Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and just nodded. “Everyone has a chance. We will all fight with everything we have. I just hope that this tournament will not affect our friendship. In the end, we’re still business partners, are we not?”
Wei Na’s eyes lit up as she said, “That’s what I wanted to say, as well! No matter how this tournament turns out, we will still be business partners. I’m looking forward to more cooperation with the Tang Sect in the future!”
“Definitely!”
Both parties kept walking out as they talked. Once they left the main door, Mu Xue, Wei Na, and the rest of the Snowdemon Sect bid their farewells to the Tang Sect before they took their leave.
The other teams left as well.
Bei Bei said, “Let’s head back as well. Let’s have a meeting in my room.”
------
The Tang Sect’s members gathered in Bei Bei’s room. They hadn’t moved to the second level, but the Tang Sect’s new room was a lot better than their old and decrepit one from before.
Xu Sanshi stretched out lazily on the sofa and said, “Why are we having a meeting, Bei Bei? Today’s lottery turned out pretty well. We should have a good rest and destroy the Holy Ghost Sect when the time comes. We have to knock some sense into Xiao Ya, no matter what.”
Bei Bei frowned and said, “Don’t think it’s all fine and dandy. We have to defeat the Snowdemon Sect before we can fight the Holy Ghost Sect.”
Xu Sanshi was a little surprised. “Are you kidding me, Bei Bei? Do we really have to open a meeting for our battle against the Heavenly Soul Empire’s Snowdemon Sect? I think they were lucky to be top in their group. On the other hand, I think the Heavenly Dragon Sect is stronger than they are, and they will be the ones standing in the way of Shrek Academy’s in their group.”
Bei Bei grunted coldly and said, “It’s not as easy as you think. Tell him, little junior brother. What problems are we going to face?”
Huo Yuhao understood that his eldest senior brother wanted to test him. “We can’t overlook one sect.”
Xu Sanshi was momentarily stunned. “What sect?”
Huo Yuhao answered, “The Body Sect!”
“The Body Sect? Haven’t they been keeping their heads down this entire time?”
Huo Yuhao said, “That’s the point. They haven’t revealed themselves yet, so we have to pay extra attention to them. According to reliable sources, the Body Sect is definitely participating in this tournament. However, they haven’t shown any tracks yet. What does this mean? This means that the Body Sect is hidden within another team, and they haven’t shown their true colors yet. This team is quite strong, and what I can tell from the current situation, the Body Sect is likely to be embedded among one of quarterfinalists.”
“Of the eight quarterfinalists, the Shrek Academy, us, and the Holy Ghost Sect can be excluded. These three teams simply cannot have any people from the Body Sect embedded inside them. Of the five remaining teams, the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy is also unlikely. After all, the Body Sect once ambushed the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and they are on bad terms with the Sun Moon Empire. The Proudsword Sect, the Heavenly Dragon Sect, the Snowdemon Sect, and the Star Luo National Academy are suspects. If I’m not wrong, the Body Sect’s people are definitely hidden within one of their reserve lineups.”
Bei Bei nodded, satisfied at Yuhao’s words. “He’s right. Therefore, don’t think that we are lucky for drawing the Snowdemon Sect! There’s a twenty-five percent chance that the Snowdemon Sect has people from the Body Sect hidden inside their team. If they want to defeat us, then the Body Sect will definitely have to fight. Therefore, it’s very probable that we will be up against a very formidable opponent in our next match.”
The corner of Xu Sanshi’s mouth twitched. “We can’t be that unlucky, can we? One in four? Will we actually meet them? However, it seems like the Shrek Academy’s lot is pretty good. They’re up against the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy! That means they don’t even have a one-in-four chance of going up against the Body Sect!”
Bei Bei continued, “No matter which team the Body Sect is hidden in, every single team in the quarterfinals is quite strong. It’s likely that the Body Sect will show themselves in the quarterfinals. We cannot rest our hopes on luck, and that means we have to be careful with what we decide to do.”
Xiao Xiao heaved a faint sigh and said, “It would be fantastic if the Body Sect is hidden inside the Star Luo National Academy.”
A smile appeared on everyone’s faces when she said this.
Wasn’t that right? The Star Luo National Academy was going up against the Holy Ghost Church. The Body Sect against the Holy Ghost Sect would be a spectacular battle! If they ended up dealing heavy losses to each other, that would be a perfect outcome for the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy.
Huo Yuhao sighed faintly and said, “Even though I wish that were true, I have to say that it’s very unlikely.”
“Why?” Xiao Xiao asked curiously.
