After browsing around, the pressure built up from high-intensity special training got released — and on top of the mage robe she'd bought, Li Fei also picked up two more pieces of gear she really liked.
A black belt, deep and rich in color, that paired well with all sorts of dresses; cinched around the waist it tightened her waistline, accentuating her slender proportions, and it looked sharp and elegant.
[Belt of Strength]
Equipment Grade: Crescent Moon
Stats: Strength +15, Constitution +10
Sockets: 1
And a one-handed sword, silver from end to end, narrow and light in shape, with a blade thin as a cicada's wing.
[Flowing Silver]
Equipment Grade: Crescent Moon
Stats: Sharpness Grade III, Durability Grade II, additionally increases swing speed.
Enchantment Effect: Flowing Silver
Flowing Silver: After contact with blood, leaves behind a mithril aura, and allows movement at extreme speed to wherever that aura lingers; maximum 30 meters, cooldown 1 minute.
The first was priced at 1,200, walked out for 900; the latter was tagged at 2,300, and the bargaining failed — after all, the seller was male, which meant most of the Top Courtesan's negotiation tricks were automatically sealed. On top of that his will was firm, and from start to finish he wore an 'absolutely no haggling' attitude. Li Fei's cute-act got nowhere, so she had to pay full price.
Luckily, the price he offered was quite fair — even though [Flowing Silver]'s stats were a bit weak (despite being a one-handed sword, its stats were nearly identical to the dagger [Darknight]), an enchantment carrying a 'displacement' effect was extremely precious. Even with the short range and the restriction, it was still enough to make most low-Sequence Transcendents green with envy.
Beyond that, Li Fei also spent another two-thousand-something gold coins to buy two pieces of equipment for her teammates — funds were tight, sure, but worst case she could just pay her workers a bit less; the diamond rings on her wives' hands could absolutely not be small. Besides, Li Fei's main funding shortfall was in Wealth Points, not gold coins.
"Not bad — you can buy Crescent Moon-grade gear without even blinking now."
In an unremarkable barbecue shop, Bai Mengtian clutched a grilled rib and put on a coy little act: "But I still miss the Feibao who paid in installments more."
"Heh."
Li Fei brushed her off with a noncommittal sound and focused on the grilled ribs.
This place was Bai Mengtian's recommendation. The ribs looked just like the shop's décor — utterly unremarkable; the edges of the meat were even burnt black, and there was none of that pretty, pink cross-section you'd hope for. But the taste was genuinely excellent.
The surface layer was charred-crispy with a smoky flavor, while the meat inside was tender and firm, brimming with juice, the marinade seasoned just right.
Once the gnawed-clean rib bones had piled into a little mountain, Li Fei finally couldn't help asking:
"So… once you get Folded Space coordinates, what do people usually do with them?"
She'd realized that the idea of ignoring a Dark Gold-grade reward and dutifully focusing on prep for the tournament was extremely unrealistic; if she didn't pry some info loose, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
"You gambled on coordinates?"
"Huh?"
"Guess not."
Bai Mengtian explained to her wide-eyed-curious best friend: "It's well known that different Folded Spaces produce resources of wildly varying quality. Some factions, after obtaining a Folded Space's coordinates and doing a preliminary exploration, may simply sell the coordinates and intel — maybe development is too difficult, maybe the resources inside don't suit their faction — to avoid running in the red. Of course, given the temptation of Folded Spaces and the reluctance to give up sunk costs, plenty of small factions that aren't rational or decisive enough end up dumping themselves entirely into a Folded Space, and there have even been cases where the upper leadership got wiped out under a native siege."
"There are also no shortage of lone wolves who stumble onto Folded Space coordinates and have neither the energy nor the intention to build a faction and slowly develop the space, so they just sell the coordinates for cash and use the money to outfit themselves with stronger gear."
"But from the buyer's side, this kind of completely unexplored or only barely explored Folded Space coordinate is basically a jumbo-sized Pandora's box. After deep development you might make a killing — or you might lose your shirt down to your grandma's place… that's where the phrase 'gambling on coordinates' comes from."
