A touch of moving, bright sunlight broke through the clouds, shining on the competition stage, as well as on the rest area and the spectator area.
That golden splendor carried the unique warmth of sunlight, enveloping Xu Zihuang all around.
With a gentle smile on his face, Xu Zihuang stepped over the laughing Hongchen at his feet, jumped down from the competition stage, and walked toward the rest area of Shrek Academy's representative team.
After a brief moment of daze, the members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy representative team came back to their senses and hurriedly went up to the stage to help support Xiao Hongchen. Meng Hongchen, who was concerned about her brother's injuries, was naturally among them.
Fortunately, although Xiao Hongchen's martial soul origin had been damaged, the injury was not considered serious. With his cultivation, he would recover completely after a period of rest.
Meng Hongchen finally felt relieved. She turned back to look at Xu Zihuang's departing figure, and her gaze became even gentler.
It had been the same during the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. Even though Yu Tianhuang clearly had the chance to kill, he never did so. Such a Yu Tianhuang made her admire him deeply.
However, when she saw the situation over at Shrek Academy's rest area, a trace of gloom clearly appeared in her eyes.
Ning Tian's pretty face was brimming with a smile as she quickly came forward to meet him, her water-blue eyes filled with pride.
This was the youth she adored, destined to shine brilliantly wherever he went.
Xu Zihuang affectionately took Ning Tian's jade hand, and the two returned together to sit on the sofa in Shrek Academy's rest area. The chubby Thunder Beast happily hopped back and forth on their shoulders, as if celebrating for Xu Zihuang.
"Squeak squeak squeak—"
Having keenly noticed the subtle movement earlier when Xu Zihuang's spear tip had pointed toward Xu Tianran, Ye Guyi's smile carried a hint of deeper meaning, while an unusual firmness surged in the depths of her eyes.
The time for their revenge was not far off.
Xu Zihuang looked toward Wang Qiu'er, who was sitting on the opposite sofa, and gave a slight nod in greeting.
"I'll leave the rest to you all. Before the final stage of the tournament begins, I should finish my closed-door cultivation."
"Even without you, Shrek Academy won't lose." Wang Qiu'er's expression was somewhat complicated. She coldly harrumphed with stubborn pride.
Meanwhile, Dai Huabin and Wu Feng looked completely lost. They both knew clearly that in the future, they probably wouldn't even have the qualifications to catch up to Yu Tianhuang. Compared to him, Wu Feng felt even more despair and heartache.
Yet she could only watch meekly as Ning Tian nestled in Yu Tianhuang's arms with moist eyes.
As this tournament had progressed to the round-robin stage, the rest area had been renovated and divided into eight spacious sections, provided only to the groups that needed to compete.
The other six teams in the same group as Shrek Academy's representative team and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy representative team all wore expressions of utter despair.
Previously, they had only felt that their chances of advancing were slim, but after personally witnessing the battle between Yu Tianhuang and Xiao Hongchen today, they completely lost any competitive spirit.
They simply were not on the same level as Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. The gap between them was far too vast.
On the rostrum, Xu Tianran, Zhong Liwu, and Jing Hongchen all felt wary of Xu Zihuang. However, unlike Xu Tianran and Zhong Liwu, Jing Hongchen always held an appreciative attitude toward Xu Zihuang.
No matter the reason, Yu Tianhuang had indeed shown mercy to his grandson twice.
Any wariness was purely due to the differing positions of both sides.
But Ju Zi felt extremely anxious. Originally, Xu Tianran had not planned to act against Shrek Academy at this stage, but with Yu Tianhuang displaying such terrifying strength and talent, given Xu Tianran's personality, Shrek Academy was likely in grave danger this time.
"Senior Sister, I'll head back first." Xu Zihuang did not linger long in the rest area. He planned to take advantage of the relatively ample time during the round-robin phase to break through the bottleneck at level 70 as much as possible, then fuse with Tianmeng Iceworm's million-year soul ring.
