So she had wanted to climb to Wuji Peak's flat summit as quickly as possible to prove her strength, hoping that would earn her a place on a team.
But reality had slapped her hard across the face once again. She had not eaten anything in five days, and she was terribly, terribly hungry.
Yet with nothing but ice and snow before her, where could she find food?
So hungry her belly practically clung to her spine, Yang Qingliu finally found a lone Snow Wolf in a gorge. Just as she excitedly pounced on it, another group set their sights on the same Snow Wolf. Their team had six members, all from the Fourth Competition Zone.
To secure the Snow Wolf, they actually pretended to invite Yang Qingliu onto their team. How could she have known that, after she accepted and they brought down the wolf, they would immediately turn on her? Their excuse was that their team did not need a woman of unknown origins.
That sent Yang Qingliu into a fury.
She dared to take on all six alone. Even when they beat her until she rolled across the ground, she never made a sound. She was tough as nails, and Jiang Hao's squad happened to witness it.
Chubby clicked his tongue in wonder, generous with his praise. "This girl's a real tigress! She actually went for it. Now that's someone worth knowing!"
The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Just as when he had first taken a liking to Gongsun Qianxun, Chen Xiaolin's eyes lit up as he stared at the woman below, who kept fighting back despite the brutal beating.
Her unyielding spirit moved him deeply. "Hao, Jie, let's help her. This is just too much bullying."
At those words, the two of them simultaneously looked Chen Xiaolin up and down. You little rascal, you've got ulterior motives!
But they had neither a reason nor an obligation to help a stranger. They did not want trouble, though they were not afraid of it either. They needed a legitimate reason.
Jiang Hao stated his position. Now it depended on Chen Xiaolin's response.
Chen Xiaolin did not hem and haw. He admitted on the spot that he had taken a liking to Yang Qingliu.
Jiang Hao nodded and patted his shoulder. "A brother's wife is off-limits. Come on, let's go down and save her."
The competition rules did not prohibit conflicts between contestants. As long as no one died, the guardians would not intervene. But if things got out of hand, the side that deliberately provoked the conflict would still receive an appropriate punishment. That meant Jiang Hao and the others needed a just cause.
"Hey! Six grown men bullying one woman-aren't you ashamed of yourselves?"
Hearing the shout, the six men surrounding and beating Yang Qingliu immediately stopped and looked over.
"Captain, it's Jiang Hao."
Jiang Hao's name was already widely known. After all, plenty of people had borrowed the Hand-Cast Net during the Fishing Competition, including someone on their team.
Their captain was a buzz-cut fellow with upturned eyes, and his Beast Pet was a golden python. This was an oddball team, really. A python for the captain was one thing, but the others had Beast Pets like a centipede, a Poison Scorpion King, a spider, and a toad. Add a gecko, and they would have all five poisons!
"So what if it's Jiang Hao? This is a dispute between people from our Fourth Competition Zone. They have no reason to interfere."
The captain made no effort to keep his words private.
Jiang Hao walked at the front with an arm around Chen Xiaolin's shoulders. Hearing that, he flashed a grin and said bluntly, "My brother's taken a liking to this girl and wants her on our team. How about doing me a favor and walking away, brothers?"
The captain folded his arms and lifted his chin arrogantly, refusing to show him any respect. "What kind of little onion are you, pretending to be a big bulb of garlic here? Get lost."
Jiang Hao's smile vanished. Ignoring him, he turned to Yang Qingliu instead. "Hey, little tigress. I'm Jiang Hao, and this is my brother Chen Xiaolin. Interested in joining our team?"
Her face bruised and swollen from the beating, Yang Qingliu could not tell whether Jiang Hao genuinely wanted to invite her. What if he was like the people who had beaten her and only wanted to swindle her out of her food?
As she hesitated, a Healing Art landed on her. Amid the ice and snow, its warmth felt like a ray of sunshine warming both her body and her heart.
She looked at Wen Ruxue, who smiled back.
That smile completely broke through her defenses. She nodded. "I'd like to join you, but I'm-"
Before she could finish, Jiang Hao roared, "Beat the bastards!"
Big Hen, larger than a goose, was released and unleashed her area attack, Wind Orb. Eggs bounced into the opposing group and burst like blooming fireworks. The dazzling Wind Orbs struck all six in an instant.
In a flash, strings of explosive damage numbers rose above their heads!
-1350 -1350
Caught completely off guard, the captain took a Wind Orb. If his Beast Pet had not absorbed all the damage for him, his Safety Bell would probably have rung.
Once his Safety Bell rang, he would be only a step away from being forced out of the competition.
"Fuck! Kill them!"
Bang!
A huge toad dropped from the sky and slammed into Jiang Hao's six-person squad. Snow flew everywhere, and the tremendous impact sent Jiang Hao and the others tumbling in disarray.
Chubby scrambled out of the snow and bellowed, "Fuck! Your! Mother!"
He merged with his Beast Pet and charged as a bear-man, rushing up to the toad, pinning its enormous head down, and hammering it with a barrage of punches!
