Le Mu Lan returned to the rest area of Ziyun High School and saw Lian Tianji kneeling on the ground.

She walked up to him and, without hesitation, sat on his back as if he were a small stool.

This was her punishment for his failure.

For the next three days, whenever he appeared in front of her, he would have to serve as her seat.

Lian Tianji asked, "Did it end so quickly?"

He had watched the battle between Bai Zhenzhen and Xiong Wenwu.

Although Bai Zhenzhen's stats weren't impressive, her combat skills were exceptional.

She always managed to exploit her opponent's weaknesses.

Lian Tianji had thought Bai Zhenzhen would force the sacred top-ranked student to reveal a few more moves.

Le Mu Lan frowned and kicked Lian Tianji lightly with her right foot, saying indifferently, "A stool shouldn't talk."

Lian Tianji immediately shut his mouth.

However, Le Mu Lan added, "She couldn't afford treatment. Even if she had the money, it would just be a waste of time."

Lian Tianji understood instantly.

The world was like this—money was part of one's strength.

Not having enough money was a sign of weakness.

Bai Zhenzhen was poor, and...

Lian Tianji thought to himself, "It's only natural for the poor to lose to the rich."

At that moment, Zhang Yu and Song Hailong stepped onto the stage one after another.

Lian Tianji slowly turned his head, directing his gaze toward the arena.

After being defeated, there were usually two ways to respond.

Either claim that you were careless.

Or praise your opponent for being too strong.

The former made you look worse, while the latter saved face.

So Lian Tianji also wanted to choose the latter.

"If Zhang Yu defeats Song Hailong, maybe I can get my advertising deals back..."

After all, it would change from "being defeated by a Songyang student" to "narrowly losing to a finalist."

"Go, Zhang Yu!"

Chu Qiuhe from Bailong High's rest area was also silently cheering for Zhang Yu.

He even secretly wished for Song Hailong to lose.

Although, as a Bailong student, he knew how terrifying Song Hailong was, he couldn't help but entertain a sliver of hope: "What if? What if he gets careless and loses? Song Hailong... only if you lose will everyone save face."

As Song Hailong spread his arms and raised his hands on the stage, a tsunami of cheers erupted from the audience.

"Song Hailong! Number one!"

Zhao Tianxing listened to the unified chants of the Bailong students and felt that Zhang Yu on the stage looked so isolated and helpless.

He couldn't help but think, "Shouldn't we also cheer for Zhang Yu?"

But when he voiced this thought, he saw He Dayou quickly turn his head away, pretending not to hear.

Qian Shen also said awkwardly, "Let's not. This is Bailong's territory after all."

Seeing the overwhelming cheers from the Bailong students, Zhao Tianxing's initial desire to cheer for Zhang Yu gradually faded.

Thinking about how nervous he felt just watching from afar, he couldn't imagine the pressure Zhang Yu must be feeling standing on that stage.

...

On the stage.

As Song Hailong clenched his right fist, the cheers from the audience instantly died down, and the entire venue fell silent.

Song Hailong looked at Zhang Yu and laughed, "I never expected a kid from Songyang to make it this far, defeating so many opponents to reach the semifinals."

"As a reward, I'll make this fight a bit easier for you."

With that, Song Hailong ran a hand through his spiky hair, and a set of numbers appeared on his forehead.

10 million?

Just as Zhang Yu was puzzled, Song Hailong explained, "This is a feature of my external spiritual root. It shows the upper limit of my medical insurance coverage."

"My current medical insurance limit is 10 million. If you can exhaust this 10 million treatment budget, I'll admit defeat."

Damn, you're showing your health bar, huh? Zhang Yu stared intently at the number, pondering its implications for the upcoming battle.

But when he thought about how Song Hailong's insurance could cover 10 million, while his own could only cover 10,000... no, now only 7,000, Zhang Yu couldn't help but feel a wave of helplessness.

However, in the next moment, he activated the Tianwu Refining Heart Technique, suppressing all negative emotions and focusing entirely on the battle at hand.

In the audience, Song Hailong's overwhelming physique and booming voice continued to draw gasps and praises.

"He's truly Bailong's top student! His insurance coverage is a full 10 million!"

"He's so rich, no wonder he's so good!"

"Of course, how could a poor person be as outstanding as Song Hailong?" "Song Hailong has the highest monthly exam scores and is so wealthy. I think the martial arts competition champion should just go to him!"

On the stage, Song Hailong beckoned to Zhang Yu, "You go first. If I make the first move, you might not get a chance."

Seeing Song Hailong's completely open stance, Zhang Yu tentatively struck with a palm infused with Wuxiang Cloud Qi, slamming it into Song Hailong's chest.

