The Peony Beauty had fallen into intermittent amnesia. She couldn't remember how she had eventually ended her performance with a relatively elegant classical dance, especially since she had never even seen that dance before. Mu Anqi hadn't seen it either; she had simply written on the slip for her to randomly perform a dance lasting over three minutes.
After the dance, Mu Anqi aimed her rifle at the peony demon. After all, this was a competition, not a feud to the death—there was no need to drive someone into a corner. The Feast of Extreme Bliss had to continue, and she was looking forward to her next opponent! "Do you surrender?"
The control of her body finally returned. To the Peony Beauty, this match felt like it had lasted an entire century. In that short competition time, she felt as if she had relived her entire life cycle: from a seed sprouting, growing, blooming, and slowly taking demonic form over the long years. When Mu Anqi asked, "Do you surrender?", her soul hadn't even fully returned yet. But the moment she realized she could control her body again, her first reaction was to flee the arena in a utterly embarrassed and panicked manner.
Clearly, she had surrendered.
Mu Anqi could have been even more ruthless, stunning the peony demon the moment she was about to leave the arena, making her understand the extreme ups and downs a demon's life can hold. But Mu Anqi didn't do that. After all, she was a player with propriety and restraint. She also understood that there were still many matches ahead, and she could use her blessing words slowly.
You have to be patient to catch a big fish. If she went too far, what if other contestants simply surrendered and refused to take the stage when matched against her?
Watching the Peony Beauty stagger away from the competition venue, stumbling like a soulless zombie, Mu Anqi sighed. She bowed towards the two seniors overseeing the arena, then humbly left the stage and quickly headed to the rest area.
—"Don't worry, no one would dare seek revenge after the match."
Just as Mu Anqi was hurriedly leaving the venue, Ji Huaichu's voice sounded in her heart. Perhaps her departing steps were a bit too swift, making General Ji think she was worried about retaliation. Ah, well… it really did invite quite a bit of hatred.
"With the General as my backer, why would I be afraid of anything?" Mu Anqi replied with a laugh. Besides, the Feast of Extreme Bliss was just this kind of game. She was operating entirely within the rules, not violating anything. But… "I get the feeling those two seniors seem to think quite highly of me?"
"Senior Yansha is a ghost of Taiyin, and you also belong to the Taiyin faction. It's perfectly normal for him to favor an outstanding junior. As for the Progenitor…" Ji Huaichu thought for a moment and said, "The Progenitor has always held a kind-hearted affection for young, good-looking humans like you from other planes."
"Is that so." Mu Anqi scratched her head. This was one of the annoying things about the Shattered Mirror Continent. These experienced demons or ghosts, judging by age, were all her "ancestors." The way they looked at her always resembled a grandmother looking at her granddaughter. Speaking of which, General Ji's age also…
How thrilling.
—"..."
The three deputy generals, who were still immersed in the performance and cackling with glee, suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. They saw their General's face had darkened for some reason. They looked at each other, exchanging glances, but still couldn't figure out what had happened. They could only silently shift their positions, putting some distance between themselves and the emotionally unstable General Ji.
He Guxia, expression unchanged, pulled Xia Yun over to sit on the other side of the sofa. Her own disciple was still laughing heartlessly, her consciousness slightly vacant—probably still talking in that group chat, right?
That's right. The group chat was flooded with "Hahaha." Only the calm and composed Wu Sansheng didn't participate in this silly spamming.
[Zhao Guogu]: This is absurd. Miss Peony could probably debut on the spot.
[Fang Xunjiu]: Over here, Ye Jingmeng and Ye Muyun have recorded the entire match and are uploading it to the social media platforms in the Mingdu.
[Xia Yun]: Miss Peony is actually quite pretty, and her figure while dancing was good too.
[Fang Yunjiu]: The trauma from being assaulted by the Magic Muscular Men is finally healed.
[Si Suying]: What Magic Muscular Men?
[Fang Yunjiu]: You don't want to know. /world-weary
Mu Anqi watched the messages scrolling rapidly in the group chat and fell silent for a moment: So, Magic Muscular Men could evoke that many emotional points from players? That was something worth noting.
It was at that moment Mu Anqi vaguely understood why the live broadcast and stage lighting had cooperated with her during her match. There must have been a massive, explosive influx of emotional points at that time. Regardless of the type of emotion, it meant extra income for the Feast of Extreme Bliss.
So then…
For her subsequent matches, as long as they weren't core-level battles, and as long as she didn't encounter the popular factions or hot contestants favored to win… would the Feast of Extreme Bliss continue to provide special treatment?
The answer, of course, was—Yes!
"Red: Money Tree vs. This Is Your Misfortune"
The moment she saw this name, Mu Anqi was shocked. She thought it might be some powerful faction, but then she noticed that the Yellow, Blue, and Green arenas weren't announcing the next round. This treatment… clearly meant they were going to exclusively broadcast her unorthodox antics again.
So, it was just a cool-sounding name?
"How dare they look down on us!" The members of the opposing faction changed their expressions the moment they saw the arena's exclusive broadcast. Gnashing their teeth in extreme indignation, they shed tears of resentment. "Who decided that the Money Tree contestant would definitely be the one fighting this round!"
The responsible side thought: It doesn't matter if the Money Tree doesn't fight; we can always cut to contestants from other arenas later.
