In the Shrek representative team's rest area, Xu Zihuang likewise showed complete disregard toward Tang Wutong.
No matter what purpose that certain selfless God King had for letting Tang Wutong participate in this edition of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, he did not want to have too much interaction with Tang Wutong, lest he be schemed against.
Moreover, although Tang Wutong's second martial soul, equipped with six ten-thousand-year soul rings, was astonishing, and her soul power cultivation was clearly not just at the level of having recently broken through to Soul Emperor, to him, if this was all Tang Wutong had, she still did not qualify to be regarded as his opponent.
And as his own cultivation grew increasingly close to rank 70, a kind of clear insight had gradually emerged in his heart.
Perhaps once he possessed the ability of Martial Soul True Body, he would no longer need to fear Tang San's schemes.
In short, his current attitude toward Tang Wutong was to keep his distance, but it was far from being called wariness.
Following the two previous crushing victories, the tournament continued.
Apart from Shrek Academy, the remaining 166 teams would all have to go through the first round of elimination matches. That is, a total of 83 matches.
According to the original plan, the first round of preliminary elimination matches would conclude within three days.
However, in the following several matches, the strength gap between the two sides was no longer so vast.
Because it was an elimination tournament, every participating team fought with all its strength, making the matches extremely exciting.
There were even quite a few tragic scenes. Fortunately, no particularly serious casualties occurred.
One team after another advanced, and naturally, one team after another was eliminated.
The morning matches continued until noon, with a total of twelve matches held. The Snow Demon Sect representative team, to which Wei Na and Mu Xue belonged, was one of the teams that advanced.
Although they did not completely crush their opponents and obtain the full twelve points like the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy or the Clear Sky Sect, they still displayed considerable strength.
Xu Zihuang specially asked Zhang Lexuan about the Tang Sect representative team's situation and learned that Bei Bei and the others' match was scheduled for that afternoon.
But he had no intention of going to watch in the afternoon.
Mingyue Grand Hotel, top floor, Suite No. 1.
After finishing the custom lunch delivered by the maids, Xu Zihuang, Ye Guyi, Ning Tian, and Zhang Lexuan were idly chatting in the living room adjacent to their respective rooms.
Zhang Lexuan held her teacup, smiling as she looked at everyone.
"How does it feel?"
"With sects allowed to participate in this tournament, the competition is indeed much fiercer than the previous one." Ning Tian replied, then glanced at Xu Zihuang beside her.
"Tianhuang, do you think Tang Wutong might actually be Wang Dong from back then?"
"Whether she is Wang Dong or not has no impact on us." Xu Zihuang gave a faint smile.
Seeing the sincerity and calm in Xu Zihuang's eyes, Ning Tian's expression froze for a moment, and the various emotions surging in her heart finally settled.
It turned out she had been overthinking things. Tang Wutong's stunning appearance and formidable strength had subconsciously made her feel a sense of crisis.
Xu Zihuang then shifted his gaze to Zhang Lexuan.
"Senior Sister, you called us here because there is news from the academy, right?"
Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly, her smile fading as she spoke seriously: "Tianhuang, you're right. I did call you all here because there are some things I need to tell you. I just received word from the academy that Elder Xuan has already led several elders into Mingdu. And it's not just our academy; people from the Body Sect have also arrived. It seems the Body Sect's disciples are likely participating in this tournament as well, probably hiding within the Snow Demon Sect."
"I made some inquiries earlier. The Snow Demon Sect has six substitute members, but none of them appeared today."
"No matter what the Body Sect's purpose is, it's not a bad thing for us." Xu Zihuang's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Right now, both the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult are stirring. With a great enemy before us, our interests are aligned. Presumably, the Body Sect has also learned about the Holy Spirit Cult from Wei Na. Given their way of doing things, they might take some action. However, this is ultimately the Sun Moon Empire's home territory. If the Body Sect has any plans, they will surely seek cooperation with our academy."
Zhang Lexuan looked at Xu Zihuang in surprise, then sighed softly with gratification: "Actually, people from the Body Sect have already made contact with Elder Xuan and the others. The specific details are still under discussion."
