Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Once the qualifying matches started, Gu Xiqiao pushed all thoughts about Jiang Tong and Dubhe to the side.

The participants of the Youth Ranking List who had stood out during the selections all stood under the ring. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd, and everything turned to look in the direction of the entrance.

A group of eight people was slowly making their way into the area.

“Do you see, that’s Gu Xiqiao.” One person pointed at the girl that was standing in the middle.

In an instant, all eyes fell on the mentioned girl.

“Gu Xiqiao?”

“The mythical beasts reaper! I knew it was them all along!”

“She’s Gu Xiqiao?”

“She reached the 80th floor in the Trial Tower, that’s really too strong.” The young man holding a sword let out a sigh as he glanced in the direction. Nozawa was already considered to be the strongest among them, but his strength was still only on par with those on the 70th floor of the Trial Tower. The gap between him and Gu Xiqiao was still too big.

The people around him were hard-pressed not to cry. “She looks even smaller than me, and she’s reached the 80th floor. At most I can reach the 50th floor. How do you think she trains to be that strong?”

When they found out that they had made it into the top hundred, they were all extremely excited. Being able to enter the top hundred during the selection was a symbol of strength and talent, and their status in their family would also rise. But before they could celebrate their success, they got news that the person who took the top spot in the selections had broken through the 80th floor!

When all these geniuses received the news, they were dumbfounded.

Just where had this monster come from?

Being in the same generation as this kind of person, all the spotlights that they would get would be very dim, and it was sad when you thought about it. They would always be overshadowed no matter what feats they achieved.

“Er Qiao, it seems like a lot of people are watching you.” Wu Hongwen stood by the viewing platform, turning his head to look at Gu Xiqiao.

Gu Xiqiao’s head was lowered as she was focused on playing games. “Oh.”

Seeing her so calm and disinterested, Wu Hongwen was about to say something else but was interrupted by another voice calling out, “Miss Gu, so this is where all of you are!”

Wu Hongwen raised his head, and saw Betty walking towards them.

“You actually managed to find us?” Yao Jiamu was confused when he saw Betty. There were close to nearly ten thousand people in the area, both participants and audience included. How did she manage to find them in the sea of people?

“What’s so weird about that?” Betty shook her head. “All eyes are on you, and it’s kinda hard to ignore that. Also… didn’t you notice that the five-meter radius around your group is empty?”

So obvious, she noticed it as soon as she walked in.

When she said that, Yao Jiamu and Wu Hongwen couldn’t help but glance around to confirm her statement. They hadn’t been paying attention, until Betty had mentioned it. They saw that it was indeed… true. Not only was their surroundings a distance from the others, the people who gave them a wide berth were also watching them with wonder in their eyes.

“I feel like we’re monkeys on display or something,” Wu Hongwen said suddenly.

Yin Shaoyuan was reading a book to pass time, and he looked up when he heard Wu Hongwen’s words. “Is there such a monkey that is as handsome as me?”

“… No, no, no. How can a monkey compare to you?” Wu Hongwen said. If you’re reading a book, then don’t suddenly say something so shocking, alright? Just continue reading your book.

“Miss Gu, what are you playing?” Betty saw that Gu Xiqiao had her attention on her phone, and couldn’t help but be curious. Yin Shaoyuan was reading a secret text, so she felt that Gu Xiqiao must also be doing something along the same lines.

Leaning closer to the other girl, she saw the game on the screen.

Gu Xiqiao raised her head silently. “Want to play?”

Betty’s eyes lit up. “Yes!”

Gu Xiqiao handed her phone over to the other girl. When Betty took over, the character in the game died after only thirty seconds.

She was taken aback for a moment, and continued to play without thinking anything was amiss. Thirty seconds later, she was once again dead.

It was one thing to die over and over, but Betty wasn’t able to go beyond thirty seconds each time. After a while, she returned the phone to Gu Xiqiao, practically crying without tears as she said, “Miss Gu, thanks. You can have it back.” She had never felt so stupid. Really, she felt as though Gu Xiqiao had made her doubt her own intelligence with that game.

“You actually dare to play the game that she has on her phone.” Xiao Yun had been chatting with Tang Qinghong, but had been drawn over to her when she saw what was happening. Her lips curled up. “I respect you as a man.”

