Absolute Choice
chapter-496-30041322

"Why? Is Seven Duke Wolf planning on stepping beyond his authority to interfere with the two-faction collective training? It looks like I'll need to find time to have tea with Seven Duke Wolf and have a chat?"

The red-goateed old man's eyes narrowed slightly. His eyes suddenly turned as sharp as a sword.

The man in shades immediately jumped in fright. For the great man in front of him to 'have tea' or 'chat', it would cause reverberations throughout China once again despite how lightly he put it.

He hurriedly said, "Sorry, sir. I didn't make it clear! Ye Youtian may have been a wolf cub of Seven Duke Wolf, but he has already broken away! His participation in the collective training selection and his final entry has nothing to do with Seven Duke Wolf!"

The red-goateed old man gave a nonchalant glance at the man in shades and said, "Is it so easy for the Seven Duke Wolf's wolf cub to break away?"

The man in shades nodded in reply, "With Seven Duke Wolf's style, he would rather slaughter a worthless wolf cub than let it go. Although Ye Youtian is a progeny of the Ye family, his talent is rather ordinary when compared to Heartless Ye and his sister. That sly old fox of the Ye family has already disavowed him. So logically speaking, Ye Youtian has no way of escaping Seven Duke Wolf's clutches. But strangely, the Mù family had produced fifteen kilograms of glass coral in exchange for Ye Youtian's life."

"Fifteen kilograms of glass corals? That isn't a small amount."

The red-goateed old man asked, "Why would the Mù family do so?"

His subordinate glanced at the information and an odd expression suffused his face. He whispered, "According to our investigations, it was not the Mù family trying to protect Ye Youtian. Instead, it's the oldest daughter of the Mù family, Mù Hongyi, who secretly stole fifteen kilograms of glass coral from the Mù family's treasure vault. Apparently, Mù Hongyi had done so...for eros..."

"Eros!?"

The red-goateed old man lowered his head and glanced at the distant Ye Jiaquan and said with a fuming smile, "Are you kidding me?"

"Sir, you misunderstand!"

The man in shades panicked in horror as he hurriedly explained, "Si... Your Excellency, you are mistaken. The reason of eros was done so by Mù Hongyi not because of the ugly looking Ye Youtian but because of Chen Lingcun's brother, Chen Duqu. Mù Hongyi has been pursuing Chen Duqu for five whole years to no avail. It recently seemed to bear some fruit and after knowing that Chen Lingcun wanted to protect Ye Youtian, Mù Hongyi immediately stole fifteen kilograms of glass coral to give to Chen Lingcun. She claimed that it was 'one of the dowries of your sister-in-law'... In short, it's because Chen Lingcun wanted to save Ye Youtian."

The red-goateed old man cursed angrily, "Punk, can't you directly say the last sentence? Must you tell such a complicated story? Instead, you missed a salient point—Why would Chen Lingcun save Ye Youtian?"

The man in shades gave an embarrassed smile and said, "Yes, Si... Ahem. Because of Seven Duke Wolf's orders from before, Ye Youtian had taken on the alias of Ye Jiaquan and infiltrated Gaia. He had accidentally exposed his identity during Gaia and Zeus's battle exchange. According to our information, Ye Youtian and Chen Lingcun happen to be rookies of Gaia's Annihilation division this year. Chen Lingcun might have saved Ye Youtian mainly because of their good relationship in Gaia. As for Ye Youtian participating in the selection, it is likely that he had done so to accompany Chen Lingcun. It was unexpected that he would enter the top ten..."

When the red-goateed old man heard those words, he mused, "Gaia again? If I didn't remember wrong, Shi Xiaobai that has caused quite a stir recently is also from Gaia?"

The man in shades said with a nod, "It's not only Shi Xiaobai. Mu Yuesheng, Wen Hezheng, and Kevin on the organization collective training's name list are Gaia rookies as well. Although Wen Hezheng and Kevin's qualifications are still being discussed at a meeting, it is unlikely that Azure Emperor Jiang would change a rule he set easily, considering his personality. As such, including the two from the academic faction, out of the twenty people for the two-faction collective training, it is possible that six of the rookies come from Gaia or were formerly Gaia rookies... Something might be amiss with this matter..."

"Somewhat interesting."

