Chapter 469: Chapter 469: 357, Beating Lia to tears, the competition begins_2

Ah?

Crying from her own beating?

Lin Da was greatly surprised; he only intended to teach Lia a lesson and correct her arrogant nature, never did he expect to make her cry.

The moment Dark Whip loosened, Lia kicked him in the stomach.

Lin Da plunged into the bath with a splash, swallowing several mouthfuls of water.

Emerging from the pool, he saw Lia, her eyes red, wiping her tears and clutching her clothes as she headed out.

...

Seeing Lia’s strong reaction, everyone felt a hint of awkwardness as if the joke had gone too far.

They thought they were in for some entertainment but ended up making someone cry instead.

Aiko felt the most guilty; she had been unable to close her mouth from laughter at Lia’s embarrassed state, having mentally applauded at least a hundred times.

“Where are you going?” Lin Da called after her, “The Dragon Blood in the pool hasn’t been fully absorbed yet.”

“I’m going home.” Lia, now dressed in her adventurer’s garb, was pulling on her socks.

Lin Da watched Lia’s expressionless face and murmured to himself that she was truly angry.

The greatest beneficiary of the Dragon Blood was Lia; it was hard to imagine she would give up this chance to become stronger.

With a bang, the door to the bathroom closed.

Lin Da stood by the window and watched Lia hurry down the stairs, heading towards Snow Goose Villa.

A drink bottle rolled to Lia’s feet in the breeze, only to be kicked fiercely by her, flying far away.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was imagining the bottle as himself.

Lin Da massaged his temples with a headache. Having not disciplined her well in her early years, it was difficult to manage now.

Even though he had no children, he could already glimpse the troubles that come with raising them through Lia.

Aiko: “I’ll go back too, to check on Lia’s condition.”

“And what about me, me?” Klrona pointed to her nose.

“You stay here for the night, since we have to meet with Phoenix Tail Flower tomorrow anyway,” Aiko said.

“Yay!” Klrona looked at Monica excitedly, “All-nighter?”

“No… Lord Captain disagrees.”

“Eh… okay then.”

Aiko, considering Klrona’s profession was well-suited for Dragon Blood, left her behind separately.

“Then I’ll leave it to you, keep an eye on that one, don’t let her do anything rash,” Lin Da said helplessly.

…

Lia returned to Snow Goose Villa, channelling her anger into energy, furiously gobbling down three pieces of strawberry cake.

After washing her face, she entered the top floor training room, wielding a Great Sword, her slashes leaving a trail of afterimages.

The more her backside hurt, the harder Lia swung the weapon, as if Lin Da’s face was everywhere in the air, fueling her gritted teeth.

‘He actually hit me in front of so many people, he doesn’t take me seriously at all!’

Lia’s eyes turned a bright red, and a few more tears fell. This incident caused her triple harm: physically, to her ego, and the feeling that Lin Da treated her differently from others, as if she didn’t matter to him.

If Lin Da hadn’t revealed what he did, she definitely wouldn’t have gone after him.

But everyone sided with Lin Da; the only one who supported her was her old rival, Isa.

Humiliation!

Immense humiliation!

“Lin Da, just you wait!”

Lia’s sword swept out, her fiery Battle Qi glinting with specks of starlight, creating a stunning “galaxy” in the air.

After the Dragon Blood bath, Lia’s Fire Series Battle Qi had purified from 10% Starfire Douqi to 20%.

Her combat power had increased by no less than thirty percent.

She also often studied Lin Da’s battle recordings since he changed his class to Healing Mage.

Aside from his thick shield and healing ability,

everything else was very average!

As long as she kept up the incessant attack, not giving Lin Da a chance to recover and cast spells,

even if Lin Da was two levels above her at Level 35 Star Rank, he would still not be able to beat her.

If one profession had an advantage over another, then the [Blazing Swordsman], adept at bursting attacks and with commendable sustained combat ability, would just happen to counter the [Healing Mage].

Lia wiped away her tears and focused intently on practicing her swordsmanship.

…

The night grew deep.

An evening passed in the blink of an eye.

Dawn had not yet broken, and the sky was still dimly lit.

White Dove City, the “beast,” had already awoken from its slumber.

In the Secret Realm Square, imperial knights and Adventurers’ Guild staff donning emerald green vests were bustling about energetically.

