I was protecting you!

"A duel?"

A man with a crew cut, seated in a suit jacket, smiled at the suggestion and cast a sidelong glance at Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er.

"We all come from Immortal Sects, so there shouldn't be much difference in our strength in a one-on-one duel. But whoever draws those two independent cultivators gets a huge advantage. Isn't that a little unfair?"

Several people around him laughed at that.

The Immortal Sect disciples present generally looked down on independent cultivators, considering their strength unworthy of comparison with their own.

"Luck is part of strength, too," another young man with red hair and a tight leather outfit said with a smile. He didn't even look toward Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er as he spoke.

It was obvious that they belonged to the same circle and probably already knew one another, while Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er were completely out of place among them.

He Caihua frowned at their behavior but said nothing to stop them.

In truth, their media company didn't have much leverage over these well-connected Immortal Sect disciples. At most, the two sides were equal partners. Even if she thought their behavior was inappropriate, it wasn't worth reprimanding them over two independent cultivators.

He Caihua simply turned toward Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er. "If nobody has any objections, shall we begin?"

"No objections." Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er both shook their heads.

Given a choice, he actually would rather not fight these Immortal Sect disciples.

Not because he was afraid, but because they all had powerful backers, and injuring any of them would be troublesome. He could control himself easily enough, but Zhao Xing'er was another matter...

That was deeply worrying.

Unfortunately, they had no say here. Since the organizers wanted them to compete this way, they could only fight.

"To keep the numbers of men and women balanced on our team, the four men and four women will draw lots and fight separately." As he spoke, A Mei laid out several paper balls. "Ladies first. Whoever draws one or two will fight first, and whoever draws three or four will fight afterward. Fair and square."

Only then did Yue Wen notice that the cultivators participating in the selection really were evenly divided by gender: five men and five women, exactly.

He had heard of both Liu Yuanjun and Li Flying Rosy Clouds, the two whose places were already guaranteed, back in City Seven.

They were senior brother and junior sister from the Mysterious Wind Temple.

The Mysterious Wind Temple was indisputably the foremost Immortal Sect in Jiangcheng City. Although it had few disciples, its foundations ran deep, and it had consistently achieved the best results at the Youth Cultivators' Assembly.

Its small number of disciples was due to its stringent admission requirements. Almost every promising young cultivation prospect in Jiangcheng City would first be sent to try their luck at the Mysterious Wind Temple, only joining another sect after being rejected.

Liu Yuanjun was the most outstanding disciple of the temple's current generation. Rumor had it that he possessed an innate immortal body and had been courted by several major sects in Northern Sky Province when he was barely ten. In the end, however, he had chosen to stay in his hometown of River City and cultivate at the Mysterious Wind Temple.

He was now twenty. Even if he hadn't reached the Astral Realm, he was probably at the peak of the Unity Realm and not far from a breakthrough.

Seated in the front row in Daoist robes, he wore a serious expression. With his handsome, jade-like face, red lips, white teeth, and well-proportioned features, he fit the classic description of a beautiful young man. Perhaps being the center of attention for so long had given him a presence of his own; even sitting there expressionlessly, he drew people's eyes.

His junior sister, Li Flying Rosy Clouds, beside him had a livelier air. She was eighteen or nineteen, and although her traditional Daoist robes, pinned-up hair, and plain hairpin gave her a mature appearance, her smiling round face was indescribably playful and cute. With her large eyes, long lashes, and deep, dark pupils, she would clearly be a stunning beauty once she lost a little of her baby fat.

Her online handle was Fairy Flying Rosy Clouds, and she was one of the cultivation influencers Carefree Media had signed early on. They managed her video-platform account without interfering with her daily cultivation. Exceptionally talented and very likable, she now had over a hundred thousand followers online.

By the look of things, she had probably dragged her senior brother Liu Yuanjun along.

After all, Yue Wen had never heard of Liu Yuanjun participating in this kind of influencer event before. He didn't even have a public video account.

Whether in background, strength, or fame, these two fellow disciples were first-rate. They were the biggest names at the event apart from He Caihua, so nobody present objected to their two guaranteed places.

As for the other Immortal Sect disciples, Yue Wen had never heard of any of them. Their standing was probably similar to Qi Dian's.

