An unexpected crisp sound rang out.
Gao Shen only felt a strange force coming from the shield, making his arm go numb.
His "immovable as a mountain" Stance, which he took pride in and which connected him to the earth, was actually easily shattered by this one strike!
His whole body leaned back uncontrollably, falling into a forced stagger state that lasted for a full second!
Now!
Celeste stepped forward, lifted her right leg, and with that foot encased in an iron-armored boot, she delivered a solid, unadorned kick right to Gao Shen's chest!
"Bang!"
Gao Shen was like a kicked soda can, flying out while still in his staggered state.
He traced a perfect parabola and fell outside the arena with a "thud."
The entire venue fell into a dead silence.
As soon as ten seconds were up, Celeste immediately deactivated her costume, returning to her priest form holding the pink staff. she even blinked at the referee with an innocent expression.
The referee was stunned for a full five seconds before stuttering as he blew his whistle: "Win... Winner, Celeste!"
Countless dull, shocked gazes, mixed with thoughts like "what kind of deviant fighting style is this," were pinned on her. Celeste practically fled the arena in an awkward, stiff-legged manner.
"Sister! That kick! It was simply a soul strike!"
Selene was the first to rush over, laughing so hard her whole body shook, and shoved her light-computer right in front of her face.
"The forums have already given you a new nickname, 'The Priest Who Kicked the Top Eight'! They say your kick was full of disdain and mockery for turtle-shell tactics! Art! This is simply performance art!"
Celeste looked numb.
Fortunately, turning into a tin can was much better than turning into Venti; it was acceptable.
No matter how twisted the process was, the achievement of reaching the top four was set in stone.
Unfortunately, later on, both sisters were defeated by an Elemental Mage who possessed the "Multi-Cast" specialty. One stopped at the top four, and the other settled for runner-up, but their performances were already stunning enough.
"It's just an arena tournament; points are the real focus."
Selene held the runner-up trophy, waving it nonchalantly. "200 points for the runner-up, 100 for the top four. Once we enter the Domain, we can make up this gap just by farming a few waves of mobs!"
Celeste deeply agreed.
The arena tournament was a personal showcase. The true touchstone was the cruel confrontation with the hideous monsters and unknown environments within the Domain.
That was where the core value of a professional was truly measured.
...
A triumphant return home.
At home, their parents, who had rarely finished their Domain duties at the same time, had already prepared a lavish feast.
"Hahaha, good! As expected of the daughters of my Lin family!"
Their father, Lin Qingtian, slapped Celeste on the shoulder with such force that she grimaced.
"Although the process was a bit... twisted, the top four! Qingyue, you've really stood up for all the support classes in the world!"
Their mother, Yan Shuyu, smiled gently, constantly placing food into her two daughters' bowls. "You've worked hard, eat more. You both performed very well in the arena, especially Qingyue..."
Her voice paused, her smile remaining gentle, but her eyes instinctively flickered when she mentioned her daughter, clearly remembering a certain costume scene that had pushed the limits of her understanding.
"...That, um, on-the-spot adaptability was very outstanding."
The family atmosphere was warm.
However, happy times are always easily broken by certain "little demons."
"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"
The family group chat was suddenly flooded by a series of memes.
Celeste clicked on it casually, and the juice she had just sipped almost sprayed out.
In the group, there was shockingly a moment of her on the arena, dressed as Pela, with a look of utter despair as she pushed up her invisible glasses!
The picture had been captioned with various texts by her sister, Selene:
"[Celeste pushing glasses.jpg] I have seen through your weakness." (Original version)
"[Same expression] Knowledge is power!" (Academic version)
"[Dead eyes] Is this shift... absolutely necessary?" (Worker version)
"[Same pose] For this question, choose C." (Top student version)
Celeste felt a surge of heat rush from the base of her neck to the top of her head, her entire face instantly turning bright red.
"Lin. Xi. Yue!"
She ground out her sister's name syllable by syllable, put down her chopsticks, and lunged toward the culprit who was laughing hysterically opposite her.
"Aaaaah! Mom, Dad, help! Sister's so embarrassed she's going to kill me to silence me!"
Selene screamed as she bounced up from her chair, agilely dodging behind their father's broad back.
Lin Qingtian and Yan Shuyu looked at their daughters playing around, smiled at each other, and shook their heads helplessly and affectionately.
"Alright, alright, Qingyue, let Xiyue go. The food is getting cold," Yan Shuyu spoke up to mediate.
In the end, Celeste failed to successfully "sanction" her audacious sister. She could only sit back in her seat, fuming, using her eyes to conduct a silent accusation and execution on her.
Selene, on the other hand, poked her head out triumphantly from behind their father, waved her phone, and silently mouthed: "Dark. His. To. Ry. Lives. For. E. Ver!"
The family celebration feast, full of laughter (for everyone else), ended amidst Celeste's "grief and indignation."
Back in her room, Celeste threw herself onto her bed in a huff, but couldn't help picking up her phone to look at those wildly circulating memes.
Looking at her own look of despair while trying to act calm in the pictures, her mouth twitched, and finally, she couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Fine, if I lose face, so be it."
She opened the system interface, her gaze falling on that bright green venti trial card, and her eyes gradually became dangerous and feverish.
"Domain point tournament, is it..."
"Real monsters, unknown environments..."
A smile, mixed with anticipation and madness, curled at the corners of Celeste's mouth.
"The 'audience' there should like... surprises even more, right?"