Chapter 329: Down-and-out Acquaintance (4k supplement)
“What are you looking at?”
Seeing Su Jiu spacing out, Vivian raised an eyebrow and followed his gaze, noticing three people.
One was a rather slender young man, with a sweet-looking girl timidly holding his arm. A burly bearded man followed them like a minion, though a hint of displeasure flickered across his brow.
Vivian blinked and asked Su Jiu, “Do you know them? Judging by their attire, they should be from Imperial Capital University.”
The unique Imperial Capital insignia on the youth’s chest immediately identified them for Vivian. They appeared to be waiting to welcome someone.
“Yes, old friends…” Su Jiu turned his head, a faint smile on his face, and said softly, “If it weren’t for him, we probably wouldn’t have made it this far. However, it seems he’s not doing so well now.”
Li Yi had been so impressive back then. Even Su Jiu had to fight while using healing arts against him. He had thought the other party would shine after going to Imperial Capital University, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Su Jiu actually had a good impression of him. The other party had upheld his promise to take good care of Bai Qianyu, and the Li family was quite loyal, helping to conceal matters regarding the Ancient God Sect.
At that time, she wasn’t capable of withstanding the Ancient God Sect’s wrath. Even after returning from the Night Watchers, she could only barely contend with a mid-rank Battle General. If the Ancient God Sect had known her strength then, she would have been targeted.
“They seem to be arguing with a girl. Should we go take a look?” Vivian felt a bit grateful to the young man who had indirectly brought them together. If she could help him resolve some small issues, it would be a good deed.
“Let’s go. Alas, unlike Bai Ming, who is the protagonist, everyone’s life has ups and downs… Let’s go take a look.” With a slight sigh, Su Jiu shook his head and slowly walked forward, heading towards the visibly displeased Li Yi and his companions.
“The person who brought me and the silly servant together… was that young man riding the lion?”
Vivian followed behind him, hands clasped behind her back. She seemed to remember who he was, but then she pouted. She remembered that Su Jiu was protecting a certain girl at the time.
Never mind, when the silly servant is capable of taking her, she’ll use a secret technique. After they have children… Hmph!
Thinking this, Vivian suddenly felt a lot happier. When she played games, she specifically asked the silly servant if he had been with any other girls. At the time, he had righteously shaken his head.
However, even if he had, Vivian wouldn’t have worried. After all, ordinary girls playing with girls couldn’t result in having children, as the biology textbook stated.
Meanwhile, crowds continued to flow. Li Yi held a welcome sign, his palm seemingly pressing into it quite deeply, while his girlfriend trembled slightly…
The girl opposite him was also wearing Imperial Capital University attire, but her expression was haughty, as if looking down on him. At this moment, her voice came out, tinged with disdain: “Classmate Li, Qianyun asked you to pick me up, not to show me that gloomy face. People like you who got in from small towns must learn humility if you want to get ahead! Otherwise, you’ll just be a substitute warming the bench in the World Competition.”
“You damn, our former patriarch is a Battle King…”
The bearded man behind Li Yi’s group immediately flushed with anger and roared a few times, but was quickly retorted with a scoff from the arrogant girl. She waved her hand and said with a smile, “The Li family of Qinghai, just an initial-stage Battle King who’s getting old. How many people studying at Dragon Country’s top Imperial Capital University would have less influence than your family? If you want to perform on the field, just obediently follow the arrangements.”
The bearded man’s face turned from red to purple from the direct retort. He wanted to say something, but Li Yi held him back with one hand. He shook his head with a wry smile and said, “As this senior sister said, it’s already good enough for us who came from small towns to participate in the World Competition.”
He only had the cultivation of a mid-rank Battle General. As for why he became a substitute player for the World Competition, it was his fearless military fighting style that made even some high-rank Battle Generals wary.
He again apologetically touched the head of the girl clinging to his arm, sighing helplessly, “I’m a bit sorry for Jia’er.”
The girl named Jia’er shook her head slightly and remained silent, only looking timidly at the arrogant girl in front of them, her grip on Li Yi’s hand tightening.
“What are you looking at?! What’s the difference between you and them? If it weren’t for your status as a concubine’s daughter of the Chen family, do you think you could follow along as a substitute?”
