“Good morning.”
Ling Xiaoyou glances at the Su sisters approaching, waves her little hand, and greets them.
Su Lihua waves back, while Su Taosheng nods in reply:
“Morning.”
It’s still early, not many spectators have arrived, so the four of them naturally choose to sit together.
“By the way, you guys came this early too? I thought you’d be coming much later.”
Ling Xiaoyou looks at the Su sisters and says.
Over the past few days, the Su sisters have been playing even harder than the two of them. Relying on the fact that cultivators don’t need sleep, they basically never stayed in at night. Ling Xiaoyou couldn’t help but wonder if these two girls had been too restrained at home, causing them to let loose the moment they went out.
“Mainly because staying in the hotel isn’t that fun. Might as well come early and check out the new competition venue.”
Su Lihua glances at her sister, then turns to Ling Xiaoyou and Bai Shuanglian, asking:
“What about you guys? Why are you here so early too?”
“Same as you. We also wanted to see the new venue early.”
Ling Xiaoyou points at the venue, which looks very different from before.
The current venue is much larger than the previous small space. Although overall it doesn’t seem too different, the girls can tell that it’s just using spatial compression technology.
They chat idly about this and that. After some time, the audience gradually fills up this massive arena.
Ling Xiaoyou is surprised to see so many spectators. She can’t help but wonder.
‘Does the Imperial Capital really have this many cultivators?’
Just as she’s thinking this, she notices many non-human existences among the audience.
For example, spirits, demons, and even quite a few foreign creatures—blonde espers, pale-skinned vampires with sun hats, beautiful witches in witch hats…
In short, immortals fill the place like a forest of flax!
Ling Xiaoyou silently withdraws her gaze from these people.
No wonder the spectator seats are full this time—it’s because people from both home and abroad have come.
Hmm, in a sense, is this considered an international event?
As Ling Xiaoyou is lost in this fantasy, she suddenly sees the big screen light up. On the screen, unsurprisingly, appears the figure of the President of the Imperial Capital Exorcist Association.
But this president seems to have not rested well. His face is pale and haggard, and he can barely stand steadily.
‘He’s really dedicated. At such an old age, he still personally hosts the Xuantian Martial Tournament. What a role model.’
It’s just that he talks a bit too much during his speech. Other than that, everything’s fine.
Watching the old man on the screen, Ling Xiaoyou can’t help but think this in her heart.
On the screen, the white-haired old president coughs a few times, then turns his gaze to the camera, speaking in an aged yet steady voice:
“The final day of the Xuantian Martial Tournament is about to begin. As you may have noticed, the venue is different from before.”
As he speaks, the camera adjusts its angle to show the arena behind him.
“This venue is larger than the previous small space. All contestants can rest assured and compete without worrying about the space being too cramped to use large-scale magic arts.”
Then, the old man’s expression turns serious, and he says:
“I hope all contestants can fully display their skills in this final round and prove your excellence to the countless spectators from afar.”
After saying this, the president seems to want to say more, but he opens his mouth, then perhaps thinks of something, and finally hurriedly leaves with a sentence:
“Then I’ll leave the specifics to the referee.”
He hands the microphone to the referee beside him and quickly leaves the stage, as if he has something urgent to do.
Ling Xiaoyou doesn’t pay much attention—after all, as the President of the Imperial Capital Exorcist Association, he must be very busy.
If anything, it’s impressive that he insists on showing up before every match to make his presence known.
After the president leaves, the referee takes over and continues explaining the rules.
Not for contestants like Ling Xiaoyou, but for the spectators who came today.
After the explanation, the referee immediately announces the start of the competition.
The first match is a Soul-Condensation stage fight, which doesn’t involve Ling Xiaoyou’s group, so they watch the match with great interest, occasionally commenting.
“Wow, that sword strike was cool, but unfortunately it missed. If it had hit, that basically would have decided the match.”
“True. But I feel like it might be because the noise from the surrounding audience made him nervous?”
Hearing Su Lihua’s words, Ling Xiaoyou is taken aback. She looks at the noisy spectator seats and thinks that’s quite possible.
“When it’s your turn, Xiaoyou, don’t get nervous. I believe you can win.”
Seeing Ling Xiaoyou stunned, Su Lihua thinks she’s empathizing with the contestant who made the mistake, so she quickly comforts her.
Although the two of them will later compete while Bai Shuanglian and Su Taosheng cheer them on, that time hasn’t come yet.
So for now, they’re still good sisters!
“Thanks.”
Ling Xiaoyou thanks her and nods her little head.
‘Yeah, temporarily.’
The Soul-Condensation stage group matches end quickly. The champion is an exorcist who looks about sixteen or seventeen.
In her final strike, she used up all her spiritual power with Yang Flame, but it coincidentally defeated her opponent—a narrow victory.
Seeing this, Ling Xiaoyou stands up and heads to the rest chamber for her group, waiting for the next match.
As soon as she stands up, Bai Shuanglian tugs her little hand.
Under the latter’s questioning gaze, Bai Shuanglian smiles at Ling Xiaoyou and says:
“Good luck in your match. I’ll cheer for you.”
Ling Xiaoyou is stunned. She can’t imagine Bai Shuanglian cheering.
After all, she’s such a cool and beautiful girl—it’s hard to picture her shouting loudly to cheer someone on.
“Okay, I’ll pay attention.”
But Ling Xiaoyou doesn’t plan to refuse. Since she can’t imagine it, she’ll just witness it in person.
And she really does want to see Bai Shuanglian cheering for her.
Bai Shuanglian smiles and says:
“Just make sure you don’t get hit by the enemy.”
“Don’t worry, I’m strong too. I can handle multitasking.”
Ling Xiaoyou pats her small chest confidently.
Then, after receiving cheers from Su Lihua and Su Taosheng, she walks toward the rest chamber.
The rest chamber is quite spacious, but there’s no one inside—which is normal.
After all, this is the finals. Besides Ling Xiaoyou, there’s only one more contestant who will come here.
Since Ling Xiaoyou arrived early, there’s no one inside.
Ling Xiaoyou sits down on the sofa. After a moment of waiting, she hears the door slide open.