As Zhang Yu and Lian Tianji ascended the dueling platform, on another stage, Bai Zhenzhen sat in lotus position, awaiting her opponent: Xiong Wenwu from Red Pagoda High School. This towering figure, exceeding two meters seven in height and tipping the scales at nearly a ton, was a demon-blooded student who, like Song Hailong and Zhang Yu, had earned a formidable evaluation score of 300.

Currently, the aforementioned demon-blooded student was seething with rage in Red Pagoda High School’s rest area, glaring at Hu Yuntao.

“Lost? How could you lose? And to someone from Songyang, no less?”

Xiong Wenwu slapped Hu Yuntao’s forehead repeatedly. The fiercely combative Hu Yuntao on the stage was now as docile as a kitten, squatting obediently before him, enduring the reprimand.

However, the incessant flicking of his tail betrayed his inner impatience.

Xiong Wenwu lamented, “Failing to advance past the group stage means you have no ranking at all! Your resume is now devoid of a crucial achievement.”

“Do you realize that this single lack of accomplishment could be the reason you’re rejected during your university interview?”

“If you fail to get into a good university, Father will disown you as his son and send you straight to the factories to toil!”

Disownment! Factory work!

Hu Yuntao, who had been passively accepting the scolding, stiffened upon hearing those words.

Why is it that so many demons who emerge from the protected areas have no fathers? It’s because those who fail to excel in their studies and are relegated to factory work are summarily disowned by their fathers.

“Do you comprehend the implications of working in a factory?”

Xiong Wenwu continued his tirade. “Demons struggle to find employment. Inevitably, you’ll end up working in Father’s factory, undergoing modifications, and being planted on an assembly line. Like those bovine, equine, and simian demons, you’ll eat, drink, and excrete on the line until your demise, spending your entire existence repaying breeding loans.”

Hu Yuntao clenched his fists. The memory of his tour of the factory, with its assembly lines forged from the flesh and blood of great demons, where countless workers were integrated into the machinery, toiling day and night, filled him with dread. The sight of various semi-elementary, semi-junior high, and semi-high school demon predecessors chained to those lines sent a chill down his spine.

“You dedicated over a decade to your studies, gained admission to high school… Was it all for the sake of ending up in a factory?”

Xiong Wenwu persisted, “If you were a university champion, holding a diploma from a prestigious institution, who could dare to disown you or drag you into a factory?”

Hu Yuntao’s face was etched with shame. “Big Brother, I was wrong. In the next competition, I will exert every ounce of my strength and show no further indolence.”

Xiong Wenwu sighed. “I simply couldn’t bear to see your years of hard work amount to nothing, to witness you being chained to an assembly line after high school, living out a miserable existence. Father would lose a worthy son, and I would lose a cherished brother.”

“What the future holds now hinges upon your performance.”

“I’ll avenge you for what happened today.”

With these words, he turned and swiftly strode towards the dueling platform.

Hu Yuntao called after him, “Big Brother, that girl possesses a Stealth spiritual root, which can diminish an opponent’s perception. Be careful…”

Xiong Wenwu waved his hand dismissively, then launched into a sprint, leaping into the air. His nearly one-ton frame crashed down like a small mountain, causing the entire platform to shudder violently.

“Woman, in actual combat, I never hold back. If you feel that you’re on the verge of death, promptly surrender.”

Having uttered these words, Xiong Wenwu produced three hypodermic needles and plunged them into his neck.

With a series of hisses, the three vials of liquid were instantly injected into his bloodstream, causing every hair on his body to stand on end, and the muscles on his ursine face to bulge.

Merely gazing at his height and weight, Bai Zhenzhen could sense the formidable power contained within.

Based on Lei Jun’s earlier assessment, Bai Zhenzhen knew that Xiong Wenwu’s physical fortitude was potentially the highest among all the high schoolers present.

“Approximately between 2.5 and 2.6.”

Huff…

Bai Zhenzhen took a deep breath, feeling the release of her spiritual root within her.

At that moment, she felt as though a restraint had been lifted from her mind. Countless martial arts techniques she had studied and witnessed surged through her consciousness, as if brought to life.

