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The next day's match was between the Cao Liu Family Group and the Pirate Team. Although the Cao Liu Family had assembled their elite members, aside from Cao Yi and Lurus, the other three were breakthrough-level experts, heroes in their own right, but lacking distinctive traits. However, the Pirate Team also had weaknesses; they had prematurely revealed their members' strengths when facing the Piggy Group.
It was hard to predict who would win this match, and there was no clear consensus on who was stronger or weaker.
Before the match began, Wandering approached and sat beside Cui Ming, Ding Ze, and Li Qing. They discussed the upcoming competition, and Cui Ming expressed that they hadn't prepared much but still felt confident. As the match was about to start, Li Qing asked, "Senior, besides Cao Yi and Lurus from the Cao Liu Family, who else should we pay attention to?"
Wandering glanced at Li Qing. "Are you blind? Is your heart blind too?"
"..." Li Qing was speechless.
"It's understandable if others don't know, but you, Li Qing, not knowing is unacceptable. When you were ten years old, didn't you play with a little girl?"
Li Qing replied, "Senior, should I have played with a big girl instead?"
"You and your teacher went out to Nordo City and encountered a group of people scamming through disabled children. Your teacher turned them over to the police but left behind a little girl. A few days later, that girl was taken by the Liu Family."
Li Qing suddenly realized. "Qin Qin, that mute girl. I remember now; her music was beautiful. She was like a cash cow for that gang; they bought her pretty clothes and had her perform in front of crowds. Someone pretended to be Qin Qin's mother, claiming they needed money for her treatment. Such a lovely girl combined with her heavenly music made passersby generous; even wealthy individuals came specifically to meet Qin Qin and donated large sums. Because of this, at a party hosted by a wealthy man, Qin Qin and her mother were invited but were exposed by my teacher. I remember the Head of the Liu Family was in Nordo City at that time. My teacher contacted him, and the Liu Family took her in. But was she a potential cultivator?"
"The Head of the Liu Family didn't test her either; after bringing her to the Liu Family, they arranged for her life there, which wasn't too bad. However, as the Liu Family declined, they conducted tests every year on children from both the main lineage and collateral branches who turned ten; she was tested too and unexpectedly passed."
Li Qing looked at Wandering while Cui Ming angrily exclaimed, "Hey! Old man, how was I supposed to know she was a potential cultivator? What nonsense... I'm just translating what my senior's expression meant."
Wandering glared at Li Qing, who quickly added, "He said it."
"He is your junior; you are his elder—it's your responsibility to teach him properly." Wandering tapped Li Qing on the head in frustration before storming off.
Wandering left, and the three of them relaxed, leaning back to watch the match. After all, Wandering was a senior. Your demeanor is too disrespectful to him. However, Li Qing was dissatisfied with Cui Ming's way of driving Wandering away, while Ding Ze and Cui Ming were quite pleased.
...
The Pirate Team versus the Cao Liu Family was quite a spectacle. Fishman was a peculiar practitioner; he seemed to be a magician yet also an assassin. Bold and meticulous, his one-on-one abilities were terrifying. It could be said that Fishman was not afraid of facing any member of the Cao Liu Family in a duel.
Cao Yi, the future Sword Saint, was incredibly strong. His sword had no techniques; it only had intent. Each move—cutting, stabbing, slashing—was executed with such speed that it seemed as if he hadn’t even struck at all. Cao Yi's speed was frightening; not only was his running speed exceptionally fast, but he could maintain it for a long time, and his attack speed was equally rapid. For instance, when Fishman threw his Harpoon and retrieved it after landing, Cao Yi could unleash four powerful sword strikes in that time.
However, Fishman was countered by Lurus, who specialized in the Nature System—a rather obscure branch. He could summon vines from thin air to bind his opponents, and his arrows carried withering magic that drained the opponent's Force upon impact.
Yet against Ice Archer Vance, Lurus found himself at a disadvantage; both sides were cautious of each other.
Qin Qin, the mute girl, was considered by Li Qing to be the dark horse of the competition—exceptionally strong. She could attack enemies, control the battlefield, assist teammates in recovering their Force, and even restore Life Stone health. She was an all-rounder unlike any ordinary one; every aspect of Qin Qin’s abilities was outstanding. Heaven took away her ability to speak but granted her other gifts—musical talent that allowed her to fuse Force into her guqin music. Every note and melody had its own purpose.
Although the other two were not as remarkable as them, they were still skilled fighters. When these three banded together, the Pirate Team found themselves in a tough spot.
As they grouped up, Cao Yi charged forward, prompting an immediate response from the Pirate Team. Cao Yi quickly retreated while Lurus shot arrows. If they pursued Cao Yi and attempted to break through the trio's formation, Qin Qin’s music would resonate, unleashing Force from her strings that would strike their opponents unavoidably, making them dance to the rhythm.
Indeed, Qin Qin was a rare master of Spiritual Connection; her music could bolster her teammates' fighting spirit while seducing their foes. At the moment she seduced an opponent, the swift Cao Yi would turn back to strike. One-on-one, the Cao Liu Family did not hold an advantage; however, in a three-on-three scenario against four members of the Pirate Team, they barely managed to achieve a stalemate.
