The second round of sparring began just like that.
This time, Su Qi made the first move.
Determined to turn the tables and redeem himself from the previous defeat, he went straight for a lethal strike.
Liu Yuan, her petite frame constrained by the narrow space of the entryway, found it difficult to evade. She had no choice but to brace herself against the onslaught, opting to defend first and counter later.
As the saying goes, "The first burst of energy is fierce, the second wanes, and the third exhausts."
She only needed to wait for the moment when Su Qi's initial momentum faded and his new strength had yet to rise—that would be her chance to turn defeat into victory.
But Su Qi believed prolonged defense would inevitably lead to a mistake.
Both were convinced they wouldn't lose to the other.
Thus, it was bound to become a battle of endurance.
Su Qi seemed to sense this and abruptly intensified his assault.
His palm strikes cut through the air like blades, aiming straight for Liu Yuan's vital points.
The golden-haired girl dodged like drifting willow catkins, but she was still half a beat too slow.
Su Qi's palm grazed her clothes, the force behind it laden with internal energy that left Liu Yuan struggling to parry.
Having gained the upper hand, Su Qi didn’t let up despite his momentary advantage.
He pressed forward relentlessly.
His attacks surged like tidal waves, each strike brimming with overwhelming power.
Liu Yuan was forced into retreat, her golden hair whipping wildly as she moved at high speed.
Her defense grew increasingly strained, her small frame appearing ever more fragile under the relentless assault.
"Admit defeat this round. I’ve won," Su Qi said, believing sparring should end before things got too serious. There was no need to obsess over victory or defeat.
After all, he hadn’t held back this time and had struck harder than intended.
The gap between a sixth-tier and a fourth-tier was simply too vast to bridge.
A few drops of blood had already splattered onto the floor.
Even in such a dire situation, Liu Yuan clenched her teeth, a stubborn glint flashing in her eyes.
Then, she suddenly changed tactics.
The Phantom Fox Steps didn’t just enhance her footwork.
Her supple waist twisted like a serpent, using softness to overcome hardness.
Su Qi grunted, surprise flickering in his eyes.
"Not bad," he remarked, his voice steady as the flow of his soul force abruptly accelerated.
Liu Yuan sensed the shift in his aura, her heart tightening.
The real battle had begun.
Su Qi struck without warning.
The air tore apart with a shrill screech.
Liu Yuan had no time to dodge—she could only block.
Her internal energy surged within her, yet the sheer force of the impact sent her stumbling back, the bells at her feet jingling with each step.
Su Qi’s attacks grew fiercer, unstoppable as a storm.
Liu Yuan was backed into a corner of the entryway, her ragged breaths nearly drowning out the sound of the bells.
Against such a relentless assault, she was clearly outmatched.
"Do you see the difference now?" Su Qi’s strikes turned even more brutal.
Liu Yuan gritted her teeth and abruptly shifted tactics again.
Abandoning defense, she retreated to advance, gathering the last remnants of her soul force to trap Su Qi in place, using pressure from all sides to halt his attacks.
The move caught Su Qi off guard, disrupting his offensive rhythm entirely.
But unfortunately, Liu Yuan had exhausted her soul force too soon, leaving her with no strength left to counter or defend.
She had been so close to turning the tables.
"This is too much… Big Brother is bullying me. No more sparring… The gap between fourth-tier and sixth-tier is just too big."
Liu Yuan was too disheartened to speak further, her golden hair disheveled over her shoulders, the very picture of defeat.
Seeing this, Su Qi quickly comforted her, "It’s alright. Losing isn’t shameful. I might’ve gone a little too hard this time. Let’s call it a day—it’s getting late, time to rest."
"But it is shameful… Sparring injuries are inevitable, and you didn’t hold back. I’ll recover in a couple of days. Next time, Big Brother will know how to control his strength."
"Ah, next time?"
"Of course. Since you said this is intensive training for the martial exam, we have to keep at it daily to see results."
[...+]
After that, the night passed mostly in silence.
With their soul force completely drained, neither even ate dinner before drifting off to sleep one after the other.
Su Qi’s bedroom was bathed in the soft glow of a nightlight.
Liu Yuan slept soundly under the covers, her lips occasionally twitching as if savoring something delicious in her dreams.
One pale calf peeked out from the edge of the blanket, stubbornly pressing down on the corner.
A faint rustling came from behind her.
Half-asleep, Liu Yuan shifted slightly, her small hand brushing against Su Qi’s palm.
Her voice was thick with sleep, words slurred.
"Big Brother… you haven’t said goodnight to Yuan’er yet…"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
