Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

Zhang Lexuan walked over from a short distance away. In her hands, she held two slender wine glasses, filled with amber-colored drinks. A faint fragrance lingered at the rim of the glasses, but did not overflow. These were the finest wine glasses made by the Oudu Merchant Guild of the Sun Moon Empire, specially supplied to the royal family.

"Would you like a drink?" Zhang Lexuan said casually.

Wang Qiu'er shook her head and said, "I don't want alcohol to affect my mind."

"Hehe, everyone says you have a good nose, and sure enough you've been fooled. This isn't wine, it's just water infused with ten-thousand-year-old royal jelly, plus some other little things."

Zhang Lexuan took a sip of the honey water in her glass, her eyes immediately narrowing. It was sweet, and while the taste wasn't as layered as her former favorite white wine, it still had a lingering aftertaste.

Of course, it's definitely not sour or bitter either.

“He doesn’t like me drinking, so he made me a lot of this.” Zhang Lexuan took another sip and revealed a little girl’s smile.

"Are you here to show off in front of me?" Wang Qiu'er said coldly.

“If it were before, seeing how similar you are to me, I would definitely have talked to you about all sorts of random things,” Zhang Lexuan shook her head, “but today, I’m just here to invite you for a drink.”

"This cup, in Tianxu's words, is called 'Seeing Yourself'."

"Oh dear, I couldn't help but talk too much again. Time to go cultivate. Goodbye." Zhang Lexuan finished her sweet drink in one gulp and turned to walk into the villa.

Wang Qiu'er stiffened slightly, but her hands unconsciously clenched tightly.

Only after Zhang Lexuan's seemingly flamboyant figure disappeared into the corridor did she let out a cold snort, and with a flash of golden light, the Golden Dragon Spear shattered the wine glass into pieces.

To Wang Qiu'er's surprise, although the rim of the cup was completely shattered, the bottom of the wine vessel still stubbornly maintained a slight curve, with the remaining liquid swaying slightly.

She hesitated for a moment, then reached out a finger, dipped it lightly, and put it in her mouth.

A moment later, her rosy lips moved slightly.

It moved again.

"Not even brains." Wang Qiu'er frowned and turned her face away from it.

But a moment later, she extended that slender finger again...

"That annoying Kong Tianxu."

Chapter 272 Step by Step Feathers Fall from the Sky (Part 1)

"Qiu'er, so you're here. Come here quickly, let's discuss tactics."

A gentle voice came from the wall. Jiang Nannan peeked out of the room and glanced at Wang Qiu'er, who was squatting on the ground unconsciously sucking her fingertips, with a hint of doubt.

Because of Bei Bei's serious injury, the Shrek team had to make an emergency adjustment to its personnel configuration. Wang Qiu'er, who was originally the substitute captain, was naturally temporarily added to the list of seven Shrek members.

Um……"

Wang Qiu'er responded with a mumbled "huh," her falling pinkish-blue hair just covering her slightly flushed cheeks.

After Jiang Nannan turned and went back to her room, she slowly got up and walked towards the room where the Tang Clan members were discussing matters.

Beibei lay on the bed, her face pale, tears silently streaming down her face from her tightly closed eyes. The rest of the Tang Clan members stood or sat around the bed, their expressions grave, creating a somber atmosphere.

Bei Bei's injuries were truly severe. Yan Feng's palm strike, though seemingly casual, possessed a domineering soul force that penetrated directly into her internal organs. Although she received timely treatment and her internal organs had returned to their proper places, her qi and blood were severely damaged, making her a victim of overwork and other serious injuries.

Fortunately, Beibei has a solid foundation, which prevented her from developing any irreversible health problems. Even so, she won't fully recover without at least ten days to two weeks of rest.

But the competition waits for no one. In just a few days, the tournament will officially begin. Before the competition even starts, Shrek's team captain, Bebe, is seriously injured and bedridden, casting a shadow over the entire team.

Don't be fooled by Bei Bei's unassuming demeanor and lack of Huo Yuhao's brilliant command skills. However, when it comes to team cohesion and leadership qualities, Bei Bei is indispensable. Even when he's not at his peak, he still has a significant impact on the others.