The red-goateed old man sucked at his cigar and said, "Gaia was a powerhouse in the hero faction three decades ago but it has waned in recent years, eventually becoming second-rate. If not for One-Pun and Hisith holding up the organization, they would have been devoured by the seven major organizations who are coveting 'Gaia's heritage'. Who knew that they would cause such a stir this time. Could it be a dead cat bounce?"

The man in shades closed in and repressed his voice and asked, "Is there a need to send Dragon team to investigate it thoroughly?"

"There's no need," said the red-goateed old man with a shake of his head. "I had some ties with Gaia in the past, so I'll let it pass."

"Yes!"

The man in shades did not dare speak further. He had no right to sway something the chief had decided.

While the duo was discussing the matter, the host had already finished introducing Ye Jiaquan. He had even rushed to introduce the remaining two people who appeared.

"Lu Hu and Zhan Peng..."

The man in shades hurriedly introduced the last two rookies.

And in the stadium, the host had already left. The yellow-browed elder that had left the stadium silently walked out once again. With the microphone in hand, he spoke slowly with a thick northeastern accent, but whatever he said was dry and uninteresting about the expedition.

The old principal of Peihua University had looked rather impressive when he appeared but once he began giving a speech, his awe immediately diminished. The audience was also rendered speechless but they did not dare express it on their faces.

However, the red-goateed old man cursed without fear, "For Peihua University to dare get Illiterate Wen be its principal, it will be doomed sooner or later."

The moment the red-goateed old man said those words, the yellow-browed elder immediately cast his gaze over. Despite only pausing on him for a second, it made the man in shades break out in cold sweat. He could not help but shrink his neck back in fear.

A banter between great figures was not something a tiny shrimp like him could withstand, even if it was a gaze!

At that moment, the red-goateed old man said suddenly, "Why are there only nine?"

The yellow browed elder had already begun his shoddy speech but there were only nine rookies present—Chen Lingcun, Mù Yaotian, Princess Xiao Xiao, Zhu Shiye, Wei Long, Petite Yu, Ye Jiaquan, Lu Hu, and Zhan Peng.

The man in shades faltered for a moment before he immediately said, "Bunny Cao is missing..."

The old man asked, "Why isn't Bunny Cao here?"

His subordinate said with a placative smile, "I...I do not know... Bunny Cao had finished the finals half an hour ago. It doesn't make sense for her lack of attendance..."

The red-goateed old man shot a glance at the man in shades before extinguishing his cigar. He placed the remaining bit into the pocket on his chest before saying, "Then, let's go back."

"Yes!"

The man in shades hurriedly nodded. With the participation of old Principal Wen in the expedition ceremony that followed, it would probably become rather 'uninteresting'. It was equivalent to going through the boring motions and there was indeed no value to watching it any further.

...

...

Just as the man in shades guessed, ever since the yellow-browed elder began his speech, the so-called expedition ceremony became extremely boring. The nine rookies had only said a few words each while the rest of the time was dedicated to the yellow-browed elder's reading of his script. He used a northeastern accent to recite it at a tortoise's pace. It was more vexing than a monk's chanting.

But thankfully, the expedition ceremony only lasted for half an hour before it came to an end.

With the expedition ceremony ending, it also meant that the academic faction's selection tournament had finally come to an end. Mù Yaotian immediately began pestering Chen Lingcun while the other rookies began having various exchanges.

Xiao Xiao did not stay behind after she exchanged her contact information with Petite Yu. She ingeniously went around the reporters' ambush and secretly left from a safety exit. The Xiao family's old steward had been waiting for her for some time and he drove an ordinary-looking private car to fetch his young mistress.

Xiao Xiao very quickly left Dragon Summer Stadium by car.

On Beijing Third Ring Road, the private car was cruising at an adequate speed.

A cool breeze entered through the open window, ruffling the girl's long hair. Pink strands of hair fluttered in front of her delicate face that had eyes which were as beautiful as a portrait's. Like the descent of cherry blossoms, it was beautiful and mesmerizing. People in the cars that passed by her car would occasionally be stunned from catching a glimpse of the passing beauty. It nearly caused accidents.

Xiao Xiao had her head turned to look at the scenery that was whizzing past the window. Her eyes lost focus as though she was contemplating something. Her expression looked somewhat melancholic.

The steward had seen this scene through the rear-view mirror and was somewhat puzzled. He thought to himself that his young mistress had not only entered the name list of the two-faction collective training, but she had also obtained the outstanding result of placing fourth. Why did she look like she had been eliminated?