"Then we don't need to worry about these matters for now. I believe Elder Xuan and the others will make the right decision." Xu Zihuang smiled faintly, then shared his own thoughts.
"Senior Sister, I've recently had a premonition of a breakthrough in my cultivation. During the first round of preliminaries, I won't be going to watch the matches on site. I plan to stay at the Mingyue Grand Hotel and cultivate."
"Hm?" Zhang Lexuan's eyes lit up. This was an unexpected pleasant surprise. Ranks 70 and 90 were the two greatest thresholds in a soul master's cultivation. Crossing them could truly be described as a complete transformation.
Once soul power broke through to rank 70, even without obtaining the seventh soul ring, Yu Tianhuang's overall strength would undoubtedly experience a massive leap.
"That's good. The preliminaries will last three days anyway. If the opponents in the second round are relatively weak, Tianhuang, you can cultivate peacefully in the hotel and leave it to Wang Qiu'er to lead the team."
Ye Guyi was leaning against Xu Zihuang's side from beginning to end, wearing a smiling yet silent expression. But upon hearing Xu Zihuang say he would stay in the hotel to cultivate, the smile in her eyes became somewhat meaningful. She interjected:
"Senior Sister, Tianhuang already mentioned it. This is the Sun Moon Empire's territory. One cannot afford to be unguarded. While he cultivates, I'll stay in the hotel as well. We can look after each other."
Neither Zhang Lexuan nor Xu Zihuang objected.
Ning Tian hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not voice that willful request. Of course, she wanted to stay and guard beside Yu Tianhuang, but she was also a core member of the Shrek representative team. Putting personal feelings first would be somewhat inappropriate.
With only three days to complete a full 83 matches, the schedule was quite tight. To avoid delays, the Sun Moon Empire's official midday break time was not long. Soon after, Zhang Lexuan led the Shrek representative team back to the venue to watch the matches.
In the entire Suite No. 1, only Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi remained.
Xu Zihuang got up and returned to his room, while Ye Guyi silently followed behind him.
The spacious and luxurious room had excellent natural lighting and covered at least 200 square meters. Though called a single suite, it was fully equipped with a living room, bathroom, open-air balcony, and more. Exquisite relief carvings and murals adorned the surroundings of the living room, appearing even more magnificent under the sunlight.
Ye Guyi very naturally locked the door behind her, then pressed herself against him from behind, resting her chin lightly on Xu Zihuang's shoulder. Warm breath mingled with a faint, clear fragrance, lingering around Xu Zihuang's nose.
"?"
Xu Zihuang turned around in a daze, meeting Ye Guyi's gaze.
Ye Guyi directly began undoing Xu Zihuang's collar. Seeing the stunned look on his face, she was momentarily taken aback, but her brilliant golden eyes contained mostly affection and an unusual excitement.
"What are you doing? Hurry up! Didn't you say that earlier just to deliberately send Ning Tian away?"
Xu Zihuang had a spectacularly complicated expression as he said: "Sister Lingyi, if I said I really just want to stay and cultivate, would you believe me?"
Ye Guyi glared at him with feigned anger, yet showed little shyness. Her eyes were like silk as she lightly pecked his lips, carrying both moisture and rich sweetness.
"You can cultivate, but first you have to satisfy me…"
Even Ye Guyi herself had not realized that, unconsciously, she had come to enjoy this feeling, the stimulating sense of immorality from doing these things behind Ning Tian's back with Xu Zihuang.
And the huge contrast between her private behavior and her usual image also delighted Xu Zihuang, making it difficult for him to refuse at this moment.
As the sun set in the west, the entire Mingdu was dyed rose-gold by the last rays of sunset. The shadows cast by tall buildings overlapped with the evening light, creating an extremely hazy beauty.
In the eastern suburbs plains of Mingdu, the first round of preliminary elimination matches being held that afternoon was nearing its end. At the same time, another "match" in the Mingyue Grand Hotel had also concluded passionately.
After bathing, Ye Guyi walked out of the bathroom, her pretty face flushed with a captivating red glow. Wearing a form-fitting pale golden long dress, she sat on the living room sofa, slightly lifting her fair, straight, long legs as she sipped the fragrant black tea in the porcelain cup.
