97 Chapter 96: The Round of Sixteen (2/2)

”Huh?”

I turned to stare at him, surprised. We had just sent the girls back, and the two of them had disappeared into the building that served as the girls' dorm. On our way back toward the guys' dorm, Tong Xue popped the question out of nowhere.

”Where did that come from?”

I was aware that Tong Xue chose this moment to ask me, right after Tang Qi Hong and Lian Rou had returned to their dormitories. It was a highly sensitive question, after all, and not one that Tang Qi Hong would appreciate hearing.

Tong Xue shrugged. ”Nowhere. Just wondering how much you want to win.”

He also knew that I liked Tang Qi Hong, but he probably didn't know that she rejected me somewhat a couple of months ago, in favor of firmly establishing her position as the future sect leader of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect.

”If I do draw Qi Hong in the next round, I'll give it my best. It's only common courtesy.” I stared hard at Tong Xue. ”I would be disrespecting her otherwise if I hold back and deliberately let her win. I'm sure she feels the same.”

”Yeah, that's true.” Tong Xue nodded. ”You're right about that. But after watching your fight against Wu Xing today, I'm just…a little worried.”

”Well, today was a brutal match. I'll give you that. But it's because of the kind of opponent Wu Xing was.” I paused and stared up at the stars, my eyes taking a faraway look. ”But I believe Qi Hong will be a different type of opponent.”

”True, their skillset and techniques are completely different,” Tong Xue agreed.

”What about Zhu Jiao?” Ban Zhang asked. The three of us glanced at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

”No need to even ask,” Tong Xue chuckled. ”Wu will definitely punch him until he knocks him out cold.”

”You mean kick him,” I corrected with a snicker. The other two laughed.

”Yeah, true. No need to worry about that.”

”I thought you said you weren't going to hold back against Qi Hong either?” Ban Zhang inquired with a raised eyebrow.

”Oh, I'm not. But given the nature of my opponent, I don't think a direct approach and resorting to brute strength would be appropriate.”

”Ah.” Ban Zhang nodded. ”Fair enough. But make sure you don't hold back. As you pointed out earlier, it's disrespectful to pull your punches, even if the opponent is a girl. I'm sure Qi Hong would be mad if you do.”

I pushed my newly repaired glasses up. ”Let's hope I don't meet her in a match then.”

*

The next morning, the six of us gathered in the plaza before we headed for the gigantic holographic bulletin board right outside the main campus building.

”Wow…how early…”

Zhu Jiao stifled a yawn. As always, he was the latest. Most likely because he overslept. At least he appeared to be in a much better shape than yesterday. A good night's sleep was all he needed to recover from his wounds and exhaustion.

Truth be told, a night's sleep benefited me tremendously as well. I was feeling a lot more refreshed and my body was no longer in pain.

”Ready?” Tang Qi Hong asked brightly. I nodded and inhaled deeply, vaguely registering her sweet scent.

”Yeah.”

Actually, I wasn't, but I wasn't going to tell her that. It was best to get this done and over with.

We made our way through the plaza, which was already packed to the brim. I caught a glimpse of Bai Ning Xue, but she was so far away that she might as well not show up. Zhu Jiao caught sight of her too, and he grinned and waved.

Bai Ning Xue acknowledged his greeting with the briefest of nods, then turned away and left. On the opposite side of the plaza, Qing Xin Xia bristled, but she disappeared from sight when Li Chun Long and her fellow Green Dragon Sect disciples shepherded her away. I vaguely recalled that both Li Chun Long and Qing Xin Xia had made it to the next round as well.

They must have arrived early to check their next opponents. Well, unless they happened to be my next opponent, I couldn't care less who they were facing. I wasn't close to either of them. Apparently Zhu Jiao had some sort of friendship or connection to Qing Xin Xia, but I wasn't sure. Again, it was none of my business who he befriended.

The only thing that bothered me was that he might get caught up in some troublesome love triangle. If Qing Xin Xia turned out to be a bloody yandere or something, someone's head was going to roll. Most likely it would be that of my good friend. I could almost imagine her carrying his head while riding on a boat, after she had carved Bai Ning Xue's stomach open to confirm that she wasn't pregnant with Zhu Jiao's child.

Just another instance of ordinary School Days at Wu Ling Academy.

”Hmm, who is my next opponent…eh? Ling Hua?”

Zhu Jiao stared at the name for a moment, baffled. He turned to stare at the rest of us.

”Anyone heard of her?”

”I have.” As always, Tong Xue could be relied upon to provide the most information. ”Ling Hua is from the Ling Huan Sect, and she's known for her deviousness.”

Zhu Jiao tilted his head, still looking as bewildered as ever. Tong Xue sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

”She's going to be a troublesome opponent for you, Jiao. She relies on cheap tricks, underhanded tactics and cunning to overwhelm her opponent, and her Seven Spirit Swords Flower Array is a complex technique that possesses sharp, accurate and overwhelming firepower.”

”Oh!” Zhu Jiao struck his palm with a fist. ”So she's really strong!”

Duh. Otherwise Ling Huan wouldn't have made it to the round of sixteen. I couldn't believe that was all the information Zhu Jiao got out of Tong Xue's explanation.

Tong Xue glared at Zhu Jiao sternly. ”She's the complete antithesis of you, who rely completely on direct, frontal attacks. I don't mean to be rude, but honestly, you're a little…simple-minded. Ling Hua will capitalize on that and confound you with guile and trickery.”

”Don't worry.” Zhu Jiao beamed. ”I'll just smash her with overwhelming power.”

