Dai Yuhao?

The commotion around Song Que was impossible to miss. Dazzling pink light instantly drew every eye in the arena.

"Song Que!" Huo Yuhao stared at the transformed Zanpakutō in astonishment. "Your Zanpakutō... evolved again?"

On the stage, Long Aotian frowned at the long blade wreathed in pink light. "Evolved? What's going on?"

Song Que smiled faintly and vanished, reappearing in the center of the stage.

"As it happens, I just finished solidifying my third soul skill."

"And it's rare for Bei Bei to go all out."

"No time like the present. Let's make this a free-for-all."

Long Aotian didn't know the details, but his fighting spirit surged. He nodded at once. "Just what I wanted."

"Bei Bei's still young. Even with his Martial Soul Evolution, he's not quite strong enough to give me a satisfying fight."

"Now that you're joining us, we can finally cut loose!"

"Is that so?" Song Que raised his blade with a faint smile, his gaze sharpening. "We'll see."

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

Pink petals burst into the air, blanketing the entire stage in an instant.

Bei Bei and Long Aotian stared at the countless tiny petal-blades swirling before them, stunned.

Meanwhile, inside the Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy.

"Shaozhe, has Mu En still not come out of seclusion?"

Yan Shaozhe shook his head. He looked at the dejected Xuan Zi, his expression conflicted.

"Xuan Zi, let's postpone the Sea God Pavilion meeting for now."

"The most urgent thing is to put together our team for the tournament."

Xuan Zi sighed softly and nodded without a word.

Yan Shaozhe paced back and forth, thinking aloud.

"On the main team, Dai Yueheng and Xixi have the lightest injuries. With Elder Zhuang treating them, they should be fine."

"We'll have to choose replacements for everyone else."

"Fortunately, Ma Xiaotao has recovered and can compete. That restores a good deal of our fighting strength."

"As for Ling Luochеn... it shouldn't be a serious problem. I'll speak with her myself later and put her mind at ease."

"If it comes to it, we can give the Soul Engineering Department some of the remaining three spots."

"But the reserve team..."

Yan Shaozhe sighed again and rubbed his brow helplessly.

After a moment, he muttered, "Song Que just had to leave school."

"If he'd stayed at the academy, I could've given him a reserve spot under these circumstances and let him see the wider world."

"That brat... He even took Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi with him."

"I won't waste time being picky about the reserve team. I'll just choose a few core disciples to fill the spots."

"We're running out of time."

He turned to the silent Xuan Zi and patted his shoulder.

"Xuan Zi, don't keep dwelling on it. Take the team to the Star Luo Empire first."

"I'll bring the others to meet you later."

"With Ma Xiaotao there, we can hold steady through the first few matches."

Xuan Zi remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

A day later, in a small courtyard on the west side of Heaven Dou City.

Xu Sanshi, weary from his journey, pushed open the door and immediately started shouting.

"Song Que! Bei Bei! You guys are unbelievable!"

"Were you messing with me on purpose? First you had me arrange a school in Dou Ling, then you turned around and came straight to Heaven Dou City."

"If it were anyone else, I'd have gone straight back to Shrek!"

Hearing the commotion, everyone in the courtyard came out to greet him.

Song Que grinned. "It was an accident, I swear!"

Bei Bei teased him with a smile. "What's the big deal? Why so worked up, Young Master Xu?"

"Yuhao happened to join the Body Sect, so of course we stayed."

"Yuhao joined the Body Sect?" Xu Sanshi froze, then grew serious. "Right. Something happened on my way here. I think a group is after Yuhao."

Everyone's expressions tightened.

Xu Sanshi continued, "Yesterday, Uncle Mo and I were ambushed at the border of the Heaven Dou Empire..."

"..."

"They were clearly after Yuhao."

"Yuhao specifically?" Song Que glanced at Huo Yuhao, frowning. "Did Gao Qiang find any clues?"

Xu Sanshi nodded. "Gao Qiang thinks their leader was most likely from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion in the Star Luo Empire."

"But the man was extremely cautious. Several Soul Emperors under him carried self-detonation devices and fought to the death to hold us off, giving him time to escape."

"Without solid evidence, we can't prove it yet."

Song Que and Huo Yuhao exchanged a look. Both wore expressions that said they'd expected as much.

It was most likely connected to Dai Huabin again.

Song Que said gravely, "I understand. Let's hold off for now."

"Yuhao is Du Busi's disciple now, with the Body Sect behind him. No one will dare attack him openly."

"Get some rest. We'll report to the new academy this afternoon."

Xu Sanshi looked curious. "Right, which academy are we joining?"

"Just Sky Academy," Song Que said. "Vena made the arrangements for us in advance, but I hear quite a few people there aren't happy about it."

At the same time, in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion in the Star Luo Empire.

In the rear garden, the burly Soul Sage who had ambushed Xu Sanshi at the border the previous day strode in and bowed to the woman seated in the pavilion.

"Madam, the mission failed." He lowered his head and reported what had happened.

The woman frowned. "How did that boy get involved with the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"And were your identities exposed?"

"No." The Soul Sage answered quickly. "Every family guard activated a self-detonation device. I was the only one who managed to escape. The others all blew themselves up and left no trace."

"However... the person who stopped us in the end was Gao Qiang, a Soul Douluo in the Heavenly Spirit Army."

"I met him once at the border years ago. I don't know whether he remembers my face."

The woman considered this for a moment, then nodded. "As long as you left no evidence."

The man breathed a sigh of relief. After some hesitation, he said, "Madam, we've failed twice in a row, and our losses have been heavy."

"Even if this is about the second young master's grudge, the cost is too high—"

The woman raised a hand to cut him off. "Do you really think I'm merely indulging Huabin?"

The Soul Sage stared at her in confusion.

The woman gave a faint laugh. "If this were only Huabin's personal grudge, I would at most let him mobilize people to handle it himself. I wouldn't get involved, much less send you."

"Then what do you mean, Madam? Do you have a grievance against Huo Yuhao too?"

A cold glint flashed in the woman's eyes. "Huo Yuhao?"

"That boy's surname should have been Dai from the start. His name should be Dai Yuhao."

The Soul Sage jolted, horror filling his face. "Dai? You mean he's..."

"That's right," the woman said with a cold snort. "Dai Hao's illegitimate son with that maid Huo Yun'er."

"I see." Realization dawned on the Soul Sage, but then he frowned. "But I heard he had a useless martial soul. How could he..."

The woman's gaze turned icy. "Whatever he was like before, he cannot be allowed to live now."

"If Dai Hao discovers he exists, the consequences will be endless."