Zhou Huan: Xiao Hongchen? I'll Scare the Hell Out of You!

After Huo Gua led the team back to the Star Emperor Hotel, Zhou Huan and two others changed clothes and slightly concealed their appearances before returning to the spectator stands at Star Luo Plaza.

Wang Yan had already gone off to some corner to gather intelligence on the other participating teams, and Zhou Huan naturally had no interest in looking for him.

After the three of them watched several more unremarkable seven-person team battles, Zhou Huan finally heard the name of an academy that interested him—Righteous Heaven Academy.

Once both teams took the stage, the Referee immediately announced, "The eighth match of the Soul Fighting Tournament Preliminary Round: Righteous Heaven Academy versus Balak Academy! Begin!"

Then, Zhou Huan and two others witnessed a one-sided crushing match, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves!

After the entire Righteous Heaven Academy team unleashed their Martial Souls, the Balak Academy members were visibly stunned, nearly frightened into withdrawing their own Martial Souls mid-activation.

What had they seen?

The seven people standing across from them included three Soul Kings and four Soul Ancestors!

And what about their own side?

Only the captain and vice-captain were Soul Ancestors. Everyone else was merely high-level Soul Elders.

There was simply no way to fight a team battle like this!

And that was indeed how it turned out. Righteous Heaven Academy only sent out one Soul King and four Soul Ancestors, yet in less than three minutes, they threw all seven members of Balak Academy off the competition stage.

It had been a victory without the slightest suspense!

Zhou Huan, seated in the spectator area, had wanted to see just how powerful Ye Wuqing was—the nineteen-year-old, Rank 58 Assault-type Battle Soul King and captain of Righteous Heaven Academy's team.

Yet Ye Wuqing never made a move at all.

Even the other Soul King beside him, Tang Xiaolei, did not make a move.

Zhou Huan naturally did not know Tang Xiaolei, but he knew that Tang Xiaolei's Martial Soul was the Purple Splendor Bow.

Meanwhile, the third Soul King who had led the team in sweeping through Balak Academy possessed the Two-Winged Angel Martial Soul. She was clearly Yu Mengdi, and she was a woman.

Still, although he had not seen Ye Wuqing or Tang Xiaolei fight, Zhou Huan had witnessed Blood Wolf's soul skills.

In the original plot, Huo Gua's seven-person group's battle against Righteous Heaven Academy could be called their most difficult fight.

Four Soul Ancestors, one Soul Elder, and two Great Soul Masters against three Soul Kings and four Soul Ancestors—if they had not been the Protagonist's group, each carrying more or less some plot armor, they would have been sent flying long ago.

It was also in that battle that Xiao Xiao, in order to buy time for He Caitou, used her strength as a two-ring Great Soul Master to forcibly hold back Five-Ring Tang Xiaolei and four-ring Blood Wolf.

The result was that her Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron shattered, leaving her seriously injured and unconscious—and she still lost.

If she had not possessed a Second Martial Soul, she could have gone straight back to Shrek to recover after that battle.

That was why Zhou Huan paid special attention to Righteous Heaven Academy.

If Huo Gua, that Son of Destiny, really was "influencing" things, then Shrek would most likely still encounter Righteous Heaven Academy before Ma Xiaotao and the others recovered.

Even for Xiao Xiao's sake, Zhou Huan had to learn more about this team first.

Just as Zhou Huan considered various countermeasures, the Righteous Heaven Academy team walked off the competition stage amid the audience's cheers.

Only then did Wang Qingya come back to her senses. Filled with worry, she softly asked Zhou Huan, "Do you think we can beat a team like that? If the Inner Court seniors can't compete, then if we run into them, I think we should just surrender."

Rather than asking Zhou Huan a question, Wang Qingya was more like voicing her concerns.

No normal person would think that Shrek's Reserve Team could defeat a Righteous Heaven Academy team like that.

Still, Zhou Huan said, "There's a chance, as long as we don't draw the Individual Single Elimination Match."

Wang Qingya clearly did not believe him. "Whether it's the 2-2-3 Confrontation Match or the seven-person Team Match, I don't think we have much chance of winning."

"Just wait and see."

Zhou Huan did not explain further. Besides, there was no way to explain something like this.

He could hardly tell her that Huo Gua was covered in cheats, and that even Zhou Huan himself could put up a fight against Righteous Heaven Academy's Soul Kings.

However, if he faced Ye Wuqing, a Rank 58 Soul King, then to win, he would basically have to reveal all his trump cards.

A Hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring and two Soul Bones were not equipped for nothing.

Ahem... Getting carried away, getting carried away.

Zhou Huan hurriedly recited the true creed of the Hiding Path in his heart: The Way of the Dog—one word defines it: steadiness. Don't be reckless, and only then can you win!

"Are we still watching?" Wang Qingya suddenly asked.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Huan looked at Wang Qingya.

"I'm hungry." Wang Qingya's face reddened slightly.

"...Then let's stop watching and go eat first," Zhou Huan replied.

It was already around eleven in the morning.

According to the Preliminary Round schedule, it would be completed in three days, meaning twenty-two matches had to be held each day.

This was only the first day, and they had only reached the eighth match.

They could not possibly watch every single one.

Wen Xiaoshuai, beside them, said nothing but nodded as well. A place packed with people like this was clearly unsuitable for him to open his golden mouth. He only needed to follow Zhou Huan and Qingya.

Instead of returning to the Star Emperor Hotel, Zhou Huan and two others went to a snack shop not far from Star Luo Plaza.

More often than not, it was precisely these hidden street snacks that people found unforgettable. The only pity was that they did not offer much nutritional value for Soul Masters.

