This Trainer Has No Sportsmanship

"Hey, hey, what's going on?"

Yuan Ying was startled, completely at a loss.

You Zhi keenly sensed the spiritual energy within the vortex going berserk. He hurried forward, grabbed Yuan Ying, and ran outward. "Forget it, get out of here!"

Suddenly, the vortex expanded violently, releasing a chaotic radiance that was neither black nor white. The fleeing pair were struck by the light and vanished in an instant.

You Zhi only felt an overwhelming force seize him. Even with his extraordinary physique, he could not resist it. It was as though he had been thrown into a blender; the world spun around him, and he completely lost his sense of direction. Fortunately, he held Yuan Ying tightly during the teleportation, so they were not separated halfway through.

After an unknown amount of time, the strange force vanished. Their bodies were once more subject to Gravity as they fell downward, crashing into a lake with a splash.

The shock of the cold water immediately woke You Zhi. He vaguely seemed to hear a woman scream. Enduring the dizziness, he dragged the completely unconscious Yuan Ying toward the surface.

"Puh—"

After crawling ashore, You Zhi spat out the water in his nose. He then laid Yuan Ying face-down across his lap, slapped her back with his palm, and released a hidden force to squeeze the foreign matter from her mouth and clear her airway.

Before long, Yuan Ying's body jerked. She spat out a clump of waterweed and mud, then began coughing and vomiting water before slowly opening her eyes.

Seeing this, You Zhi let out a breath of relief. As long as she regained consciousness, people in this world generally would not be in mortal danger with their physical constitutions.

"Senior True Knowledge, hurry! Two people just fell from the sky into the lake. If we don't save them now, it'll be too late!"

At that moment, a young girl in a purple ruqun came flying over atop a water dragon, her anxious expression plain to see.

When she saw the two sitting on the shore, she froze for a moment before letting out a long breath. "That's wonderful. I was really worried I'd arrive too late and something would happen to you."

The water dragon breathed out a stream of clear water at You Zhi and Yuan Ying. They immediately felt the impurities within their bodies washed away, while their strength rapidly returned. It was as though they were soaking in a hot spring, warm and exceedingly comfortable.

Then the water dragon turned to the purple-clad girl and criticized her. "As a Dragon Fairy, you encountered two drowning people and yet sought outside aid. That is truly disgraceful."

Heavenly Might Realm

The purple-clad girl protested, "I only came here to cultivate yesterday. I haven't mastered the power of water yet, and the flame power I knew before is difficult to use in a lake. Trying to save them by force would only harm them and myself. Seeking outside help was the wisest choice at the time."

The water dragon said, "With thy aptitude, twelve hours would have been enough to get started. Clearly, thy mind has been distracted, delaying thy cultivation."

"It's not that I don't want to focus, but I can't help worrying about my junior brother."

"Thy junior brother possesses the sincere heart of an innocent child. He will surely cultivate the Purity Chakra Wheel. Thou should focus on thyself."

As You Zhi watched the dragon and the girl before him, his cheat reacted.

[Heavenly Might Dragon—True Knowledge Panlong (4-Star) Water]

[Lineage: Water]

[Level: 30]

[Attack: 400 (500)]

[Defense: 2000 (2500)]

[Wyrm-Type, Effect: Omitted]

When he looked at the girl, there was also a reaction, but he was informed that she was not in her complete form and therefore could not be displayed.

The water dragon looked at You Zhi and Yuan Ying. "You two are outsiders. A terrible calamity is about to descend upon this place. Forgive us for being unable to shelter you. You must leave as soon as possible, lest you be caught up in the disaster."

You Zhi said, "Thank you for saving us. May I ask where this place is?"

"This is the Heavenly Might Realm. You two came from outside?" The girl's face was full of curiosity. "No wonder you fell from the sky. Can you tell me what the outside world looks like?"

The water dragon reminded her, "Dragon Fairy, thy time is running short. Do not be distracted by trivial matters."

"I know. I'll hurry up and cultivate."

The girl looked unwilling, but she still obeyed the instruction and went to cultivate on a lotus platform in the middle of the lake.

You Zhi exchanged a glance with Yuan Ying, then cupped his hands toward the water dragon. "My companion does not seem to have fully recovered yet. Could you give us a little more time?"

"You may."

