The match bell chimed for the sixth time; only one minute remained.
The fair duel in the center of the battlefield continued with punches and kicks.
The tens of thousands of spectators around were stunned into a prolonged silence.
"What kind of ability is this...?"
Finally, someone murmured.
"Did Xia Feng just say something about... optimization?"
"It looks like a temporary enhancement and duplication of a Spiritual Artifact, damn, I'm actually kind of jealous, now I kind of want him to copy my Spiritual Artifact..."
"Eh? Doesn't your Spiritual Artifact have basic intelligence too?" The person beside questioned oddly, with a skeptical look, "You don't have any special fetishes, do you?"
The man's face changed dramatically, "Don't spout nonsense, I just purely want to know what my Spiritual Artifact would be like enhanced! Really!"
"...Alright, alright, I believe you."
"But coming back to it, copying and optimization? Those are two abilities, right?"
"It looks that way, indeed. Only a Level B or above Spiritual Artifact will have two abilities. Whether A or B, we'll see how limited its capabilities are. But I think it's very likely A!"
"What else then, in my opinion, a Spiritual Artifact capable of copying wouldn't be of a low Level. If it has more restrictions, at worst it would be Level B... tsk, it really makes one jealous."
Zhao Jie stood by the window, his gray pupils flickering, turning his head to look at Panda, whose expression was solemn, "Fatso, it looks like you've mispredicted again."
"If Yan Xujia loses, will you really let him go to the Southern Border?"
Panda smacked his lips, looking towards the distant statue of the Justice Star God holding the scales, under the gaze of the Justice Star God, no one dared to break a covenant, even if they were Believers of the Black Moon Goddess.
Xia Feng was originally supposed to be sent to the Southern Border.
However, he had never expected Yan Xujia to actually lose!
Panda clenched his fists secretly, but then he thought it wasn't much of a problem.
After all, his primary goal—to draw Xia Feng's hatred and dilute the bond—had been achieved. In the end, it would be a surprise for his master when he emerged from seclusion.
"As for Yan Xujia, let that fool go to the Southern Border if he must; it's not like I'm the one going..." Panda sneered secretly in his heart.
Just then, a special ringtone from a cell phone sounded, Panda turned his head.
Selena always sat on the sofa happily drinking her milk tea, not particularly interested in the match. She looked at her phone and seriously said, "Master has emerged from seclusion."
Seeing Xia Feng reverse the situation with his unique methods, Freya's beautiful eyes were gentle, and she nodded satisfactorily, turning her head and smiling softly, "Master Chen, now tell me, who do you think will win?"
Chen Hangdao did not speak, only stood with his hands behind his back, staring intensely at Xia Feng in the center of the battlefield. After three seconds of silence, he suddenly said in a serious and profound tone, "This young man has the makings of a great emperor!"
"..." Freya was already accustomed to Chen Hangdao's odd way of speaking. Although she didn't understand it fully, she could generally grasp the complimentary meaning.
Indeed, my judgment can't be wrong, thought Freya, her desire to take Xia Feng as a disciple rising once again!
If such a young genius were personally nurtured by her into a powerhouse, just the thought was exciting!
As she was happily pondering this, she suddenly realized that Chen Hangdao was gone.
Confused, Freya turned her head, "Master Chen, where are you going?"
Chen Hangdao opened the door and turned back seriously to explain, "I must say, I've just realized that Xia Feng is quite fated with me!"
Freya's lovely eyes widened.
"Therefore, I've decided to make an exception and take this young man as my disciple!"
"??!!!" Freya's mouth fell open, and by the time she reacted, Master Chen had already waved his hand and left.
"Master Chen, you stop right there!" Freya's eyelids twitched, she got angry, which was rare for her, and quickly chased after him.
The match bell chimed for the seventh time, counting down the last twenty seconds of the match.
Xia Feng took advantage of the chaos to snatch the 'Ping Mountain' pocket watch hanging from Yan Xujia's chest, unnoticed by anyone surrounded by ten wooden soldiers.
Then he retreated to the side, quietly watching the fair duel of ten versus one, stroking his chin and nodding in satisfaction; he was starting to like the feel of this kind of duel.
Relaxed yet fair, with no need for him to take action... Hmm, it was perfectly suited for a peace-loving young man like him.
Selena's soft trembling voice echoed in his ear, and Xia Feng thought for a moment, raising his hand to his chest and saying again, "Optimize."
"Eh~ Uhh~~~~~" Selena, now capable of showing human-like emotion, let out a mechanical buzz and cried out, "No—no!!!"
[Second optimization failed—Wooden General cracked 19%]
Xia Feng frowned, the optimization had failed, but Selena's emotional range was becoming richer, her voice deeper with more layers, more like a real person.
He activated his ability once more, "Optimize!"
[Third optimization failed—Wooden General cracked 61%]
"So it really won't work, huh..." Xia Feng sighed inwardly. He had thought that like upgrading equipment, one could continue to upgrade the quality after an upgrade.
But evidently, it seemed one could only optimize once before further optimization would damage the Spiritual Artifact itself.
Still defiant, he persisted.
"No—wait, wait a moment~~~ Master! Save me, ahhh~~~" Read complete version only at nοvelfire.net
Yan Xujia barely heard Selena's soft, trembling call. His heart ached, and he wondered how things had come to this point. Bastard! Xia! Feng!! I will kill you, you bastard!!!
[Fourth optimization failed—Wooden General cracked 99%]
"Master, master~ sorry, Selena is broken~" The faltering voice grew weaker, Yan Xujia's heart contracted with each sound, and his consciousness began to collapse. Damn it, how could this have happened... he thought hazily, drowning in regret and suddenly feeling remorse. If only he had known, if only he had not provoked...