Dai Luoli stood dazed in place. By the time he chased after him, Huo Yuhao's figure had long since disappeared.
He vaguely realized something and immediately went to find Beibei, Tang Ya, and the others.
The Tang Sect team's match against the Holy Spirit team was scheduled for the afternoon, and everyone's mood was already heavy. Upon learning about Huo Yuhao's situation, Beibei rubbed his brow with a headache.
After searching the Mingyue Hotel and finding no trace of Huo Yuhao, they ultimately concluded.
Huo Yuhao had defected from the Tang Sect.
In the meeting room, the remaining six members of the Tang Sect team were now gathered.
Tang Ya looked worried as she asked Beibei, "Beibei, do you think Yuhao might have left temporarily for some other reason?"
"Little Ya!" Beibei let out a low, stern shout.
Seeing Beibei's serious expression, Tang Ya seemed to instantly understand something and guiltily lowered her head.
In fact, long ago, Beibei had once told her that with Huo Yuhao's extreme personality, it was very possible he would go astray. She simply found it hard to accept the fact that Huo Yuhao had defected.
Even though Huo Yuhao had done such a thing, the kind-hearted Tang Ya still searched for reasons within herself.
"Enough, we'll talk about Huo Yuhao later." Beibei turned to face everyone.
"Our most urgent priority right now is how to face this afternoon's match. Every member of the Holy Spirit team is an evil soul master from the Holy Spirit Cult. From a rational perspective, I actually don't want our Tang Sect to face them head-on. After all, those evil soul masters use far too bizarre methods, and we only have six people. There's no need to put ourselves in danger for the sake of such a match."
He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Tang Ya, and even Dai Luoli all remained silent.
He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, and Tang Ya felt that Beibei's words made sense, while Dai Luoli was immersed in self-blame. Although Beibei had said that Huo Yuhao's matter had nothing to do with him, he still felt he shouldn't have struck so heavily earlier.
But at this point, Jiang Nannan spoke somewhat indignantly, "All of us inner courtyard disciples from Shrek Academy are members of the Shrek Supervisory Group. Eradicating those evil soul masters is part of our duty. If we let them go unchecked, more ordinary people will suffer."
Because her emotions were running too high, Jiang Nannan's chest rose and fell slightly. She then calmed down a bit and said apologetically, "Sorry, my tone was a bit harsh."
"Nannan, I understand what you mean." Beibei gazed steadily into Jiang Nannan's eyes.
"What I'm saying isn't that we should directly avoid fighting them, but that when dealing with those evil soul masters, I hope everyone prioritizes their own safety. Don't become too fixated on winning or losing, just do your best."
There was one thing Beibei didn't say: Jiang Nannan was too fixated on the word "ordinary people." When evil soul masters commit atrocities, they don't care whether you're an ordinary person or a noble.
Xu Sanshi, who usually seemed rather unreliable, now had a serious expression on his face.
"Beibei, you arrange the tactics."
Beibei nodded solemnly.
"In this match against the Holy Spirit team, it's too unrealistic to decide the outcome in the individual elimination phase. The winner will inevitably be determined by the later team battle. Although the Holy Spirit team has advanced all the way very easily, I can tell that those people probably aren't their main force."
"My idea is this: during the individual elimination phase, we can probe the abilities of the Holy Spirit team members. If there's a chance to cause the opponent to suffer a reduction in members, that would be best. Then, based on the on-the-spot situation, we can decide whether to proceed with the team battle or just give up at that point."
"Caitou is a soul engineer. In the individual elimination phase, facing evil soul masters with bizarre methods, he could easily fall into a passive position. Moreover, temporarily concealing Caitou's level-seven soul engineer abilities and then unleashing them in the team battle would more easily catch the opponents off guard. Little Ya's martial soul has good control, but it doesn't have much advantage against those evil soul masters. As for Luoli, his soul power cultivation is still somewhat lacking. So for the individual elimination phase, it will be me, Sanshi, and Nannan participating. I'll go first, then Sanshi, and finally Nannan. I believe with our abilities, winning three matches won't be too difficult. That way, we can also seize the initiative."
It must be said that Beibei's arrangement was indeed well-reasoned and well-founded. His going first also showed sufficient responsibility.
However, once again, an inharmonious voice rang out in the room. It was Jiang Nannan again.
"Before the team battle begins, there is no rest time. If you go first, Beibei, even if you can win three matches in a row, your soul power will inevitably be greatly consumed by the time the team battle starts."
Jiang Nannan stated resolutely, "If we need to secure three match victories first, then I should be the one to go first."