Centering on the square, a temporary arena with a thirty-meter diameter and twenty centimeters in height was set up.

The material used was Slime concrete, highly resilient, paired with a specially crafted array that could withstand battles below Moon Rank.

Rows of chairs were arranged in a circle around the arena.

To accommodate viewers at the back, a group of hovering, oversized magic screens was set up above the arena, ensuring that the audience could see the action from all angles.

There were 16 sales channels, with long queues forming at each.

The morning temperature in winter was low, but the single-digit-ranked Adventurers’ Guild misses were all sweating profusely from their frenetic activity.

“Front row tickets 10,000 Gold Coin, middle row 1,000, back row 100, limit 1 per person, please pay in an orderly fashion…”

“Attention, visitors from out of town! Premium adventure figurines from White Dove City are on sale! A full set of Phoenix Tail Flower Team figurines for just 100 Gold Coin, Snow Goose complete team for 70, Ice Flower Adventure Team for 90, last 100 sets, don’t miss this opportunity!”

“Tyrannosaurus Tavern’s meticulously brewed 30-day chili Wheat Beer, 1 silver coin per glass!”

On the outskirts of the square, vendors were warmly welcoming customers.

The spectators coming to watch today’s exhibition match weren’t just locals from White Dove City; tourists accounted for at least half of them, with the largest groups hailing from Red Heart City and South Rock City.

Even people from Proclamation Wind City had come from afar.

To organize this exhibition match aimed at attracting investors, White Dove City had spent a whopping ten million Gold Coin on initial promotions alone.

The spectator stands were divided into three main zones: front, middle, and back rows, with a special inner field area for VIPs.

A circle of luxurious red sofas surrounded the edge of the arena.

In front of them was a transparent barrier capable of deflecting the remnants of battle.

To ensure the safety of the exhibition match, White Dove City had spent a fortune to hire the leaders of the Sunrise Level adventure teams from South Rock City and Holy Rock: “War Maniac” Rochelle!

Rochelle sat sprawled in his chair, his muscular physique making the chair seem too small, squeezing his whole body into it.

The arms he rested on the armrests were thicker than the average person’s thighs, his broad shoulders were bear-like, his face covered with ferocious scars, his golden short hair stood upright, and his tiger-like eyes, filled with fighting spirit, swept around, seemingly searching for an opponent to relieve his boredom in the arena.

Mayor Adel, sitting beside him, forced a smile, “Captain Rochelle, please restrain yourself. Your task during this exhibition match is to prevent any accidents from happening.”

“I know, but save your breath!”

Rochelle glared at Adel, letting a little of his Moon rank adventurer’s Battle Qi leak out, instantly silencing Adel and causing cold sweat to bead on his forehead.

“War Maniac” Rochelle, level 46, a Senior Moon Order adventurer.

Theoretically, as a “commoner,” his status was lower than that of Adel.

But since White Dove City didn’t have a single Sunrise Level adventure team and Adel had no soldiers under his command, this leader was looked down upon and could only sit next to Rochelle with a forced smile.

Standing behind Rochelle was a man with soft golden hair, squinty eyes, and a relaxed smile on his face.

The Moon rank adventurer, “Smiling Swordsman” Bervis.

The deputy leader of Holy Rock, he was also Aiko’s biological elder brother.

However, Bervis had not come to White Dove City for money; he had come of his own accord to accompany his father.@@novelbin@@

‘Aiko hasn’t returned home once in three years. If dad finds out, he’s likely to tear him to shreds, right? I hope Aiko got my warning and stays hidden today.’

Bervis was there to save Aiko’s life. Given his father Rochelle’s explosive temper and how hard it was for him to hold back once enraged, Aiko’s fake disability could very well become real.

He also came to see for himself if Lin Da, the one with the “Eye of True Knowledge,” really had the potential to become a Legendary Adventurer as Aiko had said.

Lin Da’s current reputation was primarily within the World Tree; his personal record did not include victories over top adventurers.

To judge a person’s strength, one must look at two aspects.

The strategy for the World Tree and battles between adventurers!

Because the latter involved combat with Demon Adventurers beyond the 20th floor.

These two aspects complement each other; lacking the ability in either makes it impossible to become a legend.