"I'll go. I… have fought that person before." A man completely enveloped in an oversized cloak stood up. His face was deathly pale, like someone who hadn't seen the sun for a long time, or perhaps anemic pallor. In stark contrast were his heavy, dark eye circles. He stretched lazily, revealing an extremely emaciated arm from under his cloak, looking as if it were only skin wrapped over bone. "Besides, I have my potions to rely on."
After so many worlds had passed, he never thought he would encounter that player here again—the one who had given him his first taste of defeat. You have to understand, he had never suffered such a great loss or experienced failure in the game before. To be defeated by a female player, and one who didn't follow the conventional path at that…
'Finally, a chance to clear my name.'
He pushed open the private booth door and silently made his way towards the arena.
When Mu Anqi saw her opponent on the stage, she found him somewhat familiar but couldn't remember where she'd seen him before. However, Mu Anqi didn't dwell on the details. 'Whoever he is, Fang Xunjiu could dance, so no matter who this guy is… Magical Boy, it's you!'
"May you always wear a smile and good luck always be with you."
The moment the match began, Mu Anqi's blessing words left her lips instantly. Simultaneously, her opponent pulled out several potion bottles and smashed them at his feet. It was in that very instant that Mu Anqi remembered who this man was!
The alchemist from Reversal City who had poisoned her and made her lose her voice!
Well, well, well. Looks like he's been doing alright for himself lately, even made it to the Feast of Extreme Bliss. Subconsciously, the signature mask of Reversal City materialized over Mu Anqi's face. She knew the mask probably couldn't block poison gas. She rapidly backpedaled to create distance, and during the gap where the alchemist was controlled by the blessing words—standing on his head and rapping—she hurled a Molotov cocktail at the spilled potions.
—BOOM!
The air exploded instantly, a massive wave of heat rushing towards her. A golden glowing shield materialized in front of Mu Anqi, enveloping her completely and leaving her unharmed. The moment she threw the Molotov, Mu Anqi raised her rifle and unleashed a frantic barrage of fire into the center of the explosion. Two seconds later, the referee promptly announced, "Money Tree wins."
The referee looked rather disappointed; it seemed he had been looking forward to a talent show too. But unfortunately, the moment Mu Anqi realized her opponent was an alchemist who had already thrown potions that could potentially poison her and steal her voice, she didn't dare mess around anymore. She went straight for overwhelming firepower to end things quickly.
As for the explosion… She hadn't expected the alchemist's potions to be so potent. It was just one Molotov cocktail, yet the moment they met, they unleashed such terrifying power. Good thing she had the Golden Thread Soft Armor, otherwise wouldn't it have been mutual destruction?
The alchemist directly dissipated, exiting the game to respawn. Mu Anqi looked at the empty arena, her heartbeat only now gradually steadying. 'Good thing I was alert. If I had really fooled around and lost… that would have been so embarrassing.'
Little did she know, the sudden appearance of the golden shield had completely bewildered the other contestants. Only one deep question echoed in their minds: Money Tree, just how many more hidden cards do you have up your sleeve that we don't know about?
"Players are really tough to deal with," Mu Anqi sighed upon returning to the rest area. "I hope my next opponent is from Taiyin or the Mingdu."
However…
"Red: Money Tree vs. Green Vine"
"The Green Vine faction surrenders."
Mu Anqi had barely even stood up from her seat in the rest area when the surrender message came through. What kind of speed was that? What kind of efficiency? 'Good grief!' Mu Anqi somewhat suspected the Green Vine demon sisters had said something to their clan; otherwise, the surrender couldn't have come this fast.
But soon, in the next round, this suspicion was dispelled. Because the Swallow Moon Wolf clan surrendered with equally lightning speed.
By the time lunch rolled around, Mu Anqi hadn't even managed to leave the rest area. She endured the long succession of matches, and when it was finally her turn to appear, the moment she stood up, she found her opponent had already surrendered—they simply refused to fight her!
Mu Anqi: Are you even playing fair? Are you even playing fair?!
The furious little Money Tree felt utterly aggrieved even while drinking her nutrient fluid.
"How can they just surrender like this? They're totally targeting me," Mu Anqi complained, after finishing her lime tea flavored nutrient fluid, throwing herself into General Ji's arms to whine (pretend-cry).
Ji Huaichu ruffled Mu Anqi's hair. The little Money Tree was completely fake-crying, though she was certainly feeling wronged. Anyone would feel hard done by waiting all morning only to have just one match.
It's just… this matter couldn't be forced. After all, not everyone enjoys dying of social embarrassment and becoming famous.
"I even went easy on them," Mu Anqi grumbled. She had shown mercy to the Peony Beauty back then, hadn't she? She didn't bless her to death, right?
"Mhm, they just don't know what's good for them," Ji Huaichu comforted, telling a bald-faced lie. After agreeing with that statement, she thought for a moment and said seriously, "But fighting opponents who can't fight back isn't that interesting anyway. It's more fun to have famous demons and ghosts dance for you."
"Think about it, which is more spectacular: an ordinary person being forced to dance, or He Guxia dancing?" Ji Huaichu cited an example offhandedly. "Just wait a bit longer. Maintain vigilance and respect for your opponents. More powerful people will fight you."
Upon hearing this, Mu Anqi's eyes lit up, and her mind, committing ten heinous sins, even conjured an image of He Guxia in a Magical Girl transformation pose. Meanwhile, He Guxia, sitting nearby, expressionlessly rested her hand on her sword.
Scaring Xia Yun into grabbing He Guxia's arm tightly: "It was just an example! It's a joke, Master!"
'They're on the same team! There's no way they'd get matched up!'