Everyone present naturally understood the reasoning. In the team battle, Beibei and Xu Sanshi were the main forces.
If Jiang Nannan could win one match, it would greatly reduce the pressure on Beibei and Xu Sanshi, allowing the two of them to enter the subsequent team battle in a relatively complete state.
Even if Jiang Nannan didn't win a single match, she could still consume the opponents to some extent. And when Beibei and Xu Sanshi took the stage, Jiang Nannan would have ample time to recover her soul power.
Looking at the determination in Jiang Nannan's eyes, Beibei subconsciously glanced at Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi's expression was somewhat unnatural, and he lowered his head without speaking.
Since he had decided not to entangle himself with Jiang Nannan anymore, it was inappropriate for him to say anything now.
Seeing Xu Sanshi like this, for some reason, Jiang Nannan only felt a stifling sensation in her heart. Perhaps it was because of the touch she felt when she went home some time ago and encountered Xu Sanshi, or perhaps it was the stark contrast between Xu Sanshi's current attitude and before.
Jiang Nannan took a deep breath, set aside her chaotic thoughts, and insisted, "As I said earlier, my desire to deal with those evil soul masters isn't for anyone else; it's purely my own wish. Beibei, you and Little Ya don't need to feel any psychological burden."
"Nannan…" Tang Ya was deeply moved and held onto Jiang Nannan's jade arm. Also coming from an ordinary background, she could understand Jiang Nannan's thoughts. It was precisely because she felt Jiang Nannan's resolve that she felt ashamed of herself.
After a moment of silence, Beibei nodded solemnly with deep eyes.
"Fine. In that case, for the individual elimination phase later, Nannan, you go first. Then it will be Sanshi and me. As I said, do your best, that's all."
…
At the competition arena in the eastern suburbs of Mingdu.
From noon onward, the sky had begun to change. Thick dark clouds pressed low overhead, devouring the last rays of sunlight. The dim light made it feel like evening. The oppressive atmosphere truly made people feel uneasy.
Someone new ascended the rostrum, and the mood of the entire audience gradually rose.
The afternoon matches were about to begin.
The first match was between the Tang Sect team and the Holy Spirit team, and the second match would be the Haotian Sect team's game.
Through this series of matches, the audience had naturally noticed that Tang Wutong and Wang Qiu'er looked the same. In fact, Tang Wutong's popularity even surpassed Wang Qiu'er's.
The same aloof indifference, the same formidable strength. Tang Wutong's Clear Sky Hammer martial soul even possessed six ten-thousand-year soul rings. This was also the reason Tang Wutong's popularity exceeded Wang Qiu'er's.
Strength reigns supreme; this is an eternal, unchanging theme on the Douluo Continent.
Moreover, among the audience, all sorts of gossip about Tang Wutong and Wang Qiu'er circulated, as well as debates over whose strength was superior.
In the rest area, the first to arrive was actually the Haotian Sect team led by Tang Wutong.
The chill in Tang Wutong's pink-blue beautiful eyes seemed even deeper. Things developed to this point were not her original intention. She had originally planned to deal with the Holy Spirit team's evil soul masters ahead of time, but she never expected the Holy Spirit team to use such an open scheme, preferring to voluntarily concede in their match against the Haotian Sect team rather than let go of their deathmatch with the Tang Sect.
The remaining seven teams entered one after another. The ones attracting the most attention were undoubtedly the Tang Sect team and the Holy Spirit team.
The very first match was between these two teams. And the Haotian Sect had basically secured first place in the group with an undefeated record and smooth advancement to the final stage.
The match between the Tang Sect team and the Holy Spirit team would determine who would advance from the group in second place alongside the Haotian Sect.
On the Tang Sect side, Beibei and Xu Sanshi walked at the front, followed by Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya, He Caitou, and Dai Luoli.
Although Huo Yuhao was missing, the audience wasn't surprised. During the period when Huo Yuhao was recuperating, the Tang Sect team had always competed with six people. Moreover, Huo Yuhao's strength was only average, with three yellow hundred-year soul rings, making him arguably the weakest participant in this tournament.
No one would pay attention to such a person.
Nine people entered the Holy Spirit team's rest area. Leading them was none other than the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng. Just one step behind him were actually two women dressed in black robes and wearing bamboo hats. The two women had extremely alluring, curvaceous figures, but their faces were obscured by the hats.
Moreover, the two women looked as if they had been carved from the same mold, giving off a somewhat eerie feeling.
The six people behind them were also dressed in black robes, but without hats. One could see that they were six youths of varying builds and appearances.
However, none of these six youths from the Holy Spirit team had appeared in the previous matches.
