Douluo Dalu II—Chapter 62: What Are You Afraid Of!
Hearing this, Meng Hongchen said, "Xiao, how many people have lost their fortunes because of gambling? Aren't you leading Junior Yuhao astray?"
Xiao Hongchen was taken aback. 'Why are you turning your elbow outward and making up stories about me? Am I your brother, or is Huo Yuhao your brother?'
Huo Yuhao, who was standing nearby, chimed in, "Senior Xiao, if you want to gamble, I suggest you sit at the same table as other gamblers in Star Luo City."
Xiao Hongchen's face darkened. "Forget it, let's not gamble. Anyway, I think Shrek Academy should be able to defeat their opponent within a minute. After all, their opponent is too weak!"
Huo Yuhao subconsciously looked toward the competition venue. The players had not yet entered the field, as everyone was busy planning their tactics.
Since he was not part of Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao feared that the contestants from Shrek Academy would be severely injured by the Death God Envoy.
This meant that if Shrek Academy wanted to win the first round of the academy eliminations, they would have to employ some special tactics.
In the original novel, Shrek Academy won the first round of the competition because Huo Yuhao activated a simulated soul skill, pretending to have six hundred thousand-year soul rings, which intimidated the enemy. Ultimately, he used the final wave of the Golden Road to defeat their opponent. However, since Huo Yuhao was not at Shrek Academy now, and Wang Dong couldn't utilize the Golden Road alone, Shrek Academy had to change its tactics.
Judging from the original work, Shrek's values often did not regard cheating as inherently wrong. For the eternal glory of the academy, even cheating could be deemed acceptable.
Thus, the anti-cheating soul guidance device that he had specially created came in handy.
For Shrek Academy to maintain its eternal glory, it had to at least reach the top four. However, if their cheating behavior was exposed, given Shrek Academy's current true strength, they would undoubtedly have no chance of making it to the top four.
This would be a significant blow to the reputation of Shrek Academy and could tarnish the ten thousand years of its glory!
For Huo Yuhao, the primary reason for creating the anti-cheating soul guidance device was for his benefit.
After all, he would eventually become enemies with Shrek Academy. Hence, weakening Shrek Academy now could be seen as planning.
Sure enough, based on his understanding of the Shrek people, he was confident that any cheating behavior would eventually be brought to justice by him, Huo Yuhao!
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao turned to Jing Hongchen, who was standing beside him. "Dean, you'll be needed to perform later!"
Yesterday, on the way back to Star Luo City from the Star Dou Great Forest, he had discussed his plan with Jing Hongchen and decided to use the anti-cheating soul guidance device to oversee Shrek Academy during the academy elimination round.
Jing Hongchen agreed without hesitation, understanding the importance of Huo Yuhao and that he must not be targeted by others. Thus, some things would have to be handled by him, a Titled Douluo!
Xu Jiawei gazed at the competition stage below, a thoughtful expression on his face. He thought to himself, "Shrek, Shrek, please don't let me down."
At that moment, Jing Hongchen approached Xu Jiawei. Nation Protector Douluo Cheng Gang immediately stopped him, looking sternly at Jing Hongchen. "Master Jing, what are you going to do?"
As the Protector of the Nation, Cheng Gang's mission was to ensure Xu Jiawei's safety!
Jing Hongchen quickly explained, "Someone in our academy recently invented a soul guidance device that can prevent cheating. I want to use this device in the Soul Fighting Competition to deter unfair practices by some academies!"
Xu Jiawei was taken aback, a barely perceptible panic flashing in his eyes. As the mastermind behind the secret operation, he had given Shrek Academy an advantage in the lottery.
However, for Shrek now, if they wanted to win, they needed to operate both behind the scenes and through cheating.
Take the reserve players, for example; their strength was far inferior to that of the regular players. If there was truly no one else available, it wouldn't even be their turn to take the lead.
Xu Jiawei feigned calmness and said slowly, "Master Jing, are you serious? Is there a soul guidance device in this world specifically designed to prevent others from cheating? I believe that any soul guidance device, being a peculiar and powerful mechanism, cannot possibly surpass the oversight of a Titled Douluo-level referee. Therefore, you should take this device back with you."
Jing Hongchen looked at Xu Jiawei, a smile on his face. "Oh? I can ask your empire's soul engineers to test the function of this device. I believe it won't take long to get the results!
Our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is also one of the participating teams, so we must ensure fairness in the Soul Fighting Contest!"
On the side, Cheng Gang's eyes lit up. "Your Majesty, I believe Master Jing is correct. As the organizer of this Soul Fighting Competition, our Star Luo Empire must ensure fairness in the contest!"
He felt that this was an excellent opportunity to analyze Illustrious Virtue Hall's soul guidance device. If the soul engineers in the empire could learn something from it, it would be a significant benefit, and he couldn't let this opportunity slip by.
Xu Jiawei, momentarily stunned, said, "But..."
As he looked at Xu Jiawei's hesitant expression, Cheng Gang thought to himself, Your Majesty, what are you afraid of?
At this moment, the eyes of other ministers were also fixed on Xu Jiawei. He felt trapped in a difficult situation. Although he was the emperor, he wasn't a tyrant and couldn't just dismiss the ministers' opinions.
With no other choice, he reluctantly said, "Alright, please ask the eighth-level soul engineers in the empire to come!"
Soon, the nearby eighth-level soul engineers arrived to study the so-called anti-cheating soul guidance device. After a while, a white-haired eighth-level soul engineer addressed Xu Jiawei, saying, "Your Majesty, strictly speaking, this device does possess anti-cheating effects. I believe it's quite beneficial to use it in the Soul Fighting Competition!"
Xu Jiawei felt inner turmoil; he couldn't publicly express his concern by saying, "You're trying to stop Shrek Academy from cheating. That's signing their death warrant!"
He could only silently mourn for Shrek Academy for three minutes in his heart.
Thus, he plastered on a smile and said, "Okay, that's great! Illustrious Virtue Hall is indeed a sanctuary for soul engineers. It can even invent such a clever device. The existence of Illustrious Virtue Hall is certainly a blessing for my Douluo Continent! Master Jing, let's work together to foster a positive atmosphere for the Soul Fighting Competition!"
Afterward, Xu Jiawei arranged for an eighth-level soul engineer to accompany Jing Hongchen to the competition venue. At that moment, the contestants from Shrek Academy and the Blue Cloud Advanced Soul Master Academy entered the competition arena.
Jing Hongchen took out the anti-cheating soul guidance device, shaped like a black metal disc, and began to memorize the soul power fluctuations of each contestant, while the eighth-level soul engineer from the Star Luo Empire supervised Jing Hongchen closely.
On the high platform, Huo Yuhao assessed the team from the Blue Cloud Advanced Soul Master Academy, thoughts swirling in his mind. "Blue Cloud Advanced Soul Master Academy… I have never heard of it. However, I recall that the original novel only detailed Shrek Academy's elimination round.
So, this must be the team originally arranged for other academies! Did Xu Jiawei engage in some shady operations due to the butterfly effect?"
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(End of this chapter)