"Come on, Bai Cha, let me see what you're capable of."
As Bai Cha's right foot stepped onto the stage, a嚣张 (xiāo zhāng - arrogant) voice sounded from across. The voice sounded pleasant, with a refined feel that, at first listen, seemed like that of a playboy. However, it wasn't as pleasant as Meng Qinghuan's voice, let alone Lucifer's gentle and steady one.
Hua Yueye was dressed in a pink and white robe, and Bai Cha couldn't help but wonder if it was intentionally made to match Freya's. The robe seemed somewhat incongruous with his face, especially the pink fan, which left Bai Cha speechless.
"Miss Bai, it's not too late to concede now." Hua Yueye leaped, and countless flower petals supported him as he floated elegantly onto the stage. His moves certainly had good visual effects; upon his appearance, peach blossoms bloomed everywhere. Even his dragon was ostentatiously pink.
Bai Cha remained silent, and the people from Z country were also silent. The somewhat noisy spectator area suddenly fell into an eerie quiet, with people around looking back frequently.
The people of Z country were seen frozen in their seats, their eyeballs darting around as they exchanged glances. The scene was rather comical.
"Begin!"
The referee gave the order, but neither of them moved. Hua Yueye looked at Bai Cha, who stood still, feeling somewhat perplexed.
"Miss Bai, aren't you bringing your dragon onto the stage? Are you perhaps hoping Mr. Hua will go easy on you?" Hua Yueye seemed puzzled.
A dragon rider's dragon and person counted as one slot, and they could both step onto the stage to fight. By doing so, Bai Cha was essentially forfeiting half her strength.
Bai Cha still didn't speak, nor did she move. Hua Yueye grew even more confused. Just as he was about to say a few more words, he heard a scream beside his ear. Hua Yueye turned his head in shock, only to find that the little pink dragon on his shoulder had been decapitated and had turned into a speck of light, returning to his heart.
For a dragon rider, if the host dies, it's permanent death. But dragons were different. If a dragon was severely injured or died, it would transform into energy and return to the host's body for recovery. However, this process took a long time, and it would take at least half a year to fully recover.
During this period, the human would only possess about one-third of their original strength, significantly reducing their power.
What made Hua Yueye even more terrified was that he hadn't felt the slightest killing intent just now. This meant that if Bai Cha wished, she could have easily killed him.
Regardless, Hua Yueye had been close to breaking into the world's top ten in the previous World Tournament. Both in terms of combat experience and actual ability, he was exceptionally skilled and had experienced countless battles.
Muscles have memory, and automatically dodging danger is a basic skill for experts.
However, Hua Yueye had felt nothing at all, and his dragon had already been decapitated. This sent a shiver down his spine, and his mind went blank with a "buzz."
"Mr. Hua Yueye, it's still not too late to concede."
The ethereal voice swirled around Hua Yueye's ears as if it were a soul-snatching specter. These were the very words he had arrogantly spoken to Bai Cha earlier, his tone filled with disdain and contempt that anyone could discern.
But now, Bai Cha had returned them to him in the exact same manner.
Only now did Hua Yueye see Bai Cha disappear at the other end of the stage. He then realized that it wasn't that Bai Cha hadn't moved, but that she was too fast, and what he saw was just an illusion.
"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!" Hua Yueye roared, and the pink silk fan in his hand glowed with a circle of golden runes. The flower petals surged, and countless peach blossoms, like a sandstorm, formed a whirlwind and converged densely and overwhelmingly towards Bai Cha.
Hua Yueye's ability to firmly establish himself in the top twenty wasn't solely due to a dragon that barely made it into A-class. Besides his own excellence, his fan was also a creation of the Hundred Flowers Palace's people, who had collected various treasures to make it.
As the little crown prince of the Hundred Flowers Palace, Hua Yueye was naturally their pampered darling.
