Chapter 496: Why Should Extreme Tiger Be Looked Down Upon?

As the spreading Earthfiend Qi surged forth, Zhang Yu’s palm seals shifted. The overwhelming might of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might erupted like a tide.

“I don’t know how to defend against Earthfiend Qi.”

“But I can reshape the world!”

With a thunderous boom, the central battlefield cracked apart under the upheaval of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might. Massive fissures split the earth like deep ravines, threatening to divide the arena in two.

“Rise!”

Zhang Yu let out a fierce shout. On the Wanfa University side, huge sections of the ground trembled violently—once, then twice—and under continuous tremors driven by his power, the earth began to rise.

“Uproot the mountains!”

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yu had raised vast slabs of earth, stacking them like towering walls to block the spreading Earthfiend Qi.

Wangou Xuan’s eyes narrowed. “Level 20 Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might.”

“And flawlessly executed. It’s as if he’s practiced this technique countless times.”

“Is this entirely thanks to Pleasure and Harmony University’s Immortal Dao technology? Or is Zhang Yu’s martial talent simply monstrous?”

…

In the Spiritual Realm spectator stands—

Director Gao nodded in satisfaction. “Zhang Yu is drawing out the full power of the Level 20 Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might. It’s hard to believe he mastered it so recently.”

Lord Magneto smiled faintly. “A fine disciple you’ve taught.”

Director Gao replied, “I alone couldn’t have brought him this far. Your experiment gave him the final push. He soared to new heights by his third year.”

…

While Zhang Yu reshaped the terrain to halt the Earthfiend Qi’s advance, a tremor shook the battlefield.

A towering figure over ten meters tall stepped out from the Immortal Soldier University’s formation—it was their Civil Engineering Department’s military-grade giant puppet: the Earthshaker Deity.

With each of its steps, the surrounding landscape warped—valleys rising into hills, high ground sinking into craters.

The earth pulsed with the Earthshaker Deity’s every motion, reshaping itself with each internal tremor of the puppet.

Inside the Earthshaker Deity, Wangou Xuan took a deep breath, emotions stirring.

How long has it been since I operated from within?

He remembered countless missions—building or battling—always controlling the Earthshaker Deity from outside, defending it from harm.

Since acquiring this military-grade puppet, he’d never once let it run at full power.

“Today… I finally get to cut loose, no costs spared.”

Hatred toward Mo Shangjin surged in his chest, memories of last year’s ridicule from Wanfa University’s Civil Engineering students fresh in his mind.

“I don’t get it. Extreme Tiger is such a solid brand! So many of my people use it—why do you all look down on it?!”

As he shouted, the Earthshaker Deity began sprinting. The earth beneath its feet shifted with every thundering step, veins of terrain rippling like waves to accelerate its charge.

With a deafening boom, the colossal puppet broke the sound barrier. Shockwaves tore through the arena, scattering dust and stone as it barreled toward Wanfa University’s side.

Boom!

The earth Zhang Yu had raised was shattered by a single strike from the Earthshaker Deity.

Zhang Yu reached out. Massive slabs of stone hurled forward like falling peaks.

Another blast rang out—the rocks exploded against an invisible shockwave field around the Earthshaker Deity.

If Zhang Yu’s style was mountain-moving and earth-raising, then under Wangou Xuan’s control, the Earthshaker Deity was all about mountain-crushing and earth-shattering.

The instant they clashed, the entire arena erupted into chaos.

The rampaging Earthfiend Qi surged forward, pushed by the Earthshaker Deity’s momentum. But again and again, it was blocked by the elevated terrain Zhang Yu raised in defense.

As the two sides closed the distance, Wangou Xuan suddenly activated the Earthshaker Deity’s Gen Meridian Manifestation.

Tens of thousands of mana surged from his power core, transforming into a tide of martial energy. It fused with the atmospheric spiritual essence and formed a colossal projection over a hundred meters tall.

A giant now loomed over the battlefield, punching down at the nearby Zhang Yu with overwhelming force.

Wangou Xuan thought to himself, A full-power Earthshaker Deity will cost at least a hundred spirit coins in repairs today.

Can you withstand it?

The moment the Gen Meridian Manifestation’s fist struck, an explosion of dust hundreds of meters high engulfed the arena. Shockwaves surged in all directions, and the entire ground trembled. The echo of that impact reverberated deep into Immortal Soldier University’s underground structures.

Then—

Blazing golden flames burst skyward as Zhang Yu’s qi erupted. He reappeared in the center of the field, over five meters tall, transformed into a Mountain-Moving Giant.

