Fireworks

The air in the arena froze completely at that moment. The sight of those eight strange petals made everyone’s skin prickle with tension.

In the front row of the audience, an old instructor raised a teacup to his lips and then set it back down, completely forgetting the temperature of the tea.

She was going to strike!

That was what everyone thought.

But Qiu Shubai’s wrist suddenly rose half an inch, and the tip of Bloodfall pointed toward the sky.

The deep red sword-light followed the movement of the tip. The elliptical ring of light that had been pressing down on Fang Xin’s head broke apart, surging straight toward the heavens. The deep red core, acting like a streak of light, dragged the other seven lights into long trails, tearing a ribbon across the sky that spanned the entire dome.

The fusion of gold and red colors rushed upward, moving so fast that even the wind couldn’t keep up. Accompanied by a loud boom from dozens of meters up in the air, bursts of brilliant fireworks bloomed in the sky.

Crimson, golden, pale pink, bright white—one after another, they spread in all directions, dividing the entire sky into countless fragments.

A rain of light slowly fell from a height of over ten meters. The embers of the fireworks swirled in the air into various shapes—petals, stardust, and countless tiny points of light. Each one shimmered with a faint crimson hue before finally dissipating in the wind.

That seemingly bloodthirsty, magnificent attack had actually turned into a display of brilliant fireworks.

The entire arena fell into a state of absolute silence.

The hundreds of spectators squeezed into the stands stood with their mouths agape; not a single person made a sound.

Yu Mingyang forgot to lower the hand holding his phone. The lens was still pointed at the sky, and his face was pressed against the screen, unable to say a single word.

The only sounds left in the entire venue were the faint crackle of the dying fireworks and the whimpering of the wind whistling through the gaps in the stands.

In the center of the arena, Qiu Shubai brought Bloodfall back to her side and turned to walk toward Fang Xin, who was slumped on the ground.

Fang Xin sat where he was, staring up at the points of light that had yet to fully vanish. His eyes were glazed, his lips slightly parted, and his entire body was as still as if his pressure points had been struck.

Qiu Shubai crouched down and reached out to steady his arm.

That arm was still trembling slightly.

She didn’t use much force, merely half-supporting and half-pulling him up from the ground. Fang Xin’s legs were as soft as if he were stepping on cotton; the moment he stood straight, he nearly knelt back down again.

Qiu Shubai steadied him. She lowered her voice until it was only audible to Fang Xin.

“It looks like I win this one.”

“Still, you fought well. Go back and have Luo Yang teach you a few more moves.”

Fang Xin’s pupils quivered. He looked up at her, his throat bobbing, but no words came out.

Qiu Shubai didn’t wait for him to speak. She walked toward the other side of the arena, Bloodfall dissolving into pale gold light that vanished into her palm.

Only then did the audience react.

It was unclear who started clapping first, but the applause seemed to have a half-beat delay before surging forward from the back rows, merging into a massive roar.

People whistled, and some shouted her name at the top of their lungs until their voices cracked.

Fang Xin remained standing where he was, staring blankly at Qiu Shubai’s back.

The referee’s hand was already raised.

“Tenth Team, all members out! The winner of this match is the First Team!”

The broadcast voice boomed. Fang Xin seemed to finally be jolted awake by this shout, nodding in a daze.

As he walked down the steps, his foot slipped, and he nearly tumbled. A staff member nearby reached out to steady him; he lowered his head and muttered a thank you, his voice so raspy it didn’t sound like his own.

He walked all the way to the rest area, the moment the eight streaks of light exploded repeating over and over in his mind.

Before coming to this match, he and his teammates had run simulations. He knew he would likely lose.

The title of Chief of the Ladder Rankings wasn’t for show, and the team Qiu Shubai was on had a seed configuration personally set by Zhang Xian. His side looked like they were just there to be the foil no matter how you looked at it.

He had even mentally prepared himself to be pierced in a non-lethal spot by Bloodfall, but he hadn’t expected to lose like this.

Throughout the match, he had been locked in a back-and-forth struggle with Qiu Shubai. Blade-light and sword-shadow had been entangled, looking almost like an even match from the outside. But at the final moment, he finally saw the truth of the entire battle.

The support on the other side named Li Qiang hadn’t really put in much effort from start to finish.

Fang Xin reached the steps of the rest area and stopped, turning to glance into the distance.

