Although Bai Zhenzhen had suggested spitting, Zhang Yu felt that doing so would tarnish his identity as an outsourced member of the inspection team.
Instead, he chose to use his own blood.
As expected, his "poor man's" blood disgusted Le Mulian, who would rather dodge than let her sword energy touch it.
On the other side, Le Mulian watched as Zhang Yu seized the opportunity to charge at her.
She let out a cold snort and flicked her fingers, intending to block him with her sword energy.
However, she was shocked to find that Zhang Yu's speed was astonishingly fast.
This was because, after several battles, Zhang Yu's weighted training clothes were already in tatters.
Facing Le Mulian in this battle required him to unleash his full speed, so he had taken off the weighted clothes before the fight and spent over ten minutes adjusting to his new speed.
At the start of the battle, he deliberately held back his full speed, partly to lull Le Mulian into a false sense of security and partly to continue warming up.
He needed to adapt to the speed of Le Mulian's sword energy and to make his body and blood hotter, fiercer, and more explosive!
...
Bai Zhenzhen had said, "Her 'Ice Jade Body' seems to be a special constitution. I'm not sure if it's innate or acquired, but her spiritual energy, due to this constitution, doesn't need special conversion. It's naturally low-temperature spiritual energy, which gives her an edge as soon as it's refined."
"Once this low-temperature spiritual energy is infused into her sword energy, anyone who clashes with it will have their body temperature lowered, slowing their nerve reactions and muscle speed..."
"You need to make your body burn hot to resist this low-temperature spiritual energy in the short term."
...
Now, as Zhang Yu unleashed his full speed, he moved like a bolt of lightning.
It wasn't that Le Mulian couldn't react, but his speed was far beyond what she had anticipated.
"Is his full speed really this fast? Was he holding back before?"
"Did my low-temperature spiritual energy not work?"
This series of unexpected events caused Le Mulian's sword energy to react a fraction slower, and she could only slash multiple sword energies in front of her to block Zhang Yu's advance.
Facing the barrage of sword energy, Zhang Yu struck out with his right arm, wrapped in crimson energy, choosing to clash head-on with the sword energy.
This was the other flaw Bai Zhenzhen had mentioned about Le Mulian.
Although her Starry Sword Energy was sharp, Le Mulian had not yet mastered it to the peak of what was possible at her level.
Her abundant spiritual energy allowed her to unleash sword energy recklessly, but her control over it was not refined enough to manage multiple sword energies simultaneously for long periods.
Thus, after a while in battle, if multiple sword energies were launched at once, they would interfere with each other due to her lack of control, reducing their power.
In an instant, Zhang Yu's right arm collided with the dozen or so sword energies.
"Indeed, the power isn't as great as I expected."
Using his Formless Cloud Energy and Indestructible Seal, Zhang Yu shattered most of the sword energy, but his palm was cut several times, and the blood that splattered dyed his energy even more crimson, wrapping around his arm like flames.
Without stopping, Zhang Yu closed the half-meter gap to Le Mulian and grabbed her arm.
"Ah!" With a roar, Le Mulian unleashed dozens of sword energies from her fingers, slashing at Zhang Yu.
Unfazed, Zhang Yu, protected by his subcutaneous energy and Indestructible Seal, and covered in sword wounds and blood, firmly grasped Le Mulian's right arm.
At this moment, Le Mulian was completely within Zhang Yu's reach.
Zhang Yu's mind flashed back to Bai Zhenzhen's words.
...
"I can sense that her sword energy's primary goal isn't to kill me but to push me back."
"Her final flaw is likely her aversion to close combat, possibly due to her fastidiousness."
"After all, it's only been half a year since high school started. Even for someone as wealthy as her, I doubt she's mastered every aspect of combat."
...
Now, facing Zhang Yu up close, Le Mulian, who had seen Zhang Yu's fight with Song Hailong, instantly felt a strong sense of danger.
She immediately unleashed waves of low-temperature sword energy, trying to push Zhang Yu back.
But Zhang Yu's scorching body was continuously erupting with power, and his Formless Cloud Energy, fueled by his hot blood, surged out fiercely.
For a moment, within the half-meter distance, icy blue sword energy and crimson energy clashed and intertwined.
But Le Mulian felt as if Zhang Yu had transformed into a blazing storm, devouring her sword energy and threatening to consume her whole.
Her sword energy was deflected by his energy and repelled by the Indestructible Seal.
At the same time, Zhang Yu's Level 2 Dragon Flipping Mountain Hand struck, slamming Le Mulian to the ground and leaving her dizzy.
The next moment, as the bloodied, dirty, and smelly Zhang Yu sat on top of her, Le Mulian's face filled with terror, and she screamed, "Get off..."
Her sword energy was about to burst forth again, but before she could fully unleash it, she felt a strange sensation in her wrists—Zhang Yu had twisted her joints with the Dragon Flipping Mountain Hand.
Under the effects of the medicine, she felt no pain, but she could no longer release sword energy from her fingers.
