My Core is the Boss

The next day, the Martial Arts Tournament officially began. This time, ten arena stages had been set up, with matches taking place simultaneously. After several rounds, only about twenty or so of the strongest twenty contestants would advance.

The competition typically lasted two days. The first day was essentially a free-for-all, with little highlights. As expected, the spectator stands were sparsely populated.

"Haa... Why is there no pre-match trash talk? This is so boring."

"No insults, no tension. Even street brawls are more entertaining than this."

"So boring. If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have come."

The audience watched with little enthusiasm.

Qi Yuan wasn’t particularly interested either. As he observed the matches, he commented, "Though I can achieve the Mortal Martial God in a hundred years, I still have no idea about the Spirit Martial God."

On the other hand, Canary seemed to be enjoying herself. "It's still fun to watch the small ones fight. It’s like watching a cartoon."

Qi Yuan glanced at her. "Hey, you’re the small one here, alright?"

Canary was petite and delicate. Wrapped in a black dress, she seemed so tiny that she could practically hang from Qi Yuan without adding any weight.

She rebutted proudly, puffing out her chest, "What do you mean small? I’m not small at all!"

Though she had secretly bought a push-up bra, she was already between an A and B cup, closer to B. Even so, she had a soft, natural curve.

"Not small indeed. If you wanted to grow bigger, a single spell could make you as big as a mountain."

Canary snapped. "Fuck off!"

It was rare for her to swear.

"Hey, watch your language. Swearing's banned here."

She turned her head away, ignoring him. "Hmph."

If Qi Yuan didn’t apologize, she wasn’t going to speak to him first today.

Qi Yuan then said, "See that guy? He's the Southern Lion, my biggest rival in this tournament. But he’s only slightly stronger than an ant."

At that moment, Zhang Yang threw a powerful punch on stage. The force generated strong gusts of wind and caused his blood qi to surge. The spectators erupted into cheers and applauded. It was another instant win!

Canary had been ignoring Qi Yuan, but since he spoke first, replying wouldn’t count as breaking her stance.

She thoughtfully glanced at Zhang Yang. "Blood Drop, don't you find the people in this world somewhat familiar?"

Qi Yuan was puzzled. "How so?"

He didn't feel that way at all.

She said seriously, "Their bloodlines seem to share a common origin with the demons of the Myriad Demon World."

As a Yin Spirit realm cultivator, her perception far exceeded Qi Yuan's. Hence, she was deeply familiar with the Myriad Demon World. The demon race had been one of the greatest enemies in the Flowing Wind World.

Furthermore, Shang Yanran had led Supremes through the Myriad Phenomena Gate and invaded the Flowing Wind World. As a Great Supreme, Canary had dealt with them often and understood their aura well. Qi Yuan, however, had entered later and simply crushed everything in his path. He had barely interacted with those demon Supremes.

Qi Yuan held her cool hand. "Is this related to the Myriad Demon World? Does that mean we might have a chance to return to Nine Plate Mountain? If that happens, we can hold a wedding at your home."

"I don’t have a home. If anything, it’s on your Golden Core," she said proudly, though her voice carried a hint of excitement.

She truly had no home. At some point, Qi Yuan had quietly become almost everything in her world. After all the years of waiting, happiness had finally arrived.

Qi Yuan mused, "If I bully you in the future, wouldn’t there be no one to stand up for you?"

She shot back, glaring at him. "I dare you! I’ll just transform into Ning Tao and step on you. Haa... I regret not stepping on you a few more times when you were trapped in the Skyheart Palace!"

When Qi Yuan still couldn’t enter the game, Ning Tao had used the Soul-Locking Jade to receive him. At the time, he had been her prisoner. She had even planned to fully dominate and imprison him in the dungeon forever so he would never leave her sight. So that everything about him would belong to her.

She smiled smugly. "Wait, I can still do that now. Hehe, Blood Drop, you’re no match for me right now."

Inside the private room, she lifted her slender leg. Perhaps unwilling to step on him with her shoes, she had slipped one off at some point, revealing a small foot clad in a black stocking.[1] Her five, jade-like toes curled together, like an immaculate piece of artwork that could fit in one hand.

Then, it occurred to Qi Yuan. "I wonder which has better quality. Stockings from the Flowing Wind World or Arch Star? If we return to the Flowing Wind World, we could start a trade business to sell stockings."

This time, she didn’t hold back and really stepped on him. "Get lost!"

Perhaps because she doted on him too much, the motion lacked force and speed.

Instead, Qi Yuan easily caught her foot. "Haa... I was just thinking out loud. I’m short on money."

He still wasn’t rich enough to buy Arch Star.

"Hmph." A faint blush crept onto her ears. "Is money more important than me?"

Back on Nine Plate Mountain, she had once asked him, "Is the Myriad Phenomena Gate more beautiful than me?"

Qi Yuan smiled. "Well, money is important to many people, for sure. But I’m lawful and good. You are more important."

"And what if you weren’t lawful and not an idealist?"

He answered seriously, "Still you."

She snorted with more sweetness than annoyance. "Hmph!"

Qi Yuan grew serious. "I just thought of a very serious problem."

She didn’t retract her leg, seemingly enjoying the closeness. "What is it?"

After all those years of waiting, she seemed to have developed a deep sense of insecurity and feared being abandoned at any moment. Only by staying close to Qi Yuan could she feel at ease. Ever since she came to this world, she had never left his side, giving him all the attention.

Qi Yuan uttered solemnly, "We haven’t discussed the betrothal gift yet."

She replied immediately, "I don’t want any betrothal gift."

Qi Yuan chuckled. "You are simping too much. If people heard that online, they’d definitely criticize you."

She smiled bewitchingly. "If they scold me, you’ll argue back for me, won’t you, Blood Drop?"

Qi Yuan nodded seriously. "Hmm... I’d just kill them."

He wouldn’t let her suffer even the slightest grievance. He had already made her endure far too much.

1. ***E/N: Kojima approves. ☜