In the rest area of Ziyun High School, Le Mulan had already settled back on Lian Tianji's back.
She watched as Bai Zhenzhen hurried to the arena, explaining the usage rights to the referee with her phone in hand.
Le Mulan couldn't help but comment, "Bai Zhenzhen can actually use Zhang Yu's phone to shop? Does she know his phone and payment passwords? These two must be life-and-death friends."
As Zhang Yu slowly walked back to the rest area, Le Mulan patted Lian Tianji's head and said, "I remember you have this Zhang Yu as a friend, right?"
...
As soon as Zhang Yu returned to the rest area, he downed all the potions he had bought before the match to restore his stamina, mana, and energy.
Feeling his strength rapidly recovering, he felt a bit more at ease.
The organizers had given half an hour of rest before the finals, which Zhang Yu thought was enough to restore 80-90% of his stamina and mana.
Bai Zhenzhen, standing beside him, said, "... Did you remember everything I just told you?" Seeing Zhang Yu nod, she continued, "Alright, I won't say more. Rest well and prepare for the next battle."
Not long after Bai Zhenzhen left, Zhang Yu felt his phone vibrate.
Opening it, he saw that Lian Tianji had recommended a friend to him.
"Le Mulan?"
Confused as to why Le Mulan wanted to add him, Zhang Yu accepted the request.
Immediately, Le Mulan sent him a message: "Let's meet. There's something I want to discuss with you."
Zhang Yu went to a secluded corridor outside the arena and saw Le Mulan waiting there.
The top student from Ziyun High School was stunningly beautiful, with an icy demeanor that seemed to draw everyone's attention wherever she went.
Seeing Zhang Yu arrive, she got straight to the point: "200,000 yuan. I'll buy your loss. How about it?"
Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback.
"You want to buy the championship with money?"
Le Mulan replied indifferently, "Wealth is power. Money is part of strength. The martial arts competition is about selecting the strongest. Why can't I use money to win?"
Zhang Yu stared at her and snorted, "You're not confident you can beat me?"
Le Mulan shook her head, "I just think fighting you might cost more than 200,000 yuan. Spending 200,000 to secure a sure win seems like a good deal to me."
Seeing Zhang Yu remain silent, Le Mulan added, "If 200,000 isn't enough, how about 400,000? But that's my final offer. If you try to raise the price, I won't agree."
Zhang Yu swallowed hard.
He had to admit that the 400,000 yuan Le Mulan was offering felt more powerful than any move he had encountered in the previous matches.
400,000 yuan.
What kind of cultivation techniques could he buy with that? How long could he rent a spiritual root? How many cultivation tools could he purchase? How much could he improve his talismans?
Zhang Yu even thought that with 400,000 yuan, his cultivation progress would far surpass the 50,000 yuan prize and the expert-level technique from winning the martial arts competition.
After all, in Kunxu, as long as you had money, you had potential, talent, and could advance rapidly on the path of immortality.
Even gods would serve you.
Zhang Yu said, "Alright, just transfer it to my account."
Le Mulan spread her fingers, and a purple jade-like book appeared in her palm.
"Sign a contract with me under the witness of the gods, and I'll transfer the money immediately."
Seeing Zhang Yu hesitate, Le Mulan was surprised.
"You're actually hesitating over 400,000 yuan?"
She found it very strange.
"I heard from Lian Tianji that you could be hired as a security guard for a few hundred yuan. You poor people fight over a few hundred or thousand yuan every day. Why are you hesitating now when 400,000 yuan is right in front of you?"
"With your background, you probably won't get into the top ten universities anyway. Is winning the martial arts competition really that important?"
Le Mulan's tone wasn't mocking; she seemed genuinely puzzled by Zhang Yu's reaction.
Shaking her head, she turned to leave.
"Since you can't decide right now, I'll leave. But you can come and take the 400,000 yuan anytime before the finals start. That's my final offer; I won't raise it any further."
Watching Le Mulan leave, Zhang Yu texted his sister, Zhang Pianpian: "Sis, if I don't win first place in the martial arts competition and only get second, how much would it affect my chances of getting into the top ten universities?"
Zhang Pianpian replied: "The path I found for you requires better grades and higher competition rankings. Winning first place naturally gives you a better chance than second place."
Zhang Yu understood.
So, taking the 400,000 yuan wouldn't necessarily mean he couldn't get into the top ten universities, but it would lower his chances.
But just as he started to consider accepting Le Mulan's offer, that damn ritual started screaming at him again.
"I knew it. This stupid thing is really afraid I won't get into the top ten universities."
