What Are You Looking At If You Don't Strive for It, All You Can Do Is Watch

The next day, Li Siyi had already gotten up early. Even though she moved quietly, she was still noticed.

"So early?" Su Luo asked.

"Yeah, I still have some work to finish. I’ll head out now—hope you all have fun these next few days."

"Mm."

Li Siyi had known Su Luo was coming, so she had arrived in Water City ahead of time.

With nothing else to do, she helped set up the competition grounds or handled other tasks.

Before leaving, Li Siyi quickly kissed Su Luo on the forehead.

Little Yu, however, was watching from the side.

"What are you staring at? If you don’t have the guts, you’ll just have to keep watching."

With that, Li Siyi left.

Little Yu had no retort.

Last night, mustering the courage to climb into bed had already been a big step. If not for Li Siyi, Little Yu would have been too embarrassed to sleep beside Su Luo.

"Alright, let’s get up too."

Meanwhile, Huang Nuanyan in the next room was still fast asleep.

But soon, she woke up and realized Little Yu wasn’t there. After freshening up a bit, she left her room and went next door.

Sure enough, everyone was there. Huang Nuanyan walked in to find Su Luo and Little Yu sipping tea.

"Where’s Elder Ye?"

"I’m here." Elder Ye entered from outside.

His face was expressionless, but his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.

Earlier that morning, he had seen Li Siyi leaving Su Luo’s room and wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

That Li Siyi was even stronger than him—how could she have come out of that room?

And now that he’d seen it, would he be silenced?

Most importantly, just who was this Su Yu? What was his relationship with Li Siyi?

Could it be… because he was handsome?

Had Li Siyi sought him out last night just because of Su Yu’s good looks?

For a moment, he debated whether to tell the young mistress about this.

In the end, he decided against it—he didn’t want to shatter Huang Nuanyan’s image of Li Siyi.

Besides, maybe he was overthinking it. Perhaps nothing had happened between them.

Once the conversation wound down, it was time to leave.

"It’s about time—let’s go." Huang Nuanyan was practically buzzing with excitement. This was the first time she had ventured so far from home, and she was eager to see what lay ahead.

When they arrived at the plaza where the Spirit Combat Tournament was set to begin, a massive crowd had already gathered.

This year’s participants numbered in the thousands—all young, brimming with energy.

Naturally, the tournament’s opening ceremony followed the usual format.

First, the schedule was announced: six matches over three days.

Next came the rewards: each match’s rankings would earn prizes, though the early rounds offered modest rewards. The later the match, the richer the prizes—with the final competition’s reward being the grandest of all.

Third, the officials overseeing each stage were introduced so everyone could recognize them.

Finally, it was Water City’s City Lord Tan’s turn to speak.

"It is an honor to have you all here."

"..."

"At this point, any further rambling from me would be inappropriate. I’m sure you’re all far more eager for the next person to take the stage."

"Please welcome Lin Xuan, one of the esteemed judges for this year’s Spirit Combat Tournament!"

As Lin Xuan stepped forward, the crowd erupted.

"Greetings, everyone. Throughout this tournament, I’ll be with you every step of the way. Stay calm and give it your best."

Lin Xuan’s words of encouragement further ignited the crowd’s enthusiasm.

What could be more inspiring than praise from someone you admire?

Instantly, most of the participants were fired up with determination.

Of course, Lin Xuan wasn’t the only judge—just the most famous.

There was one from the Radiant Heaven Sect, another from the Mist Cloud Sect...

Finally, City Lord Tan declared, "With that, let this year’s Spirit Combat Tournament… begin!"

The opening remarks concluded.

The first event: Water Gliding.

Starting from the city gates, participants would glide down the river—though not aimlessly. A set course had to be followed for the results to count.

The finish line was the sea.

This event was relatively fair.

The tournament provided identical gliding boards—simple-looking planks.

But these weren’t ordinary boards. They were enchanted with formations to propel them across the water.

Their speed had an upper limit.

Everyone had to use these boards and was forbidden from using their own cultivation to assist their movement.

Nor could they attack others with their cultivation, though they could pick up and use items along the way.

In short, this match tested skill, not strength.

Better control meant faster progress—and victory.

A time limit was set. Those who failed to reach the finish line in time would be eliminated.

This first event leaned toward entertainment, so even those with weaker cultivation stood a chance—as long as their control was good enough.

Huang Nuanyan examined her board, finding it a bit tricky to handle but manageable.

"How’s everyone’s spiritual energy control? That’ll decide this match," she said.

"I’m alright."

"Same here."

Su Luo and the others had no issues.

"Let’s do our best!" Huang Nuanyan’s fighting spirit flared.

Soon, the competition began.

A crowd of people charged forward eagerly, while cheers erupted all around in anticipation of witnessing speed and thrill.

But then, one person took a tumble, triggering a chain reaction that sent a whole group crashing.

And they hadn’t even gotten far yet.

The surrounding crowd burst into cheers—now this was a proper race.

Though falling wasn’t a big deal; all they had to do was pick themselves back up.

There was only one way to win: reach the finish line with your skateboard.

“Su Luo, slacking off already?” Little Yu glided along at a leisurely pace, finding it quite fun for her first time.

Though it seemed similar to sword flight, controlling a skateboard was a different experience.

“Yeah, but you should go all out—it’ll feel amazing.”

Su Luo had done this many times before. She still remembered how exhilarating her first attempt had been.

Back then, relying on her experience from racing games, she thought it would be easy. But once she actually tried, she realized how hard it was to control.

Unexpected situations cropped up constantly, and others’ mistakes could easily drag you down.

“Then I’ll wait for you at the finish line.” Little Yu decided to go all out as well.

She cranked her skateboard to top speed and began overtaking the others one by one.

Meanwhile, Su Luo weaved casually through the crowd, maintaining a moderate pace.

Even so, she wasn’t last—some competitors had terrible control, constantly slamming into the riverbank walls.

The skateboards were sturdy enough not to break easily, but after a few collisions, who could say?

Skill still mattered.

“Ah! Someone’s already broken away from the pack—it’s Little Yu! What a talented young cultivator!”

The commentator sprang into action.

Little Yu kept her speed maxed out the entire way, flawless in execution, naturally taking the lead.