Love, Gun, Cupid

Tianlong explained, "Xingtian wields his axe and shield. In mythology, Xingtian is a giant and a general under Emperor Yan. When Emperor Huang defeated Emperor Yan and established an alliance, Xingtian was one of the opponents."

Later, when the Yellow Emperor and Chi You were engaged in a legendary confrontation, Xing Tian proposed to join Chi You's camp to fight against the Yellow Emperor, but the Yan Emperor did not agree. Therefore, after the Battle of Zhuolu, Xing Tian intercepted the Yellow Emperor and was killed in a one-on-one duel.

Xing Tian was killed, but his divinity made him immortal. Someone copied down his headless wielding of his axe and shield, which developed into a martial art.

Naturally, after generations of revisions and additions, this method of wielding the axe and shield has little to do with Xing Tian himself. After all, Xing Tian didn't have transformable weapons, active metals, or gunpowder at that time.

"This living doll is paired with a kapok tree..."

"The odds of winning are slim. Xing Tian was a giant, and those who practiced this martial art later were all tall. The physique of a living puppet means that her technique will be greatly distorted."

"If that's the case, why did she choose a martial art that doesn't suit her?" the hatter asked.

"Don't forget she's a living doll."

The hatter suddenly realized, "She had no choice."

On the giant screen TV in front of Tianlong, Mumian was already in the lead in the match between Mumian and Yilu Tingfeng: whenever the living puppet created distance to use magic, Mumian would raise her hand and cast a thunder spell to interrupt Yilu Tingfeng's casting, and then quickly close the distance.

The living puppet was forced into close combat with the cotton tree, and her skill with the axe and shield would falter under the cotton tree's attacks within three rounds.

Kapok, as if riding on skateboards, moved left and right within the close range of the living doll. Each block and each failed attack made her next attack even faster and sharper.

Kapok used encrypted communication: "Admit defeat, swear by oath magic not to be my enemy in this match, and I can let you go."

"I will not give up!" the living puppet replied firmly. "My family is still waiting for me!"

"Do living dolls have families?"

"The human family that has been with me since I became self-aware is my family! I was with them before I was myself, witnessing men wielding axes and shields, women playing the violin, and their daughters raising parasols."

After I developed self-awareness, all of this became mine, and now I represent my family. I have made a promise to them, a promise to witness the moment I become successful.

Therefore, I will never give in!

Family ties?

When Kapok realized that it was her family who were supporting her through the battle of Listening to the Wind, she became jealous. So she increased her efforts, and a storm of attacks descended around the living doll, whose weapons and body wailed together.

"Pear Blossom Style, isn't that the signature technique of Xinghai, a master-level magic researcher?"

Rafaam, who was watching the match live, was taken aback. At first, her feelings about the match were ambiguous. As a friend, she hoped that Yitengfeng would win; as a traitor, she hoped that Mumian would win.

But when the living doll shouted "For Rafaam!", guilt took hold of the shapeshifter's heart.

Therefore, Kapok's change of tactics made Rafaan's heart jump. The person next to him said, "Don't be so nervous, she has only learned a little bit."

Rafaam turned around. She remembered that the seat next to her was empty. Even if she was focused on cheering for her good friend, she shouldn't have ignored the person next to her.

The woman was in the shadows, her face indistinct, with only a wisp of black, curly hair hanging on the table and chairs, adorned with a hollowed-out crescent moon pattern.

Rafaam's expression was stiff. She was extremely timid, so she barely nodded in greeting before running away quickly.

The woman's gaze didn't linger on Rafaam for even a second, because Cupid with pink eyes and pink hair filled Rafaam's empty seat, sitting next to her.

“Good evening, madam.” Du Juan stared into the shadows. “Who would have thought I would be so lucky to sit with Lady Diana, who is considered one of the most low-key people in the Celestial Realm?”

“This isn’t luck, clever little bird, you deliberately sought me out,” Diana replied.

Chapter 115 The Final Round (16)

Rafaam could only see a shadow, while Dujuan saw a thin black veil covering a woman with black hair and black eyes.

The moon goddess Diana has a face as majestic as a marble statue. A golden laurel wreath adorns her head, and a moon-white robe wraps around her body. The belt is woven like a knot and tightens at her waist, giving the robe the appearance of towering mountains, valleys below the mountains, and alluvial plains that suddenly expand at the tail end as it descends down her spine.

