"No!" Three voices, from Wu Feng, Zhongli Yu, and the Snow Empress, came out at almost the same time.
Wu Feng, in particular, now found this gentle and virtuous senior sister detestable.
How could Zhang Lexuan not know what the three women were thinking? She just smiled tragically and said, "The blood oath has been made. As long as Huo Yuhao is willing to hand over Tang Ya, I, Zhang Lexuan, will be his slave and servant, to be disposed of as he wishes."
Huo Yuhao's brows furrowed tightly as he said to her, "Handing Tang Ya over to you is not out of the question, but not right now."
"Why?" Zhang Lexuan's face instantly turned colorless. "Could it be that you've taken a fancy to her, Huo Yuhao? Or is she already your woman?"
"Bah!" Huo Yuhao nearly jumped. It was true that he had a physical relationship with Tang Ya, and before she became an evil soul master, Tang Ya was indeed a good girl. But this didn't mean Huo Yuhao had feelings for her or liked her.
Although Huo Yuhao was not emotionally exclusive, he was by no means promiscuous. Moreover, Tang Ya was the master of the Tang Sect. Even though the Buddha had withdrawn his divine sense from her after she became an evil soul master, her identity as the Tang Sect's master would still attract a lot of karma. Huo Yuhao had no desire to have any connection with the Tang Sect in this life.
Not getting the answer she wanted, Zhang Lexuan instantly became somewhat hysterical. She grabbed Huo Yuhao's shoulders, her beautiful eyes bloodshot.
"Why, why are you unwilling to hand her over to me? Her Tang Sect elders killed my whole family, the academy protected her, and now even you want to shield her!"
"Calm down!" Huo Yuhao directly used his spiritual power to forcibly stabilize her mind. "The reason I'm unwilling to hand Tang Ya over to you right now is that I have my own intentions. Perhaps after you hear what I have to say next, you'll be even happier with this outcome."
"Fine, speak!" Zhang Lexuan's breathing eased slightly. Perhaps due to her excessive emotional turmoil, an unhealthy flush appeared on her pretty face.
"First, get away from my man." Zhongli Yu silently pulled her away.
"The next All-Continent Youth Soul Master Tournament is in a little over a year. At that time, I plan to have Tang Ya compete under the identity of the Tang Sect." Huo Yuhao stated his plan.
"What? She'll lead the Tang Sect in the tournament?" Everyone looked at each other, momentarily unsure what kind of medicine Huo Yuhao was selling in his gourd.
"What I want to talk to you about this time is about the tournament. Not long ago, the Holy Spirit Cult just received some news. This news is not good for the various academies on the continent, but for the major sects, it is an opportunity. The new session of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Dueling Soul Contest will be held in the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire recently negotiated with the three original Douluo Continent nations, wanting to modify the tournament's format to some extent and to widely solicit the opinions of numerous academies and continental sects."
"Change the format?" Zhang Lexuan's eyes sharpened. As a former participant from the continent's number one academy, there was no doubt that a change in the format of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Dueling Soul Contest would inevitably be aimed at the various academies on the continent. No wonder Huo Yuhao said it wasn't good news for the students of the various academies.
Huo Yuhao said, "Yes, change the format. The first thing they want to change is the eligibility for the tournament. The age limit for participants remains unchanged, still under twenty years old. This point has no impact. But they are expanding the scope, so all sects can participate. In other words, the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Dueling Soul Contest will be changed to the All-Continent Youth Soul Master Tournament. The number of participating teams will also increase significantly. If the new format is ultimately approved, then the number of participating teams will at least double."
Bringing sects into the tournament? What was the purpose of this? Surprise appeared in the eyes of the members of the Straw Hat Brigade, but for a moment, they couldn't figure out the Sun Moon imperial family's objective.
Ye Wuqing, who was originally from Upright Heaven Academy, had already gotten wind of this. He said, "The appearance of this new format immediately received the support of various powerful sects on the continent. The tournament is inherently the best opportunity to showcase oneself. For these sects, it is naturally a rare promotional resource. They are certainly willing. For example, existences like the Body Sect, would they not be confident in winning the championship?"
