Chapter 54: Slacking Off, Day Fifty-Four
As if her situation wasn’t bad enough, Xu Tongtong’s panicked leap only served to twist her other ankle.
Now completely immobilized, she could only sit on the stage, wincing and hissing in pain as she watched the blood slowly well up in her palm.
“Tongtong!” Fu Shuangxue’s heart leaped into his throat. He shot a desperate glance at his master, seeking permission to go and bandage her wound.
Seeing this, Xu Mofeng’s mood soured instantly.
Everything had been going exactly according to his plan, and now this…
“Master, please allow me to tend to Tongtong’s wound!” Fu Shuangxue pleaded again, his voice tight with urgency.
He knew the truth of Tongtong’s condition. He had chosen to help her return to the competition because the mysterious physician had once told him that with timely, appropriate training, there might be a sliver of hope for her recovery. This tournament was the best possible training.
Of course, he had hesitated. He was terrified. This was different from the trials, where he could stay by her side and protect her.
But… if she lived forever under his protection, her illness would never be cured.
Fu Shuangxue knew her injuries weren’t life-threatening, but… it still broke his heart to see her in pain.
“Go,” Xu Mofeng said, waving a dismissive hand, his brow furrowed with impatience.
What else could he do at this point? He couldn’t just let Xu Tongtong sit there and bleed. It would ruin the benevolent image he had so carefully cultivated for so long.
With that, Xu Mofeng finally withdrew the stream of qi he had been using for his manipulation.
He had to admit, he had been thoroughly defeated in this covert battle of control.
However, the other party in this struggle, Xu Huang, had also failed completely.
Everyone had seen with their own two eyes that Xu Tongtong had injured herself. Now that she had lost all ability to move, how could Xu Huang possibly manipulate Wen Ying into viciously wounding her during the match?
Seething internally, Xu Huang had no choice but to retract her own flow of qi.
The very instant they both withdrew their power, Wen Ying snapped her fingers, swapping places with her illusion.
A piece of broken wood clattered to the ground from above, but no one noticed anything amiss.
Though boiling with frustration, Xu Mofeng could only walk onto the stage and offer a few words of feigned concern for Xu Tongtong.
The sudden turn of events on stage left many of the disciples in the audience still reeling, unable to process the drama they had just witnessed.
So…
Xu Tongtong was clearly incapacitated. And even though Wen Ying looked like she hadn’t done a thing… she had won?
They thought Wen Ying putting on an opera in the middle of a match was absurd enough, but they never expected something even more ridiculous to follow. No sane person would take a dagger and stab their own hand.
Unless…
Unless Xu Tongtong did it on purpose.
As they watched Fu Shuangxue carefully bandaging Xu Tongtong’s hand, a sudden realization dawned on the crowd.
Of course! Xu Tongtong must not want to face Fu Shuangxue as an opponent.
The special rule of this revival round was that the winner would advance directly into the final group of ten. It seemed unfair, but it was also the rule that best embodied the spirit of “friendship first.” If no one from the top three nominated someone for revival, the spot would be forfeited, and only nine would advance instead of ten.
If Xu Tongtong became one of the final ten, she would inevitably have to fight Fu Shuangxue!
She had lost on purpose, unwilling to become his enemy. And he had offered her the revival spot just to help her advance…
The crowd couldn’t help but be moved.
Everyone knew the two were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they first joined the sect. Such a beautiful love story was truly… touching!
As expected of the gossip-mongers on the front lines, Wen Ying had long suspected that the disciples of the Seeking Immortals Sect had a powerful knack for spinning tales.
Today proved just how impressive they were.
Not only could they conjure up a tragic romance, but they could even imagine the dialogue to go with it.
Left with no other option, Xu Mofeng finally had to announce Wen Ying’s victory.
A mission notification box materialized in front of her.
【Mission Successful! Congratulations, Host!】
Wen Ying flicked the box away with a deadpan expression.
She had enjoyed the puppet show, but she was not happy now. Not at all.
After all that work… she had still ended up qualifying.
Regret washed over her.
The old saying about how idle distractions sap one’s ambition was no lie. She never should have indulged in that moment of entertainment.
With the conclusion of Wen Ying’s match, the final list of ten was settled.
The ten were: Wen Ying, Xu Huang, Murong Mo, Fu Shuangxue, Wen Meng, Feng Sixuan, Long Musheng, Lan Xiaoming, Lu Xiaojie, and Li Xiangyue.
Aside from Lu Xiaojie, who was purely a background character, and Wen Ying, the second female lead, the group was composed entirely of protagonists and main characters. Li Xiangyue was the so-called “battlefield correspondent” who was often mentioned but never seen. The novel she belonged to was titled, Cultivating Immortality with a Reporter System.
Before the true Inter-Sect Immortal Assembly began, these ten chosen disciples had one more task. They were to be split into two groups and sent out from the sect to exterminate demons for the common people.
Unlike the trivial, menial tasks given to the disciples who had lost their earlier matches, this was clearly going to be far more difficult.
Author’s Note:
The next chapter begins a new volume: the off-sect trial begins!
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