Huo Yuhao answered, “It’s very simple. Have you guys not realized that the Star Luo Empire has been trying to reach out to Shrek Academy? They have always been trying to form an alliance or some kind of camaraderie with us, and they’ve always been trying to get the academy’s help. Princess Jiujiu’s urgency and her eagerness wasn’t fake when she was purchasing the Zhuge Divine Crossbows! She requested a Titled Douluo test the Zhuge Divine Crossbow as soon as possible! If we think from their perspective, if the Star Luo National Academy had a partner as formidable as the Body Sect, in addition to the fact that the Body Sect isn’t on good terms with Shrek Academy, why would they be so eager to lean towards us?”
Everyone’s heads bobbed up and down as they listened to his analysis.
Bei Bei said, “Little junior brother makes a lot of sense. Therefore, our chances of meeting them have become one in three. Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s discuss our battle strategies and tactics for the next round.”
There were fewer and fewer teams staying in the Brilliant Delight Hotel as the tournament progressed over time. Most of the teams who had been eliminated from the tournament had chosen to leave, as this place was considered a sad place for them now. Of course, some teams had wanted to stay so that they could continue watching the tournament. This was a great opportunity that they didn’t want to miss. But the teams that had been eliminated were forced to move out of the Brilliant Delight Hotel.
Therefore, the spacious and tremendous Brilliant Delight Hotel was only housing eight teams at the moment. The entire hotel seemed empty and uninhabited.
But this emptiness was filled with a stifled atmosphere. The next three rounds represented glory, wealth, and reputation, all at once, for every quarterfinalist!
Shrek Academy undoubtedly felt the most pressure, because they were the previous season’s champions, and much of their glory and reputation was at stake. Their opponents in the subsequent rounds were simply too powerful, but their draw was considered fortunate. At the very least, they were up against one of the weaker teams in the quarterfinals. But what about afterwards? Everything that was to come was hard to predict!
The Holy Ghost Sect was the most mysterious team. Their team members rarely showed themselves in public other than in the arena during the tournament.
The Tang Sect was no longer considered a dark horse. Their team members’ identities had been investigated and publicized after their impressive showing. When everyone discovered that they were the Shrek Academy team that had clinched the championship last season, their label as a dark horse vanished into thin air.
It was even more taxing for Huo Yuhao, because he had to prepare for the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Competition’s grand finals on top of his official tournament.
This tournament’s timing was alternated from the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. Therefore, the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament’s grand finals was fixed on the second day after the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament’s semifinals. This also meant that the underground tournament’s grand finals was one day away from the other one. It was the best way to attract more people to bet and wager!
Nine people were participating in the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament. Huo Yuhao had used his necromancy to defeat his opponent in the previous round, but he had no idea what the final round’s rules were going to be. This was a soul engineer tournament, after all, and it was natural that the rules of the grand finals would be adjusted after he had set a precedent by using his martial soul to defeat his opponent. The other two underground organizations would also be very careful about such a thing.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao had to design some of his own authentic soul tools, besides preparing for their quarterfinals, so that he could win something in the underground tournament. He had to claim this championship for the Tang Sect’s development, and also because he wanted to go undercover in his enemy’s camp.
Two days were given for the quarterfinalists to take a breather, and every team took this chance to rest up.
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The quarterfinals were finally here. Radiant City was bustling early in the morning, and dawn had yet to break when citizens thronged out of the city to claim a good spot to watch the tournament from.
The quarterfinals would conclude today. There were four matches to be fought, and every match was one strong team against another. Nobody wanted to miss a single match for anything in the world.
Every single citizen who was hurrying out of the city along the roads and streets was carrying dry rations and water. They were prepared to spend an entire day in and around the spectator’s grandstands, and they were going together in groups. What was the benefit of going together with friends? The greatest one was that their seats wouldn’t be taken by others if they wanted to head to the bathroom when the time came!
The masses of toilets that had been set up outside the city specifically for the tournament since its beginning had actually amassed quite some fertilizer for the farms around the Radiant City, though the farmers had to be the only ones who were excited about that.
According to the tournament’s rules, the first group would fight it out in the morning, while the second group would have their chance in the afternoon.
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When the sun peeked out from the horizon, the teams that represented the strongest youths in the world walked out of the city as platoons of soldiers formed human walls to escort them.
Not only were the first four teams that were fighting in the morning going to the arena, but the second group – the Holy Ghost Sect, the Tang Sect, the Snowdemon Sect, and the Star Luo National Academy – had all gotten up early in the morning, as well.
There was no need to watch the other rounds during the round robins, and each team could just mind their own business. However, it was imperative for every team to understand their adversaries during the quarterfinals. At the same time, it was also better to head down to the arena so that they could get used to its atmosphere as early as possible.
The quarterfinals would be the true showdown between powerhouses. After today, the quarterfinals would narrow down into the semifinals, and the four eliminated teams would be heading home.
Huo Yuhao was still sitting silently in his wheelchair. The quarterfinalists didn’t leave the Brilliant Delight Hotel at the same time, which was why they were the only team on the street at the moment.