"Contestants Jia Zhengliang and Zhang Chulan, please enter the arena."
Hearing the referee's call, Zhang Chulan cheerfully walked toward the center of the arena, waving at the audience as he went.
Su Xiaoqi watched Zhang Chulan, who remained unfazed despite the boos, and chuckled. "Sometimes, I really admire him. That's a whole different level of composure."
Zhang Lingyu scoffed. "More like a whole different level of shamelessness."
Lu Linglong grinned. "Guess whether Jia Zhengliang has already been buried by Feng Baobao by now?"
Meanwhile, deep in the forests of Longhu Mountain, Jia Zhengliang was on the phone.
"Mom, I ran into some crazy woman today. She knocked me out with a shovel without even saying a word."
"Where am I now? I'm in a pit—she buried me. At least she left me my phone."
"What? You think she likes me? Don't joke around. I can't handle a woman like that."
Back at the arena, when Feng Baobao appeared and flashed Zhang Chulan an "OK" sign, the crowd erupted in fury.
They didn't even need to guess—Jia Zhengliang had clearly been "taken care of" off the books.
Thus, the chant of "Shameless Zhang Chulan!" echoed through the skies.
The referee announced the result with undisguised disdain. If he weren't outmatched, he would've rushed over and slapped Zhang Chulan silly.
Returning to the stands, Zhang Chulan put on a flattering smile. "Goddess Linglong, go easy on me tomorrow, alright? I am Big Bro's number one lackey, after all."
Zhang Lingyu's face darkened. "Lu Linglong, I'll call you 'big sis'—but only if you beat him to a pulp tomorrow. Hospital-level beating."
Lu Linglong grinned. "Deal."
"HAHAHA!"
Everyone burst into laughter at Zhang Chulan's miserable expression. Indeed, the only one who could truly put this shameless guy in his place was Lu Linglong.
"Contestants Lu Linglong and Wang Ye, please enter the arena."
As the second semifinal began, Zhang Lingyu's eyes were locked onto every movement of the two fighters. But the more he watched, the more confused he became.
Wang Ye's expression mirrored his own from earlier that morning—but Lu Linglong wasn't even doing anything! She was just casually making faces at him.
"Can't he see her?"
A realization struck Zhang Lingyu. He turned to Su Xiaoqi. "She can make her opponents invisible to their senses?"
Su Xiaoqi smirked. "Something like that."
Zhang Lingyu let out a bitter laugh. Invisible, untraceable—how do you even fight that? He hadn't lost unfairly.
Hearing this, Zhang Chulan's face twisted in despair. If Lu Linglong had this ability, why even bother fighting tomorrow? He might as well forfeit now.
Just as everyone assumed Lu Linglong would win effortlessly, Wang Ye suddenly activated a Qimen Formation beneath his feet.
"Impressive, Daoist Wang," Su Xiaoqi praised before adding, "But it's still not enough. Linglong isn't just a close-combat fighter anymore."
The moment he finished speaking, the crowd gasped.
Zhang Lingyu and Zhang Chulan shot to their feet in shock.
Lu Linglong was using lightning.
And not just any lightning—this was stronger than their Yin-Yang Five Thunder techniques!
Su Xiaoqi watched Lu Linglong wield the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) with amusement. This girl's luck was insane—she'd drawn so many overpowered abilities that day, no wonder she'd been ecstatic enough to hug Zhijin Hua.
His mind wandered back to that day—seeing them in those "little bear and kitten" outfits.
The "little bear" (Lu Linglong) had grown incredibly strong, but the "kitten" (Zhijin Hua) was still lagging behind. She needed a power-up.
Turning to Zhijin Hua, he asked, "'Kitten'—er, Hua'er, what kind of ability do you want?"
Zhijin Hua's face burned red. She knew exactly what "kitten" meant—but the fact that Su Xiaoqi was considering her made her heart flutter.
"Anything that can help you… I'll take it."
