[Vol. 6] Chapter 211: Nicknaming Is an Art
So noisy… this announcer.
After sending her opponent flying with a single kick, Violet didn’t chase after him. Instead, she stayed where she was, waiting for the referee to officially declare the match result. Meanwhile, she silently grumbled in her mind.
Sure, she understood the announcer’s job was to hype up the crowd as much as possible. Even if the commentary was exaggerated or a bit nonsensical, as long as it resonated with the audience, it was considered a success.
But as someone involved in the match, it felt different from her perspective.
The reason she chose this straightforward fighting style was partly because it felt more satisfying to just punch someone directly, and partly because it was still early in the finals. Keeping some of her trump cards hidden didn’t hurt.
Violet wasn’t aiming to win the championship at all costs. But since Eastern Kingdom Saint Shangguan Qiuyue had gone out of his way to invite her, it wouldn’t feel right to just hold back completely. She had to make a bit of an impression.
As a priestess, Violet’s base strength and agility stats weren’t particularly high. Normally just over 10,000 points. Without the support of the [Dominion of the Fox Mask], she wasn’t even as strong as a level 80 fighter like Minchen. Her raw stats were more on par with an average level 67 melee class.
As for the reason why she could tear apart the opponent’s confinement array with her bare hands, it was also very simple. Her equipment, the Divine Artifact [Feather Robe Graria], made her nearly untouchable. As long as the damage she took didn’t exceed the immunity threshold, she could completely ignore all other effects. Her abilities, like catching swords barehanded or deflecting attacks with her body, were all thanks to this artifact.
Violet had thoroughly tested this threshold long ago. It would take someone at least level 80 with a high tier spell to break through it.
So when facing opponents below level 50, even if they had unusual tricks up their sleeves, she had no reason to worry.
Of course, Violet had no intention of killing anyone in the tournament. It wasn’t necessary, and doing so would disqualify her. Even when dealing with Xuanmen Daoist, who she had a bit of a grudge against, she settled for giving him a powerful kick that sent him flying.
Amid the crowd’s louder and more enthusiastic cheers, and as the referee announced the match results, the black-haired girl calmly turned and walked back to the waiting area.
Defeating a veteran [Seeker of Immortality] with such overwhelming force was bound to draw significant attention and trigger a chain reaction. Violet thought to herself that she would need to be more cautious when traveling from now on.
……………………………
Later that night.
After completing the first round of matches and advancing to the second round, where only 216 participants remained, Violet and her group returned to the inn where they were temporarily staying.
As expected, all three of them who participated in the martial competition had won their respective matches. However, the overall skill level of the contestants in this tournament was surprisingly high.
Murong Yun, for example, had drawn an opponent who was also a [Seeker of Immortality]. Both were at the beginner level of this realm, and after an intense battle that lasted a long time, Murong Yun narrowly secured victory using his inherited technique, [Heaven-Opening Palm].
Yet, it was clear to all observers that his opponent hadn’t gone all out. While they had held back enough to avoid injuries, it was evident that [Seeker of Immortality] cultivators always had a few hidden cards up their sleeves. In a life-or-death fight, the outcome between the two would’ve been much harder to predict.
Meanwhile, Xiao Kong had much better luck. Her opponent was far weaker than the woman named Hongyan had defeated earlier. Xiao Kong swiftly knocked out her adversary, causing an even greater uproar at the time.
After all, the cat-girl had been the first-place finisher in the preliminary qualifiers, earning widespread recognition for her abilities. Her dominating performance this time further cemented her as a top contender for the championship, making her a hot topic among the spectators and media.
As for how the priestess knew all of this…
“Violet! Look, look! The innkeeper’s daughter gave me this! She said it’s the latest issue, just released tonight!”
Bursting into the room with her usual energy, the cat-girl tossed a magazine onto the table. The bold title read: [32nd Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony – Special Finals Edition for Eastern Kingdom!]
Even the white cat, Miaomiao, who had been dozing comfortably on the bed, seemed drawn by the commotion. She leapt lightly onto the desk, joining the priestess in curiously examining the vividly illustrated cover.