Only then would he have enough confidence to assassinate Xu Tianran.
He had discussed this privately with Zhang Lexuan long ago.
"Aside from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, the remaining six teams pose no threat to us. According to the schedule, from today until the start of the final stage, there is a full half month." Zhang Lexuan nodded seriously.
"Tianhuang, just focus on cultivating during this period. Don't worry about anything else."
"Yes, Senior Sister."
Noticing Ning Tian's hesitant appearance, Ye Guyi let out a meaningful soft chuckle. "Ning Tian, you accompany Tianhuang back to the hotel today."
Having her thoughts seen through by Ye Guyi, a thick blush immediately appeared on Ning Tian's charming face. She gave a soft acknowledgment.
"Mm."
Ever since arriving in Mingdu to compete, it had been a very long time since she had been intimate with Yu Tianhuang. After being teased today, her body had actually shown some instinctive reactions.
The plump Thunder Beast seemed to realize something and very tactfully jumped from Xu Zihuang's shoulder onto the table in Shrek Academy's rest area.
But in the next moment, its chubby body was grabbed by Ye Guyi.
"Squeak?"
The Thunder Beast looked up in confusion. Ye Guyi's flawless face wore a faint smile, but when it met her indifferent and majestic golden eyes, it couldn't help but shiver.
The Thunder Beast no longer dared to move and obediently placed its little paws in front.
Ye Guyi gently stroked the Thunder Beast's fluffy, soft fur, watching Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian's figures disappear from view before slowly withdrawing her gaze.
There were still three matches in the morning, but Ye Guyi had no interest in watching them at all.
The audience present also lacked enthusiasm. After all, the battle between Yu Tianhuang and Xiao Hongchen had been too spectacular and shocking. Although the subsequent matches were quite intense, they could hardly create an even stronger visual impact.
Mingyue Grand Hotel, top floor, Suite No. 1, the open-air balcony on the south side of the living room.
Two thick, towering crystal pillars stood on either side of the balcony.
Encircling these two crystal pillars were two circular crystal tabletops. Under the morning sun's illumination, they scattered dazzling, brilliant halos throughout.
Ning Tian leaned back against the tabletop, tilting her head in an intoxicated fusion of breath with Xu Zihuang. Her platinum hair draped over her fragrant shoulders, her face flushed, even her gaze turning hazy.
"Da, da—" Crisp sounds echoed in the spacious meeting hall. A pair of exquisite silver crystal shoes lay haphazardly on the floor.
Influenced by these two abrupt sounds, Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian simultaneously paused their movements and looked at each other.
Xu Zihuang's gaze instinctively shifted, landing on Ning Tian's fair, straight calves and delicate jade feet beneath her light blue skirt hem, and he familiarly reached out to gently caress them.
Ning Tian's delicate body unconsciously trembled slightly, but she showed no rejection at all. Instead, she greatly enjoyed and liked this feeling.
Because it invisibly confirmed her attractiveness to Yu Tianhuang.
Ning Tian breathed rapidly and softly called out, "Tianhuang…"
"Hm?" Xu Zihuang lifted his head again to meet Ning Tian's gaze. Seeing the warmth and affection in her eyes, he couldn't help but pause.
"Here?"
"Mm…" Ning Tian, enduring the shyness in her heart, gave an affirmative answer while her gaze darted away.
…
In the afternoon, four matches within another group would be held.
However, the members of Shrek Academy's representative team did not go to watch on-site. One reason was that the rest area was now only open to the eight teams required to compete, and the other was that everyone in Shrek Academy's representative team was focusing their energy on the upcoming round-robin matches in their group.
Without Yu Tianhuang, it meant others had to step up. Many were participating in the tournament for the first time and felt somewhat nervous.
At noon, Xu Zihuang had already returned to his room and entered a cultivation state, while Ning Tian met up with Ye Guyi, who had returned to the hotel.
