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"Master!"
Shui Bing'er stood crisply in front of Lan Minghua, her small hands clasped behind her back, fingers fidgeting nervously.
Lan Minghua waved a hand casually. "Don't be nervous. Just act as you normally would. I won't interfere with you too much."
With that, he handed her the three-piece set: the Devourer's Pouch, the Black Battle Armor, and the Three Treasures Pearl.
Shui Bing'er accepted them with delight, exclaiming happily, "Thank you, Master!"
Lan Minghua then turned his calm gaze toward Feng Xiaotian, who was busy persuading Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang.
He had already extended an olive branch to them, but the siblings had yet to make a decision.
"Sister Huo Wu, Master is a Titled Douluo! To have a Titled Douluo personally guide your cultivation is an opportunity many people would kill for. You shouldn't hesitate any longer."
Feng Xiaotian pleaded earnestly. He truly wanted Huo Wu to become his junior sister so that he would have more chances to be with her.
Huo Wu looked troubled and cast a questioning glance at her brother. "Brother, what do you think?"
Huo Wushuang, of course, was desperate for the chance to become a Titled Douluo's disciple.
However, as an adult, he sensed that something was not quite right.
After a moment of thought, he communicated with Huo Wu using his eyes: "Although I'm very tempted, we should let Father decide."
Huo Wu nodded and said to Feng Xiaotian, "Stop chirping in my ear. We'll see what my father decides."
Feng Xiaotian awkwardly scratched the back of his head. His eagerness had been a little too obvious.
Anyone with eyes could see that he had designs on Huo Wu.
Watching this scene, the corner of Lan Minghua's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
"For f---'s sake, why am I getting Oscar déjà vu from Feng Xiaotian? Don't tell me he's another rebellious disciple."
As he was thinking this, he saw Oscar, who was preparing to enter the arena, suddenly sneeze.
He watched him touch his nose like an idiot, a look of complete confusion on his face.
Lan Minghua wore an expression of deep disappointment, as if hating iron for not becoming steel.
"Don't get angry, don't get angry… He's my first disciple, after all. And I'm the one who chose him."
He sighed, his concern shifting to Oscar's upcoming match.
It was now the bracket semi-finals. Oscar's opponent was Tang Long, the adopted son of Tang Xiao and the representative of the Clear Sky Sect.
Tang Long had the highest soul power in this entire tournament.
Although he had been previously injured by Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing's Nether White Tiger, he hadn't had to exert himself in the earlier matches.
Most of his opponents were from the top three sects, and since the tournament was already seen as rigged, they simply put on a show and forfeited.
As long as they could obtain the 100,000-year spirit bone, a little thing like reputation meant nothing.
Although his last match was against Yan of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, Yan had already been worn down by the disciples of the top three sects.
Tang Long defeated Yan with ease, successfully advancing to the bracket semi-finals.
Though he wasn't in his peak condition, he still possessed about seventy to eighty percent of his strength.
Furthermore, he was a Rank 53 Soul King, while Oscar was only a Rank 42 Soul Ancestor.
A soul power gap of eleven ranks was not so easily overcome.
Therefore, Oscar had to give this match one hundred and twenty percent of his focus.
Zhu Zhuqing's opponent was Ning Wuchen of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, a Rank 51 Control-type Battle Soul Master.
His spirit, the Seven Hells Soul-Suppressing Pagoda, had mutated from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Although the spirit had mutated, it still leaned towards support and was unable to break past Rank 80.
However, his Seven Hells Soul-Suppressing Pagoda was not to be underestimated. As a Control-type Soul Master with group-control abilities, he was the natural counter to Agility Attack-type Soul Masters.
To be honest, Zhu Zhuqing's match against Ning Wuchen was a bit risky.
Still, Lan Minghua believed Zhu Zhuqing could win.
Besides the Three Treasures Pearl and the Black Battle Armor, she also possessed a spirit bone from the Dark Devilgod Tiger—one that came with its own spirit bone ability.
In the lower bracket semi-finals, Dugu Yan would face Xie Yue, and Meng Yiran would face Hu Liena.
Some might ask: didn't the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect send a Soul King?
How did he fail to advance?
He should have been able to, but his opponent was Hu Liena, the Supreme Pontiff's disciple.
Distracted by Yu Tianxin's death, his concentration wavered during the match, and he carelessly fell for Hu Liena's charm.
