CHAPTER 145: CHAPTER 13: PROPOSAL

Zhao Xi knew that Gu Qingqing had reached the 196th floor in the Trial Tower, but he couldn’t associate that person with the seemingly frail woman in front of him!

Since Si Lin and the others decided to wear the same color and style of clothing, Si Lin made several sets of clothing, in addition to purple, there were other colors as well.

Today, Gu Qingqing rarely wore a white dress, and for ease of movement, she didn’t choose wide sleeves, but rather narrow ones, with pants underneath the skirt.

Her hair was fixed with a Jade Step Shaker, and her face was covered with a matching veil, hiding her features. She was on the slender side, and as she stood in the arena, she looked every bit the lady of high status, completely out of place with the atmosphere of the arena!

Nevertheless, Zhao Xi didn’t dare to be careless; he still had a mission instructed by Zhao Cheng to complete, so he was naturally very serious.

In the previous round, Sun Peng was too weak, so Gu Qingqing didn’t have to exert full strength to easily take him down. Zhao Xi didn’t know Gu Qingqing’s cultivation level, so after getting on stage, he didn’t impulsively attack.

Seeing Zhao Xi not moving, Gu Qingqing also stood still. After waiting for a while and Zhao Xi still hadn’t moved, she tilted her head, looked at Zhao Xi, thought about it, figured wasting time like this wasn’t good, and decided to make the first move herself.

The Mixed Immortal Silk was flicked, instantly elongating, and attacked Zhao Xi.

Zhao Xi, always on guard, immediately drew his sword to slash at the Mixed Immortal Silk. Initially, he thought the Mixed Immortal Silk was a cloth-like material, relatively soft, but the sensation in his hand was entirely different, jarring even his tiger’s mouth.

He lifted his head, somewhat surprised, and looked at Gu Qingqing, becoming more serious internally!

He blocked the Mixed Immortal Silk with a push of his foot against the ground, charging towards Gu Qingqing.

With a slight movement of Gu Qingqing’s wrist, the Mixed Immortal Silk immediately changed direction, once again attacking Zhao Xi.

Zhao Xi felt the cold wind behind him and didn’t dare to be careless, hurriedly turning around to block the Mixed Immortal Silk, while Gu Qingqing controlled the Mixed Immortal Silk to continuously change positions to attack Zhao Xi.

Gu Qingqing stood in place, as if she was dancing, swinging the Mixed Immortal Silk in her hand, continuously attacking Zhao Xi. Zhao Xi couldn’t escape the Mixed Immortal Silk, becoming overwhelmed, and was led in circles on the arena.

No matter how he tried to change positions to attack Gu Qingqing, he was always blocked back by the Mixed Immortal Silk.

He could feel his stamina decreasing, while Gu Qingqing seemed unfazed, leaving Zhao Xi quite astonished.

Gu Qingqing couldn’t feel Zhao Xi’s astonishment. She had already basically figured out Zhao Xi’s moves and found his weaknesses, thinking of ending the match quickly, so the direction and speed of the Mixed Immortal Silk suddenly changed.

When Zhao Xi went to block the Mixed Immortal Silk, she suddenly closed the distance, striking Zhao Xi’s chest with a palm. Zhao Xi was knocked back, trying to stabilize himself, but Gu Qingqing had already followed up, kicking Zhao Xi in the face, sending him off the arena.

This couldn’t be said to be Zhao Xi being too weak, but rather Gu Qingqing being quite strong!

Zhao Xi was still dazed when he landed below the arena, not sure how he ended up being kicked off by Gu Qingqing. By the time he came to his senses, the referee had already announced Gu Qingqing’s victory.

He looked towards the stage, where Gu Qingqing was cupping her hands towards him, and his expression became complex.

After being helped up by his following friends, he also cupped his hands towards Gu Qingqing, then watched her leave.

"Ah Xi, are you okay?" Zhao Xi’s friend Zhao Qian looked at Zhao Xi, asking with concern.

"I’m fine, it’s just a minor injury." Zhao Xi shook his head.

"So how was it? You already fought a match with Gu Qingqing, how strong is she?" Although Zhao Qian had been watching from the side and noticed Gu Qingqing was quite formidable, he still wanted to hear Zhao Xi’s opinion, as Zhao Xi had genuinely fought Gu Qingqing, his feelings would certainly be deeper.

"Very strong! She should have above eighth-grade cultivation, similar to the grand young master, and her weapon, as you saw, should also be a Sub-Immortal Artifact. It looks very soft, but I couldn’t slash it with my sword, and my sword is of the ninth grade." Zhao Xi thought carefully and relayed his feelings from the fight with Gu Qingqing.

