Chapter 238: Strike (1)

The sound of drums gradually faded.

The last team stepped down from the stage, shaking hands with the defeated team across from them.

Smiling, they patted each other on the shoulder, agreeing to fight again next time.

The day’s arena matches came to an end.

Elderly cultivators silently ascended to clean the stage, while artifact-crafting cultivators worked through the night to repair the battle damage.

A team escorted the dazzling prizes away.

By the light of the lamps burning in front of the shops on both sides, Si Lian walked at the very front, leading a group of little demons away from their inn toward the east of the city.

“Huh? Weren’t we supposed to go to the west side?” Jie Shui asked in surprise.

“To deal with an idiot, you have to take a few detours, let him feel a sense of accomplishment for ‘seeing through’ your tricks. That way he’ll believe it all the more,” Jiang Ke’er explained.

“Oh!” Jie Shui nodded, half-understanding.

“Then what about when you’re dealing with someone smart?”

“Before that happens, the smart one would’ve already killed you.”

“……”

Hearing Jiang Ke’er’s words, Si Lian immediately looked at her with even greater admiration.

This girl really suits my taste.

Jiang Ke’er, just like that child, possessed a maturity and sense of responsibility far beyond her years.

But their personalities were the complete opposite.

Si Lian shook her head with a bitter smile… If only they could complement and help each other, they would surely become an invincible, formidable pair.

If only she were in this team as well.

But it was impossible.

She hated herself so much, despised herself.

And as for herself, she truly was not worthy.

Not worthy of being her mother.

“Si Lian Aunty?”

“Mm.” Awakened by Jie Shui’s call, Si Lian pulled some equipment from her bag, arranging them one by one in the empty space.

Gravity Stone, Variable-Speed Evasion Trainer, Speed-Testing Crystal, Variable-Speed Target—these were all very common ability-testing and training devices in the Cultivator Realm.

Aside from training, these devices could quantify a cultivator’s attributes and display them as ranked data.

Si Lian led the little monsters to the Gravity Stone first. “Try lifting the stone, see how long you can hold on… Jie Shui, you start.”

“I’ve used a Gravity Stone before!” Jie Shui ran to the stone as if it were second nature, took off his clothes, and his muscles swelled as he transformed into a nearly three-meter-tall werewolf.

He stepped onto the Jade Platform, grabbed a stone in one hand—the fist-sized black rock making him break into a sweat as he struggled to raise it overhead.

As time passed, the stone’s weight seemed to grow even heavier.

Jie Shui’s muscles and bones made cracking sounds.

“Boom—”

With a loud crash, the stone dropped to the ground.

At the same moment, a red ‘C’ character appeared in the mirror beside the Jade Platform.

“Among Five Elements Stage Strength System Cultivators, your strength has reached C-rank. That’s already a pretty good result,” Si Lian praised.

“Heh heh~” Jie Shui was quite pleased with himself.

“Try this next.”

Si Lian led Jie Shui to the Variable-Speed Evasion Trainer.

Light spheres continuously shot out from a crystal, speeding toward Jie Shui, who dodged frantically amidst the rain of glowing balls.

“Watch me dodge~ Dodge~”

Jie Shui flailed around wildly, then looked proudly at the Ranking Panel.

[Total shots fired: 500. Successful dodges: 0. Grade: H-rank]

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H—H is the last.

“Zero dodges,” Si Lian’s mouth twitched, “I never thought I’d see such a result in my lifetime. In a sense, you’re pretty remarkable.”

Jie Shui’s face flushed red as he changed the subject.

At that moment, a team quickly approached from a distance.

Leading them was Taishu Xuan. Spotting Si Lian, he burst out laughing: “I knew you’d play some tricks! Came to the east side but said you’d go west, and still, I caught you!”

“…You’re so clever, I’m amazed,” Si Lian sighed. “What are you all doing here? We’re training. Are you going to train too?”

“You train your way, I train mine.” Taishu Xuan raised an eyebrow proudly.

“I won’t bother you, and you can’t meddle with me.”

“Damn,” Si Lian gripped her fist in frustration, but Jiang Ke’er caught sight of the smile curling at her lips.

Taishu Xuan swiftly set up his equipment, soon claiming a luxurious training field not far from the Bagpipe Squad.

The area was lavish, completely different from the impoverished vibe on the other side. The little monsters couldn’t help feeling a bit disgruntled and defeated.

“Ahem!” Taishu Xuan cleared his throat and sternly addressed his own teammates: “The quality of your equipment doesn’t matter. What matters is your individual ability, and the results of your training!

“No matter how much a beast trains, it’s still a beast. It’s time those barbaric beasts saw the natural gap between you! Ying Zhuo, up!”

A burly man, muscles no less imposing than Jie Shui’s, charged forward and lifted the Gravity Stone in one motion!

He held it steady, maintaining it more than twice as long as Jie Shui!

Soon, the Ranking Panel displayed a B-rank for his strength.

The strong man didn’t rest for a moment, rushing straight to the Variable-Speed Evasion Trainer.

[Total shots fired: 500. Successful dodges: 201. Grade: C-rank]

Jie Shui nearly let his eyeballs fall out.

How could someone be this powerful and yet so agile?

That question spun in his head, but he was too embarrassed to ask.

Utter defeat, worlds apart.

Just a moment ago, he’d been so pleased with his own strength, but in the blink of an eye, the opponent’s strength crushed him a hundredfold!

He was supposed to be the best the Jie clan had…

Next, the opponent headed to the Speed-Testing Crystal to test burst speed.

Jie Shui refused to admit defeat and rushed over as well, starting the sprint at the same time!

Same hundred-meter dash, but Jie Shui was clearly several body-lengths slower.

When he reached the finish and looked across, he saw that the other side’s machine had long since displayed a result—B-rank.

His own was D-rank.

This gap sent a chill down his spine.

He believed that if he ever faced the opponent one-on-one, he’d be instantly crushed.

And this was just a Bronze Division cultivator.

“I…” Jie Shui clenched his fists, his mind buzzing, “Am I really this weak… I’m too weak.”

Hearing Huo Jinjin’s words, Jiang Ke’er suddenly froze.

Why is he stealing my catchphrase?

Si Lian smiled, lighting a bowl of tobacco, leaning lazily against a tree, watching in silence, a glint of insight in her eyes.

Weak? Of course not.

The problem was, their opponent shouldn’t be a Bronze-level contestant at all.

They were qualified for the Four Finals—each had received Elite Training since childhood, veterans of countless battles!

For the Bagpipe Squad, this was an existence on a whole other level!

But Jie Shui didn’t know, nor did the rest of the Bagpipe Squad.

So, boys and girls, savor the pain of your worldviews being shattered.

When you finally catch up and think you’ve barely reached Bronze strength,

You’ll discover that fighting—was actually this simple.