“Gong! Shang! Yu!”
Seeing Gong Shangyu clinging to her body, Gu Qingying was so furious she felt smoke coming out of all seven orifices.
She transmitted her voice to Gong Shangyu in a trembling rage.
“What are you doing?! Let go of me right now!”
Gong Shangyu stayed perfectly calm.
Using the tension from the silk thread in her hand to stabilize herself, she even took advantage of Gu Qingying’s upward momentum to save effort.
She leisurely replied through voice transmission, her tone full of sly amusement.
“Hehe… Little Junior Sister, don’t be so stingy~ This is called ‘war is full of deception!’”
“The rules never said we can’t ‘help’ each other, right? Senior Sister is just testing your weight-bearing ability!”
“You… you’re shameless!”
Gu Qingying was about to explode.
She kicked her left leg desperately, trying to shake off the human pendant hanging on her.
“Gong Shangyu! I’ll count to three… let go of me NOW! Or I’ll kill you right here!”
“Go on, go on~”
Gong Shangyu not only refused to let go but tightened her grip, even deliberately swaying to increase Gu Qingying’s burden.
She didn’t forget to mock her junior sister either.
“If you’ve got the guts, then do it. But let me remind you, the rules forbid attacking each other~ If you dare touch me, you’ll be disqualified immediately! And then the spell Master promised? Gone~”
That hit Gu Qingying’s weak spot precisely.
Watching other cultivators pushing upward with all their strength, some nearly reaching the base of the mist, she was both anxious and furious, yet truly didn’t dare break the rules.
She forced down the urge to tear this damned senior sister apart, gritted her teeth, poured more spiritual power into her legs, and sped upward, trying to shake Gong Shangyu off through speed alone.
But Gong Shangyu was like sticky candy, clinging tightly.
No matter how Gu Qingying accelerated, changed direction, or even stopped suddenly, Gong Shangyu relied on the Thousand-Entangling Silk and her excellent balance to stay latched on.
She kept talking to provoke her.
“Tsk, Little Junior Sister, your movement technique is pretty bad~ Why are you flying so slow? Like a turtle crawling~ Didn’t you eat breakfast? Want Senior Sister to share a pill to boost you?”
“With that tiny body of yours, how are you going to take care of children for Master and me in the future…?”
Gu Qingying’s blood surged.
She almost spat out blood in anger, screaming inwardly that she was slow because she was carrying this pink-haired pig Zhu Bajie.
She swore that once they got off the stage, she would hang Gong Shangyu up and beat her.
While she was fuming internally, her speed inevitably slowed.
Several cultivators overtook them.
Below, Gong Shangyu’s clever trick caught others’ attention.
Some struggling cultivators, or those also wanting to save energy, saw how easily Gong Shangyu was being carried and lit up with inspiration.
“Hehe~ Little brother, lend a hand!”
“Fellow Daoist, give me a lift!”
They reached out, trying to grab Gong Shangyu’s dangling legs so she could carry them too.
Gong Shangyu, who had been enjoying her free ride, suddenly felt several hands reaching for her.
The smile on her face vanished, replaced by overwhelming fury at being disturbed.
“Hmph! Get lost! All of you, get lost!”
She flipped her right hand without hesitation.
The Nine Frost-Chilling Swords of Wenxue instantly shot out from her sword case.
Clear sword cries rang out as nine icy sword lights swept through the air like crescent moons.
Screams erupted.
The cultivators who tried to grab her were caught off guard.
Though they withdrew quickly, some were still sliced by sharp sword qi on their arms and fingers, blood flowing.
They glared at Gong Shangyu in shock and anger.
Holding her sword, Gong Shangyu looked around with icy light in her pink eyes, her pretty face frosted with anger.
She shouted that these people were not worthy of touching her legs and asked if they were blind.
The words burst out with extreme disgust and possessiveness.
Inwardly she added that her body was only for Master to touch and questioned who these people thought they were.
Her sudden attack drew everyone’s attention.
Not only the injured cultivators froze, others flying upward, and even the royal judges on the high platform, all looked over.
A royal judge’s expression darkened.
In a flash, he appeared beside Gong Shangyu, golden core pressure descending as he declared coldly that contestant Shang Baiyu had violated the rules by attacking other participants and was immediately disqualified.
Gong Shangyu snapped out of her rage and realized what she had done.
Her face turned ugly.
Seeing the judge’s unquestionable gaze and the furious cultivators below, she knew she was finished.
She resentfully released the Thousand-Entangling Silk.
The transparent thread lost tension and drifted down.
She shot one fierce glare at Gu Qingying, who had already flown farther ahead and was looking back at her like she was an idiot, then descended in disgrace under the judge’s escort amid boos and contemptuous stares.
She was escorted off the arena.
Freed from Gong Shangyu’s extra weight, Gu Qingying suddenly felt light, as if a thousand-jin burden had been lifted.
Watching her rival’s sorry figure being expelled, she felt it was deserved.
The anger in her chest finally eased.
“Hmph. Serves you right.”
“As expected… winning the championship still depends on me!”
Smiling smugly, she even began thinking about what request she would make of Master after winning.
Taking a deep breath, she refocused all her mind and spiritual power on flying and sensing.
Her purple figure accelerated again, shooting like a sharp blade toward the rolling Spirit-Confusing Mist above, chasing the leading figures.
Thus, the preliminary round of the grand cultivation tournament continued amid this sudden farce and Gu Qingying’s renewed fighting spirit.
As for Gong Shangyu, she could only stand below grinding her teeth.
She watched helplessly as Gu Qingying and the others fought for advancement, her heart full of regret and unwillingness.