Qi Wu narrowed his eyes.
Qing Xiaoran, captain of the A-rank team Qingqiu.
He hadn't expected to run into her here.
Qing Xiaoran approached with a smile.
Her gaze shifted between the oddly colored specialty drink in Qi Wu's hand and Jiang Qingyue, who was holding back laughter beside him, and amusement deepened in her foxlike eyes.
She teased:
"Looks like our genius is developing a new flavor?"
"So, how does Starlight mixed with milk tea taste?"
Qi Wu held the cup of milk tea out to Qing Xiaoran.
"Absolutely delicious. I recommend you try it too, Captain Qing. It'll perk you right up, and I guarantee you'll never forget it."
"Pfft." Qing Xiaoran covered her mouth and chuckled. "No thanks. I couldn't handle that kind of excitement."
She changed the subject, looking at Qi Wu as her tone grew a little more formal:
"But seriously, congratulations. You took down a Yellow Weasel with seventh-tier combat power on your very first mission. You certainly made a splash."
"Looks like our Nanjiang branch will have another formidable contender in the year-end Selection Tournament for the Hundred Cities League."
The Hundred Cities League?
Qing Xiaoran's mention reminded Qi Wu of this major nationwide competition for the branches' superpowered teams.
Spots in the Hundred Cities League were limited, and competition was fierce.
From what Qing Xiaoran said, teams seemed to qualify through something called the Selection Tournament.
A few teams would be selected from each branch to compete.
Seeing that Qi Wu was unfamiliar with it, Qing Xiaoran parted her alluring red lips:
"The Selection Tournament is where the branch's teams face off to earn a place in the league~"
"Aside from our branch's only S-rank team, the Greedy Wolf Team, which qualifies automatically, every team that wants a spot has to enter the Selection Tournament."
"And each branch can only send five teams to the league proper."
Qing Xiaoran held up five slender fingers and waved them, a challenging gleam in her eyes.
"Our Qingqiu team will definitely claim one spot. I'm really looking forward to having a proper match with your Salvation Team in the Selection Tournament."
Her gaze swept over Jiang Qingyue with a hint of scrutiny:
"Is this your new teammate? What a pretty young lady. Looks like you're not just strong, Qi Wu. You've got good taste too."
Jiang Qingyue grew a little embarrassed, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
Feng Yuyao, who had kept her face turned away, heard Qing Xiaoran's words.
Especially when she saw Jiang Qingyue sitting beside Qi Wu, with her striking looks and bearing.
The two of them had almost looked... well matched as they shared that milk tea ordeal together.
An inexplicable anger flared inside her.
She raised her hand and shook her delicate fist at Qi Wu, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes full of defiance.
"Just wait for the Selection Tournament! I'll show you how I'll beat you!"
Qing Xiaoran laughed, her body shaking, a hint of pride in her shifting gaze:
"Little Yao is full of fighting spirit for the upcoming Selection Tournament. You'd better watch out."
Her alluring eyes smiled. "You may have completed a B-rank mission."
"But our team just completed an A-rank mission~"
An A-rank mission!
Those words made Jiang Qingyue instinctively hold her breath.
The Yellow Weasel in their B-rank mission had already been a Demon with seventh-tier combat power.
She could only imagine how difficult and dangerous an A-rank mission would be!
For the Qingqiu team to complete an A-rank mission, their strength had to be unfathomable!
Hearing her captain's words, Feng Yuyao instinctively puffed out her chest. Pride flashed across her face, and her gaze at Qi Wu grew even more defiant, as though saying, See? We're stronger!
Qi Wu raised his eyebrows, but there was no surprise or nervousness on his face. Instead, he looked as though he had heard something interesting.
He drawled:
"An A-rank mission... sounds pretty impressive. Congratulations."
Qi Wu paused, his lips curling as his gaze swept over Qing Xiaoran and Feng Yuyao. His tone held a hint of lazy teasing:
"But, Captain Qing, have you considered the possibility..."
"That we completed a B-rank mission because we'd only accepted a B-rank mission so far?"
The implication was that B-rank wasn't their limit; they simply hadn't tried anything higher yet.
At those words, Qing Xiaoran's smile briefly froze. Feng Yuyao's eyes widened, as though stunned by Qi Wu's arrogance.
[Annoyance points +200 (from Feng Yuyao's irritation)] [Annoyance points +100 (from Qing Xiaoran finding this guy really interesting)]
Qing Xiaoran quickly recovered her foxlike smile and clapped lightly:
"My, my, the younger generation is truly formidable. Such big talk~ Now I'm even more excited to meet you in the Selection Tournament. I hope you and your Salvation Team will give us plenty of surprises then, Captain Qi Wu."
She deliberately stressed the word "surprises," her meaning plain.
"Let's go, Little Yao."
Qing Xiaoran pulled Feng Yuyao to her feet, then turned and left with a graceful sway.
Only once they were far away did Jiang Qingyue part her pink lips and speak, a trace of worry in her voice:
"Mr. Wu, if we really enter the Selection Tournament, our opponents... seem pretty strong..."
"Strong is good."
Qi Wu cut her off. Rather than worry, his eyes gleamed with eagerness.
"Where's the fun if our opponents are too weak? Looks like the Selection Tournament won't be boring."
Jiang Qingyue nodded gently, feeling that Qi Wu had a point.
Qi Wu clapped his hands and stood:
"Let's go. It's about time to assimilate the potion's effects. Head back and cultivate. If you want to enter the Selection Tournament at the end of the year, your current strength won't cut it."
He looked at Jiang Qingyue, his expression turning somewhat serious:
"You've only just developed your ability. Once you've finished assimilating the potion's effects tomorrow, meet me at the Training Ground."
"I'm going to give your ability some proper training."
"Yes, Mr. Wu!" Jiang Qingyue's attention immediately shifted. The thought of Qi Wu training her ability further made her both nervous and excited.
The next day, inside the Virtual Battlefield training room.
Having finished assimilating the medicinal power of Starlight, Jiang Qingyue arrived early.
The potion's effects were even better than she had imagined. Not only had her total spiritual energy increased slightly.
More importantly, her perception and control of her own power, especially her newly acquired earth ability, had become finer and clearer.
She could even faintly sense the weak fluctuations given off by the soul of the blonde beast-eared girl imprisoned in the Curse Mark on her wrist.
It seemed that with a little effort, she could summon the beast-eared girl's soul form.
When she arrived, Qi Wu was already there.
He was leaning lazily against a control console, holding a serving of Daifuku and eating with relish.
"Mr. Wu!" Jiang Qingyue waved in greeting.
"Mm, you look like you're in good shape." Qi Wu looked her over and nodded.
Through his Six Eyes, he could see that she had absorbed nearly all the medicinal power of Starlight.
He set down the Daifuku and walked to the center of the Training Ground:
"Let's skip the chatter and get started. Today's goal is to give you an initial grasp of using your ability in combat. Don't just use that little bit of earth power you picked up to sculpt figurines."
Jiang Qingyue's pretty face reddened. "Yes!"
Before you continue