Jiang Ke’er refused to give up, gritting her teeth as she drew another talisman to call.
“This time, I’m asking you!” Her voice was thick with suppressed rage. “You can name any price you want.”
【Any price?】
Qiao Xiaoxian was surprised by Jiang Ke’er’s decisiveness this time, finding it hard to believe.
【For her?】
“Yes.” Jiang Ke’er spoke through gritted teeth.
【Anything at all?】
“Yes!” Jiang Ke’er affirmed fiercely.
She closed her eyes, no longer daring to imagine her own future.
‘Maybe it will be an Incantation Command that leaves me at her mercy forever, or perhaps something else.’
The range of “anything” was simply too large.
Qiao Xiaoxian leaned against the railing and laughed, then hung up the connection.
Jiang Ke’er knew she had agreed. ‘I’ve already offered such extreme terms; that bastard won’t miss the chance to blackmail me.’
“Sigh…”
She let out a long sigh, leaning back in her chair and feeling a wave of powerlessness.
‘But I don’t have time to be tired.’
Winning was the only way to rescue Si Lian, and they had to win beautifully.
Yesterday was the round of thirty-two to sixteen, today was sixteen to eight, tomorrow would be eight to four, and the day after would be four to two.
Therefore, the Resurrection Match would be in three days.
At this time in previous years, the topic of discussion among Cultivators was nothing more than who was most likely to win the championship, sometimes even leading to physical fights over their opinions.
But today, the Cultivators seemed to have forgotten that the Shenzhou Cup even had such a thing as a champion — all their expectations were focused entirely on that single Resurrection Match.
Even if they wouldn’t admit it aloud, the Human Cultivators couldn’t lie to their own hearts — damn it, that bastard Little Monster was too infuriating.
Now, everyone just wanted to see her crushed by reality after her big talk.
“Kill every team in the Semi-Finals? Why don’t you just ascend to heaven already?”
However, what made them feel even more frustrated were the rumors circulating among the public that “the Emperor is scared.”
“Have you heard? Emperor Jing is actually afraid of such a small team! They say he even captured their Team Coach, Si Lian! I don’t know if it’s true or not…”
“It’s true! I heard it too!”
“Has Emperor Jing lost his mind? What is there to fear about such a pathetic little team?”
“I don’t understand… If this is the case, even if the Bagpipe Squad loses, won’t they have an excuse to deflect the blame?”
“And it makes us unable to hold our heads up in front of the Demon Race. Sigh, what kind of idiotic move is this?”
Rumors like these spread to every corner of Shenzhou in an instant.
Although the Human Cultivators were reluctant to mention this shameful topic, the words ‘Emperor Jing is scared’ were like a seed, planted deep in the hearts of all Cultivators.
Time would eventually dilute everything, and the memories of Cultivators regarding current events were usually extremely short — or so it should have been.
But all the human media outlets had a tacit understanding, insisting on mentioning the Bagpipe Squad’s mocking remarks multiple times every day to ensure the heat surrounding the matter stayed at its peak.
That Resurrection Match, which would usually be overlooked, had now become the most significant event in Shenzhou.
The more they built up the hype, the more face the Demon Race would lose this time, and the more their self-confidence would be crushed — this was a familiar tactic they had used countless times, and it had never failed.
If the Bagpipe Squad had participated quietly, it would have been one thing, but no one expected them to actively provoke everyone.
With such a way of doing things, their eventual defeat would look 10,000 times more unsightly than a normal loss!
Neither the human media nor the tournament organizers would let such a perfect opportunity slip by.
Jiang Ke’er turned a deaf ear to the outside world, using her remaining time to lead the members of the Bagpipe Squad in training, racing against every second.
According to their agreement, the members of the Bagpipe Squad had spent a fortune to buy a large pile of magic-type Battle Technique manuals.
This was a strange type of training they had never encountered before.
While it wasn’t exactly difficult, it required a frenzied, almost brainwashing level of training to master.
“Wait a moment,” Jiang Ke’er suddenly called out to the Little Demons after the day’s training ended.
The exhausted Little Demons collapsed on the ground, looking up at Jiang Ke’er.
“The Resurrection Match is tomorrow,” Jiang Ke’er paused before continuing, “if you have anything you want to say to your families, write a letter.”
For a moment, the courtyard fell silent, save for the whistling of the cold wind sweeping over the eaves. The group remained quiet.
‘Perhaps, there won’t be another chance later.’
They all understood that.
“I already wrote mine!” Jie Shui laughed triumphantly, looking into the distance with a look of yearning.
“I told them to scatter my ashes into the East Sea after I die! I’ve wanted to see what the bottom of the East Sea looks like for a long time now. I heard there’s beautiful coral, and fish with lanterns on their heads. I didn’t have the strength to go see them while I was alive, so it would be nice if I could do it after I’m dead!”
Jie Shui’s optimism seemed to infect the other Little Monsters.
“I’ll go to the East Sea to keep you company,” Gan Ruǎnruǎn said with a smile, wiping the corner of her eye.
“Anyway, I don’t know where else I should go… add a note to the letter for your family tonight and tell them to scatter my ashes there as well. Otherwise, no one will be there to collect my body.”
“Then I’ll go to the East Sea too,” Lin Gang said, scratching his head with a flush on his face.
He then pointed to the writing on his arm and said angrily, “You two bastards still owe me several hundred Magic Crystals. If you don’t pay me back by the time we die, I’ll chase you to the underworld! No one in this world escapes my debts!”
“…That’s too ruthless.” Jie Shui covered his face.
“I’m familiar with the sea,” A Miao said with a shy smile.
“I can take you all out to play. However, I haven’t been to the East Sea in Shenzhou either. I don’t know if there’s any difference between it and the sea in the Realm of Novice Cultivator…”
‘These guys.’
Jiang Ke’er leaned against the wall and looked at her four teammates, shaking her head helplessly.
“You lot, why don’t you think about what happens after we win? If we win, there are many things that need to be arranged and prepared in advance.”
The Little Demons all froze at once.
“Eh?”
They hadn’t considered the possibility of winning at all.
“Let’s… not dream,” Jie Shui said with a forced smile.
“If we get our hopes up, we’ll just be disappointed. Wouldn’t that make dying even more painful?”
“Yeah… if we can win, then we’ll talk about what happens after!” Ruan Ruan looked up at the sky.
“If we can win, then the problems after that won’t be problems at all, right?”
“Why give people hope just to let them down?”
“That’s just like those trashy authors of unofficial history who claim they’ll release three chapters a day but can’t even squeeze out a single word in the end. It’s unforgivable!” As Jie Shui spoke, he suddenly grew indignant.
“If we really win, I’m going to break that bastard author’s leg once I get out! He flakes on me every day; it’s driving me crazy!”
Though they had gone a bit off-topic, everyone understood Jie Shui’s strange analogy and burst into laughter.
Gan Ruǎnruǎn shouted, eager to stir up trouble, “Leave the other leg to me!”
“Alright, alright, it’s a deal!”
The sorrowful atmosphere vanished completely.
They were probably used to it by now.
After all, which of the matches they had experienced hadn’t been a situation where a single wrong step meant eternal damnation?
Since they had already made it this far, what was there left to fear?
Jiang Ke’er shook her head and smiled, raising her wine Gourd toward the bright moon.