Chapter 77
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Chapter 77: The Most Powerful Move
In the Purple Cloud High School rest area, Le Mulan had already settled back onto Lian Tianji’s back.
She watched Bai Zhenzhen hurry toward the arena with a phone in hand to explain its usage rights to the referee. Le Mulan spoke her thoughts aloud, “Bai Zhenzhen can actually use Zhang Yu’s phone to shop? Does she know his phone and payment passwords? The two of them must be the kind of friends who would die for each other.”
As Zhang Yu slowly walked back to the rest area, Le Mulan patted Lian Tianji’s head and said, “I remember you’re friends with this Zhang Yu, 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, Magic Power, and vitality.
Feeling his strength rapidly returning, he felt a little more at ease.
The organizers had given them half an hour of rest before the finals, which Zhang Yu figured was enough to recover 80-90% of his stamina and Magic Power.
Bai Zhenzhen, who was standing nearby, asked, “…Did you remember everything I told you just now?”
Seeing Zhang Yu nod, she continued, “Then I won’t say more. Rest well and prepare for the next battle.”
Shortly after Bai Zhenzhen left, Zhang Yu felt his phone vibrate slightly. He opened it to find that Lian Tianji had recommended a friend to him.
“Le Mulan?”
Unsure why Le Mulan wanted to add him, Zhang Yu simply accepted the request.
Then a message came in directly from Le Mulan. “Let’s meet. I have something I want to discuss with you.”
Zhang Yu went to a deserted corridor outside the arena and found Le Mulan already waiting there.
The top student from Purple Cloud High School was exceptionally beautiful and had an icy aura. Wherever she went, she seemed to become the focus of everyone’s attention, drawing all eyes to her.
When she saw Zhang Yu arrive, she spoke directly. “200,000 yuan. I’ll pay you to lose. How about it?”
Zhang Yu was slightly stunned. “You’re trying to buy the championship?”
Le Mulan shrugged indifferently. “Wealth is power. Money is part of one’s strength. The Martial Arts Competition is about choosing the strongest, so why shouldn’t I use money to buy victory?”
Zhang Yu stared at her and snorted. “You aren’t confident you can beat me?”
Le Mulan shook her head. “I just think that fighting you might cost me more than 200,000 yuan. Spending that much to guarantee a win seems like a good deal to me.”
Seeing Zhang Yu fall silent, Le Mulan added, “If 200,000 isn’t enough, then how about 400,000? But that’s my limit. I won’t go any higher. If you try to raise the price again, I won’t agree.”
Zhang Yu swallowed hard. He had to admit that the 400,000 yuan Le Mulan was throwing at him right now was more potent than any move he had faced in all his consecutive arena battles.
With 400,000 yuan, what kind of Cultivation Art could he buy? For how long could he rent a Spirit Root? How many cultivation tools could he purchase? How much of an improvement could he make to his talismans?
Zhang Yu even felt that if he had this 400,000 yuan, the boost to his cultivation would far surpass the 50,000 yuan prize and the Expert-Grade Cultivation Technique from winning the Martial Arts Tournament.
After all, in Kunxu, money meant potential, talent, and the ability to surge forward on the Path to Immortality. Even gods served at the beck and call of the wealthy.
Zhang Yu spoke up, “Alright, just transfer it directly to my card.”
Le Mulan spread her fingers, and a purple jade Talisman Register materialized in her palm. “Sign a contract with me with a Righteous God as witness, and I’ll transfer the money immediately.”
Seeing Zhang Yu remain silent instead of agreeing, Le Mulan was astonished. “400,000, and you’re hesitating?”
She found this utterly baffling.
“I heard Lian Tianji say you could be hired as a security guard for just a few hundred yuan.”
“I heared ‘The Poor’ usually break their necks fighting over a few hundred or thousand yuan every day. Why are you hesitating now that 400,000 is right in front of you?”
“Given your background, you’re unlikely to get into the Top Ten Universities anyway. Is winning the Martial Arts Competition really that important?”
There was no hint of mockery in Le Mulan’s tone, only genuine confusion at Zhang Yu’s reaction.
Shaking her head, she turned to leave. “Since you can’t decide right now, I’ll take my leave. But you can still claim the 400,000 before the finals begin. That’s the limit, though. I won’t raise the price.”
Watching Le Mulan leave, Zhang Yu texted Zhang Pianpian, asking, “Sister, if I don’t win the Martial Arts Competition and only get second place, how much will that affect my chances of getting into the Top Ten Universities?”
Zhang Pianpian replied, “The connections I’ve arranged for you require your First-Year grades and competition ranking to be as high as possible. The better they are, the greater your chances of being selected. Naturally, first place gives you a better shot at the Top Ten than second place.”
Zhang Yu understood. This meant that even if he took the 400,000 yuan, he would not necessarily be barred from the Top Ten. It would just lower his chances.
But just as a genuine desire to accept Le Mulan’s offer began to stir within him, that damned Ritual started its incessant wailing again.
I knew it.
You moronic thing, you’re truly terrified I won’t get into the Top Ten, aren’t you?
Feeling the 400,000 slipping away, Zhang Yu experienced a pang of heartache more profound than his clash with Lian Tianji or his all-out battle against Song Hailong.
Is this the pain of losing a fortune?
Without hesitation, Zhang Yu activated the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Technique, severing all distracting thoughts.
