Chapter 73: A Raging Storm
Just as Zhang Yu and Lian Tianji were walking onto the arena stage.
On another stage.
Bai Zhenzhen sat cross-legged, awaiting her opponent from Red Pagoda High School, Xiong Wenwu, a demon-kin student over 2.7 meters tall and weighing nearly a ton; like Song Hailong and Zhang Yu, he was also a high schooler who had achieved a score of 300.
At this moment, the demon-kin student was in the Red Pagoda High School rest area, glaring at Hu Yuntao.
“You lost? Why did you lose? And to someone from Songyang?”
Xiong Wenwu slapped Hu Yuntao’s forehead again and again, and the same Hu Yuntao who was so ferocious on the stage was now like a little kitten, obediently squatting before him for a scolding.
However, the tail swishing restlessly behind his backside betrayed the impatience in his heart.
With deep disappointment, Xiong Wenwu said, “Failing to even pass the group stage means you don’t get a ranking at all, and that’s one less good result on your resume.”
“Do you have any idea that this one missing result could get you rejected from your university interviews?”
“If you can’t get into a good university, Father will disown you and send you straight to the factories to work!”
Disowned! Sent to the factories!
Hu Yuntao, who had been listening obediently, couldn’t help but stiffen at these words.
Why did so many demons from the conservation area have no fathers? It was because demons who couldn’t succeed in their studies and could only work were directly disowned by their fathers.
“Do you know what working in a factory means?”
Xiong Wenwu continued his tirade, “It’s hard for demons to find jobs, so you’ll have no choice but to work in Father’s factory, where you’ll undergo modification and be grafted onto the assembly line, eating, drinking, and defecating there until you die, just like those ox demons, horse demons, and monkey demons, spending your entire life paying off your breeding loan.”
Hu Yuntao’s fists clenched as he recalled a factory he had once visited, where countless workers were fused with an assembly line forged from the flesh and blood of a great demon, working day and night without rest. The thought of all the demon-kin seniors on those lines—those who had almost finished elementary school, middle school, or high school—filled his heart with a surge of fear.
“After more than ten years of difficult study to get into high school, is your final destination really the factory?”
Xiong Wenwu continued to berate him, “If you reach the peak in university, with a degree from a prestigious school in hand, who would dare disown you? Who could drag you off to a factory?”
Hu Yuntao’s face was filled with shame. “Big Brother, I know I was wrong. In the next competition, I’ll give it my all and won’t be the least bit complacent again.”
Xiong Wenwu sighed, “I just don’t want to see your years of hard study go to waste, to see you unable to attend university and instead be grafted onto an assembly line for the rest of your miserable life after graduation. Father would lose a good son, and I would lose another brother.”
“What happens from here on out depends on your own performance.”
“As for today’s matter, I’ll start by avenging you.”
With that, he turned and strode quickly toward the arena stage.
Hu Yuntao called out a reminder from behind him, “Big Brother, that girl has a stealth-type spiritual root that can reduce an opponent’s perception. You have to be careful…”
Xiong Wenwu waved his hand dismissively, then broke into a sprint and leaped, his nearly one-ton body descending like a small mountain, causing the entire stage to boom and shake violently.
“Woman, I never know what it means to hold back in a real fight. If you feel like you’re about to die, just hurry up and surrender.”
After saying this, Xiong Wenwu took out three syringes and jabbed them forcefully into his own neck.
With a hissing sound, three tubes of alchemical enhancers were instantly pushed into his veins, causing every hair on his body to stand on end and the muscles on his bear-like face to bulge.
Just looking at her opponent’s height and weight, Bai Zhenzhen could feel the astonishing power he contained.
And based on Lei Jun’s prior assessment, Bai Zhenzhen knew that this demon-kin student, Xiong Wenwu, likely possessed the greatest physical strength among all the first-year high school students present.
Approximately between 2.5 and 2.6.
Hooo…
Exhaling deeply, Bai Zhenzhen also felt the release of the spiritual root within her.
