Douluo Continent: The Eternal Dawn

Chapter 147 Red Dust Brothers and Sisters
When Ye Xixuan and Tang Wutong walked out of the conference room, the empty corridor was completely silent. The soft soul-guided light illuminated the wide corridor, making it look magnificent, and the walls on both sides were decorated with various exquisite and retro murals.

The clean crystal floor shimmered, reflecting light onto their faces.

This Star Emperor Hotel truly lives up to its reputation as a hotel exclusively for royalty. While its overall scale isn't particularly large, its level of luxury is absolutely unparalleled. In certain aspects, it represents the face of the Star Luo Empire's royal family.

The day before the competition began, it wasn't just the Shrek Academy team that was having a meeting; almost all the participating academies were mobilizing their teams.

Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy consistently ranked second in every competition, so their treatment at the Star Emperor Hotel was almost identical to that of Shrek Academy. The two teams were seated on opposite sides of the top floor of the Star Emperor Hotel.

At that moment, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy team finished their pre-match meeting and walked out of the conference room on the other side of the corridor, where they bumped into Ye Xixuan and his companion from a distance.

The leaders were two elderly men, who stood at the front of each of the two groups.

The students on the left are noticeably older, appearing to be close to twenty years old, while the students on the right are slightly younger, probably no more than fifteen years old.

Unlike Shrek Academy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy once again sent its complete regular team and reserve team, totaling fourteen people. Not only was the pool of personnel abundant, but each individual's cultivation level was also quite remarkable.

This was the first meeting between the two parties after staying at the Star Emperor Hotel for so many days.

The old man standing in front of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy's regular team had a full beard, a tall and burly build, and short white hair like steel needles. The hair at his temples connected with his beard, giving him a rather fierce and imposing appearance.

Of the two team leaders, he was clearly the true leader, exuding authority. He first scrutinized Ye Xixuan and Tang Wutong across the aisle with a deep gaze before solemnly instructing the group, "Go back."

"Yes, Elder Ma." On the side of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, whether it was the regular team or the reserve team members, they all had great faith in this old man.

However, Old Master Ma's imposing presence wasn't applied to everyone; the two young men and women standing at the very front of the reserve team seemed somewhat unconcerned. Their very position revealed their extraordinary status.

The young man at the head of the group was tall and handsome, with bright blue eyes. But what was most striking were his long, slender, fair hands, with a jade-like luster that even girls would find hard to possess.

The young man smiled faintly and said casually, "Mr. Ma, you should go back first. Menglai and I want to meet our only opponent in this competition. Hopefully, they can put some pressure on us. Otherwise, it would be too boring if we won too easily in the end."

"Xiao Hongchen, you better behave yourself and don't cause trouble." Before Old Ma could speak, the burly young man behind him, who bore a striking resemblance to him, immediately darkened his expression. The young man was none other than Ma Rulong, the captain of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy's regular team, and also the grandson of the team leader, Old Ma.

Xiao Hongchen smiled and said, "Brother Ma, I'm being honest. Aren't you curious? The reason why the people from Shrek Academy haven't shown up these past few days might simply be due to an accident, rather than out of arrogance and contempt, as Elder Ma just said in the meeting?"

“You…” A murderous glint flashed in Ma Rulong’s eyes. Xiao Hongchen’s words were tantamount to challenging his grandfather’s authority. But Ma Lao glared at him and said in a deep voice, “Alright, go back and rest.”

"Xiao Hongchen, you should know your place." Even with Old Ma's status, he was somewhat wary of Xiao Hongchen's background and dared not restrain him too much.

Although Xiao Hongchen always wore a smile, the arrogance deep in his eyes seemed to place him above everyone else. He simply stood there with his sister Meng Hongchen, smiling as they watched Elder Ma and the others leave.

Both Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen possessed clear, deep blue eyes and long, unusual wine-red hair that shimmered with a subtle sheen. Her gaze remained fixed on Ye Xixuan and Tang Wutong as they approached, and while marveling at their appearance and demeanor, she blushed slightly and whispered a reminder in Xiao Hongchen's ear.

"Brother, it looks like they're coming."

“Let’s go too.” Xiao Hongchen smiled calmly and started walking again with Meng Hongchen at a leisurely pace.

The brother and sister were lost in their own fantasy world, one of them indulging in a daydream, the other habitually swooning over a crush. But in the next instant, their expressions suddenly froze.

Tang Wutong completely ignored the two of them and pulled Ye Xixuan to open her room door. Xiao Hongchen, unable to maintain his composure any longer, quickened his pace, slightly exasperated, and shouted, "Hey! Wait a minute!"

"Who are you?!" Tang Wutong was already frantic, eager to pull Ye Xixuan into the room. Being suddenly stopped by Xiao Hongchen, she naturally wouldn't give him a friendly look.

"Do we even know you?! Don't get involved with us if you have no reason to!"

Upon seeing Tang Wutong's flawless beauty and figure up close, both Hongchen and his sister were stunned. Xiao Hongchen's reaction stemmed from envy and jealousy of Ye Xixuan, while Meng Hongchen was more of a silent comparison between herself and Tang Wutong.

"Is there something you need?" Ye Xixuan, having awakened his memories of his past life, recognized the identities of the Hongchen siblings at a glance and calmly examined them.

As she extended her right hand, Meng Hongchen, her pretty face slightly flushed, answered first, "Hello, my name is Meng Hongchen, and I would like to get to know you."

"Dream, what's wrong with you?!"

"What are you doing?!" Xiao Hongchen and Tang Wutong exclaimed almost simultaneously.

Tang Wutong clung to Ye Xixuan like a cat with its fur standing on end, her eyes glancing at Meng Hongchen with a look of wariness.

Xiao Hongchen was speechless. Why did his younger sister seem to be turning against him right from the start?

After realizing her mistake, Meng Hongchen also noticed her lapse in composure. She stood behind her brother and lowered her head shyly, but she kept stealing glances at Ye Xixuan from time to time.

Xiao Hongchen immediately touched his face with his hand, sighed wearily, then composed himself and stared intently into Ye Xixuan's eyes.

"Remember my name, I am Xiao Hongchen, and I am destined to defeat your Shrek Academy opponents."

"Oh." Ye Xixuan responded noncommittally and pulled Tang Wutong into the room.

"boom--"

As the door slammed shut with a dull thud, Xiao Hongchen could no longer contain himself, clenching his fists in a near-hysterical frenzy. He was the one who had come to deliver the harsh words, so why did he feel so aggrieved and frustrated instead of pleased?

"What does he mean?!"

"Brother, didn't he respond to you?" Meng Hongchen cupped her face in her hands, her eyes glazed over, her thoughts already wandering elsewhere.

"Didn't you think he was really charming just now?"

"Shut up! Whose side are you on anyway?!" Xiao Hongchen really couldn't stand her infatuated younger sister anymore.

"Didn't you see they all live together? Even if you rush over to join them, do you think they'll even care about you?"

"What if he likes it this way?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)