"Next match: Lin Mu versus Zhao Hu!"
At the deacon's sharp shout, the crowd parted automatically to form a path.
A burly, dark-skinned youth strode onto the martial arts stage.
With every step, the wooden boards beneath his feet released a dull, heavy thud.
This was Zhao Hu.
Though merely the son of a bonded servant of the Lin clan, his status was low but his strength was real.
With Rank 1 Middle Stage cultivation and a body tempered like steel, he was a notorious tyrant within the academy.
"Heh, Lin Mu. It's the mute."
Zhao Hu cracked his knuckles, the joints popping like exploding beans.
He looked down at the scrawny Lin Mu, his eyes brimming with contempt and cruel amusement.
"Be a good boy and surrender. If I lose control later, I might accidentally snap that fragile twig of a body in half!"
Lin Mu walked onto the stage expressionless, a cold sneer echoing in his heart.
"If Zhao Hu knew the person standing before him wasn't a lamb awaiting slaughter, but a monster with Middle Stage Primeval Essence capable of erupting with Peak Rank 1 combat power... I wonder if that cruel grin would remain on his face."
However, Lin Mu offered no retort. Nor did he immediately activate his Gu worms.
He was observing.
A faint, bronze sheen rippled over Zhao Hu's skin—the sign of the Copper Skin Gu activation.
This Gu drastically increased skin toughness; ordinary blades would struggle to draw blood. Coupled with his brute strength, he was a humanoid tank.
Lin Mu calculated rapidly in his mind.
"The Copper Skin Gu has high defense. If I use the Initial Stage Primeval Essence I usually display to activate the Iron Leaf Gu, the serrated leaves won't pierce him. At best, I'll leave white scratches."
"To win, I must use the dark green Primeval Essence refined by the Liquor Worm. With the explosive power of Middle Stage essence, a single strike would sever his throat."
But there was a fatal risk.
Below the stage, Elder Kuangxu watched with cold indifference.
If Lin Mu displayed attack power far exceeding the Initial Stage, or if the luster of his Primeval Essence leaked even slightly, that dark green glow might be missed by students, but it would never escape the viciously sharp eyes of a Rank 2 expert.
"This situation... it mirrors Fang Yuan's early struggles in the original work. The survival laws of the Southern Border are truly universal."
A cold smile tugged at the corner of Lin Mu's mouth.
"Unexpectedly, even before we meet in this world, you have already been my teacher multiple times. As expected of you, Gu Yue Fang Yuan."
Thought ceased. Lin Mu's eyes rippled with calm resolve. He absolutely could not expose his trump card in this battle.
"Since I cannot crush him with raw power, I will use my brain."
Lin Mu's right hand, hanging by his side, quietly retracted into his wide sleeve.
Inside, he gripped a packet he had swiped from the masons repairing the academy walls a few days ago.
"Match... Begin!"
The deacon's voice had barely fallen.
"Get on the ground!"
Zhao Hu let out a beast-like roar, launching himself forward like an arrow from a bow.
He disdained fancy Gu worms. Tanking damage with the Copper Skin Gu and smashing enemies with fists empowered by the Brute Force Gu—that was his favorite way to fight.
A foul wind assaulted Lin Mu's face.
Facing the tank-like charge, Lin Mu seemed paralyzed by fear.
He stood rooted to the spot, legs trembling slightly. A terrified, stiff smile hung on his lips, as if he had already given up resistance.
"Haha! Scared stupid, are we?!"
The cruelty in Zhao Hu's eyes deepened. That massive fist, carrying the sound of whistling wind, was less than three inches from Lin Mu's nose!
Below the stage, students shook their heads. Some couldn't bear to watch and closed their eyes.
However.
In that split second.
The terror in Lin Mu's eyes vanished instantly. It was replaced by a chilling calmness and ruthlessness that made one's heart palpitate.
His sleeve shook violently. His left hand whipped up like lightning.
Fwoosh—!
A cloud of white powder exploded without warning, slamming precisely into Zhao Hu's grinning face!
It wasn't flour. It wasn't sand.
It was unslaked lime!
"ARGHHH!!!"
A scream of utter misery tore through the martial arts arena.
When quicklime meets tears, it generates intense heat. The burning sensation was enough to make anyone wish for death.
Zhao Hu's Copper Skin Gu could make his skin tough as cowhide, but it couldn't train his eyeballs—the most fragile mucous membranes of the body.
