“Give up, brother, your attacks lack spiritual power; I can dodge them by instinct alone.”
Even with the same power, attacks without spiritual power are easier to perceive and thus easier to dodge.
“Ugh—”
Li Le supported himself on his left arm, half-crouching.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Duan had warned me about this fatal flaw long ago…”
He leaned forward, adopting an attacking stance, “Precisely because this is my weakness, I should strive to overcome it!”
His opponent sighed lightly, “Then please forgive me for offending Lucky Peak.”
Bang!
Instantly, Li Le sprang up like a projectile, his palm aiming directly for his opponent's throat.
His speed was much faster! But unfortunately, it still wasn't enough.
His opponent was about to dodge again, simultaneously activating the weapon in his hand, no longer holding back.
Saber intent, blood fiend, and crimson fiendish energy began to gather on the saber in his hand.
Would Li Le's attack be easily dodged again?
No!
A sudden chill swept over his entire body, and his opponent instantly gave up dodging and stopped charging, holding the saber with both hands and slashing mercilessly at Li Le's waist.
What was hair-raising was that Li Le, facing this waist-severing attack, did not give up his offense; he actually intended to block the slash with his left arm, which had already lost its combat capability.
Meanwhile, his right palm continued forward, accurately grabbing his opponent's throat, then clenching tightly—
“Li Le, wins!”
At the critical moment, the two were separated by the referee, who explained,
“If you continued, Li Le's arm and your neck would both be severed. Therefore, Li Le wins.”
His opponent smiled bitterly upon seeing this:
“I thought my strike could have severed your waist and resulted in a draw. I didn't expect you to be so tough…What intent did you grasp?”
He knew it could only be an intent; he felt in that final moment that if he dodged, something bad would happen.
“Battle intent, death match! The brave grow stronger with battle, the retreating grow weaker with retreat!” Li Le laughed, “A narrow victory, thanks to Senior Brother's mercy in the early stages, thank you!”
The other party waved his hand, “No need for that, battle only looks at the outcome.” He then picked up his saber and left.
Xia Jiuyuan, standing outside the arena, applauded.
“Splendid!”
“Senior Brother, I—”
Li Le stopped mid-sentence, seemingly having suddenly seen something, and changed his words: “I won't continue challenging today. Senior Brother, please attend to your own matters.”
?
Just as Xia Jiuyuan was about to say something, he felt a light tap on his shoulder.
“Hey, do you have time to play with the adorable Liu Xixi now?”
…Alright, case closed!
“Jun Liuhe's side—”
“Jun JieJie won all her matches easily and has already gone back.”
“Aren't any of you defending the arena?”
“It's only been a few days, who would be crazy enough to challenge me now!”
Xia Jiuyuan glanced again at Li Le, who was being taken away by the competition's medical team.
“Mo Mo's side—”
“Mo Mo is concentrating on her drawing. She said she doesn't need anyone right now!”
Denial. Xia Jiuyuan rushing over would definitely make Mo Mo happier.
However, the temptation of breaking through to the second stage was immense, so he chose not to refute. Under Liu Xixi's expectant gaze, he nodded.
“Let's go, today I'll take you to eat everything in the human world!”
…
“Are you eating this?”
“Yes, I am!”
Xia Jiuyuan's own hands were already full of food. He looked at Liu Xixi, whose hands were also full of food and whose cheeks were still bulging, and fell into contemplation.
The Beast Race's appetite seemed a bit large; she had been eating for three hours already!
Liu Xixi also seemed to notice that the atmosphere was a bit strange, but she still looked reluctantly at the stall and asked hesitantly,
“Didn't you say…we were going to eat everything in the human world?”
“Hmm, waiter, one order to go.” Xia Jiuyuan said, looking at Liu Xixi's small belly:
“Mainly, I'm just a bit shocked. Liu Xixi looks so small, yet she can fit so much stuff.”
“Ugh…that…that's a girl's secret!”
“Actually, there's no need to rush and eat everything in the human world all at once. If Liu Xixi wants to, she can come find me anytime.”
…
Liu Xixi was a bit bewildered. According to her uncle's previous words, this person in front of her wasn't here to carry out his Zongzhu's mission, nor did he have any other unspeakable secrets.
He was simply wholeheartedly here to help her!
Although there were still many strange things she hadn't figured out, this pure kindness was so good that she was a little unaccustomed to it.
“…It's a promise…”
Just as Xia Jiuyuan received the food from the shop owner, he heard Liu Xixi's words, secretly delighted. He turned and handed the food back to her, striking while the iron was hot:
“It's a promise! No matter what, you can come find me. Don't think I'm a bit weak in strength; I can actually accomplish quite a lot.”
“Thank you.” Liu Xixi took the delicious food and joked, “By the way, do you have some kind of illness where you'll die if you don't help others?”
“It's the Zongzhu's command, you know~”
Upon hearing this, Liu Xixi frowned. She didn't want any lies between them, so she tugged at Xia Jiuyuan's sleeve and said seriously, “Let's find a place to talk. I need to make things clear!”
Just then, the waiter from the nearby teahouse called out; “New tea and pastries are here, a human world delight that Beast Race compatriots must not miss—”
System task updated!
『
White Task,
【Rest】
Talk and rest with Liu Xixi in the nearby teahouse.
』
Hmm?
This isn't right, is it?
Xia Jiuyuan looked at the nearby teahouse with considerable suspicion; the system's designation seemed a bit too deliberate…But the system hadn't actually harmed him so far, so he wasn't afraid.
Liu Xixi also seemed willing to speak now, so this small task was probably part of the system's plan, no need to panic.
Second stage is within reach!
“Let's talk inside this teahouse. Waiter, a private room and one of each of your specialty pastries.”
“Alright, I'll prepare the best private room for you two esteemed guests, the kind with sound-insulating and shielding formations!”
Xia Jiuyuan's mouth twitched as he looked at the waiter's abnormally wide smile.
This person probably misunderstood, but a soundproof private room was indeed good, so he didn't correct him.
Entering the private room, the two sat down, and Xia Jiuyuan spoke:
“What do you want to say, say it.”
Inside the private room, a faint incense permeated the air. Xia Jiuyuan chose not to sit opposite Liu Xixi, but rather next to her, to foster a closer relationship.
She had already put down the food in her hand, looking up with her small face, a pair of blue beast pupils fixed on Xia Jiuyuan.
She was truly too adorable; Xia Jiuyuan really wanted to reach out and pet those fluffy ears and tail, but unfortunately, their relationship wasn't close enough yet.
“I already know.”
“…Hmm?”
Know what? Shouldn't she be open and honest with him?
“I'm sorry!”
“Why are you apologizing again suddenly? What are you talking about?”
“Sigh…It seems Li Zongzhu didn't tell you about this…”
Liu Xixi believed that her uncle sending someone to test Xia Jiuyuan meant Li Zongzhu must have known, but it seemed he hadn't told Xia Jiuyuan about it.
These two really were setting each other up…
Seeing Xia Jiuyuan's bewildered expression, Liu Xixi explained, “Yesterday's mysterious diviner was invited by my uncle. Her card can detect lies.”
Xia Jiuyuan's mouth twitched, “So…”
“So you were lying. Li Zongzhu didn't send you to contact me, but since you genuinely came to help me, I forgive you.”