He casually picked up a paper ball and unfolded it. The word "four" was written inside, so it looked like he would be fighting last.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xing'er unfolded her own slip to reveal a clear "two." She looked up excitedly. "I get to fight right away!"

Yue Wen gave a faint, peculiar smile and stressed, "Friendship first, competition second."

"Worried she'll get hurt?" Another female cultivator approached, holding up a slip marked "one," a smug smile on her face. "As long as this little girl doesn't get too carried away, I'll do my best to hold back."

The dedicated training floor was as large as several basketball courts. The surrounding materials were specially made to withstand the full-force attacks of cultivators below the fifth realm without collapsing, and even damage was easy to repair.

The materials used to build such a space were expensive. After all, with a few modifications, the same materials could become defensive artifacts capable of withstanding a full-force strike from an Astral Realm expert.

Although engraving patterns and inscribing formations was certainly much simpler here than when making an artifact, cutting down on the most expensive step, building a space like this inside a tower still cost a fortune. Only a company with pockets as deep as Carefree Media's could spend so freely.

Apart from the two female cultivators about to face off, a middle-aged man stood in the arena with his hands clasped. With his unremarkable looks and plain black sweatshirt, he appeared to be the referee.

According to A Mei, however, he was the training room's guardian and had Astral Realm cultivation. If anything unexpected happened, he would intervene immediately to prevent irreversible casualties.

Only after hearing that did Yue Wen feel a little more at ease. At least someone could stop Zhao Xing'er.

Zhao Xing'er's opponent was named Bu Zhongyao, from the Que Saber Sect in City Five, another sect specializing in martial cultivation. She had neat, short hair, a fair but ordinary face, and narrow eyes.

By Carefree Media's selection standards, someone with such average looks shouldn't have made it this far. Presumably, there were simply too few young female cultivators who were highly skilled, beautiful, and willing to participate, so they had reluctantly kept her until now.

That made sense. If Carefree Media were completely satisfied with the Immortal Sect disciples they already had, they wouldn't have allowed Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er to join the selection.

Bu Zhongyao wore a blue-green martial outfit, her style leaning toward androgynous. With the match about to begin, she turned her hands over and brought out two blue-

green gemstone blades held in a reverse grip. They shimmered brilliantly, clearly far from ordinary weapons.

"Hey-"

Yue Wen, who had been watching from the viewing room outside the arena, suddenly pushed the door open and called inside.

"Since this is a friendly spar, how about everyone goes without weapons?" he suggested anxiously. "If someone slips up, things could go wrong far too easily."

"Hmph," Bu Zhongyao said loudly. "All my techniques revolve around these twin blades. That's a clever little scheme you've got!"

"You can rest assured," He Caihua said coolly from behind him, her arms folded. "Our guardian is watching. Nothing can go wrong."

Feeling the strange looks directed at his back, Yue Wen could only retreat sheepishly.

"Don't worry, boss. I'll be careful!" Zhao Xing'er reassured him.

She turned back around and, with a flip of her hands, took out the Twin Yin-Yang Swords to face Bu Zhongyao's twin blades across the arena. She was clearly eager for the match, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

The sight terrified Yue Wen.

Of course I know you'll look after your own safety. I'm worried you won't look after hers!

And is there any end to these bizarre divine weapons of yours?

Woman, enough already!

"A pretty face might get you in here, but it won't win you the match." Bu Zhongyao sneered and settled into her stance. "To me, independent cultivators like you are nothing but a bunch of trash scavengers. There's no way you could possibly put up a fight against me!"

"Hey-"

The moment she finished speaking, Yue Wen shoved the viewing-room door open again and shouted inside.

"This is a friendly spar! Don't insult people!" Yue Wen pointed at Bu Zhongyao. "What if your opponent gets angry when you talk about her like that?"

"Will you ever stop?" Bu Zhongyao pointed back at him and shouted. "Am I fighting her or you?"

"If you're going to fight, just fight. Don't provoke people with your words," Yue Wen said.

"If taunting this mild shakes her Dao heart, she might as well go home!" Bu Zhongyao snapped. "If you're so eager to protect her, why don't you come down and fight in her place?"

Behind him, He Caihua also frowned in displeasure. "Mr. Yue, please return to the viewing room and watch quietly. Don't disrupt the selection."

"Ah." Yue Wen closed the door helplessly and muttered, "I wasn't protecting her. I was protecting you!"