☆ Chapter 83: The twentieth evaluation of the Yin-Yang Collection
After the group list for the selection competition was released, Chaoge stared at the names of the opponents next to the members of Yin Yang Group and frowned slightly.
She had assumed that with General Ling Tianquan in charge, these evil spirits wouldn't dare to cause trouble. It turns out that the Ling family's internal rules are like this—regardless of the means, whoever wins has the right to speak?
Chaoge felt that she probably understood why Ling Tianji, as a member of a branch family, could still have the same status as the others.
Ugh, just thinking about Ling Tianji makes her so angry! This guy dragged them to M3 like pigs, and then there's been no news of them since Ling Tianquan arrived. What does that mean? Are they just leaving it to them to figure out?
...Oh no, they're not pigs.
In short, Chaoge stared at the published list for a long time with a thoughtful expression. Ling Xiao and the others were the most powerful representatives of the Ling family branch here, but surprisingly, all the members of Yin Yang Group were facing them in the first round.
Originally, Ling Xiao's side had fewer people than Chao Ge's side, but now it's clear that some neutral parties have changed their stance.
She let out a soft breath, a mocking smile flashing across Chaoge's face. This kind of game was so boring; she always believed the best was saved for last.
Sensing a malicious gaze, Chaoge slightly raised her chin, making her soft jawline more pronounced and somewhat sharp. Looking in the direction of the gaze's source, Chaoge impatiently turned her head away from Ling Xiao's face, which was a mixture of various terrible emotions—she glanced to her side.
Spall was standing behind her. The yellow cat that used to jump or perch on his shoulder was nowhere to be seen. Since that incident, his rare liveliness and sunshine had diminished considerably, making him appear somewhat shy most of the time.
"Your opponent is at the same level as you, so be careful later."
After seeing him nod, Chaoge looked at the black-haired boy standing next to him, who was yawning incessantly, as if staying awake and not having fallen asleep was a very difficult thing.
"Ningtao, don't confront Ling Xiao head-on. He's stronger than you." Her gentle eyes were surprisingly serious at this moment. Chaoge didn't want her people to be harmed in such a boring place.
Moreover, she had only agreed to help him; she never intended to do a buy-one-get-more deal with Ling Tianji.
The boy paused in his yawning motion as he lowered his hand, glanced at Ling Xiao in the distance, and then casually replied, "I know."
Selection begins!
The way to win is simple: whoever is standing on the stage lasts for 90 minutes. Declaring defeat or leaving the ring also results in a loss. If both fighters are still standing after 90 minutes, it's a draw.
The first battle was against Mo Nian, and Chao Ge wasn't too worried about him. Back when Mo Nian was with her in the wasteland, he loved to cause trouble, always wanting to bomb this person's base or that person's airship.
However, this does not mean that he loses his combat capability simply because he has lost high-energy cannon-type weapons.
He had been unhappy for a long time because his own side was not capable enough to force him to come to M3. This was evident from the fact that he had hardly spoken since he arrived. Only when he was by Ning Tao's side would his strong aggression be temporarily suppressed.
Now that he has a legitimate reason to beat up the Ling family, why would he hold back?
As the blond boy walked silently onto the stage, his aura grew increasingly imposing, releasing a portion of his pent-up anger with each step. The moment he stood in the center of the stage, his opponent instinctively wanted to take a step back, but his foot abruptly returned to the ground.
Seeing this, the members of Yin Yang Group all smiled, even Ning Tao, who rarely showed any emotion on his face, curled the corners of his lips.
Ling Xiao leaned against a pillar in the selection hall with his arms crossed, and turned to the person next to him: "Open the synchronous data analysis for me." He always felt that the data results of this person under Ling Ge were different from those he had obtained before.
Indeed, his premonition was proven true. The blond kid knocked his men back two steps with just one punch, and the force and speed of that punch were completely different from what he had imagined! Ling Xiao immediately turned to stare at the synchronous analyzer. The instrument's values fluctuated for a long time before finally showing a result—Strength [Six and a Half Stars].
impossible!
No matter how incredulous Ling Xiao was, Mo Nian, who was venting his pent-up emotions on stage, finally felt that the urge to blow up the entire M3 had been released.
The boy who specifically targeted the face and beat the person so badly they couldn't speak had an expression that could almost be described as delighted.
Forced to abandon Ling Xiao's expression, the opponent on the stage fled at almost the fastest speed he had ever seen. Taking advantage of the moment when Mo Nian slowed down slightly due to relaxation, he hurriedly jumped off the stage.
