Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Shen Huaizhou looked at Xie Qingling and patted her shoulder. “Good luck.”

Xie Qingling: “…”

Having had this “windfall” land squarely on her head, she still steeled herself and entered the arena.

Yang Baduan. Whose Chosen was he?

He looked cultured and refined, and most of his work was clerical. Who knew what divine ability a person like that possessed?

He was already waiting in the arena. Xie Qingling deliberately walked slowly to buy herself a little time to think.

But the distance was short, and she soon reached it anyway.

Bracing one hand against the edge, she vaulted into the arena.

Before they could bow and greet each other, Xie Qingling moved. With a speed that seemed to shift her from one place to another, she darted to Yang Baduan’s side, raised her skirt high with one hand, and immediately attacked with her feet beneath the flying fabric.

The shoes she wore had been obtained from the armory with her remaining points.

Both their toes and heels had been modified.

The heels used airflow to increase her speed. Rows of concealed needles had been added to the toes. Used with Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaves, a hit on an opponent would draw blood.

They began fighting the moment they met, without another word or the slightest regard for martial honor.

Yang Baduan bent his arm to block Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaves, but the needles on her shoe injured his wrist. He immediately retreated to open up some distance.

A cut had opened on his arm. Blood flowed steadily from it, not especially visible against his black clothes.

What a ferocious way to fight.

As expected of someone trained by Ling Fang. Once she went wild in the arena, she was unstoppable, completely fearless no matter who her opponent was.

Yang Baduan’s expression shifted slightly. He looked at her, then took the gold pen from his pocket.

A scraping sound came from thin mechanical plates rearranging themselves. In the blink of an eye, the metal fountain pen in his hand became a metal writing brush half an arm’s length long.

Using the brush as a staff, he spun it in a flourish.

[Deciding life and death, sending souls into reincarnation; an iron brush with silver hooks, Reward Good, Punish Evil. The Civil Judge, governing good and evil, punishment, life and death, and reincarnation, grants a divine ability to people of the mortal realm. The iron brush draws its strokes and dots its ink, recording life, death, and reincarnation in the Book of Life and Death. The Civil Judge’s Chosen cannot decide a Spirit Wielder’s life or death, but he can judge your sins.]

Yang Baduan had only the Judge’s Brush, not the Book of Life and Death. She did not know how he meant to “judge her sins.”

As she retreated, Xie Qingling unfastened Bloodsworn from her waist with both hands and gripped the blades. She planted herself, pressing down on one leg and bending the other behind her, ready to attack again.

Below, Tang Yuanxiao quietly sidled up to Shen Huaizhou again.

Looking at his cold, unreadable face, Tang Yuanxiao said quite naturally, “Xie Qingling is in trouble this time.”

Regardless of whether Shen Huaizhou paid him any attention, he continued, “Yang Baduan’s ability is Reward Good, Punish Evil. But it doesn’t use our human standards of good and evil. It depends on whether his opponent admits guilt in their own heart. His ability doesn’t work very well against the Eleventh Realm. But against a girl like Xie Qingling, it works every time.”

“Though the person you’re leading is capable, her luck is terrible. She’s bound to lose this time.”

Tang Yuanxiao delivered his verdict with a little melancholy and regret.

Though Xie Qingling annoyed him, he admitted that she was a promising talent.

Having such a talent meet her nemesis and lose bitterly was nothing to be happy about.

Tang Yuanxiao might enjoy a spectacle, but not this sort. He would still shed a sympathetic tear for her.

Shen Huaizhou, however, showed little expression. Arms folded, he simply watched quietly, unmoved by Tang Yuanxiao’s words, his face as calm as still water.

Having spent so long with Xie Qingling, he knew her ability and vitality well.

Even if forced into a desperate situation, she would fight to the end.

So until the last moment, victory and defeat were uncertain. Who would win remained unknown. Why concede early and ruin their morale?

The two in the arena had begun moving again.

Yang Baduan turned the Judge’s Brush once, gripped it upright, and used empty space as paper and air as ink, painting in free, sweeping strokes. His wrist controlled the tip, the brushwork shifting constantly. Who knew what he was drawing in the air?

In the blink of an eye, a white cat dropped out of nowhere.

It was white all over, with long fur and differently colored eyes, looking beautiful and adorable.

The cat meowed, lifting its four pink paw pads as it bounded toward Xie Qingling.

On the dais, Wangsun Huahua suddenly grew agitated.

Holding Wangsun Dadan in her arms, she shouted, “Dadan, that Little Turtle is bullying you!”

The white cat Yang Baduan had drawn clearly resembled Wangsun Dadan somewhat.

Apart from Wangsun Dadan having only one eye, while the white cat in the arena had two round, bright, lively eyes, their other features were much the same.

Wangsun Dadan stretched lazily, smacked its lips, and continued sleeping, ignoring Wangsun Huahua’s accusation completely.

“That sneaky bastard. Using a cat to beguile people. Cats are so cute. The little newcomer must be in trouble,” she muttered.

Wangsun Dadan licked its paw and continued sleeping.

