Chapter 74: Poor, The Semifinals
In the semifinals, Xiong Wenwu’s massive blood loss was clearly the most eye-catching event.
Many spectators looked over because of all the blood on the ground, then were surprised to find that a student from Songyang High School had actually defeated Red Pagoda High School’s strongest contender this time.
Hu Yuntao rushed over immediately, taking Xiong Wenwu for treatment.
When he heard that Xiong Wenwu’s hemorrhage was caused by a hemorrhoid, Hu Yuntao subconsciously clenched his buttocks.
What do I do about this? Does it mean relying on surgery? Go to the hospital for hemorrhoid surgery every time it recurs?
The thought of the repeated surgical fees made Hu Yuntao’s heart ache.
Damn it! Why do I also have external hemorrhoids! Why couldn’t they be internal! If they were internal, they would be protected by my body tempering cultivation technique, and I wouldn’t have to spend money on surgery.
The competition coach at his side patted his shoulder and smiled.
“Silly boy, what do people do when they discover their head is being targeted as a weakness?”
“They practice Iron Head Kung Fu, of course!” Hu Yuntao’s eyes lit up. “Are you saying?”
“That’s right.” The coach’s gaze suddenly turned cold, and looking at Hu Yuntao and the now-bandaged Xiong Wenwu, he said frigidly, “Prepare for ascetic training as soon as you get back to school. School Director Long is extremely dissatisfied with your performance this time.”
The emergency doctor, listening to their conversation nearby, couldn’t help but think, The head is a vital point. Couldn’t he just wear a helmet?
In another part of the first-aid area.
Hearing the doctor’s price, Bai Zhenzhen’s expression darkened. After asking a few more times, she suddenly said, “For these scratches on my body, don’t worry about cosmetic repairs or preventing scars. Just use the fastest and simplest treatment method. That should all be covered by insurance, right?”
The emergency doctor sighed helplessly. “Fine, fine. Then ninety-eight thousand covered by insurance, but these wounds on your body will definitely leave scars…”
As he spoke, the doctor circulated his magic power, his hands a flurry of afterimages as he began cleaning, reattaching the arm, suturing, stopping the bleeding… applying various medicines… and finally infusing a type of healing magic power into Bai Zhenzhen’s body to accelerate her wound recovery.
Although the fee wasn’t cheap, the doctor’s skills were indeed excellent.
After just over half an hour, Bai Zhenzhen felt that the majority of her injuries had already healed.
However, scars were left on her arms, thighs, calves, and waist.
After being sent back to the rest area, Bai Zhenzhen swung her arm and smiled. “His technique isn’t bad. I feel like using it at eighty or ninety percent strength won’t be a problem.”
As for the scars on her body, Bai Zhenzhen naturally didn’t care.
Procedures like cosmetic surgery and scar removal were things only rich people did; they had nothing to do with her.
Lei Jun, however, looked at Bai Zhenzhen with a complex expression and said, “Are you planning to continue competing?”
Bai Zhenzhen smiled. “Of course. As long as I beat that Le Mulan in the next match, I can meet Yu-boy in the finals, right? Then we’ll get first and second place, and you’ll look good too, Old Lei.”
Lei Jun sighed. “But you’ve already used up most of your insurance coverage. I’ve seen Le Mulan’s fighting style; her sword qi is sharp and has a wide attack range. If you fight her… the medical bill could easily climb to over a hundred thousand, or even several hundred thousand.”
Bai Zhenzhen fell silent at his words.
Lei Jun said, “You’ve already made it to the top four, which is an excellent achievement to put on your resume. Why risk continuing the competition?”
What he left unsaid was… After all, you aren’t aiming for one of the Ten Greats, so winning first place in the martial arts competition isn’t that important for you.
Lei Jun continued to persuade her, “Your fighting style makes you prone to injury. If you had a few hundred thousand on hand and didn’t have to worry about post-match treatment, I would never advise you against it.”
“But are you sure you want to take on a debt of over a hundred thousand, possibly even several hundred thousand, for this martial arts competition?”
Seeing that Bai Zhenzhen was still silent, Lei Jun advised helplessly, “Zhen, we’re different from those rich people. When we compete, we also have to consider the cost-effectiveness.”
Just then, a figure limped over in pain. It was Zhang Yu, who had just finished his treatment.
Seeing Zhang Yu covered in injuries, Lei Jun sighed inwardly. It seems Zhang Yu won’t be able to continue competing either.
However, Zhang Yu stretched his arms and legs and said, “Don’t worry, Old Lei, I was careful during the fight. I didn’t injure any vital points, it’s all just superficial wounds.”
“Plus, I just mastered a new body hardening technique yesterday, so the injuries only look serious. The insurance only cost me thirty thousand…”
Lei Jun was skeptical at first, but after checking Zhang Yu’s condition, he looked at him in surprise.
“You kid, you really didn’t get hurt much, did you?”
“I’ll go get you two something to eat and drink. You guys hurry up and rest.”
Not long after Lei Jun left, Zhang Yu, while looking at his phone, said to the silent Bai Zhenzhen beside him,
“Zhen, I heard what you guys were talking about. You know I’ve maxed out all my available credit, so I can’t get much more, but I can borrow some from my sister.”