Now, only one thought remained in his mind.
He would crush Le Mulan, that damn arrogant rich gril, in the arena and beat her senseless.
***
As the final round began, Le Mulan and Zhang Yu simultaneously stepped onto the arena.
The Martial Arts Competition had finally reached its last stage.
Swarm of blue-white Sword Qi erupted from Le Mulan’s body, sweeping across the arena like a torrential storm and slashing fiercely toward Zhang Yu.
Once she unleashed her Starry Sky Sword Art, the attacks came in like an unbroken stream — continuous and unrelenting. Their aura was stern and imposing, like a meticulously arranged army formation, making it nearly impossible to break through.
Watching Zhang Yu dart left and right under her Sword Qi, occasionally using his Formless Cloud Gang Qi to deflect the attacks, Le Mulan felt like she was watching a terrified mouse scurrying for its life.
“Are you trying to drain my Magic Power?” Le Mulan chuckled. “Do you really think you can drain it all?”
In the next moment, as Le Mulan’s Sword Qi intensified, the magic power surging within her grew even more turbulent, like a raging river — vast and unceasing. Its power now surpassed that of every other competitor present.
At the same time, a female voice echoed within her mind.
「Welcome to the Purple Cloud Replaceable Inner Core.」
「The Inner Core’s remaining magic power is valued at eight million.」
Le Mulan touched her abdomen and then turned to face Zhang Yu. “The replaceable inner core inside me? I charged it with 8 million yuan worth of Magic Power.”
At that moment, a line of text appeared on her wrist showing a number that started at 8,000,000 and was steadily counting down.
It was clear that as Le Mulan continuously unleashed her Magic Power and Sword Qi, the power stored in her Inner Core was steadily being depleted. However, the rate of consumption was only thousands of yuan per second, leaving her far from exhausting the entire 8 million dollars worth.
This also meant that for every second Le Mulan fought, she was spending thousands of yuan.
With a light flick of her fingertips, Le Mulan sent waves of Sword Qi surging toward Zhang Yu like a raging storm. Forget about approaching her, she was slowly but steadily forcing him off the arena.
“If you’re worried my meridians can’t withstand this surge of Magic Power, don’t be. My Combat Spirit Root, the ‘Meridian Guardian’, has already protected all my meridians, allowing me to maintain a high output of magic power without fear of wear and tear.”
As the audience watched Le Mulan’s relentless barrage on the arena, seeing her unleashing 8 million worth of Magic Power, the audience’s excitement soared.
This spectacle was even more awe-inspiring than Song Hailong’s 10 million yuan insurance policy from earlier. After all, that insurance was paid by a company, while Le Mulan was splashing out her own cold, hard cash.
One spectator could not help but admire her as he watched her throw her money around. “So beautiful,” he murmured. “This carefree way of spending money as if it were nothing is truly magnificent.”
Some viewers were filled with envy. “It must be amazing to be rich! Truly blissful!”
Others came to a sudden realization. “So to truly progress far on the Path to Immortality, you really do have to throw money at it. When I get back, I’m going to drain that old man of his gold! I have to advance further on the Immortal path!”
Amidst the clamor from the audience, Le Mulan frowned slightly.
As she continued firing off streams of Sword Qi, she looked at Zhang Yu and said, “Did you hear that? They may be noisy, but they’re not wrong. Money is the foundation of cultivation.”
“As a poor person, if you had earned that 400,000 today, you might have closed the gap between us a little.”
“But you chose to abandon that chance to grow stronger.”
She looked at Zhang Yu with a sincere expression and asked, “I’m truly curious. Why are you so unwilling to make money when you’re clearly so poor?”
It seemed after all that she’d said, this was the one question that had piqued her curiosity.
Zhang Yu looked at her earnest, questioning expression and gave an exasperated laugh.
So, the damn rich young miss is here to observe the life of a poor devil, is she?
He snorted coldly and said, “The price was set at 400,000 because you thought that was the most you’d need to spend to defeat me?”
Le Mulan nodded. “That’s correct. I calculated that your defeat is worth no more than 400,000 yuan. Spending a single yuan more would be a waste.”
Meanwhile, under the relentless bombardment of Sword Qi, a breach was finally torn in the Formless Cloud Gang Qi, slicing a wound across Zhang Yu’s palm.
Zhang Yu said calmly, “What if you add the blood of this poor devil to the equation?”
Blood dripped into the Gang Qi, staining the Formless Cloud Gang Qi with streaks of crimson.
Yet, Zhang Yu showed no panic at his wound. Instead, as if he had been prepared all along, he flung his blood-soaked hand toward Le Mulan.
Le Mulan, who had remained perfectly still throughout the battle and relied solely on Sword Qi to pressure her opponent, actually shifted her feet slightly to deliberately dodge the splattering blood.
With this single evasive move, a clear opening immediately appeared in her Starry Sky Sword Art.
Zhang Yu shot forward like a bolt of lightning, attempting to break through the layers of Sword Qi and close the distance to Le Mulan.
At the same time, Bai Zhenzhen’s words flashed through his mind.
Le Mulan’s first weakness is that she… seems to be a germaphobe.
I suggest you spit at her, preferably with phlegm. Not only will she dodge it personally, I bet her Sword Qi wouldn’t even want to touch it.
