"You know it, it's the one I used on you before, the one you unlocked." Xiang Nan's voice was low, lacking confidence. "Didn't I spar with you before? Using that ultimate move, my secret weapon. It's been too long since I used it..."
He'd forgotten how to unlock it.
Xiang Nan didn't dare say the last sentence out loud, fearing he'd be scolded.
"You dared to use it when you forgot how to unlock it," Bai Cha said, head aching. She jumped off the arena and went to find Arena Number Six. Although she and Meng Qinghuan had gone their separate ways after the World Championship, Meng Qinghuan was still her subordinate, and she couldn't just watch him die.
"I was too nervous and just flicked it out without thinking,"
Xiang Nan, who had already dragged Meng Qinghuan off the arena, mumbled sheepishly.
He wasn't good at direct combat; his strengths lay in underhanded tactics. Open combat like this on the arena somewhat countered agile assassins and those who preferred to play dirty from behind. It was unavoidable.
Moreover, Xiang Nan hadn't fought in a long time. He had only recently started training, so he was naturally far behind Meng Qinghuan. Xiang Nan understood what Bai Cha meant, so he was determined to win this match against Meng Qinghuan, which made him very nervous.
This Gu worm had a very special effect. It wasn't an offensive Gu. Its name was Samsara. It was harmless to ordinary humans but incredibly powerful against those with special abilities.
Normal ability users had a fixed energy circulation path within their bodies. This worm, however, created a sudden reverse flow in that energy path and also introduced a baffle. It was like blood flowing backward in an artery colliding with the blood currently flowing, causing fatal damage to cultivators who relied on normal circulation to train, unless they could reverse their blood flow.
Bai Cha had almost fallen victim to Xiang Nan's trick back then. Fortunately, Bai Cha's blood was very special and naturally counteracted it. She sealed off that section of blood and then, after kicking Xiang Nan off the arena, dealt with the Gu worm in her own body.
This type of Gu worm was harmless to the human body and extremely difficult to detect, but it was easily destroyed. In the outside world, it would turn to ash upon contact with any energy, but only within the body would it exert its immense power. Therefore, the timing of the infusion was crucial.
Of course, Xiang Nan always grasped this timing perfectly.
Having not handled such things for a long time, and being an outsider herself, Bai Cha, relying on her memory, worked with Xiang Nan to painstakingly unlock the Gu worm from Meng Qinghuan's body.
Xiang Nan's most poisonous Gu worms numbered eighty-one, and Meng Qinghuan had seventy-nine of them on his person. Bai Cha watched as Xiang Nan slowly performed acupuncture and bloodletting on Meng Qinghuan, feeling that Xiang Nan was harboring some personal emotions.
Seeing Meng Qinghuan's complexion shift from green to pale and then back to normal, Bai Cha got up and returned to her original Arena Number Three.
Her relationship with Meng Qinghuan was a bit awkward now, and she wasn't someone who would push her luck by intruding. Coincidentally, she had a match next, so it was better to leave early.
Back at the arena, Jing Ji's next opponent was supposed to be Athena. Everyone had thought that after Jing Ji defeated the previous year's second-ranked player, she would surely secure a top-three position. However, against Athena, Jing Ji couldn't even last ten moves.
Jing Ji lasted a little over ten moves against Virgo, and Athena took just over ten moves to defeat Jing Ji.
In the previous match, Jing Ji remained as refined as ever after the fight. In this match, Athena was also the same after the battle, her skirt not even wrinkled. When Bai Cha returned to the competition area, she saw Athena holding her scepter high, a beam of holy light sending Jing Ji directly out of the arena. Bai Cha arrived just in time to catch Jing Ji.
Jing Ji's body was indeed somewhat frail; excessive mental energy placed a great burden on her. For a long time, she felt powerless all over.
Her mental attack was of holy attribute. Against Athena, a six-sided warrior also of holy attribute, it was naturally ineffective. This was as expected.
"I'm sorry, I was a bit heavy-handed." Athena, with three pairs of golden wings fluttering behind her, floated gracefully to Bai Cha's side. Bai Cha had just managed to support Jing Ji and stop her backward momentum.
"No, Miss Athena, I should be thanking you for showing restraint." Jing Ji stabilized herself. First, she bowed to Bai Cha, then turned to Athena and said, "I've gained much insight, thank you for your guidance, Miss Athena."
She was still so unhurried. This was different from Athena's ladylike and refined demeanor. Jing Ji gave the impression of a cat that had just woken up, lazily stretching its limbs, its meows hesitant, slow, and languid.
Bai Cha naturally wouldn't say much. After all, this was a competition. Just because she knew Athena didn't mean Athena would go easy on her. This was the World Championship, and everyone would surely give their all.
Bai Cha checked the rankings. Before fighting Jing Ji, Athena had already fought and defeated Oudmubla. However, Oudmubla, as an veteran, was firmly ahead of Geib. It was Geib and Jupiter who fought a fierce battle, with Geib narrowly winning in the end.
And this match...
Freya versus Ghost Shadow?
Who was Ghost Shadow?
In a mere two seconds, Bai Cha mentally scanned the top ten rankings of all time but couldn't find where this Ghost Shadow had appeared from. It was Athena who reminded her.
"Ghost Shadow is ranked twelfth in this competition. I assume they saw that Meng Qinghuan, ranked eleventh, was difficult to deal with, so they used their revival slot directly," Athena said with a smile.
Bai Cha: "..."
What was wrong with this person? Meng Qinghuan was difficult to deal with, but was this little sprite easy?
