"Nice dodge."
Endless Longevity's voice came from diagonally behind, her figure flickering again, clearly trying to use teleportation for hit-and-run tactics.
Cheese Foam with 80% Sugar, however, was unfazed. She pressed a button on the whip handle, and a cluster of fine spikes hidden at the whip’s tail suddenly shot out, locking onto Endless Longevity with unerring accuracy.
Endless Longevity hadn’t expected Cheese Foam to have such hidden weapon tricks, and she dodged a fraction too late. Her right leg was instantly punctured like a beehive by the cluster of spikes.
Before the pain even set in, the spikes retracted swiftly back onto Cheese Foam’s whip.
Endless Longevity’s right leg immediately began gushing blood, and her coughing grew worse.
A smile curled at the corner of Cheese Foam’s mouth. Noticing Endless Longevity had vanished again, she adjusted her stance and moved rapidly. The whip coiled around a nearby stone pillar like a living snake, and she used it to pull herself into a sweeping leap.
This maneuver both avoided a potential ambush and seized the battlefield’s momentum. Her gaze locked onto Endless Longevity’s afterimage, waiting for her to reappear.
But Endless Longevity remained hidden.
Cheese Foam felt cold sweat trickling down her back. Every pocket of air around her seemed to radiate danger. She clenched the whip handle so hard her knuckles went white, even her breathing grew softer.
Endless Longevity seemed nonexistent yet omnipresent—a truly troublesome opponent.
Cheese Foam could only keep repositioning. After nearly ten minutes of this, her stamina was draining fast, yet she hadn’t even touched a thread of Endless Longevity’s clothing.
Just then, she heard an extremely faint whisper of air behind her.
Cheese Foam spun around, swinging her whip with full force toward the sound. But there was no one—just the crack of the whip striking empty air.
The next second, a sharp pain stabbed through her back, as if a cleaver had punched straight through her spine. A numbing sensation began creeping up her vertebrae.
Biting back the agony, Cheese Foam lashed her whip out with all her might, even infusing it with swirling shards of ice.
She could afford to lose—but not without making her opponent pay.
Endless Longevity’s eyes flew wide in shock. She hadn’t imagined that Cheese Foam, badly wounded and half her body almost entirely paralyzed, could still strike with such a full-powered blow.
She had no time to block—she could only shield her vital points as the whip’s ice-edged spikes slashed bloody gashes across her arms, abdomen, and thighs.
Combined with her skill’s side effects, she coughed uncontrollably, looking no better off than Cheese Foam.
Turning around, she saw that Cheese Foam was indeed sharp-witted, having already crawled desperately to the nearest window, pressing her back flat against the transparent glass, which was beginning to show fine, brittle cracks.
Endless Longevity vanished again, reappearing instantly at Cheese Foam’s side. She meant to startle her, but only earned a disdainful eye-roll.
"Not bad. Much smarter than my old rival," Endless Longevity said, then coughed violently, spraying blood as she turned toward the glass.
Shadowkill, unhappy, retorted loudly, "Coughing Gremlin, who are you taking a dig at?"
Even as she coughed and spat blood, Endless Longevity shot back without missing a beat. "Cough, cough... Whoever answers—that's who I'm talking about."
Shadowkill’s mouth twitched. "Shut up, will you? Can't you just cough yourself to death?!"
"Thanks for your concern. My lifespan just so happens to be a little longer than yours. Cough, cough."
Xie Shaoning watched Cheese Foam’s weakened state with some annoyance. He knew she wouldn’t die, but he preferred her in her arrogant, faux-innocent mode—this look was just too... pitiful.
"Come on, let’s go. Stop dragging your feet and wasting time. You think you can win a verbal fight with her?"
After insulting Shadowkill, Comrade Xie strode into the center of the arena, sword in hand.
Shadowkill, once again swallowing his frustration, pushed his glasses and immediately clashed with Xie Shaoning in a furious melee.
These two looked the most reckless but actually had some cunning. They relied purely on raw strength and weapon skill, never revealing what their actual abilities were.
Endless Longevity and Cheese Foam had already shown their hands a bit. Yet even in the heat of battle, these two remembered to hold back. So who among the top-ranked players was truly stupid?
If Xie Shaoning could hear everyone’s thoughts, he’d be mighty proud—because, honestly, he just didn’t think beating Shadowkill to a pulp required unveiling his trump card.
Shadowkill, for his part, really did want to hide his skills. But how could he, with Endless Longevity around?
"Shadowkill, darling, as I recall, you can release thick smoke. That move of yours once caught me off guard. So why not use it now that your opponent is Ace Xie?"
Shadowkill turned his head viciously. "Even when you’re coughing up blood, you can’t keep your mouth shut!"
"Haha, cough. Just having fun," Endless Longevity said gleefully, the corners of her mouth curling up. She thoroughly enjoyed watching him lose his composure.
Since his ability had been called out anyway, Shadowkill stopped hiding. He quickly released a thick fog that soon filled the entire space.
Xie Shaoning cursed under his breath, trying to find a corner near the edge, only to realize Shadowkill had sealed off all escape routes. In moments, several new wounds appeared on his arms and shoulders.
Shadowkill could find him, but Xie couldn’t see a thing. Fight like this much longer, and he’d be a bloody mess!
Even so, Xie refused to use his own skill, instantly igniting a fiery curiosity in everyone watching. Even Qi Xu was speculating about what kind of ability this kid had awakened.
Xie Shaoning closed his eyes, since he couldn’t see anyway.
Surprisingly, he found his rhythm in battle this way. Pretending to be clumsy, he managed to land a counter-swing on Shadowkill’s sword, immediately getting cocky again.
But soon, he was back on the losing end, covered in wounds from head to toe.
Shadowkill even briefly contemplated going for the kill—but just for a second. In the dense fog, he caught the piercing gaze of Invincible Black Cyclone, and any murderous intent vanished completely.
The next instant, his sword hand was caught in Master Huixin’s grip.
"Shadowkill, I trust you will abide by the agreement."
Shadowkill withdrew his blade and stepped back. Though he didn’t have many wounds, he had still lost a fair amount of blood—and none of it could go to waste.
Galactic Ember rushed into the arena, dashing to Xie Shaoning’s side.
"Oh, little brother, you break my heart! How did you end up in such a state? What kind of skill do you have, nearly dying but still refusing to use it?"
With that, she scooped him up in her arms. For a moment, Xie Shaoning felt a surge of emotion. Despite the fact that the three women who had taught him harsh lessons in this first trial were all ruthlessly tough, now he realized he could count on...
His warm feeling didn't last a minute. He found himself being set down by Galactic Ember next to the glass window, right beside Cheese Foam.
"You can barely move, and with all that blood, we can’t let it go to waste. Rest next to Cheese Sister here."
