"Yo! It's you guys?" Jin Ruyi hugged her chest, smirking disdainfully. "I heard you've been increasing your points by fighting on the stage at night recently? You don't look like much."
She felt she was quite unlucky to have run into Zhu Wu and Chen Qiyang twice, which had slowed down their team's point-grinding progress, thus she disliked anyone associated with those two.
Moreover, having heard many bad things about Bai Shengyi from Sun Yun and Bai Murong, she held a low opinion of Bai Shengyi and her companion.
Bai Shengyi smiled softly but retorted without holding back.
"You don't seem to have an extra eye or nose. Where does this sense of superiority come from?"
"Audacious! I am a county princess of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom..."
"Oh, a county princess of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom? Which county princess?" Bai Shengyi tilted her head slightly and asked Chu Tianle, "Do you know her?"
Chu Tianle pretended to ponder, "No. But Shengyi, does it matter?"
"Of course, it doesn't," Bai Shengyi chuckled softly and said to the academy teacher acting as the referee, "Teacher, can you announce the start of the match?"
Let's finish this quickly and go back to sleep.
Jin Ruyi's face contorted with rage at Bai Shengyi's disregard! This blind girl was too arrogant!
She instructed Zhou Yi, who was next to her, "Later, ignore that man. Attack this blind girl first. Give her a good lesson!"
Zhou Yi replied subserviently, "Yes."
Zhou Yi had already boosted her cultivation to the third level of Foundation Establishment using medicine, making her one of the top contenders among all participants. The thought of Bai Shengyi's potential miserable state later brought Jin Ruyi some comfort.
The referee had not yet announced the score or the start. Bai Shengyi couldn't help but look over, only to find him staring back at her.
His gaze was unfriendly and filled with disdain.
Bai Shengyi frowned slightly, thinking: Has she offended this referee at some point?
Seeing that Bai Shengyi's mood seemed to be affected, Yun Ying then spoke with a stern face, "The score for this match is 2 points."
"Why only 2 points?" Chu Tianle frowned deeply.
Bai Shengyi's heart also sank slightly, "Is the opponent's strength that high?"
Based on their previous experience, a score of 2 points was only awarded when there was a significant difference in strength between the two teams. To encourage competition, when both sides were evenly matched, the score was usually 3 points.
"Do you have an issue with the academy?" Yun Ying asked coldly. "This is not a playground for you to play in. If you have a problem, just keep it to yourself!"
Bai Shengyi was certain that this person had an issue with them, or rather, specifically with her.
She didn't pay much attention to Yun Ying's attitude, but she did become slightly wary.
Their team was currently only three points behind. Therefore, they had to finish the match quickly. Otherwise, the longer it dragged on, the more dangerous it would become. To prevent the referee from delaying the final decision...
As Bai Shengyi was thinking, she heard Yun Ying's cold voice.
"The match, begins!"
As soon as Yun Ying finished speaking, Zhou Yi drew her long sword with a swish, its cold gleam sharp as she lunged at Bai Shengyi.
"Chrr..."
Bai Shengyi instinctively whipped out her whip to block, but found that the whip was instantly shredded by the long sword!
Bai Shengyi's pupils contracted violently!
There was something wrong with this sword!
It was known that her long whip was not of low quality, yet the opponent had destroyed it with just a simple move. If the sword had no issues, then the opponent would possess at least the strength of the late Foundation Establishment stage.
But this was clearly impossible.
"How do you like that? Little blind girl, didn't expect that, did you? Zhou Yi has a Golden Spirit Root and excels at swordsmanship. Destroying your whip and taking your life is easy!" Jin Ruyi crossed her arms and looked down at Bai Shengyi contemptuously.
She stood far to the side, doing nothing, relying entirely on Zhou Yi to shield her.
"Interesting."
Bai Shengyi cupped her fists and twisted her wrists, saying to Chu Tianle, "Let me spar with this one today. You handle the other one?"
"Alright." Chu Tianle had no objections. He drew his broadsword and swung it at Jin Ruyi.
