The second round of the Round-Robin Tournament

"All right, let's go eat. To make up for my mistake, I'll treat you to a meal out. I'm sick of eating in the hotel dining hall all the time," Jiang Feng said with a smile.

"At least you know how to behave. I'm going to make your wallet bleed today," Jiang Xinran said fiercely, raising her dainty little fist.

"Sure. I'll make sure you're too full to walk," Jiang Feng agreed.

Then the two of them left the hotel with Dragon Baby and found a restaurant in the Holy City.

Jiang Feng and Jiang Xinran actually had fairly modest appetites. What shocked them was that Dragon Baby ate three sheep and two cattle in a single meal, along with countless other dishes.

Although Jiang Xinran had tried to spare Jiang Feng's wallet when choosing a restaurant, with a bottomless pit like Dragon Baby, even the cheapest place could cost a fortune.

After leaving the restaurant, Jiang Feng and Jiang Xinran walked ahead while Dragon Baby followed behind, burping now and then. Its belly was round and bulging, and even its steps had grown a little sluggish.

A two-meter-tall dragon walking through the Holy City's streets naturally drew plenty of curious onlookers, who crowded closer to watch.

As the crowd grew, Jiang Feng and Jiang Xinran lost interest in strolling around and headed back toward the hotel.

Dragon Baby mischievously breathed out a mouthful of Dragon Flame, frightening away the people around it.

Back at the hotel, Jiang Feng and Jiang Xinran each returned to their own rooms.

Dragon Baby followed Jiang Feng into his room, deftly pulling the door shut with its long, slender tail.

"You'll have to sleep on the floor now. You burned up your bed when you evolved," Jiang Feng said to Dragon Baby after glancing around the room.

"Woo, woo, woo." Dragon Baby showed that it did not mind at all. It crawled over to where the large bed had once stood, lay down, closed its eyes, and fell asleep.

With a faint smile, Jiang Feng took the furniture he had put away out of his Storage Ring and arranged it in the room again.

Then he sat cross-legged on the sofa and began cultivating.

Ever since he had embarked on the path of cultivation, he had spent nearly every night training. After all, his talent could not compare with Long Haochen's or Sheng Cai'er's. He merely had an ordinary Divine Blessing Physique with eighty innate spiritual power.

If he did not cultivate diligently, how could he leave Long Haochen and Sheng Cai'er, the Alliance's two prodigies, beneath his feet?

Of course, Jiang Feng bore neither of them any hostility. Long Haochen and Sheng Cai'er had even been one of his favorite couples when he was younger.

But now he had grown up and understood a great deal more.

Since he had come to the Holy Demon Continent, he would be the most dazzling guy on it.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next morning, Jiang Feng and Jiang Xinran ate breakfast at the hotel, then each headed to their respective competition venues.

As for Dragon Baby, it was still asleep and did not need breakfast.

Ordinary food was nowhere near enough to sustain its powerful draconic body. Absorbing spiritual power from the world was far more effective at replenishing its energy.

As it put it, "I may look like I'm sleeping, but for a dragon like me, sleeping is cultivating."

Jiang Feng could also sense that although Dragon Baby slept deeply, the fire element in the surroundings was gathering within its body of its own accord.

If Jiang Feng's affinity for the light element was eighty, then Dragon Baby's affinity for the fire element was at least a hundred, and might even exceed that.

Jiang Feng arrived at the Knight Trial Grounds, where the second round of the Round-Robin Tournament would take place that day.

Yesterday's bizarre match had given him plenty of amusement. Unfortunately, he had not watched it to the end, so he had not personally seen the scenes he remembered of Lin Xin boasting, "I've got pills," and the referee declaring Sima Xian the winner.

Jiang Feng sat down beside Lin Xin and asked, "Brother Lin, how did yesterday's match go? Did you win?"

"Don't bring it up. Just thinking about it makes me miserable," Lin Xin said dejectedly.

"What happened? Did you lose?" Jiang Feng asked, despite knowing the answer.