“Meow meow meow?”
"These people really have too much free time… By the way, when did you become close with the innkeeper’s daughter? She even gave you this thing?"
Xiao Kong proudly placed her hands on her hips and replied smugly.
“Hmph, now you see my charm, don’t you? She’s one of my loyal fans! I can’t help it. I’m just that amazing~”
“I seem to recall someone saying we should stay as low-key as possible in public because of the ‘special circumstances.’ Do you have even a little bit of self-awareness…?”
Violet shook her head helplessly, setting down the magazine Xiao Kong had slammed onto the table. It was undeniably eye-catching, with its polished design and bold graphics. In the bottom-right corner, the fine print read: [Published by Spirit Veil News Agency].
The very first page featured a massive close-up of Xiao Kong. The image captured her in action earlier that day when she had defeated her opponent in a single blow. The headline, written in flashy letters, read: [One-Hit Victory! Top Qualifier Cat-Yokai Girl Returns! Will She Be This Tournament’s Dark Horse Champion!?]
“Meow.”
Miaomiao, the white cat, let out a curious sound. She licked her paw and tilted her head, seemingly trying to figure out why her owner’s image had somehow ended up on paper.
“They really know how to make it dramatic, huh. As expected of a publication under the Spirit Veil name…”
Violet made a casual remark as she flipped through a few more pages and skimmed the content.
As expected, the article was about Xiao Kong’s impressive performance in the competition so far. It focused heavily on her exploits during the qualifiers, highlighting “exclusive details” of how she supposedly defeated an entire team of over a hundred competitors singlehandedly, securing the top spot and earning tens of thousands of [Crystal Jades]. The level of detail in the article made it seem as though the writer had witnessed everything firsthand.
Heh, their sources must be incredibly “reliable.”
Violet knew the truth. Those knocked out by Xiao Kong during the qualifiers were still locked up in Xingyuan City. How could they have come out to spread such stories?
It was obvious that Eastern Kingdom’s officials were manipulating things behind the scenes to to create a stir about the tournament.
Xiao Kong’s standout performance, paired with her clearly non-human, yokai lineage, certainly stirred up interest. While the [Ancient Spirit Realm] didn’t have traditions of discriminating against yokai, the destruction of [Blood of Origin] by demonic forces a thousand years ago had scattered the monsters and spirit beasts. Since then, humans had dominated the realm.
With the many similarities between yokai and demonic creatures, it's rare for yokai to openly stir up such excitement in human cities outside of places like Xiangshou County. For most people, it’s a novel spectacle.
If it were Violet herself being hyped up like this, she might feel annoyed by the sudden and unearned attention. Possibly even enough to retaliate. However, since the cat-girl seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it, Violet decided to let her be.
With that thought, Violet casually flipped through the rest of the magazine.
There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy. Most of the content summarized the contestants who advanced to the next round. Popular contenders like Xiao Kong or rising stars were given detailed write-ups, recounting their backgrounds and past achievements in the tournament. As for the less remarkable performers, they were glossed over, with up to five or six names crammed onto a single page.
What did catch her attention, however, was the fact that this [Spirit Veil News Agency] magazine had given every contestant a nickname.
Those ranked on the [Ancient Spirit Realm Top 100 List] had their existing titles reused. For the more mysterious first-time participants, nicknames were crafted based on their performance or unique traits.
For instance, the girl named Hongyan, whose strength wasn’t among the top tier but had gained a notable following thanks to her striking appearance, was given the nickname “Red Sleeves Hidden Sword.” It likely referred to her habit of rarely drawing her sword unless absolutely necessary, but when she did, the fight would be decided in an instant.
Indeed, Hongyan practiced Iaido, a sword-drawing technique.
Since Xiao Kong’s section appeared near the front, Violet naturally spotted her nickname right away.
“Pfft~”
“?”
Xiao Kong tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s with that weird smile all of a sudden?”
The black-haired girl’s lips twitched slightly before she replied.
“Oh, nothing, meow… [Silver Cat]. Hmm… I mean, it’s quite fitting, don’t you think?”