”

…

Elsewhere at Wanfa University’s camp.

Jiutian Liu of the Finance Department was monitoring the flow of fate models through his Law Husk.

Watching the data fluctuate, he murmured, “Indeed, the world is in turmoil—dragons and snakes rise together.”

“Times shape heroes. The changing era draws countless threads of fate, gathering into struggle.”

He recalled the fallen contestants of the League and the devastation in Wanfa University City.

“Many will die… but those who remain will grow stronger, feeding on the chaos.”

Glancing toward the ongoing duel between Seven Sentiments Lord and White Lotus Lord, he thought, “Still, those above won’t allow unchecked slaughter among the universities.”

“They’ll intervene soon.”

And they did.

Over the next few days, the battles among the Nascent Soul-level cultivators gradually subsided.

One by one, they vanished from the scene.

Stock prices and spirit-coin values stabilized; the financial storm abated.

With the Nascent Souls ceasing combat, spirit veins reopened, rent prices fell, and the great disaster eased.

Spiritual currency flooded the banks again, spreading across the realm like water from the heavens.

Projects restarted, failing companies stabilized with funding, and unemployment dwindled.

Meanwhile, righteous gods descended across the lands, suppressing chaos and executing heretics on sight.

In Jiutian Liu’s eyes, it was as if an invisible hand descended from above—smoothing everything over, forcibly halting both the League’s escalation and the economic crisis.

Yet he sensed that though the crisis was quelled, the tension among the Ten Great Academies had merely been buried deeper—like gunpowder tamped down, waiting to erupt with greater force.

“But as long as the higher powers want control, even war must follow their schedule—time, place, and rules.”

“The university wars will never become true wars. The Ten Great Academies will never fully descend.”

Jiutian Liu trusted the Finance Department’s prediction.

…

On the return vessel to Wanfa University.

Yan Qianji of the Artifact Refinement Department exclaimed, “The next Top Ten League is changing format again?”

Beside him, Ye Xingli stared at the EyeNet document, her expression stunned. “So they’re using the League to settle disputes between academies now? The matches will determine how resources and benefits are divided…”

“And more than that…”

Yan Qianji licked his lips. “The prize—Immortal Sect Techniques—won’t be pre-assigned anymore? Winners can choose any Technique from the Dao Repository themselves?”

Ye Xingli’s heart pounded. “So the next League… will be a direct struggle for Immortal Techniques.”

“A self-selected Immortal Sect Technique—that reward is far too great. Even Nascent Souls will be tempted to push their students into the fight. Competition will spill beyond the arena.”

She could already foresee a year ahead filled with hidden schemes and open conflict, both on and off the battlefield.

The right to choose one’s own Immortal Sect Technique was the perfect bait—drawing the Ten Great Academies into a storm of ambition and desire.