The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

Upon arriving at the Mingyue Hotel, Xu Zihuang initially allowed the Thunder Beast to roam freely in Suite One. Later, during the few days it stayed at the hotel to cultivate, he had Ning Tian take it to the competition arena to watch the matches.

This is, after all, the territory of the Sun Moon Empire. Although the Sun Moon Empire is unlikely to make any moves during the competition, it's better to bring the Thunder Beast along just in case.

Over the past few days, the Thunder Beast has adapted to the noisy environment and hasn't done anything outrageous. It's just like an ordinary fat rat.

Xu Zihuang sat down naturally next to Ning Tian, ​​with Ye Guyi on the other side. Both women greeted Xu Zihuang's return with smiles.

The powerful teams in the VIP lounge all turned their attention to Xu Zihuang's figure, their gazes fixed on the Shrek Academy's lounge area. Their expressions were far from pleasant.

Shrek Academy truly lives up to its reputation as the number one academy on the continent, having won the championship of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament for thousands of years.

However, Shrek Academy's strength far exceeded their expectations.

How many of their teams are as strong as the Proud Sword Sect? And who is confident that they can face Yu Tianhuang head-on?

The rest area for both the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy and Shrek Academy was at the very front. However, considering the relationship between the two sides, the Sun Moon Empire officials specifically arranged for them to be on opposite sides.

Both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, the brother and sister, had gloomy faces.

Xiao Hongchen was wary of Xu Zihuang because of his unfathomable strength, while Meng Hongchen was wary because of the close interactions between Xu Zihuang and the two women, Ye Guyi and Ning Tian.

The Holy Spirit Team, on the other hand, remained quite calm. Their faces were all covered, making their expressions impossible to see.

Only the Tang Sect team was genuinely happy for the Shrek team's victory. Tang Ya even waved excitedly towards the Shrek team.

On the platform, Xu Tianran was talking with Zhong Liwu and Jing Hongchen beside him.

Xu Zihuang glanced over as if sensing something, his gaze briefly meeting the orange's before he looked away.

Chapter 384 The Third Round of the Preliminaries and the Competition Among Fellow Disciples

The audience, including the participating teams, were still reeling from Xu Zihuang's crushing victory.

This is the foundation of the No. 1 academy on the mainland.

The people of the Sun Moon Empire, who had previously had great confidence in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, felt their illusions shatter in an instant.

This year's Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy team is indeed the best in thousands of years, especially the brother and sister Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. But even so, they probably can't compete with Yu Tianhuang, who has such a terrifying soul ring ratio.

As a result, when the game continued, the entire audience seemed to lose interest.

Not long after, Xu Zihuang once again became the focus of everyone's attention.

After a brief exchange with Zhang Lexuan, Xu Zihuang left early, accompanied by Ye Guyi and Ning Tian. Whether it was pre-arranged or not, Ye Guyi and Ning Tian, ​​both smiling, took Xu Zihuang's arms, one on each side, in front of everyone. They appeared very close.

The entire room erupted in an uproar. The discussion that broke out this time was even more heated than before.

On the high platform, watching the backs of Xu Zihuang and the other two, Ju Zi felt a lump in her throat. But now, as the Crown Princess of the Sun Moon Empire, what right did she have to regret it?

It was clearly her decision to take that path.

Besides, she had anticipated this situation from the beginning. Such an outstanding man as Yu Tianhuang deserved a better girl. All she longed for was a place in Yu Tianhuang's heart.

In that brief moment when their eyes met, although Yu Tianhuang remained calm, she felt that her secret departure and subsequent appearance before him as the Crown Princess of the Sun Moon Empire had broken his heart.

"I'm sorry, Tianhuang..." Ju Zi murmured softly in her heart.

But Zhongli Wu's next words made her tremble, and a cold light instantly appeared in the depths of her eyes.

