Feng Li

"Your luck really is something else, though. There are only so many fifth-order contestants in this year's Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament, and our first group has five of them. Yet your third group still has three," Jiang Feng said, sounding rather surprised himself.

Jiang Xinran sighed. "Ah, I was too greedy."

"Your cultivation isn't weak at all. You only lost because you didn't have powerful spells. Once the Demon Hunt Squad tournament is over, learn a few high-level spells, and won't your fighting strength improve?" Jiang Feng reasoned. "Besides, you've always focused on control. It's no big deal if you're a little weaker in one-on-one combat."

"All right. Actually, I wanted to make the top sixteen so I could face you. Then I could concede and send you straight into the next round." Jiang Xinran smiled faintly.

"Oh? I didn't realize you were so considerate." Jiang Feng was a little surprised.

"Of course. You promised to choose me as your teammate in the finals, after all. I ought to help somehow. Otherwise, I'd feel bad about it," Jiang Xinran said with a smile.

"What's there to feel bad about? We've known each other for so many years." Jiang Feng slipped an arm around Jiang Xinran's shoulders. "Don't be so formal with me again."

"All right, all right, I get it." Jiang Xinran rolled her eyes at Jiang Feng and let his arm rest around her shoulders without saying anything more. Of course, this was hardly the first or second time he had done that.

"With three straight losses, the top sixteen is out of reach. But that isn't necessarily bad for you. You can use this time to break through to the fifth order," Jiang Feng said.

"With the pills you gave me, my internal spiritual power has reached exactly two thousand, and I've sensed the bottleneck to the fifth order. I just need to convert my internal spiritual power into liquid spiritual power to break through." Jiang Xinran gave Jiang Feng a detailed account of her cultivation.

Jiang Feng considered it for a moment, then, taking Jiang Xinran's current condition into account, explained his insights from his own breakthrough to the fifth order in detail for her reference.

"Now that you've explained it, I think I'm starting to get a feel for it. I'll try tonight when I get back." Jiang Xinran seemed to have gained some understanding.

"Take it slowly. Don't rush. There's still plenty of time left in the tournament," Jiang Feng said.

"Got it." Jiang Xinran readily agreed.

The two had a simple dinner, then returned to their respective rooms to rest.

The next day marked the eighth round of the round-robin tournament.

Since his opponent conceded outright, Jiang Feng secured his eighth consecutive win.

Jiang Feng was in no hurry to leave that day. Last night, Jiang Xinran had reached the threshold of the fifth order and was eager to break through, so she had conceded her remaining two round-robin matches and stayed at the hotel to focus on her breakthrough.

Jiang Feng's match had been scheduled second. It was still too early to eat, so he stayed to watch the others compete, something he rarely did.

As he watched, he suddenly noticed a figure in a corner.

She was wrapped entirely in a black robe, her figure slim and slender. He could not make out her face and could only vaguely tell that she was a girl.

Jiang Feng was a little surprised. He had noticed this withdrawn girl before. She often sat alone in a corner, seemingly without friends or a mentor.

"Do you know her?" Jiang Feng asked Lin Xin.

"All I know is that her name is Feng Li. I tried chatting her up before, but she ignored me." Lin Xin gave an awkward laugh.

"Haven't you watched any of her matches? How strong is she?" Jiang Feng asked.

"Oh, I thought you were asking about her interests and hobbies." Lin Xin chuckled, then continued, "I've watched her matches. This will give you a shock. Do you know what her attribute is?"

"Don't tell me it's the dark attribute?" Jiang Feng asked.

"Uh, you know you're making me look bad by guessing it on the first try, right?" Lin Xin's expression stiffened.

"Oh, Brother Lin, what attribute does this girl have?" Jiang Feng obligingly asked again.

"The dark attribute," Lin Xin continued. "What's even more surprising is that she has an incredibly powerful summoned beast. It's called a Hell Three-Headed Dog."

"A Hell Three-Headed Dog!" Jiang Feng exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Feng was rather taken aback. In his memories, Chen Ying'er had once used the Gate of Life during the preliminary round to summon a level-eight magical beast, a Hell Three-Headed Dog, frightening her opponent into fainting outright.

He had not expected Feng Li to be able to summon such a powerful magical beast as well. From Lin Xin, Jiang Feng learned that the Hell Three-Headed Dog she summoned was her contracted summoned beast, not something summoned at random.

Lin Xin slapped his thigh. "I'd never heard of a magical beast like that before. Not only is it powerful, you can't even kill it. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"So you lost your match against her?" Jiang Feng picked up on something in Lin Xin's words.

"Uh, you guessed it again. That's right. I couldn't hold it off, and it nearly bit my head off." Lin Xin still sounded shaken. "If I hadn't conceded in time, I was afraid I'd be torn to pieces."

"Surely she wouldn't dare kill someone?" Hearing the gravity in Lin Xin's voice, Jiang Feng could not help growing curious.

"It wouldn't go as far as killing anyone. It's just that her summoned beast, that Hell Three-Headed Dog, is vicious. It shattered my Elemental Fire Shield with a single swipe. Tell me that isn't scary," Lin Xin said.

"Shattered it with one swipe? Doesn't that just take having a hand?" Jiang Feng teased.

"Yes, yes, Brother Jiang is the strongest, of course. Anyway, you'll find out when you face her yourself tomorrow. Apart from you, Feng Li has the best record: six wins and one draw so far. She drew against Wang Ming," Lin Xin said.

Jiang Feng nodded and mused, "Then she isn't too ridiculous. She's strong, but there's a limit to it."

"Brother, you're the only one who'd dare say something like that," Lin Xin said.

"Heh, after hearing all that, I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow's match."

Jiang Feng smiled as he spoke. He remembered that his group had two contestants from the Soul Temple. One was Chen Ying'er, and that girl was only at the fourth order, so the contestant designated Summoner Number One in the group had to be Feng Li.

But Jiang Feng remembered that summoners could gain another summoned beast each time they advanced an order.

Why had Feng Li only ever used the Hell Three-Headed Dog?

How strange. Could Feng Li be holding back some of her strength?

In the original timeline, only Chen Ying'er, with her Chaos Constitution and innate spiritual power above ninety, had stood out as unusual among the summoners.

Now there was Feng Li as well.

Ever since entering the Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament, Jiang Feng had discovered many things that did not match his memories.

Wang Ming and Feng Li, for instance, had never appeared before. With their strength, both should have shone brilliantly in the Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament.

Maybe it's because the timeline has already become chaotic.

That was the only explanation Jiang Feng could find, but it did not matter much. Things would develop however they would. Only his own strength could safeguard everything.

The following matches held little interest. Wang Yuanyuan sent her opponent flying with the Rift Cannon and won her match.

Lin Xin fought his opponent to a draw. His record now stood at four draws and four losses-a thoroughly dismal showing.

Wang Ming's opponent was a fourth-order assassin, and their match ended in a draw.

Against such a fragile opponent, Wang Ming did not dare use the Mingwang Cannon at all, fearing that one shot would blast them to pieces. A draw would have to do.

Soon, the fifth match began, and Feng Li finally took the stage. Her opponent was Sima Xian.

The poor guy.

Because Sima Xian was a priest, the match had to be completed within ten minutes. Clearly, though, Feng Li would not need that long to defeat him.

Anyone with ideas about where the story should go next can join the group to discuss them.