CSMCDB - Chapter 89
Chapter 89
[Mission Complete: Youth Tournament (Part 3)]
[Mission Reward: 8000 EXP, 200 Points]
[Mission Activated: Youth Tournament (Part 4)]
[Mission Requirement: Become one of the top four in the Youth Tournament.]
[Mission Reward: 8000 EXP, 200 Points]
Host: Wen Yuncheng
Race: Human
Age: 18
Class: Mechanical Overlord
Level: 40
Experience: 8005/27000
Points: 2012
An easy victory.
In the lounge, the First Princess realized she had stood up from the sofa only after seeing the result. Her eyes sparkled like stars. After a moment of thought, she mentally raised Wen Yuncheng's value considerably.
A third-layer Star Master who could fight a Star Lord, and upon advancing to Star Lord, could easily defeat an opponent of the same rank... then perhaps even a third-layer Star Lord wouldn't be out of the question. If Wen Yuncheng continued at this pace, how strong would she become? Setting that aside, there was also the value of those things Wen Yuncheng created herself—the Guardians, Enemy-Annihilators, and turrets.
Wen Yuncheng hadn't revealed any blueprints, nor had she sold any finished products, but that didn't matter. These were all bonus points in Wen Yuncheng's favor.
The First Princess sat back down on the sofa, tapped her fingertips on the coffee table twice, and came to a decision. "Zero, send a Star Stone card with one million to Wen Yuncheng. Tell her it's a personal reward from me for her victory, and that I look forward to her taking first place."
"Yes." A petite figure emerged from the corner. From the voice, one could tell it was a female. Her entire being was in a peculiar state. As she detached from the shadows, her body was shrouded in a faint, black mist, making it impossible to discern her figure—let alone her face.
Upon receiving the order, she quickly left the lounge and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Strolling leisurely off the stage, Wen Yuncheng stretched. Lin Jinyu's fight was next, so she decided to stay and watch before leaving. She had worked desperately for so long to finally reach the Star Lord rank. While it was impossible to stop going to the Dueling Arena for a complete rest, she could at least shorten her daily routine there and get a little more rest each day.
Wen Yuncheng walked to the door of Lin Jinyu's lounge. Just as she was about to knock, 1947's alarm suddenly blared in her mind, causing her raised hand to tremble as she turned around.
A... "humanoid figure" shrouded in black mist, completely indistinct, was standing silently behind her.
Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but take a step back, pressing herself right against the door. The posture was a bit comical, but... for someone to appear behind her so suddenly and silently was just too terrifying, wasn't it?
"This is a personal reward from Her Highness." The humanoid figure spoke, its voice delicate and soft. A part of the black mist lifted, and a Star Stone card suddenly appeared in its hand. "Her Highness hopes you will work hard and take first place."
"...Thank you. I will do my best." Realizing it was a person, and a friendly one at that, Wen Yuncheng breathed a sigh of relief. She knew it! How could some strange person sneak into the combat stadium! Wen Yuncheng accepted the Star Stone card. "Appearing so silently is really scary, you know. Next time you're looking for someone, it's best to make a little noise to let them know you're there."
"I will improve." The black-misted figure seemed to perform a salute, but the swirling mist made it impossible to see the specific action. Seeing how agreeable she was, Wen Yuncheng wanted to ask what kind of cultivation technique produced this effect, but the black mist suddenly faded, turning into a mere afterimage of Star Power that dissipated into the air the next second.
"..." This person's entrance and exit were so flashy. It was a bit chuuni and embarrassing, but... it was really cool. Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but poke 1947: I want this too!
[...The hell you do!]
Wen Yuncheng didn't press her "old father" any further. Instead, she touched the Star Stone card to her own, transferring the Star Stones over. Then she placed the empty card into a storage ring she had specially prepared for holding empty Star Stone cards.
"Knock, knock."
Wen Yuncheng knocked, then pushed the door open and went inside. The Little Ice Mountain was sitting on the sofa watching another fight. Seeing Wen Yuncheng enter, she said, "You've gotten much stronger."
"Well, I am a Star Lord now." Wen Yuncheng sat down beside Lin Jinyu. Thinking about what had just happened outside the door, she felt Lin Jinyu probably knew about it. Although she hadn't asked for details... it was still better to explain herself. "Just now, someone sent by the First Princess stopped me. She gave me one million Star Stones. The person was completely covered in black mist, and I could only tell from her voice that she seemed to be a girl."
"That's the First Princess's personal shadow guard, Zero. The personal guards are all orphans, trained from a young age to be loyal to only one person." Lin Jinyu explained, "Her state is due to her constitution and cultivation technique. Her Star Power takes the form of that black mist. She excels at concealment and can even briefly hide herself within shadows. Unless you are two major ranks higher than her, you won't be able to detect her."
"Wow, so what's her rank now?"
"Third-layer Star Lord, I believe? Her talent is quite good. Her exact strength is unknown, as she never displays it in front of others." Lin Jinyu casually shared information that an ordinary person would never know. "She's twenty-three."
Twenty-three and a third-layer Star Lord? That talent was impressive to an ordinary person, but it was nothing compared to geniuses and prodigies. Lin Jinyu knew so much. Wen Yuncheng's interest was piqued, and she couldn't help but ask, "You know so much. Do you know how old the First Princess is?"
