I'm Trying to Protect You

"A duel of techniques?" Seated nearby, a man with a crew cut wearing a suit jacket chuckled upon hearing this, casting a sidelong glance at Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er. "We all come from immortal sects. If it's a one-on-one duel, there won't be much difference in strength between us. But whoever ends up drawing those two rogue cultivators is getting way too big of an advantage, isn't that unfair?" Once he finished speaking, several people around him laughed. The immortal sect disciples present generally looked down on rogue cultivators, convinced that a rogue cultivator's strength wasn't even worthy of comparison to theirs. "Luck is part of strength too," another young man with red hair in a tight leather jacket remarked with a chuckle, not even glancing Yue Wen's way as he spoke. It was clearly evident that they belonged to the same social circle and had likely known each other for a long time, whereas Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er were completely out of place. He Caihua frowned at their behavior, yet said nothing to stop it. In truth, toward immortal sect disciples with solid backgrounds, their media company did not hold that dominant of a position; at most, the two sides maintained an equal partnership. Even if she felt these sect disciples were behaving inappropriately, it wasn't worth reprimanding them on behalf of two rogue cultivators. She simply turned toward Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er. "If no one has any objections, shall we begin?" "No objections." Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er both shook their heads. Given a choice, he actually didn't want to fight these sect disciples either. It wasn't out of fear, but rather because each of them possessed backing, and injuring any of them would be troublesome. He could easily exercise restraint himself, but Zhao Xing'er was another story... It was deeply worrisome. Unfortunately, they held no sway here. Since the organizers demanded such a contest, fight they must. "To ensure a balanced ratio of men to women on our team, four men and four women will draw lots to battle among themselves," A'mei said, laying out several crumpled paper balls. "Ladies first. Drawing a one or two means you're up first; drawing a three or four means you go second. Fair and square." It was only then that Yue Wen noticed the cultivators attending the selection really were evenly split between genders: exactly five men and five women among the ten. The two who had already locked down spots, Liu Yuanjun and Li Feixia—Yue Wen had heard both their names even back in Seventh City. The two hailed from Xuanfeng Temple as senior martial brother and junior martial sister. Xuanfeng Temple was undeniably the premier immortal sect of Jiangcheng City. Though it had few disciples, its heritage ran deep, and its track record at past Young Cultivators' Tournaments was by far the most stellar. The reason disciples were few was their strict criteria for recruitment. Whenever a budding cultivator with talent emerged in Jiangcheng City, they would almost always be sent to Xuanfeng Temple first to try their luck, only seeking other sects after being rejected. Liu Yuanjun was the most exceptional figure among this generation of disciples within the temple. Word had it that he was born with a natural immortal physique, and while barely in his early teens, several great sects across Tianbei Prefecture had vied for him. Yet in the end, he had chosen to remain in his hometown of Jiangcheng and cultivate at Xuanfeng Temple. Now twenty years of age, even if he had not yet reached the Gang Realm, he was likely at the great perfection of the Union Realm, not far from a breakthrough. Seated in the front row wearing Daoist robes, he had an earnest expression. His appearance fit the description of "a face like polished jade, lips red and teeth white," with well-proportioned features. Perhaps having spent so long surrounded by adoration, merely sitting there without expression gave him a natural aura that compelled people to look at him. Next to him, his junior sister Li Feixia possessed a livelier demeanor. The girl was eighteen or nineteen, and though dressed in archaic Daoist robes, her hair in a topknot fastened by a plain hairpin—looking mature for her attire—her round face beamed with smiles, radiating an indescribably playful charm. Large eyes with long lashes and deep black pupils hinted that once she lost a bit of her baby fat, she was bound to be a great beauty. Her online handle was Fairy Feixia, and she was an influencer cultivator signed by Wangyou Media relatively early on. Without disrupting her daily cultivation, the company helped manage her video platform accounts. The girl was remarkably gifted and had a very endearing personality, currently boasting over a hundred thousand followers online. From the looks of it, her senior brother Liu Yuanjun had probably been dragged along by her. After all, no one had ever heard of Liu Yuanjun participating in influencer activities before; he didn't even have a public video account. Between their backgrounds, strength, and fame, this pair of martial siblings was top-tier, standing as the biggest stars at the event aside from He Caihua. Thus, no one present objected to them securing two spots. As for the other sect disciples, Yue Wen hadn't heard of any of them; their status was likely comparable to Qi