Even from quite a distance, Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng gave Beibei a cold smile.
Beibei's heart tightened, but his gaze involuntarily fell on the two women wearing bamboo hats. These two women were also appearing in this tournament for the first time.
Unbroken Douluo Zheng Zhan ascended the stage once again. For such an important match concerning qualification, he would naturally host it.
On the rostrum, Xu Tianran was also paying attention to the two women on the Holy Spirit team's side. As a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse himself, he could roughly sense the true cultivation of those two women.
Recalling the information he had received beforehand, Xu Tianran slightly furrowed his brows.
These two women had been temporarily requested by Zhong Liwu to be added to the Holy Spirit team's roster. As the host, it wasn't difficult for the Sun Moon Empire to pull such strings.
But if the Holy Spirit team acted too blatantly and openly violated the rules and fairness of this thousand-year-old tournament in front of everyone, he would also face enormous public backlash.
This was something Xu Tianran did not wish to see.
"State Preceptor, tell your people not to go too far."
"Mm." Zhong Liwu responded indifferently.
"They will only appear when necessary. Moreover, their bone age indeed does not exceed twenty years. In a certain sense, this does not violate the tournament rules. After watching that match between Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Your Highness's thinking should have changed somewhat."
Before Xu Tianran could reply, Jing Hongchen beside him let out a cold snort.
"Hallmaster Hongchen." Xu Tianran raised his hand to stop Jing Hongchen. Although he greatly disliked Zhong Liwu's presumptuous actions, Yu Tianhuang of Shrek Academy had indeed brought him enormous pressure.
At just seventeen years old, possessing such strength and such a terrifying soul ring configuration. With such talent, in less than ten years, he could very likely grow to a level beyond his control.
For such a genius, if he could not be used by him, eliminating him in advance was perfectly justifiable.
Just as Juzi had thought, Xu Tianran had completely changed his attitude toward Shrek Academy because of the talent and strength Yu Tianhuang had displayed.
History is always written by the victors. As long as he ultimately unified the continent, who could hold him accountable for what he had done?
However, for some reason, Juzi was not accompanying Xu Tianran to watch this afternoon's matches.
The match was about to begin soon.
On the competition stage, Zheng Zhan announced loudly, "Competing teams: Holy Spirit Sect team and Tang Sect team. Both sides' participating members enter the preparation zone."
On the Tang Sect team side, the six people led by Beibei stood up and walked toward the preparation zone.
On the Holy Spirit team side, the six evil soul master youths exuding an eerie aura, along with one of the black-robed women, entered the preparation zone. The six youths clearly kept some distance from this black-robed woman, their eyes showing both respect and fear.
At that moment, three more women walked into the Tang Sect team's rest area. They were precisely Zhang Lexuan, Wang Qiu'er, and Ning Tian.
According to the rules, during the group stage, the rest area was only open to teams that needed to compete. However, considering the relationship between Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, as well as Shrek Academy's special status, no one would say anything.
Zhang Lexuan exchanged a glance with Beibei, then sat down in the Tang Sect team's rest area along with Wang Qiu'er and Ning Tian.
The reason she appeared here was partly out of concern for Beibei and the others, and partly to understand the Holy Spirit team's abilities in advance through observation.
If the Holy Spirit team advanced to the final stage, there would be a one-in-four chance they would become opponents for Shrek Academy in the quarterfinals.
To encourage competition, the team that advanced from the group in first place would draw their quarterfinal opponent from among the other four teams that advanced in second place.
Moments later, the Tang Sect team and the Holy Spirit team were already in position in the preparation zone.
"Individual elimination match, first round. Both sides' members take the stage."
On the Holy Spirit team side, a short-statured youth quickly stood up and flashed onto the competition stage.
On the Tang Sect side, Jiang Nannan bent her long legs, lightly tapped her toes, and arrived on the competition stage ahead of him, landing in the center.
Not long after, that member from the Holy Spirit team also walked to the center of the stage. A pair of strange dark-green pupils stared at Jiang Nannan. His pupils moved as if sizing her up, and an unsettling, creepy smile appeared on his face.
Jiang Nannan's eyes were filled with disgust and ice-coldness.
Zheng Zhan stood between the two and said in a deep voice, "Both sides, state your names."
"Tang Sect, Jiang Nannan."
"Holy Spirit Sect, Jili."
If Xu Zihuang were present, he would instantly recall from his previous life's memories the information about Jili.
A six-ring Soul Emperor-level evil soul master, martial soul: Brain-Eating Beast.
And Jiang Nannan was not Beibei. Facing an evil soul master of this level, she might very well pay a price for the decision she had insisted on making.
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