VAP - Chapter 62
Chapter 62: The Supreme Sage Hopelessly Obsessed with Beauty (21)
Before the fight began, the announcer gave his customary opening speech, working up the crowd.
Amid the cheers and screams of the crowd, the winner of the mage division and the winner of the warrior division exchanged a silent, awkward glance and gave a polite nod.
The opening speech, however, was far too long. Perhaps the sight of two young, beautiful women standing on the stage together had gotten the announcer a little too excited?
In any case, he was gesticulating wildly and rattling off witty remarks, looking quite pleased with himself.
Yue Du shifted her weight from her right foot to her left, waiting expressionlessly.
Lorins, bored with the wait, let her gaze wander over her opponent. “Are you from the East?” she asked suddenly.
Yue Du looked up. “Yes.”
“Incredible! A friend of mine has Eastern heritage, and he told me that people from the East don’t use magic. They insist on using swords and strange paper to cast spells.”
After she finished, she added with great curiosity, “So, do the people in your homeland really use paper to perform magic?”
Yue Du didn’t know much about the East of this small world, but that didn’t stop her from saying with a straight face, “Perhaps. I don’t have many memories of my homeland. After all, I was just a child when I followed my mother across the Severing Deep Sea to get here.”
The Ayers Continent and the Eastern Continent were separated by an extremely deep and perilous ocean known as the Severing Deep Sea.
The strange thing was, any practitioner with a special constitution was unable to cross this sea, whereas ordinary people had a chance of making it. The anecdotes about the East circulating throughout the empire were all brought by them.
Even so, the Severing Deep Sea was far too dangerous, and the number of ordinary people who could arrive safely was minuscule.
Lorins looked impressed. “So that’s how it is.”
Just then, the announcer finally stopped his incessant chatter. He looked their way and boomed, “I’ve been talking for so long that the two young ladies have started chatting among themselves. You must be getting impatient—so let’s begin!”
Yue Du: “…”
So you do know we’ve been waiting a long time.
The two opponents bowed. Lorins drew her weapons: a pair of short swords that glinted coldly.
Although she secretly preferred a formidable greatsword, she would never use one in a real fight. Such a weapon didn’t suit Lorins, whose strengths were nimbleness and agility, but it was excellent for strength training.
“Yue, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this saying.”
Yue Du was on guard. “I’m listening.”
“Agility-focused warriors are the bane of mages—”
As she spoke the word “mages,” Lorins’s figure vanished from where she stood.
Yue Du’s eyes widened slightly. Without a second thought, she threw up a hand to her front left, instantly raising an earthen wall. A moment later, Lorins’s figure materialized on the other side of it, the tips of her swords aimed at Yue Du’s vitals, her attack thwarted by the sudden obstruction.
Lorins was rather surprised. “How did you know I’d attack from this side?”
Yue Du smiled but said nothing, thinking to herself that with the System’s powerful visual perception, anyone would have been able to see it coming.
What followed was a battle between an agility-focused warrior and an instant-cast ability user.
The reason agility types were such a headache for mages was that mages needed time to chant their spells; any magic that could be cast instantly without an incantation lacked real destructive power.
Yue Du, however, was not a mage. She was an elemental ability user. She couldn’t learn magic, but she also wasn’t bound by the need for incantations.
Lorins’s repeated surprise attacks were all intercepted by Yue Du, which clearly ignited Lorins’s fighting spirit. The warrior’s “qi” unconsciously radiated from her, making it difficult for some of the low-level practitioners near the arena to breathe, their faces turning pale.
In the end, Yue Du was narrowly defeated. Once her powers were depleted, her physical constitution—only slightly better than an ordinary person’s—gave way. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she collapsed backward, unable to fight any longer.
One contestant was down, while the other still had energy to spare—though she looked quite battered herself.
Even without her memories, Lorins was every bit the deserving Queen of the Bird Tribe.
“Your senses and magical skills are very strong,” Lorins said, extending a hand to Yue Du with a cheerful smile. “It’s a shame your combat instincts are lacking. You haven’t had much real fighting experience before, have you?”
Yue Du took her hand to pull herself up and nodded.
Before today, her only sparring partners had been Qi Jiu and Nai Yin. And those two—or rather, that one person—had so obviously held back that it couldn’t be considered real combat practice at all.
Lorins said, “How about we exchange contact information? We can train together when we have time. I’m with the Red Moon Mercenary Group. If you want to find me, just come to our headquarters and ask for Lorins.”
Just as Yue Du was about to reply, she heard her host’s voice rise slightly in her mind. “Don’t go looking for her. Could she possibly be a better sparring partner than Nai Yin Galor?”
Yue Du replied mentally, “Well, you always hold back when we fight.”
Calling it sparring was a stretch; it was more like playing around!
Nai Yin said mournfully, “But my dear, my heart would ache so much if I hurt you.”
Yue Du began, “Lorins—”
Nai Yin cut in, “I’ll be serious! I’ll give it my all, absolutely no holding back!”
Yue Du smiled and continued speaking to Lorins, “Thank you, Lorins. But that won’t be necessary. I have other arrangements at home.”
Lorins was very understanding. “Oh, I get it. But on the other hand, we can still be friends, right?”
“Of course,” Yue Du said.
“Do you need me to help you off the stage?”
