Chapter 152: The One and The Many

Chapter 152: The One and The Many

The next day arrived all too quickly. As I walked through the bustling crowds, Song Song walked beside me. Her presence was a constant comfort, and I didn't have to be paranoid. We moved with purpose as we approached the looming structure of the Colosseum.

Song Song had a smile on her face, which was unusual in public. Of course, her smile unnerved people even more. Her happiness wasn't unfounded, and despite how creepy she came off, she had a reason to be happy. She had broken through to two-star Foundation Establishment. It came as a surprise to both of us. Still, it seemed like she was very compatible with her element, and her cultivation talent was top-tier.

Now that I thought about it, I had never asked Song Song how many spirit roots she had. Though her talent was top-notch, I had no idea how good it actually was.

"You really need to rush and break into two-star Qi Gathering. I am a whole stage above you, and my cultivation speed is still somehow faster," Song Song teased me.

"I couldn't care less about what pace other people advance at," I shrugged.

There was literally a system of talent in this world, where those with a higher count of spirit roots had an absolute advantage in cultivation speed.

"Lame," Song Song shook her head. "You should be acting all angry and cursing at the heavens about how they were unfair."

That was the same as crying about how some people were born rich, and I was born poor. It was useless and a waste of time. How many books could I read during that time?

Okay, that was a weird time measurement. Had I been reading too many books recently?

"Just thinking of someone acting like that gives me second-hand embarrassment," I said.

Song Song looked disappointed when she saw that no matter what she said or did, it wouldn't get a reaction out of me.

When it came to these kinds of things, I was fully prepared and wouldn't be surprised if Hu Jin became a Nascent Soul Cultivator in a couple of years through some bullshit method.

With people making way for us as we walked, we reached the Colosseum with relative ease. The crowd parted like a sea, allowing us to advance unhindered toward the grand entrance.

We parted ways as we approached the exit leading to the seating part of the Colosseum. With Song Song heading toward the fighter section, I went with the crowd.

I felt a tug on my sleeve as soon as Song Song was out of sight. I looked toward the source and saw my fiancée staring at me with an unreadable look in her eyes.

Oh, right, I had kind of forgotten about her after yesterday.

"You weren't in the mansion yesterday," I remarked.

"My Azure Frost Sect called me," she said, leaving it at that. Her gaze trailed toward where Song Song had left, "Not to sound paranoid, but what exactly is your relationship with Song Song?"

"Friends," I immediately answered.

"It didn't look like friends. You're close with her, too close. She is the kind of woman who would rip off the head of anyone who got in her way, or even if they had a voice she didn't like. However, for some strange reason, she puts up with you. Oftentimes, she even listens to your orders," she explained her suspicions.

"Orders? That is a bit too far-fetched. If I tried to do something like that, my head would be rolling before I could say—chicken," I said.

If I gave Song Song an order, was she likely to listen? Yes. But I couldn't let other people know that. We needed everyone to think she was still the same ruthless Song Song. At least until this tournament was done.

Man, I was really becoming a—Don't worry, she's just a friend—kind of guy.

"How would you feel if I hung around some guy from the Ye Clan, which is the equivalent of the Song Clan in your sect, all day long?" Fu Yating tried to put me in her shoes.

Sadly, she didn't know that would work perfectly for me. It was just the excuse I needed to end this sham of a marriage. Also, Ye Clan... that was interesting. Was she related to the clan?

"Begin!"

When the announcer's words left his mouth, Song Song created a dagger out of her own blood and swung it. It was a perfect replica of my Falling Moon Claw Technique, except it wasn't invisible. A crimson-red slash cut the arena in half and instantly reached its target.

The feminine-looking guy's eyes widened. He brought his hands up to block the attack and imbued his arms with all the Qi he could muster. However, the attack cut through his thumbs and left a sizeable nasty cut from his shoulder to his hip. Blood burst out like fireworks, littering the arena.

I had seen a fair amount of people being cut in this world. But it seemed like the feminine-looking guy was bleeding unnaturally. That was too much bleeding for an injury like that. It was as if his own blood was rushing to get out of his body.

Song Song smiled. The blood dagger in her hands contorted, extended, and turned into a long Jian sword. She charged toward her opponent, fully intent on decapitating him.

But just as she was about to get within reach, a Blazing Sun Sect Core Elder appeared in a black flash, wearing his dark uniform. He looked like a man in his thirties and caught Song Song's blood sword with his bare pale hands.

"The fight is over," he told Song Song. His voice was calm like the morning spring wind.

"But the guy hasn't given up," Song Song smiled, not showing an ounce of fear despite standing in front of someone who could easily squash her.

The Core Elder turned and looked at the bleeding disciple. The feminine-looking guy got the signal and grunted weakly, "I give up."

Song Song shrugged and turned around, dismissing her sword and the blood plugs in her ears.

Wait, if her hearing was blocked, how had she been able to respond to what the Core Elder told her? Either those blood plugs had been just for show, to intimidate and give her opponent the wrong idea, or perhaps she could read lips.

But suddenly, as Song Song was walking away, her eyes widened in shock. She grabbed at her ears, a look of pain etched across her face. In an instant, a burst of blood erupted from her ears, slipping through her fingers as she tried to staunch the flow. Her balance wavered, and she stumbled, struggling to remain upright.

I stood up and glared at her previous opponent.

"An attack after the fight is already over! That's against the rules!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the arena.

My outburst drew attention, but I didn't care. I focused all my rage on the feminine-looking guy. The noise around me faded into the background as I glared at him. He met my gaze with a twisted smile, revealing bloodied teeth.

"That was just a backlash from the fight. I didn't attack her," he weakly said.

This fucking guy!

Song Song's element was blood; there was no way she wouldn't have noticed a time-bomb-like attack within her own body. But I knew that saying such things now was useless. So, I quickly regained control over my emotions and sat down.

Song Song straightened her posture and looked at me, her gaze telling me something I didn't quite understand. No, I understood perfectly well, but I wasn't going to listen.

In the end, Song Song walked off the arena, and I whispered to my cousins, "I'm going to check on her."

"I'm coming along," my fiancée said.

I didn't care about any of that, as my gaze zoned in on the injured feminine-looking guy who was dragged away on a stretcher by some healers.

Though Song Song could regenerate, the eardrums were a delicate part of the body and affected balance. Her next fight was going to be the semi-finals against one of the strongest disciples among the four great sects.

These were brutal fights, and it wasn't strange for someone to die. Because of this bastard, Song Song wasn't in her best condition and could end up gravely injured or dying. Nobody was going to show her mercy!

Fuck!