The water dragon understood what he meant and did not force them to leave. It turned and went to guide the girl's cultivation.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the Spirit Realm. The so-called Anomaly is actually a fragment of the Spirit Realm that has yet to assimilate with the present world."

You Zhi voiced his speculation.

"I'm sorry. This was all because of me. I dragged you into this." Yuan Ying looked deeply guilty.

"This is such a formulaic development. It's obviously a forced plot event. It would've triggered whether you were here or not." You Zhi took it rather well. "Instead of wasting time feeling guilty and apologizing, we should think about what we need to do to leave."

Yuan Ying frowned and thought for a while before saying uncertainly, "My father once said while drunk that clearing an Anomaly was like playing a game. As long as you clear the storyline, you'll succeed, and you can even receive rewards for clearing it. But I don't know whether that was true or just drunken nonsense."

"We have no other choice right now. We can only treat a dead horse like a live one. Those two are obviously plot characters, and important ones at that. If we leave here, there's no guarantee we'll encounter other plot characters afterward."

You Zhi paced back and forth where he stood. After walking five laps, he made his decision. "Since this is about clearing a game, we need to help the protagonists complete the main quest. From what they said earlier, this so-called 'calamity' is the mission target. I don't know whether there are other quests, but for now, we'll use this as our goal and push the plot forward. We'll take things one step at a time."

Yuan Ying looked at him strangely. "You seem a little excited."

"Every man has an adventurous heart."

You Zhi restrained the slight curl of his lips, rubbed his face, and assumed a righteous expression before turning to discuss matters with the water dragon.

"My name is You Zhi. My companion Yuan Ying and I are both Spirit Purifiers. Slaying evil, eliminating wickedness, and preserving world peace are our duties. Just now, I heard you say that a 'calamity' would occur here. Whether to repay your kindness or fulfill our own mission, my companion and I should remain and contribute our strength."

This brat is lying!

As the incarnation of the Heaven-Earth Spirit Vein, True Knowledge Panlong possessed the ability to see through people's hearts. It saw through You Zhi's fabricated lie at a glance. Yet what it could not understand was that his sincere desire to help was also genuine!

In other words, he was willing to lie and fabricate an identity just so he could rightfully step in and help it.

This was absurd!

For an instant, True Knowledge Panlong wondered whether its ability had malfunctioned. Yet after confirming it repeatedly, it found that You Zhi truly possessed a passionate and sincere heart. He genuinely wanted to help it, without a trace of malice.

After a long silence, True Knowledge Panlong decided it could give this a try. With their current strength alone, they were not certain they could defeat that wicked dragon. Another source of strength meant another chance of victory, so there was no reason to shut them out.

As for whether they were sincere or deceitful, it could ask its fellow cultivators to help verify that.

"This calamity is exceedingly dangerous. Even if we exhaust all our strength, our chances of victory are less than fifty percent. You come from another world and have no obligation to risk yourselves for this realm." True Knowledge Panlong still tried to persuade them.

You Zhi patted his chest and said righteously, "The more rampant evil becomes, the more justice must unite. At a time like this, there is no distinction between you and us."

Yuan Ying also stepped forward. "Restoring the glory of the Spirit Purifiers is the duty of our generation!"

True Knowledge Panlong examined them with its ability. Good heavens, both their words and their hearts were genuine.

This completely confused it. Was their identity as Spirit Purifiers real or false? Could its ability have gone wrong earlier? Had this young man not lied after all? The two had arrived together; surely one could not be a Spirit Purifier while the other was not?

No matter what, their desire to help was not false. After thinking for a while, True Knowledge Panlong explained the full sequence of events.

The Heavenly Might Realm was sustained by the Dragon Vein. The Dragon Vein's energy manifested as seven Chakra Dragons. Due to an evil aura that had appeared from nowhere, Great Unity Panlong, which represented the void, suffered a deviation in cultivation, fell into darkness, and sought to take control of the entire Heavenly Might Realm.

However, as elemental spirit bodies, the Chakra Dragons could not interfere with physical objects. They therefore needed to find agents. Great Unity Panlong eventually set its sights on the head of the Heavenly Might Sect. While he was cultivating in seclusion, it tempted him into the wicked path in the name of granting him power, turning him into a pawn for conquering the world.

