The sunrise by the sea was magnificent, the blood-red sun rising from below the horizon, dyeing the ocean a pure crimson.
Luo Shangyu felt the sun’s call and slowly opened her eyes, her deep green irises gradually focusing on the pristine white ceiling of the room.
She glanced at the clock by the bed; it was just past six, but Luo Shangyu was already wide awake.
Sensations returned to her limbs as she recalled her awkward sleeping posture last night: the blanket had slipped off the bed, her right leg draped over Qin Yu’s lower abdomen, and her right arm covering Qin Yu’s face.
Luo Shangyu got up and looked at Qin Yu’s messy hair—clearly, she had unconsciously tossed and turned over Qin Yu in her sleep.
Luo Shangyu felt a twinge of guilt.
By the time Luo Shangyu finished washing up, Qin Yu was just waking.
Luo Shangyu’s exaggerated movements last night hadn’t disturbed Qin Yu’s sleep; she had slept soundly enough to wake up still a bit dazed.
Qin Yu lazily stretched, rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her mind—but it didn’t help much.
Like a sleepwalker, Qin Yu got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, mechanically pushing the toothbrush into her mouth and brushing her pearly white teeth in a daze.
She nearly finished brushing when she reached out for a towel to wash her face, fumbling based on last night’s memory—but the towel was nowhere to be found.
Just as she was puzzled, a cold, wet towel was suddenly pressed onto her face.
The sudden chill snapped her awake.
Qin Yu struggled to open her eyes, but the towel blurred her vision.
Behind the towel, a gentle hand softly wiped her smooth, pale cheeks.
Finally, after the meticulous wipe, the towel was lifted.
Qin Yu opened her eyes and saw Luo Shangyu at the sink, earnestly wringing out the towel.
“Next time, don’t wake me up so roughly, okay?”
“But if I didn’t, you’d sleep till noon,” Luo Shangyu bluntly pointed out.
That was true.
Lately, Qin Yu often slept until eleven or twelve in the morning and only ate two meals a day.
Without such a wake-up, it was really hard to get out of bed.
“Hey, it’s vacation now. What’s wrong with me sleeping a bit more? You haven’t seen me on a regular day—I get up really early then!” Qin Yu tried to argue.
Luo Shangyu just smiled.
With her thousand years of experience, Qin Yu’s words were like a duck’s stubborn quack—only lip service remained.
After freshening up, Qin Yu changed into a light white dress.
The silk fabric provided the wearer the utmost comfort.
Luo Shangyu wore a black dress, her golden hair and black silk complementing each other, faintly exuding a noble aura.
The two headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.
The spread was simple; Qin Yu chose soy milk and xiaolongbao.
She found a seat by the window facing the sea, from which she could see the coastline and most of the beach.
Luo Shangyu pointed to a spot not far from the hotel and said, “That’s the beach volleyball court.”
Qin Yu looked in the direction Luo Shangyu indicated.
It was an open area divided into several rectangular courts, each split by a net into two equal squares.
A few people were already playing beach volleyball.
From afar, Qin Yu watched the players; a small volleyball was fiercely hit back and forth between pairs, each trying to slam the ball into the other’s sandy territory.
“So intense,” Qin Yu silently admired.
Just then, a Maid appeared, greeting Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu before introducing the schedule and rules for the upcoming beach volleyball tournament, information freshly obtained from the hotel front desk.
“There are sixty teams!” Qin Yu exclaimed after hearing the rules.
“No wonder the rules are simplified.”
Indeed, to finish the matches quickly, the hotel adopted very simple rules: no best-of-three sets like regular matches, but a straightforward seven-point system—first to seven wins the game outright.
While Qin Yu was digesting this, the Maid handed over a name tag made of metal, etched with some Magic Conduit Arrays around the edges, with a large “37” in the center.
The Maid explained, “I’ve already registered you. You’re team number 37, and your first match is against number 30.”
“Are you participating?” Qin Yu asked.
“We’re not good at sports and didn’t sign up,” the Maid replied.
“But those two Guards seem eager—they probably registered. I’ve prepared your sportswear for the match and will bring it before the game. I won’t bother you further now.”
With that, the Maid left the restaurant.
“We will definitely win! Listen to my tactics later, and we’re sure to succeed!” Luo Shangyu said confidently.
Qin Yu was a bit worried, “There are sixty teams, no group stages—so we have to win six straight matches to become champions.”
“Well, there’s a chance of byes,” Luo Shangyu reminded her.
Qin Yu didn’t reply, instead pondering: she hadn’t played volleyball in fourteen or fifteen years.