Bai Cha checked the match schedule and realized that this person was originally supposed to fight Yan Ziqing in the next round. Yan Ziqing was a newcomer this year, so Ghost Shadow probably didn't think much of it, assuming they would win easily, and thus directly challenged Freya.
Wasn't this a free point? Meaning, if Ghost Shadow lost this match, they would be eliminated. Once the revival slot was used, it was gone. Then Yan Ziqing would directly win and become twelfth.
So, was this a windfall?
Bai Cha stroked her chin and looked at the arena. As expected, Freya was standing on the arena, waving at her expectantly, winking enthusiastically, and even blowing a kiss, drawing everyone's attention to Bai Cha.
Bai Cha was helpless but still smiled and waved, indicating she was watching.
Only then did Freya seem satisfied. She skipped to the center of the arena, completely ignoring Ghost Shadow, whose face had turned as dark as charcoal. She looked as if she were on a casual vacation.
Ghost Shadow felt insulted.
Although he was ranked in the top twenty, couldn't they insult him like this? Last year, both of them were in the top twenty.
Freya's attitude ignited Ghost Shadow's anger. As soon as the referee announced the start, Ghost Shadow shot towards Freya like an arrow from a bow. He was certain that Freya was a long-range attacker and weak in close combat. After all, in the previous matches, Ghost Shadow had watched carefully, and no one could get close to Freya. Therefore, Ghost Shadow's conviction only deepened.
"Mmm, don't be so hasty," Freya said with a charming smile. Without even drawing her bow, she conjured a crystal flower out of thin air. Holding the exquisitely formed stem, she watched Ghost Shadow's rapidly approaching figure, not moving an inch.
Ghost Shadow found it strange. Seeing Freya's smiling face, he had a bad feeling. His hands were already gripping two silver daggers, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the girl who underestimated him.
"Be happy, wouldn't you say this arena is particularly beautiful?" Freya said, her voice sweet and adorable. As she spoke, she sidestepped, perfectly dodging all of Ghost Shadow's attacks with effortless grace.
Although Freya's sidestep seemed casual, it made Ghost Shadow extremely uncomfortable. Freya's sidestep seemed to predict all his movements. No matter how Ghost Shadow changed his approach, Freya's dodging angle was precisely the one that troubled him the most. Immediately afterward, a sense of crisis washed over him.
"Accept this flower with gratitude."
Her voice was melodious and pleasant. The crystal flower descended slowly, yet Ghost Shadow found it impossible to dodge. As the crystal flower landed on him, it began to spread rapidly, quickly reaching the size of two palms. Startled, Ghost Shadow instantly vanished from his spot.
The black figure suddenly dissolved into smoke and disappeared. This masterful maneuver earned nods from the spectators. Those who could control spatial power indeed had the qualifications to contend for the top ten. Time and space were cheat artifacts that transcended all other powers.
"Oh, you can use spatial transfer? Then, I'll have to get serious," Freya said with a smile. She tapped her left foot and elegantly turned sixty-five degrees as if performing a ballet, meeting Ghost Shadow's gaze as he reappeared.
Ghost Shadow's hair stood on end. He didn't understand how Freya had seen through his spatial abilities. Before he could react, he saw Freya with her hands on her hips snap her fingers.
"Pop~"
Accompanied by Freya's self-made sound effect, Ghost Shadow suddenly realized that even though he had shed an outer shell and shifted space, the crystal flower was still on him. The moment Freya provided the sound effect, the crystal flower exploded.
Ghost Shadow was terrified and no longer held back. Countless shadows suddenly split, filling the arena with hundreds of them. The vast circular arena turned black, as if covered with a viscous swamp, with countless black hands reaching out from the ground.
These were all real; real hands, real clones. If one died, countless more would appear. This was Ghost Shadow's proud survival ability.
As the pink crystal shattered, half of Ghost Shadow was annihilated. He had to expend most of his clones just to barely withstand Freya's seemingly light attack.
"Oh dear, it's all black, so lifeless, not cute at all," Freya pouted, seemingly displeased. She stepped forward, and the black mud seemed to form threads on the soles of her shoes. The black threads were like melted asphalt, making Freya's delicate face contort.
Below the stage, Bai Cha's smile was a little peculiar. This little girl was a bit of a germaphobe. She must be disgusted now.
Indeed, Freya on the stage couldn't stand it any longer. Her composure was broken. She could fight anyone with a smile for hundreds of rounds, but that didn't mean someone could disgust her with a black muddy ground.
Why was it still stringy? It felt like she had stepped on something gooey, or worse, diarrhea.
In short, Freya couldn't tolerate it anymore.
"Honestly, I didn't expect you to be so messy. We're completely incompatible," Freya's words left Ghost Shadow somewhat bewildered. This was his proud shadow domain; everything was composed of shadows. He didn't understand what this had to do with him being messy.
On the contrary, he had a bit of a germaphobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder; he liked things to be neat and tidy. How was he messy?
Before Ghost Shadow could figure it out, Freya stepped forward again. With her right foot as the center, pink crystals rapidly spread, replacing the sticky shadows on the arena.
"Ah, this looks much better," Freya finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Um, I advise you to surrender now," Ghost Shadow was about to make a move when a voice suddenly sounded in his ear, sounding somewhat familiar. Ghost Shadow turned his head and saw Bai Cha looking at him with a strange expression.
"If you don't surrender, you might end up sterile," Bai Cha's telepathic message came again. "Unless you want to experience what it's like to have your head split open later."