In this final showdown, even though she knew Ji Huaichu had plans, Lady Red would never simply concede victory.
Moreover, Lady Red was curious: if Ji Huaichu lost this match to her… just how did she intend to proceed with those arrangements of hers?
…
"Hold nothing back." The imposing female general, with her blue-faced, fanged mask, stood on the stage, her blade held ready; her aura alone instantly saturated the arena.
"Of course. After all…" Lady Red smiled lightly, "…I also wish to know how you intend to continue after I defeat you."
Ji Huaichu did not answer. Lady Red said no more. The referee by the ring waited for the countdown—
"Begin!"
The crimson beast pounced down in an instant. Ji Huaichu swung her great red cloak off her shoulders in a wide arc, infusing it with ghostly energy, instantly hardening it into a shield. With a flick of her fingers, she sent it forward to block the beast. Meanwhile, she herself flashed forward, a patch of black mist spreading from her feet, gradually covering the entire arena.
Above the black mist, red mist intertwined. The bloody beast in the air shredded the red cloak with a single claw, but the cloak merely dissipated into ghostly energy upon being torn. A massive crimson pupil slowly opened within the red mist—
The long blade in her hand shattered. Ji Huaichu raised her hand, condensed a sharp spear, and hurled it directly. The sound of it tearing through the air ripped across the arena, the spearhead striking the center of the crimson pupil!
Boom!
It exploded into dissipating ghostly energy.
"So impatient?" Lady Red's light laugh echoed across the arena. An even larger bloody beast materialized and pounced down instantly. Before the laughter faded, Ji Huaichu was completely engulfed by the crimson beast, utterly obliterated!
Seeing the scene replay, Mu Anqi at the arena entrance felt her whole body go tense. She certainly remembered how Lady Red had brutally beaten Blood feather. Even though there weren't the countless, creepy crimson pupils this time, this was—
Just as Mu Anqi grew frantic, wanting to contact Ji Huaichu but afraid of disrupting the fight, a tear ripped through the red mist that filled the barrier and the entire arena! A flash of cold light—the bloody beast was torn open from behind. Ji Huaichu, like a sharp blade, shot upwards, the surrounding red mist parting around her.
As the bloody beast collapsed thunderously, the previously obscured black mist was revealed, countless ghostly hands continuously reaching upwards, clawing. Ji Huaichu hadn't summoned the ghostly shadows fully; most of their bodies remained within the black mist, only their arms stretching out, desperately tearing pieces from the bloody beast's form and dragging them into the black mist to be devoured.
Ji Huaichu was fighting conservatively. From the start until now, her approach had been primarily defensive, counter-attacking from that stance. If this were her usual combat style, she would have long since summoned a hundred ghosts to assist, charging forward with her great blade to slaughter her way through.
Hovering in the air, the long blade in Ji Huaichu's hand shattered, transforming in the next instant into a great bow! Ji Huaichu raised her hand, condensed an arrow, drew the bowstring full like a full moon, and directly shot it down towards the ground in a blast. Her drawing and firing were so fast they became a blur. If you blinked for even a second, you'd find the arena—how had it become a sky full of countless arrows?
The bloody beast, torn open from behind, also exploded instantly. Countless bloody fragments flew, solidified, and hung suspended. The moment Lady Red's figure reappeared at the center of the arena, even the myriad arrows falling from the sky paused mid-air.
With a mere light flick of her hand, a translucent ribbon shook out like a Milky Way, floating above Lady Red. Time resumed at that moment. The myriad arrows, frozen for that instant, all fell into the starry river, leaving not a single ripple. And in that very moment, countless pairs of blood-colored eyes manifested upon the exploded bloody fragments!
Swish! No one saw how Ji Huaichu moved. Her hovering figure in the air even disappeared a beat later, and only then did the audience realize it had merely been an afterimage.
With a boom, Ji Huaichu landed heavily, her long blade descending with her in a slash that left a deep gash across the arena floor. The starry river ribbon in the air vanished. Lady Red flashed aside, dodging the strike. The myriad blood-eyes in the air fixed their gaze upon Ji Huaichu in that instant. The red mist surged back towards her, intangible threads of blood silently winding their way up Ji Huaichu's body. And in that same moment, Lady Red's figure blurred into a remnant shadow, her hand forming a claw striking directly for Ji Huaichu's heart.
The spectators held their breath. In their eyes, the match seemed to be reaching its conclusion. Meanwhile, at the opposite arena entrance, Wan Jin, who was waiting, frowned deeply. The repeated use of her insight ability allowed her to clearly perceive the attacks and intentions of both parties on stage. But at this moment, the Madam was clearly…
Puff.
Lady Red watched as the Ji Huaichu before her turned into a paper doll, crushed by her single-handed strike. In that split second, Lady Red's sense of crisis spiked to its peak! And in that very instant, the ghostly shadows lurking within the black mist surged forth in a tide. Even as they were torn apart and annihilated the moment they got close to Lady Red, they pressed forward wave upon wave, without the slightest hesitation.
The ability of the myriad blood-eyes was still active. In Ji Huaichu's mind, the sound of a shield shattering echoed. She crushed another replacement paper doll at this moment. Beneath her mask, her cheeks were now covered entirely in black ghost patterns. The instant her ghostly energy swelled and expanded, the long blade in her hand slashed out in a furious barrage!
