Gu Yuena was by no means a gentle and magnanimous person who didn't get jealous; she was extremely possessive.
Su Yu thought it was best not to provoke Gu Yuena's sensitive points.
Otherwise, wouldn't he be the one to suffer in the end?
Clicking his tongue, Su Yu crossed his hands and placed them on his thighs.
It wasn't just Di Mingli, Jiang Nannan, and the others who needed to prepare their soul rings.
He also had to make arrangements for his soul rings.
Currently, he was a level 79 Soul Sage, just a step away from level 80.
For the Ice Emperor Martial Soul, Su Yu had already made plans long ago, so there was nothing to consider.
But the issue of soul rings for the Dragon God's Seal couldn't be ignored.
After this tournament, Su Yu would fully focus on improving his strength.
He aimed to raise his soul power to the Title Douluo level in a short time.
Though he was already fairly powerful, it still wasn't enough.
When facing ultimate Douluos like Long Xiaoyao, he was still far behind.
He needed the ability to cope with any risk.
People like Hai Bodong and Mu Wu were certainly strong.
But their strength and Su Yu's strength were ultimately different.
The most direct way to increase soul power was to add soul rings, which was the greatest advantage of twin martial souls.
Given Su Yu's current physical attributes, he could at least withstand all fierce beast soul rings for the Dragon God's Seal.
The problem was, suitable soul rings were hard to find.
Right now, at best, he had three suitable soul rings for the Dragon God's Seal.
He still needed to find six more on his own.
"I'll have to discuss the soul ring issue with Nana. Maybe she'll have some ideas."
Su Yu thought to himself.
His thoughts shifted, and he withdrew his mind, sweeping his gaze toward the tournament stage.
At this moment, the match had officially begun.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy's opponent this round was the Proud Sword Sect.
The Proud Sword Sect was strong, with Soul Emperor-level members.
But the Sun Moon team was even stronger. Xiao Hongchen was first up, clearly planning to quickly defeat the Proud Sword Sect.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black—seven soul rings shone brightly. Xiao Hongchen was showing off his power to the entire audience.
"What a show-off."
Su Yu smiled lightly. Xiao Hongchen's proud and flamboyant demeanor hadn't changed at all.
He habitually glanced to the right, only to see Shrek Academy's team in complete silence.
From Wu Ming to all the Shrek team members, every one of them looked grave.
No wonder—this was the first time since the tournament began that a Soul Sage-level powerhouse had appeared.
By the quarterfinals, all the teams were showing their true strength.
But they hadn't expected the Sun Moon Academy to bring such a big surprise right off the bat.
A Soul Sage.
A real Soul Sage.
A Soul Master with Martial Soul Avatar.
Completely different from a Soul Emperor.
To put it bluntly, a Soul Sage's combat power and a Soul Emperor's were worlds apart.
Shrek Academy had been fairly confident in their strength.
But Xiao Hongchen's appearance was a real blow.
So, there were teams with Soul Sages participating.
This was very bad news.
If the Sun Moon team had Soul Sages, what about the other teams?
Could they all have Soul Sage-level powerhouses?
The thought only added to the already immense pressure on Shrek Academy.
Even if they got past the Body Sect, the challenges ahead would still be extremely tough.
"How is this possible?"
Wu Ming exclaimed, disbelief in her eyes.
It was one thing for the Body Sect to have a Soul Sage, but how could Xiao Hongchen have reached that level too?
How did he do it?
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy has always had a habit of using drugs. Maybe that's how Xiao Hongchen did it," Han Ruoruo analyzed, narrowing her eyes.
Xiao Hongchen was talented, but she didn't think he was much stronger than Bei Bei and the others.
But he'd reached the Soul Sage level, so he must have relied on drugs.
"Sister Ruoruo is right, that guy must have used drugs. Using drugs to boost yourself will only make your foundation unstable," Wu Ming said, feeling a bit more at ease, though still disdainful. "He's playing with his future."
"Using drugs to boost strength is a crooked path. He'll pay the price for it," Su Yu said calmly.
Ordinarily, that was true.
But Xiao Hongchen had taken the Nine Profound Golden Leaf Grass that Su Yu gave him, which had completely repaired his foundation and stabilized his soul power.