After hesitating for a moment, the steward eventually decided against inquiring.

Xiao Xiao sighed lightly as she rubbed the Azure Descendence Bow beside her. As she caressed the bow's body that seemed as mild as jade, she felt a cool touch that gradually calmed the slightly vexed emotions she was having.

She had lost. Twice.

She had suffered an utter defeat during her battle with Bunny Cao during the semi-finals.

During the match for third place, she was barely defeated by Mù Yaotian.

The abject defeat she suffered in the first match made her understand the gap between a genius and a 'freak of nature'. The second match where she was barely defeated made her realize that she was still lacking in many things.

Ever since the encounter in the virtual world, Xiao Xiao understood that there was always someone better. She had been admitted into China's best institute of higher learning, Peihua University, with her placing third at Beijing's entrance exams. She believed that she was outstanding compared to her peers but after meeting Shi Xiaobai, she had received one setback after another. It also gave birth to her competitive spirit.

She began thirsting to become stronger.

Therefore, she began pulling her bow and shooting arrows every day. She would repeat the same action without feeling fatigue or loneliness. After day after day of cultivation, compared to the 'Crimson Netherworld' she had used in the virtual world, she had grown a lot.

And because of that, she had relied on her archery skills that were improving by the day and her unique superpower to allow her to advance without obstruction during the academic faction selection tournament. It only ended when she met Bunny Cao.

The semi-final match was a trouncing that had no fancy highlights. Even she found it boring for the audience.

Bunny Cao was clearly about the same age as her. She was even half a year younger. Why was the difference in strength so immense?

Although she had been defeated in the match with Mù Yaotian for third place, she was only barely defeated. She could discover what was lacking from her failures. From that, she could continue working hard and progress so that she could fight another time.

But in the battle with Bunny Cao, it was an abject defeat. She did not even have the chance to fight back. She was unable to gain any experience from the utter defeat she had suffered. She could only summarize the great disparity of that match to two points—Bunny Cao was too strong and she was too weak.

This was a situation that was more despairing. She did not know how she could defeat Bunny Cao. Even the thought of it was difficult. It was as if her subconsciousness had determined that Bunny Cao was an opponent that could not be defeated no matter how much hard work she put in.

She had nearly lost the courage and confidence to attempt pursuing Bunny Cao.

After the abject defeat during the semi-finals, Xiao Xiao had locked herself in her room and stayed in bed for an entire day before she gradually found her fighting spirit again.

But just a while ago, the fighting spirit that she had reignited through great difficulty was extinguished once again.

Xiao Xiao regretted watching the final match that had ended not long ago.

The battle lasted for more than ten minutes and it was extremely intense. As such, Xiao Xiao realized how 'nonchalant' Bunny Cao was when she battled her. Compared to the strength she showed during the semi-finals, Bunny Cao at the final match looked like a fierce tiger that had finally opened its eyes.

It was even possible that Bunny Cao did not even use all her strength during the final match.

"What should I do in order to chase up to her?"

Xiao Xiao sighed inwardly. At that moment, she had an unprecedented thirst for becoming stronger. Yet, she felt more dispirited and powerless than ever before.

Suddenly, a familiar but also unfamiliar figure appeared in the scene outside the window that hurled backward.

Xiao Xiao's pupils constricted slightly.

Although it was just a cursory glance, the figure she saw was just too special. Xiao Xiao had managed to recognize that person with a glance.

With a peculiar bowl cut, she wore a cotton blouse and a red scarf around her neck despite the hot weather. She wore a short skirt but underneath it was a pair of blue track pants. She held a half-eaten bun in her hand as she skipped down the highway.

And most importantly, there was a visually estimated pair of proud 36E breasts that could not be hidden at all by the loose cotton blouse!

Who else was it but Bunny Cao?

Xiao Xiao could not help but shout at her old steward, "Stop the car!" IChooseDogLeading (我选择狗带) when read in Chinese sounds like I Choose Go Die. It was a meme that resulted from a former member of famous Korean boygroup, EXO, TAO (Huang Zitao). At a concert, there was a part in a rap that where he said "", but due to a mispronunciation, it sounded like he will not easily choose to be led by dogs. This phrase now means 'I'd rather die/I choose death'.