"Ohhh…"
Li Fei wiped the grease off her paws, attentively topped up Bai Mengtian's juice, and put on her best 'humble student' face: "Big sis, then what's the standard procedure?"
"Feibao, the way you go all docile and bashful the second you want to ask something is really sus."
Bai Mengtian offered the serious assessment first, then continued:
"Generally, you first send out a small group of low-to-mid Sequence Transcendents to do a preliminary survey of the Folded Space, because the farther the coordinates and the higher the Sequence level, the greater the cost of teleporting in."
"Once enough intel has been gathered, the upper leadership of the organization that owns the Folded Space makes a comprehensive judgment based on development costs versus expected returns."
"If there's money in it, they'll pour funds into building a stable teleportation channel; if there isn't, they'll selectively sell off some of the intel and coordinates."
"There are lots of specific development models — you can keep it all to yourself, you can look for allies, or you can outsource the whole thing like Viranean does. The methods are all over the place too, but generally speaking, plunder and enslavement are the dominant tunes; people willing to deal with natives as equals are quite rare… and if the natives have a complete civilization, you can even prop up a puppet ruler and indirectly control the Folded Plane."
"Got it."
Li Fei nodded thoughtfully, instinctively mulling over how she ought to handle the coordinates in her own hand, only to have her train of thought interrupted by Bai Mengtian's voice.
"Dear little sis, take big sis's advice."
Bai Mengtian spoke with weighty sincerity: "Gambling on coordinates — nine times out of ten you lose. Don't go imitating those moths-to-the-flame idiots."
"Losing money is one thing, but if the coordinates are wrong, you might end up trapped in a dead zone with no way back, or even get torn apart by spatial turbulence."
"I've heard a rumor — there was once a fearless noble daughter who privately bought Folded Space coordinates, and rounded up a pack of dear sworn sisters who were all determined to step out from under their ancestors' shadows and carve out their own careers, and they all went off together to an unfamiliar Folded Space…"
"They got there and — boom, succubus nest."
"When that noble daughter came back hauling a pile of little succubus daughters, she finally figured out that the original coordinate sale had been a conspiracy from the start, masterminded by her own mother — and as for those former best sisters? Now she'd have to call them stepmom on sight."
"In short, if you ever get your hands on Folded Space coordinates of unknown origin, my advice is to sell them."
"The water in there runs deep — you're only Sequence 8, you can't handle it."
Even though Li Fei trusted that Miss System wouldn't con her, the concern in Bai Mengtian's tone touched her a little. She couldn't help grasping that pair of greasy paws and saying earnestly:
"Ting, my Ting, you really are the best to me."
"Fei, my Fei."
Bai Mengtian also set down her rib, gripped Li Fei's hand back, and returned a deeply affectionate expression: "So… how about selling them to me? If the rumors are true, I'd love to pay those succubi a visit…"
The next second, Bai Mengtian let out a very loud noise.
Because — with doubled bite force, plus extra bonuses to strength, physical penetration, and the target's sensitivity on contact — Li · Succubus Empress · Fei's bite really, really hurt.
Especially while frantically secreting toxins that stimulated pain receptors.
...
"Tomorrow is the exchange event, isn't it?"
Qin Zhihua sat at the edge of the bed, her voice gentle and soft: "Get to bed early tonight."
"Hai-yah, the prelims are tomorrow — if I so much as scrape some skin, I lose."
Just out of the bathing pool, steam-borne fragrance still clinging to her, the young madam declared with absolute confidence: "Just get my champagne ready — one bottle a day, until the exchange event ends."
"Don't be careless."
Even though she knew perfectly well Li Fei was just joking, Qin Zhihua couldn't help giving a tender warning.
"Setting that aside."
Li Fei pulled on her white nightgown, knelt up on the bed with her hands on her hips, and in an arrogant, spoiled-princess tone said: "Qin Zhihua, I need you to help me cultivate."
