vstars Ch. 104 - A Few Seconds That Would Take a Lifetime to Heal
Ch. 104 - A Few Seconds That Would Take a Lifetime to Heal
The tournament was still in full swing, though only Chen Shu and his two companions could be considered outliers. Everyone else's matches were utterly unremarkable—zero highlights, nothing but bathroom break opportunities. Chen Shu had already made eight trips to the toilet in two hours.Finally, the first round ended, and the top twelve matches began.
"Next match! Xie Sunan versus Tang Lie!"
Immediately, countless eyes turned their way, curious to see both fighters' expressions.
Was Tang Lie about to become the second "Green Emperor"?
Wang Yun clenched both fists, his voice full of grievance as he whispered, "Young Master Tang..."
"Relax!"
Tang Lie stepped out from the group, ready to severely injure Xie Sunan's contract spirit.
"Hurry up and fight! Don't tell me you're scared!"
Tang Lie summoned his contract spirit. A peculiar bird covered entirely in white feathers appeared—the A-rank potential Wind Runner Beast.
Not only was its speed astonishing, but it also came with the innate skill "Wind Binding." Its combat power rivaled Xu Xiaoyu's Fire Bird.
"You want to fight? Then let's fight!"
Xie Sunan walked over with steady confidence, looking completely fearless. "Don't blame me for not warning you—once you accept the radiance of love, there's no escape!"
"..." Tang Lie's mouth twitched. He'd already made up his mind: he couldn't let his opponent release that skill.
"Begin!"
Shen Wushuang looked at Xie Sunan with a hint of approval in his eyes. He hadn't expected his opponent to show no fear.
The Wind Runner Beast was a flying-type contract spirit. In the entire special training class, its speed was only inferior to Xu Xingxing's Mutant Thunderbird.
At the start of battle, the Winged Caterpillar would probably be torn apart instantly, with no chance to release any skill.
"Die!"
Xie Sunan's face was full of fighting spirit as he instantly summoned his Winged Caterpillar.
But the caterpillar didn't appear on the arena—it appeared right beside Xie Sunan.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Tang Lie glared over, clearly annoyed. He'd planned to strike first, but his opponent wasn't playing by the rules.
"Too scared to get on the arena?"
"Who said that?"
Xie Sunan grinned. "I'm getting on now!"
The Winged Caterpillar slowly, leisurely made its way onto the arena, a ball of green light glowing in its eyes.
"Die!"
The Wind Runner Beast flapped both wings, blue light coating them as its flight speed surged dramatically.
To guarantee a one-hit kill, Tang Lie had activated a skill right from the start.
The Wind Runner Beast extended its sharp talons, slashing toward the Winged Caterpillar.
But the next moment, the Winged Caterpillar slowly, leisurely retreated one step and left the arena...
"And I'm back down!"
Xie Sunan grinned. Voluntarily leaving the arena meant forfeiting.
But by now, the Winged Caterpillar had finished charging its skill. A ball of green light danced through the air, flying straight toward Tang Lie.
"What the f***!"
Tang Lie's eyes went wide with terror as he turned and ran!
But alas—how could anyone escape the radiance of love?
The green light instantly covered Tang Lie's head. What made it even more bizarre was how the light swirled and coalesced, autonomously forming a meter-tall hat.
"Uh... well..."
The crowd was stunned. No one had expected Xie Sunan's mastery of this skill to have reached such perfection.
Behind that astonishing proficiency lay countless victims...
No one knew how many people Xie Sunan had blessed with the radiance of love.
"What the f***?! You already lost and you're still pulling this?!"
Tang Lie's chest heaved, fury rushing straight to his brain, making him almost lose his mind.
"Alright, Xie Sunan. Dispel the skill. You've lost."
Shen Wushuang spoke up, officially announcing the result.
Only then did Xie Sunan unhurriedly cancel his divine skill. Though it had only lasted a moment, it was more than enough to disgust Tang Lie.
Many couldn't help but sigh: "Tang Lie won the battle, but he lost his life..."
Tang Lie's fists were clenched tight, his face somewhat pale. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but he kept feeling like there was still green light lingering above his head.
These few short seconds... he would probably need a lifetime to heal from them...
