Bang—
With Wang Jingchen's departure, the stifling atmosphere in the training room gradually dissipated.
Lu Hao and Mu Yao, who had looked half-dead just moments ago, practically sprang back to life on the spot.
"Huh?"
Mu Yao (O ∆ O): "Wait, Lu Hao, how are you up too? Were you just putting on a show with me earlier?"
Lu Hao (๑ • ́ ₃ • ̀): "How could I? Isn't it all thanks to your healing?"
After all, Lu Hao's own Special Ability, Iron Block, provided a certain degree of defensive power, allowing him to avoid any truly serious injuries.
Now that he had received treatment from a healer, simple movements were no problem for the time being.
"Damn, that bastard's mouth was way too foul! I got so worked up back then that I completely forgot I couldn't beat him at all."
As he spoke, Lu Hao scratched the back of his head with a foolish grin, the tips of his ears turning slightly red.
Seeing that their companion seemed completely fine, the others let out sighs of relief and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Of course, it still has to be you, Yunli! You took that turtle bastard down with a single punch!"
"Hehe, obviously! Once my Master Yunli makes a move, the outcome is already decided!"
"Sigh... Having such a petite, adorable, and protective loli master makes me even more jealous of the Junior Student!"
"Exactly, exactly! By the way, Little Mo, you think I've treated you pretty well, right? Can you lend me that sword to play with for a bit?"
"Junior Student, let me have a look too, please? Senior Female Student will treat you to milk tea and hot pot another day, okay?"
"No!"
"Master Yunli once said, 'A Cloud Knight must never let slip their weapon, nor let slacken their form.' Even though I don't really understand it... it's still a no!"
...
Watching the youngsters become lively and energetic again, Chen Yuxuan shook his head helplessly and quietly stepped back a couple of paces, not wanting to interrupt their excitement.
Today's incident was far more complicated than these children imagined.
Since that was the case, it was better to let them enjoy themselves for a while.
There was no need to cast a shadow over them so soon.
Meanwhile, Yunli was surrounded by the two girls trying to butter her up.
"Yunli, are you still accepting disciples? If not, how about I warm your bed instead, Senior Female Student?"
"No, no! Senior Female Student, go away! Even if someone needs to warm Master Yunli's bed, having me is enough!"
And just like that, the two women began arguing as though no one else existed.
Lu Hao glanced at the bickering pair, then at Yunli, who was happily watching the show from the sidelines, and silently took two steps backward.
He quietly abandoned the idea of asking to become her disciple and receive a sword.
At that moment, Yu Ziqin, who had been observing everything for some time, stepped forward and reminded them sincerely,
"Those two don't have ordinary backgrounds. Even the Ability Bureau can't influence their decisions."
Yunli looked up and gave her a casual glance.
Her eyes were filled with indifference, and even a trace of impatience appeared as she curled her lips.
"I know what I'm doing. I don't need your reminder."
After saying that, she turned her head away and didn't look at Yu Ziqin again, making it clear that she had no interest in continuing the conversation.
Faced with Yunli's cold attitude, Yu Ziqin wasn't offended.
She simply maintained her flawless professional smile and silently stepped back.
The commotion caught Mo Xin's attention as she was arguing with the others.
She stopped bickering, tilted her head, leaned over, and asked with a puzzled expression,
"Huh? What were you talking about just now? What does that mean?"
"Stupid Junior Student, you don't actually think Young Master Wang is just going to admit defeat obediently and let this go, do you?"
"But we already made a bet. What other tricks could he possibly pull?"
Mu Yao let out a soft laugh.
"Pfft."
She hopped over, patted Mo Xin on the shoulder, immediately assuming the air of a senior as she earnestly explained,
"Silly girl, that bet was directed at you. But the humiliation he suffered from Yunli...He'll definitely try to get it back behind the scenes."
"Ah?"
Mo Xin's eyes widened.
"Are there really such unreasonable, brainless villains in real life?"
But after recalling Wang Jingchen's behavior today, she instantly felt enlightened.
Wasn't he exactly the kind of person who relied on being slightly stronger than everyone else and strutted around acting like he ruled the world?
And how had that turned out?
He still got knocked down by Master Yunli with one punch.
"Tch."
