“Help!” Shaya cried out as she dodged the barrage of Ling Xiaoxiao’s Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, her voice pleading for mercy. “I won’t dare do it again, Ling Xiaoxiao, please spare me, ahhhhh!”
BOOM!
A massive explosion of flames erupted behind Shaya, sending her flying. She landed headfirst, her skull wedged into the very spot where the puppet Ling Xiaoxiao’s head had previously been lodged—a fitting, if karmic, punishment.
Stuck straight up in the ground, rigid with fright, her tail stood stiff as a board, making her resemble a cheap, poorly-made plush toy. The sight was utterly ridiculous.
This scene drew an involuntary laugh from Xue Ji, but she quickly stifled her amusement, realizing it was inappropriate.
Ling Xiaoxiao walked over to Xue Ji and complained, “Why aren’t you taking my side this time?”
“Taking sides? What are you talking about?” Xue Ji felt completely baffled. If anyone was guilty of favoritism, wasn’t Ling Xiaoxiao herself the one she favored most?
Xue Ji hadn’t held any of the past events against Ling Xiaoxiao. Not her initial ulterior motives for getting close, nor the things she did to Xue Ji after losing control later. Even when her own life was threatened, Xue Ji had been willing to forgive her.
‘How is this so unfair! Just because of the messy history between you two from your past lives, I’m the one who ends up suffering!’ Xue Ji fumed inwardly.
“Who says you don’t? That little vixen is so brazen, daring to humiliate me like this, and it’s all because you’ve been indulging her!” Ling Xiaoxiao’s temper flared as well. She had already bitten her tongue repeatedly to stay by Xue Ji’s side. The fact that Shaya was still breathing was nothing short of a miracle.
‘You’re the unreasonable one! In our past life, you trapped me alone in this realm, and now you just wipe the slate clean? No matter what I do, I have to dance to your tune? Why?!’ Ling Xiaoxiao felt deeply wronged, so much so that she wanted to finish Shaya off for good.
“I don’t care! You’re just biased, biased!” Ling Xiaoxiao turned her head away, her cheeks puffed out like a child who had suffered the greatest injustice.
Xue Ji was in a bad mood today—a foul mood, to be precise. Seeing Ling Xiaoxiao act like this, pretending to be the victim after getting her way, only fueled her irritation, and her tone grew impatient.
Frowning, a wave of anger rushed from her lungs straight to her head. “Stop being so unreasonable!” she shouted at Ling Xiaoxiao. “Can’t you just act normal?”
“No! I am your karma! First me, then that little fox vixen, and now that big-chested blonde girl! You… you heartless playboy!” Ling Xiaoxiao began spouting blunt truths, sharply criticizing Xue Ji’s habit of being gentle with everyone.
“Me? A playboy?” Xue Ji pointed at herself in disbelief. She had been single her whole life! If not for the gender swap, she’d hardly even held a girl’s hand a few times. To be called a playboy under these circumstances was utterly absurd!
The tension between them intensified rapidly. In what felt like no time at all, the lingering affection in their eyes had transformed into blazing combat intent.
Inside the consciousness space, Lilith, hearing Ling Xiaoxiao’s words, was fuming. She itched to charge out and give Ling Xiaoxiao a beating, clearly having forgotten the recent incident where she and Shaya both had their backsides smacked by Ling Xiaoxiao.
Xue Ji looked at Lilith with some surprise. After two days together, she had thought this consciousness companion of her ability was just a playful, boastful kid. She hadn’t expected her to be so bold as to want to go out and pick a fight at a time like this.
“Lady Xiaoxiao actually left me out! I’m the one Sister Xue Ji likes most… well, second most!”
Was she actually jealous?
‘Xiao Ji, you truly are a sinful person!’
…
Outside, the spectators were utterly bewildered by the sudden shift between the two.
“What’s going on? Why do they look like they’re about to fight to the death now? Weren’t they all over each other just a second ago?”
“You just don’t get it, do you? Lovers’ quarrels are like this. They might just end up in each other’s arms again after they’re done fighting.”
“What the heck? Feelings are so complicated.”
“Whoa, damn, that’s bright!”
A flash of white light filled the scene.