Though she was a key player on her high school team, she wasn’t sure how much of her touch remained, and beach volleyball was different from regular volleyball.
Could she really manage the upcoming match?
***
After breakfast, Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu left the hotel and headed toward the beach volleyball courts.
From a distance, Qin Yu saw two Maids already waiting by the court entrance.
As soon as the two approached, the Maids greeted them and led them to the changing rooms.
The Maids opened prepared suitcases filled with various summer sportswear.
Luo Shangyu didn’t hesitate and picked a shorts and T-shirt set: pure white short sleeves paired with navy blue shorts, her golden hair tied back in a ponytail, full of youthful vigor.
Qin Yu carefully selected a modest racing swimsuit and a long white sun-protective jacket.
The navy-blue fabric with tasteful cutouts perfectly accentuated Qin Yu’s figure.
Luo Shangyu, curious, asked, “Why that outfit? If you want sun protection, why not just wear long sleeves and pants?”
Qin Yu feigned profundity: “After the match, I’ll be hot. This way, I can jump straight into the sea for the ultimate cooling treatment. It balances sun protection and refreshment.”
Luo Shangyu was unconvinced, “You don’t understand. The old saying goes, ‘Calm mind naturally cools.’ Sit still and you’ll cool down.”
“Ugh!”
Qin Yu muttered inwardly, ‘That remark really fits your thousand-year-old status!’
The two donned white sports socks and lightweight sneakers carefully prepared by the Maids before leaving the changing room.
There were forty-nine courts in total, most occupied, with only a few empty.
Qin Yu picked an unoccupied court, took a beach volleyball, and prepared for pre-match training with Luo Shangyu.
This ball differed from a regular volleyball—it had a waterproof surface with bright colors: vivid yellow, bright pink, light blue, and white, interwoven harmoniously.
They stood on opposite sides of the net, ready to practice bump passes.
Drawing on years of experience, Qin Yu carefully controlled the ball, sending it back to Luo Shangyu.
The beach volleyball court was spacious, each side an eight-meter square, which tested the players’ footwork.
Qin Yu focused on predicting the ball’s landing spot to get into position early, handling the ball more confidently.
After several rounds, Qin Yu felt tired.
As a Mage, she didn’t often train physically; such intense running was a considerable drain.
About five minutes later, both had warmed up completely.
They moved from simple bump passes to coordinated plays: one bumping the ball into the air, the other running up to pass again, followed by a spike.Â
The rules allowed the use of magic for predictive assistance, so despite Qin Yu’s long break, successful passes and spikes were possible.
They then focused on spiking drills, as spiking was key to scoring.
With practice, Qin Yu’s spikes grew more powerful, each hit leaving distinct dents in the sand.
***
Volleyball was exhausting, and soon both were fatigued.
They sat by the court, watching others play while enjoying iced coconut water brought by the Maids.
Qin Yu observed the players; few were truly skilled in beach volleyball, with most struggling to sustain long rallies.
She concluded that serving and spiking were crucial.
By ten o’clock, a horn sounded across the beach volleyball area, signaling players to gather.
Soon, contestants and spectators crowded the courts.
Though there were only 120 participants, over ten thousand spectators attended—many drawn by the gambling opportunities.
Like football matches, spectators could bet on one of the two teams on each court.
If a team won, all bets on the losing side went to the bettors who backed the winner, distributed proportionally to their stakes.
The common currencies in the Illusion World were gold, silver, and copper coins, valued at 10,000:100:1.
One gold coin equaled 100 silver coins, and one silver coin equaled 100 copper coins.
The casino allowed bets starting at ten copper coins with no upper limit—offering chances for huge wins or complete losses.
After the host introduced the rules and regulations, everyone warmed up at their designated courts, guided by the Magic Conduit Arrays on their name tags.
Spectators settled in massive grandstands formed by earth-element magic manipulating sand.
The stands were enormous, equipped with screens and telescopes so everyone could clearly watch each court’s action.
Many were busy placing bets at the boards near the stands.
Luo Shangyu led Qin Yu to their court and stood ready.
They were team number 37.
Since the courts were arranged seven by seven, number 37 was near the edge, close to the stands.
Their opponents, team 30, consisted of two young men.
They looked like wealthy heirs, exuding an arrogant aura.
Upon seeing Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu, the younger of the two started boasting, “We’re the Zhang Brothers, the second young masters of the Capital City. I’m Zhang Xin, this is my older brother Zhang Rang. Nobody in the Capital doesn’t know us. Little sister, how about we show you a good time in the city?”
Luo Shangyu, well experienced with such situations, didn’t respond but adopted a ‘stay away’ attitude.