Lurus's arrows were slow but long-range and precise. Fanxi may not have had Lurus’s shooting distance but compensated with speed and accuracy. Meanwhile, Lurus had to be wary of Fanxi’s potential ice arrows at any moment; the Piggy Team had suffered greatly from those icy projectiles.
However, due to the other two being relatively mediocre, the situation remained balanced.
At this moment, the role of the Pirate King became evident; being close to him was a nightmare everyone knew about. Thus, the strategy for dealing with the Pirate King from the Cao Liu Family was kite-flying: you chase me with your short legs; if you continue chasing me, I’ll bind you with my vines; if you still pursue me, I have Qin Qin controlling the battlefield to make you jump around painfully. If you keep chasing after that, then you must be a fool.
Lank was, after all, the leader of Pirate City, commanding thousands of pirates and a figure that even the Dawn Empire could do nothing about. After experiencing a setback, Lank had been lingering on the outskirts of the ongoing battles, but the Cao Liu Family remained vigilant, never giving him a chance.
As both sides exchanged blows, their equipment and treasures gradually strengthened. The Arrow Tower was nearly wiped out; such a war of attrition was rare. Despite their efforts to earn money, both sides maintained a balanced economy, with similar levels of strength. The Cao Liu Family revealed their greatest weakness: a lack of experience. They were missing a calm, steady individual who could assess the situation.
When the Cao Liu Family pursued and pressured the Pirate Team to the vicinity of their last Arrow Tower, it seemed that the Pirate Team had no choice but to return home to fight. Instead of charging out together, they came out one by one—first one, then two, then another—hastily trying to save the last Arrow Tower. As a result, the first to emerge, Big Guy, was heavily injured. Seeing him retreat into the Arrow Tower for protection as it was about to collapse, Cao Yi grew anxious and chased after him, which was something the other four had not anticipated. As Li Qing said, battles change rapidly; sometimes communication is difficult.
In that fleeting moment, the Cao Liu Family team became disjointed. Cao Yi pursued Big Guy, ready to deliver a finishing blow, while the other four—Lurus and another—attempted to destroy the Arrow Tower, creating space for Cao Yi so he wouldn’t have to worry about damage from it during combat. Meanwhile, Qin Qin and another member worked hard to maintain their formation and followed closely behind Cao Yi.
At that moment, two individuals—Lank and Fishman—arrived. Cao Yi made an accurate judgment; he killed Big Guy, while at the same time, Lurus destroyed the Arrow Tower. However, with their team now disjointed, they thought it wasn’t a big problem and quickly regrouped. Little did they expect that Lank used a Flash Card, teleporting directly next to Qin Qin, dropping seven barrels of gunpowder in a circle before igniting them instantly.
This was the first appearance of a divine card in this Competition Match. A divine card grants its user a unique ability and can only be used once. The credit for this card went to Romir. No one expected that the hot-tempered Romir, known for his fiery nature, had earned his temper from a very special move. During a three-on-three battle where they were being pushed back, Romir and Fishman were busy slaying dragons in the wild. He sacrificed his rage to gain a skill similar to that of Cui Ming Flawless, entering an invincible state for twenty seconds. Ultimately, this was the first time someone had slain the Red Dragon in this competition match. The reward for this feat was the very Flash Card...
Or rather, it should be said that in the wilds, Romir received a four-star mission to kill the Red Dragon with a reward of one Flash Card. Indeed, Lank exhibited some kingly demeanor by daring to attempt what others would not. He immediately sent out Big Guy to probe the Red Dragon's characteristics. After understanding its traits, he gathered two others and began orchestrating team battles to distract their opponents. In the end, they successfully acquired the Flash Card.
The Flash Card ended up in Lank's hands not because he was the captain but because he possessed immense destructive power in multi-player battles with his gunpowder barrel formations. When he charged into the center of their team and detonated those barrels, it became a nightmare for any team—including the Fire Cult.
In this critical moment, Cao Yi entered the Way of Heavenly Meditation. During meditation, he couldn’t move or attack enemies; however, his force transformed into sword energy providing exceptional defense. He managed to survive this ordeal; however, both Qin Qin, Lurus, and another teammate were caught in an explosion from the gunpowder barrels. The shockwave from the force allowed Fishman to surge in while Lank, wielding blades in both hands, fought fiercely alongside arrows of ice shot from base by Fanxi. In just five seconds, all four members except for Cao Yi fell.
Next came the task of preventing Cao Yi from returning to base to revive his teammates as four pursued him relentlessly. Although he was indeed fast, what he didn’t realize was that their goal was not merely to prevent him from returning but specifically to stop him from using his return scroll. As they neared the main base of the Cao Liu Group, they suddenly turned and pounced towards mid-way while attempting to revive Qin Qin. At that moment, the Pirate Team destroyed their last remaining Arrow Tower, charging toward their base.
With four against two and needing to split their focus on protecting their attacked main base, victory seemed inevitable for them. The battle had been evenly matched for over an hour between the two sides; however, in this final clash, everything turned upside down as they could only swallow down defeat's bitter fruit. (To be continued.)
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