Just a second ago, the Zhanhuang Sixteen Team members of the Wasteland War Team were jumping around, but in the blink of an eye, their faces turned ashen thanks to Jiang Ke’er and Gan Ruǎnruǎn’s perfectly in-sync banter.
What was even more infuriating was that these two exchanged a glance, high-fived in perfect harmony, and started praising each other: “Not bad!”
“You’re not so bad yourself!”
Seeing her own teammates didn’t lose face at all, Si Lian couldn’t help but smile as well.
“Weak or not, we’ll know after a match. Do you dare?” Taishu Xuan curled his finger in a mocking gesture.
“Heh, you bunch of worthless nobodies? What’s there to be afraid of?” Si Lian crossed her arms, looking down at Taishu Xuan from above.
“Not fighting. We’re leaving.”
Taishu Xuan nearly choked on his breath.
Hearing the first half, he’d thought Si Lian had finally taken the bait, since hardly anyone could keep their cool in such a situation.
But Si Lian wasn’t provoked at all.
Yet even though Si Lian didn’t fall for it, it was Taishu Xuan who couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“If you’ve got the guts, never step onto the stage!” Taishu Xuan’s face turned dark purple with rage.
He didn’t even know why—clearly, he was the one here to provoke, but it felt like he’d been angered half to death by the other side. In any case, he just couldn’t keep his cool now.
“What, are you planning to follow us everywhere?” Si Lian gave him a sidelong glance.
“We’re just not fighting, what are you going to do about it?”
“Hey, I will follow you!” Taishu Xuan let out a loud laugh.
“If you’ve got guts, then never step on the stage. If you dare get up there, we’ll immediately match against you! You might dodge it once, but you won’t dodge it every time!”
“If you’ve got the guts, then keep following.” Si Lian waved her hand.
Though the young Demon Race members were clearly unwilling to accept Si Lian’s decision, they had no choice but to follow her and leave.
“Auntie Si Lian,” Jie Shui grumbled discontentedly, “Why are we chickening out?”
“Because you can’t win.”
“How do you know if you don’t try?” Jie Shui was so upset his fists were cracking.
“You only get one chance.” Si Lian glanced at Taishu Xuan behind them and smiled mysteriously.
“But now isn’t the time.”
“I think now’s fine.” Jie Shui still wasn’t satisfied.
“What you think doesn’t matter. It’s what I say that counts.”
Si Lian knocked Jie Shui on the head, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Jie Shui got even angrier at that.
Seeing Jie Shui so mad he couldn’t speak, Si Lian nodded with satisfaction.
Jiang Ke’er, having witnessed all this, let out a long sigh.
“Looks like we’re in for a long night.”
Gan Ruǎnruǎn also realized, “Yeah…”
Taishu Xuan really did lead his team to follow them.
Unlike the Demon Race, already used to mockery and ridicule, the Human Clan’s innate pride made it impossible for Taishu Xuan to tolerate letting Si Lian and her Demon Race team act so smug in front of him.
Si Lian ignored them entirely, calmly leading the little demons into the City’s Training Equipment Store.
“Five first-grade Gravity Stones, and a set of Counting Devices,” Si Lian called out loudly.
“What do we need this stuff for?” Jiang Ke’er asked in a loud, innocent voice.
Good girl, you’re catching on.
Si Lian gave Jiang Ke’er a thumbs-up in her heart, then continued in a loud voice, “Tonight you’re training outside the city, and while we’re at it, we’ll test your various ability levels. That way, we can roughly estimate your strength.”
At the mention of ability levels, Taishu Xuan’s eyes suddenly lit up as if he’d thought of a great idea.
He started grinning darkly.
“And give me a Variable-Speed Evasion Trainer and the corresponding Counting Device,” Si Lian went on, as if she hadn’t noticed Taishu Xuan’s scheming, still fully focused on choosing goods.
Taishu Xuan said nothing.