At this moment, she felt as if a restraint on her mind had been lifted, and countless martial arts moves she had learned and witnessed surged through her thoughts, coming alive.
Ever since entering high school and beginning her martial arts training.
She, who had once only known how to use her spiritual root for concealment… had started to gain a deeper and deeper understanding of martial arts after being exposed to them, not only learning them faster and faster but also gradually being able to see the flaws in various techniques after actual combat.
3, 2, 1, begin!
As the referee’s whistle blew, Xiong Wenwu leaped up abruptly, diving forward like a cannonball.
I can’t block it head-on, I can only retreat first.
Bai Zhenzhen shot backward, and at the same time, a flicker of spiritual energy appeared at her fingertips as a sharp sword qi burst forth from her body.
Expert-level cultivation technique—Body-Piercing Sword Qi, Level 3.
A foot-long blade of sword qi extended from Bai Zhenzhen’s fingertip, stabbing toward the freshly landed Xiong Wenwu.
But as a flurry of fur scattered through the air, Bai Zhenzhen felt as if her sword had struck a steel plate. After cutting through the fur and outer skin, it struggled to penetrate deeper into the muscle.
A protective cultivation technique? And the effect of a combat spiritual root, plus immense physical strength…
Bai Zhenzhen’s brow furrowed, and in the next moment, her figure vanished from Xiong Wenwu’s sight.
But Xiong Wenwu was prepared for this. Without the slightest hesitation, like a rampaging beast, his claws glinted with a cold light as he attacked the spot where Bai Zhenzhen had disappeared, relentlessly and without pause, like a raging storm.
While attacking, Xiong Wenwu was also sniffing the air wildly with his nose, apparently trying to determine Bai Zhenzhen’s position by scent.
Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes widened as she watched his movements. With the enhancement of her spiritual root, she could clearly see the spiritual energy fluctuations caused by his every action and every move.
She could even faintly predict his subsequent attacks based on the flow of this spiritual energy in the air.
But even when combining this with her stealth ability, after a series of last-second dodges, wounds began to appear on her arms, thighs, and waist.
The claws swept past her skin and muscle like a searing blade slicing through butter, easily leaving behind terrifying wounds with flesh curling at the edges.
In contrast, her Body-Piercing Sword Qi could only ever shave off some of his fur, leaving behind a few insignificant scratches.
There’s just too great a difference in power and speed.
At most, I have another four or five seconds before I’m defeated.
Despite this, Bai Zhenzhen felt incredibly calm at this moment.
As her opponent executed more and more moves and the surrounding spiritual energy grew denser, his techniques and body became clearer in her eyes.
In her vision, Xiong Wenwu was like a gigantic furnace, with more and more spiritual energy and magic power condensing within him, burning fiercely to power his formidable physique.
Beyond that, Bai Zhenzhen could also see that Xiong Wenwu’s skin was densely covered in spiritual energy, as if he were wearing it like a suit of armor.
No weaknesses anywhere on his body… No, there are weaknesses.
As another set of claw marks, deep enough to reveal bone, was carved into her calf, Bai Zhenzhen gradually saw her opponent’s flaws.
Flaws in his techniques… flaws in his body…
Finally, she took a step, like a butterfly dancing gracefully in a storm.
Step by step, she passed through the biting cold that rushed toward her, step by step, she evaded the deadly sharpness.
I don’t want to be stuck on the first floor working for the rest of my life…
I want to get into one of the Ten Greats!
I want to walk further on the path of cultivation!
The sword qi at Bai Zhenzhen’s fingertip roared as she slashed toward the flaw in her vision.
In the spectator stands.
Qian Shen and the other two stared wide-eyed at the clash between Xiong Wenwu and Bai Zhenzhen.
Xiong Wenwu’s assault was too fierce, his movements too swift, pressing down on Bai Zhenzhen like a clap of thunder.
It was so intense that the three of them couldn’t spare a single thought to speak, and even from a distance, they felt the illusion of being crushed by his presence.
Bai Zhenzhen’s figure appeared especially tiny in front of Xiong Wenwu, giving off a feeling of being far too fragile.