Besides, it was impossible to eat nutrient meals every day. Especially after leaving the Shrek Canteen, Zhou Huan was poor and could not afford them.

"After eating so many birds, beasts, delicacies from land and sea, I still think skewers taste the best." Wang Qingya held a skewer in one hand and a small wine cup in the other. "Zhou Huan, come on, chill this fruit wine for me."

"...Sure." Tool-man Zhou Huan went to work. With a snap of his fingers, white mist rose from Wang Qingya's wine cup, like some wandering magician's trick.

Zhou Huan had always felt that being an Ice Attribute Soul Master was quite convenient in daily life.

Wang Qingya nodded in satisfaction and continued enjoying her wine and skewers.

After eating and drinking their fill, they returned to Star Luo Plaza to watch another three matches before heading back to the Star Emperor Hotel to begin their daily cultivation.

Zhou Huan felt that going in and out to watch matches like this was practically contributing to the Star Luo Empire's GDP. Xu Jiawei ought to give them an award for exemplary citizen spending.

Still, it had not been a waste of time. In those three later matches, they saw teams with Soul Kings, with the lowest combat strength being four-ring Soul Ancestors.

It would not be difficult for Shrek's Reserve Team to fight their way through, but it would be somewhat hard on the body.

After roughly figuring out the performances and relative strengths of quite a few participating teams that day, Zhou Huan and two others decided it was more reliable to return to the hotel and cultivate properly. Watching excitement for most of each day was enough.

However, as Zhou Huan and two others passed through the sixth-floor corridor, a young man and young woman approached them from the opposite direction.

The young man was handsome, and the young woman was also lovely. Both appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old.

The young man blocked the trio's path. He wore a smile, but his gaze was filled with arrogance. "My name is Xiao Hongchen. Remember it. You Shrek people will eventually lose at my hands. A twelve-year-old Soul Emperor, and two Hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings? I never thought Shrek had learned to put on such a show. How laughable."

Before Zhou Huan could speak, Wang Qingya exclaimed in surprise, "Who's this idiot? Is he sleepwalking? Or did he skip brushing his teeth this morning? Why is his breath so foul?"

Throughout her entire speech, Wang Qingya did not spare Xiao Hongchen even half a glance. Instead, she looked at Zhou Huan like a curious child, nearly making him laugh.

This girl had always wanted to maintain the image of a refined lady in front of outsiders, but when it came to insulting someone, she showed no mercy at all.

Zhou Huan cooperatively replied to Wang Qingya, "According to rumors—just rumors, mind you—the master of Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen, has a grandson and granddaughter. The grandson is Xiao Hongchen, while the granddaughter is called Meng Hongchen."

"This grandson is supposedly the number-one genius of the Sun Moon Empire. He reached the Soul King level before turning fifteen. His Martial Soul is the rare Three-legged Golden Toad. As for his soul skills, no one knows, since they keep them secret."

"As for the granddaughter, she's pretty impressive too. Her Martial Soul is the even rarer Crimson Ice Toad. It's poisonous, so stay far away if you encounter her in the future."

After that string of personal introductions, Xiao Hongchen's face turned increasingly livid. His body even trembled involuntarily.

At that moment, his heart was full of questions. How could a Shrek student know so much about them? And in such detail! How was that possible?!

He and his younger sister had extremely high confidentiality classifications. Even in the Sun Moon Empire, few people truly knew much about them, yet distant Shrek understood them completely.

At that thought, Xiao Hongchen felt even greater fear.

A powerful enemy was not frightening. What was frightening was an enemy who knew you inside and out.

At this point, Xiao Hongchen had completely forgotten why he had stopped Zhou Huan and two others in the first place. He had not come merely to provoke them; he was not some chuunibyou Youth.

While Xiao Hongchen was still stunned, Zhou Huan had already led Wang Qingya and Wen Xiaoshuai past the siblings and left directly, completely ignoring them.

Thinking of Xiao Hongchen's pale face, Zhou Huan could not help but think smugly, You came to gather intelligence? Let's see if I don't scare the hell out of you!

After returning to the room, Wang Qingya immediately scrutinized Zhou Huan from head to toe. She stared so thoroughly that his scalp tingled before finally asking, "Was everything you said true? How do you know them so well? You're not a spy, are you?"

Those three questions in a row left Zhou Huan speechless.

A spy? I'm practically the lord, then!

Still, Zhou Huan only answered, "There are no walls without cracks. Read enough books, and you can always infer plenty of things."

At that, Wang Qingya rolled her eyes. "Keep making things up! Fine, don't tell me if you don't want to. This young lady is going to cultivate. A Soul King... I don't know when I'll be able to cultivate to that level."

Wen Xiaoshuai said nothing. He was not someone who liked prying into secrets, so he also returned to cultivate.

In the corridor, Meng Hongchen patted her older brother on the shoulder. "Brother, they're already gone. Why are you still standing there in a daze?"

Xiao Hongchen's expression remained ugly. "Meng, this is going to be a huge problem. That kid just now..."

Before he could finish, Meng Hongchen interrupted him. "Of course it is! That bastard had such a filthy mouth! Grandson this, granddaughter that—anyone who didn't know better would think he was our grandfather! If you hadn't looked so lost just now, I would have hit him!"

Xiao Hongchen: "..."

Let this world be destroyed!

Why did heaven give me such peerless talent, only to stuff me with such a foolish little sister?

Was that what I meant just now?

What I meant was that Shrek knows us so well! There's a spy in Mingde Hall, damn it—and not a low-level one, either.

Yet all this fool noticed was the tiny verbal advantage he took. What was the point of that?

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