Her eyelids were heavy, but her head was very clear. Lin Yunyun even felt that her mind had never been more clear.
When she woke up from the big bed, of course nobody was beside her. The remaining red crystals were cleaned up, and the damaged furniture and items were restored to their original states.
Everything looked so natural, as if yesterday was just a dream.
But Lin Yunyun clearly remembered the indelible comfort in her body and that beautiful face.
"Who… is she?"
...
The person in Lin Yunyun's thoughts was currently standing in front of Gu Nan with unmistakable anger on her face.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Her voice shook slightly, as though she would explode any second.
Gu Nan raised his head, looked at her pretty face, and said with a smile, "Your figure's not bad."
Bam!
Gu Nian smashed the desk with a fist, breaking Gu Nan's red cedar desk, and all the documents and materials fell. Only the tea cup Gu Nan took away in the nick of time survived.
"Youngster, don't be so angry," Gu Nan took a sip of tea with a smile and said leisurely.
Gu Nian gave him a death glare. She really wanted to punch him in the face, but… he was now Domain Stage.
His growth was too fast, which surpassed everyone's imagination. The Gu family could no longer control him. If he wanted, he could even build a huge organization immediately from scratch.
Since Void Cutter Realm cultivators secluded themselves from the world in order to comprehend the origins of their innate abilities, Domain Stage experts were practically the peak of power in this world.
"Why did you have to… tell Luoluo about this!" Gu Nian took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her anger, and asked through gritted teeth.
"Eh? But I told her not to tell you." Gu Nan's face was full of innocence.
Of course, with Bai Luoluo's acting skills, it was only a matter of time before Gu Nian saw through her.
So Gu Nan followed up with, "As a powerful figure, no matter whether you like men or women; old or young—it's all normal! Why repress your desires? Liberate yourself as much as you want, young girl!"
"It's none of your business!" Gu Nian gave him a cold glare and left.
...
The repeatedly delayed Martial Arts Competition finally didn't get pushed back yet again. It was held according to the time stated in the official announcements, which made the countless martial artists of Ruby Fish Star sigh in relief.
There were only 1,024 participants in the official matches, so the competition would merely last for three days.
On the first day, Lu Danze came to the stadium early. His senior martial brother Lu Wu, master Zhang Tao, and the people of Nebula Martial Arts Hall also accompanied him.
As the martial arts hall run by the Gu family, they were naturally given preferential treatment. They were led to the inner area by the staff early.
"Where's Lin Yunyun?" Lu Danze looked around but didn't see Lin Yunyun's figure. He couldn't help sneering, "She took the martial arts hall's salary but didn't even come. How shameless!"
Someone nearby remarked with a smile, "Senior Martial Brother Lu, the Gu family's young master took a fancy to her. Why would she still care about the measly salary from us?"
Lu Danze also sneered. Back then, Gu Nan selecting Lin Yunyun after only a single glance made them have some unhealthy ideas about Gu Nan and Lin Yunyun's relationship.
Gu Yang's expression didn't look very good. She reminded them, "Um… Lin Yunyun is already here. She's over there."
Lu Danze and the other person were stunned. Looking in the direction she pointed to, he found that Lin Yunyun was sitting in a daze at the back of the rest area, while Gu Nan was beside her.
"That's the judges' rest area, isn't it? She's just an Acquired Realm contestant. What right does she have to sit there?" Someone in the martial arts hall said angrily.
Although they also received preferential treatment themselves due to their connection to the Gu family, comparison was the source of envy. Lin Yunyun's treatment made some people feel wronged.
"If you also have a pretty face and are willing to crawl over to the Young Master's feet, then you can also sit there!" Someone answered somewhat explicitly, making several girls blush slightly.
"Everyone, shut up." Zhang Tao scolded with a dark expression, "What kind of occasion is this? Is this a place where you can talk nonsense?"
"Okay…" The group of people suddenly stopped.
Lu Danze frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but Lu Wu placed a hand on his shoulder with a small shake of his head. Thus, Lu Danze could only angrily punch his own thigh and didn't speak again.
While the people from Nebula Martial Arts Hall fell silent, a man and a woman slowly walked over.
"Hall Master Zhang?" A voice came from the side.
Zhang Tao turned his head in confusion and saw an energetic middle-aged man standing next to a young girl.
"Are you… Starry City's Hall Master Lei?" Zhang Tao recognized the other party before long. For a moment, he felt flattered and quickly stood up straight to greet him.
Martial artists from the capital naturally weren't the only ones participating in Ruby Fish Star's Martial Arts Competition this time. People from over 30 cities on Ruby Fish Star were also participating.
Of course, be it the proportion of players or their average abilities, the capital still had an advantage.
But this didn't affect Zhang Tao's respect for Hall Master Lei. The reason was very simple—Lei Wuji was a Prodigious Realm cultivator, as well as one of the three vice leaders of the Martial Arts Alliance.
Although Nebula Martial Arts Hall wasn't small, it couldn't compare with Lei Wuji's Extreme Thunder Martial Arts Hall.
Lei Wuji's martial arts hall occupied the resources of an entire prefecture-level city. Both the quality of students and teachers far exceeded that of Nebula Martial Arts Hall. After all, the Gu family's investment in Nebula Martial Arts Hall was limited.
