Against Heaven's Will

Jiao had a simple answer, not hiding it.

"I was too weak to stand by his side."

All Senior Sisters took a deep breath and nodded as if they understood her pain.

"Don’t worry, one day you will meet him again and show him how you improved!" Dandan assured as she patted Jiao on the shoulder while sitting down next to her. "You have been grinding every day for three years already. I’m sure you can catch up with him in no time. I have never seen anyone else more hardworking than you."

"Hah," Jiao let out a hopeless snicker and looked back at the Tournament Stage. "Are you sure about that?"

Xuefeng and his opponent were already in their positions, ready to battle.

"Are you both ready?" the Main Judge asked, his voice transmitted from the main stage.

"Are you fighting me barehanded?" Bai Lin asked with a frown instead, gripping his heavy Mallet with both hands.

"I wish I can end this battle in a split second like the other two and go home to cuddle my wife to sleep but I don’t want to disappoint the crowd. I can tell they are hungry for more, so I will play with you a little," Xuefeng replied with a shrug. "Let’s see if you can make me draw my sword."

"Oof!" Dandan and the girls gasped. "Bold! I like him! Too bad he has a wife or I would snatch him for myself."

She then gazed at Jiao and added with a wink, "Of course you would be first in line to claim his heart."

Jiao only smiled bitterly, knowing how hard it was to actually become Xuefeng’s wife. He had so many beauties around him, one better than the other that it was almost impossible to top them and impress him.

"Is his wife in the tournament as well?" Jiao questioned.

"Yeah! She was so powerful and beautiful! I remember her name was Xiao Tianshi. She can spawn gigantic golems and powerful barriers than no one can breakthrough!" Little Bear answered excitedly.

The girl’s nickname came from her everyday outfit, mostly consisting of fluffy clothes. Even at the watch party, she wore a brown fluffy jacket and skirt, looking like a bear.

"So she also improved..." Jiao muttered with a sigh, already expecting it. Any woman who stood by Xuefeng’s side was impressive. He pulled them along with them so whenever he got stronger, they benefited as well.

That was one of Jiao’s regrets. If only she tried harder and continued to shamelessly follow him, she could also boost her strength together with everyone. She had more than enough time to understand she made a mistake.

"Sister Jiao, do you know her too?" Little Bear asked curiously after hearing Jiao’s comment.

It brought her back from her self-pity hole as Jiao nodded, "Mhmm, I know her. She is a brown-haired beauty who is one of Xuefeng’s first wives. She is really smart and elegant."

"How many wives he has?"

"Probably around ten," Jiao replied without even counting. She wouldn’t be surprised if some other lady caught his eye in the Heaven Realm.

"I’m ready!" "Ready as well."

Hearing Xuefeng’s cool voice, Jiao ignored the shocked girls and focused on the screen.

She already missed Xuefeng’s banter because of the girls’ chatting. Jiao didn’t plan to miss even a second of his battle. She needed to learn how much behind in power she was to plan her training. There was no way she would give up on her goal.

"Everyone get ready! The last battle of the Elimination round is starting!" the commentator called out right before the gong set off.

Gong!

Everyone expected an explosive match from the start so they grabbed their seats in anticipation but... nothing happened.

"Huh? What is he doing?"

While Bai Lin jumped back, going on full defense as if he expected Xuefeng to go on offense right away, the person in question stood still. He didn’t even bother looking at his opponent as Xuefeng was glued to his bracelet, showing an ecstatic expression.

He began checking out his bracelet while looking around the stands as if he was searching for someone. Eventually, he gazed at the sky, his smile brighter than the sun.

"Time-out! I need to settle something first!" Xuefeng called out to the judge without looking while showing a weird ’T’ sign with his hands.

"What is he doing? Can you even pause a Tournament Battle?" Little Bear questioned innocently.

"I don’t think so..." Dandan replied confused.

Bai Lin and the main judge were dumbfounded as well. They all followed Xuefeng’s gaze and eventually, even the screen displayed the sky, showing nothing but the afternoon sky.

"Wait! There is something coming to the Arena! It’s quite fast!" Little Bear cried out excitedly, pointing with her finger at a dark spot in the sky. Everyone wanted to know what could make Xuefeng so uninterested in his current fight. It was getting bigger and bigger till they could tell what it was by its shape.

"It’s a Flying Ship!" The commentator informed.

A large flagship reached the air-zone above the arena in a blink of an eye before rapidly stopping. It spun in the spot before descending inside the arena.

"There is someone at the deck!" The commentator noticed and the camera wasn’t any slower, displaying the person in full view.

"Nuwa!" Jiao explained as she almost jumped out of her seat. Although many years have passed, she still disliked the mean elf, getting annoyed whenever she saw her.

The Queen of Forrest Elves stood tall on the top of the flying ship while looking down at the Main Stage, her gaze locked with Xuefeng. The screen split in two, displaying the two lovers at the same time, making them look like their gaze was locked. One didn’t need to be clever to notice the chemistry between them.

"Awwww... Whoever is managing the broadcast should definitely get a raise..." Dandan commented, causing everyone to nod.

Everyone thought they would witness some kind of reunion of lovers when Xuefeng’s side screen widened, displaying Bai Lin readying his heavy Mallet for a strike. Xuefeng seemed completely unaware, creating his golden wings as if planning to fly towards his elvish beauty.

"Watch out!" Jiao cried out in worry as Bai Lin blinked to Xuefeng and smashed at his back with a shining Mallet.

BANG!