Chapter 123: Can I Get My Fluff Petted Today?
When Yue Junxiao saw Lang Qiu’s movement, he instantly realized that Bai Zhi wasn’t practicing some difficult maneuver—she had almost fallen.
’No wonder her expression was so complicated,’ he thought.
He immediately rushed after them. "Lang Qiu, you’re so sneaky, running off like that! I want to hold Bai Zhi too!"
Lang Qiu carried Bai Zhi downstairs, where Yan Yichen immediately rushed over, concerned. "Bai Zhi, are you all right?" he asked.
Bai Zhi looked embarrassed. "I’m fine."
She patted Lang Qiu, signaling for him to put her down. He gently set her on the floor.
The moment Bai Zhi’s feet touched the floor, her heart settled back into her chest. She quickly changed the subject. "What were you just saying about Zelda?"
Sure enough, Yue Junxiao’s attention was immediately diverted. "Oh, Zelda said he’s taking us to see the ’local culture and customs’ of the Main Star today."
Bai Zhi paused. "’Local culture and customs’?"
Yue Junxiao nodded. "Yep, that’s what he said."
Bai Zhi remembered the system mission was for seventy-two hours. ’I’ll see what I can buy then,’ she thought.
A billion was no small amount, but she figured it would be quite easy to spend it all on the Main Star.
Yue Junxiao snuggled up to Bai Zhi, whining playfully. "Love, we’ve rested for two days. Can I get some head pats today?"
He hadn’t lowered his voice, so upon hearing his request, Bai Zhi instinctively glanced over at Sang Mo. She breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t seem to react.
Bai Zhi patted his head to placate him. "Aren’t we going out in a bit?"
"When we get back..." Before Yue Junxiao could finish, a bowl of food was suddenly thrust into Bai Zhi’s hands.
Bai Zhi looked over to see Sang Mo, his face a cold mask. "You’re hungry," he said. "Eat."
Having been cut off, Yue Junxiao ground his teeth and glared at Sang Mo in frustration. "What do you think you’re doing?"
Sang Mo shot him a sidelong glance and said flatly, "Didn’t you hear me? She’s hungry. She needs to eat."
Caught between the two of them, Bai Zhi was in a bind.
Yue Junxiao fumed. "I’m just talking! It’s not like that stops her from eating! You did that on purpose!"
Sang Mo just snorted. Though he said nothing, his expression made his thoughts clear: ’I did do it on purpose. What are you going to do about it?’
Just then, Lang Qiu spoke up. "Let’s eat first. We can discuss everything else later."
As if she’d been saved, Bai Zhi shot Lang Qiu a grateful look, only to see Yan Yichen standing nearby, also holding a dish of food.
’So it wasn’t just Sang Mo!’
Yan Yichen brought over the food, Sang Mo had quickly thrust his dish at Bai Zhi to distract her while Yue Junxiao was talking, and Lang Qiu had broken the stalemate by playing the neutral party. It was a coordinated effort; if any one piece had been missing, it would have failed.
But this left Bai Zhi a little confused. ’Weren’t they usually united against Sang Mo? Why the sudden switch to ganging up on Yue Junxiao?’
Still puzzled, Bai Zhi sat down at the dining table.
Zelda arrived while Bai Zhi was eating breakfast. The Mecha Store had delivered the Mechas they’d purchased the previous day, after Bai Zhi had gone back to her room, and they had all been put away.
They left as soon as Bai Zhi finished her breakfast.
When they arrived, Bai Zhi finally understood what Zelda had meant by "local culture and customs."
Every year around this time, the Main Star held an event in the plaza where the winner would be granted the title of "Strongest Superpower User."
Any Beastman between the ages of 20 and 30 could sign up. Before his disappearance, Hu Yan had been the reigning champion for three consecutive years.
The plaza was already crowded when they arrived. All the Beastmen were shirtless, baring their broad, burly chests. As they bumped their fists together, their pectoral muscles flexed in rhythm, exuding a sense of wild power. Their solid muscles seemed to gleam in the sunlight.
The crowd surged, hands raised high, rhythmically chanting, "OOH! OH! HOO—!"
This was the first time Bai Zhi had ever seen a martial arts competition on such a grand scale. They had arrived rather late and the crowd was already huge, but thankfully Zelda had made arrangements, and they were led directly to the second floor of an upscale coffee shop.
Two Beastmen had already taken the stage below, making the crowd even more excited.
Yan Yichen stood by the window, staring down curiously. "Does every one of them have to go up there?" he asked.
Zelda explained, "Anyone within the age range who has enough confidence can go up and try. After all, it’s a rare opportunity to attract females, so naturally, they do everything they can to catch their eye."
Listening to the roar from below, Zelda scoffed. "If Hu Yan were up there, what chance would any of these other Beastmen have? In past years when he took the stage, the screams from the females below were loud enough to blow the roof off."
Bai Zhi’s gaze fell upon the tens of thousands of people in the square below. She could perfectly imagine the scene—it was the same principle as modern-day fans seeing their favorite celebrity.
Besides, Hu Yan’s status, looks, and combat strength were all top-notch. It was easy to see why the females would adore him.
"Ever since what happened to Hu Yan, this competition has been pretty boring." Zelda then turned to the others. "Do you guys want to give it a shot? You can go up there and try if you want."
It was an undeniable fact that spiritual power was hard to increase. Unless one had the backing of a clan, was a genius, or came upon some great opportunity, it was impossible for someone cultivating on their own to compare to the disciples of the great families.
Those who could reach SS-level before the age of 30 were few and far between.
Most of the Beastmen at the event were A-level to S-Class, so the power differences weren’t that drastic. Factoring in various weapons and other items, even a Peak S-Class fighter could fall if they were careless.
Yue Junxiao’s eyes were glued to the two Beastmen on the stage below. "This actually looks pretty fun," he said, eager to give it a try.
Yue Junxiao was only in his early twenties and had just reached S-Class. Reaching S-Class at his age made him an undeniable genius, and he was at the perfect age for showing off. Seeing such a blood-pumping scene naturally made him itch for a fight.
"If you want to go, then go," Lang Qiu said.
Hearing this, Yue Junxiao turned his puppy-dog eyes to Bai Zhi. She nodded. "Do your best, but don’t get hurt."
Yue Junxiao immediately perked up. "I won’t get hurt!"
Seeing this, Yan Yichen couldn’t resist wanting to go as well.
Bai Zhi could tell he was interested, so she said, "If you want to go, then go. Same rules apply—just don’t get hurt."
Yue Junxiao and Yan Yichen immediately headed downstairs and plunged into the crowd.
Bai Zhi looked at Lang Qiu, Sang Mo, and Zelda. "Aren’t you guys going?" she asked, puzzled.
Zelda scoffed. "It’s boring fighting them. We’ll wait until next year when Hu Yan is back on stage. Once those other guys come out, fighting them will actually be interesting."
Their group disdained to compete with the current contestants. In the last few years, aside from two or three of them going up on rare occasions, they mostly stayed away. Of course, if one of them had a female they were interested in, they might be tempted to show off a little.