Chapter 78: Champion

Though Bai Zhenzhen suggested spitting, Zhang Yu felt such an act would disgrace his status as an outsourced patrol team member, so he chose to use his own blood. As expected, his 'pauper's blood' also filled Le Mulan with disgust; she would rather dodge directly than touch it with her sword qi.

Meanwhile, Le Mulan watched Zhang Yu seize the opportunity to charge. She snorted, flicked her sword finger, and was about to block him with sword qi when she realized Zhang Yu's speed was astonishing.

Zhang Yu's weighted suit had been tattered from previous battles. In this fight against Le Mulan, he needed to unleash his full speed, so he had removed the suit before the match and spent over ten minutes adapting to the change. After the battle began, he deliberately held back his full speed, partly to lull Le Mulan into a false sense of security and partly to continue warming up. He needed to adjust to the speed of Le Mulan's sword qi and make his body and blood warmer, hotter, and more ignited.

Bai Zhenzhen had explained that Le Mulan's "ice skin and jade bones" was likely a special constitution, either innate or modified. Due to this, her mana was inherently a superior, low-temperature special mana, requiring no special transformation. When this low-temperature mana infused her sword qi, any collision with it would lower body temperature, slowing down nerve reactions and muscle speed. To resist this low-temperature mana for a short period, Zhang Yu needed to make his body hot.

At that moment, Zhang Yu's full-speed sprint was like thunder and lightning. While Le Mulan could react, his speed was certainly beyond her expectations.

She wondered, "His full speed is this fast? Was he holding back before? Did the low-temperature mana not work?"

These successive surprises made Le Mulan's sword qi reaction a fraction slower. She could only slash forward in unison, aiming to block Zhang Yu in front of her.

Facing over a dozen incoming sword qi strikes, Zhang Yu chose to directly clash, striking out with his right arm enveloped in crimson gangqi. This was another weakness of Le Mulan's, as described by Bai Zhenzhen.

While the Star-Fighting Sword Qi was sharp, Le Mulan had not cultivated it to the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm. Her abundant mana allowed her to unleash sword qi recklessly, but her mana control wasn't precise enough for sustained fine control over many strikes. Thus, after some fighting, if multiple sword qi attacks came simultaneously, her insufficient control meant they would interfere with each other, reducing their power.

In an instant, Zhang Yu's right arm collided head-on with the dozen or so sword qi strikes. "Indeed, the power isn't as great as I imagined," he thought.

Using the Formless Cloud Gang with the Indestructible Dharma Seal, Zhang Yu shattered most of the sword qi. However, several new sword marks appeared on his palm, and the spurting blood dyed his gangqi even redder, making it coil around his arm like fire.

Zhang Yu's advance didn't falter. He surged within half a meter of Le Mulan, reaching out to grasp her arm. With a furious cry, Le Mulan unleashed dozens of sword qi strikes from her fingers, sending them toward Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu's expression remained calm. Enduring sword wounds and bleeding, protected by his subcutaneous gangqi and Indestructible Dharma Seal, he grasped Le Mulan's right arm. At that moment, Zhang Yu had completely closed the distance with Le Mulan.

Bai Zhenzhen's words flashed through Zhang Yu's mind again. She had said, "I can sense her sword qi; its primary goal isn't to kill you, but to force you back. Her final weakness is likely her fastidiousness, making her poor at close combat. After all, it's only been half a year since high school started, and even for someone wealthy like her, I don't believe she's perfected every aspect of her cultivation."

At that moment, confronted by Zhang Yu's close-quarters attack, Le Mulan—who had witnessed his fight with Song Hailong—instantly felt an immense sense of danger. She immediately unleashed streams of low-temperature sword qi, attempting to force Zhang Yu back.

Meanwhile, power continuously surged from Zhang Yu's heated body. His Formless Cloud Gang, imbued with his hot, flowing blood, struck out fiercely. Within that half-meter range, icy-blue sword qi and crimson gangqi intertwined. Le Mulan felt as if Zhang Yu, in close quarters, had become a blazing storm, constantly devouring her sword qi and threatening to consume her entirely.

The sword qi was drawn in by the gangqi and deflected by the Indestructible Dharma Seal. Simultaneously, the Level 2 Dragon-Flipping Mountain-Overturning Hand was unleashed forcefully. With a single move, Zhang Yu slammed Le Mulan onto the ground, leaving her dazed.

The next moment, seeing Zhang Yu, covered in blood, dirty and reeking, sit directly on top of her, Le Mulan's face contorted in horror. "Get off me!" she shrieked. At the same time, sword qi was about to erupt from within her. But before she finished shouting or fully unleashed her sword qi, she felt a strange sensation in her hands. Zhang Yu had twisted her wrist joints, breaking them with the powerful technique of the Dragon-Flipping Mountain-Overturning Hand. Thanks to the medication, she felt no pain, but she could no longer unleash sword qi from her fingers.

