"You didn't say this when you wanted my life. You were probably even happier than Xu Junwen back then."
Xu Xiaoyu fell silent, his gaze towards Lin Xiuran filled with scrutiny. He admitted that Lin Xiuran had indeed guessed his feelings at the time. He also realized that this person, whom he had previously manipulated so easily, was truly different.
Lin Xiuran turned away from him, coldly leaving behind a single sentence:
"Remember this, future head of the Xu family. My relationship with the Xu family ends here. Don't come looking for me to say anything. Things have come to this point; we have nothing more to say."
Xu Xiaoyu didn't continue to persuade him, silently watching Lin Xiuran leave. He had a feeling that Lin Xiuran would surely soar to great heights in the future, and that their Xu family would eventually face the retribution they deserved.
Lin Xiuran, in fact, felt it was somewhat reasonable, yet unexpected. His talent had naturally been known to Xu Xiaoyan, and it was normal for her to tell the Xu family.
And now, Xu Junwen was not allowed to attack Lin Xiuran; as long as the clan elders were alive, he wouldn't dare.
Given Lin Xiuran's current talent, if he were to grow powerful and purge the Xu family, they would truly be left with nothing but tears.
Therefore, Xu Junwen instructed Xu Xiaoyu and Xu Xiaoyan to spend more time with Lin Xiuran, attempting to ease tensions.
However, as mentioned before, Lin Xiuran is not Huo Yuhao; he won't forget their efforts for a mere reward, nor will he succumb to power, even at the cost of death! Life then returned to normal, and the intense study and cultivation period passed quickly. A month went by, primarily spent in training and practical combat.
The practical combat naturally involved facing Wu Changkong. Initially, things were alright; facing Wu Changkong, whose cultivation was suppressed to the second ring, they could easily handle him. However, when he raised his cultivation to the third ring, that marked the beginning of their unbearable ordeal.
The once tranquil Donghai Square in the heart of Donghai City was now teeming with students, all dressed in their uniforms, standing in orderly and organized lines.
A large crowd had already gathered at Donghai Square, and several luxurious soul-guided buses were pulling up one after another.
These were students of Donghai Academy, or more precisely, students representing the academy in the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition.
The students comprised of the junior group (10-15 years old) from the primary division and the youth group (15-20 years old) from the senior division.
The Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition, also known as the Tianhai Grand Feast, was jointly held by five first-tier cities on the East Coast, with some second- and third-tier cities participating. This was a grand event held every three years. It included competitions for mecha pilots, battle armor masters, and soul masters. There were also a series of competitions such as forging workshops, mecha manufacturing, mecha design, and repair. The different events were divided according to age groups: under 15 years old, youth group (15-20 years old), adult group (20-30 years old), and an over-age group.
The Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition is very large in scale, with many categories of competitions, especially the Soul Master competition. It's divided into individual and team competitions. The team competitions are further divided into three-person, five-person, and seven-person team competitions. The seven-person team competition is the most anticipated.
And their main focus is the Soul Master competition.
"Brother Xiu Ran, who's that girl chatting so well with Tang Wulin?"
Xie Xie was looking at Tang Wulin chatting with the beautiful girl beside him with a strange expression.
As for his way of addressing Lin Xiu Ran, well, within this past month, Lin Xiu Ran had conquered Xie Xie with absolute strength, and this was a genuine respect.
Although Lin Xiu Ran is usually quiet and doesn't talk much, every talent he possesses is like a cheat code. Especially when facing Teacher Wu Changkong, he repeatedly turned the tide of battle. Xie Xie was almost completely impressed, and Lin Xiu Ran was not stingy in teaching him a few things.
Using Gu Yuena's special training method, he trained Xie Xie a bit, which also greatly improved his mental strength.
Lin Xiuran chuckled lightly, shaking his head faintly; he never cared about these things.
He didn't want to interfere too much in Tang Wulin's matters, after all, Tang Wulin had a Divine Soul in his body. If something went wrong and was perceived as a threat, it would be bad.
If it weren't for having Gu Yuena in his body, he would try to stay as far away from her as possible.
Although he didn't know why Gu Yuena didn't want to mention the current Gu Yuena, he didn't care. Anyway, Gu Yuena's current kindness toward him gave no reason to doubt her.
However, Lin Xiuran found it interesting to consider what would happen if one day Gu Yuena in his Spiritual Sea met the current Gu Yuena.
Would that older Gu Yuena get angry and beat the other, since two thousand years ago Gu Yuena probably wasn't love-struck.
Then he no longer thought about it and focused his attention on the other participants in the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition.
Aside from Xu Xiaoyu, the participants were mostly some of the more talented students from the advanced division. I didn't see Ouyang Zixin, which makes sense, given her lack of talent. The
youngest participants were the members of Class Zero. The other participants in the junior group were all around fourteen years old, and the minimum age for the junior group was under fifteen, making fourteen the most advantageous age.
Therefore, the junior group was mostly comprised of fifth-grade students.
At this age, age difference significantly impacts strength. Those fifteen and above participated in the youth group, while no younger students participated.
Of course, except for Class Zero.
Class Zero's participation was unavoidable. Donghai Academy, as the only intermediate-level Soul Master academy in Donghai City, had a generally low student quality.
The Tianhai Alliance Competition was jointly organized by five first-tier cities on the East Coast, with some second- and third-tier cities participating. As one of the major cities, Donghai City's performance in previous competitions was worrying. Not only was the academy embarrassed, but the Donghai City officials were also extremely ashamed.
This is why Long Hengxu's proposal to establish Class Zero, leveraging the emergence of such geniuses, was quickly approved.
If things continued this way, Donghai City's reputation would be affected. Economically, however, Donghai City's development is extremely rapid. Through the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition, the academy hopes these ten-year-olds can demonstrate Donghai City's potential to the higher-ups of major cities in the Tianhai Alliance, and also hopes to gain more official help and support from Donghai City.
After all, they are only ten years old; as long as they demonstrate their talent, even if they don't win the final championship, their future prospects are limitless.
(End of the chapter)