The Tournament Begins

At that, Cen Yu chuckled. "Then thank you, Master. I'll be the one to carry out the sentence when the time comes."

The culprit? What a pity—there wouldn't be one. How could he have a grudge and not settle it on the spot?

But... hehehe~ that didn't mean those Evil Soul Masters who were about to be brought in would get to live~

"Alright, Master~ I'm a little tired. I'll leave things here to you. See you at the tournament tomorrow~"

As he spoke, a glint flashed in Cen Yu's eyes, and he changed back into his gentle self.

As soon as the boy came to, he said helplessly, "He may have been the one who spoke wickedly first, but I should still give him a proper send-off."

As he spoke, the Miao Shi Heavenly Maiden appeared, and countless Buddhist characters enveloped the area.

Bibi Dong watched the scene, her eyelids twitching.

As expected of her disciple. He was set on making sure the man's soul was scattered to the winds.

But Cen Yu seemed to sense what Bibi Dong was thinking. He tilted his head and smiled before explaining, "Master, this is how I show others respect."

Soon, the ritual was over.

Hu Liena, the two others beside her, and several team members stood there dumbfounded.

Twin Martial Souls??? Wasn't that just like His Holiness the Pope...

Just then, Cen Yu looked at them. "See you tomorrow, everyone."

After they left, Bibi Dong smiled wryly and sent Hu Liena and the others away as well.

That child's temperament was something else... He had even more courage than she'd had at his age, and the strength to match it.

"Yue Guan, clean up the traces here. Send the man's family compensation. You can come up with the reason yourself."

"Also, remember to send Xiao Yu all the cultivation resources he needs. Give him... give him that person's allocation."

At that, Yue Guan froze for a moment.

Though Bibi Dong hadn't said her name, Yue Guan, the Pope's number-one lackey, naturally knew who she meant.

The true young master of Spirit Hall, the current Pope's daughter—Qian Renxue.

But wasn't that allocation a little too generous? Would the Worship Hall object?

Though that thought crossed his mind, Yue Guan still bowed. "As you command, Your Holiness the Pope."

Oh well. Whether they objected had nothing to do with him. His Holiness the Pope could handle it herself.

He slept soundly through the night.

The next day, Cen Yu got up early, washed up quickly, and went to the breakfast shop by his home for a simple meal.

But as he ate, he spotted someone unexpected at the next table.

The person was eating buns slowly, but kept sneaking glances at him.

Why was Qian Renxue here? Had she learned about his relationship with Bibi Dong and come to see him in person?

Out of respect, Cen Yu put on a polite smile, picked up his breakfast, and sat at the table beside hers.

Before Qian Renxue could react, Cen Yu spoke softly. "It's nice to meet you, Senior Sister Xue'er. I hope we'll get along."

"Hmm? You know who I am?"

If she remembered correctly, she hadn't met this boy before, had she?

Cen Yu nodded and said quietly, "Of course. You're Sister Qian Renxue, Master's daughter."

After a moment's thought, he added, "Master often tells me she has a daughter who's very talented and beautiful, too."

"She described you so clearly that of course I recognized you, Senior Sister."

Master, oh, Master. I'm helping you out here, so don't go spoiling it for me.

Hearing Cen Yu's words, Qian Renxue froze, then smiled wryly. "Heh... She actually talks about me? I'd have thought she'd be satisfied as long as she wasn't scolding me."

Cen Yu sighed. "Senior Sister, Master may have a sharp tongue, but her heart's in the right place. You're mother and daughter, bound by blood. How could she really not care about you?"

After chatting with Qian Renxue for quite a while, Cen Yu—who'd gotten up so early—hurried to Pope Palace just as the tournament was about to begin.

"Ha... I made it, I made it."

Seeing Cen Yu run up, panting, Hu Liena smiled helplessly. "Junior, you nearly missed the match."

"Did you use up too much Soul Power yesterday?"

Cen Yu chuckled. "I got up late, and then I had breakfast. Good thing I wasn't late."

"Are we facing Heaven Dou Royal Academy today? What do you have planned, Senior Sister?"

Xie Yue glanced at Heaven Dou Royal Academy across from them and said confidently, "There's no need for you juniors to fight. Nana and I will be more than enough."

"..."

Cen Yu's mouth twitched. That was overconfidence for you. No wonder Tang San had crushed them later.

He suggested, "How about letting me give it a try? Senior Brother and Senior Sister can cover for me."

Little Black was fighting to its heart's content every day, but he hadn't gotten into a fight himself yet.

After all, this was a fantasy world. Now that he was here, who wouldn't want to throw themselves into a battle with all kinds of energy flying everywhere?

Hu Liena hesitated. "You can, but are you sure you're up to it, junior? You only just..."

She leaned close to Cen Yu's ear and whispered, "Even though Heaven Dou Royal Academy is a bunch of misfits, all of them together are still stronger than Li Kai was yesterday."

Just then, the host descended onto the arena with a microphone, and a spotlight shone on Cen Yu and the others.

"Today, two of the three seeded teams—Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Spirit Hall Academy—will face off!"

"Two mighty teams clash! Who will come out on top?"

"Let's welcome both teams, poised and ready to fight, onto the arena!"

At that, Cen Yu flashed a bright smile. "Then it's settled~ I'll go first."

Hu Liena waved a hand helplessly. "Fine, you win. Just be careful out there."

With that, they all headed onto the arena.

In an instant, the stands erupted in deafening cheers.

"Spirit Hall Academy will win!"

"Look, look! Those three who supposedly earned the Purple Record Medal from Spirit Hall are competing today!"

"So handsome!"

But to everyone's surprise, once they reached the arena, Hu Liena and the other two stepped back with the rest of the team, leaving the central position to a team member no one recognized.

Shrek's members grew wary as well. They had no idea what Spirit Hall was up to.

Just then, the referee continued, "This has been the most thunderously cheered match since the finals began."

"And now, the thrilling moment is upon us once again."

"Contestants, get ready!"

At that, Hu Liena and the other two smiled and struck confident poses.

Then their Martial Souls appeared, accompanied by five Soul Rings: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black.

"Spirit Hall Academy has three Soul Kings with Soul Power Levels above fifty. They have the highest Soul Power Levels of any competitors in this year's elite tournament."

"Everyone has surely heard of these three Soul Kings by now."

As the powerful auras around Hu Liena and the other two surged outward,

the members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy across from them and the spectators in the stands all paled at the sight.

Tang San said gravely, "All three have the best Soul Ring Configuration?"

"But why is the central position occupied by a team member who looks so young?"

Something was off... What was Spirit Hall planning?

But just then, the host spoke again.

"But it looks like today's main attraction isn't these three. It's a team member who has never appeared in public before."

"I'm sure you're all curious about his identity—and why three Soul Kings would give up the central position to him."

"Then let's welcome this new team member, who has never competed before, to reveal the answer!"