Chapter 33-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

Sykes, sitting in the middle, noticed a gaze that made him uncomfortable.

He frowned, crossed his arms, and looked at Ye Zheng, who was seated in front of him to the right. The girl's eyes met his, and she smiled at him very naturally.

Sykes was used to looks of admiration, worship, and fear from women. But the subtle scrutiny from Ye Zheng just now made him very uncomfortable.

His dangerous golden eyes were heavy with meaning. In his team, all members were responsible for their own lives and deaths. He wondered how long this eyesore would survive in the Demonic Domain. He hoped she wouldn't die too soon; otherwise, his fun would be greatly reduced.

Ye Zheng looked away, unfazed by Sykes's attitude toward her. The mission the Pope gave her was only to assist him, with no specific instructions on how. If he felt hot, wouldn't it count as assistance to cut a big hole in his clothes to cool him down?

The black beast glided to a smooth landing. The two boys in the carriage nimbly jumped down. Ye Zheng glanced at her own long white dress and waited for the servant to set up the ladder so she could slowly descend.

This symbolic long white dress was the foundation of her persona as the Saintess, and like this annoying long hair, it couldn't be changed for now, or she would face a warning for 'out-of-character' behavior from the manga rules.

It was strange. She had done so many things that didn't fit the original plot, even cross-dressing, but changing her appearance as the Saintess would bring the most severe warning.

[Because your original plot is so minimal, your personality is vague and stereotypical, which makes it hard to determine if your behavior is out-of-character.] The System explained.

[But your appearance as the Saintess is what the creator put the most effort into. The creator even referenced popular older works for your hairstyle, which is why you were mocked more in the original plot line...]

Ye Zheng's gentle expression froze slightly. This hairstyle was not only a hassle but also had no taste. And this level was still a reference to someone else's work?

"System, do you think I have a chance to say hello to the creator in person?" The girl's curved eyes were filled with a cold smile.

[Don't think about strange things. Now is when you, as Ye Zheng, will have a lot of screen time. If your overall reception is the same as in the original plot line, then things won't be looking good for you after your Zhao Mei identity is revealed.] The System thought that she needed to at least maintain the "Ye Zheng" character at a level that wasn't disliked, or all the popularity Zhao Mei had accumulated would easily go to waste.

"I know. I'm not that unlikable of a person."

Ye Zheng walked toward her three teammates who were waiting for her. Three different gazes fell on her.

"Saintess, you'd better keep up. There are no Curia knights here to protect you." Sykes turned his head, staring at her leisurely pace, and scoffed.

"Of course. As a subject of the Holy Sei Empire, I will not only protect myself but also protect you well."

Upon hearing these words, Ryan and Yu Tianming showed strange expressions. Sykes was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, brushing a few strands of golden hair from his forehead and looking at her with piercing eyes.

"Even Raven wouldn't dare to say something like that. Saintess, I look forward to your protection."

With that, Sykes turned and strode toward the huge, semi-transparent light dome in the distance, which was the new Demonic Domain for this area.

As Ye Zheng walked, she noticed another team arriving, looking exhausted. The team saw them and showed expressions of hesitation and frustration, not daring to step forward.

This Demonic Domain had become the Crown Prince's locked target. Even if they weren't afraid of his authority and wanted to compete for it, the difference in strength made them hesitate.

The Royal Academy was currently the team with the highest points.

"The rules of the competition are actually not fair," Ye Zheng thought. She had observed the team distribution. Strong teams like the Divine Academy and the Cloud-Soaring Squad were grouped together, while Sykes's team was relatively weak—

Perhaps they weren't distributed based on strength. Maybe the official competition committee didn't want these three teams to clash, as they represented the authority of the Royal Family, the divine authority, and the hopes of the lower district, which made up 70% of the empire's population.

The dragon bone as a prize was originally meant to stabilize the lower district. If Sykes, in a moment of impulse, caused a major incident in the lower district, it would be a huge political disaster. No wonder they had Teacher Qin Lu come to watch over this team, mainly to restrain Sykes.

The moment she stepped into the semi-transparent light dome, Ye Zheng closed her eyes. The ground under her feet felt uncomfortably hot and hard. Before she even opened her eyes, she was hit by a scorching, oppressive heat.

Ye Zheng looked around at the extremely dry and barren environment and quietly rolled up her long sleeves. She had only been inside for a moment, and she already found the high temperature unbearable.

She slowly exhaled a warm breath, staring down at the cracked, hardened ground, thinking this was bad.

This high-heat environment completely countered her water ability.

She could only control a small amount of water herself, and she wasn't good at creating water from nothing. Instead, she was good at drawing other water with her [Stream].

Looking at this cracked land, not even a blade of grass could grow here. It was even more terrifying than a desert. At least a desert had many water-storing plants that could be used. If she used her [Stream] here, it might become as dry as this land.

Ye Zheng's hand, covered by her long dress, reached for the side of her leg. A solemn expression suddenly turned into a smile. Luckily, she had brought some other things.

"End this quickly." Sykes's voice was muffled, clearly dissatisfied with the current situation.

He was wearing a dark red royal uniform. The fabric was thick and glossy, making him look very dignified and imposing on a normal day, but now, Ye Zheng felt her eyes getting hot just looking at him.

Yu Tianming and Ryan were also clearly struggling with the extreme temperature. The usually talkative Yu Tianming didn't even want to speak. Everyone quickened their pace, searching for the monsters in this Demonic Domain.

