Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 207 - 174: You’ll Get Used to It

December 25, 2017

"Don't cry, Chaolu. Winning and losing are common in battles. Besides, she is a year older than you..."

Li Wanqing looked tenderly at Li Chaolu crying in her arms, gently stroking her hair and back to soothe her emotions, while also feeling the softness from her chest, which didn't seem to belong to a 13-year-old girl. She couldn't help but lament why her own development curves were so tragic...

On the other side, Wang Jiu was also showing his gentleness and care.

"Intellectual suppression is a widespread social phenomenon. I think you should learn more from Shen Qingming to strengthen your adaptability in this area."

Shen Qingming, already numb with anger, sighed and said, "I'll set aside the harm I've suffered. Do you really think this kind of consolation is useful?"

Li Chaolu sobbed and said, "Thank you, Mr. Wang Jiu, I feel much better now."

"Hey, did you do that on purpose!?"

Li Chaolu added, "It'd be even better if Mr. Wang Jiu could hug me."

"Don't push your luck!"

Just then, the group suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly, as if a giant beast was trampling the land, rushing towards them. Li Chaolu was startled and her expression changed. She said to Li Wanqing, "Sister Wanqing, help me block it!"

Li Wanqing shook her head, "No."

"Sister Wanqing!?"

"Your feigned bashfulness is really cute. I can't resist the temptation to appreciate it."

"Who's being feigned bashful!?"

While speaking, the heavy-moving beast finally appeared at the corner of the corridor. A plump figure, like a ball, ran towards them at an incongruent speed, with reddened eyes, shouting, "Chaolu, Chaolu, are you okay!?"

The scream from the roly-poly figure attracted as much attention as a Holy Sect Immortal Envoy streaking down the street. In no time, spectators and contestants walking in the corridor turned their gaze curiously at the roly-poly figure and the group ahead of it, including Li Chaolu.

Under the public gaze, Li Chaolu couldn't help but cover her face, hiding the blush, and she wished she could dig a hole and bury that roly-poly!

When Li Xinyu finally stopped, panting hard in front of her, Li Chaolu gritted her teeth and questioned, "What are you doing!? Shouting like that here, don't you have any manners?"

Li Xinyu was at a loss for words, stammering, "I-I was worried about you."

"What's there to worry about? I've already lost! Lost fair and square, are you happy now!?"

"No, how could I... I was just worried about you, thinking maybe I could comfort you. But since you have Mr. Wang Jiu by your side, you should be fine. Sorry, I didn't think too much and just rushed over."

As he continued, Li Xinyu nodded and bowed, full of guilt, as if he was ready to dig a hole and bury himself without anyone's help.

Seeing him like this, Li Chaolu frowned even more, "Alright, if there's nothing else, just leave. Your sweat smell is so annoying."

As Li Xinyu was about to turn and leave, Shen Qingming, unable to bear it anymore, said, "Li Chaolu, what's with your attitude!? Even if Brother Xinyu is chubby, sweaty, ugly, wretched, lecherous, and cowardly... okay, I have nothing more to say."

Li Xinyu felt like crying without tears: Saying half of it is worse than not saying anything!

Li Wanqing, enjoying the scene, was about to tease Li Chaolu, whose words contradicted her heart, but caught sight of a golden card in Li Xinyu's hand and couldn't help but laugh, "Wow, Xinyu, winning two rounds in a row?"

Li Xinyu waved the golden card that symbolized victory and scratched his head, "Haha, it was just luck, really lucky. My opponent in the second round was clearly stronger than me, but he faced a super strong opponent in the first round and was exhausted. By the time he faced me, he only had half his True Essence left. We fought a war of attrition, and he couldn't hold on against me, so he had no choice but to concede. Haha, it feels like I've made up for all my bad luck recently."

Winning two rounds in a row meant standing out from over two hundred main competitors, becoming a glorious sixty-fourth.

Although the top sixty-four sounds weak, like a hundred-man comedy group at a Spring Festival Gala, considering Li Xinyu's age, participating in such a grand event for under-20s, with over ten thousand registered participants (including the qualifiers), making it to the top one percent is already beyond expectations. After all, many people thought he was only a one-round wonder...

Li Xinyu himself was overjoyed, exuding happiness involuntarily as he spoke, but his smile froze in an instant under two icy cold stares.

