43. What a Slacker!
Since they were causing trouble, they might as well go all out. This was Miss Gong’s plan for Lu Xinyao, also known as Shangguan Ziyuan.
And she had made ample preparations for the girl’s grand entrance.
Shortly after they entered, the tournament officially began.
Twenty participants, ten matches on the first day, to narrow it down to ten.
Emperor Shangguan Long personally oversaw the drawing of lots. He gave Gong Yiling, Qiu Shui, and Lu Xinyao the strangest matchups.
Lu Xinyao vs. Bao Qijin, and Qiu Shui vs. one of the twin sisters.
The other matchups were normal, without the awkwardness of teammates fighting each other.
However… this was exactly what Miss Gong wanted.
She only participated to protect the two girls from being targeted. She could have withdrawn during the second round.
After all, the demonic core she obtained contained enough energy to last her a while, and she didn’t need the treasures from the secret realm, which she might not even be able to open.
Even if they lost today, the top twenty could stay in the palace for another day and watch the remaining matches.
So, the first match of the tournament presented a rather dramatic scene.
“Ahem.”
After stepping onto the arena, Gong Yiling took out her loudspeaker and coughed loudly.
“I have an announcement.” She declared, “I admit I can’t defeat this young lady, so I’ll just give a motivational speech instead!”
Shangguan Long: “Who is this?”
Grand Elder: “Is this allowed?”
Shangguan Yaochang: “Huh?”
Shangguan Lingyue: “I shouldn’t have given her any points! This is outrageous!”
Qiu Shui: “Master, you…”
Lu Xinyao: “Pfft.”
Other contestants: “Is there an… idiot among us?”
Officials: “What kind of cultivator is this?”
Everyone looked at Gong Yiling as if she were an idiot.
But Miss Gong, unfazed, began her speech, “Listen up, everyone! We must unite, use the double cheese strategy, apply the vector addition method, and then—”
And then there was nothing.
Before she could say anything more, two guards dragged her away.
They didn’t even kick her out of the palace. That was considered lenient.
“See? You guys don’t understand humor.”
Gong Yiling shook off the guards’ hands, crossed her arms, and returned to her seat, sulking.
Then, she winked at Lu Xinyao, who was still standing on the arena, dumbfounded.
“So…” Shangguan Lingyue, the referee, sighed, “The first match, Lu Xinyao wins.”
Qiu Shui’s match was even simpler.
Although her opponent, controlled by a demonic cultivator, was much stronger than she appeared, there was a problem.
A problem even the demonic cultivator hadn’t anticipated.
When Qiu Shui’s technique affected her…
The girl became unresponsive.
Yes, completely unresponsive.
Her reactions were slow, and her movements sluggish.
—This was the biggest weakness of that demonic technique.
When it encountered the Cloud Rainbow Sect’s unique technique, it became ineffective.
Like a puppet with its strings cut.
If the puppet could even move, it would be considered a miracle.
On the first day, only Qiu Shui and Lu Xinyao’s matches ended within ten seconds. The others at least lasted a minute before being defeated.
That evening, Emperor Shangguan Long hosted a banquet for all the participants.
He even asked if they still had their number cards from the first round.
Strangely, although these cards were used for scoring, Shangguan Yaochang didn’t collect them after the first round.
According to the Emperor, these cards were spoils of war for the victors and would have another use in the final round, within the royal secret realm. Only those who lost would forfeit their right to the treasures, meaning they lost their cards—this rule only applied to the first two rounds.
Later that night, back in her assigned quarters, Gong Yiling took out the number cards, intrigued.
They still couldn’t be stored in her Universe Ring.
“If they can’t be stored, they must be spiritual objects.”
Gong Yiling stared at the three cards on the table, lost in thought.
She carefully recalled the details from the book, especially those related to wooden objects.
Finally, she listed over a dozen special creatures on her talisman paper.
Like the Woodcarving Worm, which inhabited wood and imbued it with wind spiritual energy.
Or the Bark Bug, which looked like bark but was actually an insect, crispy and delicious. (A reference to a popular internet meme.)
Or the Fire-Starting Worm, which could make any wood spontaneously combust.
These were all insects, a reflection of the author’s peculiar taste—or perhaps a form of revenge for childhood trauma involving falling out of a tree after being startled by a worm while picking bayberries.
Then there were the rarer demonic spirits.
Unlike demonic beasts, demonic spirits usually didn’t have physical bodies. In the book, they were described as either mist-like entities or taking the form of objects they possessed.
Although they could only possess objects and didn’t seem threatening, their powers were often troublesome.
For example:
There was a demonic spirit that could inhabit trees and hypnotize everyone nearby, making them run around naked and spout nonsense like, “Officer, you have to believe me! We’re just learning English! The money on the bed is for tuition, not for any illegal activities! You have to believe me!”
Ahem.
Regardless of what they were actually doing, if someone overheard that, it would be a social death scene.
However…
Gong Yiling compared the cards to several possible demonic spirits, but they all had one thing in common: a detectable spiritual energy presence.
Even the most elusive spirits would leave some traces.
But she couldn’t sense any true essence from these cards.
“Unless…”
“Unless the demonic spirits in your hand are just fragments of a complete spirit.”
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