Meanwhile, Niu Rao watched Mo Aotian effortlessly leap onto the platform, then glanced at Yun Miao panting up the stairs. He anxiously rubbed his bull horns again.
“Huaxin, why aren’t you persuading Yun Junior Sister? She’s still recovering from injuries. Do you really think she can beat Mo Aotian?”
“You should know, even with suppressed strength, Mo Aotian is a genuine fierce beast.”
“Ancient records say: Dragons are born divine beasts, masters of clouds and rain, rulers of aquatic creatures, guardians of water regions.”
“Flood Dragons, before they become true dragons, like to stir up huge waves in rivers and seas. This is called ‘Running Jiao.’”
“Each time they run Jiao, they cause floods and havoc, bringing death and destruction to aquatic life, humans, and beasts along the shore. That’s why Flood Dragons are considered fierce beasts.”
“Mo Aotian is a four-clawed Flood Dragon, born with a powerful body, top-grade talent, and excellent bloodline heritage. And what does Yun Junior Sister have?”
“Just the day before yesterday she shed her mortal body, the night before last she was severely wounded and near death, yesterday morning she just woke up, and this morning the Peak Lord specifically told me to look after her carefully and prevent her from being injured again. And now…”
Huaxin said, “I know her chances aren’t high, but given her personality, no amount of persuasion will stop her.”
“If we forcibly block her, who knows what trouble she’ll cause in private? Better to let them duel with so many senior brothers and sisters watching—at least there won’t be a fatal danger.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than she heard Niu Rao’s sorrowful voice. “You’re saying the same thing as Yun Junior Sister.”
Huaxin turned in confusion, about to ask what Niu Rao and Yun Miao had said to each other, when suddenly a strange burnt smell hit her nose. She looked over and was shocked.
“Senior Brother Niu, your hair is on fire?!”
“It’s nothing. Just a bit of frustration flaring up.”
Niu Rao grimaced and skillfully slapped his horns, extinguishing the raging flames atop his head with his iron palms.
Huaxin muttered, “…You sure have a fiery temper, Senior Brother Niu. Drink more herbal tea when you get back to calm down.”
***
On the Arena Platform, Yun Miao cautiously saved her progress first, while Mo Aotian stood on one leg, toes barely touching the ground, one hand behind his back.
“You said I can only use one hand and one foot. From now on, I won’t move a step. If you can make me move, you win.”
Yun Miao mocked, “Wow, you’re really acting like a big shot~ Why not be even more generous and let me use both hands and both feet?”
Mo Aotian: “…Both hands and feet? What, you want me to fight with my head? Fine, no more nonsense, let’s start.”
Realizing he couldn’t get the better of Yun Miao in words, he waved his hand and sent a crescent-shaped water blade flying toward her!
Yun Miao immediately dodged to the side, but two more water blades shot out the next moment, blocking her left and right flanks.
She couldn’t dodge all and was cut on the back of her hand. Blood dripped instantly from her fingertips.
Watching, Huaxin’s face darkened, and Niu Rao felt like the sky had fallen. He wished he could rip off his horns and throw them as hidden weapons at Mo Aotian.
Mo Aotian expected this victory, looking down arrogantly at the much shorter Yun Miao. “Give up.”
Yun Miao snorted coldly, saying nothing, and decisively chose to reload her save.
Back at the start of the duel, this time she didn’t waste breath trading trash talk but struck first.
A jade-green orb appeared on her brow, glowing with a faint radiant light under her divine sense, and smashed toward Mo Aotian’s forehead.
Mo Aotian tilted his head slightly and dodged quickly. At the same time, he waved his hand again, releasing two water blades to block Yun Miao’s sides.
Yun Miao tried to use the Dengtianti to curve around and strike the back of Mo Aotian’s head, but her reaction was half a beat too slow.
Her brain couldn’t handle multitasking during the fight. A retreat she meant to make turned into a sudden sit on the ground.
The water blades that had been targeting her hands slid smoothly down her neck, cutting two blood gashes.
Her carotid arteries seemed sliced open, and blood sprayed out like small fountains, splattering a shocking red pool on the ground.
Mo Aotian:
Yun Miao:
Huaxin shouted, “Yun Miao! Give up!”
Niu Rao howled to the sky. “Moo! Mo Aotian, I’ll plant you in the ground!!!”