Hearing Ye Wuqing's words, everyone fell silent. If sects were introduced into the competition, it would cause a lot of trouble for the various academies. Not to mention there were thousands of sects on the continent, and the Body Sect was not the only powerful one. As Huo Yuhao saw it, there were still the Clear Sky Clan and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, which were no weaker than the Body Sect.
They were all intelligent people. This move was clearly aimed at Huo Yuhao and his team. Logically speaking, no matter how strong Huo Yuhao was alone, facing the wheel-to-wheel battles of the major hidden sects of the continent, his teammates would probably not be able to hold on and would be defeated.
Of course, this had one premise: that Huo Yuhao's companions had improved normally in the past five years based on the strength they displayed in the finals of the last tournament. Who would have expected Huo Yuhao to take his companions for a tour of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, causing a collective surge in their power?
Therefore, if Huo Yuhao had a mind to bring his companions to the tournament, winning the championship would still be as stable as an old dog. Not to mention himself, just the current Xie Huanyue alone would be enough to sweep most, if not all, of the participating teams on the continent.
"I am having Tang Ya participate as the Tang Sect Master for my own reasons. After all, her teammates are all evil soul masters..." Huo Yuhao smiled mysteriously, finally revealing his purpose.
"You plan to demonize the Tang Sect?" Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes lit up, instantly understanding Huo Yuhao's painstaking efforts. Her hatred for the Tang Sect was undoubtedly heavy, but at most, it was limited to ordinary extermination.
Huo Yuhao nodded. After some conversation, his terrifying recovery ability had restored a good deal of his soul and spiritual power. He then unleashed his Half-Step God King realm spiritual power, enveloping everyone within it.
"I am doing this to destroy the Tang Sect's image on this continent." Huo Yuhao raised a finger and pointed to the sky. "After all, this sect, which has been passed down for ten thousand years, has always been blessed by a God King."
"The Sea God, Tang San." Xie Huanyue had long heard of Huo Yuhao's ultimate goal. It turned out that Huo Yuhao's intention in having Tang Ya lead a group of evil soul masters to participate as the Tang Sect was this.
"You're going to deal with that one?" Zhang Lexuan and the newly joined members of the Straw Hat Brigade were instantly stunned. They had all thought that the ultimate goal of this world-plaguing Demon King was merely to conquer the continent or dominate a region. They had never expected him to have plans to confront a deity.
"When I'm not present, you cannot arbitrarily comment on or insult that existence." Huo Yuhao quickly raised a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture. "Without spiritual power protection methods that are close to divine sense, those who rashly discuss the rights and wrongs of gods will inevitably suffer divine punishment."
Everyone nodded repeatedly. With their strength and talent, they were still far from being able to perceive the power of that level. Who knew how many methods a deity had to sanction mortals.
"That's excellent." A flash of pleasure from having a great wrong avenged was reflected in Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes. After this, the Tang Sect was bound to be scorned and rejected by all forces on the continent, and the glorious image of its founder would inevitably plummet.
She was no longer the senior sister of any academy, but merely a survivor of an exterminated clan seeking revenge. To be able to see the enemy who killed her family be pointed at by a thousand fingers in her lifetime, a sense of joy couldn't help but rise in her heart.
"Huo Yuhao, Lexuan apologizes to you for my previous rudeness. Thank you for everything you've done. In this life, I am your person, and in death, I will be your ghost."
"Uh..." Huo Yuhao was speechless. Could you not mention this in front of Zhongli Yu, Wu Feng, and the Snow Empress? How many jars of vinegar would be overturned at once?
"Ahem, let's talk about business first." Feeling the resentful gazes of the several women, Huo Yuhao quickly coughed twice and pulled the topic back.
Currently in the Straw Hat Brigade, apart from Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng, and the Lan sisters, everyone else's age had already exceeded the participation requirement for this tournament. Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and the others could only act as logistical personnel and manage off-site matters for the participants behind the scenes.
Just as they were discussing subsequent matters, one of Marshal Xie Long's personal guards hurried over to report.
"Reporting to the Young General, the former princess of the Heavenly Soul Empire, a member of the Body Sect, Wei Na, requests an audience."