Looking at the group of colleagues rushing toward her like a pack of zombies, Ling Xiaoyou dodged to the side in a fright, narrowly avoiding them.
Immediately after, before the crowd could pick themselves back up, she scurried over to Li Xueman’s side.
Poking only her small head out from behind her protector, she watched the ‘zombies’ with confusion, unable to understand what had gotten into them.
“Oh, Elder Ling, don’t hide! Let us catch a bit of the War God’s Martial Qi,” a pale-faced colleague with loose black hair said with a look of deep regret, glancing at Ling Xiaoyou as she hid behind Li Xueman.
“You guys are acting like zombies who just spotted a living person! If I didn’t hide, I would’ve stayed in place and let you surround me!”
Ling Xiaoyou retorted without hesitation.
Her delicate face was a mask of utter speechlessness.
“And what on earth is Martial Qi? Since when did I have something like that? Also, what’s with this ‘War God’ nonsense?”
Ling Xiaoyou felt she should retract her earlier thought about the Rest Chamber being unchanged since her return.
Things hadn’t just changed; they had undergone a complete upheaval!
“Martial Qi is simply Martial Qi. Scholars have Scholar Qi, so for we Cultivators, it’s only natural to call it Martial Qi,” the pale colleague explained.
She wanted to elaborate further, but another colleague pushed her aside before she could speak.
This one had a gentle appearance, her face filled with a fawning and reverent expression as she said, “As for ‘War God,’ do you really not know, Elder Ling? Your battle records have already spread to many people. The sight of you effortlessly defeating your opponents… you could absolutely be called a War God!”
“Ah, that…”
Hearing those words, Ling Xiaoyou found herself at a loss for how to respond.
She turned her gaze to Li Xueman, hoping to receive a hint on how to handle the conversation.
However, Li Xueman merely looked at her and smiled.
“Your performance this time was indeed brilliant. To be honest, Xiaoyou, if I were around your age right now, I might have been among that group just now myself.”
“Elder, even you’re…”
Ling Xiaoyou spoke helplessly.
Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of Miao Miaomiao approaching her from the corner of her eye, causing her to instinctively want to dodge again.
But then she remembered that Miao Miaomiao hadn’t been part of the ‘zombie’ ranks earlier.
She breathed a small sigh of relief in her heart.
She watched as the girl came to a stop in front of her, looking at her with eyes full of worship.
“Elder, you’re too amazing!”
Miao Miaomiao exclaimed.
“Those powerful opponents were taken down so easily in just a few rounds!”
“They were practically just delivering themselves to you on a silver platter!”
‘Powerful opponents? Where?’
Ling Xiaoyou scratched her head in confusion.
She decided to skip over that topic and cleared her throat, saying modestly, “It was actually alright. After all, the tournament is split across ten arenas, and there are ten arenas for each of the cultivation realms.”
“With everyone spread out like that, the opponents I faced weren’t actually that much.”
“So, I’m only doing okay. I’m not particularly incredible.”
“Even so, it’s still amazing, Elder!”
Miao Miaomiao’s cheeks were flushed.
It seemed that Ling Xiaoyou’s victory made her even more excited than if she had won herself.
“This means you can at least be ranked in the top ten among so many in the Soul Gathering Stage! That’s already impressive enough!”
“Besides, I saw the other Arena Masters. None of them were as calm and composed as you during their fights. They all had to go through a bitter struggle to win!”
Listening to Miao Miaomiao’s worshipful words, Ling Xiaoyou felt a bit flattered, but she didn’t truly take it to heart.
In her view, this really wasn’t a big deal.
The world was full of experts as numerous as the clouds.
Even though her attributes were basically maxed out for the Soul Gathering Stage, there were bound to be others who could reach such a level.
If nothing else, Bai Shuanglian could certainly do it.
Thus, Ling Xiaoyou didn’t feel any sense of arrogance; she only felt satisfied with her current strength.
However, since the girl admired her so much, it wouldn’t be right to keep pouring cold water on her enthusiasm.
It felt a bit awkward.
Ling Xiaoyou decided not to say anything more on that front.
Instead, she glanced at the other colleagues who were gradually gathering around again, then looked back at Miao Miaomiao and asked curiously, “By the way, how did your matches go, Meow-Meow? Did you win a spot?”
Upon hearing this, Miao Miaomiao’s excited expression instantly collapsed.
The tail that had been wagging constantly behind her drooped down in disappointment.
“Elder, I’m toast, meow… I was defeated not long after I entered the arena…”
“Oh, I see…”
Ling Xiaoyou didn’t know how to follow that up.
She reached out and patted Miao Miaomiao’s drooping cat ears, satisfying her long-held desire to touch them while offering a bit of comfort.
Next, she looked at her other colleagues and was momentarily stunned.
She saw that the others, who had been as excited and admiring as Miao Miaomiao just moments ago, had all lowered their heads.
Some were sighing, some were silent, and some were even starting to shed a few ‘small pearls.’
The atmosphere, which had been lively and joyful, instantly plummeted.
Ling Xiaoyou scratched her head awkwardly, beginning to understand what was going on.
‘So, every single one of you lost, and I’m the only one left? It turns out I’m the lone sprout left for the Ghostly Resentment Office.’
No wonder they were so excited to see her win.
Now she understood.
Though she was complaining in her head, Ling Xiaoyou didn’t let it show on her face.
She spent a good deal of time comforting the dejected crowd, living up to the title of ‘Elder’ that so many of them called her.
Although everyone’s mood improved significantly after her comfort, they no longer had that initial frenzied and fanatic energy.
This allowed Ling Xiaoyou to breathe a sigh of relief.
She could finally sit down safely without worrying about a ‘zombie’ attack.
Thinking this, Ling Xiaoyou sat back in her original seat, intending to check the battle footage on the Light Screen.
Although the time was up and the round had technically ended, some arenas hadn’t finished their matches yet, so the broadcasts hadn’t stopped.
She looked toward the Light Screen and froze.
The person currently fighting on the screen was none other than Bai Shuanglian!
As she watched the intense battle scenes, Ling Xiaoyou thought for a moment and soon understood.
After all, Bai Shuanglian had only recently broken through.
Her opponents were people who had been immersed in the Nascent Soul Stage for a long time.
Therefore, her battles certainly wouldn’t be as smooth as Ling Xiaoyou’s own.
Ling Xiaoyou wasn’t sure why Bai Shuanglian hadn’t waited for the Xuantian Martial Tournament to end before breaking through — since, with her strength, she could have easily dominated the Golden Core Stage — but she still admired her courage.
If it were Ling Xiaoyou, she would have definitely chosen to wait until the tournament was over just to be safe!
Watching the battle on the Light Screen gradually draw to a close, Ling Xiaoyou saw Bai Shuanglian defeat her opponent.
Seeing the wounds left on the other girl’s body, Ling Xiaoyou suddenly felt a pang of heartache for her.
An impulse rose in her heart — an urge to rush to Bai Shuang’s side and heal those injuries myself.
‘I want her to recover with my help!’