Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Evenly Matched
Perhaps truly affected by defeat, Chu Jiaojiao insisted on trying to snatch a Soul Device to boost her spiritual power. Shen Changqing advised, "Ayan said the preview is three days away. At the earliest, the fight for it won’t start until the night after tomorrow. Going now is useless."
Chu Jiaojiao replied, "I’ve never been there before. I want to go check it out first."
Shen Changqing and Yue Qiyuan had not yet made it to the finals, both were somewhat hesitant. Yue Qiguang, who had been long eliminated, brazenly said, "If that’s the case, I’ll tag along for the fun."
Yue Qiguang believed he could match Chu Jiaojiao in terms of hand speed.
Upon hearing this, Shen Changqing and Yue Qiyuan looked at each other and then nodded in agreement.
The group decided to temporarily stop competing and first check out Green Glaze Master’s shop. Chu Jiaojiao turned her head and eagerly invited the Rag Queen by her side, "Queen, do you want to come with us?"
Ji You had no interest whatsoever and shook her head, "I’m not going. You guys go ahead."
What could she do in an empty shop?
Stand packed together staring with big eyes at small eyes? Or, like Sheng Qingyan, go ahead of time to occupy a spot on the shop floor?
Ji You would not stoop so low to do such things.
Hearing Ji You’s refusal, Shen Changqing couldn’t help but ask, "Who are you planning to challenge next?"
After a moment’s thought, Ji You said, "Little Shengsheng."
Shen Changqing was taken aback and said, "You can’t beat her."
A trace of a smile played on Ji You’s lips, "How will I know if I don’t try?"
Shen Changqing looked at her, then suddenly turned to Chu Jiaojiao, Yue Qiguang, and the others, "I’m not going. I want to watch her battle with Little Shengsheng."
Chu Jiaojiao, Yue Qiguang, and the rest: "..."
Ji You was a bit puzzled and asked with a smile, "Why are you so interested in my competition?"
Shen Changqing pursed his lips, his face serious, "I think watching your competitions is very insightful. I can learn a lot from them."
Ji You: "..."
Facing such an earnest kid, Ji You thought for a moment and solemnly said, "Xiaoqing, I’m glad and honored to provide you with references and help. Also, I believe to make it to the finals, relying only on an antique mech might be a bit difficult. Our human ancestors have a saying, ’A tree dies when it’s uprooted, but a person thrives when they move.’ For each battle, we should adopt different strategies. It’s only by adjusting our policies appropriately that we can make progress." So—replace your antique mech as soon as possible, or you’re going to fall out of the top 20.
Upon hearing this, Shen Changqing was visibly shocked, then nodded solemnly, "I understand what you are saying. In the upcoming matches, I will make adjustments and won’t attempt to mimic your fighting style any longer. I’ll use my own strategies as much as possible."
Ji You: "???"
Uh?
Bro, get it together. What I meant was for you to ditch the antique mech, don’t be so stubborn...
Shen Changqing looked at Ji You, whose expression was a bit odd, and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. In a low voice, he said, "I’ve watched your combat videos many times over this period, so I unintentionally adopted some of your moves during my own battles."
Ji You: "..."
Ji You opened her mouth, "I... No! You... Sigh!"
She stomped her foot, feeling a significant communication barrier between them.
"Forget it."
"I’m off to compete." Ji You said to Shen Changqing, "Xiaoqing, you are truly excellent and very opinionated. You might feel that sticking with the antique mech is greatly beneficial to your improvement. In that case—you keep at it."
Her goal in joining the online competition was to win! To secure a place in the Alliance’s top ten.
But—Shen Changqing’s goal might be different from hers. Perhaps he simply wanted to make progress in his battles. If continuing to use the antique mech indeed helped him improve, then Ji You had no reason to keep discouraging him.
Chu Jiaojiao and Yue Qiguang decided to visit Qingyou Master’s shop, while Shen Changqing and Yue Qiyuan chose to stay and watch Ji You’s battle with Little Shengsheng. Thus, the group went their separate ways.
Ji You didn’t delay and immediately issued a challenge to Little Shengsheng.
Just finished a match and about to log off, Little Shengsheng hesitated for a second upon seeing the message from Rag Queen, then chose to accept.
Soon after, the system broadcasted a public announcement.
The number one player of the East District, Little Shengsheng, was starting another match so soon. Many people from the previous fight were still craving more, and now, they rushed to join...
Shen Changqing and Yue Qiyuan instantly chose to spectate the moment the system announcement went out. Thanks to seizing the initiative, both of them squeezed into the spectator seats without any trouble.
In less than a second, there were no seats left.
"Little Shengsheng!"
"Little Shengsheng!"
"Little Shengsheng!"
...
In the stands, waves of enthusiastic cheering could be heard. Within the crowd, the occasional chants for Rag Queen were quickly drowned out by the frenzied shouts of Little Shengsheng’s fans the moment they emerged.
Ji You watched and couldn’t help but marvel, saying, "Little Shengsheng, you really have a lot of fans."
In the arena, Little Shengsheng stood at one end. Her face showed little emotion in response to the audience’s enthusiastic cheers, and it was unclear whether it was due to her nature of being sparing with words or just not being good at speaking. She simply nodded: "Hmm."
Ji You looked at her opponent and said solemnly, "Please enlighten me."
Little Shengsheng pursed her lips: "Hmm."
Immediately—
Two silver mechas appeared before the audience—
"Blade!"
"Blade!"
"There goes Rag Queen, haven’t seen her use the old rusty mech in a while, really brings back memories."
"When it comes to top pilots of Blade, it’s none other than Little Shengsheng. Rag Queen using Blade against her kind of feels like playing the lute to a cow."
...
The spectator seats were abuzz with discussions...
Ji You turned a deaf ear to all these, her expression solemn, her entire attention focused on the upcoming bout. As soon as the countdown ended, she charged at Little Shengsheng, piloting the Blade aggressively...
Having improved her spiritual power to Grade B, Ji You felt a distinct disappearance of her previous plight of powerlessness when piloting Blade again.
Even with few Spiritual Silks, she opted for simplicity over complexity, discarding the other intricate operating commands. Focusing on just a few key commands, Ji You experienced no hesitation. Now piloting the Blade, she felt a sense of exhilaration akin to swimming like a fish in water.
Seeing Ji You dive towards her, Little Shengsheng was far from panicked. Instead, her dark eyes gleamed with a light. Drawing out a Big Chopper, she marched towards Ji You.
Boom—
In a flash, the two Big Choppers collided and with a crackling sound, exploded into fragments.
The audience saw—
Both blades, broken cleanly in half.
Audience: "Holy shit!!!"
Among the freshmen in the East District this year, when it comes to Strength, Drunk Lying on the Beauty’s Knee ranked third, Lord Mo tenth, and Little Shengsheng first... all of them stood out as the best of the best.
But the audience never imagined that one day, Rag Queen, who became famous for her shabbiness, could actually go head-to-head with Little Shengsheng in terms of strength and even come to a draw.