Su Xiaoqi looked at Lu Linglong, who was currently flushed with embarrassment, feeling both exasperated and amused. He had clearly meant a proper game of poker earlier, yet this silly girl had somehow taken it in a completely different direction.
"Linglong, you should really cut back on reading those trashy web novels. They're not good for your mental health," Su Xiaoqi sighed.
Tokisaki Kurumi giggled. "Ara~ I thought I was bold enough, but Linglong, you're even more direct than I expected."
Zhu Zhuqing smirked. "Should the three of us step out for a bit?"
Zhi Jinhua laughed. "Linglong, I'll go grab the poker cards for you now."
Hearing their teasing, Lu Linglong lowered her head even further and muttered, "Stop it… I'm already embarrassed enough."
After Lu Linglong's little misunderstanding, Su Xiaoqi lost all interest in playing poker. Now, every time he looked at her, his mind involuntarily conjured up the phrase: "Beautiful dealer, live at your service."
Later, based on the data Su Xiaoqi provided and comparisons with the original Dragon Ball series, Zhi Jinhua performed a series of calculations and finally determined that Su Xiaoqi's current base combat power was 1,927,560.
Lu Linglong gasped in admiration. "Hua'er, you're amazing! Just looking at all those numbers makes my head spin."
Zhi Jinhua smiled and turned to Su Xiaoqi. "You Saiyans grow way too fast. The results I've calculated now might skyrocket again after your next training session."
Su Xiaoqi nodded with a grin. "Thanks. You're way more reliable than a certain pink-haired airhead who only thinks about nonsense."
Lu Linglong pouted. "Hey! I'm going for the cute and ditzy route, okay?"
Just then, a faint rustling sound came from outside the room. Lu Linglong's expression immediately turned serious as she addressed the three girls. "I'll go check it out. You three stay here and watch Su Xiaoqi. No matter what happens, don't let him leave this room."
Su Xiaoqi could only shake his head helplessly. At this point, he might as well be a national treasure in their eyes.
Not long after Lu Linglong left, the sound of fighting erupted outside. However, none of them were worried about her safety—after all, without knowing the weakness of Devil Fruits, there were very few, if any, in this world who could actually harm her.
Soon enough, Lu Linglong returned, dragging in a tightly bound Feng Baobao. The expressions on everyone's faces instantly turned strange.
Su Xiaoqi looked at Feng Baobao, who was still struggling on the ground, and chuckled. "Did Zhang Chulan send you to bury someone?"
Feng Baobao first nodded, then shook her head. "I wanted to fight you. And also bury her."
Lu Linglong rolled her eyes. "Feng Baobao, you can't even beat me right now. You stand no chance against Su Xiaoqi."
Feng Baobao insisted excitedly, "I have a secret move. A one-hit kill."
Su Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What kind of move is so powerful? Don't tell me it's another one of those Awai Eighteen Techniques or something equally ridiculous?"
Feng Baobao stared at him and slowly uttered two words:
"Seduction."
Su Xiaoqi's jaw dropped.
Lu Linglong, Zhu Zhuqing, Tokisaki Kurumi, and Zhi Jinhua all darkened their expressions simultaneously.
But Feng Baobao paid no attention to their reactions and continued, "I thought about it. A direct fight wouldn't work, but I noticed you like women. So I came up with this plan. I even brought clothes—just didn't get to change yet."
She then grinned proudly. "People say I'm dumb, but I'm actually not. Sometimes, I think I'm pretty damn smart."
After a long pause, Su Xiaoqi finally snapped out of it and glared at her. "Someone! Drag this idiot out and—wait, no. Just throw her out!"
As Lu Linglong and Zhi Jinhua hauled her away, Feng Baobao yelled, "At least let me change first! I think this plan has a high chance of success!"
"NO! We won't let him see you like that!" The two girls shouted in unison.
Tokisaki Kurumi smirked. "Though Feng Baobao is a bit of an idiot, she did give me a new idea. Maybe I'll try it next time."
Zhu Zhuqing shot her a glare. "Give it up. It's never happening."
After Feng Baobao's little farce, the four girls decided to split into two groups for night shifts. Lu Linglong and Zhi Jinhua, who had the finals the next day, took the first shift, while Zhu Zhuqing and Tokisaki Kurumi covered the latter half.