Huo Yuhao said in a low voice, "Senior Brother, don't be sad. That was definitely not Teacher Xiaoya's intention. If I'm not mistaken, the person who hurt you that day was very likely an evil soul master. Teacher Xiaoya must have been captured by an evil soul master and then controlled by them."

"An evil spirit master?!"

Upon hearing his words, Wang Dong'er and the others gasped in surprise. Bei Bei's emotions finally calmed down a bit, and he looked at Huo Yuhao somewhat absentmindedly.

Jiang Nannan followed up with, "Yuhao, are you kidding me? That person's ability is strange, but it's clearly an aura of light! It's even purer than Dong'er's and Beibei's."

"Yes, I can be 100% certain that it is definitely an undead creature—a bone dragon, an absolute evil martial spirit."

Huo Yuhao nodded firmly, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"Moreover, judging from the fluctuations in Xiaoya's blood and qi, she is at least a level 60 Soul Emperor. But we all know how fast Xiaoya cultivates. Given how quickly her cultivation has improved, and considering what happened in Tiandou City before, I think there is no other possibility."

If Huo Yuhao were to rely solely on his own judgment, even if he could vaguely discern the undead characteristics of Yan Feng's martial soul through the scattered fragments of memory inherited from Electrolux, he would never dare to make such a assertion.

But not long ago, a subtle change occurred deep within his spiritual sea, giving him such unwavering confidence.

At that moment, within his sea of ​​consciousness, an extremely weak, aged voice resounded—

"Huh? Such a pure aura of light."

Electrolux is awake.

Although there were only signs of recovery before it subsided again, it still gave Huo Yuhao hope!

Over the past five years, Huo Yuhao has not devoted much attention to this, but he has tried some methods to repair the soul, but with little success.

In the words of Tianmeng Bingcan, Electrolux's essence still exists, but his divine consciousness has died out. Without a strong stimulus related to himself or a sufficiently compatible energy supplement, he can only continue like this forever.

But today, it seems that it was the special aura of Yan Feng's sacred and luminous bone dragon martial soul that caused this Necromancer Saint God to briefly awaken, and he even gave a certain response to Huo Yuhao's subsequent surprised questions.

This was undoubtedly a joyous occasion, which is why Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment.

"Bone Dragon Martial Soul? But those people don't have the fierce, dark blue aura of evil soul masters on their faces. Instead, they are filled with a sense of holiness, and Kong Tianxu is among them... How strange."

Xu Sanshi seemed to have thought of something, and his brows furrowed tightly.

"That's what we'll be investigating next."

Huo Yuhao pursed his lips and then turned to Bei Bei:

"Senior Brother, you're just worried! But no matter what, it's better that we've seen Teacher Xiaoya than that we haven't been able to find her at all. Didn't our teacher once do a divination for Teacher Xiaoya? Although she is facing a great calamity, she will also have a benefactor in her destiny, and perhaps the opportunity lies in this competition."

Upon hearing this, Beibei's eyes finally regained focus and gradually calmed down.

He closed his eyes, and a layer of pale blue lightning faintly emanated from his body, with the indistinct phantom of fine dragon scales appearing and disappearing on his skin. The powerful foundation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul began to operate spontaneously, slowly expelling the foreign soul power that had invaded his meridians with the assistance of the pure light soul power transferred by Wang Dong'er.

Seeing that Bei Bei had finally regained her spirits, Huo Yuhao felt a great weight lifted from his heart, and a smile appeared on his face, making the conversation a bit more relaxed:

"Speaking of which, this competition is truly full of hidden talents and should not be underestimated."

Although his words were quite heavy, his eyes showed little sign of distress, but rather a relaxed smile.

"However, we are confident of victory."

"Hehe, once you and Dong'er pull out that big treasure, I wonder how scared the Sun Moon Empire will be. I can't wait to see what kind of expression Kong Tianxu will have on his face."

Xu Sanshi stopped pretending to be deep in thought and reverted to his usual cheeky smile.

"Pah, all good words sound distorted when you say them. That's called a killer move." Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

Seeing the two rivals start joking around again, everyone exchanged smiles, the oppressive atmosphere dissipated considerably, and a tacit confidence quietly spread among them.

"This year, the Sun Moon Empire initially arranged for us to have second-tier rooms, and we only managed to get to this Villa No. 8 thanks to Kong Tianxu's charity."