Seeing Chen Jia’er glaring at her, the arrogant girl immediately crossed her arms, her eyes filled with disdain as she glared at the former. She had been tasked to deliberately provoke the three of them, so she naturally wouldn’t hold back.
With the arrogant girl’s almost explicit hint, Li Yi naturally knew why she was there to make things difficult for them. However, he chose to be with Chen Jia’er, having experienced several life-and-death trials together…
He could give up the World Competition – even though he really wanted to prove himself to his grandpa and his brothers in the army on the world stage.
“Young Master Li, when did you become so down-and-out? You weren’t like this half a year ago, bowing and scraping to your peers.”
Just as he was about to leave dejectedly, a teasing voice, familiar yet somewhat strange, rang out from the crowd. Li Yi turned to look. Upon clearly seeing Su Jiu’s face, his brow furrowed slightly. Who was this?
Li Yi didn’t speak, but the arrogant girl sized up Su Jiu. Not sensing any power from him, she narrowed her eyes and suddenly asked, “Who are you? This is our Imperial Capital University’s private matter, why are you interfering?”
She hadn’t attended the exhibition match in Magic City, otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken a different flight to Seattle.
“Me? I’m just a young man from a small town, like him. I’m not as impressive as you, senior.”
Su Jiu glanced at the arrogant girl, chuckled, and said casually, without much explanation. There was no need for much explanation. She was participating in the World Competition as an independent team, arranged by the Night Watchers.
“You’re… Su Jiu, the champion of our tri-city joint exam? Where did you go after the joint exam? Your college entrance exam information didn’t have you either.”
The arrogant girl was about to mock her a few more times, but Li Yi beat her to it. He looked at Su Jiu with disbelief. After that league match, he hadn’t heard any news about the only person from the three cities who had defeated him. She seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
“I was specially recruited by Mo University. I don’t have any interest in switching to Imperial Capital University; any university makes little difference to me.” Su Jiu smiled and answered, then spoke.
There was another point she didn’t mention: Imperial Capital University had too many officials and prominent figures. Going there was less about studying and more about adapting to society in advance. She didn’t need to and wouldn’t engage in such social niceties.
“Heh heh… You couldn’t get in, could you? Don’t spout nonsense about not wanting to go. Imperial Capital University’s teaching resources are all top-notch. Without that Principal Kuangjian, would Mo University be comparable to Imperial Capital University?” the arrogant girl scoffed again upon hearing this, clearly finding Su Jiu’s “arrogant” words contemptible.
Su Jiu shook his head gently and looked at the arrogant girl, asking casually, “Whether it’s comparable or not isn’t decided by your tongue. In the world, Mo University has produced two captains after becoming Peerless Battle Generals. Do you think Mo University’s ranking would be better, or Imperial Capital University’s?”
“How can you, an ordinary student who can’t even qualify for the World Competition, boast like this? You don’t even have the qualifications to be defeated by me.”
The girl’s face turned red and then green at Su Jiu’s question. She looked at Su Jiu with extreme displeasure, saying that Imperial Capital University was already being criticized for this issue this year, and Su Jiu bringing up this topic was like adding fuel to the fire.
“Pfft! How dare you, a High-Rank Battle General with a shaky aura, speak so arrogantly!”
Vivian, who had arrived late, saw Su Jiu being looked down upon and immediately started mocking her. The “Canyon Pianist” wasn’t named in vain. She then pointed at Li Yi and said with a faint smile, “Let alone Su Jiu, you probably can’t even beat him. In a fight to the death, you’d definitely lose. Someone who’s been doted on too much in school has really gotten carried away.”
“You guys…” The arrogant girl glanced at Su Jiu and the other two, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word. She could only glare at them, then said to Li Yi, “Don’t even think about competing,” and stormed off.
The atmosphere became silent. Chen Jia’er, who was holding Li Yi’s arm, lowered her eyes. She looked as if she had done something wrong and said, “A’Yi, it’s all because of me that Big Sister is targeting you and you’ve lost the chance to play…”
“It’s okay, it’s just a competition.”
Li Yi sighed, patted Chen Jia’er’s head, and then turned to Su Jiu with a wry smile, “Thank you for speaking up. I’ve embarrassed the people of our tri-city. Are you free? Let’s have a meal together as a thank you.”