Le Mulian looked at Zhang Yu with a mix of shock and anger, realizing that a single dodge and a moment of carelessness had allowed him to seize such an opportunity.
She was both unwilling and furious, her legs kicking as she struggled, but then she heard Zhang Yu's cold voice.
"You said you're rich, and money is part of your strength."
With a series of crisp cracks, Zhang Yu twisted the joints in her legs.
"Now I'm going to crush you. Try using your money to stop me."
At this moment, Le Mulian felt like a toy in Zhang Yu's hands.
As he continued to use the Dragon Flipping Mountain Hand, her joints were destroyed one by one, and she soon lost all mobility, lying helplessly on the ground.
Le Mulian glared at Zhang Yu, as if she wanted to tear him to pieces.
Zhang Yu said calmly, "One last thing."
"All these flaws of yours were pointed out by Bai Zhenzhen and told to me."
"If it weren't for her lack of insurance money."
"She could have defeated you too."
Boom!
Grabbing Le Mulian's head, Zhang Yu flung her out of the arena like trash, slamming her heavily onto the ground.
As the bloodied Zhang Yu stood alone in the arena, the entire venue fell silent.
No one could have imagined, no one could have predicted, not even in their wildest dreams, that today's martial arts competition would be won by a poor student from Songyang High.
Xiong Wenwu, defeated.
Song Hailong, defeated.
Le Mulian, defeated.
One by one, the top students from the three major high schools, the wealthy elites, had all fallen, defeated by the poor, by students from other schools.
The poor had won? The rich had lost?
As the students from the three major high schools fell into stunned silence, Zhao Tianxing suddenly began to clap enthusiastically.
He had no ulterior motives, nor was he trying to show off.
He simply couldn't help but applaud Zhang Yu's achievement today.
At this moment, Zhang Yu's tattered Songyang High uniform seemed to shine brightly in Zhao Tianxing's eyes.
But the lone applause in the vast, silent hall was so out of place that after a few claps, Zhao Tianxing nervously stopped.
However, Bai Zhenzhen, standing below the arena, began to cheer and clap.
Qian Shen, beside Zhao Tianxing, also started clapping, his eyes filled with awe as he looked toward the arena.
He Dayou, the son of a school board member, lightly clapped his hands.
"You're impressive. You've brought great honor to Songyang."
Lian Tianji from Ziyun High also slowly clapped, thinking that his advertising opportunities might return.
Song Hailong looked at Zhang Yu with mixed emotions and suddenly began to clap as well.
His applause was followed by all the students from Bailong High.
Even Chu Qiuhe, who had been pretending to be unconscious on a stretcher, had somehow extended his hands and was clapping furiously.
Amid the thunderous applause, Bai Zhenzhen jumped onto the arena, laughing.
"Champion! Champion! We are the champions!"
"I told you Le Mulian wasn't up to it. She can't handle close combat; she doesn't have the skills."
She pulled Zhang Yu's hand high, proudly surveying the crowd.
The Songyang High uniform on her seemed to shine even brighter.
She then shouted, "Anyone who wants to advertise or sponsor, come to us! My buddy here isn't just the martial arts champion; he's also fourth place in the spell competition..."
Beside her, Zhang Yu looked out at the crowd but felt his vision blurring.
Although he hadn't suffered any major injuries in the last fight, the intense focus and the successive use of multiple martial techniques, along with the blood loss and the exhaustion from previous battles, made him dizzy again.
He reached out to Bai Zhenzhen.
"Zhen, I'm dizzy. Help me to the doctor."
Bai Zhenzhen, still excited, said, "Wait, wait, just stand here a bit longer. The whole crowd is watching us."
Zhang Yu sighed.
"I risked bankruptcy and bled for you to teach Le Mulian a lesson. You won't even call me 'Dad,' and now that I'm feeling unwell, you won't even help me."
Bai Zhenzhen felt that Zhang Yu would brag about this for the rest of his life.
But she was still dissatisfied with his failure to follow her tactics precisely.
She criticized, "You bled so much because you had to show off. If you'd followed my plan and spat, blew your nose, or drooled, it would've been safer and more effective than bleeding all over the place."
Not far away, Le Mulian, lying on the ground waiting for medical attention, stiffened.
A look of shock flashed in her eyes as she realized, "The depths of these poor people's depravity... are unfathomable."
Bai Zhenzhen, meanwhile, had already picked up Zhang Yu and was heading to the medical area, not wanting to hear him brag anymore.
Lei Jun followed behind them, his face full of concern.
Just thinking about Zhang Yu winning first place in the martial arts competition made his heart surge with emotion.
I should be able to repay another chapter of the monthly ticket debt tomorrow.
Please continue to lend me your monthly tickets.
Thank you to 'lap666' for the 10,000 reward.
Thank you to 'Wild Lone Crow' for the 10,000 reward.
Thank you to 'Book Friend 20230607202219888' for the 10,000 reward.
Thank you to 'Roadside Chef' for the 20,000 reward.
(End of Chapter)