"Gentle...?"
Bai Cha pursed her lips. This was the first time someone had actually commented on her.
Her emotions had always been subtle. Perhaps it was a strange talent, but no matter how intense an emotion was, it felt as if it were wrapped in a layer of mist within her heart. It was like a diver hearing someone on shore shouting – hazy and indistinct.
She herself couldn't even feel her own emotional fluctuations, so where did this burning passion come from?
Bai Cha didn't understand.
"It was evident when you truly protected everyone, caring more about innocent civilians than even the neutral factions," Lucifer said with a smile. He had simply noticed it earlier.
Bai Cha still didn't understand.
Seeing Bai Cha's bewildered, conflicted, yet earnest expression made Lucifer chuckle a little. He checked the time and thoughtfully reminded her, "Miss, Miss Freya's top 100 advancement match is in twenty minutes."
"Oh, I almost forgot," Bai Cha realized, enlightened. She wondered why she had felt like she had forgotten something just now.
The rules for the World Grand Prix were complex and simple at the same time. Participants were randomly assigned to groups by the system. Once the groups were finalized, they simply had to wait for their opponent's information and match time.
This time, it was a battle between those within the top 100 and those outside. Only the top fifty from outside the top 100 qualified to fight against those within the top 100. The top 100 participants were drawn by lot.
Of course, losing once was not an issue. Everyone had one resurrection opportunity. If they were dissatisfied with the outcome after it was finalized, they could choose an opponent and challenge them.
The top ten from the previous tournament were even more relaxed. They didn't have to fight in the elimination rounds and simply waited for someone to challenge them at the grand finale. This was akin to fast-forwarding to the defending stage. However, after the last participant used their resurrection opportunity, the top ten would still have to engage in a round-robin battle to determine the ranking order. Overall, the top ten were the most leisurely.
Freya had ranked eleventh in the previous World Grand Prix. The reason was that during the top 16 match, she had drawn the same opponent as Bai Cha and forfeited. That incident had caused quite a stir in the news, and this time, many people were eagerly anticipating the rematch between the two.
As soon as Bai Cha arrived at the venue, Freya noticed her. She hopped from the center of the stage to the edge and, with a pitiful gaze, forcefully "drove" Bai Cha from the back rows to the front row closest to her.
Bai Cha reluctantly took her seat in the center of the front row. Freya, satisfied, happily moved to the center of the stage, appearing to be in very good spirits. This made Bai Cha silently offer a prayer for her opponent.
"Hello, Miss Freya," said the person speaking. They were dressed entirely in black, with nothing else besides a silver dagger in their hand. Tall and lean, they appeared to be a quiet and efficient assassin.
[Begin!]
As soon as the mechanical referee's bell rang, the assassin vanished from their spot like a wisp of smoke. Simultaneously, numerous black-clad figures with various expressions "grew" from the ground. They were all shaped differently, but the only thing they had in common was a silver dagger clutched in their hands.
"Oh my, so many of you? It seems this will be a grand ball~" Freya, still in her pink and white mini-dress, with boots that accentuated her slender legs, blinked her pink almond-shaped eyes. She placed her left hand behind her back, and a beautiful pink crystal bow appeared in her hand. It collided perfectly with a silver dagger.
What stunned everyone the most was that when the dagger and bow clashed, the dagger shattered first. Its tip seemed to strike something so hard that it splintered, and the black-clad man hastily shifted his stance, vanishing like smoke once more.
This was only the first exchange, and cold sweat beaded on the black-clad man's forehead. That clash had clearly shown him the gap between himself and the beautiful girl before him.
His prized stealth techniques were completely useless against Freya. He had initially thought that as Freya was a ranged attacker with a bow and arrow, he would have a chance if he could get close. Now, it seemed like a futile struggle.
"Hmm? It seems your weapon isn't very sturdy," Freya winked her right eye, appearing charmingly cute. She pointed her bow towards the sky and with a gentle flick of her right hand, pink arrows suddenly appeared on the previously empty bow, shooting straight into the sky and exploding into fireworks.
"Shall we add a touch of romance next?"
The fireworks were spectacular, and countless sparks erupted, but they stopped mid-air. In that instant, the sparks extended infinitely, and sharp needles, carrying a piercing aura, tore through the air.
"I surrender!!"
A heart-wrenching cry exploded from the stage. As the dust settled, everyone gasped in unison, looking at the black-clad man who was riddled with countless tiny pink crystal needles and fixed to the stage like a hedgehog.
Around him were his clones, all struck by the fireworks' sparks. Like a contagion, all his clones had transformed into crystals. The black-clad man dared not imagine if he had been hit directly, would he have suffered the same fate as his clones?
The black-clad man swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, tickled by the sharp points of the needles hanging two millimeters from his throat.
But he couldn't laugh; he was close to tears.
Covered in small holes, neither heavy nor light, but he wouldn't be getting out of bed for days anyway. His entire body was like a beehive, and any movement would cause him to bleed.
He had been turned into a human sprinkler!
"Cha-cha-cha-cha! See how amazing I am!" As soon as the referee declared victory, Freya leaped directly off the stage and lunged into Bai Cha's arms, almost causing Bai Cha to fall backward along with the stool.
"Mm, amazing," Bai Cha said helplessly, steadying herself by gripping Lucifer's shoulder. "You used to deliberately keep your distance from me in public. Now you're quite brazen."
