Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 312 The Finals Begin

Time flies like an arrow, and time flies like an arrow.

Happy leisure time is always short-lived. Qiong felt that she hadn't done anything in Rimuru, just spent two days with Kiana, and before she knew it, the day of the competition had arrived.

"Qiong, are you ready? Did you forget anything? Are you nervous? Is there anything we can help you with?"

On the way to the competition venue, before Qiong could even reprimand herself for "wasting time," a barrage of questions from her companion Song Que bombarded her.

"No need, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."

When asked by Song Que, Qiong lost all desire to reproach herself.

Why did he feel that Song Que was more nervous than he was?

"So best."

Bai Ji nodded, but his heart was still pounding: Was Qiong really ready?

Unlike the past few days when he got up before dawn to practice his skills, Qiong hasn't practiced swords, spears, or clubs at all these days. It seems that his time has been mostly taken up by rice cakes.

Going to the market, helping a martial arts school chase away thugs demanding protection money, and all sorts of other shopping trips...

He's still just a teenager, and his ability to resist temptation is too weak! In his opinion, a child as gifted as Qiong needs a strict yet loving teacher to guide him to succeed.

To put it simply, Qiong is like a talented student who, a few days before the exam, is so tempted by his girlfriend that he doesn't even touch his books and goes straight to the exam unprepared. Who knows what unpredictable consequences this lack of study might have on the exam—on the field, things like weapon maintenance, physical condition, and understanding of the opponent...

Therefore, Bai Ji's eyes were filled with worry. Even though he trusted Qiong very much, he couldn't be sure that Qiong's perfunctory attitude wouldn't lead to any unexpected problems when facing the fully prepared young talents of Luo Xing...

Fortunately, after their rankings were compared, as is customary, the host country's local player from Ramu played the first match, and then all of them were randomly drawn into a group.

Thinking about this, Bai Ji felt he should offer a subtle reminder.

"Yes, confidence is a good thing. Allow me to add a few words: the Ten Arts War finals are far superior to the preliminary rounds. The finals are filled with experts, and talented people from all over the world have gathered here..."

Bai Ji glanced at Qiong and Kiana, but neither of them reacted at all, which was not good.

"Such as military equipment..."

"Don't worry, I've already checked Qiong's condition."

Seeing Bai Ji's nagging old man appearance, Kiana suddenly moved away from his side and instead stood between Qiong and Song Que, using Qiong as a barrier to separate herself from Bai Ji—Kiana couldn't stand this kind of nagging!

"Don't be so nervous, have some faith in Qiong, okay? We're sure we'll win the grand prize today and leave with the trophy in our arms!"

Kiana hugged Sora's shoulders, partly to boost morale and partly to assert her dominance.

"I hope so..."

"Yes, it will definitely work! Great luck, great luck!"

The sparrow silently watched Sora and Kiana, sincerely wishing Sora could win every match...

Besides watching the game, Song Que has something even more important to do today: figure out how to sneak into the tower to scout out a spot in preparation for stealing something.

If she finds God's treasure, she can get that huge sum of money. With that money, she'll never have to do her current job again; she can retire from her life of crime and gloriously change careers!

The thought of that astronomical sum of money made Song Que excitedly rub her hands together: setting aside what she could save for the rest of her life, how much should she donate to the Baiji orphanage? Hmm? Speaking of which, the orphanage has already donated enough; perhaps they could discuss naming rights?

We need to think of a good-sounding name!

"By the way, since we have some free time now, let me ask you guys: if you three were to name the orphanage, what would you name it? Young Master Bai?"

"Ok?"

Bai Ji was taken aback. He hadn't expected Song Que to bring this up at this time—the orphanage in Langqiu should have just chosen a date to start construction, right? He had been more concerned about the Ten Arts War lately and hadn't thought about this aspect.

"The matter happened so suddenly, I haven't decided yet... how about calling it Hope Orphanage?"

The sparrow tilted its head and thought for a moment, then shook its head in dissatisfaction.

"It's unconventional. I suggest you reconsider."

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Whether it was tradition or a financial issue, the venue for the Ten Arts War finals consisted of a spectator area and an oversized octagonal arena. It wasn't a stadium or an enclosed open-air stadium as Qiong had imagined. The only thing that piqued Qiong's curiosity was the invisible barrier at the edge of the arena.