Reaching Super Douluo in the future wouldn't be difficult.
Wu Ming and the others had misjudged this point.
As Su Yu expected, Xiao Hongchen won easily.
He defeated several Proud Sword Sect members in a row, even their captain.
In the end, the Proud Sword Sect had to admit defeat.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, like the Holy Slayer Palace, advanced to the top four.
After two matches, the morning session ended.
Su Yu and the others returned to Bright Moon Hotel for lunch and rested before heading back to the arena.
The afternoon would feature two matches from the lower bracket.
First up: the Holy Spirit Sect versus the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
The Holy Spirit Sect needed no introduction—all evil soul masters, strange and powerful.
The Heavenly Dragon Sect was also no pushover, with formidable overall strength.
The battle was intense from the start.
The Heavenly Dragon Sect didn't back down just because their opponents were Holy Spirit cultists; instead, they fought even harder.
Their captain, Yu Tianlong, wielded the pure Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, which was extremely domineering and destructive.
He single-handedly swept through three evil soul masters from the Holy Spirit Sect.
But in the end, he was forcefully defeated by the Holy Spirit Sect's leader thanks to a soul power advantage.
In this battle, three members died, and Yu Tianlong was seriously injured.
The terrifying power shown by the Holy Spirit Sect left everyone in shock.
"A Soul Sage, another Soul Sage—an evil soul master at the Soul Sage level."
In the rest area, Wu Ming and the others were almost numb.
After Xiao Hongchen, another Soul Sage appeared.
The Holy Spirit Sect had a true Soul Sage.
And a very strange and powerful evil soul master at that.
Evil soul masters were already tough; an evil soul master Soul Sage was even more terrifying.
Even Wu Ming herself wasn't confident she could defeat one.
Let alone the others behind her.
Facing such ruthless opponents, could Shrek Academy hope to win?
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Holy Spirit Sect—how can there be so many Soul Sages?"
Wu Ming's face was very grim because Shrek's next match was against the Body Sect.
According to Su Yu, the Body Sect had a real Soul Sage as well.
Looking at Su Yu beside her, Wu Ming suspected he was a Soul Sage too.
No, Su Yu was even scarier than a Soul Sage.
That was the most frustrating part.
All four group leaders had Soul Sages—how were the other teams supposed to compete?
Just thinking about it brought crushing pressure.
"The next match: Shrek Academy vs. Snowdemon Sect. Both teams, please enter the waiting area. Contestants for the individual elimination match, please take the stage."
At this moment, the voice of Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan rang out.
On Shrek's side, Bei Bei took the lead and stood up.
Next were Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, Xiao Xiao, and Zhou Sichen.
Wu Feng and Zhu Lu didn't get a chance to appear.
The seven of them walked to the waiting area.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the rest area, seven figures led by Wei Na also stood up.
They had never appeared before and were strangers to most of the audience.
The seven entered the waiting area, meeting Shrek's seven head-on.
Seeing a familiar figure among the opposing team, Bei Bei couldn't help but exclaim:
"Yuhao?"
Beibei's voice naturally startled the others, who all looked over with varied expressions.
"Huo Yuhao?"
A trace of shock flashed in Xiao Xiao's big, watery eyes.
She had actually seen Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao was representing the Body Sect in battle?
She remembered him—when she first entered school, she and Huo Yuhao were classmates.
Back then, Huo Yuhao had the lowest soul power in class but was one of the most hardworking, so Xiao Xiao remembered him.
But she never expected that Huo Yuhao, who had been expelled from Shrek, would appear in the Body Sect's team.
She knew Huo Yuhao was taken away by the Body Sect.
But for him to represent them in the competition was shocking.
This was the Body Sect, after all.
The Body Sect team members also noticed Bei Bei's reaction and looked at Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, do you know them?"
A tall young man looked at Huo Yuhao and asked.
Huo Yuhao looked at Bei Bei across from him, his expression a bit complicated.
He was very grateful to Bei Bei. Now that they were on different teams, it was hard to describe his feelings.
"I do. He's my senior brother from Tang Sect."
Huo Yuhao pursed his lips and said.
"Oh?"