In the arena, however, alarm bells rang in Xie Qingling’s mind as she watched the white cat approach. She had already tightened her grip on Bloodsworn, ready to attack at any moment.

Wasn’t Yang Baduan the Civil Judge’s Chosen? Why did he seem to be using summons?

And why were the things he summoned so cute?
One thing was certain, however: Yang Baduan had not brought her here to pet cats.

So.

Facing the kitten bounding toward her, Xie Qingling dispatched it with one slash, without even blinking.

In an instant, a kitten lost its life.

It was Wangsun Huahua on the dais who recoiled in fright, clutching Wangsun Dadan tightly in her arms and crying out, furious.

Then she thought better of it and blamed Yang Baduan instead. Raising her hand, she cheered passionately for Xie Qingling. “Go, newcomer! Knock him flat!”

“Come on!”

Hearing this, Tang Yuanxiao grew eager too.

He was not really trying to encourage Xie Qingling. Mainly, he wanted to take Yang Baduan down a peg. After all, Yang Baduan had punished him plenty of times too.

It was not just Tang Yuanxiao. Yang Baduan showed no warmth in his daily dealings, had offended far too many people, and was unpopular. Now, with a legitimate excuse to get at him, the old hands were all eager, wishing they could enter the arena in Xie Qingling’s place.

So Tang Yuanxiao raised his arm and shouted too. “Go, Xie Qingling! Knock him flat!”

Not to be outdone, Wangsun Huahua shouted, “Go! Go!”

Tang Yuanxiao: “Go, go, go!!!”

More cheers came from every direction, some from voices Xie Qingling could not identify.

Xie Qingling: “…”

Thanks, everyone, but she had rather a headache right now.

With a dark expression, Yang Baduan continued wielding the Judge’s Brush and drew a second animal.

A pitiful, delicate little white rabbit.

It hopped toward Xie Qingling too.

Then a second, a third, a fourth…

Five or six little white rabbits appeared from thin air, running toward her one after another.

She could not help recalling how she used to select white rabbits for experiments.

The college kept quite a few laboratory rabbits. Students occasionally had to look after and feed them as well.

When alive, they had been just as lively.

Thinking this, Xie Qingling brought down her blade.

Again, one slash for each little white rabbit.

In the blink of an eye, another group of rabbits lost their lives.

Then came dogs, then sheep.

Cute or not, tasty or not, they all appeared in the arena. Yang Baduan seemed to be sketching from life, almost bringing over an entire zoo.

These summoned animals were all weak. They had no particular powers or divine abilities, just perfectly ordinary animals.

One came, Xie Qingling killed one. Two came, she killed a pair.

Before long, animal corpses had piled into a small mountain on the arena floor.

Unable to fathom Yang Baduan’s motive, Xie Qingling grew impatient with these summoning games. She only wanted to end it quickly.

As she charged across the arena to get close and finish him, an eagle flying straight toward her blocked her for a moment.

…He really was using his divine ability like a summoner!

What on earth was Yang Baduan doing?

Speechless, Xie Qingling spent some effort cutting the eagle down.

By then, Yang Baduan had run to the other side of the arena.

He knew the difference in their strength very well and would never confront her head-on.

Xie Qingling stared at him, considering another approach.

If she found a chance to use Concealed Presence’s invisibility, could she take him down in one go?

Judging by the situation, Yang Baduan’s own combat strength should not be great – at least, he was no match for her.

Where, then, did his strength lie?

If she rashly used Concealed Presence without understanding his methods, she might face his counterattack once its effect ended.

She could not expose her hidden card yet. Xie Qingling decided to wait a little longer.

Across the arena, Yang Baduan turned the Judge’s Brush once more, aiming the bristled end toward himself and the hooked end toward her.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s see just how great your sins are.”

Then he shouted in a low voice, “Reward Good, Punish Evil!”

In an instant, the mountain of animal corpses turned into wisps of black smoke. The smoke drifted through the arena, but did not rise and dissipate. Instead, it condensed again, transforming into something else that appeared in the arena.

The black smoke settled on the floor. Centered on the place where Xie Qingling stood, a withered wasteland spread outward, shrouded in dark vapor.

It was as though clumps of dead grass had grown from a swamp, swaying and twisting. Black vapor rose, sinister energy swirled, and it felt as though an unseen, formless hand had gripped her heart tightly.

Xie Qingling turned pale. Discomfort spread through her whole body.

[Tongues torn out, needles piercing flesh, cauldrons of oil, blades and saws… This is not hell. There is no road to the Yellow Springs, but there is a Punishment Field. This is your cage, your sin; the karma of killing you created, the cause and consequence you planted. Step onto this road. Choose to cleanse your sins, or continue onward beneath their burden.]

[Choose, Spirit Wielder. Even if every step is like dancing on a blade’s tip, you can never escape the road beneath your feet.]

Tang Yuanxiao shook his head. “Xie Qingling ‘killed’ too many just now. Her Punishment Field has begun.”

“With such heavy killing karma, there’s no way to leave the Punishment Field alive.”

“Really?” Shen Huaizhou suddenly smiled. “I think she’s certain to win.”