Chapter 4202 — Does That Count as a Win?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
The dust had settled. An archer, no matter how brilliant or miraculous her archery, was bound to lose once an opponent got in close for hand-to-hand combat.
This was not only what the crowd below thought; Wu Bufan on the arena thought the same. The corners of his mouth had already curved upward in a smug arc—this Huang Xiaotao was formidable, to be sure, but in the end it was he who had laughed last. Old ginger, after all, was the hotter.
And at that moment, Wei Zhao below the arena could not help but smile—for the outcome was already decided.
Thud! A jet-black arrow suddenly buried itself in Wu Bufan's chest. Even as he fell, Wu Bufan stared at Huang Xiaotao in utter disbelief, and the crowd below was likewise dumbstruck.
They would never in their wildest dreams have imagined that an archer, once an opponent closed in, would simply take an arrow and stab it straight into his chest—and with movements so deft and fluid, without the slightest trace of clumsiness. This woman simply did not play by the rules!
What they did not know was that this move was entirely Huang Xiaotao's own invention, a stopgap technique devised for when a powerful spirit beast closed in on her. At first glance it seemed to have no particular skill to it, but it had been honed between life and death until it was almost a reflex—extraordinarily practical, and effective.
"Honorable referee, does this count as my win?" Huang Xiaotao glanced at the fallen Wu Bufan, then turned her head and asked the referee.
Even the referee could not help but freeze for a moment. Only then did he have Wu Bufan carried off for treatment, and at the same time announced in a ringing voice that Huang Xiaotao had won her first battle.
"Xiaotao, that was a beautiful win—a splendid win!" Wei Zhao came forward with a smile to congratulate her. And so it was; Huang Xiaotao's performance in this match had truly been admirable, leaving one no choice but to praise her.
"Not at all—I was merely lucky, just lucky," Huang Xiaotao said, lowering her head shyly, though in her heart she was secretly delighted by Wei Zhao's praise.
In the stands at that moment, Shangguan Lan'er too was overjoyed for Huang Xiaotao. Wei Zhao had won without fighting, and Huang Xiaotao had won so splendidly—the two people she cared about most had both opened with victories, and she was naturally in excellent spirits.
Yet Shangguan Tianxia, seated beside her, now looked at Huang Xiaotao with unmistakable surprise in his eyes. Given his experience and insight, there was already very little left in this world that could surprise him—and yet Huang Xiaotao's performance had genuinely caught this great personage off guard.
Huang Xiaotao's astonishing archery, and that final, unexpected arrow, were secondary matters. Such a display only showed that Huang Xiaotao was highly gifted—hardly enough to astonish Shangguan Tianxia.
What truly concerned Shangguan Tianxia was this: not long ago, when Wei Zhao had challenged Su Zhaohe to a duel, Huang Xiaotao had stood at his side watching the battle with him, and at that time she had only been in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Now she had suddenly become an early Golden Core expert—and that was not all; she was a perfect Golden Core expert with the greatest of potential!
Whether a breakthrough was perfect might, under ordinary circumstances, be hard to discern, but with Shangguan Tianxia's seasoned eye, the moment Huang Xiaotao made her move he had already seen the signs.
First there had been Wei Zhao, and now here was Huang Xiaotao. Since when had perfect Golden Core experts become so commonplace?
And while Shangguan Tianxia marveled and doubted, the first round of elimination matches in the arena's single combat continued. This time the one to take the stage was none other than Xu Lingchong, who had lately drawn so much attention!
Under the gaze of the entire hall, Xu Lingchong walked calmly onto the arena… (To be continued..) R527