Since entering high school and commencing the cultivation of martial arts, she, who had initially only used her spiritual root for concealment, had developed an increasing understanding of martial arts. Not only did she learn techniques faster, but she could also discern the flaws in various martial arts during combat.

3, 2, 1… Begin!

With the referee’s whistle, Xiong Wenwu lunged forward like a cannonball.

Unable to meet him head-on, she had to retreat.

Bai Zhenzhen swiftly darted backward, while simultaneously, sparks of spiritual energy flickered from her fingertips, unleashing a sharp sword-like aura.

Expert-level technique: Ethereal Sword Qi, Level 3 activation.

A foot-long blade of Qi emanated from Bai Zhenzhen’s fingertips, aiming at Xiong Wenwu, who had just landed.

However, as fur scattered through the air, Bai Zhenzhen felt as if her strike had landed on a steel plate. After cleaving through his fur and skin, she found it difficult to penetrate deeper into the muscle.

“He possesses a body-protecting technique? And the effect of a combat spiritual root, combined with formidable physical strength…”

Bai Zhenzhen furrowed her brow. In the next instant, her form vanished from Xiong Wenwu’s sight.

But Xiong Wenwu was prepared. Without the slightest hesitation, he acted like a raging beast, his claws flashing with chilling glints, attacking the direction where Bai Zhenzhen disappeared with relentless fury.

Simultaneously, Xiong Wenwu continued his assault, sniffing wildly with his nose, seemingly trying to ascertain Bai Zhenzhen’s location through scent.

Bai Zhenzhen widened her eyes, observing his movements. With the augmentation of her spiritual root, every action and every technique’s induced spiritual energy changes were crystal clear to her.

She could even discern the subtle flow of spiritual energy in the air, vaguely predicting his subsequent attacks.

Yet, despite combining her stealth abilities with a series of evasive maneuvers, scars began to appear on Bai Zhenzhen’s arms, thighs, and abdomen.

His sharp claws grazed her skin and muscles like a red-hot blade slicing through butter, effortlessly leaving behind gruesome wounds with upturned flesh.
However, her sword-qi, born from her very essence, could only shave off his fur, leaving behind negligible wounds.

“The difference in power and speed is ultimately too great.”

“In another four or five breaths, I will be defeated.”

Despite this, Bai Zhenzhen felt an unparalleled calmness within her heart at this moment.

As her opponent unleashed more attacks, and the surrounding spiritual energy grew denser, her vision of his movements and body became increasingly clear.

In her eyes, Xiong Wenwu was like a colossal furnace, his body brimming with gathering spiritual energy and magical power, fiercely burning to propel his formidable physique.

Furthermore, Bai Zhenzhen could see spiritual energy densely layered over Xiong Wenwu’s skin, as if he were wearing it as armor.

“No weaknesses from head to toe… No, there are vulnerabilities.”

As several more gashes, deep enough to expose bone, were left on her calf, Bai Zhenzhen gradually discerned her opponent’s weaknesses.

Weaknesses within his techniques… weaknesses within his physique…

Finally, she took a step forward, like a butterfly dancing gracefully in a storm.

Step by step, she passed through the oncoming chill of his attacks, step by step, she avoided the razor edge of death.

“I refuse to remain a factory worker on the first level for the rest of my life…”

“I will pass the Ten Greats examination!”

“I will walk further down the path of Immortality!”

Sword-qi roared from Bai Zhenzhen’s fingertips as she slashed her sword towards the weakness she perceived.

In the spectator stands…

Qian Shen and his two companions were staring wide-eyed at the exchange between Xiong Wenwu and Bai Zhenzhen.

Xiong Wenwu’s offensive was too fierce, his movements too swift, pressing down on Bai Zhenzhen like thunder and lightning.

So much so that the three not only couldn’t spare a moment to speak, but also felt a sense of oppressive pressure from his aura, even from a distance.

Especially as Bai Zhenzhen’s figure appeared so small in front of Xiong Wenwu, giving people a feeling of fragility.