The robe barely covered Diana's thighs, revealing a pair of firm, long legs. Diana made no attempt to conceal her beauty, but the eyes of ordinary people could not penetrate the veil of darkness, and those who could see through it were oblivious to her beauty.

“Even if I searched deliberately, I am still lucky, because I am probably the first celestial being to speak with you in the last fifty years,” Cupid said, extending his hand. “Cuckoo, that is my name here.”

You're not the first.

"Could there be someone else besides me...?"

Do I really have to spell it out for you?

Du Juan was stunned, then smiled: "That's right, you and I are both people who have committed the crime of usurpation, so it's normal for you to see through me."

"Moon Goddess, I pursued you because I had several questions, and since you were willing to appear, it seems my questions can be answered."

"I'm just here to watch this battle, but you dare to show your face in front of me."

"I am no match for the Moon Goddess, but if the Moon Goddess is truly offended, she should either not appear or destroy my body, leaving me only as a wisp of a ghost to carry out her usurpation."

Du Juan went straight to the point: "You're here to see Lin Jiade, right? Before anyone else could leave an impression on him, the Moon Goddess arrived first, leaving her mark. Your oracle 'Hunting' has a hidden, practical application, while your oracle 'Inheritance' allows him to attract creatures with special aptitudes like a vortex."

Oh dear, everyone thought it was me who did it, but at most I just accelerated Lin Jiade's vortex. Even I was influenced by this oracle, and on a whim, I descended to his side, started playing with his life, and was resented by those who came after.

Isn't this a bit unfairly blamed?

“You’re clearly enjoying it,” Diana said.

"Of course, anyone who discovers such power within a mortal would be curious. So I introduced jasmine, gladiolus, kapok, and reed warbler, using four different variables to test and compare their effects on Lin Jiade... on the mysterious power within Lin Jiade, and this is precisely how I am influenced by the inherited divine oracle."

I looked down on humans and thought that no one in the Empire could influence me. I was oblivious to the fact that two months had passed. My several attempts to explore the power within Lin Jiade only brought shame upon myself and also cost me my sister—she could have been sold for a much better price, and it was a waste for her to give herself to a human.

However, upon seeing the drastic changes to the competition format, I realized that only the ancient inhabitants of the upper heavens could make the empire yield to its unreasonable demands. I returned to the heavens to peruse the library, searching for comparisons with human mythology, and finally guessed that it might be that you, Lord Moon Goddess, suddenly became concerned with worldly affairs.

“It wasn’t sudden; I’ve been concerned about it all along,” Diana said.

"Alright, I don't want to argue about the form of concern. Lady Moon Goddess, what I'm curious about is, why Lin Jiade?"

Silence met Dujuan's response; Diana had no intention of revealing the truth. Dujuan said listlessly, "Never mind, Lin Jiade will break the golden branch and challenge the King of the Forest anyway. The oracle I gave him will ensure his victory."

At that time, I will let him ask the Moon Goddess his question. His question might be too much for the Moon Goddess to refuse, after all, he is your unnamed divine protector, and the inhabitants of the heavens have a responsibility to answer their divine protectors' questions.

Whether it was Du Juan's imagination or not, Diana's lips curled into a smile, like an elder looking at a boastful child with tolerance.

"Does the Moon Goddess have any advice for me?" Dujuan asked.

"In your words, Lin Jiade has become a toy that you can manipulate at will."

“If it weren’t out of respect for you, he would already be my divine protector.”

Diana shook her head: "Admittedly, there is an insurmountable gap between humans and celestial observers. That child probably listens to you, but he has his own will, and in an instant, the rebellion begins."

"Does Your Excellency mean... that Lin Jiade will betray me? Hmm, that's possible, after all, Your Excellency still maintains considerable influence with him."

"I will not get involved in this matter. Humans are weak, but I have always respected them. Turning them into my toys is impossible. Experiments have shown that the human will to resist is like breadcrumbs; you can tear them into smaller pieces, but you can't completely crush them."

Du Juan chuckled: "The only variable in my control over Lin Jiade is you. From the moment I appeared in his life, I took things step by step, and he couldn't possibly resist me."

"Then let's see what your motives are for getting Lin Jiade to break off the golden branch and challenge the King of the Forest."

"Profits, and hatred towards the kapok tree."

"Is there no love?" Diana asked.

“There was such a thing, but after I taught him, he broke his own contract and his own love.”

