"How could this be? Why is this happening?"
Wang Yan began to question his life, wondering if the two individuals were really Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochen.
He had heard that Zhang Lexuan, as the senior sister of the inner courtyard, was always gentle and kind, treating everyone in Shrek Academy with warmth, making people naturally feel fond of her.
And Ling Luochen, the genius girl, was also cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She appeared cold, but her personality was actually very kind.
But now, they had personally stated that they were no longer part of Shrek Academy, appearing in the ranks of Shrek Academy's sworn enemy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy. How could anyone accept this?
Beibei had wanted to continue pursuing Zhang Lexuan, but after hearing Huo Yuhao's words, his legs felt as heavy as lead, unable to move.
He thought about how he hadn't seen Tang Ya for more than half a year. The last news he heard about her was the scandal of her using the methods of a dark soul master to destroy the Iron Blood Sect, which caused a great uproar.
'Xiaoya, where exactly are you now? Haven't you ever thought of coming back to find me?'
Beibei's eyes were filled with sorrow, and he could no longer concern himself with Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochen.
After a long silence, Wang Yan finally took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "We can't change this. We'll have to wait for Xuan Lao to return and let him decide what to do! What we should do now is to make sure we don't lose the competition before Xuan Lao and the inner court students arrive!"
"Let's go, and participate in the Soul Master Tournament!"
While Wang Yan and Zhou Yi were leading the reserve team members towards the competition venue, Dai Huabin's mind was filled with images of Gu Yue, Meng Hongchen, Wang Dong, and Di Qiu'er's beautiful faces. His heart twisted, and a murderous aura began to emanate from him.
Although their time together was short, Dai Huabin was able to keenly sense that those beautiful girls all had a special relationship with Huo Yuhao. How could a mere waste, who only had one soul ring a year ago, and whose first soul ring was even a ten-year-old wind baboon, be worthy of so many women?
Beautiful women belong to the capable!
Even if his kidneys were taken and he lost the most indispensable ability of a man, Xuan Lao had said that he would spare no effort to help him find immortal herbs, and he would definitely recover!
When that time came, whether it was his fiancée Zhu Lu or the beautiful girls surrounding Huo Yuhao, they would all belong to him, Dai Huabin!
Since his kidneys were taken, Dai Huabin's psychology had begun to rapidly twist. Especially when he saw so many beautiful girls, yet he didn't even have the most basic abilities of a man, it filled Dai Huabin with jealousy towards Huo Yuhao. He had already decided that when he met the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy in the tournament, he would personally kill Huo Yuhao!
He wanted those beautiful girls to see with their own eyes that he was stronger and more qualified to have them!
Not only Dai Huabin, but even Xu Sanshi and He Caitou couldn't help but feel a strong sense of envy and jealousy towards Huo Yuhao, except for Beibei, whose heart was only filled with thoughts of Tang Ya.
Compared to Gu Yue and Xue Di, Xu Sanshi suddenly felt that Jiang Nannan wasn't as appealing.
He Caitou, on the other hand, was filled with malice.
If the current Sun Moon Emperor hadn't rebelled back then, his father would still be the emperor, and he would still be the crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire. Then, all these women should be his!
At this moment, He Caitou's seemingly honest exterior was consumed by the flames of jealousy. He was eager to kill Huo Yuhao and the others during the Soul Master Tournament.
It was his teacher, Zhou Yi, who had given the order, after all. Moreover, Shrek Academy's tradition was to protect its own. Even if he really killed the others, the higher-ups at Shrek would protect him, and he wouldn't need to worry about the Sun Moon Empire causing trouble.
So, what was there to hesitate about? Just do it!
After they entered the arena, the other academies and the audience were already present. The group had expected to receive cheers, but they found that the gazes of those around them were very strange.
Before they could express their confusion, they heard the discussions of the audience and academy members.
"It seems that the news is true. Judging by the age of these people from Shrek, they really are the reserve team!"
"Could it be that their main team really was almost wiped out by a Soul King-level evil soul master, as the rumors say?"
"It shouldn't be that bad, right? Aren't they all geniuses at Shrek Academy? Even if the evil soul master's methods are bizarre, as long as Shrek's geniuses step in, they should be able to easily solve the problem!"
"And what about you, Shrek's little supporter? You yourself are cultivating evil soul masters, yet you still speak up for Shrek?"
"That's right, that's right! I heard from my aunt's son's brother-in-law's wife that the Tang Sect Master is a scapegoat pushed out by Shrek Academy! The real evil soul master is actually someone else!"
"Shh! Is there such a thing? So, the rumors of Shrek Academy secretly cultivating evil soul masters are actually true?"
"..."
The discussions of these people grew louder and louder, making it impossible for the people from Shrek to avoid hearing them.
This also made their faces become increasingly grim, and their moods were heavy to the extreme.
But fortunately, the Emperor of Star Luo, Xu Jiawei, had already arrived, bringing his empress and civil and military officials to the front of the city wall, his gaze gentle yet dignified as he surveyed his people.
"The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition is the most important event in our Douluo Continent soul master world. This year, it's our Star Luo Empire's turn to host, and I'm very pleased. On behalf of the Star Luo Empire, I welcome the representatives of the various academies, with Shrek Academy at the forefront, who have traveled a long way to be here. I hope you will all display your talents during the competition over the next month."
Emperor of Star Luo, Xu Jiawei, smiled and nodded towards the location where the Shrek Academy teachers and students were seated, appearing extremely amiable.
This also made Wang Yan breathe a sigh of relief. After today's competition, he would have to find a way to meet with Xu Jiawei. No matter what, he had to stop the rumors from spreading further. If they were left unchecked, they would certainly have an indelible and huge impact on Shrek's prestige!
Under the gaze of everyone present, Xu Jiawei announced loudly.
"Alright, I now declare the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition officially open."
"Long live! Long live! Long live!" The crowd cheered in unison, their emotions instantly ignited.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom…" The sound of celebratory cannons roared from the city walls, continuing for one hundred and eight rounds before stopping. The Star Luo Square had already become a sea of excitement and cheers.
As the Star Luo Empire's Prime Minister began to announce the rules, Huo Yuhao's gaze swept across the Shrek teachers and students, finally locking onto He Caitou, who was sitting on the edge.
He could sense the malice coming from Dai Huabin, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou. Adding to that, He Caitou had promised Zhou Yi to kill them in the competition, so how could Huo Yuhao be polite to the other side?
Huo Yuhao didn't hesitate at all, immediately starting to write in his diary.
Speaking of which, those guys at Shrek Academy really have grand ambitions! They used underhanded methods to tie down Zhang Lexuan, a genius with the Martial Soul inherited from the Sun Moon Royal Family. That's one thing, but they even took in He Caitou, who's using a fake name, but is actually Xu He, the former Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire. He Caitou clearly has the Martial Souls of a cigar and the sun, but because he doesn't dare to reveal his identity, he's never cultivated his sun Martial Soul, thinking he's hiding it well. Little does he know, Mu En already sees through everything!
Let's get bold with a conspiracy theory. If Shrek Academy gets a chance to defeat the Sun Moon Empire in the future, wouldn't it be possible to depose the current Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire? Then, under the banner of righteousness, they could naturally make He Caitou the new Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, and then have Zhang Lexuan, a genius with the moon Martial Soul, take over Kong Deming's position and become the new Grand Protector of the Sun Moon Empire.
That way, Shrek Academy would appear to just be an academy on the surface, but behind the scenes, it would already control the strongest nation on the continent!
Using the name of the academy to become the supreme ruler of the entire continent, who could resist that kind of temptation?
(End of Chapter)