Are You Two Still Fighting?

Xiao Lan walked over with a cup of warm water and sat down beside Chu Ge, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

"You were amazing just now, young master. How could you be so cool?"

"Not bad, I guess." Chu Ge turned to look at the delicate young woman beside him and smiled faintly. "What, do you want to talk to me about becoming a permanent employee again?"

"No... no, I don't." Xiao Lan's face turned red at once. She twisted the hem of her skirt between her fingers and lowered her voice. "I mean, if you were to make me a permanent employee, young master, I wouldn't mind."

"I knew you had that on your mind." Chu Ge shook his head, a little helpless. "Xiao Lan, you're always letting your imagination run wild and thinking the worst of everything."

"Even though you're a receptionist, the Chu Family's martial arts school hasn't treated you badly. Your pay and benefits are the same as a permanent employee's."

"Your base salary is twenty thousand, with food and lodging covered, seven types of insurance and three funds, plus a commission for every new student you bring in."

"Plenty of people out there would crack their heads fighting for this job and still not get it. The fact that you made it out of that pile of applicants shows you've got what it takes."

"As for whether you can stay after your probation, that's really up to you."

He paused, then added something frank:

"But from what I've seen, you take your work seriously and pay attention to the details. Keep it up and becoming a permanent employee is practically in the bag. There's no need to curry favor with anyone."

By the time he finished, Xiao Lan's breathing had quickened a little.

She was an orphan who had stopped going to school after middle school. She had no talent for martial arts and couldn't absorb Primordial Force, so she could only be an ordinary person and do ordinary work for the rest of her life.

This world paid lip service to everyone being equal, but everyone knew that martial artists stood at the top, inherently a cut above ordinary people.

That was why Xiao Lan treasured this job more than anyone.

It wasn't just a job. It was her rice bowl, the means by which she could find her footing in this city.

She had always been afraid she wasn't doing well enough and would be fired when her three-month probation ended. Then she would have to become a waitress or sweep the streets, and she might not even have a place to live.

Now, hearing what Chu Ge said, she felt a huge stone lift from her heart, and her whole being settled.

"C-can I really do it?" Still a little disbelieving, she asked again in a quiet voice.

"Of course you can." Chu Ge smiled. He understood exactly how she felt.

After all, in his previous life, he had been a 996 wage worker too, killing himself at work every day for little pay. He had also had to match wits and courage with the idiots at his company and endure earnest lectures about the big picture from his balding boss.

Remembering his life as a corporate beast of burden, Chu Ge observed three seconds of silence for himself in his heart, then turned back to the arena.

The second match had already begun. Both fighters had ninety-five levels of qi and blood, and neither had awakened a trait. They fought back and forth.

"Young master, which one do you think will win?" Xiao Lan leaned over and asked quietly. She didn't know much about martial arts.

"The one with the saber."

"Why?"

"Because his fundamentals are solid."

Chu Ge watched the fight on the stage and spoke with certainty:

"Every slash looks ordinary, but he's actually cutting off his opponent's angles of attack. It's what they call prediction in games."

"Now look at the other one." He changed tack. "The one with the spear chose a long weapon because he wanted the advantage of reach."

"But he's not skilled with the spear at all, and he has plenty of openings. He's only holding on through sheer ferocity."

"That kind of fighting can't last long, though. Once he's worn himself out and can barely swing his spear, the other guy will seize the opening and finish it with one slash."

As soon as Chu Ge finished speaking, the situation on the stage changed, just as he had said.

The spear wielder had visibly slowed down. He gasped for breath, and even the tip of his spear wavered.

The saber wielder seized the chance, sidestepped a thrust, and knocked the spear flying with a backhanded slash. He followed up by extending his blade and resting it directly against his opponent's neck.

"You lost," he said coldly.

With the icy blade pressed against his neck, the spear wielder had nothing to say. He nodded, turned, and walked off the stage.

Xiao Lan immediately turned to Chu Ge, her eyes wide and round.

"Wow, young master, that was incredible! You really called it!"

"Keep it down." Chu Ge sounded modest, but the corners of his mouth still curled upward.

No wonder emperors in ancient times liked having people around to flatter them. Hearing nice things really did feel good.

The matches continued, one after another.

Soon, two people stood on the stage, one fat and one thin.

Chu Ge knew the fat one.

He was Yang Wei, the son of the deputy school head, Yang Kun. He was also a student at Donghai Martial Arts No. 1 High School, a year ahead of Chu Ge in his second year.

Yang Kun was a longtime member of the Chu Martial Arts School, having worked there diligently for more than a dozen years. He was also a single father, and Yang Wei had practically grown up in the school.

Chu Ge had known him for years, but they weren't particularly close. They were just ordinary friends.

Yang Kun had considerable talent and had cultivated his qi and blood to the hundredth level half a year ago. He could have broken through to the Black Iron Realm long ago.

But he had forced himself to hold off on breaking through so he could compete in this year's East Sea Martial Arts School Competition.

Yang Wei's opponent in this match also had a hundred levels of qi and blood and plenty of combat experience, but in the end, he still lost to Yang Wei.

Watching the little fatty onstage, his face glowing after his victory, Chu Ge suddenly remembered that the guy seemed to have awakened a trait.

Last year, Yang Wei had gone with Wang Jianguo's son to have their talents tested. The Wang Family's boy hadn't awakened anything, but Yang Wei had, and its star rating wasn't low either.