"Is she that strong?" Zhao Qian was somewhat surprised, "I wonder what her background is, to be so skilled."

"That’s not something we should concern ourselves with. I’ll rest for a bit; there’s another match later." Zhao Xi shook his head and retreated to the chair on one side, preparing to freshen up and wait for the next match.

Gu Qingqing had already competed in two matches, next was a match between Sun Peng and Li Ying.

Sun Peng fared poorly against Gu Qingqing, but not so against Li Ying, at least he and Li Ying fought to a draw, ultimately losing to Li Ying with one move after two marks.

After that was a battle between Li Ying and Zhao Xi. As a disciple of the Zhao Family, Zhao Xi had superior cultivation resources and capabilities than Li Ying. Even though their cultivation levels were similar, Zhao Xi won in the end.

Zhao Xi then had another match with Sun Peng, which he also won.

Now Zhao Xi and Gu Qingqing each had two wins; Zhao Xi also had one loss, Sun Peng had three losses, and Li Ying had one win and one loss.

The final match was between Gu Qingqing and Li Ying.

Li Ying couldn’t match Zhao Xi, so she certainly wasn’t Gu Qingqing’s opponent. In less than half a mark, she was knocked off the arena by Gu Qingqing, losing the match.

In the end, Gu Qingqing won three matches, becoming the first in this group and advancing to the next round.

Yun Ran’s match was in the afternoon, and they planned to head back, returning in the afternoon.

As they were leaving, they encountered a group that included Zhou Ting and Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi’s match, like Yun Ran’s, was in the afternoon, but Zhou Ting’s match was in the morning, so he accompanied Zhou Ting there.

Zhou Ting’s aptitude was only slightly above average, currently at Seventh Grade Peak cultivation. However, due to a lack of combat experience, she lost the match, feeling upset at this moment.

She first saw Yun Ran, and seeing Yun Ran’s smiling face made her expression even worse. Just as she prepared to make a sarcastic remark, she noticed Yue Zhao walking behind and immediately covered her mouth, feeling fortunate she hadn’t spoken. If Yue Zhao heard her bad-mouthing, it would surely leave a poor impression, something she would deeply regret!

Just as she was ready to pretend she hadn’t seen Yun Ran, Zhou Qi spoke up.

"Yun Ran!" Zhou Qi took half a step forward, calling out to Yun Ran.

Yun Ran turned her head, saw Zhou Qi, and was somewhat surprised as well.

"Young Master Zhou?" She felt she didn’t have much interaction with Zhou Qi, so she was puzzled as to why Zhou Qi would call out to her.

"Is your match over?" Zhou Qi glanced at Gu Qingqing beside Yun Ran and asked.

"My match is in the afternoon, how about you, Young Master Zhou?" Yun Ran felt that although she had a poor relationship with Zhou Ting, there was no conflict with Zhou Qi, and since Zhou Qi hadn’t helped Zhou Ting cause trouble for her, she maintained a decent attitude towards Zhou Qi.

"I’m also here in the afternoon, just accompanying Ting’er for her match." Zhou Qi, relieved that Yun Ran didn’t outright refuse to talk to him, glanced at Zhou Ting as he spoke.

"Oh?" Yun Ran was a bit surprised, "Miss Zhou’s match is over? Did you win?"

Zhou Ting glared at Yun Ran, her expression sour, clearly not the look of someone who won!

"Lost." Zhou Qi didn’t think much of it and said directly.

A hint of a smile flashed in Yun Ran’s eyes as she glanced at Zhou Qi, but she didn’t say anything to mock Zhou Ting.

"How was Miss Gu’s match?" Zhou Qi finally asked the question he wanted to ask.

He naturally knew Gu Qingqing’s match schedule and originally planned to watch, but having promised Zhou Ting to accompany her, he could only send an attendant. He didn’t expect to encounter Gu Qingqing and Yun Ran, so he called out to Yun Ran.

"Won." Gu Qingqing, somewhat puzzled by how the topic shifted to her, still responded politely.

"Young Master Zhou, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving now." Yun Ran had understood why Zhou Qi stopped her, and she didn’t want Gu Qingqing to interact more with Zhou Qi, so she spoke up directly.

Zhou Qi looked at Gu Qingqing, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Please, ladies."

After Yun Ran and the others left, Zhou Ting turned to look at Zhou Qi.

"Brother, why do you care so much about that Gu Qingqing next to Yun Ran?" Zhou Ting still didn’t know the relationship between Yue Zhao and Gu Qingqing, but every time she saw Yue Zhao being so good to Gu Qingqing, she couldn’t help but feel jealous, as she still didn’t dare to talk to Yue Zhao herself.

