Qin Xuehua saw through the system's origins

On the seventh day of Zhang Yu's imprisonment, in the Wei Kingdom Heavenly Prison.

Zhang Yu couldn't take it anymore. In order to protect his kidneys, he used the excuse of repairing and upgrading the Heavenly Prison Grand Formation to forcibly seal off the Heavenly Prison.

He left only Hu Qingxuan by his side to help him with the miscellaneous tasks.

However, repairing and upgrading the Heavenly Prison Grand Formation wasn't entirely an excuse; he genuinely needed a means of survival.

Zhang Yu sat cross-legged at the Core of the Formation Eye, his powerful Soul Power spreading out slowly like an invisible tide.

He did not immediately begin to act recklessly, but instead used his Divine Soul as a sensory organ to meticulously perceive every Formation Runes and vein of the original Grand Formation of the Heavenly Prison.

What is essential, what is redundant, where can be reinforced, what structures can be optimized, how to draw upon the greatest Earth Vein Power with minimal alterations... all these insights flooded my mind.

What surprised Zhang Yu even more was that, through his Soul Power and the Earth Vein network, he saw Formation points of light of varying brightness scattered throughout the Imperial City, like stars in the sky.

The two brightest and largest of these are naturally the Protective Grand Formation at the core of the Imperial Palace and the Heavenly Prison Grand Formation where he is located.

In addition, there were countless smaller points of light, representing the Formation set up by various Lineage and important institutions in the city.

A bold idea gradually took shape in Zhang Yu's mind.

"It would be difficult for the Heavenly Prison Grand Formation to completely withstand an attack from Great Grandmaster level on its own."

"But if... I can use the Heavenly Prison Grand Formation as the core and cleverly use the Earth Vein Power as the link to integrate these large and small Formation scattered throughout the Imperial City."

Wouldn't that allow us to construct a Super Composite Grand Formation with broader coverage, stronger linkages, and continuous growth?

This idea was both incredibly brilliant and extremely risky, but the rewards were enormous.

"Worth a try."

A resolute glint flashed in Zhang Yu's eyes.

As for whether the owners of those Formation agree?

With the tacit approval of the Imperial Family and his clever use of "borrowing power," it wouldn't be difficult for him to deceive everyone.

He began to take action.

The powerful divine soul force, like the most precise carving knife, guided the precious materials sent by the Xiao family to integrate into the foundation of the Heavenly Prison Array.

At the same time, his Divine Soul spread out along the Earth Vein, as fine and tenacious as spider silk, and began to carefully touch, analyze, and try to "connect" with those scattered Formation light spots.

The entire Imperial City's Earth Vein and countless Formation seemed to resonate with an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible force due to this silent "touch."

Zhang Yu was so engrossed in his work that he was oblivious to the passage of time and temporarily forgot about the disturbances of the outside world.

Hu Qingxuan, who was standing to the side, was initially full of vigilance and resentment, and kept staring at Zhang Yu with wary eyes.

After all, Zhang Yu's glorious achievements a few days ago had already led Hu Qingxuan to label him Lecher fiend.

But gradually, her attention was drawn to Zhang Yu's state and the changes around him.

She saw those complex and difficult-to-understand array materials, under Zhang Yu's invisible control, automatically return to their positions and merge as if they had come to life.

She sensed the pressure from the Formation that had been present in the Heavenly Prison, as if it were undergoing some subtle yet profound change, becoming more solid, more... alive?

"This guy's Formation formations is actually so high?"

Hu Qingxuan's wariness was gradually replaced by surprise and a hint of curiosity.

Born in the Medical Immortal Valley, she possessed extraordinary insight and could sense that what Zhang Yu was doing was something no ordinary person could accomplish.

"Wasn't everything he said before just a way to avoid those women?"

Looking at the fine beads of sweat on Zhang Yu's forehead and his focused profile, Hu Qingxuan felt a different perspective on this shameless bastard for the first time.

All sorts of information about Zhang Yu churned and connected uncontrollably in her mind.

"Grandmaster in his twenties with Combat Power is actually quite terrifying."

Hu Qingxuan's mind raced.

