96: Chapter 96: The Collapse of a Genius: Speed ​​Does Not Equal Strength

Lin Yuan's voice, amplified by the sound-amplification formation, echoed throughout the abandoned industrial area.

“The main body of the 'Apocalypse Formation' is complete!”

“We only took two hours!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the golden lotus formation that over a hundred 'geniuses' had collaborated on suddenly erupted with a blinding light. A thick pillar of golden light shot straight into the sky, threatening to pierce a hole in the heavens, dyeing even the clouds gold.

In an instant, Kunlun Academy's internal forum exploded.

“Holy crap! A god has descended! This is absolutely a god descending to the mortal world!”

“Two hours! They finished the work of ten classes! Is this what it means to be a genius? This is terrifying!”

“Look at Senior Lin Yuan! Standing under the light pillar, he looks so cool! This is exactly what we want to become!”

“That formation is too beautiful, it's like a work of art! The pits we dug over here are all uneven, like they were chewed by a dog. There's no comparison.”

The students of the Ordinary Class wiped their sweat while watching the livestream on their phones, their eyes filled with envy and shock.

The soaring golden light, the magnificent formation, and the spirited Lin Yuan standing in the light... every single thing struck their hearts like a hammer.

So the gap between people really could be this large.

So talent really could be so overwhelming.

Even the young teachers leading the teams felt a sense of unease as they watched this display.

“These little brats... are a bit strange.” A teacher put down his measuring instrument and looked toward the Genius Class, muttering quietly, “They aren't following the rules, but this commotion is certainly impressive.”

“Yeah, especially that Lin Yuan.” Another teacher's expression was grave. “His efficiency in mobilizing spiritual energy is ridiculously high. The spiritual energy he releases alone might be more than our entire class combined. If this formation actually succeeds, its defensive power won't be low.”

Over at the Genius Class, everyone had gone wild.

“We won! We've definitely won!”

“Hahahaha! I told you! How can those mortals compete with us? They probably haven't even figured out the foundation yet!”

“It's all thanks to Senior Lin Yuan! Senior Lin Yuan is the best!”

The students hugged and jumped around, showering Lin Yuan with every compliment they could think of.

Standing on high ground, surrounded by golden light and cheers, Lin Yuan felt as if he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

He had won.

He had won cleanly and decisively.

He could almost see the shocked and regretful expression on the face of that woman named Jiang Ning.

He could almost hear her admitting she was wrong and begging him to lead the academy.

This feeling was incredibly satisfying.

But just as he was at his most triumphant, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

He felt... a bit tired.

No, not just a bit, but extremely tired.

The spiritual energy in his body felt as if it had been drained dry; his meridians were empty, and he felt waves of needle-like pain.

He looked down at his hands; his skin was dry and his nails had lost their luster. These were signs of spiritual exhaustion.

It wasn't just him; the classmates who had been cheering just now were all pale and gasping for air. Some with weaker foundations had already flopped onto the ground, trying to circulate their energy to recover, but they were so exhausted they couldn't even catch their breath.

And that magnificent, sky-piercing golden lotus formation, after shining its brightest for a few minutes, rapidly dimmed.

Like a grand firework display, once the final burst was over, all that remained was choking smoke and darkness.

The soaring pillar of light gradually thinned and shortened, until finally, with a soft 'pfft,' it went out.

The massive golden lotus also lost its color, turning into a giant piece of graffiti on the ruins. Some parts of the patterns were already blurring and breaking due to unstable spiritual energy.

The Genius Class's position, which had been boisterous just moments ago, suddenly fell silent, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing.

Everyone was slumped on the ground, so tired they didn't even want to move a finger.

They had burned through all their strength in those two hours.

...

A few kilometers away at the Ordinary Class's construction site.

There was no soaring light here, no magnificent scenes, and certainly no cheering.

There was only the roar of machinery and the shouts of teachers barking orders until their throats were hoarse.

“Area A3, foundation survey complete, data is fine, proceed with module placement!”

“Attention! Module 7 is being hoisted, everyone clear the area! Repeat, hoisting Module 7!”

“Little Li! You connected that spiritual energy pipe backward! The positive and negative poles are reversed! Do you want it to explode? Fix it now! Look at the blueprints! Follow the blueprints!”

Three thousand people were divided into ten large groups, with three hundred people per group.

They didn't use their own spiritual energy to create some 'art' like the Genius Class.

They were like the most ordinary, yet most obedient, construction crew.

Step one: Surveying.

Using various instruments provided by the academy, they scanned their assigned areas thoroughly. The elevation, soil hardness, whether there were metal obstructions underground, or water... all data was transmitted to the team leaders' computers.

Step two: Waiting for blueprints.

The teachers sent the data to the academy, and the 'Formation Planning System' written by Jiang Ning calculated hundreds of options in seconds. The teachers chose the most stable and fastest one, then sent detailed construction blueprints to each group.

Step three: Working.

What the students had to do was strictly follow the blueprints and use engineering vehicles to install the 'Formation Foundation Modules'—which looked like shipping containers—into designated positions. Then, they linked these modules with spiritual energy pipes.

The entire process was tedious and exhausting, leaving them covered in sweat and mud.

When the light from the Genius Class soared earlier, they had also felt anxious.

“Sigh, does this work we're doing have even a cent's worth of relation to cultivation? I feel like I'm at Lanxiang learning to operate an excavator,” one student complained while tightening a screw.

“Don't talk nonsense.” The group leader nearby glared at him. “Did you forget Instructor Jiang's first lesson? She said we are engineers of the new era! We cultivate to build! You think the Genius Class side looks good, so they're actually powerful? Let me tell you, things that are just for show don't last. If we honestly follow the rules, we definitely won't go wrong!”

“Exactly! I believe in Instructor Jiang! We'll do whatever she tells us to do!”

Despite their words, seeing the others 'finish' in two hours still made them anxious.

Finally, after the light on the Genius Class's side completely died out, the first group of the Ordinary Class finished their area's work.

“Reporting to the teacher! Group one has finished laying the modules! Requesting to start testing!”

“Approved!”

At the teacher's command, the group leader pressed a red button on the control console.

There was no loud noise, nor were there any flashy special effects.

Only a low 'hum' could be heard.

In the area they were responsible for, all the indicator lights on the modules turned from red to green. A pale blue, translucent energy shield slowly rose from the ground, steadily covering the entire area.

The light wasn't blinding; it was soft, yet it carried an indescribable sense of thickness and stability.

“Group one, startup successful! Energy stable! Defensive power meets standards!”

Immediately after.

“Group two, startup successful!”

“Group three, startup successful!”

...

“Group ten, startup successful!”

Over the next half hour, the ten groups finished one after another.

Ten pale blue energy shields lit up across the ruins, one by one.

Finally, under the unified coordination of the main control center, the edges of these ten independent shields began to connect.

Eventually, they merged into a single whole.

A massive, integrated defense formation covering dozens of square kilometers, devoid of any flashiness.

The energy readings of the formation on the screen were a straight, unwavering green line.

It was like a silent giant, quietly lying across this land.

In the command center, Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo looked at the quiet blue light shield on the monitor, then at the golden 'withered flower' on the other side that had completely extinguished and lost its spiritual energy. He opened his mouth, but couldn't say a single word.

The contrast was too stark, and the reality was a stinging slap to the face.