"She’s the one who reached the 196th floor in the Trial Tower. I want to know her strength." Zhou Qi didn’t hide his purpose from Zhou Ting and stated it directly.

Zhou Ting understood and suddenly had a bright idea, "Then, brother, do you know her background?"

Yue Zhao and Gu Qingqing were clearly together, and she was eager to know about things related to Yue Zhao, naturally wanting to know Yue Zhao’s origins, so she could find a chance to get close to Yue Zhao!

"I don’t know, just know she’s a good friend of Yun Ran, most likely ascended from the Lower Realm." Zhou Qi said as he walked outside.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ting’s expression was not very good.

She always looked down on those who ascended from the Lower Realm, even though some of them achieved quite high feats later, she still despised them. Growing up in the Sub-immortal Realm, she was surrounded by those native to the Sub-immortal Realm. Some said the Lower Realm’s environment was awful, and she remembered that, thus she never liked people from the Lower Realm.

This was also why she consistently troubled Yun Ran, because Yun Ran had ascended from the Lower Realm.

Now, learning that her admired Yue Zhao might also have ascended from the Lower Realm, she naturally felt uncomfortable, even somewhat unable to accept it!

"It can’t be, he looks so outstanding, definitely not from the Lower Realm!" She mumbled to herself, trying to encourage herself.

"What are you mumbling about? Hurry up and catch up!" Zhou Qi turned to find Zhou Ting lagging behind, calling out to her unhappily.

"Okay, I’m coming." Zhou Ting quickly caught up, fearing Zhou Qi’s irritation!

...

Zhao Cheng also had a match in the morning, unable to watch Gu Qingqing’s match, so he instructed other Zhao Family members to attentively observe Gu Qingqing’s strength. After the match, he hurried home because someone had reported encountering Gu Qingqing.

Zhao Xi was already waiting in Zhao Cheng’s courtyard. Once Zhao Cheng returned, Zhao Xi immediately recounted the events of the match to Zhao Cheng.

"Young Master, I barely lasted a quarter-hour against Gu Qingqing. Her weapon is a piece of White Silk, with a special material, likely a Sub-Immortal Artifact, since my sword couldn’t cut through it. During the match, she didn’t exert her full strength, and I suspect her cultivation is at least above the eighth level, probably similar to yours. You should be cautious if you meet her." Zhao Xi stated cautiously.

Zhao Xi’s cultivation was just slightly inferior to Zhao Cheng among the Zhao Family’s generation, still quite formidable compared to others, so his statement surprised Zhao Cheng.

Though the match prohibited lethal force, it still indicated Gu Qingqing’s impressive prowess!

With this in mind, Zhao Cheng’s eyes lit up with fighting spirit. A combat enthusiast, he’d found few equals over the years in Huazhou City, only Yun Jing and Zhou Qi. But after competing for so many years, the familiarity between them sapped some excitement.

Now, with a formidable contender like Gu Qingqing, he was eager to seek her out for a fight!

Zhou Qi shared similar thoughts with Zhao Cheng. Upon learning of Gu Qingqing’s strength, both wanted to challenge her in a match.

...

Yun Ran’s opponent in her match wasn’t as weak as Gu Qingqing’s; she put in some effort but ultimately won.

After another day, once all group matches concluded, forty individuals remained for the next round, gathering again to draw lots.

In the third round, the remaining forty were divided into four large groups, each with ten people, engaging in a melee. The last standing individuals on the platform would advance to the next, final round.

This round was even more challenging than before. After drawing lots, Gu Qingqing handed it over to the staff.

When the group results were announced and she learned Zhou Qi was in her group, Gu Qingqing was somewhat surprised.

Being in the same group meant only one of them could enter the finals!

However, with no significant ties to Zhou Qi, Gu Qingqing was merely surprised and moved on. Meanwhile, Yun Ran, Zhao Cheng, and Yun Jing luckily each ended up in separate groups without clustering together!

After one day of rest, the third-round matches officially began.

"Miss Gu, I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?" Zhou Qi approached Gu Qingqing before the match, asking as he looked at her.

"What suggestion?" Gu Qingqing asked curiously.

"This round being a melee could easily deplete one’s stamina. How about the two of us eliminate the other eight, leaving just the two of us to have a proper match? What do you think?" Zhou Qi, upon learning he and Gu Qingqing were in the same group, thought of this plan, believing she would agree!

After hearing Zhou Qi’s words, Gu Qingqing’s eyes lit up at the idea, "Sure, then let’s each handle four, to keep it fair."

Agreeing immediately, the two briefly discussed who would take on whom, then waited for the match to begin.