Mingyi had been making decent progress with her Essence Power practice lately. Though her meridians couldn't be fully restored, she was quite satisfied with being able to patch them up bit by bit using Essence Power to make them barely functional.
However, that didn't mean she was immediately ready to face these powerful battlefield Essence Powers!
Some things feel shameful the first time you do them, but become natural by the second—without a second thought, she ducked behind Ji Bozhai.
Ji Bozhai calmly observed these Essence Powers. Each strand was several times stronger than what these people normally possessed—fast and ferocious enough to level the surrounding sand dunes.
Taking them head-on would be unwise. He drew Fire Tree Silver Flower, pressing forward three times first to counter with intense flames enhanced by Essence Power, then locating the new mechanism Mingyi had modified and using it somewhat awkwardly.
The mighty Fire Tree Silver Flower neutralized most of the Essence Power attacks, while nimble fireballs emerged from the newly modified mechanism to clean up the remaining strikes.
Yet his movements were too unpracticed, causing a slight delay.
In that brief moment, their opponents seized the opportunity, swiftly launching additional attacks. The Essence Power was laced with various poisons—a single touch would either kill or paralyze half the body.
Frowning, without time to think, he split his Shield to protect Mingyi behind him.
But before his Shield could fully form, the person behind him suddenly popped out her small head, raising Star River Sunset.
Her Essence Power hadn't recovered, but it remained pure white—the hallmark of white Essence Power being its soft yet tenacious nature, absorbing any force like mud swallowing an ox.
Star River Sunset amplified her Essence Power fourfold. The pure white light blocked all incoming attacks for him while creating an opening for him to strike.
Ji Bozhai reacted instantly, hurling a strand of black Essence Power through the gap.
Amplified by the Divine Tool, the black Essence Power became like a ferocious beast, pouncing to devour a large swath of enemy power and sending all opponents tumbling to the ground. The originally house-sized Mystic Dragon now tripled in scale, soaring out and nearly bursting the surrounding Nether Domain.
Though the two had never fought side by side before, their coordination was flawless. With just this single exchange, agonized wails rose from the opposing side.
As the white Essence Power faded, only he and she remained standing under the moonlight, their azure robes fluttering in the wind, hems tangling with whirling sand.
...
Qin Shangwu solemnly dispelled the Nether Domain and summoned Mingyi aside.
"Your Essence Power is white," he stated flatly.
Mingyi's heart sank. The mist had been so thick earlier, and Qin Shangwu hadn't been in the arena—she thought using pure white Essence Power would go unnoticed, yet he'd seen it?
Her eyes darting, she pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to the corner of her eye with a delicate sniff.
Qin Shangwu blinked, his stern expression dissolving into confusion. "What's wrong?"
"Teacher surely knows white Essence Power belongs exclusively to Sunspire City. As a mere peasant girl, how could I dare display this color without being accused of defiling the Ming family heir?"
This was truth—Ming Xian also possessed white Essence Power, so Azure Cloud Realm had always considered white the supreme Essence Power color. For a peasant girl to suddenly manifest it would seem laughable.
He made a noncommittal sound, then examined Mingyi's meridians.
Truly no innate genius—her meridians were so ordinary they bordered on unsightly. She must have just coincidentally acquired this color.However, since she possessed pure white Essence Power and was an Artifact Smith, she was indeed a rare talent. Even though she was a woman, Qin Shangwu tentatively suggested, "You performed exceptionally well today. If you could join the Academicians' Court and work with them—"
"I still have many Divine Tools left to craft, so I'll take my leave now." Mingyi pretended not to hear, quickly bowed, and dashed out.
Qin Shangwu couldn't even stop her—the seemingly delicate girl ran astonishingly fast.
Clicking his tongue, he went out to find Ji Bozhai.
Although Luo Jiaoyang and others had been eliminated early due to being scattered and surrounded, Ji Bozhai had lasted until the end. The group thought they had won, so their expressions were quite relaxed.
But when Qin Shangwu approached, he punched each of them once.
"Do you really think you won?" he said sternly. "In this Divine Artifact Hall round, your team of five only had two members present, while the others still had three or four. By the rules, you lost your qualification first."
Luo Jiaoyang widened his eyes. "There's such a rule?"
"Why do you think teams consist of five people?"
"..."
Ji Bozhai glanced at the field—other teams indeed had more members remaining.
Pursing his lips, he said, "We'll have another match this afternoon."
"Creating this simulation environment consumes significant Essence Power from the instructors. Do you think we can just do it whenever you want?" Qin Shangwu glared at him. "For now, you all should spend more time together. You can hone your skills further when we reach Flying Blossom City."
Spend time together?
Luo Jiaoyang looked at Ji Bozhai, who then glanced at Chu He. Unhappy expressions appeared on everyone's faces. They weren't close to begin with—what was the point of forcing camaraderie?
"Also, regarding Mingyi." Qin Shangwu turned to Ji Bozhai. "If you can persuade her to join us, that would be ideal."
The group froze. Fan Yao spoke first, "She's a woman. How can she join us?"
"We have no other choice. At worst, she can disguise herself as a man," Qin Shangwu said gravely. "We lack an Artifact Smith like her."
"But..." Fan Yao hesitated, and Chu He beside him frowned.
A woman participating in the Six Cities Tournament was unheard of. If discovered, what a scandal it would be.
After a long silence, Ji Bozhai finally said flatly, "She won't join."
Qin Shangwu was puzzled. "Why not? This is Star Yearn City's highest honor."
That woman had already devoted years to a city's glory—what highest honor hadn't she seen? Even after leaving Sunspire City, Ji Bozhai doubted she would turn to Star Yearn City. At most, she might do some business, but nothing more.
As Qin Shangwu prepared to argue further, Ji Bozhai said, "I'm rather hungry. I'll take my leave for lunch and return later."
Seeing his chance to escape, the others quickly excused themselves too. But at the crossroads, they parted ways with Ji Bozhai.
"He really is formidable," Fan Yao remarked as they walked down the path. "With him leading, we might actually break into the Upper Three Cities."
Luo Jiaoyang snorted and pursed his lips. "I know. But it still doesn't sit right with me."
Ji Bozhai didn't act like a leader at all. In his eyes, there was only himself and Mingyi. To the rest of them, he behaved like fellow shop assistants—no teamwork, let alone camaraderie.
Even if he led them to Moonchase City, the team would fall apart. Better to wait until their differences were resolved.
As lunchtime arrived, the aroma of food wafted from the dining hall.Mingyi had just sat down beside Xiuyun when someone strode in briskly from outside, flicking their sleeves as they took a seat beside her. In a calm voice, they remarked, "Your reflexes are quick, and you have plenty of experience. Had I met you earlier, I might not have been able to win."
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