“I’m sorry…”
Chen Jia’er pursed her lips. She knew how spirited and ambitious the former Li Yi was. She had met him during a mission, and after nearly half a year of various experiences, she knew even better that this competition meant more than just a competition to him…
It was also about honor, the honor of fighting with all his might even if he lost. Now, because of her, he was being targeted and relegated to the bench.
A’Hu behind them folded his arms and looked at the receding back of the arrogant girl, saying fiercely, “It has nothing to do with the young master or lady. Those people are just well-connected. Our young master could easily defeat that girl from just now.”
“No need for dinner.”
Slowly retracting her gaze, Su Jiu looked at the three with a hint of dejection in their expressions. Then, to their surprise, she smiled and said,
“Interested in joining my team? A five-person team, and except for me, there’s no one else.”
“But… aren’t all the teams full? And they generally don’t allow outsiders to join?” Chen Jia’er suddenly looked up, her face filled with disbelief.
Hearing this, Li Yi’s expression also stiffened slightly. He still hadn’t grasped Su Jiu’s meaning. However, as Chen Jia’er beside him spoke, he looked up at Su Jiu and stammered, “But… to become a team captain, isn’t the minimum requirement the strength of a Peerless Battle General? Could it be…”
Looking at Su Jiu’s smiling face, his pupils slowly contracted. At this moment, he realized that his former fellow townsman seemed to be not as down-and-out as he was.
“What, coming or not? I can let you start directly.” Su Jiu looked at the slender young man in front of her with a hint of amusement and said softly.
“Is that really okay? I’m from Imperial Capital University… If we achieve good results, there will be disputes then.” His excited heart began to pound, and Li Yi didn’t dare to agree directly, only asking with a half-joking tone. He was afraid this was just Su Jiu’s joke.
“It’s fine. If we achieve results, we achieve them. You won’t be lacking in rewards,” Su Jiu said with a casual smile. She then took out her phone, opened the World Competition team registration interface left by Mo Ling, clicked to form a team, and asked, “First, cancel your relationship with Imperial Capital University and tell me your student ID.”
Upon hearing this, Li Yi gritted his teeth and called a school leader, citing poor health as the reason for withdrawing from the Imperial Capital University’s participation directly. He knew he was just a substitute, so withdrawing wouldn’t be a major obstacle.
After receiving the confirmation of successful withdrawal, he then reported his student ID. Soon, with Su Jiu’s operation, his phone rang with a text message a minute later—
[…Joined World Competition Team – Frost White, School: Mo University, Captain: Frost Blade…]
Li Yi was momentarily stunned upon seeing the words “Frost Blade.” Why wasn’t it written with Su Jiu’s real name? He didn’t think much of it; being able to participate was enough to fulfill his wish – he wanted to prove himself in the competition.
Chen Jia’er also looked at the information on her phone with surprise. Her gaze fell on the words “Frost Blade,” and she frowned slightly. Was her boyfriend’s fellow townsman really called “Frost Blade,” or was it a title? If it was the latter…
She couldn’t help but swallow. Perhaps they had indeed met a noble patron.
“Go on, have some quality time with your girlfriend! And book us a hotel room too. We’ll discuss the World Competition after we’re done.”
Looking at the stunned young man, Su Jiu smiled faintly, waved her hand, and then walked towards the Adventurer’s Guild on the map with Vivian linked arm-in-arm.
Those bounty hunters should have left not too long ago, so it was a good time to go.
The three of them watched Su Jiu and Vivian walk away, with varying degrees of emotion. Chen Jia’er looked at her boyfriend and then slowly voiced her question, “A’Yi, is your friend’s full name Frost Blade?”
“No, I don’t understand why the information listed her as Frost Blade.”
Li Yi shook his head slightly, also looking at the name on his phone with confusion. In fact, Su Jiu’s dictatorial decision to let him join as she said had already made him puzzled. One had to know that even Chen Qianyun had to get approval from the school leaders to recruit or replace someone.
“No?!” Upon receiving this result, although Chen Jia’er had a guess in her heart, she couldn’t help but tremble slightly. She suddenly raised her head, looking at Li Yi with excitement, “A’Yi, I think we’ve met a true noble!”
“Of course. Anyone who can let me participate, isn’t that a noble?” Li Yi smiled, then gently squeezed his girlfriend’s little face, gently clasped her hand, and walked towards the city center.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to eat something good. You should cancel your substitute status later too, no need to go see your sister!”