At the other end of the arena, Li Qiang was facing away from the audience, wiping sweat with a towel. He was over ten meters away from Qiu Shubai and Tang Xuan, leaning against a pillar, his entire body almost retracted into the pillar’s shadow.

That guy’s choice of positioning was extremely meticulous.

Every time he released a buff, Fang Xin and his teammates were unable to lock onto his position immediately. Either their line of sight was blocked by a pillar, their attention was drawn by Qiu Shubai and Tang Xuan’s offensive, or Li Qiang himself had moved ahead of time, always staying in their blind spot.

Although his casting efficiency would definitely be affected, he had successfully survived until the end.

Flowing Cloud Stardust didn’t have any direct defensive capabilities. If the opponent’s lineup had an assassin-type Punisher, Li Qiang would easily become their primary target.

As long as he survived, the entire team’s sustained combat capability could be guaranteed. By trading a bit of efficiency for a significantly increased survival time, he could make his move at a more critical moment.

This was Li Qiang’s way of survival as a support.

Fang Xin looked at the figure huddled in the shadows and suddenly laughed, though it was a bit bitter.

He silently chewed over Qiu Shubai’s words in his mind; the meaning was already quite clear.

He was still far from it.

Not just far from Qiu Shubai and Luo Yang, but he hadn't even been able to fully see through a support like Li Qiang, who relied on his brain to make a living.

...

Luo Yang’s home, Third Ring Road, Yuanxing City.

The phone screen was still broadcasting the scene of the arena after the fireworks had faded. Yu Mingyang was excitedly explaining something, but Luo Yang had already turned the volume down to the minimum.

He had also been stunned for a moment after seeing that scene just now.

It wasn’t because of the technique itself; he could guess the energy structure of that move. it was a product of Qiu Shubai’s control over Crimson Abyss and Bloodfall working together. The eight petals corresponded to the eight petal markings on Bloodfall’s blade, with each one being an independent sword-light.

The normal usage should have been to strike the enemy directly with the core sword-light, while the seven auxiliary sword-lights blocked retreat paths and added extra damage from seven directions. Yet Qiu Shubai had turned that killing move into fireworks today.

Luo Yang rubbed his chin. The KK interface was already open on Qiu Shubai’s chat window, and the message he sent was very brief.

“Beautiful.”

To his surprise, only a few seconds after the message was sent, his phone began to ring. Four words jumped onto the screen: “Miss Chief.”

His finger hovered over the answer button for a second.

The match had just ended. Logically, she should be busy dealing with a pile of interviews and questioning from instructors. Where did she find the free time to call him?

Moreover, she almost never called. Their communication was either through messages on KK or talking in person. To have her suddenly call him when there was clearly no urgent matter was a first-time experience for Luo Yang.

“Hello?”

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line. He could hear background noise; she seemed to be in a hallway. There were voices in the distance and faint footsteps. Finally, Qiu Shubai’s voice came through.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Her voice was half a pitch lower than usual, devoid of any obvious emotion.

“Congratulations,” Luo Yang said. “That move just now was pretty interesting. I didn’t think you’d come up with using it to set off fireworks.”

“Mm.”

She gave a soft affirmation, and then went silent again.

Luo Yang waited for two seconds but didn’t get a follow-up. She didn't hang up, though, making him a bit unsure of what she actually wanted to say.

According to their usual rhythm, once his congratulatory message was sent, she should have replied with an “mm” or “thanks,” and at most added a line of small talk. This sudden phone call was clearly not her style.

He tried asking a question.

“Is... something wrong?”

There was another pause on the other end.

“It’s nothing,” she said.

If it’s nothing, why are you calling, Miss Chief?

“Um...” her voice suddenly rang out again. “Are you... at home today?”

Luo Yang raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Didn’t I just finish watching your match?”

“Mm.”

“...What’s with the ‘mm’?”

“...Nothing.”

Luo Yang couldn’t help but laugh himself.

Ever since that time on the hospital rooftop, this girl’s state when talking to him had been swinging between two extremes. Either she was her usual cold-as-ice self, or she would start faltering as soon as she opened her mouth.

And every time she faltered, she refused to admit it.

On the other end of the phone, he could hear the sound of her footsteps. The sound of heels clicking against the floor was faster than usual; she was likely looking for a place where no one was around to talk.

After about ten seconds, the footsteps stopped.

“Luo Yang.”

“Yeah?”

Luo Yang heard her take a breath on the other end, seemingly gathering her courage.

Then she said:

“That just now... was for you.”