Within his respectful demeanor was a trace of admiration. On the other hand, Dai Yun'er couldn't hide her displeasure at all—her lips pouted frequently, expressing her frustration.
"Who made our little princess angry this time?" Dai Tianling chuckled softly.
Dai Yun'er stayed silent, furiously stabbing her food with her utensils.
Dai Tianling laughed again, "You've been busy with the competition these days, and the palace has been unusually quiet. Without you stirring things up, everyone seems a little out of place. You've spoiled us all. What are we going to do when you get married one day?"
"Father!" Dai Yun'er whined, glaring at him in protest. Her expression only made Dai Tianling laugh heartily again.
Even Dai Yueyan couldn't help but smile. Wasn't it the truth? This little demoness always kept the palace in an uproar, yet everyone adored her. Even Dai Tianling himself couldn't bear to punish her.
"You don't look happy. Did something go wrong in the competition?" Dai Tianling asked with a knowing smile.
Dai Yun'er paled slightly. "It's not going well. That Gu You is terrifying. Brother Long Yue said even he might not be able to defeat him."
Dai Tianling remained calm. "It's fine if you can't win. I've looked into that boy. Just from the fact that he could challenge high-level evil soul masters at age nine, we already have no way to measure him. His achievements are extensive. You'd do well to learn more about him."
"So are we just going to keep losing like this?" Dai Yueyan stood up, visibly dissatisfied, but realizing he was out of line, he sat back down, his face pale with embarrassment.
Dai Tianling frowned slightly. "Do your best. That's all I can ask…"
"Hey, have you guys noticed? We haven't seen Teacher Wu for several days now. And Elder Cai too—we haven't seen her in a while," Xu Xiaoyan said while they were eating at the hotel restaurant.
"The teachers are probably busy. After all, they're representing Shrek and the Federation, so there's plenty to take care of," Le Zhengyu answered casually.
Yuanen Yehui said thoughtfully, "I think it's more about building our independence. Teacher Wu is deliberately giving us space to grow, to reduce our reliance on him."
"That makes sense," Xie Xie quickly agreed.
Le Zhengyu rolled his eyes. "Yuanen says anything and you find it reasonable, huh?"
Xie Xie didn't think anything was wrong with that and proudly responded, "So what if I do?"
Le Zhengyu sighed. "Yuanen, I'm telling you, a guy without a shred of manliness like him isn't worthy of you."
"I'm going to kill you!" Xie Xie lunged forward and grabbed Le Zhengyu's neck.
Le Zhengyu twisted his body and threw him aside. In terms of strength, Xie Xie was no match.
Yuanen didn't spare them a glance. "I'm full. I'm heading back first."
"Me too," said Ye Xinglan as she stood up.
Yuanen's calm nature and Ye Xinglan's quiet determination made them quite similar in some ways.
Gu You just silently continued eating his feast, not saying a word.
The sensation he was feeling... it was growing stronger.
In his hotel room, Wu Zhangkong stood by the window, staring at the distant horizon. His expression was calm as he murmured to himself, "Do you realize… there's nothing more I can teach you. The road ahead, you must walk yourselves. That's how you grow."
The Shrek squad had smoothly advanced past the first rounds of the two-on-two and seven-on-seven team group matches. Now, the group stage of the individual competition was about to begin.
Everyone checked their grouping as soon as it was announced.
No one's face looked worse than Le Zhengyu's. He had drawn the one opponent he didn't want to face—Long Yue!
That's right. He and Long Yue had ended up in the same group.
"It's fine. It's just the group stage, right? The top four advance. Just throw the match against Long Yue and you're good. What, you're afraid you won't make it out of the group?" Xie Xie said with a grin, obviously gloating a bit.
Le Zhengyu turned and gave him a rare serious look. "As a descendant of the Holy Angel Clan, I can lose. But I must never be a coward. Let me be the one to gauge how powerful Long Yue really is."
Xie Xie's eyes widened. "You're serious?"
Le Zhengyu rolled his eyes. "Do I look like I'm joking? We've faced strong opponents before. How do you know I'll lose?"
Xie Xie gave him a thumbs up. "First time I think you're actually acting like a man. Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I might do the same."
"Tch… You? What are you compared to me?"
"You little—"
The group stage officially began!
The first-round matchups were revealed only right before the matches. And to Shrek's surprise, Le Zhengyu's first opponent in the group was none other than… Long Yue.
Le Zhengyu furrowed his brows. Facing Long Yue, how could he not feel pressure?
He had seen Long Yue's previous matches. The man was a monster beyond imagination.
In all his matches so far, regardless of event, Long Yue had never even released his martial soul. That's right. From the start of the tournament to now, Long Yue hadn't revealed his martial soul once and had still defeated all his opponents with ease.
That was the most terrifying part.
Le Zhengyu sat cross-legged in the waiting zone, eyes closed in meditation, trying to calm himself and reach his best condition before the match.
"You really plan to fight him? I'll be honest with you—there's no hope. Even I have to take him seriously." Gu You walked up and gently reminded him.
Le Zhengyu opened his eyes lazily, his expression now calm and resolute. "So if there's no hope, I shouldn't fight at all?"
Gu You let out a sigh in the end. That stubborn pride was deeply rooted in Le Zhengyu's bones, and nothing he said could stop it.
The Holy Angel bloodline had once produced a Soul Master who ascended to godhood. Although that figure had later been branded a villain and stripped of his godhood, they had still achieved divinity once.
Such a martial soul was classified as a divine martial soul, one of the peak existences on the Douluo Continent.
Of course, not all divine martial souls were necessarily strong. Take Blue Silver Grass, for instance—Tang San had achieved godhood as the Sea God with that soul. In a sense, it too was a divine martial soul.
The match began.
"Le Zhengyu, Long Yue!" the electronic voice echoed through the waiting zone.
Everyone immediately turned their eyes toward Shrek Academy's side.
Gu You raised his head...
(End of Chapter)
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