A young man said in surprise, "Tang Sect?"
"Isn't that the sect founded by Tang San that later declined?"
"That sect's outdated, isn't it?"
"All right, enough nonsense."
A tall young man with a dignified look scolded, then looked at Huo Yuhao again, "Yuhao, if you want to catch up with them, I can give you some time."
"No need, senior brother. I'm with the Body Sect now."
Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze and said softly.
He couldn't go back to Tang Sect anymore. He was with the Body Sect now.
The worst thing is to be indecisive and unclear about your stance.
Since he had joined the Body Sect, he must leave the past behind.
The Body Sect had treated him well. He had no reason to betray them.
As for Tang Sect's kindness, he could only repay it in another life.
"What Yuhao said is right. Tang Sect is just a declining sect; nothing worth missing."
"The Body Sect is the real home for those with Body Martial Souls."
A young man beside Huo Yuhao patted him on the shoulder, laughing.
The Body Sect team sat down in the waiting area. On the other side, Bei Bei's face darkened and he felt uneasy.
Seeing Huo Yuhao again, only to find him on the Body Sect team, left him feeling very conflicted.
He'd heard Huo Yuhao's words.
To be honest, he felt uncomfortable.
Tang Sect had treated Huo Yuhao well, and Xiao Ya had given everything for him.
But now Huo Yuhao considered himself a Body Sect person, so Bei Bei couldn't help feeling it was a shame.
But he couldn't blame Huo Yuhao.
In the end, Tang Sect didn't take care of Huo Yuhao. If the Tang Sect had been strong enough back then, Huo Yuhao wouldn't have been taken away by the Body Sect.
If he couldn't even protect his disciples, what right did he have to question Huo Yuhao?
He could see Huo Yuhao had improved a lot; to represent the Body Sect, he must have changed dramatically.
Tang Sect had worked hard to train him, but Huo Yuhao had never really stood out.
But after a few years with the Body Sect, Huo Yuhao was now completely transformed.
That showed the Tang Sect's shortcomings.
Maybe the Body Sect was the best place for Huo Yuhao after all.
Bei Bei, full of worries, led the Shrek team to sit on the other side.
"The match is about to begin. Both teams, please take the stage."
Unbreakable Douluo's voice rang out. On Shrek's side, Xie Huanyue stood up.
Naturally, they wouldn't send their strongest person for the first match.
He Caitou was a soul engineer, Xu Sanshi was a defense-type soul master and the core of team battles, so neither was suitable to go first.
Letting Xie Huanyue go up was a reasonable choice.
"Yuhao, you'll go up later. Let Wang Yanfeng take the first round," Long Aotian said, wanting to spare Yuhao's feelings.
"No need, senior brother. Let me do it. I can't let personal reasons affect the whole match."
Huo Yuhao shook his head stubbornly.
Long Aotian gave him a deep look and said softly, "All right, go ahead."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then leaped onto the stage.
On the other side, Xie Huanyue also climbed onto the stage.
Looking at the round Xie Huanyue across from him, Huo Yuhao felt a bit dazed.
He knew Xie Huanyue.
Back in the day, Xie Huanyue was one of the outstanding freshmen, reaching the Soul Elder level at eleven.
He could only look up to such a genius back then.
But now, he could stand on the same stage as such a genius.
Today, he would show everyone a brand new Huo Yuhao.
"Report your names."
"Shrek, Xie Huanyue."
"Snowdemon Sect, Huo Yuhao."
"Both sides, step back. The match is about to begin."
Huo Yuhao slowly stepped back, his soul power beginning to flow.
As both sides retreated to the edges of the stage, Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan's voice suddenly rang out, "Begin!"
As he spoke, five soul rings lit up on Xie Huanyue's body.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—five shining rings. Xie Huanyue, already round, looked even rounder.
He bounced lightly, like a rubber ball, and shot high into the air.
With incredible speed, he bounced toward Huo Yuhao.
Facing the charging Xie Huanyue, Huo Yuhao's expression remained calm.
His Spirit Eyes glowed faint blue, and with a flash of a purple soul ring, Xie Huanyue, who had been bouncing, suddenly froze, his eyes showing confusion.