Su Xiaoqi nodded. "I'll keep an eye out. I'll have Linglong ask you later."
Zhijin Hua shyly agreed.
Tokisaki Kurumi smirked. "Zhuqing, a little kitten is stealing food right under your nose. Shouldn't you interrogate her?"
Zhu Zhuqing chuckled. "If I'm catching anyone, it's you first."
Zhang Chulan, ever the opportunist, scurried over. "Big Bro, I'll let Linglong win tomorrow—so how about you hook me up with an ability too? Meow~"
The crowd recoiled in disgust.
"Zhang Chulan, are you trying to make us vomit?!"
"Linglong doesn't need your charity! Just prepare to get wrecked tomorrow!"
"MEOW?! MEOW YOUR HEAD!"
"One more 'meow' and we're flushing you down a toilet!"
BOOM—!
A thunderclap silenced the crowd.
Down in the arena, Wang Ye lay motionless, smoke rising from his body.
"Winner: Lu Linglong!"
"The finals will commence tomorrow at 1 PM—Lu Linglong versus Zhang Chulan!"
As the referee announced the results, the entire arena erupted in chants of:
"GODDESS LINGLONG! BEAT ZHANG CHULAN TO A PULP!"
Zhang Chulan whimpered. "Big Bro… can I just forfeit tomorrow?"
Su Xiaoqi patted his shoulder. "Chulan, I believe in you. Go for it."
After parting ways with Zhang Chulan and the others, Su Xiaoqi's group followed Zhang Lingyu to Tian Shi Fu (Heavenly Master's Residence).
With the Luo Tian Da Jiao ending tomorrow, they needed to finalize plans with Xia He.
"I've already used Gong Qing's phone to confirm their plans for tomorrow night. The 'Three Villains,' Yuan Tao—none of them will back out."
Su Xiaoqi nodded. "Good. Lingyu, gather everyone in Tian Shi Fu tomorrow night. I don't want anyone interfering."
"Xia He, lure them to the designated spot. I'll make sure none of them leave alive. Consider this your official exit from Quan Xing."
Zhang Lingyu bowed slightly. "Understood. And… thank you, for Xia He's sake."
Su Xiaoqi rolled his eyes. "Stop with the formalities. You could learn a thing or two from Zhang Chulan."
"After we're done tomorrow, we'll swing by. Consider it a farewell before we leave."
Upon returning to their lodgings, Zhu Zhuqing, Lu Linglong, Tokisaki Kurumi, and Zhijin Hua promptly locked Su Xiaoqi in the room, forbidding him from leaving for the night.
Su Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow. "You guys treating me like a prisoner now? It's just the full moon tonight. I could always just hop back to my world if it's a problem."
Lu Linglong panicked. "No! The Luo Tian Da Jiao mission is almost over, and the next plot point is still—"
She paused, then suddenly pulled Zhijin Hua forward.
"You and Hua'er are so close now—don't you want to spend more time with her?"
Zhijin Hua blushed furiously but didn't deny it. Their time together was running short.
"You still owe me that 'combat power calculation.' Let's do it tonight."
Su Xiaoqi laughed. "Sure, but that won't take all night. How about we play some poker first?"
"P-P-P-POKER?!"
Lu Linglong's voice cracked. As an avid novel reader, she knew the other meaning of "playing poker." But this fast? And with five people?!
Su Xiaoqi frowned. "Why's your face red? So? Poker or not?"
Lu Linglong took a deep breath, steeling herself.
"If it's you… fine. But it's my first time 'playing poker,' so you have to take responsibility afterward. Otherwise, I'll hate you forever."
Su Xiaoqi and the others stared at her in utter confusion.
Then—
Lu Linglong began stripping off her shirt.
Su Xiaoqi's throat went dry—but when she reached for her pants, he snapped back to reality.
"LU LINGLONG, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
"AND THE REST OF YOU—STOP GAPING AND STOP HER!"