With a loud crack, the palm strike, powerful enough to shatter stone, landed on Song Hailong's body.

But Zhang Yu felt as if he had hit a massive rubber tire.

Not only did Song Hailong not budge, but the 10 million on his forehead only decreased by 300.

Zhang Yu recalled Lei Jun's explanation of the Elephant Tendon Body: "Song Hailong has been implanted with elephant demon tendons. His spiritual energy, channeled through these tendons, directly enhances his physical strength, making his power and resilience beyond normal calculations."

"Add to that his already superior physical strength and the protective effects of his external spiritual root, the Nurturing Body Root..."

Clearly, Song Hailong's formidable physique allowed him to take Zhang Yu's strike with minimal damage.

At the same time, Song Hailong shook his head and said, "That strike only cost me 300. Too weak."

"Put some effort into it, buddy. If you keep this up, even if I stand here and let you hit me, how long will it take you to exhaust this 10 million?"

Zhang Yu struck a few more times at Song Hailong's vital points, but it still felt like hitting a rubber tire.

Although Song Hailon's body trembled slightly, the number on his forehead only decreased by a little over 2,000.

What was even more surprising was that, in the next moment, the number on Song Hailong's forehead began to recover.

The 2,300 that should have been deducted gradually turned into just over 2,000.

Noticing the change in Zhang Yu's expression, Song Hailong laughed and pointed to the number on his forehead, "Did it go back up?"

"Sorry, sorry. The combat spiritual root I'm using this time isn't the ordinary Nurturing Body Root. It's the deluxe version."

"Besides enhancing my physical strength and resilience, this spiritual root can continuously absorb spiritual energy from the air, allowing my injuries to heal over time."

Seeing Zhang Yu's increasingly grave expression, Song Hailong laughed heartily, "Aren't you going to attack? If you don't hurry, it'll go back to 10 million."

Hearing Song Hailong's loud proclamation, both the audience and the surrounding competitors felt as if an insurmountable wall of money stood between the two fighters.

That 10 million seemed like an impenetrable fortress, blocking Zhang Yu's path to victory.

"If you're not coming, then I will."

Song Hailong, standing at two and a half meters tall, stretched out his hand like a dragon's claw, reaching for Zhang Yu.

His spiritual energy, channeled through the elephant demon tendons, directly enhanced his strength and physique, making even his brute force enough to dominate the first-year students.

Feeling the overwhelming force of the claw, Zhang Yu remained calm.

"The gap in stats is too big. Relying solely on my own strength, it's hard to defeat him."

"The only way is to use his strength against him. Defense and counterattack are my tactics."

As Zhang Yu thought this, he raised his arms, channeling Wuxiang Cloud Qi to block Song Hailong's attack.

But he soon realized that Song Hailong's claw had transformed into a grappling technique.

"Grappling?"

"Not just that..."

In a state of full concentration, Zhang Yu watched the subtle changes in Song Hailong's movements, dodging and blocking with Wuxiang Cloud Qi.

He quickly realized that Song Hailong was using a grappling and throwing martial art.

This was Song Hailong's expert-level martial art, the Dragon's Back and Mountain's Turn, Level 1!

This was a martial art that relied purely on brute physical force to execute grapples and throws.

For Song Hailong, who had been implanted with elephant demon tendons, all his spiritual energy was used to enhance his physical body.

This purely physical martial art was a perfect match for him.

Although Song Hailong's focus on other areas meant his martial skills weren't particularly strong, and this technique was only at Level 1, his overwhelming physical strength combined with this grappling art was enough to crush his peers.

Zhang Yu felt this pressure.

In his fully concentrated state, he could sense Song Hailong's hands like a giant net, slowly closing in to envelop him, then throw him to the ground and completely subdue him.

"You want to wrestle? Play ground techniques?"

Zhang Yu, who had no related skills, naturally didn't want to engage in a ground fight, relying on physical strength and ground techniques.

He was like a small fish, narrowly escaping Song Hailong's overwhelming net time and time again.

But finally...

"Got you."

Song Hailong tightly gripped Zhang Yu's arm, a smile forming on his lips.

But just as both of them exerted force, Zhang Yu let out a roar.

The Wuxiang Cloud Qi, which had only covered his palms, suddenly surged, extending to his elbows.

Like a slippery eel, he slid out of Song Hailong's grasp.

Below the stage, Lian Tianji's body shook in surprise.

He thought to himself, "In a desperate situation, his Wuji Cloud Hand has broken through again? Level 5? This Zhang Yu is truly a martial arts prodigy."

(End of Chapter)