Speaking of which, Qi Rongrong's role is the same as it was in the original story—she's clearly set up to be cannon fodder.
As a brother-obsessed girl, Qi Rongrong clings to her brother Qi Yi relentlessly.
I'm guessing she secretly entered the competition without telling him for a simple reason.
In the early stages of the story, something happened between Qi Yi and Mao Song. As a responsible older brother, Qi Yi would never let his sister enter such a dangerous contest.
Even though the Wanlai Festival's rules prohibit fatal injuries, accidents still happen.
When someone dies, the guilty party's qualifications are revoked and the victim's family receives compensation and comfort—but death is irreversible, and the risk remains high.
Sometimes you encounter contestants who are so arrogant they're willing to fight to the death.
In this world where strength is everything, weakness itself is a sin.
Thus, the major families usually choose not to pursue further investigations. That's just how things work.
But Tao Xi's real headache wasn't the danger.
The real issue was that the Sixth Princess—a member of the royal family—was a shady cultivator.
As a member of the Sound Clan, Tao Xi's powers included attack, control, and healing.
However, the original Tao Xi was only good at control and healing; her attack power was pretty weak.
Luckily, there's a rule: after contestants are selected, they get half an hour to prepare before the match.
This ensures everyone is in their best condition.
During this break, the audience gradually filled the seats, and the influential figures from major forces also arrived.
Tao Xi used this precious half-hour to strategize carefully.
The first step: check what useful treasures she had in her storage ring.
As the saying goes, "money can solve everything," and she fully agreed.
Looking at the pile of magical tools, Tao Xi's nervous heart found a bit of comfort.
Besides, she and Qi Rongrong were both at the peak of the Orange Rank. She wasn't necessarily at a disadvantage.
Qi Rongrong specialized in darkness magic, right?
Tao Xi remembered a defense-boosting artifact in her storage ring…
After digging around, she finally found it: a tortoise-shell-shaped shield.
When she saw the shape, Tao Xi's mouth twitched.
She could already imagine how stupid she'd look holding a giant turtle shell in the ring.
But compared to survival and winning, appearances meant nothing.
Tao Xi comforted herself with this thought.
As for her battle plan, she had it figured out now.
Meanwhile, Qian Yu's match was scheduled after Tao Xi's.
While waiting, Tao Xi's expressions shifted—sometimes frowning, sometimes smiling, sometimes looking serious.
She hadn't realized a person's face could be so expressive in just a few minutes.
Tao Xi, who had finished preparing, finally noticed Qian Yu quietly watching her.
They were in the same waiting area, and she almost forgot he was there.
"Ahem, Master Qian," she started awkwardly, "how's your preparation going? Any problems?"
Tao Xi asked, trying to ease the awkwardness.
She had seen who Qian Yu's opponent was—a disciple of the Zen Sect at the primary Yellow Rank.
According to the original story, Qian Yu was also at the initial Yellow Rank at this point.
It seemed the matchups were fair: both her and Qian Yu's opponents were at similar levels.
If it had been the past-life version of Qian Yu, maybe he would have been a little worried.
But now, he seemed absolutely fearless.
"I'm fine. I drew a Zen Sect disciple as my opponent," Qian Yu replied calmly.
"Zen disciples are very strict about rules. They won't attack before their opponents do. I have my own strategy for dealing with it."
"That's great. It's almost my turn now."
Tao Xi paused, hesitated a bit, then asked shyly:
"Also... Master Qian, could you wish me luck for my first battle?"
Gathering all her courage, she stared at him with hopeful, sparkling eyes.
Qian Yu chuckled softly and said:
"Of course. I wish Miss Tao a successful first match."
Getting the male lead's encouragement filled Tao Xi with confidence.
She felt she could now take on ten Qi Rongrongs at once.
Soon, it was her turn.
Tao Xi took a deep breath and walked out of the waiting room.
When the host called her name, she stepped onto the stage—and immediately saw Qi Rongrong, who had already arrived on the other side.
The Sixth Princess of the royal family was dressed in a light yellow gauze gown, embroidered with golden threads.
Her long black hair was casually tied with a golden hair ornament.