It was in this Mountain-Moving Giant form—powered by Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might, shielded by triple-layered martial qi, augmented by Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force, and backed by his terrifying physical defenses—that he survived the Earthshaker Deity’s blow.

Especially his body—blessed by the Martial Saint Body, empowered by the Greenlotus Sword Embryo—now also displayed traits of the University Saint Body, Civil Engineering Saint Body, and the Mana Pulse Flowing Stream.

Wangou Xuan was stunned. He blocked the Gen Meridian Manifestation’s full-force strike…?

He knew that normally, military-grade puppets had the advantage in mass, strength, and energy output—like an elephant overpowering a mouse. That kind of disparity should have crushed Zhang Yu.

Particularly since Zhang Yu only had one military-grade technique.

This should’ve been a guaranteed win.

But across the field, Zhang Yu exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on the massive puppet.

“Perfect. I wanted to fight you up close anyway.”

With a furious roar, the Mountain-Moving Giant launched himself at the Earthshaker Deity.

The Gen Meridian Manifestation stepped forward. Its colossal foot stomped down.

Boom!

The Mountain-Moving Giant raised both arms, catching the blow overhead.

Zhang Yu took a deep breath. Inside the warrior, the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force surged.

Since mastering the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might, he’d mostly used that technique for construction and combat. His painstakingly trained Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force had rarely seen action.

Not because he didn’t want to—but because the Earthfiend Gravity summoned by Mountain-Moving Might was far too immense, exceeding what his qi and body could bear.

Using Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force in that state would have only weakened him.

But now… his body had grown tougher with each new Chain Diagram set unlocked through the Greenlotus Sword Embryo.

His qi, enhanced repeatedly by Taiyi Liquid Gold Pills, had reached a level far beyond his previous capacity.

With the Mountain-Moving Giant roaring in golden flame, Zhang Yu launched the Gen Meridian Manifestation’s attack back at it with brutal precision.

A thunderous impact shattered the manifestation’s leg—a construct of qi and spiritual essence never meant for sheer durability—sending shockwaves through the air.

And that was just the first strike.

As the Gen Meridian Manifestation’s leg exploded, Zhang Yu surged forward. He closed to within ten meters of the Earthshaker Deity.

A tempest howled as the giant’s palm slammed toward him again.

Even with his improved power, Zhang Yu could only reflect one of those devastating blows at a time. The sheer size of the Gen Meridian Manifestation made repeated defense impossible.

But this second strike—he had prepared for it.

With a punch, golden qi rippled through the Mountain-Moving Giant. Its body visibly shrank by nearly 18%, scattered into motes of golden light.

Zhang Yu himself was covered in wounds—gashes inside and out. Yet even as blood flowed, his body began to knit itself back together under the effects of active tissue regeneration.

Clearly, even at his current strength, Zhang Yu couldn’t reflect the Gen Meridian Manifestation’s power without cost. And he couldn’t do it many times.

Still, the second blow exploded as well.

The path was clear. Zhang Yu was now within three meters of the Earthshaker Deity.

Inside the Mountain-Moving Giant, the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force storage nodes burst to life.

Zhang Yu had also stored power from previous uses of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might.

Now, both forces were unleashed.

He struck with both hands.

One fist glowed white with the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force, empowered by the Ten Planetary Forms—its sheer momentum forming a blazing white comet in his palm.

The other, backed by the Mountain-Moving Might, similarly wielded the Ten Planetary Forms. Black Earthfiend Gravity howled outward, swallowing dust and air alike into a vortex of black energy.

Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might—Comet Bomb X Stardust Bind!

White and black. Two forces, like twin stars, slammed into the Earthshaker Deity.

Wangou Xuan barely had time to activate the puppet’s terrain-joint system, raising countless layers of rock in front of him while flooding mana into the power core.

Then—

BOOM!

The twin stars crushed the rising stone layers, smashing into the Earthshaker Deity’s shockwave field.

Wangou Xuan’s vision filled with red—system warnings, damage alerts, repair notices flashing across his eye display.

For a moment, his heart clenched.

Then he relaxed.

One thought remained in his mind: Thank goodness… at least the repair fees will be reimbursed.

A towering plume of dust engulfed the battlefield.

From the stands, Director Gao’s eyes sparkled. “When did Zhang Yu learn to invoke the powers of both Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force and Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might at once?”

“His martial talent… it’s even more astonishing than I imagined.”