The Attack of the Wastrel

“Who says that the Dayin Kingdom doesn’t have any outstanding ladies? Isn’t Ding Rou one?” Rong Yuan replied casually, without much intention behind it.

Gu Lingzhi laughed and added, “Ding Rou is indeed outstanding. Even I feel my heart moving for her.”

“No, that cannot happen!” Rong Yuan turned to face Gu Lingzhi, saying, “Your heart can only beat for me alone, and no one else.”

“Hey!” Ding Rou shouted. “You two are at it again! You’re too much, you know? Flirting in the presence of two single people. Don’t you feel guilty at all?”

“No, not at all,” Rong Yuan replied instantly. His lack of any hesitation made the Ding siblings roll their eyes. Watching their banter, Gu Lingzhi felt a strange bitterness deep in her heart that she kept hidden from her expression.

For some reason, seeing Rong Yuan interact with Ding Rou especially made Gu Lingzhi feel a sense of threat and discomfort. It was as though her man was going to run off with another girl that he was very impressed and comfortable with. This made her feel a sense of distaste towards Ding Rou.

Maybe…it was because Ding Rou was once good friends with Tianfeng Wei? According to Rong Yuan, Ding Rou had only befriended Tianfeng Wei because he requested her to. Ever since his engagement with Tianfeng Wei had been annulled, Ding Rou and Tianfeng Wei’s friendship had essentially dissolved. But then, where did this feeling of threat come from?

Suddenly, Ding Rou’s expression changed, turning into one that looked mischievous. She turned to Ding Wei, saying, “Brother, I heard that you’ve become a Peak Level Martial Lord recently. How about going at it with Rong Yuan for a bit? Let’s see if you’ve improved.”

Ding Wei immediately rejected, scolding, “Damn it, lass! You’re always teaming up with Rong Yuan to bully me. Who’s your brother, really?” Even though he said that, however, his eyes betrayed his excitement.

“Sure, no problem. I’m just afraid that your brother will not be daring enough to take the challenge,” Rong Yuan taunted. Petting Gu Lingzhi’s head, Rong Yuan stood up and led the Ding siblings to the open space behind their residence.

Gu Lingzhi’s heart was in turmoil, and as she was brooding, she caught sight of Yuan Zheng who was silently standing at the side.

It seemed like whenever Ding Rou was around, she could never get a word into the conversation. It was as though Rong Yuan was neglecting her.

Even as she reminded herself not to think too deeply about it, and even though she knew that Rong Yuan and Ding Rou were just exceptionally good friends and not romantic interests, she couldn’t help but feel bitter. Were all women who were in love like this, constantly being suspicious and worrying about such things?

“Lady Gu, are you not going to join them?” Yuan Zheng asked as he saw Gu Lingzhi not moving. He was not aware of the reason for Gu Lingzhi’s mood and was in fact confused as to why she was brooding. Could it be the pressure from the consecutive days of competition? If that were so, he had to inform Rong Yuan, as Gu Lingzhi’s health was an utmost concern.

“No, I’d like to go out for a walk,” Gu Lingzhi said, not wanting to continue watching Rong Yuan interacting so happily with another girl.

She planned to look for Tianfeng Jin and Wei Hanzi to spectate the competition matches together, but when she arrived at their house, she found that both of them were not home. Dejected, she headed to the competition grounds alone.

The competition grounds were located in the First School and there were nine stages set up for the competition. There, twenty selected elites from the various countries were currently battling.

The first three stages were used by the Martial Students, while the next three stages were used by Martial Practitioners. Finally, stages seven, eight, and nine were reserved for the Martial Teachers.

Just as Gu Lingzhi stepped into the competition grounds, there came a sudden outburst from the fifth stage. Looking, she saw a man dressed in black looking down regretfully at another youth who was lying at his feet, lying in a puddle of blood. The atmosphere surrounding that blood-covered stage was completely solemn.

“The victory goes to participant 132,” the judge announced. However, as the judge said that, his eyes were filled with anger as he looked at the youth who had lost.

That youth was the strongest participant from their school and he was deemed to have great potential for cultivation. However, his disastrous defeat at Song Ze’s hands today would impede his future cultivation.

In fact, although the judge considered himself to be relatively experienced, the battle he witnessed today still left chills in his heart. The youth’s wounds were not too serious despite the amount of blood, but what was shocking was how the battle had unfolded.

It was obvious that Song Ze could have defeated the youth much earlier, but he had instead played with his opponent like a cat playing with a mouse. Using his sword, he made countless small cuts all over his opponent’s body. Then, even as his opponent became bloodier, the excitement in his eyes grew stronger as his bloodlust intensified. As though savoring some delicacy, he constantly licked his lips, making even the spectators feel intense fear just watching the match. It was only until the youth had passed out from excessive blood loss that the match was concluded.

