"Who Do You Like?"

"Have you seen that Zhou Xingchi movie, Kung Fu Hustle?"

Xia Mi first assumed the stance of Eight Trigrams Palm, then switched to the opening form of Northern Hung Fist.

As her fists and palms constantly shifted through different forms, Xia Mi also tried to distract Li Lin with words.

The young man standing opposite her heard the abrupt question and, sure enough, could not help asking.

"What, do you know a palm technique that falls from the heavens?"

"I actually do have something like that up my sleeve, but I can't use it without a Word Spirit."

Xia Mi said it in an indifferent tone.

She took off her dust-covered combat uniform, revealing the short-sleeved athletic shirt beneath.

The greatest advantage of being beautiful was that she could pull off almost any outfit. Even plainly dressed, she still looked refined and adorable.

The girl's arms looked exceedingly slender, incapable of holding much muscle. Her skin was delicate enough to seem breakable at a touch, and under the sunlight, it was dazzlingly pale. She looked nothing like someone who had practiced martial arts for over a decade.

There were not even any calluses or scars on Xia Mi's hands. It could only be attributed to the sheer superiority of her Mixed-Blood bloodline.

She beckoned to Li Lin. "Little Li, get ready to start serving me tea and waiting on me at Norton Hall tonight."

Li Lin's expression turned solemn at those words, but after the great brawl in the teaching district and several days of grueling training, he had built up considerable confidence.

Even if Xia Mi had been suspected of going easy on him in every sparring match since they were children.

At least on the surface, their martial arts attainments were now comparable.

Besides, his bloodline rank was S...

Victory was certain.

Li Lin came to that realization. Recalling their brief clash in the tiered classroom, he felt that, once firearms, explosives, and other factors were removed, he could completely defeat Xia Mi.

It was already noon. The first group of students who had been knocked unconscious by Frigg Bullets had received treatment from the school doctors and were gradually waking up.

Their first reaction upon awakening was to ask the doctors which side's leader, the Lionheart Society or the Student Union, had won the Day of Freedom.

Then they learned that Xia Mi had sent the leaders of both factions packing with a single RPG, and that they had just arrived at the Student Hospital for IV drips...

What else was there to say? They hurried off to watch the final round of the Day of Freedom. A crowd of them, leaning on crutches and wrapped in bandages, marched grandly toward the tree-lined path in front of the gymnasium.

Fingel was somehow mingling among the crowd without a scratch on him, holding a camera high as he shouted for the injured students to stay back and not damage the precious thing he had borrowed from Caesar.

So everyone simply pushed the senior, who had spent three years in fourth grade, to the very front of the group and had him use his burly body to shield them from any stray bullets that might come flying their way.

Fingel walked with his heart in his throat. The moment he entered the tree-lined path, a white oak snapped in half and came crashing down directly at him.

Yet he displayed the paparazzi spirit that inspired awe in others. Hugging his camera, he dodged the falling oak and risked everything to record the scene, even as the trunk smashed into the ground with a thunderous boom.

At the very center of the tree-lined path, two figures, moving so quickly they nearly left afterimages, continuously crossed paths. The dull thuds of flesh and bone colliding beat like rain drumming against a window.

Li Lin and Xia Mi had rarely fought seriously like this. They had a clear understanding of the destruction they could cause.

Ever since middle school, their sparring matches had been closer to playful scuffles.

With Dragon Blood empowering them, ordinary Mixed-Bloods could attain the physical capabilities of world champion boxers after only basic training. Not to mention exceptional individuals like them—after years of martial arts training and comprehending its deeper mysteries, they could easily snap wooden posts and shatter stone slabs.

Fingel clicked his tongue inwardly as he watched. No wonder that, despite the Executive Department being split into two fiercely opposing camps, they had gone to every length to recruit this pair of pre-college students into the main campus early.

The headmaster had even signed off on it under pressure from the Board of Trustees, approving Li Lin and Xia Mi's early admission.

Although Fingel and the nearby students had watched plenty of combat footage sent over by the pre-college program, witnessing these two monsters fight in person was overwhelmingly dazzling. The students were completely convinced.

Rather, if these pre-college students were really made to finish three years of high school before enrolling, it would only be a waste of their time.

At this moment, Li Lin finally tipped the balance of the battle with his absolute physical advantage.

Sure enough, confidence was the finest catalyst for victory. As Li Lin's attacks became swifter and fiercer, Xia Mi gradually sensed that something was wrong.

This guy's rate of improvement had completely exceeded her expectations.

Dragon Blood's boost had been completely integrated into Li Lin's combat. The difference in their bloodline ranks was now unmistakable.

Xia Mi was getting desperate. She suddenly chose a move from Emei—Seven-Star Strike from the Side—and the area around Fingel erupted into an uproar.

Even Fingel himself was left jaw-dropped by the multitude of fist and palm Kung Fu Hustle techniques Xia Mi unleashed next, as though she had struck a thousand times in an instant.

But even so, Xia Mi still failed to turn the battle around.

She had used these fusion techniques of hers many times before. Li Lin's fighting style had always been steady and solid, responding to endless variations with constancy. Xia Mi's frantic barrage was incredibly lethal to others. Even if someone was lucky enough to block one or two moves, the agonizing pain that shot through their entire body would be enough to make them lose their composure in an instant. But against Li Lin, who had long since figured her out and was accustomed to enduring intense pain, it had no effect at all.

As Li Lin gritted his teeth through the pain and neutralized each move in turn, the final round of the Day of Freedom finally came to an end.

More and more students gathered to watch, while Xia Mi was merely a young girl with an A-Rank bloodline who had awakened less than a month ago.

Though Li Lin had repeatedly felt during the fight as if Xia Mi might suddenly defeat him in an instant, she ultimately did not experience the "breakthrough in battle" he had expected. Instead, she was caught by the shoulder by Li Lin, one move short of victory, and obediently dropped to one knee to surrender.

"Fine, I surrender! I admit you're the king of Kung Fu Hustle today. Let go of me already!"

Xia Mi felt thoroughly humiliated. Li Lin was practically pressing down on top of her, making the young girl shout in flustered annoyance.

The instant Xia Mi surrendered, fierce applause rang out from every direction.

Noticing the undisguised admiration and respect the students held for Li Lin, Xia Mi immediately understood that she might never again be able to defeat him in full view of everyone.

These Mixed-Blood people believed in elitism and bloodline supremacy. She had lost her chance to make Li Lin feel defeated through martial arts matches.

Though she had never actually succeeded at that from childhood until now...

Xia Mi rubbed her aching shoulder, then walked over to stand before the thoughtful-looking Li Lin, hands on her hips as she looked at him.

"All right, congratulations on getting your wish and becoming the winner of the Day of Freedom. Isn't it time for your victory speech?"

Li Lin could only temporarily suppress his suspicion that Xia Mi seemed to have been hiding her true strength all along, then happily brought out the idea he had formed at the very beginning.

"To be honest, I've fallen for an upperclassman at the school, so before the Day of Freedom began, I trained desperately to..."

Before Li Lin could finish, Xia Mi's gentle smile made him instinctively close his mouth.

"You just said... who do you like?"

Xia Mi's Golden Eyes, ignited at some unknown moment, swept across the surroundings, sending the students who had gathered for the spectacle scattering like birds and beasts.