When Zhang Tao turned his eyes to the silent girl's face beside Lei Wuji, he couldn't help smiling bitterly.
Lei Wuji grinned when he saw this. "Looks like Hall Master Zhang recognized my apprentice… Little Lan, why don't you greet Hall Master Zhang?"
Only then did Li Lan take a step forward. With a standard smile on her face, she bowed and greeted, "Li Lan of Extreme Thunder Martial Arts Hall greets Hall Master Zhang."
Li Lan was the first seed player Gu Nan disqualified when she was interviewing for Nebula Martial Arts Hall back then. Unexpectedly, she had joined Extreme Thunder Martial Arts Hall.
And it seemed like she was even being taught by Lei Wuji himself…
Behind Zhang Tao, the faces of everyone in Nebula Martial Arts Hall looked a little ugly.
She was good enough to be accepted as Lei Wuji's disciple—can anyone still dare to say that her talent was subpar? But their Nebula Martial Arts Hall had precisely passed over such a talented seedling…
So, the number of resentful gazes cast in Gu Nan's direction increased.
Zhang Tao's face also looked a little awkward, but he was still a hall master. At this time, he could still keep a calm face. He knew that Lei Wuji definitely had a reason for approaching them.
Sure enough, Lei Wuji then opened his mouth, "I heard that my little apprentice intended to interview for your martial arts hall but was rejected?"
His words sounded like a direct slap to Zhang Tao's face.
Zhang Tao also felt helpless. 'This Lei Wuji really is as overbearing as the rumors claim…'
But what surprised him even more was that Lei Wuji then laughed. "Then I really must thank Hall Master Zhang. If you hadn't gone blind, you wouldn't have passed over such a good seedling to me!"
Devotee's Game System Inspired Note
» This section of the chapter is a Fan based created system to mock-up or simulate the 'Status Information' of our MC - Gu Nan. This implies that you are free to skip reading this and continue your journey onto the next chapter.
» All catalog data below is a summary of various information achieved by Gu Nan that corresponds till the end of the related chapter and is compiled into a singular 'Status Screen.' Additionally, the invented system below would continue to evolve as we progress and learn more about the novel itself.
MC's Status Information
Name: Gu Nan
Current Location: Where the Martial Arts Competition is being held, Ruby Fish Star
Current Soul Location: N/A
Status: ⟪ Evil God ⟫
Advancement Direction: Agility Type
Current Evil God Rank: Tier 3
Equivalent/Current Martial Art: Prodigious Realm
◈ Comprehension of Innate ability: Domain Stage
Chosen Core Skill: The Law of Shadow
Current Evil God Temple Quest:
→ Main Mission Objective/s:
-— Evil Event: Ruby Fish Star's Martial Arts Competition. - Evil God Temple Issued
◈ Status: On Going
→ Side Quest Objective:
-— None. - N/A
◈ Status: N/A
Current Evil Points: 600
Overall Evil Points: 3875, Overall Evil Value: 102
Core Skill Acquired
— Shadow. 「Also known precisely as 'The law of Shadow' - its one of the highest-ranked laws in the game. Skill 'Power of Shadows' LVL +1」
Normal Skills Acquired:
— Resistance. [ Passive Ability ] 「Your body will resist damage, and any damage taken will be reduced by 50%」
— Locked 「N/A」
— Locked 「N/A」
Exclusive Skills Acquired:
— Deceitful Steps. [ Passive Ability ] 「Movement Speed increased by 30%. Attack Speed increased by 50%」
— Power of Shadows. [ LVL 3 ] 「Allows the players to activate the skill "Hidden Shadows" at LVL 1 and unlocks the skill "Shadow Form" at LVL 2. If the 'Power of Shadows' reached LVL 3, the player will be able to use the 'Law of Shadow' to a much finer degree.」
▸Hidden Shadows. 「The power to manipulate shadows to a fine degree.」
▸Shadow Form. 「An incomparable handy skill that allows the player to manipulate shadows to create things, like weapons and armor. At the highest level of mastery, it could even create a humanoid clone.」
Equipment being worn
→ Armor
-— Dawn Sage's Robe. 「Basic level defense. If you are not attacked within 3 seconds, you will receive the "Praise of Dawn" effect.」
→ Weapon
-— Four Element Crossbow. 「A Tier 2 crossbow weapon that can generate four types of elemental arrows—earth, water, wind, and fire—based on the user's needs and does not need to load arrows.」
→ Accessories - Facial Accessories, Necklace, Earrings
-— Observer Eyepiece. 「An eyepiece that have a fixed Tier 2 magic 'Insight' inscribe in it.」
-— Dragon Heart Pendant. 「Allows players to activate the skill "Dragon Power". This skill cannot be upgraded」
-— Shadow Earrings. 「Skill 'Power of Shadows' LVL +1」
Equipment Skills Acquired:
-— Insight. [ Passive Ability ] 「Ability to obtain high-precision data analysis when looking at people or objects.」
-— Dragon Power. 「Greatly enhances the player's strength and physique. Duration: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes」
-— Praise of Dawn. [ Passive Ability ] 「Increases self-healing ability by 300%」
Item/s owned:
→ None.