Tong Xue sighed, while I shook my head. Where was this guy getting all his confidence from? I wished he could share some of it with me.

”Qi Hong, who's your next opponent?” I turned to Tang Qi Hong, who wasn't paying Zhu Jiao any attention and was busily scanning the bulletin board for her next matchup. The moment she saw it, her eyes widened and she began trembling.

”Qi Hong.”

Lian Rou must have seen it too, for she reached out and caught her hand. Tang Qi Hong bit her lip and shook her head.

”It's all right. I'll be all right.”

”…yeah.”

”What is it?” I sensed that something was terribly wrong. A cold premonition ran down my spine, causing me to shudder. The way the two girls reacted, it couldn't be…

Tang Qi Hong turned to meet my gaze evenly.

”My next opponent is…”

”…Bai Ning Xue.”

I glanced at Tong Xue when he answered for Qi Hong, who had trailed off. She was clenching her fists and staring at the ground now, looking both frightened and determined.

”…I see. Do your best.”

”This isn't something Qi Hong can take care of by doing her best!” Tong Xue hissed. ”Her next opponent is that Bai Ning Xue, you know?!”

”Her chances of winning are…low,” Ban Zhang muttered softly. He probably didn't want Tang Qi Hong to hear that.

”So what?” I turned back to Tang Qi Hong. ”Bai Ning Xue is not a goddess. You can beat her. I believe in you.”

Tang Qi Hong smiled wryly. ”I appreciate your confidence in me, but…” she sighed. ”I don't know. I just don't know.”

”It is quite the insurmountable task,” Lian Rou added, turning slightly paled as she squeezed Tang Qi Hong's hand. She was seeking to comfort her best friend, and Tang Qi Hong smiled slightly as she returned the gesture.

”The match hasn't even begun yet, so let's not give up before then.”

”Heh.” Tang Qi Hong chuckled. ”Wu is right. The match has yet to begin, so why am I already so afraid? I'll just do my best. If my aim is to be the champion of the tournament, then Bai Ning Xue is someone I have to face sooner or later. Otherwise, it makes little difference if I lose to her now, or lose to her later.”

”That's the spirit!” I encouraged her. ”But I know you can defeat her!”

Zhu Jiao remained silent, having a complicated expression on his face. He certainly didn't believe me, and clearly wanted his beloved Bai Ning Xue to win, but he was not insensitive or tactless enough to voice that out.

”Admittedly, it'll be extremely difficult.” Tang Qi Hong scratched her head and flicked a lock of blond hair away. ”But…you're right. I can't give up! I've made it to the round of sixteen, after all! I'll do my best and make the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect proud!”

”Yeah!”

I nodded and patted her shoulder. Beside her, Lian Rou also nodded and smiled somewhat uncertainly.

”I'll be rooting for you, Qi Hong.”

”Thank you, Lian Rou. I really appreciate it.”

”We all are.” Tong Xue grinned and joined in. Then he turned toward me. ”Speaking of which, Wu, who is your opponent?”

I had almost forgotten. I quickly spun around to give the holographic board a quick scan.

”Um…Kuang Hu?”

Ban Zhang immediately turned pale. I glanced at him.

”What is it, Ban Zhang?”

”Your opponent…is that bastard, Kuang Hu?”

I immediately tensed at his tone. Ban Zhang swallowed and placed his hands on my shoulders.

”Fei Wu, if you're on the losing end, surrender immediately. Kuang Hu has killed at last two contestants in his group. He's ruthless, merciless and brutal.”

”Yeah, he's quite the dangerous opponent.” Tong Xue looked shaken. ”Of all the contestants in the tournament, he's the one person I don't want to run into. You really have pretty terrible luck, Wu.”

”Hmm…” I pushed my glasses up as I pondered. ”It doesn't matter. If he's my next opponent, then I'll fight him with everything I have.”

”That's why I'm telling you,” Ban Zhang growled. ”If he has you cornered, surrender immediately. Kuang Hu is literally a mad tiger. He won't stop until you're dead. He won't hold back until he tears you apart.” He turned pale and stumbled back, perspiring profusely. ”He wiped the floor with me in just under a minute.”

”You've got to be kidding me,” I murmured, my eyes wide. Ban Zhang shook his head.

”No. he utterly dominated my group. Most of his matches ended in minutes. The ones that took longer…well, as I said, he murdered his opponents viciously. He's a difficult opponent to face.”

”He's one of the fastest students in Wu Ling Academy.” Tong Xue gulped as he consulted his tablet. ”Perhaps even the fastest. Comparable to Feng Tian Yong. And like Zhang said, he's ruthless and merciless. He'll tear out your throat in a second if you give him the chance to, and has no hesitation to kill his opponent.”

”Scary.” I couldn't help but shudder as a chill ran down my spine. ”Uh…well, I'll do my best not to get killed then.”

Even though I said that, I wasn't that fazed. I had experienced the worst that both Sen Lin Forest and the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect had thrown at me, and survived. A fucking brat without any morals was nothing to me.

If anything, I was glad that I was his next opponent. Perhaps I could teach him a lesson.

But I can't afford to underestimate him.

The fastest student in Wu Ling Academy, one of the most talented prodigies of the White Tiger Sect, and a strong, formidable foe who had no scruples in killing his opponent. If he made it to the last 16 while utterly dominating his group, he was definitely not ordinary. If Wu Xing was anything to go by, this match would be extremely interesting.

I smiled. I was so looking forward to the round of sixteen.