“This child’s talent surpasses even that of the Dragon God Douluo of yesteryear. If given enough time to grow, he will undoubtedly become the next Dragon God Douluo, and a Limit Douluo with twin martial souls at that,” Zhongli Wu said coldly.

"It's time to make plans."

Zhongli Wu had known about Yu Tianhuang's twin martial souls for a long time. After all, this was hardly a secret anymore.

Moreover, from the information he gathered, he knew that Yu Tianhuang's second martial soul was far more than just the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex. If his deduction was correct, Yu Tianhuang's second martial soul was a benign mutation of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex, surpassing it in every aspect.

Lightning is formed from the righteous energy of heaven and earth, naturally restraining these evil spirit masters. If they wait until Yu Tianhuang grows up, it will be the end of their Holy Spirit Cult.

To some extent, he was even more wary of Yu Tianhuang's existence than Xu Tianran.

Hearing Zhongli Wu's slightly commanding tone, Xu Tianran's heart sank slightly. He only harbored thoughts of mutual exploitation towards these sinister-looking evil spirit masters. Zhongli Wu's tone and manner of speaking greatly displeased him.

Of course, he wouldn't show any of this.

"If we follow the Grand Preceptor's advice, we will undoubtedly offend Shrek Academy completely. Shrek Academy's millennia of accumulated experience cannot be easily insulted. Unless absolutely necessary, confronting them head-on will not benefit the Empire at this stage."

"Your Highness is right. It is not advisable to completely break ties with Shrek Academy at this stage."

Jing Hongchen, who was quick-witted, smiled and chimed in.

"There's no need for the Imperial Advisor to rush things. I think His Highness has already come up with a foolproof plan."

A glint flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes, and he smiled and said, "Let's continue watching the game."

He was very satisfied with Jing Hongchen's response. Even if they were to confront Shrek Academy, they should have had the Holy Spirit Cult handle the situation openly.

After all, his goal was to unify the continent and make Shrek Academy submit, not to destroy this continent's number one academy with a history of thousands of years.

Zhongli Wu did not persist, and silently lowered his head, lost in thought.

……

Meanwhile, in the rest area of ​​the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

Only after Xu Zihuang, Ye Guyi, and Ning Tian disappeared from sight did Meng Hongchen turn away with a frosty expression.

Xiao Hongchen slumped back onto the sofa, his fists clenched tightly.

The pressure from Yu Tianhuang's sixth spirit ring, which was at the level of 100,000 years, was still too heavy. Five years of hard work had allowed him to regain his confidence, and his strength had also greatly improved.

But in front of Yu Tianhuang, all of this seemed like a joke.

After closing his eyes and pondering for a long time, Xiao Hongchen carefully recalled every scene of his arduous cultivation over the past five years, gradually calming his emotions.

The moment he opened his eyes again, the sense of defeat vanished instantly, replaced by a burning fighting spirit.

Regardless of the outcome, he will fight Yu Tianhuang with all his might.

For the glory of the Sun and Moon Empire, and even more so for the stubbornness of his youth.

"Dream, and everyone else. If we encounter Shrek Academy, please let me go first." Xiao Hongchen raised his head and faced the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy team, sincerely pleading.

"Brother?" Meng Hongchen, coming to her senses, was utterly surprised to see Xiao Hongchen's expression. She could hardly believe that her incredibly proud brother would say such a thing. But before she could say anything more, Xiao Hongchen waved his hand to interrupt her.

The other members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy team seemed to understand something, and they all smiled encouragingly.

"Captain, we believe in you."

"I think among us, the only one qualified to fight Yu Tianhuang is you, Captain."

"..."

Upon returning to Mingdu, Xu Zihuang and his two companions did not immediately go back to the Mingyue Hotel to rest. Instead, they stopped in front of a shop in the center of Mingdu.

Ning Tian was respectfully seen out by the shop owner.

This shop is owned by the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School. Although it is not as luxurious as the Nine Treasure Pavilion, it is still quite large in scale.