Feeling the 400,000 yuan slipping away, Zhang Yu felt a deep, heart-wrenching pain, worse than any injury he had suffered in his battles with Lian Tianji or Song Hailong.
"Is this what it feels like to lose a fortune?"
Immediately, Zhang Yu activated the Tianwu Refining Heart Technique, cutting off all distracting thoughts.
Now, only one thought remained in his mind.
He was going to beat that rich girl Le Mulan to a pulp on the arena.
...
As the finals began, both Le Mulan and Zhang Yu stepped onto the arena.
The martial arts competition had finally reached its climax.
Le Mulan's Star Sword Technique unleashed a barrage of blue-white sword qi, sweeping towards Zhang Yu like a tidal wave.
Her attacks were relentless and precise, like an army in formation, making it hard for anyone to break through.
Watching Zhang Yu dodge and block her sword qi with his Formless Cloud Aura, Le Mulan felt like she was watching a rat scurrying around.
"Are you trying to exhaust my mana?" Le Mulan laughed.
"Do you think you can outlast me?"
In the next moment, as Le Mulan's sword qi erupted, her mana surged like a raging river, far surpassing all the other competitors.
At the same time, a female voice echoed from within her body.
"Welcome to the Ziyun Replaceable Inner Core."
"The remaining mana value is 8 million yuan."
Le Mulan touched her abdomen and looked at Zhang Yu.
"The replaceable inner core inside me has been charged with 8 million yuan worth of mana."
At the same time, a line of text appeared on her wrist, showing a countdown from 8 million.
Clearly, as she continued to unleash her mana and sword qi, the mana in her inner core was being consumed at a rate of thousands of yuan per second.
But with 8 million yuan, it would take a long time to deplete.
This also meant that every second Le Mulan fought, she was spending thousands of yuan.
With a flick of her fingers, Le Mulan sent waves of sword qi crashing towards Zhang Yu like a storm, pushing him further and further towards the edge of the arena.
"If you're worried that my meridians can't handle this surge of mana, don't be."
"My combat spiritual root, 'Fa Luo,' protects all my meridians, allowing me to maintain high mana output without worrying about damage."
Meanwhile, the audience was thrilled by Le Mulan's display of wealth, spending 8 million yuan worth of mana without a care.
This was even more impressive than Song Hailong's 10 million yuan insurance, as Le Mulan was spending her own money.
Some spectators admired her, "It's so beautiful, the way she spends money like it's nothing."
Others were envious, "Being rich is so great, so happy."
Some had an epiphany, "To go far on the path of immortality, you really need to spend money. I'm going to squeeze every penny out of my family when I get back and make progress on my cultivation."
Amidst the noise from the audience, Le Mulan frowned slightly.
While shooting out sword qi, she looked at Zhang Yu and said, "Did you hear that? Although they're noisy, they're not wrong. Money is the foundation of cultivation."
"As a poor person, if you had taken that 400,000 yuan today, you could have gotten a little closer to me."
"Unfortunately, you gave up that chance to become stronger."
She looked at Zhang Yu with genuine curiosity, "I'm really curious. Why are you so poor but unwilling to make money?"
It seemed that after all her words, Le Mulan just wanted to ask this one question that puzzled her.
Zhang Yu, seeing her sincere expression, couldn't help but laugh in frustration.
Was this rich girl here to observe the life of a poor person?
He snorted, "You set the price at 400,000 yuan because you thought that was the most you'd need to spend to beat me?"
Le Mulan nodded, "Exactly. I calculated that your defeat is worth at most 400,000 yuan. Spending more would be a waste."
At the same time, as her sword qi continued to bombard, the Formless Cloud Aura finally cracked, leaving a cut on Zhang Yu's hand.
Zhang Yu said calmly, "What if you add my poor blood to the price?"
Blood dripped into the aura, staining the Formless Cloud Aura with streaks of red.
But instead of panicking, Zhang Yu seemed prepared.
He flung the blood towards Le Mulan.
For the first time, Le Mulan, who had remained stationary throughout the fight, actually moved to avoid the blood.
This slight movement created a noticeable gap in her Star Sword Technique.
Zhang Yu shot forward, trying to break through the dense sword qi and get close to Le Mulan.
At the same time, Zhang Yu remembered Bai Zhenzhen's words.
...
"Le Mulan's first weakness is that... she seems to have a cleanliness obsession."
"I suggest you just spit at her. Better yet, spit phlegm. She won't just dodge it; she won't even use her sword qi to block it."
(End of Chapter)