As soon as Wu Yu gave the signal, Liu Li put strength into his legs and charged at Wang Meimei. Raising his mace overhead, he swung it down on her. Lightly tapping the floor with her foot, she evaded gracefully as the mace struck the ground where she stood. The tiled floor of the arena had a huge crack on it as Liu Li lifted his mace and looked at Wang Meimei who had charged at him from the side.

He looked at her hand; a sword seemed to have appeared from thin air. Wang Meimei swiped at him with her sword to which Liu Li stepped back. Wang Meimei continued to slash at him and he continued to back away.

“You know,” Liu Li spoke, “it’s not nice to hide your weapon in your Space Ring.”

“It’s not,” Wang Meimei spoke as she raised her sword vertically and chopped, “Fang told me to do it. Using this tactic doesn’t feel good.”

“Fang? You mean Murong Fang?” Liu Li asked. He was a simple man but he felt as though he should be warier of Murong Clan’s First Young Master.

“Yep! He’s my fiancé!” she nodded but unlike before where she would smile happily when saying this, it seemed she was reluctant now.

“I see…” Liu Li’s voice trailed off. He began to focus and circulate the Qi around his body. His mace was covered in Earth Qi which made the weapon have a brown tint to it.

“Receive my move!” he roared and smashed his mace at her. Wang Meimei evaded once more but as soon as the mace struck the ground, a wave of sand rose with the force. The sand was full of Earth Qi and was heavier than ordinary sand.

The audience gasped as they saw Wang Meimei get buried under the tsunami of sand. Strangely enough, the boy was silent and watched on. But he wasn’t watching the ongoing match but rather the Wang Clan’s Patriarch who had a rough face and grizzly red beard. He was laughing jovially.

“Funnily enough,” Li Yan behind him spoke, “I think I remember fighting that lad’s father.” His eyes were on Liu Li.

“Oh, that Liu Kang!” Li Fen recalled.

“Yep!” he nodded. He clicked his tongue, “That bastard used this sand attack as well!”

“Is that why you hate sand?” Li Fen asked with a surprised expression.

“It took me two hours to get the sand off my body because that fucker didn’t cancel his Earth Qi,” he gnashed his teeth.

“That’s…a really dumb reason to hate sand.”

“Well, try picking off sand out from hair then you’ll learn how I feel,” Li Yan snorted.

“So, you said you didn’t like it in our first-month dating,” Li Fen asked slowly, “just because of this?”

“Exactly!” Li Yan fiddled with his fingers, “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating. And it gets everywhere.”

“Boy!” she called him, “I hope you have a better head on your shoulders.” She patted his head.

“You-!” Li Yan exclaimed angrily.

The boy felt speechless. At that moment, the people among them started clamoring and cheering. He turned around back to the arena and saw Liu Li lying on the ground and Wang Meimei standing on the arena with her sword lowered. Looking deeper, there seemed to be a huge gash on his chest and several others on his limbs. Well, that would explain the blood dripping down from her sword!

Wu Yu hopped on stage and looked at the fallen Liu Li. After a bit of inspecting, he stood up and addressed everyone in the stadium, “As contestant Liu Li unable to battle, Wang Meimei wins!”

Instantly, the crowd exploded with fervor. Especially, the Wang clan; those bunches were cheering like madmen. The boy swore he even saw people proposing to one another. He feared what would happen if Wang Meimei won the Semi-Finals.

Wu Yu slipped a bean-sized round pill in Liu Li’s mouth. Instantly, he coughed out blood and opened his eyes. He hastily tried to sit up.

“Woah, take it slowly,” Wu Yu pacified him, “You have heavy injuries but don’t worry, I gave you a healing pill. You’ll heal in no time.”

Liu Li nodded and slowly sat up. He looked at Wang Meimei who stood, looking down at him. He looked at her with his jaw agape. The slight wind in the air made her red, fiery hair flutter and even after a fight, she emitted a relaxing aura.

“I’m sorry,” she smiled gently, “but there’s someone I need to meet in the finals.”