Qiong looked up at the tower—the center of the arena, adjacent to the tower known as the abode of the gods.

"Do the gods of Mars enjoy watching sports?"

The deafening cheers and shouts of encouragement from the surrounding audience drowned out Qiong's mutterings. Even Bai Ji, who was right next to her, didn't hear what Qiong said... However, Qiong, who was still daydreaming in the contestant preparation area after being separated from the two girls, left Bai Ji speechless: The first match was about to start, and some contestants had already stepped onto the stage, but Qiong was still daydreaming and looking around.

At least pay a little more attention to the competition! I've never seen Qiong this casual before. Has she been playing with Nian Gao these past few days and hasn't gotten back to her old ways?

Never mind, Bai Ji had to ensure his own condition right now, rather than worrying about Qiong. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down, adjusting his breathing as he usually did in training, in order to achieve good results in the possible competition today.

"That contestant, Yu Liu, was in the first round? How lucky!"

Bai Ji smiled. So Qiong has finally started paying attention to the competition? As for luck... you could say that. After all, the first match was an internal war in Ruimu. Being born in the land of divine grace, Ruimu, is indeed a kind of luck.

"Her opponent... damn, her opponent is Lithost!"

"what?!"

Upon hearing Qiong's exclamation, even Bai Ji, with his usually calm demeanor, could only abruptly open his eyes and look at the arena.

Lithost, radiating a chilling aura, walked expressionlessly onto the arena, his longsword pointed at the female contestant—he certainly didn't look like someone who was there to officiate or act as a referee.

This is the second time. Before this Ten Arts War, Lithost had never participated as a contestant, but this time he not only participated, but also reappeared in the first round of the finals?

"Lithost, what exactly does he want to do?"

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Lithost stood on the ring, his eyes scanning the surroundings. His cold expression swept over the preparation area, past Qiong and Baiji, and finally settled on Kiana, who was eating popcorn with Song Que in the audience.

Oh? That's interesting. The little girl realized he was looking at her so quickly?

"Greetings, Lord Litost. I am Yu Liu, from the martial arts school in the west of the city, do you remember me?"

The brown-haired female player, whose long hair covered one eye, tried to be polite before the battle, but Kiana ignored her and just looked coldly at Kiana.

No doubt about it, that's Nian Gao, the alien companion that Qiong brought with her, a talking snake that can transform into human form...

Normally, he might have approached it out of interest, or asked Qiong how to teach a pet to talk; perhaps then, Leiera, who treated Donegal differently, would have opened her heart to it. But today…

I'm sorry, but he had to do it.

That's about it. After this battle, I'll send the prepared medicine to Qiong... It's funny, Nahera can actually get impatient sometimes?

Seeing that Lithost's gaze was still fixed on the audience, Yu Liu felt that she was being underestimated.

"Lord Lithost, this is a competition, please respect your opponent!"

Lithost then withdrew his gaze and spoke coldly.

"Then let's begin."

With that, Lithost raised the longsword in his hand.

Please enlighten me!

Yu Liu wasn't about to be outdone, and quickly assumed a fighting stance. But by the time she was ready, Lithost had already vanished from sight.

Where are you looking?

Lithost's voice came from behind Yu Liu. She turned around in alarm, only to see Lithost had appeared behind her at some point, his long sword aimed straight at her throat. Yu Liu instinctively tried to dodge, but found that her body couldn't keep up with Lithost's speed at all.

"Oh no!"

A flash of cold light from the sword caught Yu Liu off guard. By the time she reacted, the sword tip had already pierced her shoulder. A piercing, excruciating pain exploded in her right shoulder the next moment, and blood immediately dripped down her arm.

Even more terrifying, Yu Liu noticed that Lithost seemed to be trying to twist his wrist—a very inefficient way of fighting back. In terms of lethality, it would be better to continue to forcefully stab her shoulder through; the only effect would be to widen the wound and cause her unbearable pain...

We can't win! We'll die, we'll really die! We must surrender immediately!

"I...I give up!"

