Douluo Continent: Angel Saint Huo Yuhao

Chapter 166 Xu Tianzhen

'Master, by the time you read this letter, I will have already gone with Director Lin and the others to participate in the friendly match... During the time I was away...'

Huo Yuhao read the letter he had taken from under the door, and only when he saw the signature at the end did he realize why he hadn't seen Nana for the past few days.

He also understood why he hadn't encountered those Shrek Academy students for quite some time.

"So they all went to the competition."

Huo Yuhao glanced at the envelope and then took out a ticket from it: "Mingdu Inter-Academy Friendship Match".

Unsurprisingly, Lin Jiayi was the actual host of the entire event.

After Jing Hongchen gave his approval, he began to implement his plan to add bonds, including all students under the age of twenty in the Sun and Moon Academy in the selection process, and after several rounds of competition, he selected the top twenty.

Perfect timing! Apart from Huo Yuhao and He Caitou, who had no interest in the competition, Shrek Academy still has eight members left, enough to form four seven-person teams with Sun Moon Academy.

It must be said that this move was indeed remarkably effective. Even traditional Shrek academy students like Ye Xiaosheng couldn't resist the allure of the competition and ended up living and working with the Sun Moon Academy students to hone their tactics.

They were practically becoming brothers...

"Then--"

Huo Yuhao's eyes twitched a few times: "These twenty people were crammed with seven more holy servants? No... how did these people manage that?"

If he remembered correctly, none of these holy servants, except for Nana, could reach the Soul King realm, right?

How did they manage to survive multiple rounds of elimination and squeeze into the top 20?

"magic."

Huo Yuhao put away the letter and shook the ticket in his hand: "Why don't we go and see how they perform?"

The time and location are marked in the bottom right corner of the ticket. If he rushes there now, he can still make it in time and might even catch a glimpse of the end of the opening ceremony.

However, before he even reached the academy gate, a series of loud noises erupted from the scattered crowd.

Looking back, the thrusters behind the figure were at full power, and in an instant, it shot out a hundred meters away. The scorching exhaust and vibrating sound waves from the nozzles were like a street blast, startling pedestrians who hurriedly scrambled to get out of the way.

"Jing Ziyan?"

Huo Yuhao paused for a moment, then pointed, the force derived from the Crane Control and Dragon Capture technique connecting the two. Dragged by the force, he suddenly accelerated, using the Ghostly Shadow Steps to reach Jing Ziyan's side in a few steps.

Are you going to a friendly match now?

"You're going to be a spectator too?"

Jing Ziyan glanced at him with some surprise, then pulled out a ticket with two fingers: "That's strange... I thought you had no interest in battles where Soul Masters are the main characters."

"Actually, I'm not that interested in Soul Master battles..."

Huo Yuhao's lips twitched: "I just wanted to go out for a walk."

If it weren't for these holy servants quietly putting together a big show for him, he wouldn't have had much interest in watching the battle.

'Hopefully he didn't get there through cheating; using such underhanded methods too often can easily lead to trouble...'

Sighing inwardly, Huo Yuhao glanced subconsciously behind Jing Ziyan again: "Just you alone?"

"Yu Mengdi had already left with the main group a long time ago, saying that he was going to keep an eye on those former evil soul masters, fearing that they might use some evil power to seize victory in the competition."

Jing Ziyan put away the ticket in her hand, and the moment she crossed the academy gate and arrived at the square, she suddenly leaped into the air. The thrusters on her back disassembled and retracted, replaced by gradually unfolding flight wings:

"As for me, I just overslept."

"..." "Why do you have that expression?"

Jing Ziyan glanced at Huo Yuhao, who was suspended in mid-air like a kite. The sudden complexity in his expression made it seem as if he had been caught up in some kind of memory.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about some lazybones who likes to stay in bed."

Huo Yuhao sighed softly, and the aircraft given to him by Xuan Ziwen appeared behind him. As the six prisms on the metal shell lit up, the dual vertical nozzles also provided extraordinary power in the form of actual fireworks.

Although he did not show any exaggerated fluctuations in soul power, the flying machine behind him clearly unleashed a speed that surpassed that of some agility-based Soul Saints.

"Hiss~ Is this the latest achievement of the Mingdetang group?"

Jing Ziyan, who was flaming from behind, steadied herself and looked at the flying vehicle Huo Yuhao was carrying with surprise.

Although its soul power fluctuations were not obvious, its speed was not slow at all. Judging from its performance, this thing was at least level seven.

'If this technology were used in war…'

A hint of worry flashed in Jing Ziyan's eyes: 'Low-level battlefields will only become more like meat grinders.'

With artillery fire raging and radiation barrages sweeping across the land, individual strength was completely suppressed by the equipment's performance, turning them into mere mobile, single-unit artillery turrets; even a glancing blow would result in death or serious injury.

……

The Sun and Moon Square is now largely abandoned.

As one of the few open spaces in the city center, this place has always been used as a venue for national events and the Continental Soul Master Competition. Over the centuries, it has become more than just a place that has weathered many storms.

It is precisely because this place has become so old that the Sun and Moon Empire has designated a new area on the outskirts of the city to build a new plaza.

Of course, the old man continued to contribute his remaining energy until the new place was completed.

"...I hereby declare the first round of this friendly match officially begin!"

Standing on the high platform, Lin Jiayi appeared spirited and confident, while the many teams waiting for the draw in the arena also carried a sense of fighting spirit, and the eye contact between them, both overt and covert, never stopped.

"Those guys actually managed to urinate in the same pot?"

The handsome young man standing at the head of a certain academy looked on with surprise, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the team that was a mix of Sun Moon and Shrek Academy members, his strangeness and oddity growing stronger.

In addition, it seems to imply a shattering of certain beliefs.

"How can they get mixed up like this...? Why should they?"

The more Xu Tianzhen looked, the more depressed she became.

She had longed for Shrek Academy, the holy land of soul masters, since childhood, and greatly admired their spirit of discarding soul tools as worthless. From childhood to adulthood, she maintained an extremely pure path of soul master growth.

So now they're telling her Shrek has changed its route?

He plans to pick up the soul tools that he once ruthlessly suppressed, and pursue the combat power boost brought by external objects.

"Sister-in-law?"

Her teammates standing behind her exchanged glances, and finally one of them poked her in the back: "...It's time for the draw. If you don't go now, you'll just withdraw from the competition without a reason."

"I understand! I can see!"

Xu Tianzhen stepped onto the stage, seething with resentment. As she drew lots, her hostile gaze glared fiercely at Nana in front of her: "I will definitely teach you a lesson on behalf of the academy!"

In her eyes, this young girl who had already reached the Soul King realm could only be a top student sent by Shrek Academy.

(End of this chapter)