"Ugh, that bald fatty was actually a priest! Have you ever seen a priest like that? He's a complete meathead. His brain is made of muscle!" Lin Xin ranted furiously.

Jiang Feng smiled. "It's funny just thinking about it. Unfortunately, something came up yesterday, so I didn't see the end. I must have missed quite a show."

"Brother Jiang, please stop. Losing to a Fourth Order priest... I've lost every shred of dignity," Lin Xin said, looking ready to cry.

"Ha ha ha!" Jiang Feng could not help laughing aloud.

Suddenly, Lin Xin slung an arm around Jiang Feng's shoulders and looked earnestly into his eyes. "Brother Jiang, are we brothers?"

"Tell me what you want first. Then I'll decide whether to call you my brother," Jiang Feng said, holding back his laughter.

"Brother Jiang, when you face Sima Xian, kick his ass good and hard for me," Lin Xin pleaded.

"That wouldn't be very nice, would it? We're all future comrades in the Demon Hunt Squads. There's no need to humiliate him like that." Jiang Feng sounded reluctant.

Lin Xin gritted his teeth. "Brother Jiang, you know I'm a Potion Master. The pills I can make right now may not be much use to you, but I remember that Jiang Feng's companion hasn't broken through to the Fifth Order yet. I still have another bottle of the Spirit Gathering Pills I brought out last time. If you're willing to help, this bottle is yours."

Jiang Feng paused at his words and stared at Lin Xin until the latter began to feel uneasy. Then Jiang Feng smiled. "We're brothers. Talking about things like that only hurts our friendship."

Jiang Feng snatched the bottle of pills from Lin Xin's hand and said with heartfelt sincerity, "Don't bring it up again. We're brothers. Since you've asked, of course I'll help."

"Uh..." Lin Xin looked a little dazed, then gave him a thumbs-up. "A true brother."

Soon, the draw for that day's matches began. Jiang Feng was lucky: he would fight in the second match and finish fairly early.

Both contestants in the first match were at the peak of the Fourth Order, with little difference in their strength. One was a summoner, the other an assassin.

Although their cultivation levels were similar, assassins were a natural counter to spellcasters. Before the summoner could summon a powerful magical beast, the assassin's dagger was already pressed against his neck.

This match also gave Jiang Feng an initial glimpse of how assassins and summoners fought. Their fighting styles were certainly quite different from a knight's.

"Do you know that guy?" Jiang Feng asked Lin Xin, looking toward the man carrying a huge shield on his back.

"I've heard about him. He's an oddball who got a special exemption from the Warrior Temple to enter the finals," Lin Xin said quietly. "Every match he's fought since the Preliminary Round has ended in a draw. Nobody can get past his shield. The surprising thing is that he apparently can't attack, so all his matches end in draws."

"He can't attack!" That surprised Jiang Feng and piqued his curiosity.

Jiang Feng felt like laughing. Lin Xin was calling someone else an oddball-what did that make him?

Soon, the first match ended, and the second began.

"Second match: Jiang Feng versus Wang Ming. Enter the arena."

To Lin Xin's disappointment, Jiang Feng's opponent was not Sima Xian, but Wang Ming, whom the two of them had just been discussing.

"Good luck, Brother Jiang! Try to break through his shield," Lin Xin encouraged him.

"Of course I will," Jiang Feng said with a smile.

In two consecutive matches, he had drawn Warrior One and Warrior Two from the Warrior Temple. Both were Fifth Order contestants, so their strength was surely formidable.

He simply did not know whether Wang Ming truly could not attack or was keeping something up his sleeve.

Both carried enormous shields, and both had the surname Wang. One could not attack, and the other could not defend. Could they actually be family?

Jiang Feng stepped into the Trial Arena wearing light armor and carrying two Knight Greatswords.

Opposite him, Wang Ming also took the Giant Shield off his back. The moment it landed, a thunderous boom rang out, and the shield sank straight into the ground—a clear indication of just how heavy it was.

The battle was about to erupt.

I've created a character profile for the female lead, which you can see in the comments. She hasn't appeared yet anyway, so feel free to offer suggestions or join the group chat.