91 Chapter 90: The tournament begins (2/2)
”Hmm, I should be able to get out of my group just fine. The few opponents I have to take note of are Xue Bing from the Snow Valley Sect and Qing Xin Xia.”
Tang Qi Hong was musing to herself as she studied the list displayed in huge letters across the bulletin board.
”Oh! You're in the same group as Xin Xia?” Lian Rou's eyes widened. I listened intently, having a few recollections of the shy, dimituitive girl from the Green Dragon Sect. Qing Xin Xia was certainly talented, but her skills lay more in healing than combat. She was set to be the next Teacher Yi Liao, at least from what I heard.
”Go easy on her, okay?” Tong Xue laughed.
Tang Qi Hong frowned. ”I can't afford to underestimate Xin Xia. She might specialize in healing, but I've heard that she has become very strong recently.”
I wonder why. It was obvious with everyone who had half a brain that Qing Xin Xia was in love with Zhu Jiao…except Zhu Jiao himself. The protagonist was as dense as a neutron star and too obsessed with his childhood sweetheart, Bai Ning Xue, to notice Qing Xin Xia's affections for him. No doubt Qing Xin Xia planned to use the tournament as a chance to display her prowess and draw Zhu Jiao's attention toward her.
Ah, how enviable it must be to be the protagonist of a web novel! To have all these beautiful girls flocking toward him! If only Tang Qi Hong didn't reject me! Ugh…
”What about you, Wu?” Tong Xue asked. He then spotted my name a few seconds later, after glancing through the bulletin board. ”Oh, you're in the same group as Wu Hei Gui and Wu Xing! Oh boy, that's not good.”
”Why?” I asked even though I already knew the answer. Shaking my head, I sighed. ”Never mind, I know why…”
”Oi, you know how strong Hei Gui is, right? We're in the same class!”
I nodded. I had witnessed his fearsome defensive abilities in class, especially during the training session. In the whole of Wu Ling Academy, it was not an exaggeration to say that Wu Hei Gui was the strongest, if not the second-strongest in terms of defense. The Black Tortoise Sect was famous for their formidable defense techniques, after all.
”He's going to be a tough nut to crack…like, literally.”
Tong Xue scoffed at that. ”If you can still make jokes like that, then you'll be fine. But the other guy, Wu Xing…”
”I believe Wu Xing is from the Kun Lun Sect, correct?” Ban Zhang scratched his head. ”I don't remember much of him, other than the Kun Lun Sect is one of the major eight sects, and they dabble in esoteric elemental techniques.”
”Yeah, he's from another class too.” Tang Qi Hong furrowed her brow. ”I don't think I've heard much of him either, but he does have a reputation for being extremely intelligent, talented and strong. I don't know the details, though…”
”Wu Xing is known as the Five Elements of the Kun Lun Sect,” Tong Xue filled us in. He was as reliable as ever. ”He's known for mastering the esoteric five elements principle known to the Kun Lun Sect and is able to wield all five different types of five elements at will, countering whatever elemental technique his opponent uses against him.” He turned to me with a grave expression. ”He'll definitely be a tough opponent.”
”I'll figure something out,” I replied. I was aware that none of my classmates were expecting much of me, but Tang Qi Hong was hoping that I would rank highly in my group at least. So did Tong Xue, probably because he wanted a comrade to join him in Blood Blades.
”But you shouldn't have a problem against the others…uh, looks like Tu Zi Yi is also in your group.” Tong Xue frowned. ”Hmm, you should be careful of her too. Even though she's only a Two Star Constitution cultivator, she does have some mean skills.”
”In other words, I can't let my guard down around her.”
”Yeah!” Tang Qi Hong tried to grab my ear but missed when I ducked. ”Don't let your guard down just because she's a girl, understand!?”
”Yeah, yeah.” Even though she was the one who rejected me and insisted that she needed to focus on working hard to become the next leader of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, she was acting somewhat possessive of me. Girl, that was just…not right.
”WHOA! Wait for me!?”
As if on cue, Zhu Jiao bumbled right into line, almost catapulting into the crowd of students. Being martial artists, all the students immediately parted on reflex, allowing Zhu Jiao to barrel past without striking any of them.
Bam!
Zhu Jiao flipped himself up at the final moment and crashed onto both feet. Looking apologetic, he bowed to everyone in the surroundings.
”Sorry, sorry! I hope no one was hurt!”
”Hey, Zhu Jiao!”
”You're finally here!”
”Whoa, are you all right?”
Tong Xue, Ban Zhang and I strode forward to meet him. Zhu Jiao grinned and scratched his head sheepishly.
”Yeah, I think so. Sorry about that.”
”Always making quite the entrance, are you?” Ban Zhang shook his head, amused.
”As expected of the protagonist,” I muttered. Fortunately, no one heard me or they would be asking me what I meant.