The next morning, Su Xiaoqi stepped out of his "cage" refreshed after a good night's sleep. Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing and Tokisaki Kurumi, who had been on night duty, looked utterly exhausted.
Tokisaki Kurumi shot Zhu Zhuqing a resentful look. Last night, she had finally gotten a chance to be alone with Su Xiaoqi, but Zhu Zhuqing had thwarted her at every turn.
During the first half of the night, Zhu Zhuqing had literally tied their hands together while they slept. The second half was less about guarding Su Xiaoqi and more about guarding her.
Su Xiaoqi glanced at the two weary girls. "I'm going out to train. You two should get some rest."
Zhu Zhuqing smirked at Tokisaki Kurumi. "Want to sleep together later? I won't tie you up this time."
Tokisaki Kurumi huffed. "I'll sleep alone, thanks."
By noon, Sakata Gintoki, Feng Shayan, and Feng Xingtong arrived. The two were practically glued to each other—uncharacteristically, Gintoki had been dead serious last night, taking Feng Shayan to wipe out the Wang family. Not only did they earn a hefty amount of points, but Feng Shayan was now completely devoted to him.
After lunch, the group headed to the tournament grounds. Barring any surprises, this would likely be their last visit.
The moment Lu Linglong appeared, the entire crowd erupted in cheers. She had been the star of this Luo Tian Da Jiao, stealing the spotlight at every turn. The entire supernatural world was now buzzing with legends about her—from her infamous "Come at me head-on!" to her overwhelming strength, and of course, her widely-shipped pairing with Su Xiaoqi.
In contrast, her opponent in the finals, Zhang Chulan, was also famous—but mostly for his "No-Shame Chulan" title.
"Finalists of the Luo Tian Da Jiao, Lu Linglong and Zhang Chulan, please enter the arena!"
As the referee's voice rang out, the crowd chanted:
"Goddess Linglong!"
"No-Shame Chulan!"
Lu Linglong stood up and looked at Su Xiaoqi. "I'm going to steal the spotlight again today."
Su Xiaoqi grinned. "Go for it."
Zhang Chulan scratched his head sheepishly. "Bro, even if you don't cheer for her, I still can't beat her, okay?"
"HAHAHA!"
His words drew laughter from everyone—after all, the gap between their strengths was simply too vast.
The finals played out exactly as expected. Lu Linglong effortlessly secured her victory, claiming first place in the Luo Tian Da Jiao.
But this time, even in defeat, Zhang Chulan earned everyone's respect. Facing an insurmountable difference in power, he had refused to give up, pushing himself to his absolute limit.
During the awards ceremony, Lu Jing and the Heavenly Master offered Lu Linglong the Tongtian Lu and the position of Heavenly Master. However, she only accepted the Tongtian Lu, outright rejecting the title with a look of disdain—what use did she have for something that couldn't even be exchanged for points?
Just as everyone thought the event was over and began to leave, Lu Linglong's voice suddenly echoed across the arena.
"Everyone, I have a few more words. Would you mind listening?"
The crowd settled back into their seats.
Lu Linglong's gaze locked onto Su Xiaoqi in the stands, and a radiant smile spread across her face as she spoke:
"I'm really happy to have won first place in this tournament. But more than that… I want to thank one person in particular."
"Maybe you all already know who I'm talking about. During this Luo Tian Da Jiao, he gave me the most unforgettable and joyful memories of my life."
"You probably still remember what he said to me in front of everyone during the preliminaries, right? Well… now it's my turn."
She took a deep breath, then shouted at the top of her lungs:
"I, Lu Linglong, hereby declare—I want to be Su Xiaoqi's girlfriend! Anyone here got a problem with that?!"
Silence.
No one had expected Lu Linglong's big announcement to be a public confession—and in such a setting, no less.
Even Su Xiaoqi's group was stunned.
Before anyone could react, Lu Linglong continued:
"Su Xiaoqi, I'm not as gentle as Zhuqing, nor as refined as Weiwei. I'm a bit of an airhead, and you've even called me a 'silly husky girl.' But that's just who I am—I can go wild with you, have fun with you."
"So… do you like a girl like me?"