Everyone else breathed a huge sigh of relief. They were grateful to Tang Lie—with Xie Sunan eliminated, no one else would have to suffer.
"Alright! Next match! Chen Shu versus Yang Ziyu!"
The moment this was announced, all attention in the class shifted over.
Chen Shu's slime might only be F-rank, but it gave everyone an unfathomable feeling. Naturally, people were even more interested in watching his fight.
Yang Ziyu was a pure-looking girl who seemed delicate and pitiful—the type who'd probably cry for days if you so much as punched her.
She stepped forward and summoned her contract spirit. A fox with a purple tail appeared.
It was the B-rank Purple-Eyed Fox. Just in terms of looks alone, it crushed the slime by eight city blocks.
Yang Ziyu sidled up to Chen Shu and whispered, "Big Brother Chen, could you maybe... go easy on me?"
"Of course. Little sisters are meant to be doted on."
Chen Shu grinned. Heh, you're using THAT move at your age? Fine then—I'm wide awake now.
BOOM!
The Golden Slime descended onto the arena—definitely the heavyweight champion of the entire venue.
The slime opened its big eyes, showing a hint of curiosity toward the Purple-Eyed Fox.
The Purple-Eyed Fox's eyes shimmered, and a beam of seductive purple light shot out at incredible speed.
The slime was too slow—there was no way to dodge.
The purple light sank into its body. The slime suddenly started grinning stupidly, drool dribbling from its mouth.
"Even contract spirits know the seduction technique?"
Many were having their eyes opened. They hadn't expected such a move existed.
Yang Ziyu smiled slightly. Her contract spirit might only be B-rank, but its potential was enormous. It was an unusual control-type spirit—if it evolved to a higher level, it could even temporarily control lord-tier fierce beasts from alternate dimensions.
It was because of her special contract spirit's bonus points that she'd been able to enter the special training class.
Yang Ziyu spoke up: "Sorry, little bro. You lose!"
The slime seemed completely entranced, stupidly walking toward the edge of the arena.
"Hehehe~~"
The slime was still drooling, looking utterly adorable.
But just as it was about to leave the arena, the slime's eyes suddenly became resolute.
Charge activated!
The Purple-Eyed Fox hadn't even had time to react before it was sent flying.
This all happened so suddenly that no one had expected it. They'd all assumed the slime was charmed, which was why it had that stupid expression...
But little did they know—that was just how it always looked.
With the slime's intelligence level, what did it know about seduction?!
While the Purple-Eyed Fox was still airborne, the slime leaped up. Violent Sitting Kill activated!
"No!"
Yang Ziyu's eyes went wide. The slime was so heavy—if it actually landed, she'd be looking at serious injuries at minimum.
BOOM!
Chen Shu showed no hesitation. The slime came crashing down.
This 200-jin lump of weight—could you possibly withstand it?!
[1] Chapter Title - "A Few Seconds That Would Take a Lifetime to Heal": This phrase parodies the popular psychology quote often attributed to Alfred Adler: "Happy people are healed by their childhood for life; unhappy people spend their lives healing from childhood." Chinese netizens adapted this format into a video comment meme—when seeing something cringeworthy or traumatic, people comment: "I'll need a lifetime to heal from these few seconds." Here, it perfectly describes Tang Lie's psychological scarring from the green light.
[2] "Green Emperor" (青帝): Chen Shu's mocking nickname for Wang Yun from Chapter 103. The green color references the Chinese cuckold association with green.
[3] "Radiance of Love" (爱的光芒): Xie Sunan's skill that projects green light above the target's head. The name references the 2017 internet meme "爱是一道光，绿到你发慌" (Love is a ray of light, so green it makes you panic). This originated from Zhang Shaohan's 2004 hit song "Aurora" (欧若拉), with the original lyric "爱是一道光，如此美妙" (Love is a ray of light, how wonderful). After a celebrity cheating scandal in April 2017, netizens modified the lyric into a cuckold joke, exploiting how "green" (绿) means being cheated on in Chinese. The meme went viral—870,000 daily Weibo discussions, 4.3 million weekly WeChat forwards of "green light memes" showing cartoon figures with glowing green halos. By 2022, it spawned a subculture of ironically wearing green hats and clothing. The skill weaponizes this meme by literally manifesting a meter-tall green hat above the victim's head.