"Um, Chaolu, I didn't mean to brag..."

"Hmph, being in the top sixty-four is quite impressive, feeling proud is only natural, especially with a live failure case right next to you."

"You're not a failure case, the match just now was purely because your opponent was too cunning..."

"So you're saying I'm too dumb, huh?"

"How, how could that be? Whenever the two of us played chess before, I never won against you!"

"Don't compare yourself to me!"

The siblings were bickering, and their group casually strolled down the corridor. Although Li Chaolu was full of disdain and sarcastically unkind towards Li Xinyu, the annoyance of losing to Qian Yue seemed to have eased. Li Xinyu, on the other hand, was unusually happy to be ridiculed by his sister so continuously, his face practically radiating happiness.

After a while, the girl in the wheelchair suddenly asked, "By the way, whose match are we watching next? Sister Wanqing, do you still have a match?"

Li Wanqing replied, "No more, I got a bye in the second round, so I won't be playing today."

Li Xinyu curiously asked, "Sister Wanqing, who is your opponent in the third round? You should get a gold card if you win, right?"

Li Wanqing said, "I couldn't be bothered to look and just threw it away. Anyway, someone will guide me to the stage when I arrive at the arena tomorrow."

"...Don't you do any targeted preparation in advance?"

Li Wanqing shrugged, "Any opponent worth preparing for, I probably won't encounter until the quarter-finals. The committee wouldn't make a championship favorite face each other so early."

Shen Qingming said, "Haven't you heard the old saying, 'Pride comes before a fall'? If you don't take your opponents seriously, be careful you don't get eliminated in an upset."

"Haha, unless I meet you, no one can eliminate me..." As she said this, Li Wanqing's expression changed slightly.

The possibility of facing Shen Qingming... really can't be ruled out.

Different from popular favorites like Qian Ye and Lu Fangchen, who were highly regarded even before the start of the competition, Shen Qingming was a true dark horse who made a stunning impact during the opening game. The judges positioned her as a lower-tier contestant prior to the competition, so she ended up drawing Wang Jiu as her opponent. And as the winner of the opening game, she didn't actually demonstrate convincing strength, benefiting purely from a "lucky charm" effect.

As for today's second-round match, Shan Heqiu was indeed remarkable as a dark horse among hundreds, but frankly speaking, still didn't show enough solid strength. Moreover, Shan Heqiu himself is also a dark horse, not as convincingly strong as some popular championship favorites.

In summary, Shen Qingming's current evaluation in the competition seems to be at a middle rank level, which means there is a significant possibility that she will face an upper rank contestant—even a championship favorite—in the next round.

Thinking of this, Li Wanqing had to strenuously recall the number on the golden card she had discarded. Fortunately, her memory was rather exceptional, and she quickly found what she needed in her mind.

"I remember it said 'Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork' on it."

Shen Qingming was stunned upon hearing this, "Fish, Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork? What kind of code is this!? Are there such codes in the competition?"

Li Wanqing was momentarily perplexed, then relieved, "So, you didn't draw 'Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork'?"

Shen Qingming said, "My card says 'Pine Forest', so in any case, it's good that I'm not facing Sister Wanqing."

Li Chaolu snorted, "Let's hope Qian Yue drew 'Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork' and gets knocked out in the third round!"

Since no one drew a result leading to an internal conflict, the group remained in high spirits, but it wasn't long before someone noticed Li Xinyu looked deathly pale and was trembling.

Li Wanqing asked, "Fatty, what's wrong?"

"I, I drew 'Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork'."

"Hahaha! What a coincidence indeed." Li Wanqing laughed, "By the way, it's been ages since we last sparred, when was the last time?"

"..." Li Xinyu was silent for a while, then spoke tragically, "When I was three years old, you pinned me down and beat me."

"Oh, you remember quite clearly. Tomorrow, I won't hold back, you know."

However, before she could finish speaking, Li Wanqing suddenly sensed that something was amiss with the atmosphere and stopped.

Moments later, several adult cultivators in black uniforms approached from both ends of the corridor.

"Are you contestant Shen Qingming? Sorry to interrupt, but we have received a complaint that your earlier match is suspected of violations, and we need you to assist us by conducting an examination in the judges' room."

The space instantly froze.

Sitting in her wheelchair, Shen Qingming seriously regarded these unexpected visitors and slowly nodded, "Alright."