Chapter 988: She's Not That Weak Yet

Mu Xiaoyao’s protection warmed Baili Xia’s heart, but she still disagreed.

He wasn’t afraid other families would come looking for trouble, accusing him, a grown man, of bullying two little girls?

After all, it was just girls bickering.

If even that required the men from the families to step in, wouldn’t it be too embarrassing?

She wasn’t that weak.

Everyone from the major families had arrived, and the drawing of lots for the competition would soon begin.

Dongfang Jin, who came in haste, immediately pulled Baili Xia into a corner after his arrival.

Staring at her slightly pale face, he was still worried, “Would it be better to drop out?

I can go talk to Mu Xiaojiu.”

“No!” Baili Xia grabbed his sleeve forcefully, her face showing urgency, “Jin, haven’t we already agreed?

I’m going to participate in today’s competition.”

“But you…” His gaze involuntarily drifted to her stomach, and Dongfang Jin couldn’t relax at all.

“You know your condition, how could you…”

“I’m fine…

Dongfang is calling for you!” Baili Xia pushed him, “Hurry up, the competition is about to start.”

Dongfang Jin really couldn’t stand up to Baili Xia’s insistence, and finally, as the competition was about to be declared open, she persuaded him to go back to the men’s group.

Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed her to be careful and to admit defeat immediately if she couldn’t win.

Baili Xia reluctantly agreed, having already noticed the icy gaze of Mu Xiaojiu from afar, continually glancing this way.

If Jin didn’t leave, she really didn’t know if Uncle would have a fit on the spot.

Dongfang Jin finally left, and as soon as he did, the announcement that the competition was about to begin came.

The martial arts competition was divided into men’s and women’s groups, with the female group and male group conducting their matches on two separate fields simultaneously.

Each family dispatched three members, both the men’s group and women’s group alike, and they would be divided into eight smaller groups.

In each group, three people would fight two matches each, with a total of three matches to determine the first place.

The first place from each group would move to the next round, then the drawing of lots would start again for the elimination round until the first place was decided.

Of course, members from the same family would avoid each other in the group stage and the second round of matches until potentially meeting in semifinals.

In this way, only families with strong enough members could possibly see two or three people make it to the top four—the difficulty was self-evident.

Additionally, since the Nangong Family withdrew from the competition, there were three spots that were byes.

The drawing of lots results were quickly announced.

Mu Ziying was in the second group, and there was no one she knew in this one.

Looking at the draw results, Mu Ziying sighed in relief; the opponents in her group were evidently the weakest among the eight.

Baili Xia was in the third group, which, surprisingly, included her nemesis Ouyang Peishan and a slot from the Nangong Family.

This meant that it was a decisive match—only one chance.

Whoever won would move on to the elimination round.

Mu Ziqing was in the seventh group, which, shockingly, included Sima Liuyue.

Upon seeing this result, Mu Ziqing’s face turned pale.

Everyone knew how formidable Sima Liuyue was; she had won first place in the last competition with an absolute advantage.

Facing her, Mu Ziqing knew she had little hope of advancing.

The men’s group draw didn’t have any strong confrontations.

Mu Xiaojiu, Mu Xiaoyao, Mu Lingchuan, Dongfang Jin, and Dongfang Ji were all placed in different groups.

The referee first explained the rules and important points of the competition, primarily that striking vital points and causing severe injuries were prohibited.

Then, an elder from the panel of referees stood up and with a strong voice declared the beginning of the competition…