Ling Xiaoyou looked at the door being pulled open, and saw a young girl standing behind it, entering the rest chamber.
The girl was not old, appearing a bit older than Ling Xiaoyou, but her figure was much taller and slender. Ling Xiaoyou even estimated she was on par with Bai Shuanglian.
Her features were delicate and beautiful, giving the impression of a very gentle girl. Her black hair, cascading over her shoulders, always made Ling Xiaoyou think of the “Yamato Nadeshiko” type characters often seen in anime.
Obviously, this girl was Ling Xiaoyou’s opponent in the finals. Ling Xiaoyou had known yesterday that her opponent was her and had learned a little about her.
The girl’s name was Qian Xueqing. She was said to be the only member of the Demon Race who had successfully made it to the finals in this Xuantian Martial Tournament.
Although Ling Xiaoyou had never seen any demon traits from her throughout the entire competition, she felt this information should be correct.
After all, even if her traits couldn’t be seen, the aura and feeling of a demon were unmistakable.
Ling Xiaoyou was sizing up Qian Xueqing, and the latter was also sizing her up.
When Qian Xueqing saw Ling Xiaoyou’s exquisite and cute features, as well as her petite figure, her gaze flickered almost imperceptibly. But she still maintained an air of indifference, giving Ling Xiaoyou a slight nod as a greeting.
The two were about to be opponents, so they could greet each other appropriately, but they wouldn’t engage in friendly gestures before the match.
At least that’s what Ling Xiaoyou thought. She also nodded at Qian Xueqing, then looked toward the light screen at the center of the rest chamber.
It was currently replaying the championship moment of the Soul-Condensation Stage group winner. It seemed it would soon be time for their match to start.
There wasn’t much time left, so Ling Xiaoyou didn’t plan to kill time by looking at her phone. She just watched the soul-condensation champion’s winning moment, thinking that the Xuantian Martial Tournament organizers were quite up with the times—they even came up with something like a championship moment replay.
Just as Ling Xiaoyou was marveling at this, she heard a gentle female voice beside her ask:
“You should be my opponent this time, Ling Xiaoyou, right?”
Hearing this, Ling Xiaoyou turned her little head and gave Qian Xueqing a strange look.
Although asking this was normal, wasn’t the timing a bit too slow?
Shouldn’t she have asked that right when she first came in? You’ve been sitting here for a few minutes, why ask now?
But even though she found it strange what this person wanted to say, Ling Xiaoyou didn’t intend to ignore her. She said:
“Yeah, I’m Ling Xiaoyou.”
After hearing Ling Xiaoyou’s reply, Qian Xueqing nodded and continued asking:
“Then can I call you Xiaoyou?”
Ling Xiaoyou: “?”
‘Is she this familiar right off the bat?’
‘Or is it different from what I imagined? Maybe this seemingly gentle girl is actually the type of social butterfly who really likes making friends?’
‘She muttered inwardly, then decisively shook her little head, saying:’
“We’re opponents now. It’s best to keep our distance until the match is over.”
In other words—back off, don’t come near me!
Qian Xueqing naturally understood Ling Xiaoyou’s implication, but she didn’t feel angry or any other emotion. She just continued on her own:
“Then after the match, would you like to go have dinner together?”
Ling Xiaoyou: “???”
‘Wait, sis, what are you trying to do?!’
‘We just met, right?’
‘And we’re opponents fighting for the championship. Suddenly you’re inviting me to dinner after the match?’
‘Are you out of your mind?’
‘Or do you think victory is already in the bag and you want to come taunt me after the match?’
‘Is inviting me to dinner a way of saying my performance is so bad you could eat several bowls of rice?’
With that thought, Ling Xiaoyou’s gaze toward Qian Xueqing immediately turned unfriendly.
She snorted lightly and gave Qian Xueqing a cold smile, saying:
“Thinking you’ve won already is way too early. Let’s talk about that after the match actually starts.”
After saying this, Ling Xiaoyou paused, feeling that what she said sounded like something a villain would say.
She shook her little head to throw out those messy thoughts, too lazy to pay any more attention to this person.
Seeing this, Qian Xueqing opened her mouth, then silently withdrew her gaze.
She felt that this little girl seemed to have imagined something weird, but she really couldn’t figure out how the topic jumped from having dinner together to winning or losing.
Honestly, she just thought Ling Xiaoyou looked beautiful and cute—right in her strike zone—so she wanted to try inviting her.
That way, no matter the outcome, she would still have a chance to meet this little girl again.
But this little girl’s words were completely unexpected, leaving her unsure whether she should continue answering.
She felt that if she answered, it would probably be even more hopeless.
Better wait until after the match to talk.
As the referee’s voice fell from the light screen, a new round of matches began.
Ling Xiaoyou glanced at the light gate that appeared out of nowhere again, feeling that this method was a bit lacking in novelty.
‘So why not just have the contestants walk onto the stage? That would feel much more impressive.’
‘She muttered inwardly, while stepping into the light gate, she also glanced at where Qian Xueqing had been before.’
That person had entered the light gate before her. Who knew if she might have set up some traps ahead of time?
Although attacks were not allowed before the official start, no one said you couldn’t set traps in advance.
Since the two had just had such a strained relationship, it was very possible that Qian Xueqing would set traps and ambush Ling Xiaoyou the moment the match officially began. So it was better to be careful.
Ling Xiaoyou’s expression became more alert, and her steps into the light gate became more steady.
The arena behind the light gate was not the usual space with different environments, but a huge stage.
In other words, there would be no environmental advantages or disadvantages—the fairest environment possible.
Ling Xiaoyou glanced at Qian Xueqing, who was already waiting on the opposite side, and then looked around at the noisy audience.
Her gaze wandered and finally settled on the cool and beautiful young girl.
At that moment, Bai Shuanglian was holding a megaphone and shouting in a voice like a clear spring:
“Go, Ling Xiaoyou—”
Her expression was somewhat awkward, clearly not used to cheering for others.
But even so, she did not put down the megaphone and continued to cheer for Ling Xiaoyou.
It had to be said, this scene really didn’t suit Bai Shuanglian.
Even her cheering seemed a bit strange, like melting an ice cream in boiling water and then cooking it into porridge—a weirdness that was hard to describe.
But…
Ling Xiaoyou’s lips curled into a cheerful smile.
But…
‘Who cares, I like it.’
‘Who cares, I like it.’
She waved her little hand vigorously in Bai Shuanglian’s direction, responding to her.