Le Mulan looked at Zhang Yu, a mix of shock and rage on her face. She couldn't believe how one dodge, one slight oversight, had given him such an opportunity. She was trapped in this situation, unable to fully utilize her abilities. Frustrated and enraged, she began to kick and struggle, but then Zhang Yu's cold voice reached her ears.

"You said you're rich, that money is part of your strength," he said. With sharp cracking sounds, Zhang Yu twisted and broke each of Le Mulan's leg joints. "Now I'm going to smash you. Try to stop me with your money."

At that moment, Le Mulan felt like a toy in Zhang Yu's hands. As he continued to apply the Dragon-Flipping Mountain-Overturning Hand, her body's joints were systematically destroyed. She quickly lost all ability to move, lying immobile on the ground.

Le Mulan glared at Zhang Yu, as if she wanted to cut him into a thousand pieces.

Zhang Yu calmly said, "One last thing. All these weaknesses of yours were spotted by Bai Zhenzhen, and she told me. If it weren't for her insufficient insurance, she could have defeated you too."

Grabbing Le Mulan's head, Zhang Yu flung her off the stage, dropping her heavily onto the ground like trash. Seeing Zhang Yu, covered in blood and standing alone on the stage, the entire venue fell silent.

No one could have imagined, predicted, or even conceived that a poor student from Songyang High School would be the last one standing in today's martial arts competition. Xiong Wenwu lost. Song Hailong lost. Le Mulan lost. The top students and wealthy individuals from the three major high schools had all been defeated. They lost to a poor student, to another high school.

Had the poor won? Had the rich lost? As countless students from the three major high schools fell silent, stunned, Zhao Tianxing suddenly clapped, filled with excitement. He wasn't trying to make a statement or gain attention; he simply couldn't help but applaud instinctively after seeing Zhang Yu's performance today. At that moment, Zhang Yu's tattered Songyang school uniform seemed to transform into something grand in Zhao Tianxing's eyes.

However, the lone applause was so abrupt in the vast, quiet hall that Zhao Tianxing stopped clapping after a few claps, feeling timid. But soon, Bai Zhenzhen, below the stage, cheered and clapped. Qian Shen, next to Zhao Tianxing, also started clapping, looking at the stage with awe. He Dayou, the school board director's son, gently clapped his hands, acknowledging, "You're impressive; you've brought great honor to Songyang." Lian Tianji from Ziyun High School also slowly clapped, thinking his advertising business should pick up again. Song Hailong looked at Zhang Yu with complex emotions, then suddenly began to clap. His applause spurred everyone from Bailong High School to follow suit. Even Chu Qiuhe, who had been feigning unconsciousness on a stretcher, was now frantically clapping with both hands.

Amidst the roaring applause, Bai Zhenzhen laughed loudly and jumped onto the stage. "Champion! Champion! We are the champions!" she yelled. "I told you Le Mulan was no good; she can't handle close combat, she doesn't have the skill." She grabbed Zhang Yu's hand, raising both their arms high, surveying the crowd proudly. His Songyang High School uniform seemed to gleam even brighter. She then shouted, "Anyone looking to place ads or find endorsements can contact us! My brother is not only the martial arts competition champion but also ranked fourth in the magic competition..."

Beside her, Zhang Yu looked at the crowd in the arena, but his vision began to blur. Although he wasn't severely wounded in the last battle, the intense focus, continuous use of several martial arts, and significant blood loss, combined with the fatigue from previous fights, made Zhang Yu feel dizzy again. He reached out to Bai Zhenzhen. "Zhenzhen, I'm dizzy. Help me get to a doctor."

Bai Zhenzhen, still excited, replied, "Wait, wait! Just a little longer. Everyone's watching us!"

Zhang Yu sighed. "To help you teach Le Mulan a lesson, I risked ruin, fought desperately, and bled profusely. You don't even call me 'dad,' and now that I'm not feeling well, you won't even help me up."

Bai Zhenzhen felt Zhang Yu would brag about this day for the rest of his life. Yet, she remained dissatisfied that Zhang Yu hadn't precisely followed her tactics. She chastised him, "You bled so much because you insisted on being flashy, didn't you? Wouldn't spitting, blowing your nose, and drooling, as I planned, have been safer and far more effective than spilling blood?"

Not far away, Le Mulan, lying on the ground awaiting emergency aid, stiffened. A flicker of shock crossed her eyes, and a realization dawned on her: "The depths of these two paupers' indecency... are unfathomable."

Bai Zhenzhen, meanwhile, had already picked up Zhang Yu and was heading towards the emergency area, wanting to stop him from bragging further. Lei Jun followed behind them, looking concerned. The thought of Zhang Yu winning first place in the martial arts competition filled him with an uncontrollable surge of emotion.

***

*(Author's note: I should be able to repay another chapter of the monthly pass debt tomorrow and continue to borrow more monthly passes from everyone.)*

*Thanks to 'lap666' for the generous reward.**Thanks to 'Wild Lonely Crow' for the generous reward.**Thanks to 'Bookworm20230607202219888' for the generous reward.**Thanks to 'Roadside Chef' for the twenty-thousand reward.*