Qian Shen muttered inwardly, “Too powerful, even being grazed by it causes skin and flesh to tear. If she’s hit head-on, Bai Zhenzhen will likely be severely injured if not killed.”

“She’s going to lose…”

Seeing a burst of blood erupt from Bai Zhenzhen’s calf, adding another wound, the three couldn’t help but feel a sinking feeling in their hearts, as if they could already picture Bai Zhenzhen’s mangled form.

But in the next moment, they watched in shock as Bai Zhenzhen passed through the opponent’s storm of claws, and then a sword-qi slashed out in a counterattack.

Xiong Wenwu’s figure seemed to pause slightly, and then a large spray of blood erupted from behind him.

Zhao Tianxing exclaimed in surprise, “She broke through his defense?”

He Dayou asked, “She clearly couldn’t break through Xiong Wenwu’s muscles just now, how did she suddenly manage it?”

Qian Shen frowned in thought, “Could it be that she struck a flaw in his technique?”

Watching the blood gushing ever more violently from behind Xiong Wenwu, gradually resembling a fountain, Qian Shen exclaimed, “Did she hit an artery? That’s a terrifying amount of blood!”

On the other side of the arena…

Lei Jun looked at Xiong Wenwu, blood gushing from behind, and his eyes suddenly flashed. “Hemorrhoids! And external ones at that!”

“That’s it, the demon races mostly crawl on all fours to begin with. After they take on human form and begin to study and cultivate, they have to sit for long periods every day. Hemorrhoids must be even more severe and larger.”

“Especially since the external hemorrhoids have already prolapsed outside the body and are not protected by body-refining techniques!”

“Furthermore, Xiong Wenwu was just engaged in strenuous exercise and took so many potent drugs, causing his entire body to be engorged with blood. This massive hemorrhage is even more severe now.”

Lei Jun grew excited. “To actually find such a weakness? It wasn’t a waste of my time tutoring you for so long…”

But in the next moment, he saw Xiong Wenwu on the arena, his eyes bloodshot, roaring like a dying beast.

Xiong Wenwu roared inwardly, “I want to study! I don’t want to die on the assembly line! I want to always be Father’s son!”

In the next instant, with Xiong Wenwu’s high-speed rotation, a storm of blood and claw shadows covered everything in all directions.

“Not good!” Lei Jun’s gaze sharpened. “This demon has gone berserk! He’s attacking completely indiscriminately…”

Looking at Bai Zhenzhen, who was injured in the leg and covered by Xiong Wenwu’s offensive, he knew that it would be extremely difficult for her to dodge such chaotic attacks, her movement being restricted by her leg injury.

By the time Lei Jun arrived at the foot of the arena,

He saw Xiong Wenwu lying on the ground, covered in blood.

Bai Zhenzhen stood in place, panting heavily, and besides the scratches all over her body, her right elbow was empty.

Her right arm had been torn off by the berserk Xiong Wenwu.

Bai Zhenzhen wins!

Lei Jun quickly picked up the severed arm, embraced Bai Zhenzhen, and sent her to the emergency area.

The emergency doctor took a glance and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly, but turning to look at his colleague who had taken Xiong Wenwu, he couldn’t help but feel a touch of envy.

“Massive hemorrhage, excessive exertion, organ failure, plus hemorrhoid surgery, and such high physical strength… That demon beast will cost at least hundreds of thousands.”

With a sigh, he turned his attention back to Bai Zhenzhen.

But just as he was about to act, Bai Zhenzhen struggled to say, “How much does it cost? Is it covered by insurance?”

The emergency doctor said indifferently, “Examination, basic treatment, and arm reattachment will cost you eighty-eight thousand. There’s an additional thirty thousand worth of procedures that aren’t covered by insurance. You’ll have to pay that out of pocket.”

“Out of pocket?” Bai Zhenzhen said angrily, “I bought insurance, and you want me to pay thirty thousand out of pocket?”

The emergency doctor ignored Bai Zhenzhen, simply urging, “If you want treatment, be quick. If the arm dies too severely, then I can’t treat it here. If you send it to the hospital at that point, it’ll probably cost you three hundred thousand.”