95: Chapter 95: The fireworks are over, it's time to go home.
Time passed minute by minute.
Over at the "Genius Class," Lin Yuan really did manage to pull off a "miracle."
Under Lin Yuan's direction, over a hundred students pushed their spiritual power to the limit. Unlike the Ordinary Class, which used heavy engineering equipment, they used spiritual power directly as carving knives and the earth as their canvas.
Array lines glowing with various colors quickly took shape on the debris-strewn ground, broken walls, and rusted steel frames.
These lines were complex and beautiful, with a classical flair. They intertwined and spiraled upward; from above, they looked like a massive golden lotus slowly blooming.
At the center of the array, Lin Yuan showcased his "Heavenly Spiritual Root" abilities to the fullest.
He barely had to use his brain; countless profound runes automatically emerged from his fingertips. He floated in mid-air, surrounded by a layer of pale gold mist, looking like a deity descended to earth.
With every wave of his hand, he stirred up large swathes of spiritual qi, trailing brilliant streaks through the air before precisely imprinting them onto the array's key points.
This scene was broadcast to the academy's internal forum via floating cameras everywhere.
The forum exploded instantly.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Go watch the Genius Class live stream! That scene is even more badass than movie special effects!"
"Is this the Heavenly Spiritual Root? Setting up an array with bare hands! So cool! This is what cultivation should look like in my mind!"
"Look at Senior Lin Yuan. He doesn't even have to think; the array is like it's grown in his brain, he does it with a wave of his hand! This talent is terrifying!"
"And look at our side... measuring and pile-driving, just like a construction crew. It's so lame."
"Sigh, comparisons are odious. I feel like we aren't even practicing the same kind of 'cultivation'."
The students of the Ordinary Class worked while stealing glances at the live stream, feeling both envious and a bit sour.
Even the leading teachers were clicking their tongues in amazement at the commotion from the Genius Class.
"These kids really have something," a teacher sighed. "Their methods are a bit wild, but this level of spiritual control is indeed beyond what ordinary students can match."
"Yeah, especially that Lin Yuan. Look at the runes he's drawing; although some parts don't follow the rules, the intensity of the spiritual power within them is staggering. If he actually completes this array, its power will likely be immense."
The external praise and amazement gave the Genius Class students even more drive.
They felt they were doing something incredible.
The way they looked at Lin Yuan had shifted from conviction to fanaticism.
In their hearts, Lin Yuan was the prophet leading them toward greatness.
Lin Yuan himself was completely immersed in the pleasure of creation and the glory of being the center of attention.
He felt that the spiritual power in his body had never been so active. The spiritual qi of heaven and earth had become his servants, at his beck and call.
He even felt that Jiang Ning's "ten times the workload" assessment wasn't a hardship at all, but a stage specially built for him to soar to the heavens.
"Do you see this?" he roared in his heart. "This is called cultivation! This is what a genius is!"
"That woman will soon regret trying to tie me down with a crude method like 'moving bricks'!"
"Once I finish this unprecedented 'work of art,' I will be the only legend in Kunlun Academy! She will have to bow her head to me!"
In this adrenaline-fueled state, the Genius Class's progress was terrifyingly fast.
Only two hours had passed.
A massive array covering several kilometers, with a golden lotus as its main body, had already taken shape.
Spiritual light flowed over the array, looking extraordinary. Countless profound runes flickered within, and the energy fluctuations it emitted could be clearly felt even by the Ordinary Class students several kilometers away.
"Heavens... they're almost finished!"
"It's only been two hours! We haven't even finished digging our foundations!"
"This speed is too fast! Is this what a genius is?"
A chorus of gasps rang out across the Ordinary Class construction site.
They looked at the soaring spiritual light from the Genius Class, then at the pits they had just finished digging, and a sense of helplessness welled up in their hearts.
The gap was too wide.
So wide it left them speechless.
In the command center, Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo couldn't sit still either.
He stared intently at the magnificent array on the screen, his mouth agape for a long time before he managed to squeeze out, "This... these kids... they actually pulled it off?"
Director Zhao Lixin also frowned. He didn't understand arrays, but just looking at the commotion, he knew it wasn't simple.
"Engineer Jiang," he looked at Jiang Ning with some worry, "this array of theirs looks quite powerful. If they really finish it early, then we..."
Wouldn't that prove Jiang Ning's teaching method was wrong?
Wouldn't that mean Lin Yuan really won?
If word of this got out, it would be a major blow to the academy's reputation and the national plan.
However, Jiang Ning's face still bore that same expressionless look.
She didn't even look at the magnificent array; her eyes were locked on a pulsing red data bar in the corner of the screen.
That was the "average remaining spiritual power" of all the Genius Class students.
Right now, that data bar had dropped from one hundred percent to... thirty percent.
And it was still falling rapidly.
"Surface-level excitement always comes at a price."
Jiang Ning finally spoke, her voice very soft, as if talking to herself.
"They are like a group of people who spent all their money on the most expensive fireworks, wanting to put on the grandest show in the shortest amount of time."
"It does look very lively."
"But..."
She reached out and lightly tapped the nearly empty red data bar on the screen.
"Once the fireworks are over, it will be... the end."
Right then, at the Genius Class site, Lin Yuan drew the final rune.
He stood atop the array, spreading his arms wide, and announced loudly to everyone and the cameras:
"I have lived up to expectations!"
"The main body of the 'Apocalypse Formation' is complete!"
"We only took two hours!"
As he spoke, the entire massive golden lotus array suddenly erupted with an incredibly dazzling light!
A pillar of light shot into the sky, as if it were going to pierce a hole in the heavens!
In that moment, the entire field erupted in cheers!
Everyone who saw the scene, whether students or teachers, cheered for this shocking spectacle!
Standing amidst the golden light and cheers, Lin Yuan felt he had reached the pinnacle of his life.
He won.
A clean, decisive victory.