Liu Li broke out of his reverie and shook his head, “There’s always a winner and loser in a fight. No need to apologize. But…” Liu Li hesitated before speaking again, “Can I fight you again?”

The smile never left her face, “Anytime!” With that, she leaped off the stage; gracefully, that is.

Near where the contestants sat, Murong Fang frowned. He didn’t like how they spoke with one another. It made him…wary. After a while of deliberation, he made his mind. He’d get someone to assassinate this Liu Li!

Over in the stands, the boy naturally took notice of Murong Fang’s emotions, or rather; he guessed what he should be feeling.

“This Wang Meimei is going to do some drastic!” he heard Li Fen from behind.

“Mistress, if I may ask,” he turned around, “how do you know this?”

“Call it a woman’s intuition,” she spoke with an amused expression, “but she has that sort of look in her eyes.” Her words were a testament to how powerful a Cultivator’s senses were. Even from the stands, Li Fen could notice the minute differences in Wang Meimei’s expression.

Of course, the boy could do this as well but to a more subdued extent. But that was not the concern. The boy asked, “Could I ask Mistress to get someone to protect Liu Li?”

“Oh?” this time Li Yan raised his eyebrow, “And why is that?”

“I believe it’ll play in our favor,” the boy spoke with confidence, “the seeds have been sown, and all we need to do is water them.” He took a deep breath and spoke again, “If we are to believe Mistress’s intuition, then I can guess what can happen.”

“Hmm…” Li Yan stroked his chin, thinking things through. But before he could do so, he heard his wife say, “Sure, we’ll go with your plan!”

“Huh?” he snapped his head toward her.

“Relax,” she waved her hand dismissively, “it’s nice to have a butler like him.”

“That’s true,” Li Yan nodded in agreement, “Yu Hao’s not much for scheming!”

I…I don’t think that’s right. The boy felt helpless.

As they conversed, Wu Yu had taken center stage once again and addressed the crowd, “We have just witnessed a spectacular match full of twists and elegance! And now, we start the next match between Ah Bao and Long Sha! Will the contestants please enter the arena?”

Prompted by Wu Yu, a plump and chubby boy jumped on the stage. When he landed on the arena, it shook violently! His face was full of fat and his cheeks were so chubby that they encroached upon his eyes and it made his eyes look narrow.

Next, a lean boy lazily walked into the arena. He looked as though he had just woken up as he kept rubbing his eyes and wait, is that drool falling from his mouth?

“Wipe your mouth, you rascal!” the boy heard a scream coming from somewhere and turned to look. In the stands closer to the arena, a man whose face look likes that of the drowsy boy penetrated the latter with his furious gaze.

Hearing that shout, the slim boy sucked and the string of drool was pulled back into his mouth.

“Ah for fuck’s sake!” the man facepalmed, “I’m gonna lose my face because of this unfilial bastard!”

Wu Yu looked at the two fighters, “Are you ready?”

They both put up their fighting stances and their Qi started churning inside their bodies.

Wu Yu raised his right arm overhead like last time and brought it down whilst yelling, “Fight!”

Thirty Minutes Later

“That was quite unexpected,” the boy remarked.

“Not really,” Li Yan shook his head. The boy turned around and looked at him as Li Yan continued, “The leaner boy, Ah Bao played mind games with his opponents from the very start.”

“You mean to say that is lazy attitude is just a front?” the boy asked with a shock written on his face.

“Not exactly. Ah, Bao is lazy but not enough come up to the stage half-asleep and drooling!”

“So, he was just using his laziness as a weapon.”

“Exactly!” Li Yan nodded, “Long Sha, that chubby boy underestimated him. This cost him the match.”

“Thank god!” Li Fen beside him heaved a sigh of relief.

“What’s the matter?” he nudged her.

“It’s good that he needed to teach you this,” Li Fen remarked, “This means he’s not an old man in a child’s body.”

“Right,” Li Yan nodded in agreement, “he does act like one.”

The boy looked at this exchange, feeling speechless.