The outside world believed that China's Shadow and Balance Pole had a strained relationship. Furthermore, the White Family Patriarch was at odds with Balance Pole's Libra and Cupid, two of the major divine seats. However, after so much time, Libra and Bai Cha hadn't even met, and Cupid had defied everyone's expectations.
Everyone around had various expressions, beginning to re-evaluate whether the intimacy between these two dangerous individuals would pose future obstacles. However, Bai Cha didn't understand Freya's intentions. Her current situation wasn't good, and Freya's support wouldn't be of any use.
"I don't care. If I stick close to you, what if you get taken away?" Freya turned and sat on Bai Cha's lap, leaning her head on Bai Cha's shoulder. "Cha-cha, if you met me, would you let me win?"
Her voice wasn't quiet at all, and everyone around cast subtle glances.
Bai Cha hugged Freya and pondered for a moment before indifferently asking, "What rank do you want?"
Everyone: "..."
As everyone knew, in the World Grand Prix, each participant had one resurrection opportunity after the match. The top ten, however, had two, meaning two challenge opportunities. So, was Bai Cha intending to help Freya secure a ranking and then intentionally lose to her?
Everyone was utterly bewildered.
Big sister, with the performance your Cupid just displayed, she's a sure bet for the top ten! Does she really need you to help her secure a ranking like this!
All the participants had gathered at the arena. Bai Cha casually glanced at the screens. Different people were battling on different arenas. Zhi Yue was locked in a fierce struggle with the thirty-eighth ranked competitor from the previous year. Gu Zi Tan had been assigned the forty-second ranked competitor from the previous year and had already easily won and returned to his seat.
These were just preliminary matches, and Bai Cha didn't take them seriously. What she hadn't expected was to receive unexpected guests that evening.
"How can you prove that Yun He is your descendant?" Bai Cha looked at the group of old men with uniformly black hair and silver eyes and fell into thought.
These old men had suddenly appeared at China's rest area. As soon as they saw her, they started claiming kinship, saying Yun He was a descendant of the Yun family and needed to return to inherit the Yun family. They claimed Yun He was the descendant of Yun Xia, the daughter of the Yun family head, from Yun Shen Bu Zhi Chu.
Bai Cha: "?"
What kind of plot was this? An orphan suddenly becoming a young prince with a profound background? What melodramatic television series was this?
Furthermore, even putting it mildly, Yun He hadn't seen them since she was young. What contribution had they made? They wanted to take her away with just a paternity test? What a pipe dream.
"Miss Bai, please state your conditions. We will trade any amount of money or treasure with Miss Bai," said a wispy old man holding a crane-shaped walking stick. His silver pupils, however, held a determined glint. "Yun He is our young lady. We are her relatives, and it is only natural for her to return and inherit."
As soon as these words were spoken, not only Yun He, but even Bai Cha's expression darkened.
Trade? Did these people regard Yun He as some item to be traded?
"I'm not going back," Yun He refused without a second thought to some people's moral blackmail. "It's merely a blood relationship. I was not raised by you, nor educated by you. I once swore to follow Miss Bai unto death. You may leave."
They wanted to reap the rewards without putting in any effort? What a pipe dream.
"Yun He, I am your paternal uncle Yun Yi. We didn't bring you back simply because we didn't know about you. Please forgive us." Although he said "please forgive us," Yun Yi's tone was forceful, leaving Yun He no room for retreat. "The Yun family bloodline can only be awakened through baptism in the Yun family's sacred pool. Otherwise, they are merely ordinary people. Even so, you are unwilling to come with me?"
The strong were admired by all, and bloodline awakening was something many people dared not even dream of. It was like Cang Liu's Dragon Mark; only by awakening the Dragon Mark could one leap the dragon gate and transform into a dragon, greatly increasing their strength. The descendants of the Yun family were the same.
"Yun Shen Bu Zhi Chu? Are you referring to that Taoyuan Village in the western suburbs of G City?" Bai Cha tapped her teacup, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes. "You don't need to be there for the sacred pool baptism. Sacred pool water should suffice, right?"
Moreover, as far as Bai Cha knew, the Yun family didn't initially require forced bloodline awakening; it would awaken naturally at a certain age. However, to maximize family cohesion, the Yun family ancestors voluntarily offered their heart's essence blood, transforming it into crystals that fell into the sacred pool. They also swore that their descendants must be baptized in this pool to awaken, thereby binding their descendants to the family.
For the people of that era, unity was strength. But for people now, it was merely a shackle and a restraint. Not a few people had considered shattering these crystals, which were a curse to them, but these crystals were well protected by the elders and were extremely hard, beyond the reach of ordinary people.
However, the younger generation was not one to compromise easily. Countless youths with rebellious spirits, rather than be bound there, chose not to awaken their bloodlines. Many young people left, and Taoyuan Village gradually declined.
Now, the Yun family finding their way here likely meant that Yun He's information had been leaked, and someone had pointed the way.
As soon as Bai Cha spoke, Yun Yi and the others' expressions changed. Bai Cha's words clearly warned them that she could directly go to Yun Shen Bu Zhi Chu to retrieve the sacred pool water, and no one could stop her. Bai Cha's subsequent words sent a shiver down their spines.
"I'll give you one minute to organize your thoughts, and then I'll give each of you five minutes to argue your case. Who sent you, and what are your objectives?"
"Lucifer, take them downstairs and detain them separately."