Bei Bei snapped, “You dare slander your eldest senior brother? Go, go!”
Huo Yuhao chortled as w.a.n.g Dong"er pushed his wheelchair out.
“Yuhao!” Bei Bei suddenly called.
Huo Yuhao turned back.
Bei Bei lowered his voice and said, “You have to prioritize your own safety if tonight"s operation cannot be completed. You"re the true future of the academy and the Tang Sect, and you cannot brave any dangers. Do you understand?”
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, and answered, “Rest a.s.sured, eldest senior brother. Have we not arranged this way before? According to our plan, everything will be fine. Don"t forget, I can…” He stopped talking, and gestured with his hands.
Bei Bei"s expression softened and relaxed as he nodded lightly and said, “Still, please be careful.”
“Yes.”
---
w.a.n.g Dong"er pushed Huo Yuhao out of Bei Bei"s room and returned to their own.
“Now that I think about it, I"m looking forward to tonight.” w.a.n.g Dong"er"s eyes suddenly grew excited as she shut the door behind her.
Huo Yuhao turned to look at her and said seriously, “Dong"er, when we are going through with the operation tonight, you can"t…”
“I know, I know, I have to think about the big picture. You"ve said that so many times.” w.a.n.g Dong"er smiled enchantingly as she spoke. However, a thread of anxiety quickly flowed through her eyes. “But I"m worried about you when I"m not by your side. Furthermore, you have to face so many more dangers and perils tonight compared to the rest of us. You have to control two situations at once, it"s going to be so tiring for you. In the event that you"re exposed, you don"t have to care about us. We will be able to escape even if we have to fight our way out forcefully. You must take care of yourself.”
Huo Yuhao nodded. He grasped w.a.n.g Dong"er"s hands and pulled her over to his side as he placed his arms around her slim waist and leaned in.
“I"m worried about one thing right now… the road we have to take when we are leaving. Eh?” Huo Yuhao was still leaning against w.a.n.g Dong"er when he suddenly sat up straight, and his eyes became a lot sharper and more focused than before.
He was staring at the tea table in the room.
Huo Yuhao had always been cautious and careful. He had swept the room with his spiritual power habitually when they came back, and he always started from one direction before he rotated his spiritual power in a circle so that he could make his sweep as thorough as he could. Huo Yuhao could feel that something wasn"t right when his spiritual power came across the tea table, because there was an extra something on top.
There was a letter, and it was definitely not there when they left for breakfast before this.
w.a.n.g Dong"er immediately raised her guard and half-squatted like a leopard. She leaned in close to Huo Yuhao"s body, and spiritual undulations instantly rippled from her body as she prepared to adapt and react to any eventuality.
Huo Yuhao waved his hand and said, “There"s no danger. I"m not sure who placed this here, but it looks like someone thoughtful.” He waved his right hand at the letter on the tabletop as he spoke, and used the Tang Sect"s Capturing Crane Controlling Dragon. The letter floated into the air and drifted towards him.
w.a.n.g Dong"er raised her right hand, and thin rays of faint golden light waltzed through the air as they nimbly removed the letter from the envelope without damaging its contents at all.
Their teamwork seemed very casual, but there was so much tacit understanding in it.
The letter opened up in midair to reveal a row of small and graceful words.
“Leave immediately! The western side is still safe for now. Hurry, hurry!”
No name was left at the end, there was only a circular marking.
w.a.n.g Dong"er"s eyebrows knitted faintly as she snapped around to look at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao contemplated for a moment before an awkward look surfaced on his face.
“You know who sent this?” w.a.n.g Dong"er was very sensitive, and she could immediately tell from his expression that he knew.
Huo Yuhao tilted his head and said, “It should be Ju Zi. I"ve seen this mark before. She used to leave this mark behind on the soul tools she created back at the Sun Moon Academy.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er grunted and said, “You"re getting it on with girls everywhere, huh? So, it"s a letter from an old flame.”
Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, “Now"s not the time to be jealous, Dong"er. Plus, don"t you already know my heart? There"s no s.p.a.ce for anybody else in my heart but you.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er giggled and s.n.a.t.c.hed the letter from the air. “I don"t get jealous so easily. But Ju Zi is very nice to you, indeed. She risked being discovered to send you a letter at a time such as this. You have to remember her feelings and her favor!”
Huo Yuhao tilted his head once more and said, “It seems like the situation is a lot more perilous than we had originally imagined.”
Huo Yuhao flicked the letter in his hands lightly and scrutinized the words once more. He lowered his voice and said, “I can tell from the words that Ju Zi knows some things about what the Sun Moon Empire wants to do against us. However, she"s from the Sun Moon Empire after all, and she"s also engaged to the crown prince. I don"t think she wants to tell us too much. Things are probably going to change, and chaos may break out after the finals. The Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Ghost Church might make a move against us immediately afterwards.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er asked, “The letter says that the western side is still safe for now. What does that mean? Does this mean that our judgments before this were wrong?”