The result made Yu Yuanzhen fume with rage, to the point where he almost executed the Soul King on the spot.
He had hoped that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect could win the tournament championship to make up for Yu Tianxin's death.
He never imagined that their Soul King wouldn't even make it to the bracket finals.
Thus, with his defeat, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect completely lost its chance to compete for the championship.
Gu Rong and Tang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief at this, believing that with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect out, the championship would certainly be decided between the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Clear Sky Sect.
At this, Lan Minghua just smiled without a word.
Would the 100,000-year spirit bone really fall into their hands?
Obviously, Lan Minghua wasn't stupid enough to fund their growth; he already had a candidate in mind for the tournament's champion.
He shifted his gaze from the arena to the area where the Element Academies were seated.
At that moment, the deans of the Shenfeng and Tianshui Academies were trying to persuade the dean of the Blazing Fire Academy.
Feng Qingyuan walked over to the Blazing Fire Academy's dean, Huo Jin, and advised, "Brother Huo, don't hesitate any longer. Letting the children study under Lan Minghua is much better than having them stay at the academy forever."
Beside him stood a tall, graceful woman with ice-blue hair and deep azure eyes. She was Shui Ningshuang, the dean of Tianshui Academy and Shui Bing'er's mother.
She moved with light steps and said softly to Huo Jin, "That's right. Bing'er and Xiaotian have already become his disciples. What else are you worried about?"
Huo Jin shook his head and said in a grave voice, "Under normal circumstances, I would have let Wushuang and Wu'er apprentice under him without a second thought. But…"
"But what? Tell us your concerns," Feng Qingyuan urged.
Shui Ningshuang was also curious to hear what reason Huo Jin could possibly have.
Huo Jin said grimly, "You all should be aware that Ning Fengzhi died at Lan Minghua's hands, and a Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall also died by his hand. Furthermore, his disciple crippled the crown prince of the Star Luo Empire during the seating tournament, making another powerful enemy. Does he truly have a chance of winning when he's facing the top three sects, the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall all at the same time?"
Hearing this, Feng Qingyuan and Shui Ningshuang fell silent.
Looked at this way, Lan Minghua truly was an enemy to the entire world.
After a long pause, Feng Qingyuan spoke: "When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Since Xiaotian has already become his disciple, I will follow him. The Heaven Dou Empire cannot protect Shenfeng Academy, so I will ask him for his protection."
Shui Ningshuang nodded in agreement.
After all, when the Shenfeng Academy was being bullied by the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the representative from the Heaven Dou Empire hadn't said a single word.
Huo Jin shook his head and said mockingly, "That's easy for you to say. You've already let your own people become his disciples, and now you want to drag me down with you? Save it."
Hearing this, Feng Qingyuan and Shui Ningshuang exchanged a look and didn't bother trying to persuade him further.
Seeing their expressions, Huo Jin taunted, "When he dies at the hands of Spirit Hall and the other powers, you had better hope they don't come looking for trouble with you."
He felt he had made an exceptionally wise decision, believing Lan Minghua only wanted to take Huo Wu as a disciple to win over the Blazing Fire Academy.
Lan Minghua saw Huo Jin's smug expression and just smiled and shook his head, not expecting the man to be such a schemer.
"If that's how it is, then so be it. It's not like I was begging Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang to be my disciples. The opportunity was given. I just hope the Blazing Fire Academy won't be used as a weapon against me, because I will not show mercy."
Lan Minghua stopped dwelling on it. The bracket semi-finals were about to begin, and he had no mind to wait any longer.
Looking at Feng Xiaotian's simpering expression, he smacked him with a slipper and sent him sprawling.
"Wipe that drool off your face and get back here to watch your senior brother and sister's match! Honestly, you're nothing but trouble."
Feng Xiaotian sheepishly rubbed the spot where the slipper had hit him and scurried back to Lan Minghua's side, focusing his attention on the matches.
For some reason, both Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang felt a pang of disappointment, as if they had just missed out on a great opportunity.
To finish the tournament before dawn, all four matches began at the same time.
Lan Minghua watched with anticipation. After all, if Oscar and the others won, his system mission would be complete.
The referee saw the contestants enter the arenas and announced in a loud voice:
"Bracket Semi-finals, begin!"
(End of Chapter)