The three of them tacitly returned to Suite No. 1 on the top floor of the Mingyue Hotel before they began to talk.

“Tianhuang, here’s the situation,” Ning Tian said softly. “Recently, it’s been difficult to buy rare metals in Mingdu because the three largest black markets in Mingdu have organized an underground Soul Master competition. The rewards for this underground competition are very generous. Rare metals have always been the hard currency of the underworld, and many people are using them as bets.”

Sure enough.

Xu Zihuang understood.

Ye Guyi frowned and asked, "Tianhuang, you're gathering this information because you're planning to participate in this underground Soul Master competition, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not going to participate. I just want to gather some information. The Sun Moon Empire is very likely brewing a conspiracy during this Continental Youth Soul Master Competition. To be on the safe side, we must keep a close eye on the movements of various forces within Mingdu." Xu Zihuang shook his head frankly.

"If it's just a matter of needing rare metals, I believe the academy has its own channels. Besides, isn't Ning Tian there?"

Hearing this, Ning Tianqiao's pretty face immediately blossomed into a charming smile. Yu Tianhuang's words showed that he didn't consider her an outsider, and her heart was filled with sweetness.

However, Xu Zihuang did this mainly because he wanted to control the movements of the evil soul masters of the Xishui Alliance so that he could assassinate Xu Tianran.

With Shrek Academy and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School behind him, as well as Vina and the royal family of the Heavenly Soul Empire, he didn't need to steal rare metals and soul tools from the Sun Moon Empire like Huo Yuhao in his previous life, nor did he need to participate in this so-called underground soul master competition and risk his life.

His most pressing goal at this stage is to break through the level 70 bottleneck as soon as possible and fuse with the million-year soul ring of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.

"You're with Ning Tian because you're attracted to her, right?" Ye Guyi rolled her eyes at Xu Zihuang, then picked up her teacup and took a sip.

"Why don't you just marry into Ning Tian's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School?"

Xu Zihuang felt somewhat helpless upon noticing Ye Guyi's jealousy.

From Ning Tian's perspective, Ye Guyi was simply teasing Yu Tianhuang and her, and he leaned shyly against Ye Guyi.

"Sister Guyi——"

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."

Ye Guyi smiled and patted Ning Tian's head, combing his hair.

"Let's go back to our room, have a drink, and relax."

"Mm." Ning Tian obediently stood up, arm in arm with Ye Guyi. Although she couldn't hold her liquor, she didn't want to spoil Ye Guyi's mood at this moment.

Ye Guyi led Ning Tian toward her room. Before entering, she turned back meaningfully.

"Tianhuang, what are you waiting for? Aren't you coming?"

“Uh…” Xu Zihuang could only follow after him with a slightly stiff expression.

……

The second round of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament lasted two days. A total of forty-two teams advanced to the third round. Of these, thirty-two teams will enter the subsequent group stage.

Winning the third round of the preliminary knockout stage guarantees a place in the group stage. Even if they lose, they still have a chance to advance based on tiebreakers.

Based on the Shrek Academy team's performance in the first two rounds, they could advance to the group stage even without participating in the third round.

Xu Zihuang originally planned to stay at the hotel to continue his cultivation, but Zhang Lexuan's opponent in the third round made him change his mind on the spot.

Because Shrek Academy's team will face Tianlongmen in the third round of the preliminary elimination rounds.

Shrek Academy rest area.

Zhang Lexuan's expression was somewhat helpless. If she didn't know that the lottery ceremony couldn't be faked, she would have thought that the Sun Moon Empire was deliberately targeting Shrek Academy.

Although they received a bye in the first round, their opponents in the second round, Aojian Sect, and in the third round, Tianlong Sect, were both dark horses in this tournament.

Their opponent in the third round, the Heavenly Dragon Sect, is stronger overall than the Proud Sword Sect. They also advanced with overwhelming dominance in the first two rounds.

Moreover, there is an inseparable connection between the Heavenly Dragon Gate and Yu Tianhuang.