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly and replied, “The western side is our only choice whether or not our predictions and judgments are wrong. The news that our eldest senior sister has given us is simply too astounding. There are Cla.s.s 9 stationary soul cannons locking down the other three sides. Those are frightening forces that are sufficient to kill t.i.tled Douluo, and possibly even Transcendent Douluo. They are considered the Sun Moon Empire"s strategic weapons, and they are taking out so many of them at once this time. It"s clear that they have made up their minds. Furthermore, they must have complementary locator-type soul tools with them.”
“The Star Luo Empire gave us that information. That also means that Xu Jiujiu, Wei Na, and the others all know about this. There is no question that they will choose the western path as well – under such circ.u.mstances, we will become even weaker and more isolated if we choose to break through one the other three fronts by ourselves. It"s better if we concentrate our forces and make an attempt on the western front. It"s a pity that she didn"t mention what the situation was like on the western side.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er said, “I believed at the start that working together with the Body Sect was like asking a tiger for its skin. They don"t typically do things like normal people. Furthermore, the plan cannot keep up with everything that"s happening. Everybody might be in danger when the time comes.”
Huo Yuhao continued, “The Tang Sect is the smallest target, and that"s our only advantage for now. Furthermore, if we end up facing an unbeatable foe, or we find ourselves in irrevocable danger, I can only expose myself and take everyone into my demiplane of specters. At most, we can hide in there for some time before coming back out. Radiant City can"t stay locked down forever. Anyhow, we will follow the other three main powers to break through the western front when the time comes, and if something happens or problems arise, I will immediately hide and protect myself.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er said, “Alright. Fortunately, you have still have that trump card. I wouldn"t be so agreeable to this, otherwise.”
Huo Yuhao said, “We should plan more carefully so that we can plug any loopholes that might appear as tightly as we can.”
“Okay.”
------
The deathly silence in Radiant City lasted all the way till midday. The overly excited citizens from yesterday were slowly waking up, and everything seemed to return to normal.
However, the final that was about to happen the next day seemed to be a little colorless compared to the Tang Sect"s epic fight against the Holy Ghost Sect the previous day. It was clear that the Tang Sect was undoubtedly stronger than Shrek Academy, as they had managed to defeat the Holy Ghost Sect. However, the only uncertainty was how much the Tang Sect could recover after their excessive exhaustion and consumption from their previous battle.
The sun slunk towards the west as time continued to pa.s.s, and Radiant City"s atmosphere became a little more bustling. The reason for that was because another tournament close to home was about to begin. This was also the final round!
The Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament, organized by the three underground organizations, was about to have its grand finals tonight.
The three underground organizations sent forth three soul engineers each.
The grand finals" betting process was spectacular and colorful. There were many details regarding the nine partic.i.p.ating soul engineers circulating around.
The audience was allowed to bet on rankings, on the first three, and on the champion. There were several other strange betting options for the rankings, and many gamblers were spoiled for choice.
The three underground organizations thought as long and hard as they could in order to maximize their profits. They unleashed every single ounce of their influence so that they could lead as many citizens to the grand finals, and so that these citizens could partic.i.p.ate in the last betting phase of the tournament.
The prizes that the partic.i.p.ating soul engineers stood to win in the grand finals were extremely generous and luxurious.
The final champion would win a Cla.s.s 9 soul tool. The soul tool itself was a priceless item, and the champion would also win one ton of rare metals that the champion could choose at his or her own discretion at the same time.
Forty-nine rare metals would be available for the picking when the time came, as long as the total weight didn"t exceed one ton, and each of the rare metals didn"t weigh more than a hundred kilos.
The first and second runners-up had prizes as well, but these prizes were stark in comparison to what the champion would receive. They didn"t get Cla.s.s 9 soul tools, and would only get one ton of rare metals.
The remaining soul engineers wouldn"t win a single dime.
This reward system was undoubtedly aimed at instigating the nine partic.i.p.ating soul engineers" compet.i.tiveness and will to win.
Furthermore, these were the prizes that were to be given on the surface. The three underground organizations each had their own form of encouragement for their partic.i.p.ating soul engineers, and these soul engineers would receive plentiful rewards from their respective organizations if they won something in the grand finals.
This attractive reward system was the reason why so many young soul engineers had partic.i.p.ated in this tournament.
------
Inside the Green Hotel...
“Tang Si and Tang Wu aren"t here yet? Did you not inform them about the timing?” Third Elder glared at Chen An solemnly, and his eyes became a little cold and eerie.
Chen An"s forehead broke out in a cold sweat as he said hurriedly, “I have informed them. I informed them a long time ago, I told them right after the semifinals ended that they had to be here early today, so that we could make some final preparations.”
“Hmph! If they don"t show up on time, you will compensate the Duskwater Alliance"s losses. You"ll have to pay with your life,” Third Elder muttered coldly.