"Where's Tianhuang?"
Ye Guyi affectionately pulled Ning Tian into her embrace, her delicate nose lightly sniffing. A moment later, she understood everything.
Ning Tian's face slightly reddened as she softly said, "Guyi-jie, Tianhuang has already started cultivating in his room."
Even she herself hadn't noticed the lack of confidence in her tone.
Ye Guyi looked at Ning Tian with a half-smile, until Ning Tian appeared increasingly uneasy, before pulling her into Xu Zihuang's room.
"Come on. I just ordered lunch; someone will deliver it soon."
The two women ate while chatting, passing the midday rest time. Their conversation included quite a few rather private topics.
The afternoon matches proceeded as scheduled.
The first match was Tang Sect's team versus Clear Sky Sect's team. Under the hosting of Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan, both teams' members began to enter.
Tang Sect only had seven people in total, and all of them came to the waiting area on one side of the competition stage.
This time, however, the Clear Sky Sect's team acted unusually. Led by Tang Wutong, they also fielded their full roster.
Behind Tang Wutong followed six broad-shouldered, sturdy young men. These six wore the uniform gray long robes of the Clear Sky Sect, their muscles bulging beneath the clothes, exuding a sense of powerful strength.
Seeing this scene, Beibei immediately frowned deeply.
Before the match began, he had considered personally conveying to Clear Sky Sect the idea of joining forces against the evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Sect. But Clear Sky Sect's team was staying on the top floor of Mingyue Grand Hotel, and those from Clear Sky Sect were reclusive, so he had never found the opportunity.
According to the organizer's rules, to avoid disputes, participating teams staying on floors four and below of Mingyue Grand Hotel were prohibited from entering the upper floors.
Judging from Clear Sky Sect's current appearance, it seemed they had no intention of holding back.
"Clear Sky Sect versus Tang Sect. Individual elimination match. First member from each side, step onto the stage." Unbreakable Douluo announced solemnly on the competition stage.
The first to step forward from the Clear Sky Sect was still Tang Wutong. With a light tap of her toe, she landed effortlessly on the stage without any flourish, while looking toward Tang Sect's side with an indifferent expression.
Tang Ya anxiously asked Beibei, "Beibei, what do we do?"
"How about I go up? I can explain our idea to her on the field," Xu Sanshi said seriously from the side.
Beibei pondered for a moment. Considering Xu Sanshi's personality and how close everyone was to Tang Wutong, he shook his head.
"Better let Yuhao go. Among us, only Yuhao has spent the most time with Wang Dong."
Back then, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had been roommates for a full year.
Not only did Huo Yuhao have thoughts about this, but Beibei had also made some reasonable deductions.
For such a proud Tang Wutong, or rather, Wang Dong, to tolerate sharing a room with Huo Yuhao for an entire year, there must be some reason he didn't know. Youth was the time when friendships were most easily formed. He felt that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong should have a good relationship.
Moreover, merely conveying the Tang Sect's intentions didn't require Huo Yuhao to be particularly strong.
He had never intended to clash head-on with the Clear Sky Sect's team anyway.
After speaking, Beibei instructed Huo Yuhao again, "Yuhao, remember to explain to her our willingness to unite and jointly deal with the Holy Spirit Sect."
Huo Yuhao didn't speak, only nodding indifferently. In truth, he also wanted to confirm some things with Tang Wutong.
Huo Yuhao quickly arrived at the center of the competition stage. Not far opposite was Tang Wutong. Zheng Zhan stood between the two and said gravely, "Both sides, state your names."
"Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao."
"Clear Sky Sect, Tang Wutong."
After the routine introductions, Zheng Zhan announced the start of the match.
A trace of disdain and disgust flashed in Tang Wutong's pink-blue eyes. Without releasing her martial soul or soul rings, her aura alone pressed down on Huo Yuhao until he could hardly breathe.