Dian's. He casually took a paper ball and unfolded it to see the character "Four" written on it. It seemed he would be in the last bout. Meanwhile, Zhao Xing'er opened her own paper ball to reveal a distinct "Two." She looked up, somewhat excited. "I'm up right away!" Yue Wen gave a subtle smile and emphasized pointedly, "Friendship first, competition second." "Worried she'll get hurt?" Another female cultivator strode over from the side, holding up a slip of paper marked with "One" and wearing a triumphant smirk. "As long as the little sister doesn't get too wild, I'll try to pull my punches." ... This dedicated training hall was the size of several basketball courts. The surrounding materials were specially engineered to withstand the full impact of cultivators below the Fifth Realm without collapsing, and any damage was easily repaired. The materials used to build such a facility were exceedingly expensive; after all, with slight modification, the same materials could be fashioned into defensive magic implements capable of withstanding the full-force strike of a Gang Realm expert. Although etching patterns and drawing arrays for a hall was certainly much simpler—cutting out the most wallet-draining step compared to crafting magic implements—building an area like this inside a skyscraper was still extraordinarily costly. Only a lavishly deep-pocketed company like Wangyou Media could afford such extravagance. Aside from the two female cultivators about to face off, a middle-aged man stood in the hall with his hands clasped behind his back. Plain-looking and dressed in a simple black sweatshirt, he resembled a referee. According to A'mei's introduction, however, he was the training hall's Dao protector, possessing a cultivation level in the Gang Realm. Should any accident occur, he would step in immediately to prevent irreversible casualties. Hearing this, Yue Wen felt somewhat relieved. At least someone was here to stop Zhao Xing'er. Zhao Xing'er's opponent was named Bu Zhongyao, from the Que Blade Sect in Fifth City, a sect specializing in martial arts. She had sharp short hair, an ordinary fair face, and narrow eyes. By Wangyou Media's screening standards, someone of such average appearance shouldn't have made it through the door. It was likely that young female cultivators who possessed high cultivation, attractive looks, and a willingness to participate were simply too scarce, which was why they had reluctantly kept her around until now. Come to think of it, if Wangyou Media were completely satisfied with the existing sect disciples, they wouldn't have allowed Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er to join the selection in the first place. Bu Zhongyao wore teal form-fitting martial attire with a rather androgynous look. Seeing the contest about to start, she flipped her hands to summon two reverse-grip sabers forged from teal gemstones. Lustrous light flowed across them; they were clearly no ordinary items. "Hey—" In the observation room outside the ring, Yue Wen suddenly pushed open the door and called inside. "Since this is just a friendly spar, how about we both skip using weapons?" he said with a look of worry. "A slip of the hand could lead to a mishap far too easily." "Hmph," Bu Zhongyao said loudly. "My entire cultivation method relies on these twin blades. What a clever little scheme you're trying to pull!" "Rest assured," He Caihua said calmly from behind, arms crossed over her chest. "The Dao protector in our arena is watching. Nothing will go wrong." Feeling the odd stares behind him, Yue Wen could only back down dejectedly. "Don't worry, Boss, I'll be safe!" Zhao Xing'er reassured him. She turned around and, with a flick of her wrists, produced a pair of twin swords—one male, one female—squaring off against Bu Zhongyao's twin blades from across the floor. It was obvious she was eager for the duel, a vibrant gleam dancing in her eyes. Watching her made Yue Wen break into a cold sweat. *I know you'll be safe! What I'm terrified of is you not keeping the other person safe!* *And just how many bizarre divine weapons do you have in that stash of yours?!* *Woman, give it a rest already!* "A pretty face might have gotten you standing here, but it won't help you win the match," Bu Zhongyao sneered, falling into a combat stance. "In my eyes, rogue cultivators like you are nothing more than a bunch of dumpster divers. You don't stand a ghost of a chance against me!" "Hey—" The moment the words left her mouth, Yue Wen pushed open the door to the observation room again with a thud and shouted inside. "This is a friendly exchange! Don't resort to insults!" Yue Wen pointed at Bu Zhongyao. "What if you talk to your opponent like that and make her angry?" "Are you ever going to stop?!" Bu Zhongyao shouted back, pointing right at him from inside the arena. "Is she fighting me, or are you fighting me?" "If you want to fight, just fight properly. Don't go provoking people with your mouth," Yue Wen said. "If this level of mockery shakes her Dao heart, then she might as well pack up and go home!" Bu Zhongyao snapped angrily. "If you want to protect her so badly, why don't you come down and fight in her place?" Behind him, He Caihua also frowned with displeasure. "Mr. Yue, please return to the observation room and watch properly. Do not disrupt the selection." "Sigh." Yue Wen closed the door resignedly, muttering under his breath, "Protect her? I'm trying to protect you!"