—That guy is nowhere near six and a half stars! He's never been one-sidedly beaten up by opponents of the same level before, okay? That bastard Ling Xiao actually provided false information!
Covering his swollen face, where several teeth were loose, Mo Nian's opponent angrily walked towards the medical department.
When passing by the group of people from Yin Yang Ji, they even avoided them from a distance, as if they were afraid of provoking these strange fellows.
No one else noticed him, except Ning Tao, who stroked his chin and glanced at him thoughtfully with his gray eyes.
The second match was Ning Tao's competition. The members of the branch families on the judging panel exchanged glances, looked at Chao Ge and his group a few more times, and announced that the opponents on both sides should come up on stage.
Ling Xiao, who had just been humiliated by the invisible force, jumped up from the front of the stage and looked at Ning Tao with disdain. The three-meter-high platform was not particularly difficult for him to jump.
Judging from his expression, he had already decided to give them a taste of their own medicine this time.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ning Tao remained calm and composed, standing behind Chao Ge.
Ling Xiao, fearing he wouldn't come up, forced a fake smile on one side of his face, his provocation even more pronounced: "What? Too scared to come up?"
Ning Tao didn't care how many eyes were on him. He calmly let them look him over and even slowly raised his hand, ignoring Ling Xiao's provocation.
The moment the word "abstain" came out of his mouth, Chaoge clearly saw Ling Xiao's face contorted with rage, as if he were about to burst into flames.
Spall opened his eyes wide in surprise, then nodded in understanding. So it was possible not to hit him?
"How could the Ling family produce someone like you who brings shame to the family!" An enraged man jumped off the stage as he announced his victory and headed back to his base, throwing down what he considered the most insulting words in their direction.
Even if he wasn't a member of the Ling family at all, Mo Nian couldn't tolerate this guy taking advantage of him, especially since he was targeting Ning Tao.
Just as Mo Nian was thinking about finding an opportunity to beat Ling Xiao up, Jiang Ningtao suddenly said, "Give us each a fleet, who do you think would win?"
"Of course it's you!" Mo Nian replied without hesitation. Ning Tao's strategic acumen was widely recognized within the Yin Yang Group. Although Yao Chen was as cunning as a child, and the leader sometimes did things in a way that was quite unexpected, Ning Tao was still able to secure the third position.
"That's fine then. I don't need to compare my weaknesses with other people's strengths." Seeing that Mo Nian was still gritting his teeth and imagining some scene, Ning Tao reached out and patted him on the back, announcing the conclusion in a calm tone.
Anyway, I can't argue with you. Mo Nian stared at him for a long time, but in the end, she could only accept his statement with frustration.
He thought, "I hope he doesn't run into Ling Xiao during interstellar travel, or he'll blow up everyone on his ship into fireworks."
Next, Spall forfeited. Shadow looked her opponent over and found her utterly unchallenging and boring, so she simply...forfeited too. _(:3)∠)_
Incidentally, Ying's reason for abstaining was highly improper, which not only earned her the contempt of the Ling family, but also the subtle expressions of the other members. They felt that Ying, as a fan of the leader, hadn't learned anything but acted willfully.
The Ling family members: ...What exactly are these people here for?
The outcome in Chaoge was a foregone conclusion, as everyone expected. Yao Chen looked like he was underage, so he didn't participate at all.
Three hours later.
At this point, only five people remained. One person was left out, and the remaining four were paired up.
Chaoge faced off against Ling Xiao. Ling Xiao's strength was six and a half stars, and in theory, Chaoge could have easily overwhelmed him. However, due to the rules he had set for himself, he could only do his best at this point.
She hasn't encountered an opponent of her caliber in a long time.
【Yaochen, seal off the excess parts of my power.】
Yao Chen looked up at her in surprise, and finally could only nod at her reluctantly, turning his head to look at the floor on the other side, pretending that he wasn't talking to her: "Be careful."
Chaoge patted his head and walked up.
The oncoming palm strike made her tilt her head, the girl pondering the method of judging this level of strength. She had already tried a fist-and-palm exchange, and she could sense that Ling Xiao's attack was also a test, yet even when Chao Ge used her full strength, she was only on par with him.
It seems that in terms of pure strength, Ling Xiao's strength exceeds this level, while Chao Ge's speed is even better.
