Chapter 295: Battle For The Position Of Lead Disciple (1)
The next day, the entire game was abuzz with activity as everyone excitedly logged into the game. In particular, it was the Nymph players who were practically bouncing on the balls of their feet.
When the clock hit seven, the notification from the system popped up right on time.
[System Announcement] The battle for the position of the Nymph Abode's Lead Disciple has now begun. Nymphs who are participating in this competition are to follow instructions from the system and proceed to their assigned battlegrounds. The battlegrounds are as follows: Mysterious Sky Region – Xiling City's Imperial City, Yellow Earth Region – Matchless City. The competition strictly prohibits throwing fights, fraud, etc. Once found, both parties will be disqualified. In addition, 100 points will be deducted from the offenders' sect contribution points, and sect NPC's goodwill towards them will also drop by 30 points. Youths, strive for the top and give your all in battle!
The Nymphs from Jade Sea Pavilion were evenly split between both battlegrounds, while a majority of the Nymphs from Bronze Tree were clustered in Matchless City. When Shen Jingbin logged in, she asked Quiet And Steadfast where he'd be watching the competition from before she hit up Pure Crane and went over to the Imperial City in Xiling City.
The battleground in Xiling City's Imperial City was an elevated stage that was built beneath the city gates. A seat of power was placed at the top of the gates, which Shen Jingbin guessed was probably for Leisurely Viewing Nanshan to oversee the battle.
A higher position meant a better vantage point, and only a place as high as that would afford Leisurely Viewing Nanshan the ability to take notice of all the little schemes that participants might try to pull off.
Xiling City's Imperial City encompassed a larger area than Matchless City. Although both battlegrounds were designed with the same specifications, concerning spectator comfort, the spacious area that the Imperial City offered within Xiling City meant that the spectators there were slightly more comfortable. So, by the time Shen Jingbin arrived, the Imperial City's gates were already swarming with people.
Looking at the number of people present, Shen Jingbin felt that she probably wouldn't be able to squeeze her way in. Instead, sent a message to Quiet And Steadfast to let him know where she was. Shortly after, the crowd of people blocking her way suddenly parted, revealing a path that was wide enough for two people to walk abreast. A black-clothed man could be seen at the other end. He was tall and well built, with an air of confidence about him as he made his way to Shen Jingbin.
When the man reached her side, his gaze instantly turned warm, and the imposing aura he exuded significantly dissipated. "Let's go. They're all inside now, and they'll probably be thrilled to see you."
Shen Jingbin nodded, and Quiet And Steadfast held her hand in his like it was the most natural thing in the world. They then made their way through the stupefied crowd towards the innermost section that was occupied by Jade Sea Pavilion.
After they'd walked off, the players who were left behind began slapping themselves in a vain attempt to wake themselves up from this dream.
What the f*ck?! The scene they'd witnessed just now was far too much of a blow for them. They were having a little trouble taking all of it in!
But, from the looks of things, had the Great God and his wife taken their relationship to the real world as well? Was the Great God's sense of aesthetics genuinely distorted?!
Or, could it be that the ugly monster, Nutjob, was rather beautiful in real life?
Of course, they weren't aware of the truth.
"Ahhhh! Nutty! It's been so long!" When Shen Jingbin saw the members of Jade Sea Pavilion, she didn't even have a chance to greet them before a woman lunged at her and pulled her into an embrace.
"Eh? National Treasures?" Shen Jingbin glanced at the woman who'd wrapped herself around her like an octopus before she cast a pleading gaze at Quiet And Steadfast.
Having received his wife's plea for help, Quiet And Steadfast coughed and separated National Treasures from his wife, pushing her over to a corner. "Please restrain yourself; she’s my wife."
Having been cast to the side, National Treasures shot a dissatisfied glare at her Leader. With an aggrieved expression on her face, she turned to Shen Jingbin and said, "Nutty, when are you planning to return to Jade Sea Pavilion? Life feels so meaningless without you around."
Shen Jingbin thought for a bit and replied, "If life lacks meaning for you, then you should find yourself a husband. That will help to fill the void both physically and mentally."
National Treasures turned pale with fright. "Oh my goodness! Nutty, you've gone bad!"
Quiet And Steadfast cut in, "Alright, stop fooling around. How’re the preparations coming along?"