"Mm?"
Qin Zhihua watched her with great interest.
"I've mastered some new spells, not the damage type. Don't resist — let me try out the effect."
Li Fei swayed left and right as she knee-walked across the soft, wide bed toward Qin Zhihua, then settled both hands on her shoulders: "Look at me."
Qin Zhihua obediently tilted her head up.
In the past, Qin Zhihua had always looked into Li Fei's eyes, divining her thoughts from the tiny shifts in her gaze, and never tiring of it.
But for some reason, the Li Fei in front of her right now looked a little different.
Her lips seemed more lustrous, giving off a faintly there, faintly not-there sheen — even though her lips were pressed closed, just looking at them brought a soft, sensuous murmur to one's ears.
Her slender, snow-white belly also seemed to carry some soul-stealing enchantment, making it hard to drag one's eyes away.
The already exquisitely seductive young madam had become even more captivating after activating her spell-like ability. In a daze, Qin Zhihua experienced a kind of illusion — she seemed to see bat wings and horns growing from Li Fei's body, and a long tail swaying behind her.
And after fully transforming into a Succubus Empress, Li Fei activated her third spell-like ability — [Depravity].
"Lepor humanoideus."
At last, the young madam's red lips parted, and Humanoid Creature Enthrallment landed dead-on against a completely defenseless Qin Zhihua.
She waited a moment — only to find that Qin Zhihua's gaze had merely grown a touch hazy, with no real, obvious change.
"Boring. Sleep, sleep."
Although she knew that the Sequence gap between herself and Lady Zhihua was enormous — the latter's resistance far overwhelming her own spell-penetration — for the effect to be this pathetic still left Li Fei disappointed and dissatisfied.
But she'd been lying down only a few seconds when she felt a scorching breath beat against the side of her face, ruffling the hair beside her ear.
For the first time, Li Fei heard threads of wildness in Qin Zhihua's voice:
"Don't sleep."
Cold sweat trickled down.
The young madam instinctively sensed things had gone south, buried her head in the pillow, and tried to play ostrich: "I'm tired… match tomorrow… haven't meditated tonight… easy to catch Witch Sickness…"
Before she'd even finished her sentence, Qin Zhihua — who knew Li Fei's weak spots inside and out — bit down on the scruff of fate's neck.
Afterwards, the young madam used that lovely voice of hers to prove that the five-story villa's soundproofing wasn't as impressive as one might think.
...
Proof, then: act suicidal, die.
Come morning, the young madam slumped against the back of her chair with the thinnest thread of breath, and proactively instructed Ram:
"In the soup… add some more Serpent-woman scales."
After whimpering and crying out for half the night, even a witch's constitution couldn't keep her voice from sounding weak and hoarse.
After this profound lesson, Li Fei reflected through the pain and burned a truth into her memory: some spells really cannot be used carelessly.
The door pushed open. Qin Zhihua, who'd gone out overnight to refine pills, made it home just in time for breakfast, and hurried over to sit beside Li Fei.
The young madam's body twitched, and she shifted aside almost imperceptibly.
Clearly, once the swordswoman who'd broken through to the Fifth Heaven of True Qi went berserk, the glass-cannon frame of a low-Sequence mage-girl was rather fragile — hehe.
Qin Zhihua noticed the young madam's little maneuver and shot her a half-exasperated, half-amused glare. In the end she still couldn't help brushing aside the dark hair at Li Fei's ear, studying that pale, sickly complexion, and saying softly:
"Take this. It nourishes qi and blood, restores the foundation."
She opened her palm — on it lay a freshly forged pill, radiating vigorous vitality.
"Restore the foundation? As if I need this."
The young madam said stubbornly: "My body's in great shape."
"This is so you can perform better in the matches…"
Qin Zhihua coaxed her gently and patiently, like a doting mother coaxing her daughter into taking cold medicine.
