Ge Xiang was also extremely nervous. Initially, she hadn't cared much about winning or losing, but as time went on, she didn't know why, but she increasingly hoped the Zhou family would win. If the Zhou family won, the Ge family would win too!
Mo Qi, however, appeared relaxed, even showing a hint of victorious joy.
Indeed, Steward Ding pointed at the eight bags in front of them and declared, his words like thunderclap, "These first eight bags are all high-grade spirit stones, with only a few mid-grade spirit stones in the eighth bag. The ninth bag contains only low-grade spirit stones. Thus, there's no need for me to tell you who won, is there?"
He could actually win like this! Wu Lei immediately fainted!
It was mainly due to shame!
As for the Wang and Xin families, they were all dejected and sighing. They never understood how, despite their efforts to snatch and block, they still lost in the end.
How did they lose?
They were also well aware of the combat strength of the Zhou and Ge families.
After Fu Chuande of the Ge family died, their combat strength was zero!
The Zhou family lost one member, another voluntarily withdrew, and their earlier collected spirit stones were all snatched. They only managed to gather less than a bag later under Ge Xiang's protection.
This meant that these spirit stones were almost entirely collected by Mo Qi alone.
So many people were defeated by him single-handedly.
Ge Xiang cheered and rushed forward, grabbing Mo Qi and spinning him around.
It was too embarrassing!
Mo Qi, with a dark expression, tried to shake her off but couldn't.
As the Wang and Xin families prepared to leave, Steward Yu said, "Originally, Princess Shui Han and I were to be the judges and witness the birth of the victor. However, since Princess Shui Han is absent, to prevent any unnecessary disputes in the future, I will take your storage bags containing spirit stones back for verification. Please mark them yourselves."
Mo Qi unhesitatingly prepared to step forward to make his mark.
The Wang family felt that since they had lost, everything else was superfluous and they had no mood to make their marks. They looked at each other, but no one moved.
Just then, a voice pierced through the air, "Steward Yu, since the Zhou family has won, let them leave."
Mo Qi looked up, overjoyed. Had Shui Han returned?
However, Steward Yu's address disappointed him greatly: "Princess Shui Bing!"
Princess Shui Bing? Not Shui Han!
At this moment, Mo Qi truly noticed the difference between the person before him and Shui Han. Although they looked almost identical, Shui Bing wore a fiery red dress and had a smile on her face, a stark contrast to Shui Han's icy demeanor.
But the people below, gazing at Shui Bing, showed the same adoration and longing.
Except for Ge Xiang, everyone else slightly nodded and saluted Shui Bing, "Princess Shui Han!"
Shui Bing waved her hand, "No need for formalities!"
Meanwhile, Steward Yu felt a pang of sadness. With Shui Han missing, the City Lord of Sky City did not seem concerned about his daughter's life and instead sent his other daughter to complete the competition.
It seemed that in his heart, completing the competition was more important than his daughter's life.
Then, Shui Bing said something that made Steward Yu feel even more heartless: "You all may return. Tomorrow, I will present the awards to the Zhou family's victors in my sister's stead!"
Everyone dispersed.
Shui Bing's figure landed before Steward Yu and she said to him, "Someone from the Zhou family reported seeing Shui Han going down the Qilin Cliff. Therefore, Father has asked me to inform you and order you to proceed to the Demon Realm to find Shui Han."
"I... this..." Steward Yu felt turmoil within him. How could he rescue Shui Han alone in that barren land filled with demons?
"What? Is there a difficulty?" Shui Bing asked coldly.
"No, your subordinate obeys!" Steward Yu bowed his head, then turned and sped away.
Mo Qi walked back to the camp, looking dejected.
For some reason, upon hearing the news of Shui Han's disappearance, he felt an inexplicable sadness in his heart.
He didn't know why.
Perhaps it was because he hadn't taken action when he could have stopped her from pursuing Lian Xin.
Or perhaps, she had quietly occupied a certain place in his heart?
A cold and aloof girl who rejected boys was indeed more likely to attract them!
Because she was unattainable, she was more precious!
Lost in thought, his head was suddenly tapped. He turned back in surprise to see Ge Xiang's smiling face before him, "What are you thinking about? So engrossed?"
"Uh, nothing, nothing at all," Mo Qi said casually as he continued walking.
"We won, but you don't seem very happy," Ge Xiang said, walking beside him with some surprise.