Jin Ruyi cried out, "Zhou Yi, protect me!" She was only at the first level of Foundation Establishment and couldn't possibly defeat a brute like Chu Tianle. This was something Zhou Yi had to do.
Zhou Yi hastily retreated, intending to shrink the protective circle around Jin Ruyi to better guard her. However, Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle were clearly different from their previous opponents; the two of them cooperated with extreme tacit understanding.
A green vine appeared in Bai Shengyi's hand and with a swish, intercepted Zhou Yi. Sharp green thorns on the vine protruded, striking towards Zhou Yi's wrist at an extremely tricky angle.
"Your opponent is me!" Bai Shengyi laughed, her aura growing stronger instead of being suppressed by fear or despair.
Zhou Yi, unable to dodge, was struck squarely. Her wrist went numb with a dull ache, almost causing her to drop her sword.
In that brief moment, Chu Tianle had already approached Jin Ruyi!
"Zhou Yi! You useless thing!" Jin Ruyi roared, throwing a small spirit array in her haste, which unexpectedly trapped Chu Tianle.
Zhou Yi gripped her sword, wavering between rushing to rescue Jin Ruyi or dealing with Bai Shengyi.
"Crack!"
A whip struck her wrist in the same spot again. She subconsciously loosened her grip on the sword, which clattered to the ground.
"Fighting me, yet you're distracted. It seems Jin Ruyi is very important to you?"
Bai Shengyi narrowed her eyes slightly, the Samsara Brush appearing in her left hand. A character for "Confine" shot out, instantly restricting Zhou Yi's movements. She herself slid her feet and appeared before Jin Ruyi.
"Zhou Yi! What are you doing!" Jin Ruyi, seeing Bai Shengyi approaching, roared in anger and panic. But Bai Shengyi's attack was fierce, and Zhou Yi was unable to save her.
"Qing Meng Teng!" Bai Shengyi shouted, her vine growing wildly, instantly encircling Jin Ruyi. A strange fragrance permeated the air...
Seeing Jin Ruyi about to fall into a hallucination, Zhou Yi actually broke through the "Confine" character and pushed Jin Ruyi away!
Zhou Yi herself fell into the hallucination of the Qing Meng Teng.
Jin Ruyi, being pushed back time and again, turned ashen with rage.
"Fine! You insist on being so aggressive, so don't blame me for not giving you a chance! Golden Stone Beast, attack for me!"
As she spoke, a vortex of dark green spiritual energy swirled on the fighting stage. A small beast, as black as a cow and as fierce as a leopard, with horns protruding, charged at Bai Shengyi!
"Crack!" Spiritual energy converged into a long whip, striking the beast's body with a dull thud, seemingly having no effect on it.
Bai Shengyi, disbelieving, quickly dodged and lashed out with several more whips, only to find them disappearing into the void like stones in a vast sea.
"Chu Tianle? How are you?"
Bai Shengyi felt that this kind of spirit beast with the Wood Spirit Root element might be better dealt with by Chu Tianle.
However, Chu Tianle seemed to be cut off from the entire arena, also trapped in the spirit array's illusion.
"Stop wasting your efforts! My Golden Stone Beast has thick skin and flesh, and is most resistant to blows. As a Wood Spirit Root Foundation Establishment cultivator, you certainly can't break through its defenses."
With the Golden Stone Beast blocking, Bai Shengyi could do nothing more. As soon as Zhou Yi came out, it would be Bai Shengyi's death sentence!
Jin Ruyi was full of confidence. It was with this spirit beast and Zhou Yi that she had increased her team's points to 97 in the past few days.
Of course, subjects of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom had also "sent" her points. Furthermore, they had contacted another team tonight. As long as they defeated Bai Shengyi, the two teams would sign up together, and they would surely be matched for the competition. Then she and Zhou Yi would reach 100 points!
Thinking of this, Jin Ruyi became even more smug. Once she advanced, she would have the other team hold back Bai Shengyi, and then they would help Sun Yun advance as well.
Bai Shengyi had not expected this small spirit beast to be so troublesome!
Crucially, at this moment, a loud reminder came from below the stage.
"Shengyi! Another team has advanced!"
There was only one spot left for advancement!
Time was running out!