There were three people seated at the farthest table inside the restaurant. They seemed a little strange, as they had conical bamboo hats over their heads and veils draped over their faces. It was difficult to make out their physical appearances, and even their figures were hidden beneath wide, oversized robes.
The person seated at the innermost corner said said, “I didn"t expect this to happen.” She had a bright and crisp voice, but she wasn"t loud. Her voice had a limpid and sweet-sounding quality.
Another woman"s voice rang out to her right. Her charming and enchanting voice was filled with lament as she said, “Yes! Who would"ve thought that the Tang Sect could defeat the Holy Ghost Sect? Sister Zhang, do you know what ability they used at the end?”
The voice that belonged to the leftmost girl had a special feminine quality. She answered, “I"m not sure, either. However, it"s true that everyone from the Tang Sect can be considered the most elite and outstanding individuals from the academy"s younger generation.”
The innermost girl said, “Given enough time, they will definitely become Shrek Academy"s mainstays and cornerstones. But I don"t understand, why didn"t they represent Shrek Academy in this tournament? If they had w.a.n.g Qiu"er, they would"ve had an easier time claiming the championship.”
The innermost lady was the Star Luo Empire"s princess, Xu Jiujiu, while the girl sitting on the right was the Heavenly Soul Empire"s princess, Wei Na. The girl on the left was Shrek Academy"s eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan.
Who would have expected that these three ladies who represented three different powers would come together in such a small and dilapidated restaurant? But it was easier to avoid discovery in a place like this.
Zhang Lexuan smiled casually and said, “They have their own reasons. Our academy isn"t a sect after all, and we won"t hold them back.”
Xu Jiujiu didn"t continue harping on the issue, even though she was shaken and dumbfounded when the Tang Sect eradicated the Holy Ghost Sect"s entire team without losing a single team member of their own. No matter what, Shrek"s Seven Monsters made up the Tang Sect"s core, and even though Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na looked up to them, they still weren"t those top-tier powerful individuals. The two princesses had many more responsibilities than just the tournament.
Xu Jiujiu lowered her voice and said, “How are things looking on your side, Sister Zhang?”
Zhang Lexuan naturally knew what she was trying to say. She tilted her head and said, “I"ve discussed it with our elders, and we have decided to partic.i.p.ate in your operation.”
Both Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na trembled at the same time as they heard this. There was nothing more exciting than this piece of news for either of them.
“Alright. Our chances are so much better with your aid.” Xu Jiujiu planted her hands on the table excitedly. Even though she deliberately kept her voice down, the other two girls could still hear the exhilaration in her voice.
Wei Na nodded as well and said, “That"s great! We have to unite in the face of a great enemy, and I hope this will serve as a beneficial beginning. The Sun Moon Empire isn"t impregnable, no matter how strong they are.”
The Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire felt a lot more urgency in dealing with the Sun Moon Empire, at least compared to Shrek Academy. These two empires would have to take the vanguard if the Sun Moon Empire launched an invasion.
Zhang Lexuan whispered, “Alright, let"s talk about the details. Time is of the essence, and we will go back to making the necessary arrangements after our discussion. You don"t have to hide the details of our operation anymore.”
Xu Jiujiu nodded at once. She harbored no suspicions about Zhang Lexuan. Given Shrek Academy"s status on the Continent, they wouldn"t leak details about the operation even if they weren"t partic.i.p.ating. Furthermore, Shrek Academy had already declared that they would partic.i.p.ate, and they wouldn"t go back on their word. This was the reputation and trust that Shrek Academy had acc.u.mulated and built up over the years. Both empires also knew about Zhang Lexuan"s entry into the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion. Her presence was enough to represent the entire academy.
The three women"s" voices faded into silence, and only their mouths shifted up and down behind their veils.
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“How are things going?” Xu Tianran leaned against a soft couch. His eyes were closed into slits, but they were sparkling with emotion as he stared at a man completely covered in black kneeling not far from the couch.
“Your Highness, the arrangements have been made. Soldiers have been delegated in the north, south, and east. Every single region is anch.o.r.ed by Cla.s.s 9 soul engineers, and every spot has more than five stationary soul cannon sh.e.l.ls. They should know about our setup due to our deliberate leaks.”
Xu Tianran laughed grimly and said, “How about the west? How are preparations going?”
The man in black said, “We are prepared in the west as well. Those people from before are still at the western front, and we have given them one last chance.”
Xu Tianran nodded and said, “Very well done. Continue making preparations, and make sure that everyone is on the highest alert and vigilance over the next two days, so that we can be prepared for every possibility. You may leave.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the man in black acknowledged respectfully.
He stood up and quickly vanished into the darkness.
A thoughtful look appeared on Xu Tianran"s face. “I hope they make the right choice, and that they choose the western path. We won"t have to expend so much effort and energy that way.”
With that, his body suddenly drifted up from the soft couch he was on, and he floated over to his wheelchair without releasing his martial soul. He pushed forward with his hands through his sleeves, and his wheelchair began sliding out.