Everyone knew that the game Gu Xiqiao played on her phone was something that she had created out of boredom, and it was insanely difficult to play. For Betty to have dared to try it, you had to commend her courage.

“Miss Gu, can the game really be cleared?” Hearing Xiao Yun’s words, Betty was slightly comforted.

Gu Xiqiao raised her head from her phone, looking at Betty but not saying a word, and then going back to her game once again.

Three minutes later, words appeared on the phone screen—Congratulations on passing.

“…” Betty was speechless.

“I already said it before, don’t dig your own grave,” Wu Hongwen said in a sympathetic tone. “Are you okay now?”

Betty: “…” I don’t want to talk about this anymore.

This group of people was reading books, chatting, and even playing games, there was not a hint of nervousness about the qualifying matches that was starting soon. The people around them were watching them with bewildered looks on their faces.

All of them were waiting anxiously for the matches to start, making last-minute preparations for the matches, and some were even still carrying out last-minute training. To see the group of them so calm and relaxed… were they really here to participate in the qualifying matches?!

They were just so… The others couldn’t help but complain bitterly inside their hearts.

The ranking matches were about to begin.

There were a total of ten arenas, and the matches in all the arenas would be carried out concurrently. Every person in the top hundred would have to fight against the other ninety-nine people, and they would be ranked according to their wins and losses.

In other words, every person had to fight ninety-nine times.

The matches would span across ten days, and one person would have about ten matches in a day.

After the referee had explained the rules, the tournament then began.

“The first match in the first ring, contestants No 1 and No 57.” Betty read the words on the big screen, and she turned to Gu Xiqiao, excitement on her face. “Miss Gu, the first match is you against No 57!”

When the participants had entered the area, they had been given number plates. The number plates corresponded with the placement that they had gotten during the selections. Gu Xiqiao had taken first place, so her number was 1.

The audience and participants had also seen the words displayed on the screen, and so they rushed to squeeze themselves to the side of the first ring to watch the match. This monster who had broken through the 80th floor, it was only natural that she would attract the entire arena!

As for the other nine arenas, there was not a single person in the ring area.

This scene that was happening right now was unprecedented. Everyone was fascinated by the title of ‘mythical beast reaper’ and ’80th floor’, and so had gathered to the first ring.

The participants in the other arenas were speechless, and they couldn’t help but also feel sour about the entire situation.

The referees in the remaining nine rings were also confused. What happened? Why was everyone at only the first ring?

Gu XIqiao’s opponent was a young man, he looked at Gu Xiqiao, who wore an indifferent expression as she stood opposite him. He turned to the referee with tears in his eyes. “Referee, can I yield?”

The first ring referee blinked. “Yield?” He… didn’t hear it wrong, right? Those who could step foot into this arena and rings were all top talents from all over the world, each and every one of them was mostly proud and arrogant, as well as full of themselves. None of them would bow down to any other here, nor be convinced that there were better talents apart from themselves. That was the reason why this kind of situation had never happened before.

“That’s right, I yield.” Do you know who my opponent is? The one who had broken through the 80th floor! And the captain of the team that had been nicknamed ‘mythical beast reaper’! When the young man had known that this was the person standing opposite him to be his opponent, he nearly wet himself in fear!

He had seen Gu Xiqiao smashing a high ranking mythical beast in Bahuang Forest with his own eyes once, and the main point about it was… the rest of her team were leisurely eating hotpot while she alone handled the beast.

Not only had she fought against the beasts, but she had also killed, maimed, and tossed the beast around for show! With her bare hands!

The scene was deeply imprinted in the mind of the young man, and there were only two words that echoed in his mind. Scary! Crazy!

And he also felt the terrifying existence that was Gu Xiqiao.

That was the reason he asked the referee if he could yield the moment he stepped into the ring. He knew that he was not on the same level as Gu Xiqiao, and there wasn’t even anything to begin comparing with. He was more afraid that Gu Xiqiao would easily smash him if she were to get upset…

Because this was the first time the referee had met with a participant wanting to yield, he was silent about it for a while. Going through the rules of the tournament in his mind, he finally said, “Yes, you can.”

When the young man heard that, he jumped up happily. “Thank you, referee!” Then he bowed to Gu Xiqiao. “Goodbye, Miss Gu!”

Having said that, he happily got off the arena.

