Below the arena, quite a few female disciples were swooning over the Holy Son in midair, nearly drooling.
Inside her mind, Jiang Ye curled his lips and began offering a veteran player's harsh commentary:
“Little Bai, keep this in mind. Guys like this who are handsome, incredibly talented, gentle to everyone, and super popular with NPCs are either good guys or bad guys!”
Bai Zhirou: “...Listening to your advice is like listening to advice.”
She couldn't help but ask, “Then... how on earth do you tell whether he's a good guy or a bad guy?”
Jiang Ye blurted out, “Oh, that's easy. Anyone who stands against me is automatically a bad guy!”
Bai Zhirou: “...”
I shouldn't have even asked!
Bai Zhirou looked down at the token glowing red in her hand, took a deep breath, and walked toward the red arena.
Behind her, a large group of Sword Peak disciples followed in a grand procession.
From afar, she could see a massive furry beast squatting on the red arena—a Tier One demon beast, the Black-Striped Big Tanuki.
Beside it, Lu Shaoyuan, a disciple from Beast-Taming Peak, leaned against the cat's fluffy body with an intensely theatrical air, his eyes closed in feigned sleep.
Bai Zhirou leaped up onto the arena.
Hearing the sound, Lu Shaoyuan slowly opened his eyes, the corner of his mouth curving into the smug smirk of a cliché powerhouse as he recited a canned line: “I advise you to surrender now, or else...”
Before he could finish his sentence—
Lu Shaoyuan got a clear look at the breathtakingly beautiful face of the newcomer, shuddered violently, and swallowed the rest of his harsh words right back down!
He recognized her!
The gorgeous girl standing before him was none other than the “Tiger-Beating Heroine” and Peak Master Nangong's alleged illegitimate daughter who had been making waves across the sect these past few days—Bai Zhirou!
Lu Shaoyuan secretly clenched his fists, cursing his terrible luck.
Damn it! With a high-grade Tier One demon beast and my mid Qi Condensation cultivation, I was easily guaranteed a spot in the top fifty of this outer sect tournament.
How the hell did I end up matched against someone who slayed a Tier Two demon beast right in the first round?!
Yet, forfeiting on the spot? He couldn't bring himself to accept that.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the expression on Bai Zhirou's small face was equally solemn.
She hadn't expected her very first match to be against a disciple of Beast-Taming Peak, who possessed the highest average strength among Qi Condensation cultivators.
After all, they fought alongside battle pets, making it a two-on-one fight—which was utterly shameless!
Thus, the atmosphere on the arena became exceedingly bizarre: both sides stared blankly at each other, extremely nervous, neither daring to make the first move.
In her mind, Jiang Ye comfortably watched the show.
Through Bai Zhirou's training and sparring over the past few days, he had noticed something different: Bai Zhirou couldn't make use of those game mechanics herself.
In other words, when Bai Zhirou controlled her own “account,” she couldn't trigger moves like parries or dodges.
Therefore, her combat relied entirely on her own raw strength.
Still, with her absurdly heaven-defying talent, Jiang Ye felt dealing with a weakling like this wouldn't pose any real problem.
He was glad to take it easy, using this opportunity to sharpen Little Bai's practical combat experience.
Otherwise, with his veteran player approach, he would never play by the rules in a “normal match.”
Just as the tension on the red arena reached its peak—
Bang!
A loud explosion of true qi suddenly erupted from the neighboring green arena.
Immediately after, an extraordinarily arrogant and chuunibyou voice roared out:
“Hahaha! Surprised?! I've been hiding my cultivation all this time! In reality, I am a late Qi Condensation genius!!”
This disciple, playing the pig to eat the tiger, threw his hands high in the air with his eyes tightly shut, striking what he thought was a cool and dramatic posture.
He waited with bated breath for the entire audience to gasp in shock and erupt into thunderous applause.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed.
Not a single sound broke the silence.
Puzzled, he opened his eyes and turned around.
Though a crowd of hundreds was packed around his arena, not a single damn person was looking at him!
Every pair of eyes was glued unblinkingly to the adjacent red arena!
The disciple who tried to play the pig let out two awkward chuckles and slunk off the stage in disgrace.
On the red arena, cold sweat began to drench Lu Shaoyuan's palms.
Grit his teeth though he might, he still decided to give it a shot.
