"What do you mean? Bai Cha, are you trying to make me a deserter?" Zhi Yue immediately objected, grabbing Bai Cha's arm. Her eyes, as wide as copper bells, glared at her. "I'm telling you, you have half the credit for the state I'm in now. Don't even think about abandoning me."
Bai Cha: "...Don't talk nonsense. Cang Liu told me that even without my intervention, you would have found your way onto the righteous path."
After Bai Cha learned that Cang Liu was a reincarnator, Cang Liu approached Bai Cha to discuss Zhi Yue and the others, wanting Bai Cha to have some foresight. Zhi Yue was among them.
In the previous life, Bai Cha and Zhi Yue had been at odds from the start. However, by the end, Bai Cha had seen through the hypocrisy of the "Luminous Faction" and broken away.
Unfortunately, the outcome wasn't good. The result of her resistance was like a speck of dust trying to move a mountain; after soaring high, it could only return to the earth.
In this life, Bai Cha was there to save her. In the previous life, Zhi Yue had her lower body paralyzed and was imprisoned.
In the previous life, after Bai Cha died, in her plan, Shadow successfully rescued Zhi Yue while saving hostages. However, the proud Zhi Yue was already disheartened by then. Even after being rescued, she remained melancholic and didn't live much longer than Bai Cha.
"Besides, how is this abandoning you? When I resolve things, you will all return." Bai Cha spread her hands. "It's just a change of venue. After the problem is solved, if you still wish to join Shadow, you can go through the proper channels for assessment."
"Don't you dare downplay the important matters like that." Zhi Yue wasn't buying it and directly interrupted Bai Cha, saying fiercely, "Do you think people are fools just because they don't get angry? I'm telling you, don't think I can't see it. After you resolve this, it's uncertain if you'll even be alive!"
Bai Cha: "Oh?"
"Don't you look in the mirror every day? Why don't you go find one and take a look? You're radiating an aura of utter devotion and willingness to die." Zhi Yue huffed, arguing with Bai Cha. It was the first time she had ever dared to confront Bai Cha so boldly, and to Bai Cha's utter bewilderment, Zhi Yue felt incredibly pleased and happy.
"I'm telling you, I'm homeless now. You picked me up, and I belong to you. I will follow you. If you die, who will I go with?" Zhi Yue said fiercely, "I'm telling you, I don't know anyone else here."
Bai Cha was helpless. To call this little girl, Zhi Yue, dull was an understatement; she was sharp, but when she spoke of her being clever, she was truly clueless.
"As of now, although our conflict is intense, it hasn't reached a breaking point. For a general to deploy troops, they must naturally factor their own life into the equation." Bai Cha sighed. "Zhi Yue, I am a soldier. Dedication unto death is my duty."
Zhi Yue was immediately silenced, choked for words.
It seemed... she had a point.
"Are you sick! Forget it, I can't reason with you. You are forbidden to die, anyway!" Zhi Yue said angrily, throwing down the sentence and turning to leave, leaving Bai Cha shaking her head with amusement, silently counting down in her heart.
Three, two, one...
"Oh my goodness!"
"Plop!"
Zhi Yue successfully face-planted at the doorway, startling Xiang Nan, who was just coming to report. Xiang Nan didn't understand what Zhi Yue was up to, but saw Bai Cha leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, smiling at Zhi Yue.
"You forgot you're injured in your anger?" Bai Cha almost burst out laughing. "Your wound hasn't even healed with a life capsule, and your comminuted fracture is only half healed. Your nerves were just reconnected, and you still dare to run around?"
"...That's enough, stop mocking me. Help me back first." Zhi Yue felt that her dignity for the rest of her life had been thoroughly lost in these short ten minutes.
The merit she had accumulated over half a lifetime was wasted in two minutes. Zhi Yue finally lay down honestly on the bed, silently contemplating life.
Bai Cha walked out with a smile, closing the door, and then looked at Xiang Nan, who was waiting in the hallway.
"How is it? Have they been transferred successfully?" Bai Cha asked.
"Yes, Major General Gong has received them. The top ten competition is in a few days... Meng Qinghuan, Jing Ji, and you have all entered the top ten. Here are the current rankings."
Xiang Nan handed his intelligence to Bai Cha. The tablet recognized Bai Cha's iris scan, and the blurred interface began to clear.
"Currently, only two have entered the top ten. Jing Ji did not participate in the draw and used her revival qualification, defeating the fifth-ranked Odin of Country Y yesterday. Meng Qinghuan was originally ranked ninth. With Apollo and Vaitian dead, the rankings have moved up, and she is currently seventh." Xiang Nan reported formally.
"Who is currently tenth?" Bai Cha asked casually, flipping through the rankings from bottom to top.
"Miss Freya." Xiang Nan replied.
This answer was within Bai Cha's expectations. After all, whether it was last time or this time, Freya had a dominant advantage below the top ten. She had the capability to be in the top three.
"My ranking is eleventh. Li Rong and Su Qing are ranked sixteenth and eighteenth respectively. Yan Ziqing is exactly twentieth, but today he has a match against the fourteenth-ranked opponent in a draw. Perhaps he can advance further," Xiang Nan said.
This was also within Bai Cha's expectations. Jing Ji was originally her secret weapon, not because of her overpowered abilities, but mainly due to her bad temper and lack of control. She appeared gentle and elegant, but when she lost control, she was unstoppable. Therefore, Bai Cha had always been urging her to cultivate self-control.
The draw for the top ten matches had already been released, and the list was neatly laid out.
One: Libra (Balance Wood).
Two: Virgo (Balance Wood).
Three: Bai Cha (Country Z).