After roughly estimating the situation, Chaoge dodged while simultaneously trying to devise a way to deliver a fatal blow. In the brief moment of distraction, she was struck in the shoulder—accompanied by Ling Xiao's mocking tone: "How long are you planning to hide?"
The two suddenly separated and stood in two corners of the arena. When Chaoge stared at him, she was very focused, recalling the feeling of fighting him just now.
The next moment, both of them moved away from their original positions simultaneously. The girl's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. Just before they were about to make contact, she suddenly leaned back, dodging his attack and falling backward as she did so. She braced herself with her fingertips behind her back, and then swept her foot out horizontally... The person who thought he would meet her at the same level again was caught off guard—
No longer giving her opponent a chance to breathe, the girl leaped up and lunged at him in the direction he had fallen, swiftly locking his throat and controlling all the joints in his body.
Even when they were so close, they didn't forget to ask in a curious tone, amidst the other person's almost bulging eyes:
"What did you eat to grow up after the family split up?"
Ling Xiao: ...? ? ?
After thinking for a moment, Chaoge put it more clearly: "Why do you think you can crush everything with just brute force? Has no one ever told you that the most basic element of fighting is to maintain a stable center of gravity? Oh, by the way, do you admit defeat or not?"
Ling Xiao forced out a single word from his throat: "No!"
Huh?
Just when Chaoge thought he was being unreasonable, Ling Xiao roared in her ear at close range, simultaneously exerting all his strength to try and break free—
Chaoge: ...Holy crap, my ears! Instinctively loosened her grip and rolled around a few times to avoid his movements. The girl stood up again and raised her hand just as he was about to rush over, shouting, "Hey, hey, I give up, I give up!" At the same time, she looked down and patted the dust off her clothes.
The girl, who didn't have the strength to knock this guy off the stage or lift him up and throw him, decided to go back and reflect on her terrible close-combat skills.
What she just said wasn't just about Ling Xiao, but also about herself. Because of Yao Chen's piloting of the mecha and other advanced weaponry, she had far too little experience in close combat and needed to seriously consider how to flexibly deal with such an opponent next time.
Ling Xiao ignored her words and continued charging forward without slowing down. This woman was clearly not at a disadvantage yet, so why was she so nonchalantly handing him victory?
Doesn't the referee do anything about it?!
As Chaoge lowered her body, she sprang back, turning her head to glare at the referee beside her who was pretending not to have heard her concede.
"Little Red Riding Hood, isn't it time to unlock it? Are you really only satisfied when you see me get beaten up?" After Chaoge finished speaking with a somewhat helpless tone, she finally felt the heavy feeling in her body ease.
The next moment, he pushed off the ground with the ball of his foot, blocking a punch that came from the side, and then kicked him away from the center of the stage with a side kick.
A few scattered claps sounded from the corner, and Chaoge seemed to sense something, turning her head to look—
The woman standing there in her white military uniform remained the same arrogant figure from my memory. Her strikingly aggressive face made me gasp the moment I saw her.
At this moment, a hint of a smile lingered in her bright red eyes. Standing in the distance below the stage, she met Chaoge's gaze, stopped clapping, and said, "Not bad." Her tone was as if she had just watched a circus monkey dance.
The girl on the stage wasn't annoyed at all; she simply smiled silently, as if accepting the praise.
Chaoge had imagined their meeting and reunion many times.
I never expected it to be like this—I was standing on high ground, and she was watching from below. But the imposing presence I remembered was still there, as if no matter where I stood, I would always be a step behind her.
Qin Muge, she chewed on the name between her teeth.
You really haven't changed at all.
Chapter 84: The First Way to Win Over a Wife
After Chaoge came down from the stage, the elders of the Ling family branch tried to invite Qin Muge to the central position with great trepidation, but she directly said that she would not disturb the selection process and turned to walk out the door.
Min Kaiyang, Ling Tianquan, and Ling Tianji followed behind her, none of them showing much interest in this small-scale selection.
As he turned around, Min Kaiyang glanced in Yao Chen's direction, Ling Tianji gave Chaoge a meaningful look, and only Ling Tianquan left without looking back, appearing indifferent as if it were none of his business.
Ying touched her heart, and after the group left, she muttered to herself, "Wow, the empire's boss has such a terrifying aura. I thought everyone was going to kneel down to greet her." She was still wondering what to do in this awkward situation.
Mo Nian rolled her eyes at her without hesitation, expressing her utter disdain for such a teammate who boosted the morale of others while diminishing their own.