Qian Shen thought to himself, He’s too ferocious. Just a glancing blow breaks the skin, and if she takes a direct hit, Bai Zhenzhen will be severely injured, if not dead.
She’s going to lose…
Seeing a spray of blood erupt from Bai Zhenzhen’s calf as another wound was added, the three of them couldn’t help but feel their hearts sink, as if they could already see her mangled body.
But in the very next moment, they watched in shock as Bai Zhenzhen passed through the storm of claw shadows, then sent a reverse slash of sword qi outward.
Xiong Wenwu’s figure seemed to pause slightly, and then a great spray of blood erupted from his back.
Zhao Tianxing said in astonishment, “Did she break through his defense?”
He Dayou added, “She couldn’t even get through Xiong Wenwu’s muscles before, how did it suddenly work now?”
Qian Shen frowned in deep thought. “Could it be that she struck a flaw in his cultivation technique?”
Watching the blood gushing more and more violently from Xiong Wenwu’s back, gradually resembling a fountain, Qian Shen exclaimed in shock, “Did she hit an artery? The amount of blood is terrifying!”
In the arena on the other side.
Lei Jun watched Xiong Wenwu, who was hemorrhaging from behind, and as he looked at the location of the bleeding, his eyes suddenly lit up.
“It’s a hemorrhoid! And an external one!”
“That’s right, most of the demon clan originally walked on all fours. After taking human form to study and cultivate, they have to sit for long periods every day, so their hemorrhoids must be more severe and larger.”
“Especially an external one that’s already outside the body, unprotected by his body tempering cultivation technique!”
“On top of that, Xiong Wenwu was just moving violently and took so many potent drugs, his whole body is engorged with blood, making this hemorrhage even worse.”
Lei Jun grew excited. “To think she could find such a weakness! It really wasn’t a waste of my time tutoring you for so long…”
But in the next moment, Xiong Wenwu’s eyes on the stage turned crimson, and he let out a furious roar like that of a dying beast.
Xiong Wenwu roared in his heart, I want to study! I don’t want to die on an assembly line! I want to always be my father’s son!
In the next instant, as Xiong Wenwu spun at high speed, a sky full of blood and claw shadows shot out in all directions.
“Not good!” Lei Jun’s gaze hardened. “This demon has gone berserk! He’s attacking completely at random…”
Looking at Bai Zhenzhen, whose leg was injured and who was now caught in Xiong Wenwu’s onslaught, he knew that with her movements restricted by her injury, it would be extremely difficult for her to dodge such a chaotic, patternless attack.
By the time Lei Jun reached the side of the stage.
He saw that Xiong Wenwu had already collapsed to the ground, covered in blood.
Nearby, Bai Zhenzhen stood gasping for breath, and besides the scratches all over her body, there was nothing below her right elbow.
Her right arm had been torn off by the frenzied Xiong Wenwu.
Bai Zhenzhen wins!
Lei Jun quickly picked up her severed arm and carried Bai Zhenzhen to the first-aid area.
The emergency doctor took one look and couldn’t help but laugh internally, but when he turned to see his colleague taking over Xiong Wenwu’s case, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.
Massive blood loss, cultivation overexertion, organ failure, plus hemorrhoid surgery, and his physical strength is so high… that bear demon will cost at least several hundred thousand.
With a sigh, he turned his attention back to Bai Zhenzhen.
But just as he was about to act, Bai Zhenzhen struggled and said, “How much is it? Is it covered by insurance?”
The emergency doctor said flatly, “Examination, basic treatment, and reattaching the arm will be eighty-eight thousand for you. The remaining thirty thousand for other procedures isn’t covered by insurance, you’ll have to pay out of pocket.”
“Out of pocket?” Bai Zhenzhen said angrily, “I have insurance and you want me to pay thirty thousand out of pocket?”
The doctor ignored her and simply urged, “If you want treatment, do it now. If the arm becomes severely necrotic, I won’t be able to treat it here. By the time you get to a hospital, it might cost you upwards of three hundred thousand.”