Crackle—
Xue Ji held the World Tree Staff in her left hand. On her back was the sniper rifle formed by the combined Black & White pair. Over her combat suit, she wore a mage’s robe. The overall look was… reminiscent of a video game player equipping whatever had the best stats, prioritizing strength over any sense of style or coordination.
She swung the staff. Without any warning, an invisible repulsive force sent Ling Xiaoxiao flying back over ten meters.
Immediately after, a bolt of purple lightning gave Ling Xiaoxiao no time to react, enveloping her completely.
Within the crackling energy, Ling Xiaoxiao’s entire body went numb.
Then, a thick, pale white thunderbolt obliterated the purple lightning, descending like divine punishment.
‘Summoning Heavenly Tribulation Lightning?’
The lightning Xue Ji released carried a trace of law power; it wasn’t just ordinary lightning. It had been a long time since Ling Xiaoxiao had felt this familiar sensation, and she was momentarily stunned within it.
‘Why does a fragment of the now-incomplete Heavenly Dao exist within Xiao Ji?!’
Restrained by the pale thunder, Ling Xiaoxiao found her movements limited. Seizing this opportunity, Xue Ji completed her incantation. Pitch-black magic circles emerged one after another from the ground.
[Legion of the Black Skeleton Knights]
One by one, towering knights clad in profound black heavy armor and wielding greatswords emerged first from the magic circles, quickly surrounding Ling Xiaoxiao.
As the white thunder dissipated, sixteen greatswords came crashing down towards her.
The lingering numbing energy still danced across her body, making it difficult to move. She could only summon her spirit sword to block the attacks head-on.
The sixteen greatswords fell upon her in a relentless onslaught. Yet, the hand holding her sword remained steady, and her expression was calm.
“Xiao Ji, stop holding back!” Ling Xiaoxiao deflected the greatswords and, with a graceful flourish of her Cloud Sword technique, instantly annihilated the Black Skeleton Knights surrounding her.
But before she could finish speaking, a massive blast of black dragon breath swallowed her whole.
Having landed her blow, the attacker—an eighty-meter-tall black dragon—finally beat its wings and began its slow descent.
The spectators outside were shocked into silence. The power Xue Ji was displaying far exceeded anything they could have imagined.
“Are they even human anymore?”
“It seems I still have a long way to go in my training.”
The scene shifted. There was no sign of Ling Xiaoxiao within the black dragon flames. Instead, a golden light showered down from the sky above. At its source, Ling Xiaoxiao stood holding her sword, clad in that familiar red ruqun dress. Her eyes held neither joy nor sorrow, and an ethereal, otherworldly aura emanated from her.
For a moment, it was as if the sun itself had descended. The remaining dormant black magic circles on the ground were instantly extinguished by this golden radiance. With a casual swing of her sword, she effortlessly slew the black dragon.
“She’s like an immortal descended to the mortal world,” Xue Ji couldn’t help but marvel, observing Ling Xiaoxiao’s transcendent grace.
“But I won’t admit defeat.” As the battle heated up, a smile actually broke out on Xue Ji’s face.
It had been a long time since she’d had such a satisfying fight. She casually pulled the unconscious Shaya from the ground and encased her in a protective magic barrier.
Xue Ji began the incantation for her next spell.
“Lost city in the abyss, birthplace Atlante, manifest here.”
The phantom image of an ancient city materialized behind Xue Ji. A blue, undulating aura began to permeate the space.
“I offer my spiritual power here. Grant me the divine might of the Leviathan of the Seas, to devour the heavens and conquer the land!”
An ethereal, drawn-out voice seemed to echo out of nowhere. To those watching outside, it felt unnervingly close, as if whispered right beside their ears.
A phantom of a colossal, whale-like sea beast, riding a tidal wave capable of swallowing the sky, surged towards Ling Xiaoxiao.
High in the sky, Ling Xiaoxiao assumed a sword stance. She thrust her blade forward, descending with the resonant cry of the Vermilion Bird accompanying her charge.
On the screen, the sea beast and the fiery divine bird, both wielding terrifying destructive power, collided.
But the expected cataclysmic roar never came. The entire training room was plunged into a world of absolute silence.