The flower petals were as sharp as blades, and the pollen contained potent venom. Hua Yueye looked at Bai Cha, and a pinkish halo flickered in his seductive eyes.
"Cha Cha, don't mess around."
Hua Yueye's voice suddenly softened, filled with tender affection like a feather teasing a kitten, both alluring and doting.
Below the stage, Lucifer's aura instantly turned cold. He should have stepped onto the stage earlier and beaten this fellow so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.
Cha Cha?
He hadn't even used that name yet. And "don't mess around"? What nerve!
Freya's expression also darkened. She suddenly regretted not directly incapacitating this person during their earlier match.
"Cha Cha" was not a name you could just call anyone.
As for Meng Qinghuan and Xiang Nan, they almost covered their faces, finding the situation too painful to watch.
What was this flashy fellow thinking, trying to control Bai Cha with charm techniques? You can only use charm techniques if the person is a normal human being. Given Bai Cha's straightforward, almost rigid personality, it was a different matter entirely.
Moreover, whether it succeeded or not was one thing. With Bai Cha's emotional intelligence, she probably wouldn't even understand what he was doing.
As expected, right after Hua Yueye finished speaking, a sea of blood surged behind Bai Cha, creating waves three feet high without any wind, directly swallowing his petal whirlwind. In an instant, Hua Yueye lost contact with his flower petals.
Immediately after, Hua Yueye felt a sharp pain on his cheek. His neck was forcefully twisted backward by an unseen force, and he was sent flying like a twisted dough.
Bai Cha rubbed her fist, her expression exceptionally calm, as if nothing had happened.
Hua Yueye clutched his face, looking at Bai Cha with disbelief. His voice had become strange, as if he had seen a ghost.
"You, are you even human?" Hua Yueye sat on the ground, pointing at Bai Cha and shouting, "Am I not handsome?"
"You are." Bai Cha replied, baffled.
"Then don't you think I looked exceptionally handsome just now!" Hua Yueye was furious, unable to comprehend why his charm techniques, which he had cultivated for twenty years, had failed.
His charm techniques followed the path of emotion. They worked on both men and women, from children experiencing first love to the elderly with lingering affections. In the previous World Tournament, although he was defeated by Astria, when he used this move, even the world's number one, Astria, had hesitated for a moment and revealed a slight opening. How could it have no effect on Bai Cha?
Bai Cha, standing before him, still looked utterly confused, "You mean when your eyes suddenly changed color?"
Hua Yueye: "..."
What else could it be!
"No, why didn't you feel anything? Are you heartless?" Hua Yueye was completely flustered. The more confused Bai Cha seemed, the more perplexed he became. Freya had openly declared her love for Bai Cha, and they were inseparable. How could Bai Cha remain unmoved?
Could it be?
With this thought, Hua Yueye's eyes suddenly lit up. In front of everyone, he excitedly shouted, "No wonder you weren't tempted by me! Bai Cha, you don't actually like Freya, do you?"
Bai Cha looked baffled, "Ah?"
"My techniques follow the path of emotion. As long as one has feelings in their heart, they will be affected. You weren't affected at all, which means you have no feelings for Freya." Hua Yueye pointed at Freya with conviction, "You don't like her at all!"
What kind of logic was this?
Bai Cha was truly bewildered. She knew what was in her heart, and this person was blaming her for not learning her skills properly and being incapable, instead of slinging mud.
"I do like her." Bai Cha felt her hands itching, thinking that perhaps her previous punch hadn't been hard enough. "Do you need to be affected by me to prove whether you have feelings or not? Did this useless move failing hit you that hard? Then you should set up a stall and test couples' love for each other, why bother participating in the World Tournament?"
After all, many girls loved to ask their boyfriends if they loved them. You might as well go and calculate that for them, why come here?