”Have you guys already seen your groups?”
”Yup. It's you now.”
While we gathered to look for Zhu Jiao's name, the crowd of students reformed and plugged the gap that Zhu Jiao's reckless charge created.
”By the way, where's Ning Xue? Is she not here yet?”
Zhu Jiao glanced around, puzzled. Not far away, Qing Xin Xia – who was with Li Chun Long and the other disciples of the Green Dragon Sect – twitched. Her pretty face crinkled into a frown, and I swear I saw a flicker of murderous intent behind those hazelnut eyes of hers.
Oh boy…that's not good.
Was Qing Xin Xia a yandere or something? Even so, there was probably no need to worry. Bai Ning Xue was powerful enough to take care of herself. The chances of Qing Xin Xia winning against Bai Ning Xue in combat were pretty low.
Low, but not impossible, but honestly, this wasn't my problem, and I doubted that the gentle Qing Xin Xia would be capable of such atrocities in any case. Her reaction was perfectly normal. Who wouldn't think of killing their bitter rival once in a while? To act on it, however, was entirely another matter altogether.
”Oh! I'm there!”
”Wow…you're pretty unlucky, aren't you?”
The moment Zhu Jiao spotted his group, Tong Xue sighed and shook his head sympathetically. Zhu Jiao glanced at him, surprised.
”What do you mean?”
”You're in the Group of Death. Look, Yu Wen Tian, Long Sheng, Xiong Lao Hu, and Hu Bei Yue are all in your group. These are all people from the eight major sects. Yu Wen Tian is famous as a prodigy in the Snow Valley Sect. Long Sheng is from the Green Dragon Sect, said to be on par with Li Chun Long. Xiong Lao Hu of the White Tiger Sect…that's going to be quite the troublesome opponent. I heard only Kuang Hu is a match for him within their sect, excepting Bai Ning Xue, of course, who is thhe undisputed strongest in White Tiger Sect. Oh, and Hu Bei Yue is pretty reputable in the Red Phoenix Sect. I heard she pushed Feng Tian Yong all the way for the top disciple spot a month ago. Man, your luck is terrible.”
”Ha ha ha,” Zhu Jiao chuckled. ”I just have to beat all of them, don't I?”
Everyone just stared at him. Except me, who was aware of how Zhu Jiao was the typical happy-go-lucky protagonist. Besides, this was the exact situation I was complaining about the other day. Tong Xue could provide all these detailed dossiers about all the opponents that Zhu Jiao would be facing, telling them how strong and talented and powerful and amazing they are, but at the end of the day, it didn't matter.
Zhu Jiao would win against all of them and emerge as the top of the group. Then these poor bastards would be consigned to oblivion, with no one ever remembering their names again. Hell, I doubted thse poor souls would ever appear in this trashy story again.
Poor overhyped fodder characters meant solely to make the protagonist look good.
”You sure are confident, aren't you?” Ban Zhang remarked with a wry smile. He didn't doubt Zhu Jiao at all.
”Well, my goal is Ning Xue. I can't lose to anyone until I meet her.” Zhu Jiao clenched his fist determinedly and raised it. ”We both will meet in the finals. I can't lose until then! I mean, if I can't even beat these guys, then how will I ever challenge Ning Xue?”
”Oh, wow…you're already sure you'll meet her in the finals.”
I couldn't help but shake my head and remark dryly. I knew it would happen. It was inevitable. But even so, for Zhu Jiao to be aware of that himself…
”It's set in stone! I'm sure Fate will arrange that for me!”
”Hmm…good luck.”
I nodded and patted his shoulder. Ban Zhang joined in, and then Tong Xue allowed himself a laugh before slapping Zhu Jiao in the back.
”If anyone can pull this off, it'll be you.”
”Yeah…don't forget. You're a Five Star Constitution cultivator.” Tang Qi Hong was smiling. ”Even if everyone else has forgotten, we haven't.”
”Prove everyone wrong!”
”You're level 8 in name only. You're more than a match for any of these guys!”
”Aw…stop it, guys, you're making me embarrassed.” Zhu Jiao laughed, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. ”Besides, I can't afford to underestimate my opponents. It would be disrespectful to them.”
”This will be difficult,” Ban Zhang agreed as he glanced at the bulletin board again.
”Hmm…but you know what, I'm getting fired up!” Zhu Jiao was rubbing his palms enthusiastically. ”The stronger my opponents, the better! It's best to fight against powerful opponents! Otherwise there will be no meaning to this tournament!”
Zhu Jiao's positive attitude was unbelievable. Nonetheless, his excitement was infectious and I couldn't help but smile too.
”I hope we all get through this unscathed,” I murmured quietly. ”Not just earning a high ranking, but for all of us to at least finish this tournament safely.”
”Amen to that!”
And with that, our tournament began.