Huo Yuhao's voice was slightly deep, and then he stretched out his hand, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Therefore, this time, we must personally reclaim Shrek's glory!"

A firm hand covered his. Then came Beibei, followed by He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong'er.

"Qiu'er? From now on, you are officially a member of our Shrek Seven Devils." Jiang Nannan smiled brightly at her.

Wang Qiu'er's gaze swept over the stacked hands with a complicated expression, finally settling on Huo Yuhao's encouraging look.

She took a deep breath and finally slowly placed her long, strong hand on it.

……

After leaving Bei Bei's room, the other two couples had their own things to do, but Huo Yuhao couldn't be too intimate with Wang Dong'er. He also unusually didn't cultivate with Wang Dong'er through the link between Hao Dong Power, but returned to his own room.

Lying heavily on the soft, comfortable bed he had never experienced before, Huo Yuhao finally relaxed after a long time. At the same time, all the things he had seen and heard since arriving in Mingdu today were constantly being processed in his mind.

Kong Tianxu's distinctive attire, his reunion with Tang Ya, the city's transformed appearance along the way, and the changes in the competition format of the new All-Continent Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition.

Besides the significant adjustments to the competition schedule, what truly alarmed and alarmed the teams originally representing the three kingdoms of Douluo Continent was a seemingly simple yet profoundly significant rule change:

Whether it's the preliminary rounds or the finals, only the diameter of the competition area will be limited, but the height will not be restricted.

Despite its simplicity, this statement greatly increased Huo Yuhao's vigilance.

What does "no height limit" mean? Among the participants, besides the unfathomable Kong Tianxu, how many can reach the Soul Saint level? Almost none.

A Soul Emperor at the age of twenty has already reached the pinnacle of talent.

Even with such a huge sacrifice and a great breakthrough, Huo Yuhao believed that it would still be very difficult for him to reach the Soul Saint level within three years, before he turned twenty. Only Dong'er had a slight chance.

However, Wang Dong'er also made a significant sacrifice. As for Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, they were already twenty years old and their cultivation level was only sixty-three. Even if they were given another three years, they would definitely not be able to break through to level seventy.

But their class is already one of the most elite students Shrek Academy has seen in thousands of years; other forces are only worse!

This means that "no altitude limit" is meaningless to the vast majority of Soul Masters, unless they possess a flying Martial Soul.

However, this rule has a completely different meaning for Soul Masters!

With just a flight soul tool, a four-ring Soul Master can easily take to the air, gain absolute aerial superiority, and launch a devastating attack.

Undoubtedly, this regulation is tailor-made for the Soul Guidance System, and its bias is self-evident.

The Sun Moon Empire is likely about to make a move. But are Star Luo and Heavenly Soul truly ready?

Even if they were prepared, the sudden arrival of the emerging evil soul master force brought by Kong Tianxu would definitely disrupt their plans.

Huo Yuhao knew very well that the fact that a demonic soul master with the attributes of light and even holiness was still with Kong Tianxu was definitely not as simple as he had said before.

His own mood was definitely not as relaxed as he had appeared before.

The Sun Moon Empire likely has ulterior motives for hosting this tournament. How can we delay their potential attack?

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow has only just begun to be deployed, and the development of the Tang Clan will take time, as will his own growth.

Once war breaks out, the Tang Clan will need sufficient preparation time to establish itself and grow stronger in the chaos, and to help the Three Kingdoms resist the iron torrent of the Sun Moon Empire.

To participate in this competition, we must find a way to delay the Sun Moon Empire's entry into the war.

The goal was clear, but the method still needed to be explored. He could only proceed step by step, observing the situation as it came. Fortunately, the Sun Moon Empire's opponents were not only Star Luo and Shrek Academy; those sects with deep foundations, as well as the Heavenly Soul and Battle Spirit Empires, could all become potential allies.

Let's go find Princess Jiujiu first. The significance of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon is unknown to that blind fellow Jing Hongchen, but that shrewd princess certainly does.

And Princess Vina, whom they had met once, could likely influence the Heavenly Soul Empire's decisions to some extent.

Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao sprang to his feet, a mischievous smile appearing on his lips.