Hello, My Name Is Xu Jiujiu

"Your Majesty, this humble servant cannot see through that blond boy."

Hearing this, Dai Hao beside him pondered briefly. Rather than respond to Xu Jiujiu, he offered his own opinion.

This greatly surprised Xingluo Emperor Xu Jiawei.

Xu Jiawei then spoke leisurely:

"Dai Hao, you're close to becoming a Titled Douluo, aren't you? Yet even you can't see through that boy."

"It seems the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy came well prepared this time."

"Brother, Uncle Dai, why are we standing here making guesses?"

"Why don't I just go test him myself?"

Without waiting for Xu Jiawei to respond, Xu Jiujiu turned and left the second floor, heading toward Ye Fan on the first floor.

Xu Jiawei could only shake his head helplessly. He turned and nodded to an elderly woman behind him.

The elderly woman promptly followed Xu Jiujiu toward Ye Fan.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiawei and Dai Hao began receiving the teachers from the various academies.

"Hello, little brother. You're so cute."

"My name is Xu Jiujiu. What's your name?"

In the banquet hall on the first floor, Ye Fan was wandering around with Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen.

Xu Jiujiu's luxurious princess evening gown, embroidered with gilded stars, accentuated her slender figure. She hurried over to Ye Fan, gently pinched his tender cheek with her pale jade-like hand, and smiled playfully.

Ye Fan, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen were all startled.

Upon hearing her introduce herself, Ye Fan recalled her identity. Xu Jiujiu, princess of the Xingluo Empire, Xu Jiawei's younger sister, and a representative of Xingluo Academy in this Continental Soul Master Tournament.

It was her?

That was what Ye Fan thought.

"My name is Ye Fan."

Ye Fan instinctively stepped back, trying to escape the overly intimate distance between himself and Xu Jiujiu.

Xu Jiujiu's presumptuous behavior also displeased Meng Hongchen.

"What are you doing?"

As she spoke, Meng Hongchen stepped forward and positioned herself between Ye Fan and Xu Jiujiu.

"You're Sister Meng, right? I've long heard of your beauty, but now that I've seen you in person, I feel those words were nowhere near enough to describe it."

Xu Jiujiu was not angered. Instead, she immediately shifted targets, moved close to Meng Hongchen, and naturally linked arms with her.

At the same time, her every word was full of praise for Meng Hongchen's beauty.

Xu Jiujiu's move instantly extinguished Meng Hongchen's anger.

Instead, Meng Hongchen felt that perhaps she had overreacted. She even started chatting with Xu Jiujiu on her own initiative. "You're the princess of the Xingluo Empire, right? You're beautiful too."

Just like that, the two women who had seemed ready to fight instantly made peace.

"What?"

Nearby, Ye Fan and Xiao Hongchen exchanged a glance. Both saw the shock in the other's eyes. That worked?

"This princess has some incredible social skills."

In Ye Fan's mind, Xu Jiujiu had already been marked as someone to watch closely.

For the rest of the evening, Ye Fan and the others followed Xu Jiujiu as she introduced them to students from the various academies.

Naturally, this included Shrek Academy.

However, judging by Xu Jiujiu's tone, she did not think much of this year's Shrek Academy team.

There were also the academies from the other two great empires: Douling Royal Soul Master Academy of the Douling Empire and Tianhun Royal Soul Master Academy of the Heaven Soul Empire.

All of them were popular favorites to win this Continental Soul Master Tournament.

Midway through the banquet, Xu Jiujiu said to Ye Fan and the others, "Sorry, everyone. I have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

Afterward, Ye Fan and the others watched as Xu Jiujiu disappeared into the crowd.

By the time Ye Fan saw Xu Jiujiu again, she had already appeared on the second floor.

Standing beside her were none other than Xingluo Emperor Xu Jiawei and the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao.

A booming announcement came through the speakers.

"Everyone, please welcome His Majesty of the Xingluo Empire to address us."

Ye Fan watched as all the lights in the hall converged on the second floor, drawing everyone's attention upward.

Beside Xu Jiujiu, Xu Jiawei carried himself with the bearing of one in power. Bathed in the lights, he exuded imperial majesty.

At some point, Xu Jiujiu had changed into another princess gown. Standing beside Xu Jiawei, she looked poised and dignified, with none of the fiery energy she had displayed earlier.

Before Ye Fan could think further—

Xu Jiawei soon stood beneath the spotlight. His gaze swept across the hall, and in a steady, resonant voice, he slowly announced the tournament rewards:

"For this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament, I will handsomely reward the winning team!"

"Ten Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bones will be taken from the royal treasury, and the champions may choose any three of them."

"Every official team member will be granted the hereditary title of viscount, along with fiefs and stipends."

"In addition, they will receive one million Gold Soul Coins, high-grade heavenly treasures, and rare forging materials, to be shared by the entire team. The champions may also enter the royal treasure vault and choose any one treasure. Should they be willing to serve Xingluo in the future, they may be admitted exceptionally to the Consecration Hall or the Royal Soul Master Legion without examination."

He paused, then added, "The runners-up will receive one Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone, and every member will be granted the title of baron."

The entire hall erupted in an uproar.

Many impoverished soul masters and soul engineers had their eyes light up upon hearing Xu Jiawei's promise.

Many of them resolved to give it their all in the Continental Soul Master Tournament and seize this chance to soar to greatness.

As for the students of the royal academies from the other three great empires, each of them fell into thought. Though they had little interest in titles from the Xingluo Empire, the Soul Bones and treasures Xu Jiawei mentioned still tempted them greatly.

As for academy teachers such as Jing Hongchen and Xuan Zi, they could not help silently cursing Xu Jiawei in the private rooms on the second floor. What a sly old fox. He's trying to poach people from our academies.

But no matter what, Xu Jiawei's promise brought the banquet to its peak.

After finishing his speech, Xu Jiawei quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.

Inside a private room, he put away his smile and asked Xu Jiujiu, "Jiujiu, how is that blond boy?"

Xu Jiujiu replied, "His name is Ye Fan. He's seven years old and Rank 49..."

"Gasp!"

Xu Jiawei and Dai Hao both involuntarily sucked in a breath.

"Then it seems the team with the best chance of winning this Continental Soul Master Tournament isn't Shrek Academy, but the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy?"

Xu Jiujiu curled her lips. "Brother, why are you boosting others' morale while diminishing our own?"

"Don't worry. With me leading Xingluo Academy, I'll definitely bring you back a championship."

"I'll let the entire continent see that our Star Crown Martial Soul is the strongest."

The banquet soon ended, and Ye Fan, Xiao Hongchen, and the others returned to the hotel.

They planned to rest well for a day and wait for the Continental Soul Master Tournament to officially begin two days later.

The next day, Ye Fan had not yet woken from his dreams.

At some point, Meng Hongchen had entered Ye Fan's room.

"Xiaofan, Xiaofan, stop sleeping. Come explore Star Luo City with me."