She came from the Medical Immortal Valley and had seen far too many so-called geniuses and outstanding talents.

In Yuhua Prefecture, anyone who can reach the Xiantian Realm before the age of thirty is already considered a prodigy and will be sought after by various powerful forces.

And what about Zhang Yu?

Having already possessed the Combat Power of Grandmaster in his early twenties, he can be considered a monstrous genius.

This thought made Hu Qingxuan's breath catch in her throat slightly.

"Moreover, it's not just that his Cultivation astonishing..."

Hu Qingxuan's gaze swept over the array materials around her, which had automatically returned to their positions and were shimmering with a mysterious luster, and she felt the pulse coming from underground, synchronized with Zhang Yu's breathing.

His Formation of formations is simply unfathomable.

This is far more than just mastery; it's clearly the comprehension of Grandmaster, or even Great Grandmaster, in the art of Formation Dao.

"And the Dao of Alchemy!"

Hu Qingxuan recalled her grandfather praising Zhang Yu as a genius in the Earth Dao of Alchemy, saying that his future achievements were limitless.

Martial Dao, Formation Dao, Dao of Alchemy... all three are progressing in tandem, and have all reached unbelievable heights?

This can no longer be described as genius; this is monstrous talent, an all-around prodigy.

Thinking about all this, a thought quietly began to emerge:

"If he weren't so... so lecherous and shameless, and hadn't forced me to be his maid... with his talent and wit, perhaps..."

The thought had barely crossed Hu Qingxuan's mind when she was jolted awake as if burned.

She shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake the dangerous thought out of her mind.

"Wait, what am I thinking?"

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and a strong sense of shame, anger, and self-reproach welled up inside her.

At this moment, Zhang Yu's condition was not quite right; his face was growing paler and paler.

He underestimated the difficulty of constructing the Joint Grand Formation; his Soul Power was greatly depleted, and he was even on the verge of exhaustion.

Just as Zhang Yu felt his Divine Soul was about to wither, and those key links were on the verge of collapse, potentially even triggering a chain reaction of backlash—

[Bite!]

A crisp system notification sound, audible only to Zhang Yu, suddenly rang in his mind, like heavenly music!

[Congratulations, host, on successfully serving seven days in prison. Reward: One Year of Cultivation.]

Buzz--!

A surge of pure energy appeared out of nowhere without warning, flowing into Zhang Yu's Baihui acupoint on the top of his head and instantly spreading throughout his limbs and bones, nourishing his nearly dried-up meridians Qi Sea.

At the same time, a cool yet powerful force surged into his Sea of Consciousness.

His previously withered and aching Divine Soul was quickly nourished and strengthened, like rain after a long drought.

The delicate operations that were previously impossible to complete due to Divine Soul fatigue have now become clear and stable.

The key nodes connecting to the high-level Formation, whose originally obscure and complex structures became clear and orderly under the enhanced Divine Soul perception.

"Fortunately."

Zhang Yu was overjoyed and his spirits lifted.

He immediately focused his mind and guided this newly generated and powerful Soul Power to re-stabilize the Formation network he had previously constructed.

Just as Zhang Yu completed the crucial link of the Imperial City Composite Grand Formation, Hu Qingxuan, who had been observing with a complex gaze, suddenly contracted her pupils, her beautiful face filled with disbelief and horror.

She could clearly sense that Zhang Yu's Cultivation had suddenly become stronger.

How is that possible?

Hu Qingxuan was overwhelmed with shock.

Zhang Yu Yuming just broke through to the Grandmaster Realm yesterday, how could he possibly break through again today?

Could it be...?

An extremely bold, even somewhat absurd, guess flashed through Hu Qingxuan's mind like lightning.

Although Zhang Yu acted cautiously, his actions did not escape everyone's notice.

At the very least, Qin Xuehua noticed the change in the Imperial City's Formation.

At this moment, Qin Xuehua's body was radiating boundless Soul Power, and she instantly locked onto Zhang Yu's location.

She muttered to herself, "That system seems to have given my adopted son quite a few good things."

"Let me think... that so-called system seems to be a product developed by the Human Race in the High Antiquity Three Realms."