"Isn't he afraid that his own arrogance will get him killed and have him written out of the story after only a few episodes? Hiss—wait...He isn't actually planning to go back on the bet, is he?!"
"He shouldn't."
Director Yanxi answered with certainty.
As she spoke, she and Chen Yuxuan walked over and naturally joined the discussion.
Since things had already reached this point, there was no point avoiding the topic.
It was better to participate directly and think of a way to deal with it.
"Sigh... Why not?"
Mu Yao asked.
Shouldn't it be normal for this kind of villainous young master to renege on his promise?
Chen Yuxuan explained,
"If the other party truly intended to go back on his word so easily, he wouldn't have agreed to the wager in the first place."
Mu Yao and the others: ( ﾟ ρ ﾟ)??
Seeing their blank expressions, Yunli helplessly rubbed her forehead before explaining,
"Although I don't know exactly what that man was thinking, he was most likely intimidated by my strength. That's why he accepted your condition. To put it bluntly...He just wanted an opportunity to vent his anger. Hmph. A person who bullies the weak and has a crooked heart doesn't deserve the sword in his hand at all."
As her words fell, Chen Yuxuan and Director Yanxi both froze in surprise as they looked at the puffed-up Yunli.
Neither of them had expected Yunli to be this angry over the matter.
They had originally assumed she was simply standing up for Mo Xin while defending her own dignity.
Only now did they realize...
From the very bottom of her heart, she genuinely believed that someone like Wang Jingchen was unworthy of wielding a sword.
Hearing that explanation, the group—especially Mu Yao and Mo Xin—immediately wore expressions of sudden understanding.
Then, the slow-witted Mo Xin suddenly panicked and tugged on Master Yunli's sleeve.
"Speaking of which...Master Yunli, when the competition starts...What exactly am I supposed to do?"
"What do you mean, what are you supposed to do? Of course you'll adjust your condition, prepare yourself, and fight the duel with everything you've got."
Yunli shrugged, looking completely unconcerned.
"What?!!"
Mo Xin's eyes widened instantly.
She had thought her master had some brilliant strategy...
Only to discover it was simply a head-on fight!
No matter how much Mo Xin disliked Wang Jingchen, she had only been training for a short time.
And judging from everyone's conversation, the other party's background was obviously extraordinary.
Maybe he was one of those second-generation geniuses who had grown up eating immortal pills and spiritual herbs.
Could an ordinary player like her, who relied entirely on connections, really defeat a pay-to-win player like that?
"M-Master Yunli...You're joking... right?"
"Stupid Mo Xin. Did your fever fry your brain? Why would you think I'm joking?"
Yunli tilted her little head, looking at her innocently.
Looking at Yunli's adorable yet incomparably serious expression...
Mo Xin's heart completely died.
Watching the scene unfold, even the people standing nearby were rendered speechless.
Qing Yutong frowned and voiced the question everyone wanted to ask.
"Yunli, then why did you dare to wager your own weapon earlier? Could it be...That you have that much confidence in Mo Xin?"
After she spoke, everyone looked at Yunli curiously, waiting to hear her explanation.
Yunli blinked her golden eyes and innocently shrugged.
"Because during training today, I was worrying about not having a suitable opponent for Stupid Mo Xin to practice against. Then that guy just happened to deliver himself to our doorstep. So I simply accepted. As for why I dared to wager Old Mettle..."
Yunli paused for a moment before giving an answer that made Mo Xin's vision go dark.
"Even if Stupid Mo Xin really lost...I could always personally challenge him afterward and take Old Mettle back. I just didn't expect you, you blockhead, to have so much backbone that you'd actually wager your own weapon."
Standing on tiptoe, Yunli patted Mo Xin on the shoulder.
Her round golden eyes curved into crescents as she gave an approving thumbs-up.
"I really didn't misjudge you. Keep it up. I believe in you!"
As her voice fell, the members of Captain Chen's team didn't know how they were supposed to react.
All they could do was silently cast sympathetic looks toward Mo Xin.
As for Mo Xin...
She felt two streams of crystal-clear tears roll uncontrollably down her face.
Her entire being had completely burned to ashes.
To think she had been so deeply moved earlier, believing it was Master Yunli's unconditional trust in her...
She truly hadn't expected...
Mo Xin: "So... the clown was me all along?"