Four: Oudmubra (Country Y).
Five: Jing Ji (Country Z).
Six: Athena (Country M).
Seven: Meng Qinghuan (Country Z).
Eight: Gabe (Country F).
Nine: Jupiter (Country G).
Ten: Freya (Balance Wood).
The rankings were in a certain order, but Bai Cha knew that this was not the true ranking of the six leaders. It was only because some of the leaders had not yet grown in the last world competition. This time, with the six leaders fully grown, the competition between them would be even fiercer.
Balance Wood had been in decline since falling out with the Bai family. The past powerhouses were now aging and gradually falling behind the new generation, while the new seedlings were too weak and destined not to achieve good results in this world competition.
Country M's situation was also precarious. The loss of Apollo was undoubtedly huge, but as an established major power, they would surely occupy a significant portion of the top thirty seats.
The draw results were also out. Each person would take turns playing one match, and then based on the number of victories, a comprehensive evaluation would be made. Unstable factors like poor performance could be excluded, and withdrawals were allowed.
For example, in the match between Oudmubra and Bai Cha, Oudmubra had already conceded and withdrawn. In the match between Meng Qinghuan and Astrea, Meng Qinghuan also withdrew.
Especially Meng Qinghuan, she had withdrawn all the way and just an hour ago, she had flatlined at tenth place and was challenged by the twelfth-ranked Ghost Shadow.
Although Bai Cha knew that Meng Qinghuan was still somewhat lacking compared to those leaders, her win rate was still around forty percent. Bai Cha was filled with anger at her seeming to give up without a fight. Although sixth and tenth place received the same reward, this attitude was truly shameful.
It's not like she didn't have a chance. After cultivating her so hard for so many years, was she just going to give up?
"Xiang Nan, you challenge Meng Qinghuan. Go today." Bai Cha said coldly. "You will enter the top ten directly. As a combatant, you know what you should do next."
"Understood." Xiang Nan agreed. After a moment's thought, he still said, "Mr. Gu Zitang is only ranked thirty-second this time."
"Progress is good enough. This world competition is indeed difficult to fight in. To have improved so many places is already a pleasant surprise," Bai Cha said. "Next, he just needs to maintain this ranking."
In the following days, Bai Cha and Meng Qinghuan had little to no interaction. Meng Qinghuan seemed to be avoiding Bai Cha. Only Freya pestered Bai Cha daily to watch matches.
Today was Jing Ji's match against Virgo. The competition for the top ten was becoming more interesting, with even betting. The odds clearly favored Virgo to win by eighty percent.
Clearly, most people still believed that Jing Ji was only fifth, and in her match against Odin, Odin had just been a step short. There was still a gap compared to the second-ranked player in the world.
"Sister Nun, I will ask for your guidance in the future." Virgo was a long-haired handsome man, wearing golden armor. Like Meng Qinghuan, he kept his eyes closed. "The competition might involve unintentional severity. Please forgive me."
"Ah, it's alright. Please do your best," Jing Ji's voice was a bit hoarse but unexpectedly pleasant, not like the chirping of forest birds, but more like the ethereal chanting of celestial music. Just a single sentence made Virgo alert.
The word "please" in her sentence made him feel an irresistible urge.
"Then Miss, please watch closely." Virgo frowned. He was very familiar with Bai Cha and naturally wouldn't think that the successor brought by Bai Cha would be ordinary. He went all out from the start.
When he opened his eyes, his pupils were a brilliant gold. However, unlike Meng Qinghuan, who had current flowing from her eyes when they opened, when he opened his eyes, everyone present found that the world had changed color. The vast arena seemed to have become part of hell.
Dark stairs, ferocious monster statues, and lava flowing upwards from below.
Was this the real Hell Road?
The arena erupted in exclamations. No one expected Virgo to have cultivated to such a level. Had he now become an envoy of hell? Or had he mastered a hell and become its master?
Gold, blood red, blue... various colored powers jointly constructed a protective layer that isolated and enveloped the large arena from the outside competition grounds. The spectators outside the competition, who had escaped the restraint of the Hell Road, were still somewhat shaken. Looking at the two figures gathered within the energy sphere, the scene inside the sphere was still the Hell Road.
"What do you think, Cha Cha?" Freya asked with a smile. "Hell Road, what a grand display."
"He's regressed," Bai Cha evaluated truthfully. "Even after mastering it for so many years, he still can't control it."
If it weren't for the fact that the top ten of them had erected a protective shield, the spectators outside would have been dragged into it.
This move was very powerful, but its uncontrollably powerful nature also indicated that this move imposed an extremely severe burden on Virgo. This kind of mental pressure and burden was the best opportunity for Jing Ji.
"He's truly arrogant. Did he not understand that Jing Ji is a psychic before the match?" Bai Cha scoffed.
Furthermore, Jing Ji's trap had been set from the very first word "please."
Hearing this, Freya let out a chuckle and rolled into Bai Cha's arms, leaning into Bai Cha's ear and playfully biting her earlobe, "Cha Cha, you wouldn't have forgotten how you caused havoc at Balance Wood five or six years ago, would you?"
Bai Cha: "What does that have to do with me causing trouble at Balance Wood?"
"You blew up their palace back then. The twelve zodiacs were protecting the palace while stopping you, and half of their injuries weren't even healed!" Freya laughed uncontrollably. "Except for Astrea, everyone else took at least three to four years to recover. How could they improve?"
Bai Cha: "..."
Back then, she was only thinking about throwing various bombs and missiles. She hadn't considered their injuries. But thinking about it, destruction was easy, but protection was hard. They had desperately protected their main palace, yet it was still blown up by her?