The crowd below fell silent. The Hundred Flowers Palace was most famous for its charm techniques. Legends said they were descendants of the seductive consort Daji, capable of shaking the hearts of an army with a single glance and smile at their peak. Yet here, Bai Cha had dismissed it as useless. Bai Cha wondered if the ancestors of the Hundred Flowers Palace would crawl out of their coffins to scold her.
"Also, you'd better save some strength." Bai Cha clenched her fists, revealing a dangerous smile. "Otherwise, if you can't scream, it will be much less fun."
Hua Yueye looked confused. What did she mean by "can't scream"? But the next moment, he understood.
Bai Cha's match against Hua Yueye lasted for more than half an hour. The audience below grimaced and watched for over half an hour.
Bai Cha went straight for the attack, hitting the most painful spots with every punch, landing squarely. Hua Yueye was beaten and cried out in agony. The words to concede circled his mouth several times but were beaten into cries of pain, making it impossible to speak them.
The people from the Hundred Flowers Palace had initially thought this match wouldn't require their presence. Hua Yueye's original opponent was Freya, who was universally acknowledged as a good goddess. When competing against her, one would only experience a gentle defeat, without even sustaining serious injuries. This was also why Freya had so many followers, and her divine position was highly revered.
Therefore, the Hundred Flowers Palace had attended to their own affairs, knowing their young master would surely lose. It wasn't a big deal, so they didn't go to watch. By the time they received news and rushed over, Hua Yueye had already been thoroughly beaten by Bai Cha.
"We concede! We concede!" The first Hundred Flowers Palace attendant to arrive was so terrified that his legs went weak, and he quickly surrendered. Hua Yueye was the pampered darling of the Palace Master. If anything were to happen to him, they would all be in trouble.
Bai Cha snorted coldly, having vented her frustration. Only then did she throw Hua Yueye down. After the referee announced her victory, she jumped off the stage.
Unexpectedly, before she could even steady herself, a pink figure darted towards her again.
Familiarity breeds contempt. Bai Cha was prepared this time, her long arm reaching out and firmly catching Freya's thigh, steadying her.
"Cha Cha, you just confessed to me!" Freya hugged Bai Cha's neck and rubbed vigorously against Bai Cha's neck in front of everyone, making Bai Cha feel as if her neck was about to catch fire.
"Cha Cha, you said you like me!"
"Cha Cha, are you jealous!"
"Cha Cha, you beat that perverted man for me!"
Fortunately, Bai Cha quickly covered Freya's mouth, otherwise, she didn't know what else Freya would say in public.
Even though Bai Cha had reacted quickly, based on Freya's performance just now, Bai Cha guessed what the headlines would be tomorrow.
"Miss Freya, it's a bit too conspicuous to be here. Why not go to the resting area with your master?" Lucifer consciously walked over, his broad back blocking the view of the group behind him, and gently persuaded, "There are no more matches for Miss today."
Freya was very jealous.
She had been jealous of Mo Ziye, jealous of Xiang Nan and Meng Qinghuan, and even jealous of Athena. However, what Bai Cha found a bit strange was that Freya didn't seem jealous of Lucifer at all and was even very obedient.
For instance, now, if Mo Ziye had said this, Freya would have surely given him a cold shoulder. But when Lucifer said it, Freya didn't even argue. She immediately jumped off Bai Cha and pulled Bai Cha away.
Perhaps Bai Cha had been really tired these past few days. As soon as she returned, Freya had bounced around and personally warmed some milk for Bai Cha in the kitchen. When she returned to the room, she found Bai Cha already asleep.
It was rare for Bai Cha to sleep so soundly. Freya breathed a sigh of relief, took a sip of the milk she had warmed, but was scalded and repeatedly stuck out her tongue. She quickly put the milk down.
Strange, the milk cup felt like the right temperature when she picked it up? Why was it so hot to drink!
Freya stuck out her tongue, looking a bit troubled.
"Miss Freya, for hot beverages, it's best to test the temperature on the back of your hand. Glass conducts heat differently than the actual temperature of the liquid."