For the first time, the usually outgoing Yun Miao felt utterly humiliated and desperate in the game. She frantically hit reload.
Back again before the duel, she ignored Mo Aotian’s trash talk and silently replayed the fight.
Just as the game forums said, “Quest of Three Thousand”* gave no battle guidance. It was all up to the player to figure it out.
Mo Aotian sneered, “Why are you standing still? Regretting? If so, just admit defeat. I’m generous, won’t beat you.”
Clearly, as a real-life college student who couldn’t even beat a goose, she had no battle awareness to smash the cultivation world with a single punch.
Like Tian Laokou said, the Dengtianti was just a small artifact in her hands, only good for cracking walnuts. The most infuriating thing was…
She actually missed the strike!
Mo Aotian taunted, “Still looking down, not saying a word? Crying maybe? Weak humans are so pathetic—can’t even admit defeat, just cry in secret.”
Right now, aside from the Dengtianti, she only knew the Water Manipulation Technique, and her water streams were thin and weak, incapable of hurting the enemy.
She definitely needed to master the earlier skills before trying again.
“So… are you giving up?”
Mo Aotian said, “Fine, if you don’t want to fight, admit defeat now. If you swear to keep this secret and shout ‘I’m a coward’ ten times to the crowd below, I’ll forgive everything from before, including that month’s punishment. How about that?”
“No way. ‘Coward’ is not in the player’s dictionary! Just a minor Golden Core boss. I’ll fight to the death today!”
Yun Miao summoned the Dengtianti again, smashing it toward Mo Aotian’s forehead. Mo Aotian once again tilted his head and dodged, releasing two water blades. Prepared, Yun Miao immediately retreated to avoid them.
At the same time, under her control, the Dengtianti curved and aimed at Mo Aotian’s back of the head.
She remembered Tian Laokou saying the Dengtianti was deceptively small but was actually a spatial artifact of massive size and weight.
Like a child wielding a sharp weapon could still kill an adult, if she struck hard enough, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would vomit blood!
Of course, she hadn’t put all her spiritual power into that blow. She hadn’t yet learned to simultaneously control and release all five kinds of spiritual power stored in her dantian.
Each casting only used about a fifth of her dantian’s reserve. But she believed if she landed the hit, she could definitely knock Mo Aotian flying!
He had said before, if she could force him to move even one step, she’d win!
However… just as the jade-green orb carrying all her hopes was about to kiss Mo Aotian’s back of the head, he again tilted his head calmly and dodged.
Then he waved his hand, sending eight water blades flying from all directions toward Yun Miao!
Not knowing where to escape, Yun Miao: ……… reload!
Reload!
Reload!
Reload!
Inside a spacious cave dwelling, a White-Haired Woman sitting slouched on a couch reading froze.
Strange, hadn’t she just read this page?
The White-Haired Woman suspiciously flipped past the already-read tenth page and immersed herself again in the story. But after a few breaths…
“Hm?”
She looked again at the tenth page reappearing before her eyes. She rubbed her eyes. Had she suddenly developed presbyopia?
But she clearly remembered turning the page!
No, she’d been forgetful lately. Maybe her memory wasn’t reliable.
The White-Haired Woman sighed lightly that time doesn’t spare anyone, then happily turned to the eleventh page. After a few breaths, the page she held again reverted to the tenth page facing her.
This time she didn’t flip forward but closed the book and stared at the cover for a while. After confirming it didn’t change anymore, she relaxed and turned back to the eleventh page.
But the next moment, the open page again changed back to the tenth.
White-Haired Woman:
She sat upright cross-legged, closed her eyes, and raised her hand to begin divining. She wanted to figure out what was going on. If someone was deliberately sabotaging, she would chop that person into mince!
But as soon as she started the divination, the spiritual power inside her surged uncontrollably and was drained dry. Fatigue instantly swept over her.
If she hadn’t stopped the divination in time, she might have been completely drained.
The White-Haired Woman recalled the vast whiteness she’d just seen, frowning slightly.
Had she really gotten no result at all?
“Forget it, let the Star-Plucking Pavilion deal with this headache.”
A small, delicate white paper crane flew from her sleeve, darting out of the cave and into the clouds.
But before it flew far, she found herself once again slouched on the couch reading, with the open page still the tenth. Everything had returned to the starting point.
White-Haired Woman: …………..