Upon realizing what had happened, Yu Liu immediately took three steps back. Her shoulder muscles spasmed from the near-piercing wound, and her rapid breathing made her face look extremely pale. Instead of using her left hand to cover the wound, she immediately crushed the jade pendant with her left hand, and the jade pendant immediately dissipated.

The jade pendant breaking signifies surrender, and surrendering in a final round of a competition means only one thing: come back next time.

Despite the excruciating pain, Yu Liu forced a smile.

"Medical team! As expected of Lord Lithost, you defeated me so easily. How many years of training would I need to reach your level?"

Lithost did not speak, but simply raised his sword and walked towards Yu Liu.

"Lord Lithost? Lord Lithost...? I have already surrendered! I have already surrendered!"

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"So this is how he came to me last time?"

In the preparation area, Qiong could only see a black afterimage darting around. The naked eye couldn't make out the figure and movement trajectory of Lithost at all. Anyway, by the time he reacted, Lithost had already appeared behind Yu Liu.

Qiong and Baiji touched their chins simultaneously. Baiji was surprised by Lithost's strength. Although she knew that Lithost must have some hidden abilities, she did not expect that in addition to the shadow counterattack that instantly killed Chenxue, he also had such shadow-like speed...

But why did he even bother to participate? According to Qiong and Songque, wasn't he originally the Shadow Rider of God?

If Baiji's thoughts were too complicated, then Qiong's thoughts were much simpler: how to defeat the mad dog.

He raises his Flame Spear, establishing an impenetrable defense; he lifts his baseball bat and charges it, making his shadow nowhere to hide; if necessary, he pulls out his top hat and slowly whittles down his stamina bar like a shower of petals. If all else fails, he activates Kiana's Stigmata for a minor boost with purple flames. With the Flame Spear, he's invincible, practically unbreakable!

Thinking of this, Qiong nodded to himself. In the end, Litost is just a "madman". It is his crazy behavior that is terrifying. No matter how fast you are, you can't outrun his instinctive gun-holding speed. As long as he reacts fast enough, it seems that Litost only has two paths on the stage: to be worn down by him or to surrender.

But the audience didn't think that much about it. They only saw that this quick and not intense duel ended with Lithost's overwhelming victory, and cheers for Lithost and exclamations of shock at Yu Liu's defeat rose and fell.

Something's not right.

Bai Ji frowned.

"what happened?"

“In previous Ten Arts Wars, when the jade tablet shattered and the restrictions were activated, the loser would be ejected from the arena and taken over by the medical team, but this time…”

"The jade pendant is broken, but the person is still on the stage?"

Qiong continued Bai Ji's words and looked towards the arena. She saw Litost relentlessly approaching Yu Liu, who was bleeding profusely. Yu Liu stared in horror, retreating repeatedly, but behind him was an invisible barrier at the edge of the arena, leaving him nowhere to go.

"This mad dog...wouldn't be planning to kill someone here, would it?"

Sensing something was amiss, the audience also stopped their thunderous applause, looking at Lithost with suspicion. He couldn't possibly...

Then they saw Lithost cleave the surrendered man's left thigh with a single sword strike, blood gushing from the wound: had he severed a major artery?!

"This madman!"

Qiong immediately stood up, grabbed her baseball bat, and was about to rush onto the ring when Bai Ji grabbed her arm.

"Don't be impulsive, there are rules within this arena..."

Enraged, Qiong immediately shook off Bai Ji's hand.

"Rules my ass! I can't stand seeing that mad dog indiscriminately slaughtering innocent people in front of me!"

Qiong sprinted toward the arena, then crashed headfirst into an invisible barrier.

Damn it, I forgot about that!

"What I'm trying to say is that the power of the rules within this arena will hinder you..."

……

Litost did not make a move immediately. He coldly scanned the arena, his gaze falling on Qiong, the only one who tried to rush into the ring but was stopped by the restriction and fell. A barely perceptible sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

He was right about the person; he was indeed helpful and at least partially fulfilled the qualities of a knight.

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The only explanation I can give, besides being lazy, is that I want the majestic senior sister...

I can't get the Cute Tiger King... Is it because they don't want me to spend gold after releasing the Yi Xuan version?