Encountering He Guxia ahead of time forced Wan Jin, the "flagship" of Brocade Land, to withdraw early from the Feast of Extreme Bliss. However, Lady Red didn't seem to mind this outcome. The subsequent battles proceeded with their usual casualness, and everyone once again realized just how profound the foundation Lady Red had accumulated over the years truly was.
"General, why don't you have any decisive weapons?" Watching match after match, it was clear that besides the inherited "nuclear options" of the factions in the Mingdu, the forces in Taiyin weren't empty-handed either. Looking at it this way… Mu Anqi silently turned her gaze to Ji Huaichu. Why did she feel that her own General was the one contributing the most yet also the most impoverished among these Taiyin forces?
"Those are all external objects," was Ji Huaichu's reply.
Mu Anqi stared silently at Ji Huaichu. General Ji remained unperturbed and said calmly, "I don't pay much attention to these worldly possessions."
Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that her innate abilities already included battle armor, weapons, and a mask, so she naturally didn't see the need to pursue those "worldly possessions." As for those like Xia Fenghua, it was simply a case of not being able to obtain such treasures.
Mu Anqi nodded. She cast an envious glance at the various artifacts of Brocade Land, then looked seriously at Ji Huaichu. "Next Feast of Extreme Bliss, we need to go fully armed!"
The Feast of Extreme Bliss occurred once every ten years. Mu Anqi felt that, with her Money Tree ability, she could definitely equip the three Vice Generals and the three slacker ghosts (Xia Fenghua, Storyteller, Dramatist). She couldn't compete in accumulated resources with the ghosts who had been operating in the Shattered Mirror Continent for years, but given ten years, the Money Tree could earn a considerable amount of money and items.
Most importantly, these ghosts weren't players. If items were gifted rather than resold, the Nirvana Space would turn a blind eye, as long as Mu Anqi didn't go too far.
A player with a ability like Money Tree was probably one of a kind in the Shattered Mirror Continent, much to the envy of other ghosts. With the capability to earn high scores coupled with double or even higher rewards—and having amassed such substantial earnings—Mu Anqi didn't have grand ambitions. She was willing to spend these points: on exchanging for trips with General Ji, on items useful in the game, on weapons to equip her companions.
A ten-year interval?
Ha, joking aside, Mu Anqi hadn't even been a player for a full year yet!
Ji Huaichu thought about the scenario then and found it rather agreeable.
However, if Mu Anqi really set this precedent, future Feasts of Extreme Bliss would likely impose some restrictions on weapons and items. Otherwise, it wouldn't be the Feast of Extreme Bliss anymore, but purely the Feast of Pay-to-Win.
Over at Brocade Land, Lady Red watched He Guxia, who had expressionlessly eliminated her opponent in her fourth consecutive match, and felt a headache coming on. Even she hadn't anticipated that He Guxia would join Ji Huaichu and participate in the Feast.
In the past, He Guxia had never cared about these competitions.
As for the variable that changed everything, it seemed to be the "players." The number of players recruited by the Shattered Mirror Continent was increasing. If this continued, the continent, currently split between two major powers, might see a third external force emerge besides "Taiyin" and the "Mingdu." Ah, perhaps that was for the best, saving the Mingdu side from constantly resenting the foreign ghosts of Taiyin.
The Feast of Extreme Bliss was in full swing, and the Black Mirror Vortices appeared as they always did. However, perhaps these vortices had gained a bit of intelligence, as they truly never appeared at the Feast's venue. Otherwise… amidst the matches, everyone could have enjoyed a group boss fight.
The Ghost Kings gathered at the Feast; those with some strength joined the fray, and even residents without strength but with money managed to snag spectator tickets. During this period, the usually idle Demon Kings of the Mingdu were extremely busy. They had to prepare for the Feast while also dispatching eliminated members to handle the Black Mirror Vortices within their territories. After all, during the Feast, helpful ghosts like General Ji and others wouldn't divert their attention to clearing out the vortices; these tasks fell solely to them. This left the perpetually slacking monsters of the Mingdu running around in a frantic mess. Coupled with their inability to watch the matches, they could only pray incessantly for the Feast to end quickly.
As for the Taiyin side… Heh, joking aside, the Taiyin side regularly dealt with Black Mirror Vortices, so they weren't flustered at all. At most, when a vortex appeared, some factions and spectators would curse the damned vortex for interrupting their time to participate in (or watch) the matches.
After watching matches for a day, Mu Anqi's hands started to itch again. After all, she still had plenty of defensive items unused—items specifically prepared for the Feast! Mu Anqi wouldn't admit that her itch was from watching He Guxia dominate on the battlefield, as she still had some self-awareness. With her abilities, facing ghosts of He Guxia's caliber, they would undoubtedly go all out to eliminate her instantly, without giving her a chance.
Indeed, it's probably only when facing General Ji, that Ji Huaichu would show any mercy.
As for Xia Yun, watching her master fight naturally got her blood pumping. However, she felt a bit of "disagreement" with her master's "suggestion" that she watch and learn from each match, as these were things a mere mortal couldn't master. If she could learn them, wouldn't she be cultivating immortality in the Shattered Mirror Continent?