To oppose Great Unity Panlong and its capable subordinates, the four great Panlong representing water, fire, earth, and wind awakened one after another. They found two disciples of the Heavenly Might Sect and helped them cultivate.

The younger junior brother cultivated martial arts and fist techniques with Purity Panlong, which represented the earth element. The senior sister cultivated spell arts with the other three Panlong. Cultivating martial arts required tempering the body step by step and could not be rushed, while spell arts could be cultivated in multiple branches at once.

Although the most effective method would have been to find four people and have each focus on cultivating with one Panlong, there was not enough time to search for suitable candidates, so they could only compromise.

"Wait. Since there are seven Chakra Wheels in total, why have only five appeared? What about the other two?" You Zhi asked in confusion.

Plot Formula

"Forgiveness Panlong, which represents the Light Chakra Wheel, only appears when the world falls into crisis. Things have not reached that point yet."

Dragon Fairy was the one who explained. Already unable to focus on her cultivation, she had been drawn in by the conversation.

True Knowledge Panlong said, "Forgiveness's spiritual energy is no weaker than Great Unity's. It is our final trump card and will not be awakened unless absolutely necessary."

Yuan Ying counted on her fingers and asked, "What about the seventh one?"

Dragon Fairy said, "The final Chakra Dragon is extremely mysterious. No one has ever seen it, no one knows what it looks like or what powers it possesses, and even its existence is in doubt."

True Knowledge Panlong said helplessly, "I can guarantee that the seventh Chakra Dragon is no rumor. All of us can sense its existence."

"But if there's no way to summon it, there's no difference between that and it not existing." Dragon Fairy gave it no face at all.

True Knowledge Panlong hesitated, then silently accepted that fact.

You Zhi thought for a moment and asked, "What conditions must one meet to cultivate with you? Can Yuan Ying and I do it?"

True Knowledge Panlong shook its head. "Only those with a Pure Spirit Body may inherit our Chakra Wheel Power. You outsiders possess flesh-and-blood bodies. Even if you gain it temporarily, it will dissipate over time."

You Zhi understood. Spirits could do it, but humans could not.

So he summoned all four of his spirits and asked, "What about them?"

Dragon Fairy said in surprise, "So you're a summoner."

True Knowledge Panlong seemed to have already known this and was not surprised. After examining them one by one, it looked at Neon Stone Sprite. "This child has a pure heart and no evil thoughts. He may cultivate spell arts with me."

It then looked at Demon Lizard Yihao. "This child once harbored evil intentions, but has now turned from evil and returned to righteousness. He may also cultivate martial arts with me."

Then it looked at Silent Magician. "This child has excellent talent, but regrettably, her affinity does not match ours."

Finally, it looked at the Goblin Attack Force, who were chattering and roughhousing nonstop. After a stretch of silence, it said to You Zhi, "That is all."

Neon Stone Sprite and Demon Lizard Yihao were both Water-type, matching True Knowledge Panlong's attribute. Silent Magician, however, possessed the LIGHT attribute, and only the yet-unawakened Forgiveness Panlong met her requirements.

As for the Goblin Attack Force, True Knowledge Panlong clearly thought those fellows were beyond teaching. To avoid hurting anyone's feelings, it chose not to comment.

You Zhi signaled Yuan Ying with his eyes. She also summoned her spirits: Voltman, Blazegirl, Clayman, Wingedman, and Bubbleman.

After examining them one by one, True Knowledge Panlong sighed. "All of them are righteous individuals. They may cultivate with our Chakra Dragons according to their affinities. However, our energy is limited, and each of us can only teach one."

Now it believed that You Zhi and Yuan Ying sincerely wished to help. It could feel an unwavering heart of justice within the five Elemental Heroes, and the summoners who could make them submit could not possibly be evil people.

Dragon Fairy clapped her hands. "Wonderful! That means I no longer need to cultivate three types of spell arts at once. I can study Fire Spirit Arts with Senior Righteous Path."

Everyone had elemental attributes they excelled at. Dragon Fairy was best at the fire element. It was not that she could not learn water and wind spell arts, but she would inevitably get half the result with twice the effort. If there had been no other choice, they would naturally have had to force her to learn as much as she could. But since there was now a better method, there was no need to resort to that.

"Please wait here. I shall seek an audience with several fellow cultivators."