Whoosh!
A saliva-coated tongue wrapped around Chubby and hurled him hard into the snow.
Meanwhile,
Song Jie brandished a pair of great blades against the Ironclad Centipede. Iron arms met iron armor, offense clashed with defense, and the two were instantly locked in a fierce struggle.
Gongsun Qianxun, who had entered Stealth, had also found her target: the enemy support, who likewise had a spirit butterfly. Compared with Wen Ruxue's Seven-Colored Spirit Butterfly, his butterfly was far inferior in quality. With only five colors, it was merely high-grade.
The moment he saw Gongsun Qianxun appear before him, the support shrieked, "Captain, save me!"
The captain: ???
Holy shit, they've ambushed our back line!
This was disastrous. Without time to think, he turned to rescue his support, but how could Jiang Hao let him have his way?
"Don't go! Let's fight until dawn!"
As he spoke, an egg landed at the captain's feet.
Six-Shot Fireball-scared yet?
Almost at the same moment, Gongsun Qianxun struck, kicking the support right in his vital spot. His entire face turned liver-purple, and he slowly crouched down, trembling.
"You..." That's going too far!
It was a critical hit. A frantic ringing sounded, and Gongsun Qianxun stopped attacking. Another blow might kill him. Once the bell rang, his elimination was assured, and a guardian would naturally appear to take him away.
At the same time,
The captain, struck by six fireballs in succession, fared no better. Jiang Hao took him out with a single combo. The instant the bell rang, Jiang Hao felt a gaze upon him like the stare of a venomous snake.
"Just you wait!"
With the captain and support eliminated one after another, the remaining members of the Five Poisons Team suffered a sharp drop in morale. Meanwhile, the battered Yang Qingliu had not been idle either. She went after the Poison Scorpion King. This bastard had beaten her the hardest earlier; those pincers had nearly twisted her arms off, and most of her bruises were his handiwork.
After merging, her appearance fell into the same Catgirl category as Gongsun Qianxun's. The difference was that Gongsun Qianxun specialized in agility, while she was a pure strength type. Her tiger claws were powerfully built, and one slap caved in the Poison Scorpion King's defensive armor.
That sheer display of strength put stars in Chen Xiaolin's eyes. A tigress, a real tigress-but he liked it!
"Stop hitting me! You'll break me!" Under her barrage of blows, the Poison Scorpion King immediately begged for mercy. There was no helping it. Their captain and support were already out. If he got beaten into oblivion too, their defeat would be utterly disastrous.
Everything had happened far too quickly. They had not even been ready. Who could have expected that bastard Jiang Hao to have no martial honor at all, attacking the moment he said he would?
Compared with Jiang Hao's highly focused squad, their team's response was downright pathetic. The spider contestant, the only one who had not found an opponent, was actually standing there in a daze.
Yes, you read that right. He watched his teammates get beaten one after another and stood rooted to the spot, completely at a loss. Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do next?
Only when Jiang Hao took him out with a single Fireball and his bell began ringing did he stare blankly at Jiang Hao. His innocent eyes seemed to say, Isn't your Beast Pet's damage a little too high? I haven't even attacked yet. Couldn't you show me a little respect?
It was over.
The battle had ended only a few minutes after it began.
All of this was thanks to Jiang Hao. His Beast Pet's skill damage was simply too high. Even the captain, their strongest fighter, had failed to survive a single six-shot Fireball bombardment from him.
Before the livestream screen in Primordial City's broadcast studio,
The audience collectively fell silent at the sight. Who could have imagined that an utterly ordinary Fireball would feel like a bomb in Jiang Hao's hands?
Viewer A: "Now, does anyone still doubt that his Beast Pet is a Phoenix? That damage is ridiculous."
Viewer B: "I suspect he's playing the pig to eat the tiger. This fellow's up to no good!"
"Old Yang, your son didn't lose unfairly. Did you see that? Six fireballs came out of one egg. There were only two when he competed against your son. Looks like he was sparing your son's dignity so he wouldn't lose too badly."
At those words, Yang Pucai's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Am I supposed to thank him for going easy on my son, then?
Viewer A: "I really fancy Jiang Hao's chances of taking the championship now. Have you noticed how perfectly their team coordinates? That young girl did well too, taking out the enemy support first thing. Without their support, they'd already lost half the battle. Then Jiang Hao went straight for their captain. With their backbone gone, the whole team completely collapsed."
Viewer B: "That Iron-Armed Mantis has pretty impressive attack power too. It's forcing that centipede back step by step. All right, the outcome's decided."
Viewer C: "If you ask me, that little tigress is the impressive one. She dared to take on six alone. Full marks for courage."
Yang Qingliu's iron fists pounded her opponent until he howled in agony. She only stopped when his bell was forced to ring.
Just then, a burly man descended from the sky. He swept his gaze over the captain and his five teammates and said impassively, "Hand over your Safety Bells. I'll take you out of here."
Before you continue