Chapter 114: Victory and Defeat

Even with her Ice-Jade Body, Le Mulan felt like she was melting.

The force within her, driven by the medicine’s power, surged like magma through her veins, propelling her forward like a gale.

Purple Cloud High, Purple Cloud Pharmaceuticals, her clan—every one of them had invested heavily in this competition and the marketing campaign for their new body-refining technology.

For the first time, Le Mulan felt a pressure she had never known before.

But she didn’t resent it.

The clan’s protection, her parents’ investment, her brother’s guidance… all of it had shaped her into the pampered pride of the family.

Her genes, her talent—tested and retested—were declared the very best.

That meant endless support, endless resources, endless privileges…

But it also meant Le Mulan had always carried a weight deep inside her.

She wanted her entire clan to see, wanted all the siblings who didn’t make the cut to understand—

She was worth it.

And now, with this breakthrough in body-refining technology, with the company extending its reach into the physical trials, she finally had her chance. Her chance to prove herself to her family. To repay her parents.

Le Mulan’s eyes locked on Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu in the distance.

“I thought I could at least get second…”

With a soft whoosh, Le Mulan sprinted past Bai Zhenzhen.

“This distance…” Still staring at Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan, Le Mulan gritted her teeth. “Too hard to catch up… No, I have to try…”

Then, she was startled to see a shadow appear beside her.

“Someone caught up?”

“Who?”

“Song Hailong?”

But the figure was too slim—Le Mulan knew it wasn’t him.

“Wait… Bai Zhenzhen?”

She hadn’t expected the girl she just overtook to catch up again. Surprise flickered across her face.

“She can keep up?”

On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen was running through a storm of wind, feeling a tearing pain all over her body, her internal organs under massive strain.

Unlike Zhang Yu, who could push his body beyond limits with minimal drugs due to deep mastery of his flesh—

Bai Zhenzhen had also gained some benefit from her Spirit Root, having absorbed traces of Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy during training. But it wasn’t enough to reach Zhang Yu’s level.

So, before the race, she had injected herself with twelve rounds of the Nine Dragons Acupuncture Technique. The strain on her organs came from that.

As her blood pumped faster and her muscles roared into action, she felt her old scars begin to burn.

She couldn't go all-out anymore and chose to maintain third place instead.

“No way I’m catching up to Yu Xinghan anyway. That guy’s Zhang Yu’s problem.”

“I need to stay in form. Can’t afford to get injured before the next round…”

But then—Le Mulan caught up.

Bai Zhenzhen realized she couldn’t afford to hold back anymore.

“Zhang Yu will beat Yu Xinghan and take first.”

“I need to hold onto third, or he’ll never let me live it down.”

Bai Zhenzhen’s whole body steamed, heat radiating from her as her muscles strained. Her red scars flared like claw marks, tearing at her flesh, inflicting a sharp and searing pain.

Le Mulan could feel Bai Zhenzhen gaining on her and pushed herself harder, desperate to shake her off.

“I can’t lose to a pauper like her!”

“I need to prove to the entire family that their investment in me wasn’t wasted!”

Bai Zhenzhen stuck to her heels. Their silhouettes surged down the track, the winds they kicked up clashing like sparks off flint.

“I’m going to join Zhang Yu in the top ten!”

The red scars on Bai Zhenzhen’s body glowed with wicked brightness, threatening to burst open from her full-speed charge, each step a scream of blood and torn muscle.

“Damn it… should’ve spent the money on painkillers…”

Roaring internally, she squeezed every drop of strength from her aching frame, battling Le Mulan neck-and-neck through the final 500 meters.

Roar!

Both girls screamed in their hearts, minds filled with a single, burning goal:

Surpass her!

I have to surpass her!

In the next instant, to Le Mulan’s shock, Bai Zhenzhen surged past her and reclaimed third place.

But when Bai Zhenzhen looked ahead in triumph, she noticed Zhang Yu had slowed slightly.

The race that had once seen him running neck and neck with Yu Xinghan now had a clear outcome.

Whoosh!

Yu Xinghan crossed the finish line first.

Zhang Yu followed, pale-faced and barely holding himself upright.

Bai Zhenzhen crossed third, rushing to Zhang Yu’s side. “Are you okay?”

Zhang Yu shook his head, signaling he was fine.

He clutched his chest. After pushing himself so hard to match Yu Xinghan, his body had reached the absolute limit. His heart pounded so violently it felt like it might explode from his chest.

