[Phase One test complete. Phase Two commencing. Ability Test.]
Shaya’s fist swung through empty air; the puppet had vanished. Still buzzing with adrenaline, she punched at the air a few more times, reminiscing about the satisfying feeling of hitting its face.
Xue Ji, who had been watching everything, thought for a moment and decided not to interrupt Shaya’s fun just yet.
Shaya was completely lost in the moment, the situation outside long forgotten.
The damaged sections of the arena repaired themselves rapidly, as if nothing had ever happened.
“An ability test? How are they going to test that?” Xue Ji looked around but saw no new changes.
Just then, Ling Xiaoxiao’s voice came from behind her.
“Phase Two test altered. Changing to Combat Practical Test.”
The icy tone startled Xue Ji. She turned around to see Ling Xiaoxiao, her face dark with anger.
Ling Xiaoxiao’s aura was palpable and heavy, like a tremendous weight pressing down, making it hard for Xue Ji to breathe the moment she appeared.
Xue Ji sensed killing intent from Ling Xiaoxiao!
“No, Ling Xiaoxiao, calm down!” Xue Ji stepped in front of Ling Xiaoxiao, spreading her arms to block the way. “Shaya, she—”
“Shut up!” Ling Xiaoxiao pulled Xue Ji over and hugged her tightly, then bit down hard on Xue Ji’s shoulder.
“What are you doing? Mmph!” A sharp pain shot through Xue Ji’s shoulder, and she gasped sharply. “That hurts!”
Ling Xiaoxiao kept tormenting Xue Ji resentfully, only letting go when tears welled up in Xue Ji’s eyes from the pain.
“That’s for playing favorites! I could just bite you to death!”
Seeing Ling Xiaoxiao lean in for another bite, Xue Ji tried to escape but couldn’t break free from her embrace.
She thought about using Lilith’s shadow magic to get away, but found she couldn’t use it at all.
Inside the consciousness space, Lilith was playing Animal Chess with Yukine. She had already lost seven games in a row and was completely obsessed, even ignoring Xue Ji’s calls.
Yukine subtly sacrificed her own mouse piece, causing Lilith to jump up excitedly, once again overlooking Xue Ji’s call.
‘Sorry, little Xue Ji. I just love seeing you get bullied~’
Realizing Lilith was unreliable, Xue Ji immediately gave up on that idea and started thinking of another way out.
‘Think, think fast! What else can I do?’
Cold sweat was pouring down Xue Ji’s back as her mind raced frantically.
‘Calling Shaya over now would just make the situation worse.’
‘No time to use magic.’
Ling Xiaoxiao’s face kept getting closer as Xue Ji struggled futilely.
Seeing how Xue Ji had tried to force herself to stay calm only to become flustered again amused Ling Xiaoxiao, so she decided to play along and scare her a little more.
“Time to eat! Ah~”
Hearing this, a desperate idea sparked in Xue Ji’s mind.
‘No choice, I have to go for it!’
Just as Ling Xiaoxiao was about to open her mouth, a pair of soft lips met hers instead.
Caught completely off guard, she hurriedly released Xue Ji.
She touched her lips with her fingers, looking at Xue Ji, who had turned her face away, blushing brightly. Most of Ling Xiaoxiao’s anger had already dissipated.
“Xue Ji, you’re a dangerous one,” Ling Xiaoxiao said cryptically.
Xue Ji heard this and complained, “You’re one to talk! You scared me to death just now.”
“What are you afraid of? It’s not like I’d kill you,” Ling Xiaoxiao said, licking her lips.
“I was afraid you’d kill Shaya,” Xue Ji said with a long sigh of relief.
Inside the consciousness space, Yukine heard this, smiled, and patted her forehead, muttering, “Xue Ji, are you clever or just foolish?”
Hearing this, Ling Xiaoxiao’s aura grew several degrees colder than before.
“Playing favorites!”
“Mmph, aah, ahhhhhhh!”
Xue Ji’s left shoulder also received a bite from Ling Xiaoxiao, making them symmetrical now.