Lingering White Clouds suddenly popped up out of nowhere and said, "Everything's ready. I asked around just now, and the first person to make an appearance from our side is Blooming Flower. She's also the first contestant in the competition. The last from our side to enter is Southern Creeping Foam, who's relatively far behind on the list."
Quiet And Steadfast nodded. He'd more or less foreseen this result.
Due to the nature of the competition, the stronger players would be pushed up on the list to equalize the difference in power between players. Blooming Flower was the strongest Nymph in Jade Sea Pavilion, and she was also the number one Nymph in the entire game. This was the very reason why her being selected by the system as the first person to fight was no surprise. On the other hand, Southern Creeping Foam was a Life Skill player who focused on cultivation, so her combat strength wasn't all that high.
"What about National Treasures and Seaweed?"
"They're all further up on the list. Blooming shouldn't have used up that much of her strength when National Treasures and Seaweed come up, so the question now is whether she should soldier on or let Southern Creeping Foam take over later on."
Regarding Battle strength, even if Blooming Flower was exhausted, she still had a higher chance of winning than Southern Creeping Foam.
"We'll let Blooming Flower continue on. Even if she makes it to the finals, Southern Creeping Foam's chances of winning were way too low. Tell Next Week Is Unlikely to gather up some people and head over to the Eternal Island in the East sea to gather some roselle plants. After that, he needs to hurry and refine Soul Returning Pills. When the battle over here at the Mysterious Sky Region concludes, he has to hand over the Soul Returning Pills to Blooming immediately, and also look in on the battle in Yellow Earth Region. If it looks like there's a high chance of our guild members winning over there as well, get Shen Jingchen to hurry over and retrieve some Soul Returning Pills."
"Mm, I got it," Lingering White Clouds replied. She then bade farewell to Shen Jingbin before she went off to convey Quiet And Steadfast's instructions.
Chapter 296: Battle For The Position Of Lead Disciple (2)
Shen Jingbin suddenly remembered that she herself was an Apothecary and curiously asked, "What's a Soul Returning Pill?"
"Soul Returning Pills are a high-grade healing pill that cures all abnormal statuses and restores a player's strength. Although there's no way to recover mental fatigue, Blooming Flower knows how to handle herself. As long as her body's in good shape, she has a very high chance of winning."
The instant he finished speaking, the urgent sounds of drum beats could be heard from the ring, drawing everyone's attention to it. Shen Jingbin saw an onee-san looking woman jump onto the stage with a stern expression on her face. Shortly after, a man stepped out from the crowd on the opposite end and also jumped onto the stage.
"It's Plum River Wind from Sovereign's Descent; he’s ranked third amongst all the Nymphs," Quiet And Steadfast whispered an explanation into her ear.
Shen Jingbin took another glance at Plum River Wind. He was a rather handsome man, but his face was marred by a vulgar expression. He was practically watering at the mouth when he jumped onto the stage and gazed upon Blooming Flower's cool and elegant countenance.
After both contestants stepped onto the stage, a white-robed woman with a similar white veil appeared in the middle of the stage and began a methodical countdown. "Round one: Blooming Flower versus Plum River Wind. The first one who falls off the stage loses. The round will begin in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Fight!"
Plum River Wind instantly struck out when the countdown reached '1' in an attempt to catch Blooming Flower off guard. Unfortunately, he'd underestimated his opponent. Blooming Flower had seen through his attack as soon as he'd launched it. Taking advantage of his impatience, she leapt over to his unguarded back and sent a skill flying towards it.
Bullseye!
Even if her opponent was the third best Nymph in the game, receiving that one attack from her was unbearable, and the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
Plum River Wind was quickly defeated and mercilessly pushed off the stage by Blooming Flower, landing in a heap where the members of Jade Sea Pavilion were watching the fight from.
"The victor of round one is Blooming Flower."
"Will the next competitor please step onto the stage…" The veiled woman in white appeared on stage once again and emotionlessly announced the results.
Just as the system had announced, there were no breaks at all, and the competitors went onto the stage in succession. Thankfully, Blooming Flower possessed sufficient valiance, taking down the first few players in the shortest possible time. She had an even easier time when she was matched against her fellow guildmates. Although the system stated that players couldn't throw their matches, it wasn't able to see through Jade Sea Pavilion's acting. They were absolutely flawless.