Compared to before, this cup of black tea seemed to have less bitterness and more sweetness. Or more precisely, the lingering aftertaste in her mouth was affecting the flavor of the tea.
But she did not dislike it; on the contrary, she felt somewhat intoxicated, her gaze dazed.
Ye Guyi looked around; the traces left from earlier were visible everywhere. However, the scent had been erased by Xu Zihuang using the Sky Dream Iceworm's shed skin ability.
Moments later, sensing something, she looked toward the door. Her eyes instantly regained clarity.
Click—the door opened softly. Ning Tian entered with light footsteps. Seeing that Ye Guyi had changed clothes, she did not think much of it and asked with concern:
"Sister Guyi, how is Tianhuang?"
Ye Guyi stood up with a smile in her eyes, pulling Ning Tian to sit beside her. This calm and dignified demeanor made it hard to associate her with the way she had acted in front of Xu Zihuang earlier.
"Tianhuang has already entered a meditative state. Don't let anyone disturb him for now. How were the matches this afternoon?"
Hearing Ye Guyi ask this, Ning Tian's expression immediately became serious.
"Sister Guyi, your suspicions were correct. That team is indeed entirely composed of evil soul masters. In this afternoon's match, they exposed abilities belonging to evil soul masters."
Ning Tian then fully recounted the situation of the Holy Spirit Team to Ye Guyi. The Holy Spirit Team had only sent one person, yet they had intimidated their opponents into direct surrender. Because the person representing the Holy Spirit Cult had, with just one move, devoured the opponent's soul and brain marrow.
Ye Guyi couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Toward these evil soul masters, she naturally wished to eliminate them all.
And Xu Zihuang had revealed his plan to her long ago. If all went as expected, she would soon have the chance to confront those evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Ning Tian continued: "Also, the Tang Sect side won their first round preliminary elimination match. Their opponents were a soul master sect called Earth Dragon Gate. Sister Guyi, you should be familiar with this sect, right? This Earth Dragon Gate comes from Dragon City."
"Mm." Ye Guyi nodded lightly.
"Qiuqiu and Aunt Nan haven't been seen for a while. Ning Tian, I'm going out for a bit. I'll leave Tianhuang to you."
"Okay." Ning Tian quickly agreed.
That evening, Ye Guyi sought out Nan Shui Shui and Nan Qiuqiu, but what exactly the three of them discussed remained unknown.
During the first round of elimination matches, no major incidents occurred, and it smoothly concluded within three days. Of the total 167 participating teams, half were eliminated, leaving only 84 teams.
To avoid disputes, the Sun Moon Empire officially ruled that all eliminated teams must leave.
Many rooms in the Mingyue Grand Hotel became vacant, and all teams that passed the first round received adjustments to their accommodations.
Because the first round took too long, there was no rest period before the second round. On the very evening the first round ended, the remaining 84 teams completed the drawing of lots. This naturally included the Shrek Academy representative team.
In the second round, Shrek Academy could no longer receive a bye, and to attract more viewers, the Sun Moon Empire officials deliberately scheduled Shrek Academy's match as the first one.
And Shrek Academy's luck was not great; they drew Proud Sword Sect, who had already displayed formidable strength earlier.
The captain of Proud Sword Sect was a Soul Emperor, and the remaining six main members all possessed Soul King-level cultivation.
In terms of cultivation alone, excluding Xu Zihuang, the Proud Sword Sect was not inferior to the Shrek Academy representative team.
Having not yet broken through in cultivation, Xu Zihuang chose this morning to follow the Shrek representative team to the competition venue's rest area. He planned to participate in today's match.
One reason was to seek a certain degree of pressure to promote his breakthrough; the other was to display his strength and create deterrence, making the Shrek representative team's subsequent matches smoother.
In the first round, Shrek Academy had advanced without competing and with a perfect 12 points. If he achieved complete victory again in the second round, then even if Shrek Academy lost in the third round, they could still smoothly advance to the group stage.
Because in the third round, of the total 42 teams, only 21 could win. The group stage had 32 slots, with the remaining 11 slots supplemented from the losing teams of the third round according to points ranking.
