Liu Yuan narrowed her eyes as she studied Su Qi, her gaze tinged with skepticism.
"Do you need to go full-screen just to read the rules? And must you also watch those sisters dancing?"
Her small hand remained firmly pressed over the phone screen, leaving Su Qi no opening to exploit.
Su Qi sighed in resignation.
This silly little sister—when jealousy took over, even her usual sharp wit was overthrown.
He attempted a weak defense: "I was just... checking out the atmosphere of the venue..."
But his voice faltered under Liu Yuan’s slightly wounded stare, betraying his lack of conviction.
"Atmosphere?"
Liu Yuan’s tone lifted slightly.
"Does Brother feel the lounge’s atmosphere isn’t good enough? Need something else to spice it up?"
She leaned in closer, her face nearly touching Su Qi’s, her warm breath carrying the faint sweetness of milk tea.
Su Qi surrendered.
"Alright, alright. I won’t look anymore."
He tucked the phone back into his pocket.
"That’s more like it."
Only then did Liu Yuan seem satisfied, her face practically glowing with triumph.
"Actually... it’s not like I can’t wear those clothes... or dance..."
She murmured under her breath, staking her claim.
Su Qi couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Got it."
Liu Yuan closed her eyes, enjoying the touch, though her words remained defiant. "I’m doing this for your own good. I heard there have been some scary cases lately—Brother should be careful not to end up in jail."
Su Qi decided not to engage further.
Some topics were better left unaddressed.
He deftly shifted the conversation back to business. "What was your exam number again?"
At the mention of the exam, Liu Yuan’s expression turned serious.
"A-55."
Su Qi pondered for a moment.
This year’s rules divided the arena tests into five major zones, each with ten arenas.
That meant a hundred examinees could be tested per round, totaling forty rounds.
If luck was on their side, they might be home by 1 PM.
But if they were stuck in the last group, waiting until 5 or 6 PM wouldn’t be unusual.
It all depended on how long each match took.
Incidentally, this year’s arena tests weren’t scored purely on victory or defeat.
Instead, professional evaluators would assess performance across all aspects of combat.
There might even be cases where the "glorious loser" scored higher than the winner.
"We might have to wait a while."
"Mhm."
Liu Yuan gave a small nod, her fingers tightening slightly around her milk tea cup.
Waiting was sometimes more nerve-wracking than stepping onto the stage immediately.
"Don’t stress."
Su Qi noticed her tension and softened his voice.
"Just don’t kill anyone, and you’ve already won."
Liu Yuan: "..."
Though Su Qi’s words sounded absurd, they somehow carried an odd sense of reassurance.
Her nervousness vanished in an instant, replaced by serious contemplation on how to restrain her strength enough to avoid fatalities.
"Understood, Brother."
Time slipped by unnoticed as they waited.
...
Back at the venue.
A rabbit-eared hostess, dressed more formally than the others, stepped onto the stage and picked up a microphone. Her sweet voice, amplified by the speakers, filled the arena with deliberate excitement.
"I’m sure everyone is eager to find out your child’s opponent and match order, right?"
A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd.
"Then, without further ado!" The hostess gestured to the massive screen behind her. "Let’s turn our attention to the big screen!"
The screen flickered before settling, rows of names and corresponding ID numbers rapidly scrolling into view.
Starting from "001," the list continued endlessly.
"For this tournament, opponents will be randomly matched based on assigned numbers!"
"All examinees must memorize your unique ID—this will be your key identifier for the competition!"
"Match results and the battle order will now be announced!"
Many in the audience fixed their eyes on the scrolling screen, searching for their child’s name.
The atmosphere grew tense.
The hostess’s voice rang out again: "Alright, the assignments are complete!"
The screen flashed once more before displaying the matchups line by line.
[Zone A-1, Match 1: A-03 vs. A-128]
[Zone A-1, Match 2: A-56 vs. A-319]
[Zone A-2, Match 1: A-11 vs. A-274]
...
The pairings continued to populate swiftly.
Soon, Liu Yuan found her own match details.
[Zone A-1, Match 13: A-55 vs. A-102]
"Examinees for the first match, please proceed to Arena One immediately! The match begins in three minutes! All other examinees, prepare for your turn."
On either side of the stage, several square arenas enclosed by special energy barriers had risen into position.
The second phase of the martial exam had officially begun.
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)
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
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?"