The referee, first time seeing someone so happy after admitting defeat: “…”

Gu Xiqiao, who had won without reason and had even been thanked for it: “…”

The audience, who had expected a grand battle, but was rewarded with nothing in the end: “…”

Once the young man got down, the elder of his family couldn’t help the darkening of his face. “Why did you abstain in the first round of such an important tournament?”

“What should I have done?” The young man said bitterly. “That’s Gu Xiqiao, could I have not given up?”

“Is she that terrifying?” Another elder asked, furrowing his brows.

“You’ll find out later.” The young man paused, thinking in his heart, ‘Terrifying? Was that even enough to describe her? She’s a monster! Using her bare hands to throw a mythical beast around, have you ever seen such a thing?’

The elders looked at each other, confused, but then even more stranger things happened after that.

Those who had not given up when pitted against second-place Nozawa, after meeting the people from the Peace Squad, all started yielding without a fight!

“What’s happening? You gave up before you even fought. No matter how it is, you’re still in the top twenty, it’s possible to get into the top ten if you tough it out!”

“You faced off against Nozawa, and you didn’t give up then. Why are you giving up here after meeting them?!”

Some of the elders were resentful towards those participants from their family who had given up without a fight, to the point that some were even just inches away from frothing at their mouth with anger!

“Do you think I dare to fight against the mythical beast repeat?!” The youth who was berated for giving up was in tears. These were some of the few that were lucky enough to have seen her in action. “When you fight against Nozawa, you would at most be defeated. If you face off against the people of the mythical beast reaper team, you could possibly be killed!”

During the intermission, the ten referees sat in the lobby. “What’s happening in the first ring? I heard that someone gave up in the first match without even attempting to fight?”

“I don’t know myself, this is the first time I encountered something like this.” The first ring referee shook his head.

“I heard something.” Another referee smiled mysteriously. “I heard that the one who got first place in the selections this year is someone who had passed the 80th floor of the ancient martial arts world’s Trial Tower.”

The other nine referees were dumbfounded when he said that. “8-8-80th floor?!” This wasn’t a joke, right?!

“That’s right.” The referee who had said it nodded his head. “All the top leaders in the power worlds know about this.”

“It’s no wonder those participants would yield without a fight. But then, what’s the deal with this mythical beast reaper then?” The first ring referee asked, remembering the words he had heard.

“ThatI I’m not sure.” The other referee shook his head, standing up. “But this time’s qualifying matches are definitely fun.”

Jiang Shuxuan, who was sitting on the second floor, could hear the referee’s chatting clearly. The corners of his mouth curled up, and he picked up a cup of tea with his hand.

“Big boss, this… what’s the situation?” Yi Tong was standing beside Jiang Shuxuan, a flabbergasted look on his face. He was the only person from Jiang Shuxuan’s team who had accompanied him to the tournament, and this was also the first time he had seen people yielding without a fight.

What had Gu Xiqiao done during the selections to make these people so afraid of her?!

The phone in his pocket rang, and Yi Tong pulled it out. His face was grave as he looked at it, and he said, “Big boss, a situation has occurred in the capital.”

“Let Yi Bing keep an eye on it.” Jiang Shuxuan replied indifferently.

Yi Tong nodded his head, sending a message to Yi Bing—Have you ever seen anyone yielding without a fight in the qualifying tournament?

Regardless of Yi Bing’s answer, he turned his attention to the ten stages. Gu Xiqiao was having a match.

Gu Xiqiao had ten matches lined up for the day, and the first three had ended without a fight. In the fourth one, they finally had someone who didn’t yield.

Referee: I’m so touched, finally.

It was a young man from England, and he had not seen her in action during the Bahuang Forest phase, so he wasn’t as affected as others who had. He even performed his aristocratic etiquette politely when he stepped onto the stage.

Gu Xiqiao turned her wrist, thinking in her mind that she wouldn’t bully him and just make it a fast match.

The young man dodged her first golden needle, and suddenly had a solemn look on his face. A few jade stones flashed, appearing in his hands. “Miss Gu, I’m actually a formation master who’s specialized in sealing arrays, and I’m invincible once I use it! Though I hadn’t intended to show this trick so early in the game, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

***

Baili Wen, who was standing with the rest of the audience below the ring: “…” Then do you know that the entire Baili family can’t even compare to her talents in formation and arrays?