Who in this world could possibly serve as a referee?
While Jingliu was still pondering this question, Ye Feng led her to a secret room that no one else could find.
With a clap of Ye Feng's hands, a powerful, stirring piece of music began to play, and the crisp sound of high heels on the floor approached from a distance.
A nun, tall and slender with a voluptuous figure, walked in.
Even the loose-fitting monastic robes she wore could not conceal the feminine curves she exuded.
"This is Sister Aponia, Honored Master," Ye Feng introduced her. "Even though she stands above karma, she is still willing to bear the full weight of all sins that arise from it. Therefore, she will be absolutely fair and just in judging our contest."
Jingliu, still blindfolded, turned her gaze in Aponia's direction. The woman seemed to stand on high ground, bathed in a holy, golden light.
The Holy Mother...
The term came to mind easily.
Her aura of compassion for all living things, and the bosom that seemed capable of embracing everything, all spoke of the nun's benevolence and greatness.
She stood there, elegant and graceful, untainted by the dust of the mortal world.
Ye Feng walked over, wrapped an arm around the nun's shoulders, and with his right hand, took a firm hold.
Jingliu's spirit wavered slightly. The scene before her was like a drop of thick, murky ink tainting an ethereal, idyllic landscape painting...
"Mama Aponia, it's not that I can't understand your difficulties. It's indeed a bit embarrassing to start with a good friend right away. So, let's start with someone you're not familiar with to get you used to it. You'll adapt slowly. The first step is always the hardest, after all."
Actually, it wasn't really the "first step." She had been with Snake before.
The result was that Aponia had been repenting in the church ever since.
"Little Feng..."
"Don't thank me. I'm not some kind of demon, you know."
Ye Feng kneaded and rubbed for a moment before looking at Jingliu.
"The rules are still very simple. As long as you can keep the '99' on your lower abdomen from changing, you win. Otherwise, I win."
A faint, cold smile touched Jingliu's lips. "I accept."
She had a chance of winning.
A very good one, in fact!
Since entering this world, Jingliu had never been "defeated" by Ye Feng.
The one point she had lost was merely the result of a transaction.
It was to protect Baiheng.
"Good. The 'time limit' will be when the script ends."
"Script?"
"That's right. You could also call it a 'Simulated World.' Simply put, you can think of it as being transported to a new world, gaining a new identity, and starting a new life. Of course, we don't need to make it that complicated. We just need to take a 'snippet' of one. For example~~"
Ye Feng gave a flippant smile.
"The Kidnapped Young Mistress, the Casting Couch Idol, After-School Private Tutoring, the Club's Outdoor Training Camp, Cuckolding the Beautiful Wife, the Infiltrating Female Investigator, the KTV Group Date, the Princess of a Fallen Kingdom, the Sword Saintess Who Delves Deep into the Cave, the Elf Slave in the Noble's Basement... and so on and so forth."
Ye Feng rattled off a long list. If Jingliu hadn't frowned, he probably could have gone on for hours.
Ye Feng put Aponia's... assets... back in their original place and straightened her habit.
"Honored Master, I feel that the scripts most suited for you are the 'Wuxia Heroine' or 'Xianxia Cultivator' types. Which would you like to choose?"
"As you wish," Jingliu said coolly.
How could she possibly take the initiative to choose?
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. In other words, you can handle any kind of script, Honored Master. As expected of a member of the 'High-Cloud Quintet'! In that case, let's go with this one. I'm sure you'll love it, Honored Master."
Ye Feng let out a sly chuckle.
A sense of unease instantly gripped Jingliu.
A white light enveloped the space, so blinding that even Jingliu, with her blindfold, subconsciously raised a hand to shield her eyes...
Whoosh~~~
The white light dissipated, and a tsunami of cheers assaulted her ears.
This was...
[The Martial Demonstration Ceremony]
A grand festival of the Xianzhou, established to commemorate the heroic deeds of the Reignbow Arbiter and the Cloud Knights in their fight against the Abominations of Abundance to save the Xianzhou.
Ye Feng's voice echoed, "You have to follow the 'script'."
A stream of information flowed into her mind, detailing the things she had to do, the "lines" she had to say.
For the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed Jingliu's face. "You—"
Because the character background was set as follows: in order to protect the Xianzhou from destruction, the peerless Swordswoman had no choice but to offer herself to Ye Feng, this "Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon."
"What? Can't handle it already? Didn't you say 'as I wish,' Honored Master?"
"Hah..." Jingliu let out a breath.
Her emotions returned to their usual placid state.
"That's more like it. The [Martial Demonstration Ceremony] is about to begin. We still need you to preside over it, Honored Master."
Atop the Jousting Skiff.
Countless fireworks shot up from the ground, trailing faint lines of light as they ascended into the heavens before exploding into a dazzling array of five colors.
More and more fireworks bloomed brilliantly, as if trying to exhaust all the splendor of the Xianzhou. The entire night sky was a garden of a hundred flowers, burning into a magnificent sea of fire.
The fireworks bloomed and faded.
The绚烂 flames withered one after another. When all the splendor had peeled away, the jet-black night sky returned to view, and only then did people realize that fine snow was drifting down from the sky.
No, that wasn't snow, but moonlight.
Moonlight as white as snow.
A cold, clear light suddenly appeared, illuminating the entire night sky.
A woman danced down from the top of the Jousting Skiff, as if treading on the moonlight itself. The moonlight shattered with her every step, scattering and falling into shimmering motes of light.
She held a greatsword of moonlight, descending from the heavens to the mortal realm.
The gazes of all were captured by her, for she was the peerless Swordswoman of the Xianzhou, a living legend who had achieved the "Thirteen Great Merits."
Everyone was looking up at her, cheering, their eyes filled with fervent respect.
Only Ye Feng had averted his gaze. He was in the room with the best view on the Jousting Skiff, his legs spread wide as he sat bolt upright on the bed.
Jingliu's mind drifted. This scene made her feel as if she had returned to several hundred years ago. How high-spirited she had been then, how full of heroic ambition!
And now, she had become a string puppet, acting according to the [Script]. Yes, even if Jingliu felt resistance in her heart, the [Script] would manipulate her body to perform those actions, to shout those words.
The [Script] described it thus—
Jingliu raised her sword and shouted the oath that had originated with her, an oath that the people of the Xianzhou would live by for their entire lives:
"We, the Cloud Knights, are as clouds that shield the sky, guarding and sheltering the Xianzhou!"
Her ethereal voice was like the bright moon falling into the heart of a lake, like ripples stirred by a gentle breeze.
Instantly—everyone raised their arms and shouted in unison:
"We, the Cloud Knights, are as clouds that shield the sky, guarding and sheltering the Xianzhou!"
The entire city raised their arms and roared, every voice a single droplet of a wave. Wave after wave joined to form an ocean, surging and vast, climbing to its highest point to become a towering wall of water.
Then, the scene shifted.
The most honored, most luxurious room on the Jousting Skiff.
A glimpse through a screen revealed two slender, taut, but parted calves beside a sandalwood bed, their crystalline toes curled slightly.
Just this fleeting glimpse of a pair of exquisite, jade-like feet was enough to imagine the peerless grace and beauty of their owner...