"Li Tiannan has been defeated!"
"Gao Neng, with his unstoppable momentum, has claimed victory!"
"Li Tiannan’s two legs... huh? They don’t seem to be broken. But, I wonder about his third leg... *ahem*. As you can all see, Li Tiannan has over a hundred wounds on his body..."
"It’s truly a miserable sight!"
All sorts of voices rang out.
Having drunk two drops from the Spring of Life, Li Tiannan slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he saw was the constant flashing of cameras all around him.
A cold breeze blew past.
He felt a slight chill on the top of his head.
Li Tiannan subconsciously reached up to touch his head.
’Something doesn’t feel right... Why is my hair... gone? Wait, my hair...!’ With a SPURT, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Li Tiannan fainted once again.
"Look, everyone! Li Tiannan has fainted again!"
"One can only imagine how severe Li Tiannan’s injuries are... This wasn’t an act, nor was it a friendly match. This was a life-or-death battle!"
"..."
The uproar started up again.
Throughout the City of Hope, these images and reports were being broadcast live on television, the internet, and all forms of media.
The public was stunned!
’This is a bit too miserable, isn’t it?’
’Is this really the Military War God, Li Tiannan, that we all know?’
’So... pathetic!’
"..." Qin Lei, Fairy Liu, and the other Strongest were also at a loss for words. They truly hadn’t expected Li Tiannan to lose so miserably.
’A Strongest?’
’Beaten by a Ninth-Rank?’
’The world has really changed!’
’The new generation is already overtaking the old...’
As they were thinking this, the cameras on screen all turned to focus on Gao Neng.
"Speaker Gao, was this challenge of yours directed only at your master, Li Tiannan?" an Alliance reporter asked Gao Neng in a post-match interview.
"No. I’m targeting all the Strongest," Gao Neng replied, shaking his head.
"All the Strongest?! Then, your next..."
"That’s right. I will continue to issue challenges."
"Could you reveal who your next target is?"
"Of course." Gao Neng nodded. He then took out a small notebook and casually flipped back two pages.
Then, the notebook was displayed on the screen.
Two words were clearly written on it.
Fairy Liu!
"Fairy Liu?!"
A gasp, followed by an uproar.
"It’s actually Fairy Liu?!"
"Gao Neng’s next target is Fairy Liu?"
"Oh my god!"
"But Fairy Liu is a woman!"
"..."
The entire crowd was in an uproar.
The miserable state of Li Tiannan was still fresh in their minds, and no one wanted to imagine what would happen if Fairy Liu were to fight Gao Neng.
’A beauty, a fairy...’
’If those two were to fight, what would the outcome be?’
"Then, may I ask, Speaker Gao, when will you be challenging Fairy Liu?" the reporter asked, taking a deep breath.
"In two hours," Gao Neng said with a grin.
"In two hours?! But you just finished challenging Li Tiannan! Don’t you need to rest?" The reporter was shocked.
"The two-hour journey will be my rest time. I will arrive in two hours and challenge Fairy Liu." After saying this, Gao Neng’s body vanished on the spot.
"He vanished?!" The reporters were stunned.
And then, all the reporters went crazy.
’Wow, what a massive scoop!’
Gao Neng is going to challenge Fairy Liu, the number one beauty among the Alliance’s Strongest!
He’s on his way to Fairy Liu’s residence right now.
The helicopters have already taken off!
"Hurry, get over there now!"
"We’ll be too late! If I had known, I would’ve requisitioned a helicopter too!"
"Station, station... this is reporter Yang Fan! Please dispatch another reporter to Fairy Liu’s residence immediately! Yes... I might not make it in time!"
"..."
The reporters were in a frenzy.
The City of Hope was also in a frenzy.
This was going to be a sleepless night.
Gao Neng hadn’t even officially taken office as Speaker, yet he had already stirred up a storm. Who in the Alliance would be able to sleep tonight?
’This is amazing!’
’This livestream... it’s non-stop!’
...
...
The small stream trickled, gurgling.
The little birds sang, chirping.
In the mountains, there was a bamboo forest filled with verdant bamboo.
Within the verdant bamboo was a small courtyard built of wood. In the courtyard hung a swing, and on the swing sat a woman in a long, turquoise dress.
It was a beautiful scene.
Poetic and picturesque.
However, the woman’s expression was not so pleasant right now.
’Six Slashes as One, an infinite combo?’ The woman’s brow furrowed slightly, as if she were pondering something.
Perhaps because she was so focused, she didn’t snap out of her thoughts until the communicator in front of her rang.
She glanced at the name on the communicator’s screen.
The woman rejected the call.
Then, she leaped lightly off the swing and walked slowly to the southeast corner of the courtyard. After a moment’s hesitation, she finally bent down.
Her beautiful hair fell to the ground.
The ground was covered with fallen leaves.
Her waterfall of hair swept across the fallen leaves, making a rustling sound.
"Nineteen years... I had wanted to wait another year before letting you out, but I can’t wait any longer," the woman murmured softly. Then, she slapped her palm down.
SLAP!
With a soft crack, the ground split open.
An antique, green wooden box emerged from the earth.
The woman’s eyes went slightly vacant for a moment. Then, she took a deep breath and lifted the green wooden box from the soil with both hands.
She opened it.
A green light shot into the sky.
The light died down.
Inside was a sword that looked as if it were carved from a single piece of jade.
"The desolate begets jade, only by the sword is it sundered!" The woman reached out and gripped the hilt. A ripple of light flowed across the blade, and all the dust and grime fell away.