“But it’s not easy for my sister either. I asked, and I can borrow at most two hundred thousand from her. Do you think that’s enough for your next match?”
Bai Zhenzhen replied, “I’ll borrow from my godmother myself and pay it back myself. You don’t need to borrow for me. But I’ve watched that Le Mulan carefully. She’s a bit tricky to fight and it’s too easy to get injured. To beat her… it might cost four hundred thousand to get patched up.”
Bai Zhenzhen sighed and said, “Yu-boy, don’t you wish we were rich?”
Having lived two lives, Zhang Yu was rendered speechless by her words.
He hadn’t been born into a wealthy family in either of his two lifetimes, so what could he possibly say?
A short while later, after all the quarterfinal matches had ended and the contestants had received proper treatment, ensuring their lives were not in danger.
The list of the four semifinalists was announced to the entire venue: Zhang Yu, Song Hailong, Le Mulan, and Bai Zhenzhen.
The upcoming semifinal matches would be Zhang Yu versus Song Hailong, and Le Mulan versus Bai Zhenzhen.
Finally, the winners of these two matches would fight to determine the competition champion.
And perhaps because the semifinals were considered to be of greater interest, the two matches would not be held simultaneously but one after the other.
After the referee drew lots for the match order, the first match was Le Mulan versus Bai Zhenzhen, and the second was Zhang Yu versus Song Hailong.
On the stage.
Le Mulan looked at Bai Zhenzhen before her, and her brow furrowed slightly as her gaze swept over the ugly scars on her opponent’s hands and feet.
She asked in confusion, “Why do you have scars on your body?”
Bai Zhenzhen shrugged. “No money to fix them.”
Le Mulan was shocked. Although she knew that poor people were very poor, the fact that someone couldn’t even afford to have the scars on their body repaired struck her as ‘appalling’.
Is this what it’s like to be poor? How terrifying.
Facing an opponent who couldn’t even afford proper treatment, her fighting spirit instantly diminished, and a trace of pity even arose within her.
Although her opponent had managed to seize Xiong Wenwu’s weakness to win as the underdog, Le Mulan wasn’t concerned.
Because when facing any first-year high school student, Le Mulan had absolute confidence… that she had no weaknesses.
With the countdown, 3, 2, 1, begin!
Le Mulan’s fingertips tapped repeatedly, and sharp blades of sword qi slashed out through the air, flying directly towards Bai Zhenzhen’s position.
It was the Stardust Swordplay that Le Mulan had painstakingly cultivated to the fifth level.
At the fifth level, the Stardust Swordplay could already injure an enemy from a distance of five meters.
Seeing this five-meter-long sword qi, Bai Zhenzhen’s expression changed, and she hurriedly activated her own Body-Piercing Sword Qi to block.
But Bai Zhenzhen soon discovered that Le Mulan’s Stardust Swordplay was not just about sharp sword qi. Each strand of qi seemed to be part of a military formation, interconnected in a complex manner, always managing to besiege her from various angles.
And if Bai Zhenzhen tried to break through the obstruction of this sword qi, she would feel her opponent’s attacks grow more concentrated with every step she took.
She felt as if she were in a large array, her space for movement constantly being compressed by Le Mulan’s continuous stream of sword qi, and the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.
She tried to enter a stealth state, but her position was quickly revealed by the collision of her blocking sword qi with the incoming attacks.
Her opponent’s sword qi was simply too fast and dense; with her speed and explosive power, she couldn’t rely solely on movement to dodge.
As for waiting for the opponent’s magic power to run out? Bai Zhenzhen could see that the magic power within her opponent’s body was incredibly turbulent, showing no signs of depletion. If she tried to exhaust her opponent’s magic power, her own would likely run out first.
Bai Zhenzhen sighed inwardly.
Sigh… using stealth on the stage is really disadvantageous. It’s only most effective the first time you use it. Afterwards, when opponents are prepared, it’s not as useful.
Le Mulan, however, was not at all surprised to see Bai Zhenzhen struggling.
My Stardust Swordplay forms its own array. The sword qi is disciplined and orderly, and the techniques are flawless.
Unless someone with a powerful protective cultivation technique forces their way through, it’s impossible for an expert of the same level to get close to me.
And in Le Mulan’s eyes, Bai Zhenzhen was by no means on the same level.
There are weaknesses, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself. But my own stats aren’t high enough. If I force it, I might win, but I’ll be severely injured, right?
This single sword strike could cost three or four hundred thousand…
Should she risk several hundred thousand?
Bai Zhenzhen felt herself hesitate.
She had the courage to break through Xiong Wenwu’s storm-like assault and strike at the flaw in his body.
But when it came to gambling several hundred thousand for a victory, she hesitated.
And it was this very hesitation that made her understand that this sword strike would be difficult to succeed with, because she no longer had the determination to press forward at all costs.
Sigh…
And so, a few seconds later, seeing that she was about to be completely surrounded by sword qi, Bai Zhenzhen chose to surrender.
As she walked off the stage, a flicker of relief crossed her eyes.
In the end, my strength is still insufficient, and I’m too poor.
Forget it. I’ll just tell Yu-boy about this weakness. Let my good son teach this woman a lesson for me. It shouldn’t cost him that much money.
With Le Mulan’s victory, the semifinals moved on to the second match—Zhang Yu versus Song Hailong.