A New Battle Is About to Begin

The night passed in silence.

Early the next morning, Lan Qingyou woke up to prepare.

Though she called it preparing, there wasn't much to do besides washing up. At most, it was changing into a new set of clothes.

Specifically, it was the outfit Ruan Qingyi had rushed to finish yesterday.

This set, named “Starlight's Brilliance,” consisted of a robe, hat, belt, and boots. It was primarily black, accented with purple and dark red.

On the inner side of the wide brim of the witch's pointed hat, one could even see points of light that flickered occasionally like stars.

Lan Qingyou had quite liked it when she first received it.

After all, who doesn't like wearing new clothes?

However...

“What made you suddenly think of making something like this?” Lan Qingyou asked Ruan Qingyi after receiving the set of equipment with high-level enchantments.

“You probably don't know what the outside world is calling your and Alisa's factions now, do you?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Factions?

Her and Alisa?

True, since Alisa's Workshop Witches had appeared, Lan Qingyou had picked up the very fitting name “High Tower Clan”—the name her “enemies” had given her lineage of witches—to distinguish them.

But she really didn't know what the outsiders were calling her.

After all, she had just eaten some noodles with Ursula after returning, then split up to bathe, sleep, and prepare for today's match. She hadn't had any extra energy to pay attention to external matters.

“The Black Witch and the White Witch.”

“Aren't they the Workshop Witches and the High Tower Witches?” Lan Qingyou felt a bit surprised.

She then learned from Ruan Qingyi that the name originated from the white-robed witches under Alisa and Ursula, the black-robed witch who was always dressed in black.

Compared to the terms “High Tower” and “Workshop” used by Lan Qingyou and Alisa, the contrast between black and white, light and dark, was immediate.

Or rather, this naming convention was more suitable for public spread, so it became “viral” instantly.

Though it wasn't what Lan Qingyou wanted.

After putting on her new clothes and eating the breakfast Gu Xiaobei had teleported over, Lan Qingyou went to the teleportation circle alone.

Ursula was already waiting there. Today, she wore a black mermaid-style evening gown and a witch's pointed hat.

Since it was a new outfit, it was naturally provided by Ruan Qingyi, and completely free of charge.

According to Ruan Qingyi, she was “very willing to design clothes belonging to certain people.”

To put it bluntly, it was a gift from a tailor who wanted to see people cosplay. Don't ask. If you ask, it's just a hobby.

“Clan Leader.”

“Mm, let's go.”

The two of them, both dressed in black but with completely different designs, stepped into the teleportation circle inside the habitat's tree hollow.

Even though they were inside Lan Qingyou's own shelter and there was no one else but her and Ursula, everyone outside was already watching the sky-screen broadcast that had appeared early this morning.

Furthermore, Diana and the others were watching them from the balcony of the nearby administrative building.

As for why Ursula, Diana, and the others could enter and leave Lan Qingyou's shelter so freely, it was because Lan Qingyou...

The rest area was still the same rest area. However, compared to yesterday when there were only drinks and snacks, today there were four more chaises longues for people to rest on.

Lan Qingyou had reason to suspect that the world consciousness monitoring the entire tournament had plagiarized her idea after seeing her bring out a chaise longue to rest previously.

Mm, these chaises longues were more comfortable than her own. She'd take one when she left, treating it as a copyright fee.

Sitting on the chaise longue, Lan Qingyou looked around and saw that Alisa hadn't arrived yet, so she waved to Ursula.

“Ursula, I'm fine here. Go find a chair and sit down.”

“But Clan Leader, your legs...”

The issue with Lan Qingyou's legs was no longer a secret.

Not only among the witches of the High Tower Clan, but even some commoners in Typhon City knew. So for the past two days, Ursula had been looking after her as if she were Lan Qingyou's personal maid.

But now that Lan Qingyou was telling her to sit, wouldn't that mean she couldn't stay by the deity's side?

“It's fine. Wasn't I doing just fine before?” Lan Qingyou gave a gentle smile, knowing the other was conflicted.

“It's rest time now. You should rest well, lest you lose the match later. That would mean losing a spot.”

As soon as winning and losing were mentioned, Ursula could only nod in agreement, no matter how unwilling she was.

There was no choice. While taking care of a god was of the utmost importance, losing face for a god was even worse—an offense that couldn't be compensated for even by death.

She knew the sky-screen had appeared early and was already broadcasting. She couldn't embarrass her own deity.

So, Ursula immediately bowed slightly to Lan Qingyou, said something like “Call me immediately if you need anything,” and went to the chaise longue next to her.

“Yo, you two witches are early. Are you so eager to get this over with and go home?”

Not long after Ursula sat down, Xin Tianle entered the rest area, stepping on her hooves.

This person just had a foul mouth. She started mocking Lan Qingyou and Ursula the moment she entered.

And how could Ursula, who considered herself Lan Qingyou's maid, stand someone mocking Lan Qingyou?

So, before Lan Qingyou could even speak, Ursula stepped forward first and began to elegantly blast Xin Tianle.

“If it isn't the scum Xin Tianle? I've heard of you. Are you walking well on your path of fraud today?”

In the past, Ursula, who disliked communicating with others and even disliked humans, would never have said such a thing. She might not even have spoken at all.

But after eating noodles with Lan Qingyou yesterday and getting the promise of co-developing whitening and scar-removing skincare products, things had changed significantly.

Although she still detested humans, she was full of longing for tomorrow. Whether the scars were removed or not was no longer important to her.

What mattered was the act itself of collaborating with her deity. What could be more pleasant for a devout believer than staying with their god?

So, after returning last night and praying to the wooden statue of Lan Qingyou she had carved, she swore she must get rid of those bad habits. For example, communicating more with others.

Well...

Even though she opened with a venomous remark exposing someone's flaws, you couldn't deny she was communicating.

Moreover, doing this allowed her to monopolize the “glory of being the vanguard for the god.” It was a very worthwhile, active, and positive change.

Being mocked by someone who considered herself a maid, how could the big shot Xin Tianle take it?

She stepped forward, standing only a dozen centimeters away from Ursula, leaning in slightly to stare at the other's black silk veil with a domineering look and a sneer.

“Heh, were you always this good at talking? I didn't notice. A mere maid should just crawl away and let your master speak to me.”