Published: February 12, 2025
“Please let Cloud Summit Villa strike the Soaring Crystal.”
After the Mechanical Genius's team defeated the life forms on the planets, a fog appeared on Bright Star, obscuring the view for others, and a prompt sounded.
Ye Zhongming was the first to want to step forward, but he was pulled back by Xiao Min.
“Boss, it's the first match; you don’t need to take action.”
“I’ll do it.”
The first sentence was spoken by Xiao Min, while the second was from Xia Bai.
Xiao Min's actions echoed the thoughts of everyone in the red dress guard.
Their duty was to protect Ye Zhongming, but due to their individual strength, their way of protection often seemed ‘unconventional’.
This was a reality that many female warriors found quite frustrating yet helpless.
However, once there was an opportunity, they would do their utmost to fulfill their duty and keep Ye Zhongming out of danger.
In the eyes of the female warriors of the red dress guard, the current situation definitely did not require Ye Zhongming to take action; they could handle it.
It was just about using money to exchange for a lower level of challenge, right? They also had money. They were among the wealthiest in Cloud Summit, as their equipment, Evolution Potions, and various scrolls were all provided by Cloud Summit. Their role in protecting Ye Zhongming meant they couldn’t often go hunting like other main battle teams.
Similarly, after battles, some loot that Ye Zhongming overlooked became their harvest. Sometimes, during breaks, these female warriors would team up to hunt or practice their coordination in real combat drills, and those gains would be theirs.
Moreover, when they executed missions beside Ye Zhongming, the King of Cloud Summit treated these female warriors who risked their lives for him very well. As a top-tier craftsman, it was easy to guess what they received; many of the female warriors had so much spare equipment that they couldn’t carry it all.
All of this represented money. With this money, the female warriors of the red dress guard gained confidence in reducing Ye Zhongming's pressure as much as possible.
After all, even if Ye Zhongming could pass the tests, who could guarantee that he wouldn’t get hurt? Or encounter a powerful challenge? If some trump cards were used, there would be nothing left afterward. Even skills had cooldowns; why not conserve?
With this mindset, Xiao Min boldly held onto Ye Zhongming.
Xia Bai’s words further clarified the attitude.
If anyone from the red dress guard could make Ye Zhongming feel more at ease, it would undoubtedly be Xia Bai.
As if afraid that Ye Zhongming would refuse, the warriors of the red dress guard immediately handed over their magic crystals, unused equipment, and other items to Xia Bai, clearly designating her as a representative to take Ye Zhongming's place for this challenge.
“According to the rules here, once I go into battle, the nine treasures should also be moved over.” Xia Bai was determined to fight and spoke more than usual.
Ye Zhongming shook his head, “The nine treasures haven’t entered the space, so there’s a high chance they won’t appear.”
“That’s fine; I have these.” Xia Bai waved her fingers and the space equipment she carried, which were all given to her by the female warriors of the red dress guard, filling a total of ten space rings.
Seeing the King of Cloud Summit hesitate, the Youth Army behind also started to contribute, giving what little possessions they had to Xia Bai. Compared to the wealthy female warriors, they were a bit poorer, but their attitude was commendable.
Ye Zhongming smiled wryly, thought it over, and agreed to Xia Bai's request to battle. He just reminded her that if the strike on the Soaring Crystal exceeded the fifth Bright Star, she should use more items to reduce the difficulty as much as possible.
Xia Bai stepped out of the huge energy shield and approached the stone platform.
In this venue now, apart from Cloud Summit Villa, only Great America, which had failed the first challenge, remained. They watched Cloud Summit Villa; although they couldn’t hear clearly what was being said, after watching for quite a while and picking up bits and pieces of information, they understood Ye Zhongming and his team’s actions and began to imitate them.