In the early morning of the third day, the sky above Spirit City was cloudless.
Chen Jieqi woke up before dawn. His body has fully recovered.
Soul Power is full, the brand is stable, and the speed of holy light circulating in the meridians is nearly 10% faster than before the war.
The training of life and death battle is always the best training.
The cold morning wind blows in, carrying the scent of the mountains in the distance.
Twelve hours later, he will stand back on that ring.
"You didn't sleep well last night."
Dugu Yan's voice came from the door.
She leaned against the door frame, holding two cups of steaming tea in her hands.
Apparently he had just gotten up, his hair had not been tied up yet and was hanging casually on his shoulders.
"Sleep." Chen Jieqi took the tea, "I just woke up early."
"Dream?"
"Not really. Just confirming one thing again and again."
"What's the matter?"
"After tomorrow, no matter what the outcome, everyone will come to me.
Spirit Hall, Heaven Dou Empire, and even beyond.
They will come from all directions like sharks that smell blood."
He took a sip of tea.
"At that time, everyone in our team will have a more important choice than today."
Dugu Yan did not answer the call immediately.
She leaned against the window and followed his line of sight to look at Great Soul Arena in the distance.
The earthy yellow eyes looked particularly clear in the morning light.
"Are you afraid that we will make the wrong choice?"
"Not afraid." Chen Jieqi said,
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."
Dugu Yan was silent for a while.
Then she put down the teacup and patted his shoulder, with a strong force and a bit of deliberate casualness.
"From the first day I met you, I never thought about choosing." She said,
"You drive the road, and it's up to you wherever you go. The same goes for others.
You don't have to think too much about them, they can handle it better than you think."
She turned around and walked out, pausing when she reached the door.
"By the way, Yu Tianheng said he wanted to eat an extra piece of meat at noon today.
The reason is that I won't be able to eat anything after the fight tomorrow."
Chen Jieqi was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
This was the first time he really laughed in three days.
Xiao Wu finally fell asleep when it was almost dawn.
She was curled up on the corner of the bed, covered with a thin blanket, breathing lightly and rapidly.
The gradually brightening skylight outside the window fell on her face through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the dark shadows under her eyelids.
Now she is awake, but her eyes are not open.
Since last night, the smell seemed to have penetrated the walls, floors, and the entire building.
It was still there, she could feel it.
Xiao Wu opened his eyes and sat up slowly.
She kept her eyes open in the dark and thought about it for two whole nights.
I miss my mother. I miss Star Dou Great Forest's Da Ming and Er Ming.
Thinking about the purple burn mark on Tang San's palm that he didn't even realize he had.
Think of the look that the white-haired boy in the ring cast from across the stands.
She finally figured something out.
If she doesn't take the initiative to make a choice, fate will choose it for her.
The choice of fate is never towards Soul Beast.
She stood up, walked to the mirror, and looked at the human girl with black hair and black eyes in the mirror.
"I won't die."
She said to the mirror, her voice was very low, as if she was afraid of being heard by someone,
"I want to live."
The girl's lips in the mirror were slightly white, but her eyes were no longer evasive.
In the evening, the Huangdou team gathered in the courtyard of their residence.
"I won't give you any specific tactical arrangements for tomorrow's game."
Chen Jieqi said,
"You no longer need my teaching on things in the ring.
Anticipation, coordination, rotation, etc., you do it in every game, and you do it better than any other team."
He paused and glanced at every face.
"I only want to say one thing."
"Shrek is not an opponent that can be crushed with paper strength.
They have made it this far because their ability to turn things around in desperate situations has been engraved into everyone's Soul Power cycle.
When fighting them, the biggest danger is being dragged into their rhythm."
"So tomorrow's strategy only has four words."
He stood up,
"Not even a second."
"The rest," he said,
"It's up to you."
No one spoke. But everyone's eyes lit up at that moment.
Yu Tianheng clenched his right fist, and his knuckles crackled. The burn mark was only a faint white mark, and Dragon Transformation's scales were faintly visible under the skin.
Shi Mo Shi Mo subconsciously touched the edge of each other's shields. It was a habit they had developed in the academy and an action they had to do before every battle.
Dugu Yan did not watch Chen Jieqi.
She just lowered her head to drink tea, with an arc at the corner of her mouth.
Not big. But there is something.
Ye Lingling holds Nine-Heart Begonia in her hands, and the petals gently swirl in her palm, scattering a few light pink particles.
Yu Feng jumped down from the wall. He just checked the surroundings again and sat down in the empty seat next to Osler.
Now, it's rare that Yu Feng doesn't make wisecracks.
He just put his paws on the table and said:
"Captain, after the fight tomorrow - treat us to a nice meal."
Chen Jieqi looked at him.
"Let's talk after we finish."
It's late at night.
Chen Jieqi stood alone in the courtyard.
He went through the last fork in his mind.
He opened his eyes.
The voice of Sheng Hui sounded at the right time.
"Everything you're calculating is 'what if'."
"Yes."
"Then what if your Wings of Holy Light can't defeat Asura's murderous intention?"
Chen Jieqi was silent for a moment.
"That means Asura is not something that needs to be exposed."
"What do you mean?"
"Angels judge sin, and holy light purifies the turbid.
But Asura is neither sin nor turmoil. It is part of the order.
Killing is never darkness, it is an inherent part of the world.
Asura just concentrated all the killing on one person."
He raised the sword in front of his eyes and watched the flames flow on the sword.
"If it can't be purified, it can only be checked and balanced."
"What are the checks and balances?"
"Another order."
Sheng Hui didn't ask again.
But it understood what he meant.
On the ring, in front of Asura, use the holy light to tell him: Your killing blow can be blocked.
That's enough, no need to win, just turn around and go back.
At the last moment when he opened the door, he paused and looked back at the silent Angel God Statue in the night sky.
The moonlight is like a wash, the stars are hanging low. Tomorrow.
He said the last word in his heart.
Can!
At the same time, Shrek's residence.
Tang San sat cross-legged on the roof. This was the first time he had done so since coming to Spirit City.
Not for meditation. Everything he could do has been done.
Tomorrow, no matter whether the thing in the body will explode or not, no matter whether Bibi Dong's solicitation is true or false,
No matter what trump card the white-haired boy opposite has hidden.
All he has to do is stand on the ring and wave Clear Sky Hammer.
Xiao Wu stood at the other end of the yard, looking at his back from a distance.
The moonlight shone on him, stretching his shadow very long, like a narrow crack,
It extended to the ground not far away from her, only a few inches away from her toes.
She didn't step over.
But she didn't back down either.
She just stood there, looked at the shadow, and said something to herself.
It's not something you say silently in your mind, it's something you say silently with your mouth.
If someone could read lips, they would read these words:
"I won't die."
Then, she turned her gaze, subconsciously, in the direction of Huangdou's station.
She knew that man wouldn't sleep tonight either.
She withdrew her gaze and looked at Tang San's back.
The night wind blew by, picking up a few fallen leaves that came from nowhere.
Spirit City fell asleep. Pope's Palace's candle went out before midnight.
Angel God Statue stood with his eyes lowered, silent as before.
There are still a few hours until dawn.
The final encounter between the light and the shadow on the arena was not far away.