So as not to disappoint Qin Zhihua's affection, the young madam still obediently took the pill. Her color didn't really improve, but her physical state did pick up a lot — at least she wasn't drifting on her feet when she walked.
While she was changing clothes, Sofia — who was waiting to escort her mother-in-law to school — caught, somewhere between a glimpse and not, a glance of an eerie, sinuous pattern that had appeared on Li Fei's waist.
...
— If this tournament bracket was drawn purely at random, then I, Li, will lop off my own head and kick it around as a soccer ball!
Inside the Dean's office, which was livelier than usual, Li Fei swept her eyes across the schedule of the exchange event and silently grumbled.
According to the announcement, the exchange event would run for three days.
Day one: single-elimination format. The lower-year student squads from the two major academies would go through four rounds of competition, narrowing 144 entered teams down to 9; just making it to the third round would earn a small credit reward.
Day two: group-stage format. The nine teams would be split into three groups, fighting head-to-head within each group, and only one team per group would emerge.
The final day: the finals.
The three remaining teams would face off to decide champion, runner-up, and third place.
But Li Fei sharply noticed that several of the teams she was keeping an eye on were all staggered apart — they wouldn't run into each other in the elimination rounds. For example: the Cleaver Squad led by Alex; the "Warrior-Rogue-Mage" team formed by Klein and Kova; and the "Model Squad" that included last year's specially-recruited student Annesia…
Sneaking a glance at the Dean, Li Fei said with a face of unimpeachable righteousness:
"Looks like this will be a fair and impartial tournament. I'll do my very best, represent our academy with skill and style — say, is there an extra reward for clearing the elimination rounds without taking a single hit?"
"I'll be watching."
Nicole ignored her adopted daughter's question, encouraging her in an elegant, easygoing tone.
"Do your best, hm? I'm looking forward to your performance too."
The two-faced little beauty who'd just sold off the 'neck is the weak point' intel the day before also smiled sweetly, cheering Li Fei on.
"Mm-hmm."
Li Fei arched a brow and glanced over at Melodia and Chloe, who were sitting in a row tackling their breakfast — her heart full of confidence.
The Deans on both sides were patrons of the Top Courtesan.
Dear elder sister Irena and dear teacher Melodia would be serving as referees.
Host's leadership, referees, teammates — all my people. How could I possibly lose?
"Go for it, Li Fei."
Melodia easily picked apart the bones of the lamb chop in her soup and winked at her with the air of an older sister and good friend: "If you can hold out to the end, there'll be a big surprise…"
If not for the Dean specifically warning everyone after class on the day Li Fei was promoted to Gold-tier student — "don't tell her about this in advance, so it doesn't affect her competition mindset" — this blonde mature-lady teacher would probably have leaked the news to her dearly cherished good student the very next day.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Out of occupational habit, Li Fei instinctively went to shoot her a flirty, eyes-aflutter, come-hither glance — and immediately caught sight of Melodia in the act of sucking the marrow out of the lamb chop bone.
Drawing some rather un-innocent associations, the young madam couldn't help giving a little shudder, her face going pale.
...
"Eek, what's wrong with you?"
Lilith was startled by Li Fei's bloodless face.
Grace, who'd changed into a new set of equipment, frowned alongside her, with the feeling that Li Fei's sickly, feeble state seemed somehow familiar.
"Hai — aftereffects of soul damage, that's all."
Li Fei smiled brilliantly, with a 'gritting through the wound and forcing carefree bravado' air to her: "Don't worry, it won't affect my performance."
She tucked her hands behind her back, walked up to Grace's ear, and whispered: "Were we thinking some… improper thoughts, Miss Grace?"
"Focus on the matches. The day after tomorrow, I'll reward you properly, Grace-wuff."
After firing up Miss Grace's fighting spirit, Li Fei produced two pieces of equipment from inside her robes and tossed them to the two of them, waving a hand:
"While shopping yesterday I saw things that suited you two, so I bought them as gifts — come on, try them on."
____
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