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The epic fight between the Tang Sect and the Holy Ghost Sect made the city"s atmosphere a lot warmer and more enthusiastic. Everything settled down overnight, and Radiant City seemed exceptionally calm and quiet when dawn broke the next day. It felt as if the entire city was still in a deep slumber, and it wasn"t about to wake up for a long time.
Huo Yuhao was up early in the morning. He had astonishing regenerative abilities, and he also had the Haodong Power that he shared with w.a.n.g Dong"er. He felt as if he had been revived after the previous night"s rest. He was full of energy and vitality this morning.
w.a.n.g Dong"er pushed his wheelchair into Bei Bei"s room after they had breakfast.
w.a.n.g Dong"er knocked twice on the door, with no response. She was just about to use the room key that Bei Bei had given Huo Yuhao, the door opened from the inside.
Zhang Lexuan was the one who opened the door. Her eyes seemed red and swollen, as if she had just been crying.
“Uh… h.e.l.lo, eldest senior sister. Why don"t we come back later?” Huo Yuhao looked a little awkwardly at Zhang Lexuan.
Zhang Lexuan frowned and said, “Come in. I"ve just finished delivering breakfast to Bei Bei and tending to his wounds.” She stepped aside and let them in.
w.a.n.g Dong"er"s gaze was a little strange as she pushed Huo Yuhao into Bei Bei"s room.
There was a thick medicinal smell in the room; n.o.body trusted the Sun Moon Empire to send someone to heal Bei Bei"s wounds. Instead, Shrek Academy sent a healing-type soul master to complete this task.
Bei Bei"s face was very pale as he lay in bed. This was the second time he had sustained severe injuries since coming to Radiant City.
He had suffered internal injuries last time, and he was recovering from heavy external injuries this time. However, Bei Bei"s eyes seemed as bright as ever; his wounds were severe, but his condition had stabilized after treatment. Powerful soul masters had bodies far stronger and tougher than normal people, and external wounds healed far quicker than internal ones.
“I"m going to go back. We will follow the plan.” Zhang Lexuan seemed to revert to the majestic and dignified eldest senior sister. She nodded at Bei Bei, then at Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong"er, before she turned to leave. She even closed the door behind her.
w.a.n.g Dong"er pushed Huo Yuhao over to Bei Bei"s bedside. Huo Yuhao asked concernedly, “How are you feeling, eldest senior brother?”
Bei Bei smiled faintly and said, “Don"t worry, I"m fine. My injuries are lighter than you think; Xiao Ya"s Bluesilver Gra.s.s didn"t shatter my bones, and it pa.s.sed between my ribs. I managed to deliberately dislocate four of my ribs in the nick of time to avoid direct contact, and I also deliberately shifted my organs aside. My injuries seem bad, but they are simple external injuries. I feel a lot better after treatment, and my ribs and organs have returned to their original positions.”
Huo Yuhao"s eyes lit up as he listened to Bei Bei"s words. My eldest senior brother is such a great strategist.
“I wonder how teacher Xiao Ya is doing,” Huo Yuhao lamented.
Bei Bei replied, “I carefully felt her spiritual undulations when we were together. I could feel that her spirit was obscured behind a layer of filth, and her personal consciousness had been completely silenced and locked away. Fortunately, her memories haven"t been removed. The evil soul masters sealed her memories so that they could maintain her fighting will. They used their sinister abilities to gradually shift and change her personality, so that her memories from the past would slowly fade away. They didn"t directly remove her memories, as doing so would affect her cultivation. Her circ.u.mstances could be much worse.
“I sustained injuries as a price so that I could trigger some kind of reaction from Xiao Ya. What happened afterwards proved that I was quite successful, and I think I"ve managed to break through a crack to Xiao Ya"s silenced inner heart. Even though the evil soul masters sealed it up again right away, how can it be so easy to seal her away entirely?”
A confident smile broke out across Bei Bei"s face. Compared to before, he seemed as if he possessed extraordinary intelligence, and the resolve to face anything that came his way.
Huo Yuhao felt a little fearful as he said exasperatedly, “Eldest senior brother, are you saying all this just to console us?”
“Ahem,” Bei Bei cleared his throat twice and said, “Why would I do that? I"m saying all this so that I can strengthen your confidence. Yesterday was so close! Who can match you in terms of secrets, depth, and hiding abilities? You really caught everyone"s attention and gained everyone"s respect after yesterday"s match. However, you have been placed at the heart of the struggle, where the wind and the waves are the fiercest. The Holy Ghost Church probably hates you to the core.”
Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, “Let them hate me, it"s not like I can control their emotions anyway. Eldest senior brother, did you arrange everything with eldest senior sister when she came by?”
Bei Bei nodded and said, “Everything has been arranged. What an exciting and busy night we shall have! I wonder what will become of Radiant City tomorrow morning, when the finals are about to begin.”
Huo Yuhao said, “Since you"ve already enjoyed eldest senior sister"s breakfast filled with love, we don"t have to give you the food that we"ve brought for you. You should have a good rest; Dong"er and I will take our leave.”