Casual Guidance

"Please speak, Your Grace, the Duke."

"Please go ahead, Your Grace, the Duke."

"All right." Wriothesley nodded. "I'm sure you all know that your so-called tournament is about to begin."

At that, awkwardness flickered across the faces of Royal Fight Team One and the three education committee members. The honor they treasured had become a "so-called tournament" in the eyes of this duke.

Of course, it was the truth, so they had no way to refute it.

These children, who had not even reached Spirit Emperor—or even Spirit King—truly carried no weight at all in the eyes of a superpower.

It was just like their evaluation of Tang San: only a genius who grew up could be called a genius.

If a commoner genius appeared in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament, without strength or backing, and refused recruitment, then only two words awaited them—death!

That was right. Death!

"Although this tournament is called the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament, in my eyes, it's nothing more than a simple competition, far removed from the true world of spirit masters." Wriothesley smiled faintly as he looked at everyone and spoke.

At this moment, his smile had softened a great deal, no longer as cold and hard as it had been just now.

To Wriothesley, a tournament like this was indeed only a children's game, not worth mentioning at all.

"What? Your Grace, the Duke, what did you say?" Hearing this, everyone present could not help but pale in shock, especially the members of Royal Fight Team One. They had come here full of confidence, never expecting things to turn out this way in the end.

One had to know that in order to improve their practical combat experience, they had continuously fought spirit battles in the Great Soul Arenas of various major cities, gaining many points and improving their strength. Yet even so, the duke had still dismissed them as utterly worthless?

"Don't misunderstand. Your battle awareness and practical combat experience have indeed improved, but just now we arrived here with such a commotion. If not for Education Committee Member Bai Baoshan, would you, who were meditating, have noticed that we had come?"

Everyone fell silent. It was indeed as Wriothesley had said. When they came here, the members of Royal Fight Team One had still been cultivating, and in a meditative state at that. Even if they were top experts, it would have been impossible for them to notice so quickly—until they actively released mental fluctuations.

And when the members of Royal Fight Team One detected the mental fluctuations, they showed no panic at all. They could even continue observing their surroundings while meditating.

Without a doubt, they had already seen much of the world. Even if they had not, they could still respond calmly.

That bearing was clearly innate, not something cultivated later. Otherwise, they could never have performed so well.

"Your Grace, the Duke, they have always been taught by Qin Ming before this and trained to cultivate team awareness, so they have somewhat neglected individual technique. But please rest assured, we will strengthen their training individually afterward," Meng Shenji said.

They were unconvinced by Wriothesley's view, but they had no way to change his mind, so they could only silently nod and agree.

Besides, Wriothesley's words were not entirely without reason. It was indeed as he said: they had not paid too much attention to themselves, instead focusing on group coordination.

"It isn't individual technique. It's danger perception." Wriothesley shook his head. "If they can judge at the first moment and react at the fastest speed, then your danger will be greatly reduced."

As he spoke, Wriothesley walked up to Yu Tianheng.

"Your Grace, the Duke?" Yu Tianheng was somewhat puzzled, not understanding why the other party had suddenly stopped to speak with him.

In fact, when facing a Title Douluo, the "locals" of Douluo Continent all used "Your Eminence" as an honorific. But because they were used to calling Wriothesley "Duke," they felt the two words "the Duke" suited Wriothesley's status better, while "Your Eminence" seemed somewhat inferior. Therefore, they had not changed the way they addressed him.

Added to that, most people in Heaven Dou City called Wriothesley the Duke, and over time, they no longer addressed Wriothesley as Your Eminence. Instead, it made him feel a little closer to them.

"What is your name?" Wriothesley asked.

"My name is Yu Tianheng," Yu Tianheng said respectfully.

"Oh? Tianheng? Not a bad name." Wriothesley nodded. "Let me ask you. If my level were the same as yours right now, and if I wanted to kill you, could you stop me from making a move? Could you strike before I did?"

The two questions in succession left Yu Tianheng frozen where he stood, not understanding why the duke had suddenly asked this.

But then he immediately reacted and said without hesitation, "If the duke wanted to kill me, I would be powerless to stop you, but the duke would not."

Yu Tianheng said these words with absolute certainty, because he could feel Wriothesley's goodwill toward him. Naturally, he could not possibly say anything that would put his life in danger. Besides, with the relationship between the two sides as it stood, there was simply no reason for him to do so.

"Very good!" A trace of gratification appeared on Wriothesley's face, and he patted Yu Tianheng on the shoulder.

Feeling the duke's praise, though Yu Tianheng had already guessed the duke's meaning, he did not voice his speculation. However—

The sudden punch was completely beyond everyone's expectations!

The punch smashed directly into Yu Tianheng's chest, and that tremendous force instantly blasted him away.

"Captain!"

"Tianheng!"

Amid the cries of Royal Fight Team One, the owner of that fist—the duke—looked at the fallen Yu Tianheng with a smile, saying nothing.

"Cough, cough." Yu Tianheng coughed, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stood up from the ground.

Seeing Yu Tianheng stand, Royal Fight Team One's hearts finally settled.

A layer of blue light surfaced over Yu Tianheng's body, and his entire aura immediately stabilized.

It was Ye Lingling's Nine-Star Begonia.

Although his chest was injured, he had not suffered any substantial harm.

Clearly, Wriothesley had not used much force.

Otherwise, Yu Tianheng would not have merely been knocked back.

"Now I'll teach you a principle. Other than those closest to you, no one will treat you well for no reason. Of course, sometimes, even those closest to you may betray you," Wriothesley said.

There was a trace of deep light in his eyes, as if he had thought of something.

"So remember this. When you encounter a crisis, do not easily trust the people around you. Otherwise, you might not even know where you died."

He had grown up amid betrayal too!

Though the soul masters present were young, they were all veterans, and naturally understood what he meant by those words.

But some things could not be done just by saying them, especially for young people.

Yu Tianheng nodded. "I understand."

Wriothesley patted him on the shoulder. "What you need to do is keep growing stronger, become one of the very strongest. Only when you reach that level will you be qualified to protect yourself, and also..."

After saying that, he turned his head and glanced at the other members of Royal Fight Team One. His gaze was cold to the extreme, as if a single look could make their hearts tremble with fear. It was the pressure that belonged to the strong.