True Knowledge Panlong slipped into the water and vanished. After a while, it returned together with Righteous Path Panlong, Benevolence Panlong, and Purity Panlong.

The three Panlong stared at You Zhi and Yuan Ying, confirming that the two genuinely wished to help and were not spies sent by the enemy. This finally put True Knowledge Panlong completely at ease.

After some discussion, everyone decided that Purity Panlong would continue teaching the Heavenly Might Sect's junior disciple. It had already taught him halfway, so it could not stop midway. Righteous Path Panlong, on the other hand, could take Blazegirl in addition to Dragon Fairy. Dragon Fairy had already learned all the Fire Spirit Arts she needed to learn; all that remained was repeated practice to improve her proficiency, so she only needed occasional supervision.

Benevolence Panlong, which represented the wind element, took Wingedman away. True Knowledge Panlong chose Neon Stone Sprite instead, since Demon Lizard Yihao did not look particularly clever. Time was pressing, so it naturally chose the more gifted disciple in order to impart more skills.

You Zhi asked one final question. "While you're teaching them, can Yuan Ying and I learn at the side?"

"You may learn, but aside from strengthening your bodies, it will have no other effect. This is a difference in physique, not something that can be remedied through acquired effort."

"That is enough."

After True Knowledge Panlong led the utterly baffled Neon Stone Sprite into the lake, Yuan Ying finally asked You Zhi the question she had held back for so long. "What exactly are you planning?"

Instead of answering, You Zhi asked, "What do you think the normal plot would have been if we hadn't appeared?"

"Well... I haven't read the script, and I don't have the ability to use Future Sight. How could I possibly guess?"

"Then I'll tell you. After the two disciples of the Heavenly Might Sect inherited the powers of the four great Panlong, they went to challenge their master. But the gap in strength was overwhelming, and they suffered a crushing defeat before fleeing. Great Unity Panlong began occupying the Heavenly Might Realm and absorbing the Dragon Vein's power. At the critical moment, Forgiveness Panlong of the Light Chakra Wheel awakened. The two disciples gained new power and, after a bitter battle, finally defeated their master. Great Unity Panlong was also purified."

"Just when everyone thought they had reached a perfect ending, the true culprit lurking in the darkness—the one who had corrupted Great Unity Panlong—broke free of its seal after absorbing enough Dragon Vein power. Even with the combined strength of the three from the Heavenly Might Sect and the six great Panlong, they were still no match for it."

"To atone for his sins and protect his two disciples, the head of the Heavenly Might Sect resolutely stayed behind to cover their retreat, dying a heroic death. After suffering the pain of losing their master, the two disciples matured rapidly. After countless hardships, they finally found a way to summon the seventh Chakra Dragon and defeated the true culprit in the final battle. Thus, evil was destroyed, and the world finally welcomed peace."

Yuan Ying listened in a daze. She wanted to question him, but found the entire story extremely reasonable, like a hero movie with a complete internal logic. Every piece of information they had obtained earlier had been used. She could not help asking, "Have you read the script?"

"Do I need to read the script? It's the standard hero-slays-demon-king formula. Japanese role-playing games are always like this. I can guess the ending as soon as I see the beginning."

You Zhi waved his hand dismissively, then continued, "If we really accompany the protagonists through the entire plot, who knows how long we'll have to stay in the Heavenly Might Realm? So we need a quick battle and a quick victory. We'll defeat the protagonists' master at the first major plot point."

"That leaves only two possibilities. One is that the mastermind loses its chance to escape and decides to keep hiding until another opportunity arises. Then we clear the game directly. The other is that the mastermind refuses to give up and appears in a severely weakened state. As long as we defeat it, we can still clear the game."

Yuan Ying asked, "What if the second possibility happens and we can't beat it?"

You Zhi said carelessly, "Then we run. After that, we figure out how to make Forgiveness Panlong awaken early and see whether we can defeat the incomplete final BOSS together. If we still can't win, we'll search for a way to summon the seventh Chakra Dragon and follow the original formula from there."

Yuan Ying felt that this plan carried enormous hidden risks, because everything was based on You Zhi's so-called game formula. If the enemy failed to follow the formula, the outcome would be impossible to predict.

However, since she had no better idea, she still chose to agree.

Having a plan was better than having no plan.

(Temple Master: Heavenly Might's official setting isn't that complicated.)