Huo Yuhao's face reddened as he let out a muffled groan. His soul power circulated on its own, and three yellow hundred-year soul rings rose from beneath his feet.
Tang Sect had advanced easily all the way without ever sending Huo Yuhao out. His three glaring yellow hundred-year soul rings instantly left the entire audience stunned.
"Three hundred-year soul rings?!"
"What's going on?! Didn't the organizers check? Someone like this can participate in the Continental Advanced Youth Soul Master Tournament?"
"Today really opened my eyes."
"…"
The entire venue was filled with various discussions, almost all of them expressing contempt for Huo Yuhao. In an instant, boos rang out everywhere.
As the tournament grew more intense, ticket prices rose accordingly. Having spent so much money on tickets only to see this, anyone would feel frustrated.
Although the soul guide protective barrier blocked the audience's voices, Huo Yuhao's martial soul, Spirit Eyes, excelled at vision, and he could clearly see the expressions on those people's faces.
This situation suffocated him even more.
Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly. Naturally sensitive, he was overwhelmed by negative emotions. The mockery from hundreds of thousands of spectators nearly drove him mad.
With great difficulty, he raised his head, about to ask Tang Wutong if she was Wang Dong, when he saw Tang Wutong coldly harrumph with an expressionless face.
"Trash."
A surge of violent soul power erupted. Huo Yuhao's body was instantly sent flying backward, then he fell awkwardly to the ground and lost consciousness.
In the moment his consciousness blurred, Tang Wutong's indifferent voice seemed to echo endlessly in his ears.
"Trash, trash, trash…"
The last sliver of comfort Huo Yuhao had was completely shattered.
Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan was clearly caught off guard by Huo Yuhao's "astonishing" three hundred-year soul rings. After a brief hesitation, he announced the result.
"Elimination match, first round: Clear Sky Sect wins."
The moment the soul guide protective barrier was lifted, Beibei rushed onto the stage and looked toward Tang Wutong.
"You should be Wang Dong, right? With your background, you surely understand the connection between our two sects. Can we discuss this so we can preserve our strength and better deal with our common enemy?"
Beibei's words essentially laid everything out in the open. Several black-clothed individuals from the Holy Spirit Sect immediately stood up, but they were stopped by a raised hand from Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng, their team leader.
However, this Scorpion Tiger Douluo's gaze turned extremely cold.
"Discuss? There's no need at all." Tang Wutong looked down at Beibei with arrogance.
"The so-called common enemy you mentioned doesn't exist. Because we will deal with them before you even encounter them. Also, my name is Tang Wutong, only this name."
Beibei's expression changed slightly. After a moment of thought, he said deeply, "Fine. Tang Sect representative team will forfeit all remaining matches."
With that, he carried Huo Yuhao back to the Tang Sect's rest area.
Tang Ya looked at Beibei with questioning eyes but did not challenge his decision. Although she was nominally in charge of the Tang Sect, she was completely unsuited to such matters. The one who always made the decisions was Beibei.
Beibei gathered the Tang Sect team members and left the arena just like that. Later, at Mingyue Grand Hotel, he explained the reasons for his actions.
First, it was unwise for the Tang Sect to clash head-on with the Clear Sky Sect at present. After all, even Beibei and Xu Sanshi together had no guarantee of defeating Tang Wutong alone. The remaining six members of Clear Sky Sect all had powerful auras, and their overall strength was clearly far superior.
Second, the Clear Sky Sect would encounter the Holy Spirit Sect earlier. After being worn down by the Clear Sky Sect, the Holy Spirit Sect's strength would inevitably be greatly reduced.
However, when the Clear Sky Sect truly faced the Holy Spirit Sect, a shadow once again fell over the hearts of the Tang Sect's members.
The Holy Spirit Sect had actually chosen to forfeit voluntarily.
As a result, for the Tang Sect's representative team to advance, they now had no choice but to confront the Holy Spirit Sect head-on.
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