In another rest chamber, Bai Shuanglian sat quietly on a sofa, waiting for the Association President to finish his speech.
Suddenly, she seemed to feel something and paused for a moment.
She took her mobile phone out of her Space Ring and tapped the screen.
Seeing a notification from a “Special Interest” contact on her lock screen, she smiled and opened the message.
After reading Ling Xiaoyou’s message, Bai Shuanglian thought for a moment before tapping her phone several times, quickly sending a reply.
Bai Shuanglian: [What can you do about it.jpg]
Looking at the sticker that had been sent over, Ling Xiaoyou was stunned.
Then, the corners of her mouth curled upward.
She hadn’t expected Bai Shuang to be using stickers already.
She had improved so much, especially considering she wasn’t even used to typing at the beginning.
Ling Xiaoyou and Bai Shuanglian continued chatting.
They talked about many things, such as the upcoming Arena Tournament and their plans for dinner tonight.
Time slipped away as they chatted.
Before she knew it, Ling Xiaoyou finally heard the Association President finish his final remarks on the light screen.
“All right, my opening speech ends here. Now, let the competition begin.”
With that, the Association President handed the microphone to the referee walking onto the stage while he departed.
The referee took the microphone, cleared his throat, and said, “Now, ten portals will appear in each of the participants’ rest chambers…”
As the referee spoke, the giant screen on the arena stage changed its display to show scenes from the various rest chambers, naturally including the one where Ling Xiaoyou was located.
Upon seeing this, Ling Xiaoyou immediately sat up straight, no longer looking lazy as she had been while chatting with Bai Shuanglian.
Not only her, but everyone else also sat up in a formal posture, becoming orderly and focused.
Ling Xiaoyou used her crimson eyes to sneak a peek at the image on the screen.
She saw that Bai Shuanglian’s side didn’t have any special reaction; she was still doing what she had been doing before, appearing quite composed.
‘As expected of the Bai Family. They probably stopped finding scenes like this strange a long time ago,’ Ling Xiaoyou thought.
Suddenly, ten identical Ancient Portals appeared on the wide wall in front of her.
Once the portals appeared, the referee’s voice rang out at the perfect moment.
“Each of these ten portals corresponds to an arena. You may freely choose to enter any one of them.”
“The first person to enter will be the Arena Master, and those who enter afterward will be the ones challenging the Arena Master.”
“The rules are simple: win, and you become or remain the Arena Master. Lose, and you must leave the arena to make way for the next person.”
Ling Xiaoyou listened to the rules for a moment before ignoring the rest.
She had already known these rules beforehand, so there was no need to keep listening.
She stared at the portals, debating whether she should enter first.
Admittedly, if she entered later, she could directly challenge those cultivators who had already been exhausted by the gauntlet.
She might be able to take a victory easily.
However, she couldn’t just consider those factors.
There was another important element to keep in mind.
That was morale—or rather, battle intent, fighting spirit, and momentum…
Each victory in battle would accumulate these qualities.
In this regard, a person’s spirit would definitely be more uplifted than those who challenged later!
It was like comparing a soldier who had survived countless hardships on a battlefield to a soldier who had never fought.
Even if the latter was much stronger than the former, when they actually fought, the former would usually emerge victorious.
Furthermore, while being the first Arena Master meant facing a gauntlet that tested a participant’s endurance, endurance was the thing Ling Xiaoyou feared the least.
Despite being a Support Type, she had forced herself to become a combat cultivator.
A battle of attrition was nothing more than a minor issue for her.
However, that was only the ideal situation.
No one could guarantee that no accidents would happen.
So, should she really be the first to enter?
While Ling Xiaoyou was pondering, she heard a collective gasp from the people around her.
She looked at the light screen and saw that Bai Shuanglian had entered a portal almost the instant they appeared, without the slightest hesitation.
Ling Xiaoyou stared blankly for a second before letting out a soft laugh.
‘That’s right. Why am I overthinking so much?’
As long as her strength was sufficient, it didn’t matter if she was first or last; everyone would be defeated by her power.
With that thought, Ling Xiaoyou stood up and, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, entered the first portal on the far right.
***
This teleportation experience was not very comfortable compared to previous ones.
It felt a bit like being forced to ride in a car while suffering from motion sickness, leaving her feeling dizzy.
Ling Xiaoyou shook her small head and opened her eyes, only to be surprised by the scene surrounding her.
Before her eyes lay a vast, boundless wilderness.
Lush green grass swayed in the breeze, and the clear sky appeared exceptionally blue.
‘To think it would be this kind of environment. I thought it would just be a normal arena.’
Then again, no one had decreed that an arena had to look like a boxing ring.
In a broad sense, any place that could accommodate two people could be considered an arena.
Ling Xiaoyou was only surprised for a moment before she snapped back to reality.
She took one look at the surroundings and stopped paying attention to them.
Now was the time for the match; she couldn’t afford to waste her attention on the scenery.
She didn’t have to wait long before another person entered this Arena Plane.
“Oh? I didn’t think someone would enter here before me. And it’s a little brat, too. How unexpected…”
Hearing this, Ling Xiaoyou furrowed her beautiful brows slightly and looked at the young man who had suddenly appeared.
The young man didn’t take Ling Xiaoyou seriously at all, saying to himself, “I originally wanted to be a step ahead of everyone else and become an Arena Master, but I didn’t expect someone to beat me to it.”
The young man shook his head dismissively.
“Well, whatever. It doesn’t make a difference. As long as I deal with you, little brat, I’ll be the Arena Master.”
Listening to the young man’s words, which treated her as if she were nothing, Ling Xiaoyou felt a surge of anger.
However, she didn’t lower herself to argue with him.
She simply planned to land several heavy punches on his face later to turn it into a pig’s head and see if he still dared to talk like that.
It was as if their arrival had triggered some kind of mechanism.
A number made of light suddenly appeared in the sky.
‘3’
Then came ‘2’.
Seemingly guessing what would happen next, Ling Xiaoyou felt an urge to complain, but now was not the time.
She suppressed the urge to snark and prepared for the moment the match began.
When the number ‘1’ fell, flames ignited in the young man’s hand.
He was prepared to end the battle swiftly and decisively, but in the next second, he froze.
Before his eyes, a world-shaking tsunami was currently drowning the entire plain!