A flurry of blades and swords? You couldn't even see Ji Huaichu's blade clearly, only hear the sharp sounds of it cutting the air and see the fleeting flashes of cold light. Lady Red's body continuously shifted and retreated, her wrist flicking to send forth a barrage of colorful gems and jewels like hidden weapons, all sliced down by Ji Huaichu. As she sidestepped to evade, Lady Red raised her hand and pulled out a green jade hairpin. With a light toss into the air, the jade hairpin transformed into a sword of jade, which she grasped firmly.
Now it was a true exchange of blade and sword.
"Kill!" A roar erupted, the killing intent materializing and exploding outwards in an instant. Lady Red, holding her sword, was even stunned for a fleeting moment by the shout. And in that very instant, the black mist under Lady Red's feet surged up violently, engulfing her. The previously annihilated ghostly shadows once again extended their ghostly claws—
As Lady Red snapped back to her senses, she saw Ji Huaichu charging towards her like a vengeful spirit, a long blade wreathed in black mist held high. Her charge didn't falter as the blade swept down in a mighty slash!
The jade sword shrank instantly and flew out, directly blocking the strike. A red light flashed in the depths of Lady Red's eyes as a bloody claw shot out, piercing straight through Ji Huaichu's armor, only to…
Crush another paper doll?!
Shock.
Before Lady Red could even react to defend, a sharp spear shrouded in black mist pierced straight through her chest from behind.
Boom— A colossal bloody beast materialized and slammed down. Lady Red shattered the spear with one hand, blood threads intertwining over the wound on her chest. Without even looking back, she sensed Ji Huaichu had not been crushed by the beast. A flash of ferocity passed through her eyes as a massive, monstrous phantom manifested behind her. In that very instant, Ji Huaichu burst forth from the black mist covering the arena, her blade slashing towards Lady Red's arm.
However, Lady Red's entire body dissolved into a bloody mist, passing directly through Ji Huaichu—
"Kill!—"
The exposed skin of her hand was now also covered in black ghost patterns. Reacting with extreme speed, Ji Huaichu twisted her body around in a flash, hurling the spear in her hand—a returning thrust!
Substitute Paper Doll!
Boom! The doll exploded instantly. Lady Red stood where the doll had appeared, clutching the spear with one hand—and crushing it.
"Madame!—" Below the stage, Wan Jin was furious. Was this really the time to strike a pose? Did she think the Ji Huaichu before her was the real body?
The ghostly shadows dissipated. The ghost mask and armor clattered to the ground. Ji Huaichu pounced from the black mist, instantly pinning Lady Red down, one hand gripping her throat, the other holding a dagger poised above her heart. "My respects, Madam?"
"…" The ever-elegant and composed Lady Red, for the first time, found herself at a loss for what expression to make.
"You are very skilled." After being pulled to her feet by Ji Huaichu, Lady Red had already composed herself. Ji Huaichu gathered the black mist. As she watched Ji Huaichu carefully channel her dwindling ghostly energy to patiently re-materialize the armor and cloak, she heard the woman murmur softly, "My apologies for the earlier disrespect. The next part… I leave to you, Madam."
Her already disrupted train of thought was probably beyond salvaging now. Lady Red sighed inwardly, then in the next instant, affixed her usual composed and proper smile and nodded in agreement. After she and Ji Huaichu shook hands, the referee excitedly announced, "The winner of this Feast of Extreme Bliss is—Money Tree!"
Only at this moment did the audience remember to cheer. Amid the jubilant uproar, Lady Red saw that little Money Tree running towards Ji Huaichu with a radiant smile, nimbly scrambling onto the platform, and throwing herself into Ji Huaichu's arms, who caught her, lifted her, and even spun her around.
"…"
"Madame." Wan Jin had somehow arrived at the base of the platform. Seeing Lady Red's inscrutable expression, she couldn't help but remind her in a low voice, "It's time to make the preparations."
Lady Red: "…"
She glanced at Ji Huaichu and Mu Anqi, still wrapped in their embrace, and felt a phantom ache in her recently pierced chest. But ache or not, what needed to be done, must be done. Lady Red elegantly raised her hand, her fingertips tracing lightly in the air. Red mist began to diffuse from her, condensing into crimson ribbons that danced and fluttered across the platform.
Swoosh— Bang—
A massive firework bloomed outside the arena. Before Mu Anqi could process what was happening, a flurry of pink petals began to fall like rain. Above the stadium, accompanied by a clear, resonant dragon's cry, an Eastern golden five-clawed dragon emerged, rolling and tumbling through the clouds. A phoenix's clear cry answered, as a golden phoenix met the dragon in the clouds, twisting and dancing together.
A celestial phenomenon? An illusion?
The crimson ribbons encircled Mu Anqi and Ji Huaichu. Mu Anqi began to realize what was happening, but her mind seemed to go blank, unable to form a single thought. She could only stare dumbly at the General before her, watching as Ji Huaichu solemnly swept her cloak aside and went down on one knee.
"In your world, this seems to be the custom," Ji Huaichu said, her heart trembling with nervousness, her voice uncharacteristically shaky, yet her expression was earnest and solemn.
"I am not the most powerful spirit. The things I possess are few. I may not always know the right words to bring you joy, and sometimes my expressions might miss the mark. I am stubborn, obstinate, and my character is far from perfect. But whenever I look back, inviting you to stay was the most correct decision I have ever made." With utmost seriousness and gravity, she drew a small box from within her robes. Ji Huaichu looked at Mu Anqi, her eyes shining. "My one and only treasure."
"Mu Anqi, will you marry me?"