His ferocious charge collapsed instantly. He flailed like a headless fly, clutching his eyes, screaming and clawing at the air in madness.
"My eyes! My eyes! Despicable! What demon sorcery is this?!"
"Take his life while he's sick."
Lin Mu remained expressionless. With nimble footwork, he sidestepped Zhao Hu's blind, flailing haymakers.
Like a silent leopard, he circled to Zhao Hu's back.
Even blind, Zhao Hu's copper skin defense remained active. Attacks to the back or chest would fail to deal decisive damage.
But on a human body, there is always a soft spot where defense is thinnest.
Lin Mu's gaze shifted downward. Target locked.
He raised his leg, channeled a trace of Primeval Essence into his toes, and delivered a standard, vicious groin kick straight into Zhao Hu's defenseless crotch.
Fast. Accurate. Ruthless.
No hesitation. No mercy.
Crunch.
Accompanied by the dull sound of something shattering, Zhao Hu's high-pitched screams instantly shot up an octave, turning into a sharp, choking gurgle like a rooster having its neck snapped.
The Rank 1 Middle Stage giant rolled his eyes back. Foam spilled from his mouth.
He curled up on the ground like a cooked shrimp, hands clutching his crotch, body convulsing violently. He could not stand up.
One hit KO.
The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone's mouths hung open, staring blankly at the sudden reversal. The predicted stomp had occurred, but the victim... was the wrong person?
After a moment of dead silence.
"BOOOO—!!"
Overwhelming boos and curses erupted from the crowd.
"Despicable! Too despicable!"
"Using lime powder? What kind of skill is that? That's how street thugs fight!"
"Shameless! Such a person is a stain on the honor of Gu Masters!"
"Unfair victory! Lord Elder, please declare him the loser!"
The youths, who prided themselves on being Righteous Path members and valued demeanor, were filled with righteous indignation. It was as if Lin Mu had committed an unforgivable sin.
Facing the accusations of a thousand pointing fingers, Lin Mu stood on stage, his expression indifferent.
He gently patted the residual lime dust from his sleeve, as if brushing away their worthless insults.
"Unfair victory?"
Lin Mu sneered internally.
"Lose, and I clean toilets. Win, and I get resources. Does the process matter?"
"In a life-and-death struggle, will the enemy spare you because you didn't use lime?"
He turned his head, looking calmly at the deacon and the clan elder on the high platform.
The deacon was stunned.
He had presided over academy assessments for years; he had seen poison Gu, he had seen hidden weapons. But throwing lime and kicking crotches... this was a first.
Subconsciously, he looked to Elder Kuangxu for a ruling.
Elder Kuangxu stood with hands clasped behind his back.
His hawk-like eyes swept coldly over the twitching Zhao Hu, then lingered deeply on Lin Mu.
He was not angry. Instead... the corner of his mouth hooked up in a meaningful arc.
"In the rules, does it say lime is forbidden?" Elder Kuangxu asked faintly.
The deacon started, then hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Elder... No. The rules only state a one-on-one duel. Winner takes all."
"Then that is it."
Elder Kuangxu scoffed, his voice suppressing the noise of the entire venue:
"Gu Master cultivation is a struggle against heaven for life, and against people for benefits."
"If you encounter a Demonic Path cultivator in the wild, do you expect them to talk to you about rules? About demeanor?"
"Idiots!"
He pointed at the crowd below and scolded, "Zhao Hu had brute strength and defense but zero vigilance. He was defeated in one move because he deserved it! Lin Mu's methods may be low, but using the rules to defeat a stronger enemy—that is capability!"
"This match, Lin Mu wins!"
The final verdict.
The boos were instantly suppressed. Though eyes still held disdain, no one dared to refute the Elder.
Lin Mu bowed slightly, his expression unchanged by favor or disgrace.
He stepped forward, took the heavy money pouch (20 Primeval Stones) from the tray, and picked up the jar of Spring Morning Dew that emitted a crisp, clear fragrance.
As he passed the still-convulsing Zhao Hu, Lin Mu paused.
He looked down from above and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Remember to go to the medicine hall and wash your eyes. Any later, and you really will go blind."
With that, clutching his spoils of war, he walked off the stage without looking back, ignoring the complex gazes of the crowd.
"Reputation? Can you eat that? Can it feed Gu worms?"
From today on, Lin Mu might carry the name of "despicable villain."
But that was perfect. A despised villain was far safer than a feared genius.