Chapter 10 Ten Minutes Later

Ten minutes later, in the Thriller Paradise meeting room.

"Hmm... Some very interesting data has been collected." Feng Bujue sat at the conference table, looking at the projection screen in front of him as he read aloud.

At this time, his four teammates were also sitting around the conference table, each watching a match that interested them on their respective projection screens.

"What? Is the match between Order and Ice Emperor over?" Ruoyu turned her head and asked when she heard Jue-ge's words.

"Although the final outcome hasn't been decided yet, the situation is basically clear." Feng Bujue replied, "Sashimi was taken care of by the Difficulty-Naming Trio; Atobe was defeated by Drunken Lying and Lamenting; Drunken Lying and Lamenting and Wu Si Can Xuan were then defeated one by one by Dianhe Wang; and Samodier was injured and fled by Gui Xiao..." He thought for a moment, then added, "I estimate... Dianhe Wang will have to run after tangling with Gui Xiao for a while. After that, it'll be up to Gui Xiao and the Difficulty-Naming Trio to decide the winner."

"So..." Ruoyu paused for half a second and asked, "What do you think the result will be?"

"Heh..." Feng Bujue chuckled lightly, "Of course, Order Team One will win."

"I say..." Hearing this, Hua Jian couldn't help but turn his head and interject, "Is it really okay for you to use such a matter-of-course tone? What exactly were you doing, running around helping Ice Emperor before the match?"

"I didn't specifically do anything for Ice Emperor." Feng Bujue denied Hua Jian's statement, "My plan... is mainly for my personal benefit. As for Ice Emperor... they just happened to 'catch a ride.' They effortlessly gained a powerful 'momentum' in the match, and I used their strength to get what I wanted..." He paused, "...information."

"So... you didn't think Ice Emperor would win from the start?" Xiao Ling also joined the conversation.

"That's right." Feng Bujue replied frankly, "In fact... not to mention Ice Emperor, even if the team catching a ride with me was the Gods, I wouldn't think they had a chance to win."

"Hey, hey..." Wang Tanzhi, sitting across from Jue-ge, also chimed in, "That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it? According to you, isn't Order Team One invincible?"

"Not at all, not at all~" Feng Bujue shook his head and replied, "Order Team One isn't invincible, but... in terms of individual combat power, [Swallowing Heaven Gui Xiao] can basically be considered invincible."

"According to you, wouldn't our other teams have no chance at all?" Ruoyu said, "Should everyone just pray they don't encounter Order Team One before the finals, and then fight for second place?"

"I didn't say that." Feng Bujue replied, "In my opinion, no one is unbeatable... including myself. Of course, dealing with monsters of Gui Xiao's level requires some planning and preparation. Today's situation is part of that preparation."

"I understand." Xiao Ling nodded, "You want to force out his limits in this script, right?"

"No." Feng Bujue's answer was almost immediate.

"No?" Xiao Ling asked doubtfully, her eyes widening.

"No." Feng Bujue repeated the answer again and explained, "If you want to force out Gui Xiao's limits, you need a combat force at the level of the Four Pillar Gods. For abilities below that level... like the Time Officer, the Juror, the Nine Underworld Lords, etc., you'd need at least four of them." He rested his elbow on the table and supported his chin with one hand, "As for players... maybe seven or eight of Drunken Dream's level might have a chance."

He paused for a few seconds, then continued, "In short, relying on Ice Emperor's four, plus Dianhe Wang and Samodier... it's unlikely that they can force out Gui Xiao's limits, unless... the other three members of Order Team One don't help at all and watch them six fight Gui Xiao alone."

"Eh?" Xiao Tan was confused again, "The strength comparisons you're making... are all based on Gui Xiao's full power, right? But isn't he fighting in the magic circle set up by the Phantom Demon Church beforehand today? He shouldn't be able to exert his full strength."

"That magic circle isn't as powerful as you think." Feng Bujue replied, "The main purpose of the circle I had Samodier and the others set up... is to weaken the players' 'summoning skills' and 'spiritual energy weapons.'" He tilted his head and muttered, "With only these two abilities restricted, the impact on Gui Xiao isn't that great. Also... according to my observation, Gui Xiao had already discovered the effect of the circle shortly before Dianhe Wang appeared, so he hasn't used those two abilities at all so far."