As for participating herself, Xia Yun didn't even dare think about it. In the game, with the support of her wealthy friend and teammates, she could manage to bully some ghosts. But in a 1v1 duel… unless she ran into the slackers from the first day, she would definitely get crushed.
The troublemakers in the group chat, never ones to shy away from chaos, kept @ing her because of He Guxia's consecutive appearances, urging her to also step up and show her skills. But how could the calm and collected Xia Yun fall for that scoundrel Fang Xunjiu's tricks? Read without replying, close the group chat—she had no desire to make a fool of herself on stage. Practicing swordsmanship… this kind of thing couldn't be rushed. As He Guxia said, she still had a long, long way to go in her training.
On the fourth day of the Feast of Extreme Bliss, after the first match where He Guxia directly cleaved apart the core of some unknown Taiyin ghost faction with a single colossal aerial sword strike, Mu Anqi rubbed her hands together and stepped onto the stage once more. In this match, her opponent was also from a Taiyin faction.
"Blue: Money Tree vs. Traversing the Starry Sky"
Unfortunately, this particular ghost had some history with Ji Huaichu. Of course, Ji Huaichu didn't remember how many overconfident ghosts she had casually taught a lesson to over the years, but as the one on the receiving end—he held a grudge, nursing his resentment.
Driven by pride, even though He Guxia had fought the previous match, he had gritted his teeth and entered the arena. In his view, he would rather lose on the stage to Ji Huaichu's faction than surrender without a fight. But when he saw that his opponent on the platform wasn't He Guxia but Mu Anqi, not a shred of excitement rose within him—it was completely replaced by fury!
What does this mean? Could it be that in Ji Huaichu's eyes, he wasn't even worthy of He Guxia's attention? He Guxia fought all day yesterday, and today she started by effortlessly dealing with those good-for-nothings. But when it came to his turn—Damn it!
Feeling deeply insulted, Ma Xing was so angry he nearly twisted his mouth out of shape. He couldn't help but clench his fists, his eyes spitting fire as he stomped heavily onto the platform.
Mu Anqi… Mu Anqi was utterly confused. Looking at her opponent's demeanor, it was as if she was his sworn enemy for eight lifetimes. Mu Anqi did a quick self-reflection but couldn't figure out where she might have offended him. Could it be that Miss Peony was related to this ghost? Or was the fox who fainted from anger his brother? Well, Mu Anqi couldn't think of any other "heinous deeds" she might have committed to incur such ghostly wrath.
"Come on, Ji Huaichu's little cash cow. I'll show you today that a softie like you should have gone home to suck milk long ago!"
Mu Anqi: "…" So… is this the pre-match trash talk segment?
"Let's start! Don't go crying for your mommy later!"
Mu Anqi: "…" Not only was Mu Anqi not the least bit angry, she even found it somewhat amusing.
She thought, compared to the trash talk full of censored words she encountered surfing the web in her previous life, this contestant's skills were clearly not up to par. Mu Anqi gave him a polite smile, with no intention of retorting.
After all, you can't just pull out a rocket launcher and send someone flying just because they squirted you a couple of times with a water pistol, right? That would be far too bullying.
Mu Anqi, who had plenty of tricks up her sleeve, didn't mind maintaining her composure at this moment. She elegantly made a standard "after you" gesture and waited for the referee to announce the start of the match.
"Wishing you abundant blessings and longevity, great fortune and long life, a hundred years of life, and may your age be as the Southern Mountain." The auspicious and kind blessings rolled off her tongue, but unfortunately, they didn't seem to take effect.
The moment the match started, Ma Xing's body directly transformed into a void, within which stars seemed to twinkle. A riot of colorful black? No, he was the starry sky itself!
But as the blessings descended, this starry sky faintly turned red. To an outsider, it might seem he was blushing from the blessings, but Mu Anqi, whose skills had completely failed to activate, vaguely guessed: he was probably just livid.
If Ma Xing were also a player, then someone who couldn't distinguish good words from bad must possess a passive ability, namely — [Flying Into a Rage].
Controlled by rage from the very beginning, he constantly felt this was Ji Huaichu's disdain and insult towards him. Precisely because of this, no matter what words Mu Anqi spoke, Ma Xing believed they absolutely could not be well-intentioned. He felt it was more like mockery! "A hundred years of life"? This guy must be sarcastically implying he died early! How could there be such a malicious player in the world, uttering such words disguised as blessings, but actually cursing him!
The more sincerely Mu Anqi blessed him, under the effect of this passive ability, Ma Xing only felt this person grew more and more vicious.
The blessings didn't land, but Mu Anqi didn't panic. While recalling other blessing phrases in her mind and continuously speaking them, her hands didn't slow down. She already held the Substitute Paper Figure ready. Slapping three Ghost-Ammo Cards onto her assault rifle, she raised it and began pouring fire onto the platform. On the arena, suppressive fire was also a valid tactic.
"Damn it, if you have the guts, fight me fair and square!" Ma Xing roared in pain as he was hit by the bullets. You can always trust the weapons and items from the Nirvana Space. No matter what form the opponent takes, as long as their essence is that of a ghost, the Ghost-Ammo can inflict significant damage on them.