"How could that be?"
"Do you not want to stay with the Zhou family? If you don't want to stay here, then come to our Ge family. I'll speak to my father and offer you a general's position, how about that?" Ge Xiang suddenly said with a half-smile.
Trying to poach him again?
At first, he craved attention, wishing the whole world would favor him. However, recently he was constantly being poached, and it felt rather tiresome.
"Talents like me are generals wherever I go. Why should I go to your place?" Mo Qi said nonchalantly.
"But I'm not there!" Ge Xiang smiled brightly, a blush on her fair cheeks.
"Yes, and other places don't have people who tease me," Mo Qi smiled back.
"You... you don't know what's good for you." Ge Xiang was furious and turned away, stomping off.
Mo Qi looked back at her once more, then continued towards the camp.
The next morning, Shui Bing arrived as scheduled. In General Zheng's tent, soldiers were lined up in neat rows, a red carpet was laid on the ground, and all preparations were made with great fanfare.
The people's adoration for Shui Bing was no less than that for Shui Han.
Moreover, Shui Bing was particularly approachable, with a smile on her face, nodding gently at everyone. When she reached the head seat, she praised Mo Qi and the others profusely, calling them the pride of the military camp, stating that their outstanding performance this time meant they were extraordinary, destined for great achievements on the battlefield, shining brightly with limitless potential.
During the award ceremony, Gu Dahhu, like Jia Guan, tried to touch Shui Bing's hand.
Shui Bing agilely withdrew her hand and smiled apologetically, "You are all too enthusiastic. There's no need for this. If you are too enthusiastic, we won't dare to come again, hehe..."
When presenting Mo Qi with his award, Shui Bing smiled, "So you are Mo Qi. You truly are a man of great talent, a dragon among men. Sky City has been paying attention to you and looks forward to your growth."
The series of words made Mo Qi feel incredibly flattered!
He wondered why, with the same face, there was such a huge difference.
However, what Mo Qi cared about most were the prizes awarded to him, which was the Ten Thousand Year Red!
It was also a spiritual medicine that could greatly enhance cultivation and aid in breakthroughs.
After receiving the medicine, he immediately returned to his tent without any delay.
After several hours of circulation and impact, he successfully broke through to the ninth level of Human Immortal.
Since entering the military camp, Mo Qi had been constantly breaking through.
Such speed was already considered heaven-defying.
Just as he finished his cultivation, a soldier reported that another dried corpse had been found fifty li outside the camp.
Mo Qi immediately sped out, and several other soldiers followed.
Fifty li was covered in the blink of an eye.
It was already night, and the moonlight was like water, casting a silver sheen over the surroundings.
This was a wooded area, with figures flickering within, as if searching for something.
Mo Qi's heart became a mess!
Lian Xin was impossible to bring back!
Then, was the person absorbing human essence and blood nearby still Shi Siyao?
As he ran around haphazardly, he saw a familiar face, it was Commander Wei.
He was currently deploying troops, seemingly intending to encircle and suppress the blood-sucking demon.
Mo Qi immediately stepped forward to greet him, "Old Wei, what are you doing with so many people?"
Commander Wei seemed to be in a hurry, turning his head to respond as he walked, "We've cornered the demon that absorbs human essence and blood here. This time, we must capture her. I've already notified Master Zhou."
"I heard that person is very powerful. Can't your men stop her?" Mo Qi asked tentatively.
"She doesn't want to leave. Someone saw her face, and she wants to silence them."
Commander Wei walked away after speaking.
Mo Qi felt a chill run down his spine, standing there in a daze.
Just then, several piercing screams tore through the air, shaking everyone's hearts.
Mo Qi instinctively chased in the direction of the sound. He unleashed his Golden Light Shrinking Ground Technique, becoming a small dot, traversing through the air at extreme speed. The few soldiers quickly fell behind, losing sight of him.
The place where the sound originated was the edge of the Demon Realm, in the direction of Qilin Cliff.
When Mo Qi arrived, he saw a crowd gathered there, and another graceful figure stood out prominently among them. She weaved through the crowd, and upon collision, light erupted, sending the crowd scattering.
The conspicuous figure then broke through the human wall and leaped off the cliff.
Regretful shouts erupted from the crowd.
"She escaped, she escaped, she still managed to escape."
"I saw her face clearly, she was a woman."