"...Twenty-seven."
The First Princess is actually twenty-seven? You couldn't tell. But on second thought, the Eighth Princess was already eighteen, so it was normal for the First Princess to be twenty-seven. What was the First Princess's name again?
"Wei Qingyu." Lin Jinyu lightly dipped her finger in some tea and wrote the three characters on the table before looking at Wen Yuncheng. "You're that curious about the First Princess?"
It seemed like a normal question, but it made Wen Yuncheng's heart skip a beat. Her gossipy mood vanished, and she answered honestly, "No, it's just that you know a lot, and I don't know anything, so I asked you. After all, the First Princess is trying to win me over, and it turns out I know nothing about her..."
As she spoke, Wen Yuncheng watched Lin Jinyu's expression, but Lin Jinyu had no expression at all. She could only rely on her intuition to guess Lin Jinyu's thoughts... and she still couldn't figure it out.
"It's good to be on friendly terms with the First Princess." The current emperor had not yet announced the next crown prince. Although there had been empresses in history, the current emperor had eight children. Aside from the unreliable Third and Fifth Princes, the Second, Sixth, and Seventh Princes were all strong contenders. However, the Second Prince was too engrossed in cultivation and paid little attention to political affairs. The Seventh Prince loved to spar and fight and was also a cultivation fanatic. As for the Sixth Prince... although he was similar, his talent was mediocre, so his cultivation was just so-so. He did, however, dabble in all sorts of knowledge and was studying politics, statecraft, and the like.
Currently, the First Princess helped shoulder some of the trivial matters of the imperial family. As the eldest daughter, the First Princess had good relationships with her younger siblings. Regardless of whether she or someone else became the crown prince, her future was secure.
She was... a reliable backer.
This was one of the reasons why, despite not particularly liking that Wen Yuncheng was being courted by others, Lin Jinyu didn't say much about it.
"The recent battles have given me some insights, and my bottleneck has loosened a bit." Lin Jinyu changed the subject. She looked at the match being broadcast on the crystal screen, which was about to conclude. She said, "My fight with Mo Wensheng was very beneficial. Perhaps it won't be long before I can break through to the Star Lord rank."
"Yeah, maybe you'll break through right after this next fight?" Wen Yuncheng smiled. "I hope you break through soon, too. Or maybe fighting me will help you break through... However, I'd still prefer to have a serious match with you after you've also reached the Star Lord rank." Otherwise, she would feel like she was taking advantage of the Little Ice Mountain.
Lin Jinyu nodded without saying anything more. She stood up. The match on the crystal screen had just ended, and it was her turn to go on stage.
"Good luck!~" Wen Yuncheng waved, seeing Lin Jinyu out of the lounge.
Lin Jinyu's match went without any surprises. Wen Yuncheng observed that Lin Jinyu's sword intent was very effective at suppressing her opponent. But Wen Yuncheng didn't know the specific feeling of it; she figured she would have to wait until she fought Lin Jinyu herself to find out.
After this round ended, there was a day of rest, followed by another drawing of lots.
The top eight had been decided! Another victory in the next round would mean another eight thousand EXP and two hundred points.
1947 rarely issued missions like this. She hadn't expected it to be so generous this time. Thanks to the Youth Tournament, Wen Yuncheng had already gained twenty-one thousand EXP and five hundred points!
Match number... one? She was up first. But with only eight people left, the latest she could go was fourth, so being first didn't make much of a difference. Wen Yuncheng rubbed her hands together. Now that she had her number, she just had to wait for everyone else to draw theirs and see who was lucky enough to get the same number as her.~
Wen Yuncheng waited cheerfully for the announcement board to be updated. However, the two names listed together in the first row were actually: Lin Jinyu, Wen Yuncheng.
Wen Yuncheng's smile froze instantly. She stared wide-eyed in disbelief, pointing at the list, speechless. While she was more than happy to see her name next to Lin Jinyu's, this... this was only the round of eight! Wasn't this too soon?! She was a little dejected, but she quickly recovered.
So, it was time to face the Little Ice Mountain. But the Little Ice Mountain hadn't broken through to the Star Lord rank yet. This was really... Wen Yuncheng sighed. If she hadn't broken through to Star Lord and hadn't revealed so many of her techniques in the fight against the Young Master of the Blood Fiend Sect, it would have been fine. But now that she had used them, if she deliberately held back against Lin Jinyu...
Lin Jinyu would probably get angry.
Wen Yuncheng sighed again. The storage ring on her hand lit up, which meant the communication stone she kept inside it was active. Wen Yuncheng took out the transparent communication stone. As soon as she connected, she heard Lin Jinyu's voice.
-"Rest well. Give it your all."
"I won't disappoint you. You shouldn't hold back either." Wen Yuncheng said softly while looking at the announcement board. She raised her hand and tapped on the three characters of Lin Jinyu's name, saying seriously, "See you at the match."
-"See you at the match."
Looking at the communication stone in her hand, which had turned blue again, Wen Yuncheng smiled and turned to leave.
A battle with Lin Jinyu... It was truly something to look forward to.
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