Chapter 199: The Battle For The Role Of Ambassador (1)
As usual, the weather in Hell was downcast, but it couldn't hold a candle to the gloom that Nine Ballads felt in her heart.
Heh, on top of not being able to drag that woman down, she was the one who got killed in the end instead.
Nine Ballads grit her teeth and her eyes seethed with unconcealed rage.
Collecting herself, Nine Ballads started examining her surroundings. Aside from herself, there were several other people she didn't recognize who were wandering about trying to find the Door of Rebirth.
A Daoist happened to stumbled upon her while he was wandering around. While acting as if he was just passing by, he snuck glances at her. After peeking at her for a good long while, he finally mustered up the courage to walk up to her and say, "Hey, aren't you the Goddess, Nine Ballads?"
Nine Ballads shot an indifferent glance at the Daoist and remained silent.
Surprisingly, the Daoist who was ignored was overjoyed by her dismissal.
That arrogance! That look of coldness! It really was Nine Ballads!
"You really are the Goddess, Nine Ballads! What a coincidence, who would've thought that I'd be able to bump into you even in Hell! But, why're you in here…"
Before he had a chance to finish, Nine Ballads cowed him with a single glare.
He'd touched on a sore spot, and Nine Ballads was now staring the Daoist down. Upon noticing that he wore the same robes as Nutjob – that of White Cloud Temple's disciples – the rage that burned in her eyes increased in intensity. It was as if she wanted to swallow him whole.
The Daoist silently gulped down a mouthful of saliva before he quietly took a step backwards.
Did he say something wrong? That must have been what happened. In general, all of the Gods in the game have an exceptional amount of self-esteem. If he met her in Hell, that meant…
"Goddess Nine Ballads, I… I'm your fan. I saw the video of you entering the Swordmaster Pavilion's martial arts competition previously on the forums and thought you looked really cool. So I…" The Daoist's voice grew increasingly softer, till his voice eventually squeaked out of existence.
Nine Ballads narrowed her eyes and asked, "You're from White Cloud Temple, why would you be watching a competition from Swordmaster Pavilion?"
The Daoist gulped down another mouthful of saliva and said, "About that… the forums didn't have any martial arts competitions for White Cloud Temple. It only had videos from Swordmaster Pavilion."
Tsk.
Nine Ballads scoffed at him in her heart. She then retracted her gaze and, without even sparing the Daoist another glance, walked past him and straight towards the nearest Door of Rebirth.
The more she looked at this Daoist, the more bitter she felt.
The Daoist wore a look of adoration on his face as he watched Nine Ballads' disappearing silhouette. His companions had seen what he was trying to do from the start, but their fear of Nine Ballads' reputation and the aura she gave off had caused them to stubbornly insist on staying far away from her and hiding.
"Hey, Cool Colour Tones, say it isn't so. Are you actually interested in a bad omen like Nine Ballads?" Said a woman who stared at him with an expression that looked like she'd just eaten crap.
The Daoist known as Cool Colour Tones glared at the woman before he was once again captivated by Nine Ballads' gradually disappearing figure. "What do you know? This is called having a domineering attitude!"
Someone else spoke up, "Then again, while Nine Ballads might be a little vicious, her strength is nothing to scoff at. A woman who has the ability to crush so many men underfoot and claim the spot of the second best player in the game is no mere woman."
"Tch, someone like her definitely isn't loved by her parents or grandparents in real life. Nobody would want a dinosaur woman like her even if you threw her onto the streets. She's the worst of the worst. No normal woman would be as vicious and twisted as her! Besides, I think that the top five players on leaderboards are all sickos. And, as the only woman amongst the top five players, she's the most perverse of them all!"
"Pui, you're just jealous! Besides, I don't think she's a dinosaur. Just think of how beautiful she is in-game…" The youth who said this paused for a moment and thought of how different he looked in real life. He quietly shut his mouth and didn't continue speaking.
"But, I remember a player who practices martial arts in real life say that Nine Ballads should be from a martial arts household… Women who practice martial arts can't be all that fat, right?"
"Hehe, that's because they're not called fat; they're called robust! How many women have you met that practice martial arts and also look beautiful?"
The woman who spoke at the start chimed in once again. "Which is why Quiet And Steadfast, the top player in the game, is still the best. He has strength, elegance, and looks."
The men around her eyed her with disdain. "You haven't even seen his entire face before, and you're already calling him hot. Show a little more dignity!"
The woman gave a tsundere-like huff and said, "He's not just hot. Stop being so jealous!"
Hearing his companions bickering over nonsense, Cool Colour Tones impatiently cut in and said, "She's the one I like, and that's that; I'll accept her even if she's ugly. Can you stop spouting nonsense? It's annoying! Besides, I refuse to believe that she can look any worse than the Lead Disciple of our sect!"
Everyone fell silent when they thought of White Cloud Temple's Lead Disciple.
Suddenly, one of them spoke up and suggested, "Hey, should we follow Nine Ballads? Either way, we can't find the Door of Rebirth, so we might as well follow her instead."
This suggestion was in line with what Cool Colour Tones was thinking, and a smile immediately crested his face. "Good good good. I feel the same way too! Come on, let's catch up with her."
The only woman in their group mumbled to herself unhappily, "You guys even go after sickos and ugly women. Are you guys really alright up there?"
Unfortunately, no one bothered about her.
Nine Ballads stood in front of a Door of Rebirth. However, just as she was about to take a step forward and try her luck, someone called out to her from behind the peach tree that was beside the Door of Rebirth.
"Nine Ballads."
Nine Ballads turned to look in the direction of the voice and found a man draped in a black cloak standing within the peach tree's shadow. The cloak's hood completely concealed his face.
"Who are you?" Nine Ballads asked with furrowed brows. She'd never liked people who pretended to be all mysterious.
"Come closer; I have something important to tell you."
"Hmph. Just say what you have to say; otherwise, you can forget about it. I'm not interested," Nine Ballads gave the man a cold smile and didn't bother with him after that.
Seeing this, the man stomped his foot and said, "I have a way for you to easily defeat Quiet And Steadfast. When the time comes, taking care of that ugly monster from Jade Sea Pavilion will be but a mere trifle."
Nine Ballads raised an eyebrow. "Why should I believe you?"
When the man saw a group of people drawing nearer, a tinge of anxiety crept into his voice. "Because I'm a disciple of the Shinra Sect! You should know the benefits of joining the Shinra Sect, right? So, what'll it be? Will you join us or not?"