The fluttering silk skirt bore the sky-blue mist rain pattern, its shifting hues reminiscent of the former sunrise-over-river design. The once strongest Fighter had changed both attire and demeanor, yet remained as upright and indomitable as ever.
Meng Yangqiu's eyes reddened from the spectator stands. He felt somewhat ashamed—a grown man on the verge of tears. But glancing around, he noticed many veteran Fighters who'd participated in six or seven Six Cities Tournaments discreetly wiping their eyes.
To them, Ming Xian had been a godlike figure. When she suddenly vanished, countless had searched desperately, hoping she might at least survive in peace even if never competing again. Yet a full year passed without word, only endless rumors of her death, crippling, or disgrace.
None expected to see her reappear this way—competing again in the Six Cities Tournament, revealed as a woman all along.
This world held no respect for women, deemed frail creatures needing protection. But if Ming Xian was a woman...
Amidst the shock, a realization dawned in every heart: a woman could indeed achieve what Ming Xian had accomplished.
After a stunned silence, the arena erupted in irrepressible uproar.
Mingyi pulled Ji Bozhai along briskly. Assuming she was overwhelmed, he pondered comforting words when she declared: "Quit dawdling. They'll swarm us with questions soon—let's grab food before they recover."
The tournament feast featured all six cities' culinary specialties, requiring attendees to serve themselves. Latecomers risked missing favored dishes.
Ji Bozhai: "..."
Remarkably unfazed.
Yet wherever she went, her pale fingers remained interlaced with his, intimate and unstrained. Smiling faintly, he let her lead him between food stations until their table overflowed.
As predicted, their meal was interrupted by crowds surrounding them. Ji Bozhai, never one for patience, immediately summoned a Nether Domain barrier while calmly serving Mingyi: "Try this."
Having expended much energy that morning, Mingyi helped herself to extra portions of sweet braised pork. Nearby, the same dish vanished instantly from serving platters.
Luo Jiaoyang chuckled: "Our Mingyi's quite popular."
"Consider her former prowess," Qin Shangwu snorted. "She could've bested all you combined."
"That formidable?" Luo gasped.
Meng Yangqiu, plate in hand, sighed: "Beyond strength, she was honorable—always supporting teammates. I can't fathom what Sunspire City did to drive her to this." He glared toward their delegation.
The Facing Sun contingent never anticipated Mingyi's single statement would make them pariahs, enduring scorn at every turn. Accustomed to Upper Three Cities privilege, this treatment chafed unbearably—yet they had no rebuttal.
With both Ming Xian and Ji Bozhai on one team, what hope had others for victory?The people of Moonchase City still managed to gather the fighters from all the other cities except Star Yearn City.
"If this continues, Star Yearn City will undoubtedly take the championship. I believe none of us here want to see that. Our previous cooperation was too loose—for instance, the encirclement by Flying Blossom and Azure Snow was never tight enough," Dan Er said with a frown. "Only by working together to eliminate Star Yearn first will the rest of us have a chance to compete for the title."
Zheng Tiao yawned as he listened, glancing at the people from Azure Snow City across the table, who were busy counting the strands of their own hair.
The representatives from Moonchase and Newgrass Cities, however, were enthusiastic. "That makes sense. What's the plan?"
Dan Er analyzed the habits and tactics of the two fighters and then assigned each city's fighters specific routes for the blockade.
Yet, the moment Zheng Tiao and the Azure Snow team left the room, they each went home to sleep, completely disregarding the plan they had just discussed.
As cities from the lower tier, they had never had a shot at the championship anyway. Why should they help the upper three cities? Let Star Yearn and the others fight like tigers and dragons—perhaps their two smaller cities could benefit as the fisherman who reaps the reward.
Mingyi had anticipated this very mindset. In the subsequent battles, she targeted the directions where Flying Blossom and Azure Snow were positioned as breakthroughs, cutting through all obstacles and winning four consecutive matches.
Qin Shangwu's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed. When Mingyi prepared to take Fan Yao and Chu He onto the field, he no longer strongly opposed. After all, he had calculated that even if they lost this round, they still had a chance to claim the championship.
But Mingyi had no intention of losing this match. Both she and Ji Bozhai were prodigies, capable of rapidly improving themselves through each battle. By now, they had already figured out most of their opponents in this year's Six Cities Tournament, and none could push them further. The only way to keep growing stronger was to impose greater challenges on themselves.
So while protecting her teammates, Mingyi used her Essence Power to catch the violet energy attacks from her opponents, gathering and storing them in the Nether Domain behind her.
The spectators outside the mirror were stunned by her and Ji Bozhai's actions. Today, the two seemed less like competitors and more like herb gatherers—and they were even competing to see who could collect more.
The original upper three cities had indeed planned to encircle and suppress them, but for some reason, they still couldn't defeat or capture these two. It almost felt as if the pair had grown even stronger than the day before.
Two against four might seem unfair, but they also had two Following Beasts—creatures no one else could manifest, and whose lethality was no less than that of a Superior fighter. Especially Mingyi's white cat, which looked small and harmless but could slap a person hard enough to make them cough up a lung.
Its only flaw might be its temper—sometimes it even swatted the Mystic Dragon.
After venting its frustration, the cat turned its head and saw that its master had collected less violet Essence Power in her Nether Domain than Ji Bozhai. Disappointed, it let out a disapproving "meow."
The Mystic Dragon flinched in fear and immediately shrank away, darting off to fight Ji Qing to avoid becoming collateral damage.
"The match concludes—Star Yearn takes the championship, followed by Flying Blossom and Moonchase."
Zheng Tiao left the arena drenched in sweat, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
If Flying Blossom City could win two more matches in the Divine Artifact Hall's competition, they might just break into the upper three cities this year.However, Sunspire City and Moonchase City seemed quite displeased with him. Besides targeting Ji Bozhai, they had also begun targeting him. To be honest, it was really hard to bear. If he hadn't dodged quickly today, he would have been seriously injured.
Xiuyun rushed to his side, her eyes slightly red.
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