Qin Yu, raised deep in the palace, was unfamiliar with this and looked to Luo Shangyu for help, her eyes pleading.
After all, Qin Yu was only fourteen.
Just as Luo Shangyu was about to speak, the Referee arrived, announcing that warm-up time was over and that both teams would decide service order and court choice by rock-paper-scissors.
The two young men grew serious, no longer harassing Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu.
After a round of rock-paper-scissors, Qin Yu’s team won and chose to serve first, while the Zhang Brothers picked the court side.
The sun cast dazzling light on Luo Shangyu, giving her a divine aura, while Qin Yu’s white hair shimmered under the sun, and her blue eyes appeared even clearer.
Their court’s proximity to the stands and their striking appearances drew much attention, with many placing bets.
A scoreboard beside the court displayed not only scores but also betting information.
On Qin Yu’s side, bets totaled five hundred copper coins; the Zhang Brothers’ side had six hundred copper coins wagered.
“Looks like no one’s betting much on us,” Qin Yu muttered.
The teams took their positions.
The Referee confirmed readiness and handed the ball to Qin Yu’s team for the first serve.
Qin Yu stood at the backline, Luo Shangyu at the front.
Qin Yu held the ball with her left hand at waist height and raised her right hand behind.
Tossing the ball up to shoulder height, she struck it sharply upward.
The serve was decent, the ball flying over the net and landing near the opponent’s baseline, though without much power.
Zhang Xin stood in the backcourt and lightly bumped the ball to Zhang Rang at the net.
Zhang Rang volleyed it vertically into the air, a perfect setup for Zhang Xin’s spike.
Zhang Xin sprinted forward and executed a flawless spike, sending the ball crashing onto Qin Yu’s half of the court.
The ball was fast and cleverly placed.
Everyone thought the point was secured for the Zhang Brothers.
Pressure fell on Luo Shangyu.
But Luo Shangyu was a Seventh-Tier Quasi-God with a millennium of experience.
Her prediction and reflexes were no joke.
At the instant the ball passed over the net, she crouched slightly and raised her hands to block.
The ball was pushed back just as it crossed the net, barely half a second’s time.
Zhang Xin, still pleased with his spike, was stunned as the ball flew back over to their side.
The Zhang Brothers couldn’t react in time and lost the point.
From Qin Yu’s serve to Zhang Xin’s spike to Luo Shangyu’s block and return, less than five seconds had passed, yet the game had swung dramatically—an unexpected turn for all.
The stands erupted in cheers, while the Zhang Brothers looked awkward.
They lost the first point; the second serve belonged to them.
Learning from their mistake, the Zhang Brothers adjusted: Luo Shangyu had quick reflexes, but Qin Yu looked young and less threatening.
Zhang Xin launched a powerful jump serve from the backcourt.
The ball spun through the air and over the net.
Luo Shangyu attempted a block, but the ball just glanced off her palms and continued forward.
Now slower, Qin Yu had time to reach the ball, crossing her arms and carefully bumping it toward the opponent’s baseline.
Zhang Rang anticipated the move, leaped, and blocked successfully, sending the ball back toward Qin Yu’s side.
The ball’s trajectory was low; Qin Yu couldn’t reach it in time, passing pressure back to Luo Shangyu.
Luo Shangyu didn’t hesitate.
She stepped back two paces, predicted the landing point, and set the ball high with her hands, preparing for Qin Yu’s spike.
Their coordination was flawless.
Qin Yu dashed under the ball, timed her jump perfectly, and swung her right hand to smash the ball over the net.
Qin Yu’s height was typical for a young girl, and her spike barely skimmed the net, but the ball’s speed was formidable.
Zhang Rang and Zhang Xin could do nothing but watch as the ball hit the sand, leaving only a small part exposed.
The score was 2–0.
The crowd’s excitement soared—those who bet on Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu cheered wildly, while others swore at the Zhang Brothers, becoming their de facto sideline coaches.
After that, Qin Yu realized the Zhang Brothers were just ordinary players who only knew a bit of volleyball and were somewhat lazy.
They simply couldn’t match Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu.
The Zhang Brothers remained composed, still hopeful of a comeback.
Of course, as pampered rich heirs, they couldn’t match two Mages like Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu.
The rest of the match became Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu’s spiking practice.
***
“I declare team 37 the winner!” the Referee announced loudly.
The stands erupted in cheers, many admiring Luo Shangyu and Qin Yu’s skill and striking looks.
“It’s pretty hot,” Qin Yu said after sweating heavily in the match, eager to cool off.
She pulled Luo Shangyu toward the sea, planning to refresh themselves with seawater.