Entering the rest area again, it immediately felt much more spacious. The Tang Sect representative team, which had achieved high points and victory in the first round, had even been arranged by the organizing committee into the VIP rest area. Although in a relatively rear position, it happened to be diagonally opposite the Shrek Academy rest area.
From the Tang Sect group's position, they could observe everything in the Shrek Academy rest area at an angle.
"Please be quiet, everyone. The second round of the preliminaries is about to begin. The champions of the previous tournament, or rather, Shrek Academy, who have dominated the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition for many years, will make their appearance in the first match today."
The people of the Sun Moon Empire had no favorable impression of Shrek Academy. In past tournaments, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had always been firmly suppressed by Shrek Academy, earning the title of eternal second place for a thousand years.
As soon as they heard the words "Shrek Academy," quite a few boos rang out from the audience area.
Whether intentional or not, the host did not immediately stop the audience's boos. Only after a brief pause did he loudly announce:
"Second round of elimination, first match. Shrek Academy team versus Proud Sword Sect. Both sides, please select your participants and enter the waiting area."
Everyone on Shrek Academy's side looked toward Xu Zihuang, the team captain.
"For this match, I'll go alone."
Xu Zihuang stood up calmly and walked alone into the waiting area.
Proud Sword Sect's overall strength ranked among the top eight of all participating teams in this tournament, yet no one felt that Xu Zihuang's action was arrogant.
The members of the Shrek Academy representative team were even looking forward to the wonderful expressions the Sun Moon Empire citizens who had booed would make when they saw Yu Tianhuang's terrifying soul ring configuration.
Xu Zihuang's sudden move drew the attention of the entire venue. The seven representatives from the Proud Sword Sect walked into the waiting area from the other side, their faces somewhat ugly. However, their captain's eyes showed no obvious emotional fluctuation; he was simply staring intently at Yu Tianhuang.
Having learned from Tang Wutong's precedent, the referee on the field also understood Shrek Academy's intention and merely gave a routine reminder.
"Shrek Academy representative, only you have entered the waiting area, which means that in the following matches, you will fight alone."
Seeing that Xu Zihuang did not respond, the referee said no more.
"Individual elimination match. Both sides, first participant, please take the stage."
Under the gaze of the entire audience, Xu Zihuang lightly tapped his toes and floated gracefully to the center of the competition stage.
From the other side, the one who stepped forward was none other than the captain of Proud Sword Sect.
This young captain of the Proud Sword Sect was over 1.8 meters tall and appeared very steady. Broad shoulders, a wide back, especially long arms, and particularly wide, thick hands with long, sturdy fingers.
A sharp, chilling sword intent almost instantly erupted from his body.
"Both sides, state your names."
"Proud Sword Sect, Wu Yifan."
"Shrek Academy, Yu Tianhuang."
Both retreated to the edges of the field.
"Begin!"
With the referee's low shout, Wu Yifan suddenly stepped forward. His right hand extended with index and middle fingers together, pointing ahead.
A fierce howl instantly resounded through the sky. A long, wide cyan greatsword materialized from the void, as if slicing the air apart, carrying an extremely sharp aura. Light flowed along it, and sword glow surged.
Shrek Academy's reputation on the continent was simply too resounding. Yu Tianhuang, as captain of the Shrek representative team, choosing to fight alone just like Tang Wutong before him, was undoubtedly absolute confidence in his own strength.
Therefore, the Proud Sword Sect did not dare show the slightest carelessness and directly sent their captain, Wu Yifan, to face him.
But in the next instant, he understood the source of Yu Tianhuang's confidence.
His deep purple eyes instantly transformed into brilliant gold. At the same time, six soul rings rose beneath Xu Zihuang's feet, soul rings that would shock anyone to their core.
Black! Black! Black! Black! Black! Red!
Compared to Tang Wutong's full six ink-black soul rings, Xu Zihuang's soul ring configuration was even more shocking.
Especially that eerie blood-red sixth soul ring, in the eyes of those Sun Moon Empire citizens who had been booing, it was like a silent mockery.
"Five black and one red?! A hundred-thousand-year soul ring?!"
For a moment, the entire arena fell deathly silent, but in the next second, it completely erupted.
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