NOVPUBAlthough he had a great deal of respect for Xin Yun, even admiration, Speedy Slash had no immediate plans to follow him. Xin Yun’s performance was not yet convincing enough for him, after all...the last time Xin Yun instantaneously killed Ke Zhan, Speedy Slash was not present.
Even though Xin Yun had once defeated him, if mere defeat was grounds to follow someone, then he would have already become a follower of Ke Zhan, and Xin Yun would not have had a chance.
While both Speedy Slash and Ke Zhan came from major families, they were not direct heirs with inheritance rights. They had money and power, though not in abundance, which could hardly satisfy anyone’s desires. To make a name for themselves, they had to rely on their own efforts.
Every man is the same, each harboring ambitions to achieve greatness. No one is content with mediocrity; it’s one thing if you lack the ability, but when you possess great power, the urge is even more pressing.
Although born into great families, for Ke Zhan and Speedy Slash, their families were only shackles, unworthy of reliance. If they didn’t choose someone to follow early on, once their strength reached a certain level, they would inevitably be controlled by their families and reduced to mere enforcers, which is undeniably tragic.
Therefore, no one would casually choose a target to follow, unless they were convinced that the person was powerful enough to make their families afraid, otherwise they would definitely not follow; otherwise, they would be punished by their families.
Followed by the two, Xin Yun made his way into the Great Arena. As soon as they entered, Yi Luo Xiang and Yan Qingying came to greet them. Seeing this, Ke Zhan and Speedy Slash tactfully stepped aside. As products of major family upbringing, they knew exactly when to follow and when to give space.
After the three met up, Xin Yun smiled and said, "How’s it going, Yi Luo... today is your first fight, are you ready?"
Faced with Xin Yun’s question, Yi Luo Xiang cutely raised her little fist, brimming with confidence, "Don’t worry, I’m all ready. I promise... within at most ten seconds, I can completely defeat my opponent."
Hearing Yi Luo Xiang’s words, Xin Yun couldn’t help but frown. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her promise; to this day, Yi Luo Xiang’s enslaved Purple Emperor Sword Dragon had successfully advanced to Bronze Eight Star, its power incredibly formidable. Coupled with Yi Luo Xiang’s Soul Impact, she did have a claim to make such a statement, but this was not what Xin Yun hoped for.
Looking intently at Yi Luo Xiang, Xin Yun said calmly, "What do you think about our open challenge this time? What is our goal?"
Upon hearing Xin Yun’s words, Yi Luo Xiang first furrowed her brows in confusion, but soon her little mouth formed an ’O’ of realization. "I get it, defeating the opponent is not the end goal. Our aim is to use these free opponents to train our real combat skills, to enrich our battle experience!"
With a contented smile, Xin Yun nodded, "Exactly, that’s our true goal. So... for the first three minutes, let them attack at will, we will only dodge and defend. But once three minutes are up, we must immediately start attacking and try to completely defeat the opponent in the shortest time possible. Remember... it must be a complete, unequivocal defeat!"
"Yes!" Exuberantly nodding, Yi Luo Xiang chirped, "That’s right, with three minutes, no matter what skills the opponent has, they’ll be able to display them all. However... if they don’t bring anything new to the table, I don’t mind ending the fight within three minutes."
"Slap! Slap!" After giving a high-five to both Xin Yun and Yi Luo Xiang, Yi Luo Xiang guided her exquisitely beautiful pale-purple flash butterfly towards the center of the field.
Proudly flying to the center of the arena, Yi Luo Xiang called out to the opposite Top Ten Chiefs with a clear voice, "Okay, today it’s my turn to accept the challenges. Who’s up first?"
In response to Yi Luo Xiang’s challenge, the Top Ten Chiefs looked at each other. With yesterday’s lesson in mind, no one wanted to be the first to step out without knowing the opponent’s abilities; they preferred to let someone else try to gauge them first. Unfortunately, they all seemed too clever for that, looking at each other for quite some time without anyone stepping forward.
Seeing this, Yi Luo Xiang frowned impatiently, "What? Nobody dares to come out? You do realize everyone is watching you!"
At Yi Luo Xiang’s words, someone who couldn’t hold back finally burst forward. A Chief clad in yellow, riding his own Eagle Dragon, broke through the crowd to face Yi Luo Xiang, eyeing her cautiously, "Let me be the one to test your skills!"
Observing his respectful demeanor, Yi Luo Xiang gave a slight nod, but her gaze shifted to Yan Qingying. The other’s reverence was a credit to Yan Qingying; unless they were confident in defeating her, no one would dare show any disrespect to the two women, which would equate to asking for trouble.
Gazing calmly at her opponent, Yi Luo Xiang held up three fingers, "You have three minutes of free attack time. During this period, I won’t make any offensive moves!"
"Ah!" Everyone, from the students to the instructor in charge of judging and protecting the sidelines, exclaimed upon hearing Yi Luo Xiang’s declaration—even Instructor Mei Wu was shockingly covering her rosy lips, her face full of disbelief.
Under everyone’s gaze, Yi Luo Xiang remained composed and continued, "However, let’s be clear about something— if you don’t have any new tricks, and just keep repeating the same uninteresting stuff, I reserve the right to change my mind. But don’t worry; when I lose patience, I’ll give you a warning."