“Since you believe Lin Jiade will act out of self-interest and hatred, then I’ll believe in love,” Diana said. “If you win, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

"What if the adults win?"

"Then you need to give your heart, love, speak the truth, and stop trying to control the distance, instead of flirting with and controlling him."

"To make a celestial observer fall in love with a mortal is a punishment that is far too cruel," Du Juan smiled. "But I accepted it, because I will never lose."

This is true, because the rules of the heavens cannot be fully applied to the cuckoo, whose origins are more complex. So even if Diana invites the god of law to witness, the cuckoo may still be able to deny the terms of her own bet.

Therefore, her bet with Diana was simply a matter of whether she would obtain Diana's secret or not; it did not involve her having to sacrifice anything according to Diana's demands.

Thinking of this, she turned her gaze to the screen. The director had already switched the camera to Lin Jiade and Qi Yanli. The Diamond Elf was determined to keep the secret of the Broken Golden Branch and had dealt a heavy blow to Lin Jiade. Lin Jiade could only defend himself and had no power to fight back.

However, her hidden trump card came into play at this moment—the appearance of the Earth Peach resolved Lin Jiade's crisis.

Chapter 116 The Final Round (17)

In the arena, Lin Jiade was in dire straits, seemingly wanting to finish the battle quickly. The Diamond Elf started by using physical attacks to force him to break away from her, then held onto her control skills, ambushed him at a corner, immobilized him, and applied debuffs to stall for the effective time of his Lionheart spell, which was his power spike.

After the 15-minute Lionheart spell ended, Lin Jiade felt like Cinderella returning home after taking off her glass slipper, like a worker who had been working overtime for a long time and whose kidney deficiency was visibly obvious, and like being carried on the back of a slightly chubby lady who was 160cm tall and weighed 180kg, making it very difficult for him to move.

"Forgive me."

While apologizing, Qi Yanli shot an arrow. Lin Jiade prepared to transform into a sword and try his luck. His physical condition only allowed him to transform one more time. His understanding of whether he was a sword or a human was very confused, which was why he was easily controlled by Qi Yanli.

Just then, the savior appeared. A familiar figure descended from the sky, with long, reddish-brown hair draped behind him. He had a well-proportioned physique and exuded power when exerting force. The only drawback was that the newcomer did not have the aesthetically pleasing muscles of Muscle Golden Wheel.

The steel wings separated into two swords, allowing Earth Peach to deflect the Diamond Elf's attack, which then fled without looking back.

Di Tao turned around and saw Lin Jiade standing up in a wary posture. She said, "I saved your life."

"Thank you."

Di Tao said with a smile, "It's nothing, just be my wings."

"Where did you come from, this harem king?"

"I just fought with Kapok. She's weaker than I thought after losing you."

"It's none of your business."

"If I catch you, I can make her suffer even more."

“I’m afraid it won’t work,” Lin Jiade said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I’ve already hurt her deeply.”

"So what that person said was true..." Di Tao realized. "You can hurt Kapok? I'm starting to like you. It's only natural for people to take away what they like, isn't it?"

Lin Jiade felt that Di Tao's reasons were just something she came up with on the spot, merely an excuse for her actions. If Lin Jiade were to organize a team, mavericks like Di Tao, who didn't care about harming allies, would be the first to be kicked out.

“Listen, we can’t waste our energy on pointless and meaningless reasons right now,” Lin Jiade said. “We must first break the golden branch to qualify for a duel with the King of the Forest before we can have internal competition.”

Just now, Qi Yanli told me that she knows which branch of her tree is the golden branch. Think about it carefully: if you want to defeat the Kapok Tree and prove you're better than her, the golden branch is a step you can't skip; only by breaking off the golden branch will you achieve a ranking!

Lin Jiade's verbal attacks caused Di Tao to waver by 20%, while the remaining 80% was Di Tao's own assessment of her own energy reserves—she was crazy, not stupid, and she knew when she could be crazy and which kind of madness would bring her benefits.

So she calmly said, "Alright, let's call a truce until the golden branch breaks."

Lin Jiade was taken aback. When Di Tao was calm, she looked almost exactly like Mu Mian. Di Tao turned her head: "You're mistaking me for Mu Mian too?"

"Ah."

"This proves you still can't let her go."

We are not what you think.

"If that's the case, why are you looking at me with such burning eyes?"

"This is none of your business..."