After all, the arena had rules: as long as he shouted his surrender, the opponent wasn't allowed to harm his beast further. If they tried, the deacon would step in, and the opponent might even be disqualified.
Attack if he could, retreat if he couldn't!
Lu Shaoyuan's expression hardened as he barked an order: “Da Li! Go!”
The Black-Striped Big Tanuki let out a roar and pounced straight through the air!
Bai Zhirou's palms were also slick with sweat. This was her very first real battle, and right off the bat, she was facing a ferocious demon beast!
The big cat rapidly closed the distance.
Bai Zhirou dodged in a panic. Facing the cat's lightning-fast strikes, she scrambled to raise her sword to block, her movements exceedingly clumsy.
With one careless misstep—
Rip!
The sharp cat claws slashed right through her sleeve!
In her mind, watching this gave Jiang Ye a phantom toothache—after all, the two of them were sharing sensory pain right now!
However...
The expected torn skin, flesh, and agonizing pain never arrived.
The sharp cat claws merely left a few faint white scuff marks on Bai Zhirou's fair, delicate skin—it didn't even break the skin!
The Copper Skin Realm! Truly terrifying!
Seeing this scene unfold, Lu Shaoyuan's eyes immediately gleamed green with greedy excitement!
He realized that Bai Zhirou was struggling and flustered just dealing with Da Li!
Could it be... that her past unbelievable feats of tearing Tier Two demon beasts apart were all built on top of high-grade talisman treasures no one knew about?!
Single-use lethal talisman treasures are strictly banned in the outer sect tournament, so now her true colors are exposed, revealing her to be a total weakling in combat?!
An opportunity! A golden opportunity!
Lu Shaoyuan's heart, which had originally sunk to the bottom of an abyss, instantly burst into the flames of hope!
If I can publicly defeat the notorious Junior Sister Bai today, I'll not only gain fame but also rise up by using her as a stepping stone.
Besides, Junior Sister Bai is so captivatingly beautiful.
If I can win her over by displaying my overwhelming power... by securing this wealthy lady, wouldn't I gain both fame and fortune, skipping three hundred years of struggle?!
Meanwhile, down below the arena.
The Sword Peak disciples who had come to show their support wore peculiar expressions.
Almost all of them had witnessed Junior Sister Bai's combat with their own eyes yesterday.
Whether it was beating up Gao Jinli or slaughtering the Bolt-Striking Tiger, her movements were swift and decisive—handling Tier Two demon beasts as easily as disciplining a grandchild.
Why did Junior Sister Bai seem like a completely different person now? Her movements were so clumsy, almost as if she weren't familiar with her own body.
“What on earth is wrong with Junior Sister Bai?” a new disciple asked in confusion.
Beside him, several senior disciples who had been brainwashed by Jiang Ye stroked their chins and offered a profoundly deep analysis:
“Perhaps... Junior Sister Bai finds playing around like this more fun?”
Hearing this, everyone nodded in sudden realization. “Makes sense! That definitely sounds like something Junior Sister Bai would do!”
On the arena, Lu Shaoyuan pressed his advantage mercilessly.
“Junior Sister Bai, pardon me!”
With a loud shout, he brandished his weapon without another word and launched a pincer attack alongside the big cat from both left and right!
Bai Zhirou watched the weapons and sharp claws lunging straight at her.
She took a deep breath.
The panic inside her heart quickly settled.
The hand gripping her sword stopped trembling.
Her eyes narrowed. Slowly raising the long sword in her hand, her crisp voice resonated softly across the arena:
“Nine Connected Clouds Sword.”
Swish!
Her long sword unleashed a sharp arc of sword qi.
Lu Shaoyuan raised his saber to block, easily parrying the sword qi, a contemptuous sneer curling at the corner of his mouth:
“Hmph, you dare use an introductory sword technique to—”
However...
Before he could finish his words—
The second, third... up to the sixth wave of sword qi swept over him like a violent tempest!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The terrifying sword qi rammed the rest of Lu Shaoyuan's words right back down his throat!
Inside her mind.
Jiang Ye complained speechlessly:
“Hey, hey, hey! Little Bai! If you're going to use a sword technique, just use it! Why the hell are you flexing like that?!”
“How many times have I told you?! You don't need to stand still to use a sword technique, and you definitely don't need to shout the move's name at the top of your lungs! Are you playing Harry Potter here, reciting incantations?!”
Rate on N.U.