"Then what's the point of this test?" Hua Jian asked, "Could it be that your real purpose is to screw over Ice Emperor?"

"How is that possible..." Feng Bujue pointed to the screen in front of him, "If I hadn't been secretly orchestrating things, how could Ice Emperor have managed to make Order Team One lose three members with only Atobe dead?"

At this point, Jue-ge put both elbows on the table, then interlaced his fingers and placed his hands horizontally in front of his philtrum: "As for the meaning of this 'test'... isn't it very clear?" He struck Ikari Gendo's signature pose and smiled, "I just want to see the most basic and strongest ability of Swallowing Heaven Gui Xiao—Martial Arts Specialization."

"Hmm..." After hearing this for several seconds, Xiao Tan nodded thoughtfully, "Now that you mention it, I suddenly realize... Gui Xiao seems to have been basically relying on summoned creatures to fight in previous matches."

"Yeah." Xiao Ling also chimed in, "Just looking at the recordings of the matches he fought in S2, he looks completely like a summoning-type player."

"Hmph..." Jue-ge snorted coldly, "That's because this kid can't find any opponents worthy of his attention in terms of fighting anymore." He licked his lips, "I personally believe that during the S1 period, there were only five participants who could compete with Gui Xiao in 'fighting'—Qi Sha, Meng Jingchan, Drunken Lying and Lamenting, Xiao Wen Cang Tian, and Xiao Tan."

"Huh?" Wang Tanzhi exclaimed in surprise, "Me?" He paused for a second, "And me but not you?"

"That's normal." Feng Bujue replied calmly, "Fighting is also about talent, and I obviously don't have that kind of talent." He sat up straight and spread his hands, "Even now, my Martial Arts Specialization has reached S-level, but that doesn't mean I'm a fighting master." As he said that, he glanced at Ruoyu, then looked at Xiao Tan again, "Assuming completely equal physical qualities, wielding the same weapons or fighting barehanded... I am definitely no match for you and Ruoyu."

"Oh..." Xiao Tan rubbed his chin and muttered, "So that's how it's calculated."

"That's right." Feng Bujue continued, "But unfortunately, two of the five people I listed are Gui Xiao's teammates, and Xiao Wen Cang Tian's talent is a bit inferior to the other four, so..." He tapped the table lightly with his index finger, "Currently, among these five people, the only ones who can compete with Gui Xiao in fighting are you and Qi Sha." At this point, he moved his finger horizontally, "Of course, that's not counting Ruoyu. Counting her, there would be three."

"I think I understand..." At this time, Ruoyu, who had been silent for a long time, spoke again, looking sideways at Jue-ge, "I've roughly guessed the purpose of today's plan and your plan..."

"Hehe... I guessed it too." Xiao Ling also quickly chimed in.

But Xiao Tan and Hua Jian still didn't understand, and they asked with puzzled expressions, "What is it?"

Feng Bujue replied with a smile, "That is..."

...

At the same time, in another script.

Boom—

After a loud bang, a tall building collapsed in response.

If you were to observe from a distance, you would find that this building of over forty floors had been diagonally cut in half from the middle.

The cut surface was very straight and flat... so much so that in the first few seconds of the collapse, the "upper half of the building" appeared to be sliding sideways as a whole.

"Ugh, cough... cough, cough..." Not long after, several coughs came from the thick smoke of the ruins.

Then, the person coughing jumped up more than ten meters and landed on the roof of a building next to it.

"Ah ah~ It seems like I overdid it a bit." After standing still, Oda Ai sheathed her sword and muttered to herself.

As soon as she finished speaking, three light figures landed a few meters behind her one after another with three "tap," "tap," "tap" sounds.

"I told you to control your strength." Uesugi Jin was the first to speak, "It's always like this."

"I'm too lazy to complain..." Takeda Tomoe then chimed in, "You muscle woman..."

"Aren't you already complaining..." Oda Ai turned her head back and gave the petite Takeda Tomoe a dead fish eye.

"Tch..." Takeda Tomoe was not to be outdone, and pulled at her cheeks with both hands to return a funny face.