As time passed, the few of them became more and more miserable. Sykes had already thrown off his uniform jacket, leaving only his form-fitting white shirt. Ryan, for the sake of noble etiquette, didn't dare to take off his shirt but quietly rolled up his sleeves a bit.

Ye Zheng wiped the sweat from her forehead. Looking around, the Demonic Domain was nothing but barren land, withered trees, and bare hills. It was hard for monsters to hide.

So why hadn't she seen anything?

Suddenly, she stumbled a little. She looked down and saw that her heel was stuck in a crack in the ground.

Black, intertwining cracks were scattered across the vast plain, making it particularly unsettling, like gnarled, festering scars... festering?

Ye Zheng's pupils instantly constricted. She stared at the black cracks, where a dense blackness was surging.

She took a step back, covering her mouth as she felt a little nauseous.

"Don't go any further."

"Our enemies are under our feet."

The three people in front stopped and immediately stared at the ground with vigilance. After seeing what was in the cracks, Ryan jumped back in shock and yelled, "Damn it, the cracks are full of bugs!"

The shout completely startled the black bugs in the cracks. Countless black dots surged out from the ground, covering everything like a black tide, sweeping toward them.

[That's so gross!] The System shrieked in Ye Zheng's ear.

Just as Ye Zheng was about to use a water stream to stop the bugs from coming at her, the layers of black bugs on the ground were suddenly jolted into the air, instantly turning into powder that scattered and fell to the ground.

She looked to the side. A faint pattern, like an ancient ritual, emerged under Yu Tianming's feet. Next to him, Ryan was pale and panting.

"Ryan, remember your value." Sykes glanced at the red-haired boy with a look of dissatisfaction.

"Yes, Your Highness. I was careless this time." Ryan lowered his head, annoyingly running a hand through his messy hair.

His ability was [Beast Control]. In the Demonic Domain, he could help the Crown Prince find powerful beasts, which were most likely the core of the Demonic Domain.

However, when he used his ability to scan just now, he didn't consider the underground situation, making a rookie mistake that allowed the disgusting enemies to hide under their feet.

Ryan glanced at Ye Zheng. She was unexpectedly sharp.

Yu Tianming patted Ryan's shoulder and comforted him with a benevolent expression. "It's okay. You've already made up for it."

The red-haired boy gave a grateful smile. "Luckily, your ability was a plus. I couldn't have made these bugs self-destruct by myself."

Ye Zheng watched this harmonious scene of two brothers. Yu Tianming's support ability was even more powerful than she had heard. Ryan's [Beast Control] could only control the physical movements of beasts, and the number was extremely limited. But with Yu Tianming's blessing, Ryan could make so many disgusting bugs self-destruct at once, which was almost like elevating an A-rank ability to a near S-rank.

So, how much stronger would a 3S-rank Sykes be with Yu Tianming's support?

Sykes seemed to sense her thoughts and looked at her, giving a subtle smile. "Just being smart isn't enough on this team, Saintess. You should also show your worth as soon as possible."

"Well, if you need it, I can use water to cool you down. Isn't that a very useful value?" The girl replied with a smile.

Sykes was momentarily speechless. His golden eyes darkened slightly, and he turned his head with a stiff expression. He was actually a little tempted by this absurd suggestion.

Ye Zheng's smile faded. She had already seen it. The entire Royal team was built around Sykes as the core.

Yu Tianming was responsible for enhancing Sykes's power, Ryan acted as a scout, and the legendary shadow knight Raven was there to protect him at crucial moments. Now, with her as a healer who could even ignore Sykes's [Destruction], Sykes's existence was practically flawless.

She vaguely understood what the Pope meant by the word "assist." Perhaps it didn't have a deep meaning at all and was just for the sake of protecting Sykes's safety in the Demonic Domain and helping him win the championship.

This was also strange if she thought about it. Sykes was already the strongest of the younger generation. In the current list of participants, besides Percy with his protagonist's aura, no one could pose a threat to him. And as far as she knew, the Curia probably didn't even care about a low-ranking ability user like Percy from the lower district.

So what were they worried about?

A hot wind picked up the black powder on the ground. Ryan was closing his eyes, almost covered in sweat. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, panting heavily.

"No, I've tried my best to scan, but this entire area is just those bugs. There are no powerful energy fluctuations."

Sykes and Yu Tianming remained silent. Their faces were especially cold in the hot wind. Ye Zheng was also a little disappointed, but she still nodded at Ryan. "That was tough, Ryan. Take a break."

Ryan was startled. He didn't expect someone to respond to him. He slowly began to connect Ye Zheng with the sister his friend Ye Di had described: gentle, easy to talk to, and easy to manipulate.

He had seen the 'gentle and easy to talk to' part, but as for the 'easy to manipulate'... she didn't seem as easy to manipulate as that idiot Ye Di.

The monsters that had appeared in this Demonic Domain so far posed little threat, but the weather was truly deadly. And she didn't know if it was her imagination, but the temperature was getting higher and higher.

Ye Zheng squinted, looking into the distance. A line of figures appeared at the end of the vast plain, getting closer and closer.

The person at the head was a slender figure in a black dress. As she walked, her fair, long legs were occasionally revealed by the high slits in the dress, making Ye Zheng quietly gasp.

This outfit... it must be the new female character from the latest chapter.

[Correct! This person was once the most popular female character in this manga. In the original plot, she had much more presence than you, the female lead.]

"Once?" Ye Zheng sharply caught the word.

[Uh, in short, she's very popular with readers. I can't say anything more, or I'll be put in the black room again...]

Ye Zheng watched the figure in the wasteland gradually become clearer, her curiosity about this popular female character growing.

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