That stunning face, combined with her graceful bearing, made her truly dazzling.
Before the match, Qi Rongrong had also investigated the Saint of the Sound Clan.
Although the Sound Clan was the head of the Four Hidden Clans, their real strength was mainly concentrated in their clan leader.
It was said that the current head had reached the mid-level Purple Rank—a force not to be underestimated.
As for Tao Xi, though she was at the peak Orange Rank like Qi Rongrong, she was a healer and controller, not an offensive cultivator.
Qi Rongrong looked down on her with disdain.
However, once the match officially started, Tao Xi's move stunned her.
Tao Xi summoned her instrument spirit, unleashing a powerful control skill that immediately immobilized Qi Rongrong!
"You coward! As the Saint of the Sound Clan, how dare you not fight me head-on? If you have guts, break free and fight me properly!" Qi Rongrong shouted furiously.
Tao Xi smiled calmly.
"Master Qi, you're mistaken. Winning is the most important thing, not how you win."
Face? Reputation?
What were those compared to staying alive and winning?
Tao Xi had even brought a turtle shell onto the field. She couldn't afford to care about dignity now.
In her past life, she'd played enough mobile games to know: getting controlled and helplessly standing there while getting beaten was the worst feeling.
Now, she was on the other side—and it felt amazing.
Still, the control skill had a cooldown: once every ten minutes.
Tao Xi wasn't planning to rely only on that.
Using the initial control phase, she managed to drain half of Qi Rongrong's physical strength.
Next came the turtle shell!
As Tao Xi expected, the furious and arrogant Qi Rongrong launched a wild barrage of hidden weapons.
Tao Xi simply hid behind the turtle shell, blocking everything with ease, refusing direct confrontation.
With the turtle shell's protection, she was practically invincible.
All she had to do was wait for Qi Rongrong to tire herself out, then finish her with a single decisive move.
However, Qi Rongrong suddenly pulled out a pill from her storage ring.
After swallowing it, she recovered half her strength!
Tao Xi was stunned. What the hell?
She had been this close to winning, and now the tables had turned!
She snapped out of her shock quickly—Qi Rongrong wasn't about to give her time to think.
Qi Rongrong charged toward her with killing intent, aiming for a final, fatal blow.
Tao Xi hurriedly raised her nearly-shattered turtle shell.
She had no other offensive magic weapons left.
She could only rely on her instrument spirit's attack mode now.
Tao Xi smiled bitterly to herself—What a mess. First match and I'm already losing. What will Qian Yu think of me?
But unexpectedly, when Tao Xi unleashed her instrument spirit's attack mode, the power was tremendous!
After all, she had inherited her mother Qian Zi's extraordinary talent—Qian Zi had reached mid-Purple Rank by age thirty.
Tao Xi's potential was never weak.
In the original story, the original Tao Xi had been too busy chasing the male lead to bother developing her attack skills.
But in reality, her offensive capabilities were more than enough.
Her turtle shell finally broke under Qi Rongrong's relentless attacks.
However, Tao Xi counterattacked fiercely with her instrument spirit.
Qi Rongrong hadn't expected Tao Xi to be this strong without her defense or control.
Desperate to win, she had risked taking a short-acting recovery pill, but the pill damaged her foundation severely.
In the end, she lost everything—both the match and her future potential.
After a tough battle, Tao Xi finally secured victory.
The first thing she did after winning was look toward Qian Yu.
Qian Yu met her eyes, seeing the joy and excitement on her face.
For a moment, his heart felt warm and strangely full.
Zhuanyi, too, smiled and gave Tao Xi an approving nod.
Next up was Qian Yu's match.
His real strength was already at the Blue Rank, so he easily defeated the Zen Sect disciple with just a single move.
In the audience, Tao Xi watched Qian Yu's effortless victory, stars practically shining in her eyes.
Oh my god, my favorite male lead is just too amazing!
Qian Yu naturally noticed Tao Xi's admiring gaze.
Looking at this woman whose world seemed to revolve around him, Qian Yu had a fleeting thought—
If only she could stay like this forever, looking only at me, smiling only for me...
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