Hearing what Bai Zhenzhen said, Dai Xingzhi raised an eyebrow and coldly replied, “Oh? You think the competition in Xiandu is easier than elsewhere?”

“Of course,” Bai Zhenzhen said matter-of-factly, “Xiandu has far more university slots each year than any other city, doesn’t it?”

“If we’re talking about one in a hundred getting into university, then for you, it’s one in ten, or even one in three.”

“If the slots weren’t allocated by city and all students from the first layer of Kunxu competed directly for them, your Xiandu slots would have been snatched up long ago.”

Dai Xingzhi chuckled, “Naive thinking. Cultivation potential is all about money, and Xiandu is the wealthiest city on the first layer of Kunxu. The resources here far exceed those in your small places. No matter what we compete in, we will always have an absolute advantage.”

A hint of Xiandu pride appeared on Dai Xingzhi’s face as he added, “If the entire first layer truly had unified admissions, then every high school student in Xiandu could get into university, and even snatch up all the top 10 slots.”

Bai Zhenzhen scoffed, “You’re quite proud, but your accent doesn’t sound like a native Xiandu accent. You weren’t born in Xiandu, were you? Or is your father or grandfather also from out of town?”

Meanwhile, a few Xiandu high school students beneath the stage curled their lips into faint smiles upon hearing this, but quickly suppressed them. They looked at Bai Zhenzhen with a hint of surprise, seemingly not expecting this ‘outsider’ woman to discern the difference between Dai Xingzhi’s accent and their own.

Hearing her call his family “outsiders” and mention his “accent problem,” a flush crossed Dai Xingzhi’s face. He retorted angrily, “I was born in Xiandu! You’re the damn outsider!”

With a flash of his figure, he shot forward, leaving a trail of afterimages. These afterimages mixed with his true body, assailing Bai Zhenzhen from four directions.

Although Dai Xingzhi’s face showed anger, his mind remained incredibly calm and composed.

“How could I fall for such a simple provocation?” he thought.

Ambush, provocation, insult… Dai Xingzhi, as a Xiandu high school student, was naturally well-versed in these fundamental yet crucial combat techniques, having undergone extensive training.

He had even taken specialized courses like “How to Discriminate Against Outsiders?” and “Three Sentences to Trigger an Outsider,” mastering many tricks to provoke outsiders quickly and gain an advantage in combat.

After all, Xiandu natives had a unique advantage when it came to provoking outsiders, a talent Dai Xingzhi believed was essential to master.

Thus, after Bai Zhenzhen had spoken only a few sentences, Dai Xingzhi understood her strategy.

“Trying to provoke me?”

“Then I’ll just pretend to be provoked…”

As Dai Xingzhi’s figure flickered, he swiftly struck out with a palm towards Bai Zhenzhen’s head.

At that moment, he appeared red-faced and furious, looking thoroughly enraged. His palm technique seemed full of openings.

Yet, Dai Xingzhi’s mind was perfectly clear. Though his palm strike appeared fueled by rage, the spiritual energy in his palm was actually sparse. All his true power was coiled within, awaiting its real unleash.

He was fully confident that if Bai Zhenzhen attacked the deliberate openings in his palm technique, she would be severely wounded by his follow-up move.

Simultaneously, his legs subtly coiled with power, ready to retreat at full speed if anything felt amiss.

Always keeping a reserve, constantly avoiding injury — this was the philosophy passed down through generations of the Dai family, enabling them to establish themselves in Xiandu.

To Dai Xingzhi’s astonishment, Bai Zhenzhen tilted her head slightly and took his palm strike directly with her shoulder, completely disrupting his follow-up opportunity.

It was in that fleeting moment of Dai Xingzhi’s surprise that he saw the desperate fighting spirit in Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes.

From before stepping onto the arena, Bai Zhenzhen had been observing Dai Xingzhi: his movements, his fighting style, his demeanor, and his habits.

Because, like Dai Xingzhi, Bai Zhenzhen also realized that he was her greatest opponent in the fight for the top two spots.

Through her continuous observation, Bai Zhenzhen understood that her opponent was naturally cautious, highly skilled in lightness martial arts and footwork, and his speed was in no way inferior to her own.

“After all, he’s a Xiandu ‘master’ who has already entered his senior year of high school.”

“Not only is his physical strength superior to mine, but apart from the Ten Thousand Swords Unending Art, most of the cultivation techniques he has mastered are probably stronger than mine. If I fight him at full strength… my chances of winning are at most thirty or forty percent.”

“I must target his weaknesses and drag the battle into an area I excel in…”

“This guy is so cautious, so good at avoiding injury, which means he’s probably not good at desperate fights.”

Bai Zhenzhen knew very well that for her, the one million medical insurance was already a huge sum. But for a wealthy person like a Xiandu ‘master,’ one million in medical insurance was too little, possibly even making them feel insecure.

Furthermore, these wealthy individuals were naturally hesitant to fight desperately, unlike a ‘poor devil’ like her, who often had to fight tooth and nail just to earn what rich people could easily obtain.

