Chapter 76: No Hatred, Only Pity
–Sea Concubine Palace, Saintess Selection
From the elevated vantage point of the box in the Sea Dou Hall, the entire scene below was clearly visible.
The vast arena, spanning a hundred thousand square meters, could easily accommodate even the largest spirit beasts, as long as their Spirit Masters were below the Dead Sea Stage.
In the center of the arena, a woman in a white robe, her snow-white hair swirling, her face cold and beautiful, elicited a chorus of screams from the female spectators the moment she appeared.
Bai Ningying, Saintess Candidate Bai He. Even more eye-catching than her beauty was her… ample figure, a rather vulgar display.
Easily twice the size of two Nine-Colored Cloud Dream Flowers stacked together…
As Bai Ningying appeared, deep within the Cold Shark Prison, He Daoqi, watching the event through long-distance spirit techniques, paused.
Then, her eyes widened in disbelief.
This woman was still alive? She had thought her Swallow God’s sword strike had reduced her to mincemeat… Not only was she alive, but she didn’t even have a single visible injury.
The second participant, a woman in a green Sea Concubine Palace uniform, with two fish, one black, one white, painted on her cheeks, her expression gloomy, walked to the opposite side of the arena.
Jiu Qingyu, Saintess Candidate Qing Yu. The moment she appeared, the entire hall fell silent, the atmosphere turning incredibly awkward.
Qing Yu was notorious within the Sea Concubine Palace.
Firstly, because her wind-type spirit beast was suspected of being a Storm Realm spy. A fire-type spirit beast in the Sea Region was already shocking enough, but a wind-type spirit beast could only be contracted by a Spirit Master born in the Storm Realm. Secondly, because she constantly slandered the Sorrowful Saintess, earning everyone’s ire.
Unfazed by the awkward silence, Qing Yu’s gloomy expression remained unchanged as a swirling green aura enveloped her.
[Wind God Eagle]
Swish!!
With a sharp cry, a silver shadow appeared behind the girl, a figure of condensed wind like a guardian deity.
The next second, a powerful eagle-like spirit beast with two massive wings materialized, its sharp talons gripping Qing Yu’s shoulders, its body enveloping her like armor.
A high-rank, wind-type spirit beast, the Wind God Eagle!
Its silver wings shimmered with a green light. As it landed on Qing Yu’s head, it strutted and preened, its gaze fixed disdainfully on the white-haired girl.
Despite the dramatic entrance of the powerful, high-rank spirit beast, the Sea Dou Hall remained silent.
Not only the Sea Concubine Palace members, but even the Spirit Masters from other factions who hadn’t heard of Qing Yu were stunned.
What the hell? This Saintess Candidate’s spirit beast was wind-type… Did anyone actually believe she wasn’t a Storm Realm spy?
Spirit Masters native to the Sea Region didn’t have even a trace of wind spirit energy in their bodies. How could they possibly contract with a wind-attribute spirit beast?!
An uproar erupted in the hall.
“Yue’er, what do you think of this girl?” In the elevated box high above the Sea Dou Hall, Shui Qinghou suddenly asked.
“Eh, um…”
Gong Lianyue, who had been admiring Bai Ningying’s figure, paused, suddenly met with six curious gazes.
Although the Sorrowful Saintess held a position equal to the Six Concubines, she had rarely seen any of them besides Shui Qinghou and didn’t even know their names.
Under their scrutiny, Gong Lianyue nervously (though appearing expressionless) lowered her gaze, scanning the green-robed woman standing in the arena below.
She had heard that Qing Yu constantly spread rumors and slandered her and might even be a Storm Realm spy. She naturally had no favorable impression of her.
“I think her aura is a bit… unsettling. Maybe she lacked love as a child~~?”
Gong Lianyue had intended to belittle Qing Yu in front of the higher-ups, a small revenge for the slander.
However, the moment she finished speaking, a cold voice questioned, “Doesn’t the Saintess feel any discomfort towards her wind-type spirit beast?”
One of the Six Concubines, a small woman with rather plain pigtails, her long, water-colored hair flowing down to her feet like ribbons, her face hidden behind a mask, spoke.
The other women’s breath hitched, the atmosphere turning tense.
Eh?
Did this unfamiliar woman hold a high position? Her teacher was supposed to be the leader of the Six Concubines…
Such a sarcastic tone, calling her “Saintess.” What was her relationship with Qing Yu?
A strange feeling washed over Gong Lianyue. Her teardrop eyes darted around, and a sudden inspiration struck her.
“Even if she’s a bit… off, she’s still one of us, from the Sea Region. I don’t feel any discomfort.”
A perfect response!
She guessed this pigtailed woman was Qing Yu’s teacher. She had managed to insult and belittle her without giving them any grounds for criticism, making it seem like the Sorrowful Saintess simply discriminated against certain attributes.
However, after a long silence, the pigtailed woman sighed in realization.
“I hadn’t expected the Saintess to be so magnanimous and open-minded. No wonder I wasn’t chosen as Saintess back then. I have no regrets now.”
W-What?
As Gong Lianyue stared blankly, the pigtailed woman continued,
“When I was a Saintess Candidate, I couldn’t stand the sight of anything related to the Wind Realm, whether spirit beast or Spirit Master. I would have torn them apart. Let alone a child like Qing Yu, suspected of being a Wind Realm spy. I would have probably assassinated her in the middle of the night.”
“That’s why you were sent to the Ice Shield Palace front lines for harming a fellow disciple, little sister. By the time you returned, the Saintess position had already been decided. Hahahahahahaha—”
Shui Qinghou’s boisterous laughter abruptly stopped as she met the other five women’s cold gazes. She closed her mouth and sat quietly.
Gong Lianyue’s heart sank.
She hadn’t realized the hatred towards the Wind Realm ran so deep among the Sea Region Spirit Masters.
In their eyes, it would be strange for the Sorrowful Saintess not to hate the Storm Realm.
Should she adopt a persona of deep-seated hatred and vengeance? Would that be more… advantageous?
After the topic ended, the pigtailed woman continued to stare at Gong Lianyue. Seeing the shimmering tears in her eyes, she knew she was close to the truth.
The Sorrowful Saintess, as the name suggested…
She felt no hatred towards those weaker than herself, only pity.
Unlike herself, this was the quality required of the one who would inherit the title of Sorrow!
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