“Don’t worry, I can walk on my own.”
Yue Du walked off the stage on her own, while Lorins remained. As the winner, she still had to fight the top summoner.
“Yue!”
Yue Du turned her head.
Lorins was beaming, twirling a lock of her hair as she called out, “Seriously, you’re really cute! When it’s time for you to go out and gain experience, be sure to consider the Red Moon Mercenary Group!”
“Ah, I will,” Yue Du replied.
Incidentally, she thought she could hear her host grinding her teeth.
With just one match, Yue Du had inexplicably forged a friendship with the heroine. She didn’t know how deep it ran, but in any case, Lord Nai Yin was already drowning in a sea of jealousy.
“She called you cute.”
“Am I not cute?”
Nai Yin explained with great seriousness, “You being cute is a matter between you and me. It’s a completely different story when she says it.”
Yue Du: “…”
Fine.
After that, as they continued to wander the venue, Yue Du was also brought under the effect of the invisibility scroll.
Unsurprisingly, the final winner among the high-level practitioners was Lorins. Because of their earlier bet, Abio willingly treated her to a meal at the best tavern in the city.
“Not bad. We should spar again sometime,” Lorins said, completely satisfied.
Abio replied, “Next time? I’ll make sure you’re the one paying.”
“So confident,” Lorins remarked.
Lorins told her new “brother” about her even newer “sister,” Yue Du, adding with regret, “She’s the most interesting mage I’ve ever met. It’s a shame she already left.”
Abio looked thoughtful. “I watched your match. She’s very strong.”
Lorins readily agreed. “It was like she could see right through all my moves. Even our group’s captain has a hard time doing that.”
Abio lowered his eyes, deep in thought.
In his memories, the winner of the high-level mage division had been a tall, thin man. He didn’t know why, but this time, it was a young woman with an Eastern face.
Was it perhaps because he had been reborn?
Meanwhile, the “already gone” Yue Du was dining with her host in the adjacent room.
The soundproofing in the tavern’s private rooms was actually quite good, but the two of them had inhuman hearing. Besides, the “brotherly” gathering next door wasn’t making any effort to keep their voices down…
In short, their conversation came through loud and clear.
Nai Yin listened as she cut into her steak, prodding it lightly with the tines of her fork. “They’re talking about you.”
Yue Du added helplessly, “Yes, I was mentioned as a newly acquainted friend.”
Their presence in this tavern wasn’t to eavesdrop on the two “good brothers,” of course, but because a key plot point was about to unfold here.
In the original plot, the male and female leads had also made a bet where the loser bought dinner, and Lorins had won that time as well.
Abio had treated her at this very tavern, only for someone to show up seeking revenge.
…What was rather interesting was that this revenge-seeker also had a feud with Lorins—and not a small one. So, in the beginning, neither of them knew which one of them had attracted the trouble.
But regardless of who was responsible, “brothers” had to have each other’s backs. The two of them joined forces to fight off their assailant.
However, they were outmatched.
The avenger was the classic “old master” who shows up after you’ve beaten their junior, and he was two whole ranks higher than them.
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is the best policy. Without a second word, they turned and fled.
They didn’t get far. Just as they were about to split up—to see which one he’d chase while the other went for help—they were cornered.
There was an abyss just off to the left of Dylan Canyon. Fleeing in a panic, they fell into it. The avenger, assuming they were as good as dead, didn’t pursue the matter further.
But they were protagonists, after all. Forget falling off a cliff; they could fall into an oceanic trench and survive.
Not only did Abio and Lorins emerge from the abyss alive, but they also obtained a cheat item: a divine artifact that boosted their training efficiency as long as they cultivated in the same room!
It came in the form of two red beads, one for each of them.
Their growing intimacy in the future was also related to this artifact.
Incidentally, those two blood-red beads were currently in Lord Nai Yin’s hands, being twirled about with practiced ease.
They had gone to retrieve the items yesterday. The abyss, a place of extreme danger for high-level practitioners, was no different from her own backyard in Nai Yin’s eyes.
Also, the creatures of the abyss were rather an eyesore, so she avoided going there if she could.
Even though the cheat item was gone, they still had to keep an eye on things. What if, without his cheat item, he accidentally died in the abyss?
Yue Du would probably have to unbind and exit the world on the spot!
Nai Yin would absolutely not stand for such a losing proposition.
Meanwhile, back at the “brotherly” gathering.
Abio happily clinked glasses with his dear friend.
The Dharma Saint’s soul, hiding in the necklace, asked him, “Treating the little lady to a meal, have you taken a fancy to her?”
Abio corrected him. “What are you thinking? Let me be clear, she’s my brother from another mother. Or sister, if you prefer.”
The Dharma Saint’s soul: “…”
His invisible face was etched with confusion.
Just as they had eaten and drunk their fill and were preparing to leave, the inevitable arrived.
Nai Yin’s eyes flickered. “It’s that avenging Grand Magus.”
The aura was distinct, and it was aimed directly at the room next door.
Nai Yin remained perfectly composed, looking as if she intended to enjoy the show before intervening.
However, the male lead was no fool.
If he wanted to retrieve the artifact he once possessed, he could just go look for it himself. Why bother repeating the experience of being hunted down?
Since these events had already happened once before, he naturally knew how to handle the situation.
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