How Much Can Tang Wuling Really Eat?

"Hey... are you dead?"

Qi Ji walked to the ruins at the edge of the arena, crouched down, and poked Yu Xiaogang, who lay sprawled on the ground without moving, with his index finger.

The latter looked like a fish thrown onto shore, rolling his eyes, a suspicious trace of white foam still hanging from the corner of his mouth. His entire body radiated the miserable air of someone whose Dao heart had shattered and who no longer wished to live. Even his breathing was so faint it was almost inaudible.

Qi Ji did some calculations in his head. He was a Soul Emperor with a True Dragon martial soul and wore Two-Character Battle Armor. Surely he could not have been killed by a flick of Qi Ji's finger, right?

Even though Qi Ji's raw strength was now close to that of a Soul Douluo, he had not put much force into that finger just now. It had merely been a casual flick after suppressing him with dragon might. By all logic, it should have broken a few bones and made him cough up some blood at most. It should not have actually killed him.

Still, judging from Yu Xiaogang's state, although his eyes were vacant, his face was filled with despair, and suspicious white foam hung from the corner of his mouth, his chest was at least still rising and falling. He was still breathing, which meant he was alive.

Although Federation law stated that life and death in the arena were beyond reproach, killing someone in front of over a hundred thousand spectators would not be very good for Qi Ji's public image.

After all, he was the Federation's flagship prodigy, an idol and role model in the eyes of countless teenagers. He could not be branded as "brutal and bloodthirsty."

Besides, beating someone who had completely lost the will to fight to death was not his style.

After confirming that Yu Xiaogang was still alive, Qi Ji relaxed. He stood up, patted nonexistent dust from his hands, and turned toward the contestants' passage.

Behind him, the cheers of more than a hundred thousand spectators crashed like a tsunami, deafening enough to nearly blow off the stadium's dome.

But he did not look back. He merely waved casually toward the stands before striding off the arena, leaving everyone with the composed and dashing sight of his back.

"Qi Ji! You were seriously amazing!"

Tang Wuling had been waiting for him at the exit for a while. Her little face was flushed bright red, her eyes sparkled, and she was so excited that she nearly jumped on the spot.

She grabbed Qi Ji's arm, speaking as quickly as a machine gun. "That Yu Xiaogang couldn't even last a single exchange against you! One flick, and he went flying! Do you know the entire stadium went crazy? I could hear their screams even from backstage. They practically blew the roof off!"

As she spoke, she waved her hands about, her eyes glowing. She looked as though she herself had been the one who crushed her opponent onstage, so proud that her tail was practically raised to the sky.

"Nothing special." Qi Ji waved his hand, with just the right amount of modesty in his tone.

"If Yu Xiaogang had been an ordinary Soul Emperor with a weapon martial soul and Two-Character Battle Armor, I might have needed to put in some effort. But since his martial soul was from the Dragon Clan, I did not need to hold back."

Liar.

Even if it had been a top-tier weapon martial soul like the Coiling Dragon Staff or Atlas Spear, three punches from him would have bent the martial soul out of shape.

It could not be helped. Although Qi Ji's martial soul was still quite far from the true Dragon God before ascending to godhood, it was already essentially a weakened version of the Dragon God.

The gap between the Dragon God Crown Prince and the Dragon God only became truly apparent after ascension. For example, the true Dragon God possessed the authorities of creation and destruction, which the Dragon God Crown Prince did not have.

According to speculation, those two authorities had likely come respectively from the progenitor of Sub-Dragons, the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, and the former Phoenix God King.

But aside from those two authorities, he possessed everything the Dragon God should have—control over ultimate attributes, absolute suppression of the Dragon Clan, and an affinity with the elements of heaven and earth. Moreover, because he had been carefully nurtured since childhood, his foundation was even more solid than the Dragon God's had been back then.

So dealing with a Light Holy Dragon Soul Emperor really was not an achievement worth bragging about.

"No matter who it is, no one can compare to you, Qi Ji!" Tang Wuling said happily, her tone carrying almost blind worship and trust, as if Qi Ji were omnipotent in her eyes.

"By the way, Wuling," Qi Ji said, glancing at her and reminding her at the right moment.

"Now that I've dealt with the challenger, shouldn't you go into seclusion and break through to level thirty? Don't fall behind Gu Yuena."

"Sigh... I know." Tang Wuling sighed, her shoulders slumping for a moment. But she quickly straightened up again, clenched her fists, and a blazing fighting spirit lit up her eyes. "But I absolutely won't be weaker than that bitch!"

The moment Gu Yuena was mentioned, Tang Wuling was instantly fired up, as if she had been injected with adrenaline.

Tang Wuling was unwilling to rank beneath anyone other than Qi Ji, especially that woman who wanted to steal Qi Ji from her. No matter what, she could not let herself be surpassed by her.

"Mm-hm, do your best." Qi Ji smiled and reached out to stroke Tang Wuling's head like he was petting a cat.

Tang Wuling did not dodge. Instead, she cooperatively narrowed her eyes, tipped her head up slightly, and let out a satisfied hum, like a cat enjoying being stroked the right way.

"Then... before I go into seclusion," she said, raising her head and touching her stomach, a faintly embarrassed blush appearing on her face.

"Qi Ji, treat me to a big meal! I'm a little hungry."

Just like in the original story, Tang Wuling possessed a stomach that could practically be called bottomless.

Qi Ji and Gu Yuena were much the same in this regard—their martial souls were all dragons, and the three of them were the world's three most powerful dragons. Naturally, none of them was inferior to the others when it came to appetite. The amount of food they needed to consume each day was astronomical.

The amount of food an ordinary adult could eat over three days might not even count as an appetizer to Tang Wuling.

Although Gu Chaosheng was a Titled Douluo with considerable wealth, even he could not withstand Tang Wuling eating like this year after year.

He was a level ninety-four Titled Douluo. Although his salary and benefits were not low, Tang Wuling's appetite was simply too terrifying. Moonlight Rice, Red Jade Shrimp, Jadeite Soup—each was an expensive top-tier ingredient. Over time, Tang Wuling had already eaten through more than half of Gu Chaosheng's savings.

Gu Yuena had the conservative faction of the Spirit Pagoda backing her, so her resources were much better than Tang Wuling's. As a result, Tang Wuling usually came to mooch off Qi Ji.

Fortunately, as the Federation's flagship prodigy, Qi Ji's resource allocation was practically unlimited. Moonlight Rice, Red Jade Shrimp, Jadeite Soup—he could eat as much as he wanted, and money was not an issue at all.

"No problem, eat as much as you want!"

Qi Ji pulled an all-black unlimited black card from his pocket, spun it around his fingertip, and smiled as he waved it.

Under the lights, the black card reflected a restrained yet luxurious sheen. It was one of the symbols of his privileges as the Federation's number-one prodigy, allowing him to spend freely at any Federation-owned business without a limit.

"Yay! Qi Ji is the best!"

Tang Wuling cheered and launched herself at him like a cannonball. She grabbed Qi Ji's arm in a hug and hung her entire body from him, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled like a cat that had gotten its way.

Qi Ji staggered from her pull and smiled helplessly, but he did not shake her off. He simply let her cling to him as the two of them walked out of the stadium together.