Yang Kun had been overjoyed at the time. He had laid out a rolling banquet for three days straight at the Shaxian snack shop beside the martial arts school. Never mind the people from the school-even passing dogs could score a serving of duck-leg rice.

...Come to think of it, what was Yang Wei's trait again? Chu Ge thought for a long time but couldn't remember. All he recalled was that it was a somewhat underhanded type.

Time passed, and before long, half of the thirty-two contestants had been eliminated, leaving sixteen.

Of those sixteen, all but one, who had ninety-nine levels, were skilled fighters with a hundred levels of qi and blood.

Not one of those who had made it this far was a fraud. They either had exceptionally solid fundamentals or a special trait to rely on.

The drawing of lots continued to determine the next matchups.

Chu Ge was first onstage again, and his opponent was the burly man with ninety-nine levels.

Chu Ge remembered this man clearly because he had a trait identical to one Chu Ge had synthesized before-[Fierce].

In the previous match, the burly man had relied on Fierce's damage-reflection effect to defeat an opponent who also had Fierce and one more level of qi and blood than he did.

Simply put, he was lucky. With a thirty percent chance of triggering it, he had managed to do so almost every time.

His opponent, on the other hand, had suffered an unfair defeat.

Despite having the exact same trait, his luck had been as black as the bottom of a pot. It hadn't triggered once, and he had been worn down and defeated by the reflected damage.

On the stage, the two exchanged formal greetings, and the match officially began.

Since he knew his opponent's trump card, Chu Ge had no reason to hesitate. He activated [Instant] and thrust his spear straight out.

It was only reflected damage. He didn't care about it at all.

Leaving aside the fact that his opponent's luck couldn't stay that good forever, even if it triggered every time, it would only reflect thirty percent of the damage.

His own attacks, meanwhile, would deal the full amount of damage to his opponent.

In other words, as long as he was fast enough to keep his opponent from touching him, he could win.

Seeing Chu Ge move at such an absurd speed, the burly man's eyelids twitched, and the pressure hit him all at once.

Apart from traits like [Blue Silver Grass], which could be recognized at a glance, most traits had to be guessed at.

Traits like [Fierce] and [Evasion] had no visible form, but their effects were distinctive enough to figure out after two or three exchanges.

But [Instant] was different.

It simply increased speed.

And there were too many ways to increase speed. A cultivation technique could do it, as could years of training. An enhancement trait like Xiao Yan's, which boosted all attributes, could increase speed too.

Unless someone knew traits exceptionally well and watched the pattern of changes in his speed closely, it would be difficult to guess that this was the effect of a trait.

The fight ended in a little over a minute.

Chu Ge stacked his speed to four times its normal rate, moving so fast that the burly man's eyes couldn't keep up. He picked his moment, sidestepped the man's slash, and grabbed his leg. With a little effort, he flung him straight out of the arena.

When Chu Ge walked off the stage, he had a few minor injuries from Fierce triggering and reflecting damage back at him.

It wasn't serious. A little rest would take care of it.

The following rounds went quickly.

Sixteen became eight, eight became four, and four became two.

Chu Ge hadn't had to exert himself much along the way. At most, he had gone up to four times his normal speed, which was enough to handle every opponent.

He had run into one opponent with an earth-element trait along the way, who could form earth walls to block attacks and had given him a little trouble.

But that was all.

After stacking his speed to four times normal, Chu Ge went straight around to the side, broke through the defense, and ended the fight with one thrust of his spear.

By the end, only two people remained standing on the stage.

Chu Ge and Yang Wei.

Two students from Donghai Martial Arts No. 1 High School had claimed the Chu Martial Arts School's two competition slots.

The result was surprising in one way and reasonable in another.

What was surprising was that two current students had actually beaten a whole group of longtime students at the martial arts school who were in their thirties.

What made sense was that both of them had a hundred levels of qi and blood and were already among the best of the younger generation.

The people below the stage had already begun discussing it.

"The two slots are settled: Chu Ge and Yang Wei. We can all go home."

"Of course. With a hundred levels of qi and blood at such a young age, it'd be strange if they weren't strong."

"Hey, do you think they're still going to fight? They've got to decide who's first, right?"

"Of course they have to fight. Otherwise, who's the boss?"

"I'm betting on Chu Ge. He's younger than Yang Wei and more handsome too. He's just like me."

"Not necessarily. Yang Wei's trait is awfully strange. The Wang Family's boy got caught by it last time."

Wang Jianguo walked onto the stage, swept his gaze over the two of them, then glanced at the audience below before asking:

"Chu Ge, Yang Wei, the slots have been decided. They're yours. You two tell me: do you still want to keep fighting?"

He asked casually.

The martial arts school's two competition slots had already been decided, so first and second place weren't really that important.

Losing could also affect their mindset and cause them to perform poorly on the day of the East Sea Martial Arts School Competition.

But young people were mostly competitive, and few were willing to leave things at that.

Sure enough, Yang Wei stepped half a pace forward, clenched his fists, and looked at Chu Ge, his eyes full of fighting spirit.

"Fight? Of course we fight. We're already here, so we might as well find out who's better."

His voice wasn't quiet. The people below the stage heard him clearly, and a chorus of cheers immediately rose.

"Yeah, fight!"

"Show us who's number one among the martial arts school's younger generation!"

Wang Jianguo nodded, then looked at Chu Ge.

"Chu Ge, what about you?"