Her cry attracted Shaya, who was nearby. Unaware of the truth, Shaya rushed over and, without a word, launched a kick directly at Ling Xiaoxiao.
——
Outside, everyone was silent. They had watched the entire scene unfold, and their minds were already running wild.
“Everyone, why so quiet?”
“I am but a military officer, not skilled with words.”
“This… is this really something we can watch for free?”
“I feel like we’re just part of Senior Ling and the others’ play now.”
“…”
——
Inside the arena, Shaya, thinking the current Ling Xiaoxiao was just another puppet, went all out, throwing heavy punches and kicks at her.
Ling Xiaoxiao, however, didn’t send her flying with one punch like before and was merely defending.
Sensing that this “puppet” was clearly different from the previous one, Shaya stopped holding back.
A thick mist enveloped the battlefield—this was the racial talent of the Cloud Wolf tribe, Riding the Clouds and Mists.
Within the clouds and mist, Shaya’s movements were like a ghost’s. Her attacks were a mix of feints and real strikes, hard to distinguish, and Ling Xiaoxiao’s counterattacks often only hit wolf-shaped clumps of fog.
Seeing that the “puppet” couldn’t see through her mist, Shaya went all out.
In her left hand was the power of the Cold Moon, awakened after her advancement. In her right hand was the Holy Flame obtained from Xue Ji during her transformation. Both forces gathered on Shaya’s sharp claws as she charged forward. This was Shaya’s current ultimate move—Twin Polar Chaos Kill.
Seeing Shaya use her full power, Ling Xiaoxiao finally got slightly serious.
Shaya began her assault. She ran circles around Ling Xiaoxiao, who stood at the center of the mist. When Ling Xiaoxiao turned, distracted by an afterimage, Shaya pounced from behind her. The red and blue claw strikes were like tangible lines of death.
Ling Xiaoxiao avoided the brunt of the attack, dodging the first strike with a swift sidestep.
Immediately, Shaya charged back at an even faster speed, and Ling Xiaoxiao barely managed to dodge again.
As time passed, Shaya’s attacks grew faster and faster, so fast that afterimages appeared. To the outside observers, it looked like several Shayas were attacking simultaneously.
“Not bad,” Ling Xiaoxiao commented. “I did underestimate you a bit.”
Ling Xiaoxiao seemed somewhat hard-pressed under the relentless onslaught of Shaya’s attacks, and a few claw marks had already been left on her clothes.
‘I have a chance!’ Seizing the moment the “puppet” seemed distracted, Shaya released the power she had built up to its peak. The mist suddenly solidified, launching attacks from four different directions at the “puppet.”
As the mist swirled, four Shayas simultaneously attacked Ling Xiaoxiao.
The level of skill Shaya displayed surpassed Xue Ji’s expectations.
While still far from matching the Dragonkin Monk of the Hero’s party, this level of combat prowess was rare, even in another world.
Ling Xiaoxiao assessed Shaya’s fighting capability.
“With this level of power, she could probably defeat an Ancestral Vampire like Dracula, right?”
She didn’t put up any defense, simply taking Shaya’s attack head-on.
The attacks from all four directions hit simultaneously. The extreme cold and extreme heat created a multiple super temperature differential, permanently damaging the surrounding ground. The special material’s repair function couldn’t fix the damage caused by this move.
After her successful strike, Shaya’s true form leaped away.
A massive explosion erupted where Ling Xiaoxiao had been standing.
“Was I amazing? Hehe~” Shaya walked towards Xue Ji, boasting.
“Very amazing. The combination of those two powers you wield creates tremendous destructive force,” Xue Ji didn’t hold back her praise.
Hearing this, Shaya was immensely pleased, placing her hands on her hips and wagging her fluffy tail happily.
“Interesting. But it ends here. Shaya!”
Ling Xiaoxiao’s voice came from behind Shaya, making all her fur stand on end.
Her eyes darted nervously towards Xue Ji.
‘That was the real one just now?!’
Xue Ji nodded, pulling Shaya from her joyful heaven back to reality.
What followed next was hell.