Sword Fanatic was no fool.
He had long seen that Shen Lingxi was intent on protecting Nameless. Furthermore, he had previously sought her out to discuss Nameless’s identity. Although she hadn’t revealed anything at the time, it was clear that Nameless was a very important person to her.
As a close friend of Shen Lingxi, Sword Fanatic naturally wouldn’t undermine her now.
However, his curiosity toward Nameless only grew.
The man looked like Shen Lingxi’s White Moonlight.
She cared for him deeply — so much so that she was willing to lie and risk her own reputation for him.
He thought that even the original White Moonlight had likely never received such treatment.
Furthermore, Nameless could use the Gu Family’s True Words.
If someone told him Nameless had no connection to the Gu Family, he wouldn’t believe it for a second.
‘He is a man full of secrets.’
Beneath Sword Fanatic’s messy hair, his originally listless eyes now flashed with a sharp light, as if trying to see right through Gu Ming.
Hearing Sword Fanatic’s words, Butler Li narrowed his eyes. After a long silence, he cupped his hands toward Shen Lingxi. “My apologies. I will honor our agreement and leave this place.”
Having said that, he stepped into the void and flew off into the distance.
Watching Butler Li depart, Shen Lingxi breathed a secret sigh of relief. She had finally managed to escape that crisis without any further trouble.
She turned to the referee and said, “Let us begin again.”
The referee nodded and was about to speak when he saw a hand raised.
“Hey, uh—”
Everyone looked toward the person who had raised his hand — Sword Fanatic.
Sword Fanatic didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “I forfeit.”
“Huh?”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the audience below the stage began to whisper. Some were greatly dissatisfied and started shouting.
“This is how the finals end? Are we a joke to you?”
With one person leading the outcry, a crowd naturally followed.
“Exactly! You can’t just forfeit like that. How can you treat this like a game?”
“You can’t quit! We were just getting to the good part!”
…
Seeing the audience’s rising fervor, the referee kindly advised, “Candidate Sword Fanatic, perhaps you should reconsider? Why not continue the match?”
“My mood’s been ruined. I’m not interested anymore,” Sword Fanatic said with a pout.
This caused the crowd below the stage to become even more incensed. They began to verbally abuse Sword Fanatic, calling him a coward, a failure, and a loser. They said everything imaginable, and some even tried to rush the stage to fight him themselves.
If the Law Enforcement Disciples of Saintess Mountain hadn’t stepped in to maintain order, the scene would have devolved into total chaos.
Sword Fanatic couldn’t stand the foul language coming from the crowd and barked back, “Listen, this tournament is just for Saintess Mountain to recruit outer disciples. It’s not some major Martial Arts Tournament, so what are you all getting so worked up about?”
“Besides, if I don’t want to fight, I don’t want to fight. So what? It’s not like I’m desperate to join Saintess Mountain anyway.”
The audience members looked at one another, stunned. Come to think of it, he was right. Why was a group of spectators getting so emotional over a recruitment event for a single sect’s outer disciples?
However, they couldn’t be entirely blamed for their excitement.
In previous years, the recruitment tournaments had been mediocre. There were no particularly outstanding candidates, no incredibly powerful fighters, and certainly no matches that sparked such heated discussion. Consequently, they drew little attention and even less debate.
But this year, two monsters had appeared. Relying on their sheer strength, both had defeated their opponents in a single move, crushing everyone from the opening rounds all the way to the finals. This had fueled endless speculation about which of them was truly superior, pushing the anticipation for the finals to its peak.
Furthermore, before the finals began, several high-ranking figures from the other four major powers had come to watch—
Feng Qing’er from the Divine Maiden Palace, the Ling Family Siblings from Lingyun Pavilion, Valley Master Gu Tianba of Hundred Flowers Valley, and Butler Li of the Gu Family. Their appearance had instantly elevated the status of this Outer Disciple Martial Arts Tournament to an unprecedented height, to the point where everyone had forgotten that it was, indeed, just a simple recruitment event for Saintess Mountain.
Realizing this, the expressions of the audience members stiffened. They suddenly felt that the whole thing was quite dull, and people began to leave on their own.
Seeing the crowd disperse, the referee approached Shen Lingxi and asked, “Saintess, how should I rule on this?”
“Rule however you’re supposed to. Why are you asking me?”
Shen Lingxi was somewhat speechless. If one side had forfeited, the other side obviously won.
However, as the Saintess of Saintess Mountain, she couldn’t say those words herself. If someone were to report her words out of context, it might spark a wave of public criticism against her, landing her in trouble.
For safety’s sake, it had to be the referee who made the announcement.
“However, be fair and just. There must be no suspicion of favoritism. You must rule strictly according to the tournament regulations.”
Shen Lingxi was terrified the referee might have a lapse in judgment and declare the finals void, which would be disastrous. Thus, she emphasized following the rules.
The referee nodded and announced, “The match is over. Candidate Sword Fanatic forfeits. The winner is Nameless.”
Hearing that he had won, Gu Ming’s expression turned a bit strange. ‘Joining Saintess Mountain was… a bit too easy, wasn’t it?’ He felt as though he hadn’t exerted much effort at all throughout the entire process.
Moreover, he had planned to wait until he was nearly finished fighting Sword Fanatic before intentionally losing to him. He hadn’t expected the other man to beat him to the punch and forfeit first.
What else could he say?
“Congratulations on your victory.” Shen Lingxi walked up to Gu Ming with a beaming smile, the tenderness in her eyes impossible to hide. “Move out of Jinxiu Mountain Villa tonight. I’ll have someone clean a room for you immediately.”
Before Gu Ming could speak, Ling Yuyan’s voice rang out, “He’s coming with me to see my father tonight. Besides, he’s my fiancé. Why would he move anywhere?”
Ling Yuyan flew down from the high platform to the stage and grabbed Gu Ming’s arm, asserting her claim.
Shen Lingxi’s eyebrows twitched, and her tone turned cold. “Fiancé? Who arranged that? Do you have a marriage contract? Let’s see it.”
“We’ve pledged our lives to each other!” Ling Yuyan said stubbornly.
“Heh.” Shen Lingxi gave a contemptuous laugh. “So you don’t have one, then?”
“You!” Ling Yuyan was left speechless by Shen Lingxi’s retort.
Shen Lingxi struck while the iron was hot. “The relationship between you two is nothing more than your own unrequited wish. I, however, am different. Since he just won the tournament, he is now my Personal Disciple.”
“It’s not unrequited! We really have pledged our lives to each other. Right, Name—”
Wait?!!!
Ling Yuyan turned to look for Gu Ming, only to realize he was no longer standing next to her. She had been so focused on her confrontation with Shen Lingxi that she hadn’t noticed when he had vanished.
Ling Yuyan scanned the area and discovered that Feng Qing’er from the Divine Maiden Palace had somehow pulled him aside. She was currently attempting to recruit him.
“Are you interested in joining the Divine Maiden Palace? Our palace offers great benefits, excellent treatment, and free room and board. Plus… we’re entirely composed of female cultivators!”