His heart couldn’t keep up with his body’s demands. It couldn’t fulfill the sheer willpower he was exerting.

But in that brutal contest, in that relentless push, he felt it—his heart had broken through. What should’ve taken days to evolve happened in mere moments.

The price: his heart muscle was worn down, drained—causing him to fall behind in the final sprint.

Zhang Yu thought, “Like how muscles grow stronger only after reaching their limit and healing—my heart’s breakthrough needs time and resources to truly become more powerful…”

Right now, his body screamed with hunger.

He needed food. Nutrients. Not just to replenish what he’d burned, but to feed his newly awakened heart, which now hungered for fuel to grow stronger.

“Breaking your limits is just that—breaking limits.”

He placed a hand on his chest. “Real growth still needs energy and matter. My heart won’t strengthen itself unless I feed it.”

“And with Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy to boost digestion, I can accelerate that growth.”

His Level-10 Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy gave him monstrous metabolic and digestive efficiency. It was one of the key reasons his body could keep leveling up.

Across the field, Yu Xinghan shot Zhang Yu a cold glance.

“Was it the drug wearing off?” he wondered. “Or some side effect?”

Though Yu Xinghan knew Zhang Yu must’ve taken a powerful stimulant to keep up with him, being matched—however briefly—by a student from Songyang High infuriated him. Especially one he’d already robbed of a Gold Core Disciple position.

“I got careless.”

“Next time, I’ll take some medicine too.”

But when the cameras turned to him, Yu Xinghan instantly smiled. “Don’t forget to check out Xianyun Group’s Monster-Muscle Surgery coming next month…”

…

Back in the stands.

Le Jingchen looked grim. Le Mulan didn’t even make the top three—just fourth.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had both broken through. He didn’t know what kind of tech or drugs they’d used, but they’d stolen the spotlight.

Zhang Yu had even run side by side with Yu Xinghan for a time.

Sure, some of that was Yu Xinghan holding back, but it was still enough to get everyone's attention—and completely eclipse Le Mulan.

“Songyang High…”

The fact that Purple Cloud High had been upstaged by Songyang High lit a chill in Le Jingchen’s eyes.

Just then, his phone buzzed. A string of messages arrived.

Reading them, he murmured to himself, “Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling both say Songyang hasn’t made any real tech breakthroughs?”

“And this Zhang Yu… is supposedly Zhang Pianpian’s lapdog?”

Le Jingchen narrowed his eyes. “White Dragon High… Xianyun Group? Is this some behind-the-scenes ploy from Xianyun?”

He snapped his gaze to the big screen. “If Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen are both using Xianyun Group’s tech… that means five out of the top ten could be Xianyun’s investments.”

He could already envision the outcome: when the tournament ends and the technologies behind Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen are revealed—White Dragon and Xianyun Group will come out the biggest winners.

…

After the third event, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen immediately headed to the buffet zone.

Pale-faced, Zhang Yu said while walking, “Ah-Zhen, I need to eat a ton, then use my techniques to digest faster and strengthen my heart. That way, I can fully unleash my physical strength next round and beat Yu Xinghan.”

Bai Zhenzhen frowned. “Even if you take first next round, it won’t be enough to top the overall leaderboard, will it?”

The physical trials were scored as follows: 50 points for physical strength, 75 for agility, 75 for speed, and 150 for raw power.

Bai Zhenzhen did some quick math. “With Yu Xinghan taking first in the first three events, even if you get all 150 points in the final one, it’s not enough.”

“Which is why I need not only to win, but to crush him in the power round.”

“Yu Xinghan has 200 points after three events. I’ve got 191.”

Zhang Yu’s expression turned serious. “The scoring is performance-based. If I get first and earn 150, and outperform him by a wide margin, his score will be lower.”

“To beat him, I have to keep his final score under 141. Or, in other words—I need to lead by more than 9 points.”

Bai Zhenzhen felt a surge of disbelief.

“Lead that monster by more than 9 points—in a 150-point event? Is that even possible?”

Zhang Yu said, “Doesn’t matter if it is. I have to try.”

“And to help the contestants recover from going all-out, we’ve got an hour and a half before the final round starts. An hour and a half is more than enough time.”

At the buffet, Bai Zhenzhen began piling food onto tray after tray, watching as Zhang Yu wolfed it all down.