"Okay, we're in a match, don't make a fuss." Akechi Nobu, the most calm of the four, spoke at this time, "Ai, you really should pay attention in the future. Acting recklessly like this regardless of the combat environment is the same as giving the opponent a chance... to escape in the smoke."

"That's right, that's right..." Takeda Tomoe immediately responded, "Now there's only one opponent left. In this situation, he'll definitely run away. It'll be so much trouble to find him."

"You don't have to worry about that." As Oda Ai said that, she shifted her gaze back to the smoke and dust below, "Although I'm not familiar with this person, I know... he will definitely not run away."

"Huh?" Takeda Tomoe was stunned for a moment, then laughed a few times, "Ha! What are you thinking?" She ran to the edge of the roof, pointed her finger at the pile of rubble covered in dust below, and said, "Could there be such a fool who knows that his teammates have all been killed and still wants to face four people head-on?"

Bang—

Before she could finish speaking, a muffled sound came from the smoke and dust. Immediately afterwards, a figure rising from the ground flew into the air.

Two seconds later, the figure landed steadily on the railing at the edge of the roof, and stood proudly on that iron bar, chest out and head held high.

He was wearing a white Pegasus Saint Cloth, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and an imposing aura. Just his presence alone... gave people a sense of background music.

"Hee—" Takeda Tomoe almost rolled her eyes when she saw this scene. Her throat instinctively made a strange groan, and she added, "What is this guy doing!"

Even the relatively calm Akechi Nobu and Uesugi Jin changed their expressions in surprise, and each thought to themselves...

"What's going on? Didn't he notice we're here?"

"What does he want to do? Does he have some kind of trump card to take us all down with him?"

"Hahahaha... The red-haired one, you did a good job!" Pegasus Soaring in the Sky, who had his arms crossed in front of his chest, pointed at Oda Ai, looking around with no one else, and said, "It's my turn next!"

"Do you think this is a turn-based game..." Takeda Tomoe, who was standing closest to him, immediately retorted, raising her hand to swing her weapon at him.

"Okay!" Who knew that Oda Ai, who was not far away, would also immediately respond loudly, "None of you are allowed to attack, I'm going to defeat him myself!"

"Hey... are you being stupid with this idiot too?" Takeda Tomoe turned her head sharply and shouted at her teammates, "This is a fool who jumped in front of four opponents all alone, posing defenselessly and preparing for a life-or-death battle!"

When Takeda Tomoe made this retort, she obviously still intended to attack Little Ma-ge. But in the next second... she suddenly saw Akechi Nobu in the distance shake his head slightly at her and wink.

In that instant, Takeda Tomoe pondered for a moment, as if she understood something, and then she stopped speaking and stepped aside.

"Are we really not going to help?" Two seconds later, Uesugi Jin lowered her voice and said to Akechi Nobu next to her.

"This is a good opportunity, Jin." Akechi Nobu also replied in a whisper, "Don't forget, the opponent is the champion of the Peak Tournament S1..."

Uesugi Jin's expression changed slightly upon hearing this: "I see..." She immediately understood her teammate's meaning, "Let our Warring States' trump card defeat the S1 champion in a 'one-on-one' match..."

"That's right." Akechi Nobu continued, "Although Pegasus Soaring in the Sky is not recognized as the strongest player, the title of champion is not fake. Killing him in a siege and defeating him in a one-on-one match... have very different meanings."

While they were talking, the battle on the other side had already begun.

"Take this!" Pegasus Soaring in the Sky, following his usual style, had to inform the opponent before making a move, and then announce the name of the move.

So, everyone, I'm sure you've already guessed that the skill Little Ma-ge will use is naturally...

"Pegasus Meteor Fist!" (Tianma Liuxing Quan)

With a shout, the shadows of the fists moved swiftly.

Pegasus Soaring in the Sky moved his fists continuously, and the silvery-white fist shadows were like滔滔 (tao tao) huge waves, surging and attacking Oda Ai with all their might.

"You guy..." As Oda Ai spoke, her right hand had already gripped the handle of her samurai sword at her left waist, "Whether it's in the match recordings... or just now... is this the only move you ever use!"

By the time she said the last two words, her tone had turned into a roar.

And the samurai sword in her hand... had also been drawn.