Midway through the competition, Leisurely Viewing Nanshan came over while making her rounds and was pulled to the side by Quiet And Steadfast. When he reappeared later, he was practically beaming with joy.
"What did you say to Nanshan?" Shen Jingbin curiously asked.
Quiet And Steadfast cast a sidelong glance at her and said, "Don't worry, I just gave her some suggestions about the competition. You're the only one in my heart."
"… That last part was completely unnecessary."
All of the competitors had finally entered the stage by the afternoon. Blooming Flower really dug deep and persevered to the end. Although, her body was in a wretched state during the second half of the battles, especially in the last few rounds, resulting in her looking as if she'd fall with just the of slightest breezes. But, through it all, she'd still soldiered on and pushed every single one of her opponents off the stage.
Regardless of how others perceived Blooming Flower's victory, Shen Jingbin had become a Blooming Flower fan by the end of the preliminary rounds!
The battle over at Yellow Earth Region ended at the same time as well. Shen Jingchen came back with the news that the winner there was a never before heard of female player. She was guildless, but it looked like she knew Pure Crane.
[System Announcement] The preliminary rounds have now concluded. Congratulations to player Blooming Flower and player Sentimental Musings for advancing to the finals. Please proceed towards the residence of the Nymph Abode's Sect Leader to receive your final test and determine the victor of this competition.[System Announcement] Due to space constraints, representative spectators for the final round will be selected. The selected spectators are the top five players on the leaderboards for each of the Six Great Sects and the five Lead Disciples.
With the preliminary rounds over, the two victorious players made their way towards the Sect Leader's residence. During the interval between the system's announcements, Lingering White Clouds took the Soul Returning Pills that they'd prepared and stuffed them into the hands of Blooming Flower who was still on the stage.
Luckily, Lingering White Clouds was quick enough and managed to pull it off in the nick of time. As soon as she stuffed the pills into Blooming Flower's hands, a beam of white light flashed in front of them, and Blooming Flower was teleported straight into the Nymph Sect Leader's residence.
When Shen Jingbin and the rest of the representatives hurried over to the Sect Leader's residence, the NPC disciples guarding the door announced that the inner competition venue was still being set up and that the people outside still had to wait for a spell.
Taking advantage of this time, she sized up the rest of the representative spectators. Aside from the Lead Disciples, most of the top ranking players were from Jade Sea Pavilion, while the ones who weren't were also familiar faces. In particular, she paid special attention to the fact that Nine Ballads and Crying Fish weren't present amongst them.
Just as she was about to say something to Quiet And Steadfast, the NPCs guarding the door suddenly stated that preparations were complete and that they could enter. Seeing this, Shen Jingbin quietly swallowed her suspicions and followed the rest of the spectators into the residence.
There was a rather large courtyard within the Sect Leader's residence. At present, there were already five people standing inside of it. Apart from Blooming Flower, Leisurely Viewing Nanshan, and the Sect Leader of the Nymph Abode, Fennel, there were two other women present.
One of them was a woman that she hadn't seen before. She looked just like any other person but had an ethereal air about her. Now that Shen Jingbin thought about it, that woman should be the winner of the preliminary round in Yellow Earth Region, Sentimental Musings.
As for the other person… Shen Jingbin felt her heart in her throat when she took a good look at her, and a wave of unease threatened to overwhelm her.
It was Crying Fish.
After he swept a glance about the entire room, the Sect Leader of the Nymph Abode, Fennel, spoke in a gentle voice, "The ones on my left are the three finalists of this competition. Two of them have managed to get this far through martial prowess, while the last one is the disciple who's contributed the most to the Nymph Abode, and was seeded directly into the finals as a reward for all she's done. On my right is the Nymph Abode's newly-appointed judge who will oversee the competition's proceedings. Regardless of the outcome, I hope that the disciples of the Nymph Abode can work together as one and cooperate with the other Great Sects. The common people are depending on all of you to combat the Shinra Sect and save them! Now, the judge will announce the rules of the final round."
After he finished speaking, Leisurely Viewing Nanshan stepped forward before everyone else had a chance to react. She first turned to the members of Jade Sea Pavilion, giving them a smile and a nod of her head. She then cleared her throat and announced the rule that Quiet And Steadfast had suggested to her.