Chapter 9: Gambling On Tropes
Nobody could be quite sure whether Xuanyuan Zhou was a cultivator with a relatively strong physique, or if she was just talented in close quarters combat. But her alluring offer stood open, and the crowd was desperate for a chance.
Without much suspense, a guy paid ten spirit stones to challenge her in the art of musical manipulation of qi. The skill seemed rare enough to not just Xuhan, but also the entire crowd around them.
Everyone seemed disappointed, certain that her slot would be out of reach after this round.
"I had a toy zither I used to play lullaby tunes on when I was young. Does anyone in the crowd have one to lend me?" Xuanyuan Zhou said.
Eager to help her retain the slot so that they could challenge her later, a group of enthusiastic participants rushed off into the area full of housing tents and returned with a cheap looking zither.
The qi she gathered with this zither was enough to completely envelop her opponent’s meager collection. Her fingers were bleeding by the end of the round, but victory was hers.
While Han Xuhan counted his winnings on this wager, he couldn’t help but suspect that he was in the presence of no simple ’Child of Destiny.’
This girl, Xuanyuan Zhou, was likely to be a main character. Or at the very least, in a typical cultivation story setup, she would be topping the list of popular Jade Beauties.
This made him feel an urgent sense of crisis.
"If a top-notch jade beauty is showing off, the male protagonist has to be nearby, ready to take her down a peg or two to establish his awesomeness and grab a spot in her ’cold heart’. This is how it goes in wish-fulfillment novels.
"But should I rely on those shitty tropes and plan something?"