As the teacher from the First School, how could the judge not be angry watching his student being toyed with and trampled upon? However, the youth’s injuries were not too serious, and the opponent never broke any rules despite the way he fought, leaving him no excuse to interfere with the match until now.

Most of the spectators today were also from the First School and were familiar with the youth who had fallen. Seeing their fellow student being humiliated like this, the hatred in their eyes grew and it seemed like they wanted to gang up on Song Ze together.

“Pft, a bunch of toothless tigers!” Song Ze snorted, noticing the gaze of the spectators. Not only did he not bother hiding his bloodlust, the excitement in his eyes grew even stronger and he licked his lips once again. Seeing this, the spectators who were glaring at him all felt a chill running down their spines, thinking to themselves how inhuman this person was.

“Don’t be too full of yourself! Wait till you face Senior Zhuang! You won’t even know how you’ll be killed!” one of the spectators shouted out, even as Song Ze was leaving.

Senior Zhuang was one of the competitors in this Inter-school Competition, and over the past few days of fights, almost everyone had no doubts that Senior Zhuang was one of the strongest Martial Artists within the Martial Practitioner level. This was because Senior Zhuang was truly very strong, and while all the opponents he had faced were definitely not weak, not one of them had lasted more than three moves against him. All the strongest elites from the various countries so far had not managed to defeat him, which only served to bolster his undefeated reputation.

“Oh? I do want to see how he would kill me,” Song Ze laughed maliciously, turning to look at the person who had just walked into the competition grounds.

This person looked average but exuded an aura of calm and stability. Despite looking to be about eighteen years old, he seemed to have the composure of a senior expert. Noticing Song Ze’s stare, he returned the gaze calmly, not showing any signs of retreat or other emotions but just giving a simple nod.

“It’s Senior Zhuang!” someone shouted, as the crowd of students from the First School rushed over and jostled around him to report what had just transpired. In contrast to the furious looks of the students around him, Senior Zhuang maintained a look of civility, and his calmness quickly influenced the rest of the crowd around him as well.

This was going to be a dangerous opponent…

Gu Lingzhi had a bad premonition and felt that if she were to face off against him, it would be a tough battle even for her.

Indeed, her worries proved to be true, because in the final match of the preliminary round, she found herself faced up against him.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Senior Zhuang greeted. Standing on the stage, Senior Zhuang was also surprised, not expecting to meet Gu Lingzhi before the finals.

Unlike Gu Lingzhi who only came to spectate once in a while, Senior Zhuang would come down whenever he was free to observe his opponents. He had paid special attention to Rong Yuan’s fiancée, Gu Lingzhi. Perhaps no one else had noticed, but aside from the first match, Gu Lingzhi had defeated every opponent after that within twenty to thirty moves.

What did this mean? Senior Zhuang was unwilling to believe that this was a coincidence. Most likely, Gu Lingzhi was doing this deliberately to hide her strength and not stand out too much. However, someone who was able to consistently do this definitely had exceptional control over their spiritual energy.

“I’m Gu Lingzhi, I look forward to duelling with you,” Gu Lingzhi returned the greeting. Inside her heart, she lamented her bad luck for having to meet such a tough opponent before the finals. It seemed like unless she used all her strength, it would be difficult to get through this round.

After both of them had reported their own names, the match started.

Senior Zhuang’s fighting style was meticulous and dignified. This could be seen from his every move, which was very precise and followed the textbook style with little variation. Normally, someone who fought like this would be regarded as simple and lacking adaptability, but when it was executed by Senior Zhuang, the techniques he used seemed to come alive. His moves were much more lethal than any other regular person.

In fact, Senior Zhuang was executing the moves so naturally and flawlessly that it seemed like the style was designed for him alone. From the beginning of the match, he dominated the pace and Gu Lingzhi was constantly forced to retreat.

“It seems like Gu Lingzhi from the Xia Kingdom will be defeated in twenty moves. I heard she is even considered one of the best in their Royal School. I guess they are still no match for the First School,” one of the spectators commented.

Because Gu LIngzhi had only been retreating from the start of the match, it was no wonder that she gave the spectators such an impression.

“I think Gu Lingzhi is still holding back. No matter what, she is still Rong Yuan’s fiancée. She can’t be that useless,” someone else commented.

“Don’t you know that she was a wastrel just two years ago?” a voice interrupted their discussion. He had immediately begun slandering Gu Lingzhi. This piqued the interest of the other spectators, who stared at him trying to figure out his identity and the truth of his words.

This person in question curled up his mouth and continued, “This Gu Lingzhi is not simple. Two years ago, she stole the heart of the man her younger sister was infatuated with, and even forced the Third Prince to annul his previous engagement. That was how she managed to get to her current position. Not only that, in order to cement her position, she even plotted against her sister that we don’t even know whether she is currently alive or dead. The previous fiancée, the First Mistress of the Tianfeng Family suffered an even worse fate. Her family was destroyed, and she was married off to another family by force. As for some other girls who secretly liked the Third Prince...”