“Emm, let me think, what else do we need,” Si Lian tapped her chin.
“Oh right, we also need a Burst Speed Detection Crystal and a Variable-Speed Target.”
“What grade do you want? We have the latest limited-edition custom set from the Heavenly Secrets Sect,” the store clerk smiled at Si Lian.
“Uh…” Si Lian discreetly patted her Storage Bag, coughed, and said, “Just the standard model is fine. Used, eighty percent new.”
She wasn’t faking it—her Storage Bag was really a bit empty.
The clerk immediately lost interest, responding lazily, “That’ll be 200 Magic Crystals.”
“Alright.” Si Lian pulled out the Magic Crystals from her pouch, handing over the money with one hand and taking the cheap Storage Bag filled with the equipment in the other.
“…Actually,” Jiang Ke’er glanced at her eight-digit Magic Crystal balance, then quietly sent a voice transmission to Si Lian, “I’ve got a little Magic Crystal stash here. If the team ever comes up short, I can help out.”
“No, there’s no need,” Si Lian shook her head repeatedly, thinking, How much savings could a kid wandering out here even have? As fellow Demon Race members, none of this is easy—how could she bring herself to use Jiang Ke’er’s money?
“It’s quite a lot, really,” Jiang Ke’er said honestly.
“It’s fine, really, there’s no need. Besides, we’re not short on money. Um… not short at all.” Si Lian insisted, her cold voice barely concealing a trace of almost imperceptible choke.
“Alright then.”
Since the team’s normal activities weren’t affected, Jiang Ke’er didn’t want to make a fuss, so she let it go.
Just as Si Lian led the little demons out of the shop, Taishu Xuan immediately barked at the clerk, “Give me your best Gravity Stones, Variable-Speed Evasion Trainer, Speed Detection Crystal, Variable-Speed Target, and all the matching equipment! All of it, now! Right now! Immediately!”
“Alright, alright!”
The clerk, who had just been listless from Si Lian’s penny-pinching, suddenly sat up as if resurrected from the dead, instantly energized by Taishu Xuan’s shouting.
The shop gathered the equipment at top speed, and before the clerk could even quote the price, Taishu Xuan had already swiped his card on the Card Swiping Machine.
After paying, Taishu Xuan dodged the fancy packaging gift bag and walked out.
“Sir! We’re currently running a joint Lucky Gift Bag lottery event with the Taiming Sect. Since you spent over ten thousand Magic Crystals in one go, you can draw three Lucky Gift Bags for free! Would you like—”
“Scram! I’ve got no time!”
Taishu Xuan impatiently turned and hurried to catch up with Si Lian.
He moved so fast that Si Lian, who’d been hesitating about whether to wait for him, saw him burst out of the shop in the blink of an eye.
She even wondered if he’d actually bought anything.
But when she saw the bag in Taishu Xuan’s hand, Si Lian finally relaxed, pretending nothing had happened as she said, “Tonight, we’ll be testing you all at the Plains Clearing west of the City. For now, let’s get you some rest.”
“Mhm!” Jiang Ke’er nodded obediently.
Jie Shui, however, was still confused and still annoyed that Si Lian wouldn’t let them fight.
Gan Ruǎnruǎn patted him on the shoulder and said sincerely, “Your intelligence is truly concerning.”
“…You looking for a beating again?” Jie Shui fumed.
But this time, Gan Ruǎnruǎn didn’t stoop to Jie Shui’s level, only rolling her eyes at him.
“Save your energy. You’ll need it tonight.”
“Eh? Eh, eh, eh?” Jie Shui’s face flushed red, “You… you’d better not! I already have someone I like!”
“…You really should just go die!”
They were at it again.
Jiang Ke’er felt a headache coming on, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a little anticipation for tonight.
This Team Coach Si Lian—she’d originally thought her to be an airheaded fool, someone with lots of passion but no ability, only good at pushing Demon Race youth into the fire.
But now, she realized—things weren’t that simple.