So, she deliberately provoked him and intentionally took his attacks, hoping to find an opportunity for close-quarters combat and a desperate struggle.

However, she hadn’t expected him to be even more cautious than she’d imagined; that seemingly enraged palm strike was nothing but a feint.

But it didn’t matter anymore…

Now, with their eyes locked, just inches apart, Bai Zhenzhen’s gaze, filled with raging fighting spirit and electric light, held only one objective.

To unleash her absolute strongest, fastest, and fiercest sword strike, pouring all her reserves into it, to see who would run out of medical insurance first – him or her.

Since stepping onto the stage, Bai Zhenzhen had been accumulating spiritual energy using the expert-level breathing technique, Nine Revolutions of Surging Waves.

The Nine Revolutions of Surging Waves emphasized endless circulation; after nine revolutions, it could draw in even more spiritual energy. It was a cultivation method where the longer one practiced, the more powerful the effects.

This technique had worked wonders during her previous Foundation Establishment exam. Now, after nine continuous revolutions of spiritual energy, it exploded like a spring pushed to its absolute limit.

Simultaneously, several cultivation techniques, optimized by her True Spirit Root, erupted in an instant.

Over the past few months, Bai Zhenzhen had used her True Spirit Root to enhance nearly all the cultivation techniques she had mastered, granting them Level 10 effects that were both more powerful and perfectly suited to her.

Every one of these Level 10 effects was related to speed.

Bai Zhenzhen believed that even if her techniques weren’t as ‘expensive’ as her opponent’s, after repeated optimization, they were absolutely the best fit for her cultivation and combat style.

At that moment, her Lightning Step operated at full power, streaks of lightning spiritual energy coursing through her nerves, muscles, and meridians, accelerating the speed of Bai Zhenzhen’s sword strike under the influence of its Level 10 optimized effect.

Breaking Body Sword Qi surged from her dantian, and under the effect of its Level 10 optimization, it whistled like a cannonball through her meridians, streaking towards her fingertip, accompanied by flashes of lightning.

The expert-level combat technique, Invisible Sword Art, ensured that even before her sword was fully unleashed, her sword intent agitated the air, creating electric fields that reduced the impending air resistance.

Under the immense pressure of a desperate gamble and potential failure, the Cold Soul Ice Heart Art kept Bai Zhenzhen’s mind exceptionally calm, while her spiritual energy and muscles became extremely active.

And the lightning spiritual energy coursing both within and outside her body further accelerated everything! Faster! Faster! Faster still!

On the other side, Dai Xingzhi, though momentarily stunned, quickly reacted as he sensed Bai Zhenzhen’s astonishing fighting intent and the momentum of her sword strike.

With a single kick, he conjured a whirlwind. His right leg seemed to vanish, leaving only a surge of powerful energy that slammed towards Bai Zhenzhen’s dantian.

Both sides moved with incredible speed, their clash poised to conclude in an instant.

Yet, in the eyes of the True Gods observing around them, this instant could be incredibly slow, so slow they could perceive the grimace on Dai Xingzhi’s face, Bai Zhenzhen’s hair standing on end from the lightning spiritual energy, and the flashes of electricity and gusts of wind in the air…

In that single instant, the True Gods could even complete various communications on their internal network.

Huang Zichou watched the scene and remarked with emotion, “I never imagined two people this fast would decide the outcome in a single move. I thought they would rely on their speed to skirmish for the full ten minutes.”

Another True God, observing the instant clash, analyzed, “In this moment of close-quarters combat, facing the opponent’s full-force attack, what is tested is each person’s most fundamental, true reaction.”

Huang Zichou’s gaze swept over Bai Zhenzhen’s thrusting sword-finger and the Breaking Body Sword Qi imbued with lightning spiritual energy. He could feel the unreserved nature of her strike, and the courage within it that embraced death to find life, staking everything.

Then he looked at Dai Xingzhi on the other side, at the whirlwind his kick generated, and his fully unleashed muscles.

But…

Huang Zichou continued, “Although Dai Xingzhi also put forth his full strength, perhaps it was due to habits formed over time, or an instinctive aversion to injury, or perhaps he subconsciously held something back.”

“The cumulative effect of these small habits, accumulated over time, ultimately led him, in this most fundamental reaction, to subconsciously hold back some power, preventing him from truly giving his all…”

Just as the True Gods were communicating at super-high speed on their internal network,

Gusts of wind scattered, lightning flashed, and both Bai Zhenzhen and Dai Xingzhi completed their moves simultaneously.

With a loud bang, Bai Zhenzhen was sent flying backward, spitting out a large mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs.

On the other side, Dai Xingzhi clutched a large hole in his chest, watching the wound continuously heal under the influence of divine power.

Simultaneously, the medical insurance amounts above both Dai Xingzhi and Bai Zhenzhen’s heads began to plummet, instantly dropping to zero.