The smoke cleared from the arena, but the shock of Shrek Academy's crushing victory had yet to fade.
Xu Jiujiu stood quietly among her teammates, her gaze fixed on Huo Yuhao's straight-backed figure.
Until now, she had viewed him as a princess and a team commander, calmly assessing his strength and analyzing the gains and losses of each tactic.
But for the first time, she set aside her position and every tactical consideration to look at the boy carefully, to take him in completely.
He was young, with little Soul Power, yet possessed the terrifying strength to overturn any fight at his level and crush a Soul King. He struck without hesitation, but beneath that ruthlessness lay a gentle, clearhearted nature. The contradiction made him dazzling.
For the first time in her life, Xu Jiujiu gave such serious, wholehearted attention to a man with whom she shared neither blood nor history.
She pressed her red lips together. Fierce fighting spirit and unwillingness burned in her eyes.
Their defeat in the team battle had been a failure of formation and tactics alike.
But the individual matches were coming. In a fair, one-on-one fight, she would not lose again!
Not far away, Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu let out a long breath of relief.
Thankfully, that utterly one-sided team battle had not injured a single core member of Star Luo Royal Academy. The princess was safe.
But when he saw the unprecedented stubbornness in Xu Jiujiu's eyes as she watched Huo Yuhao, he sighed inwardly.
Their noble little princess of the Star Luo Empire had probably become thoroughly fixated on that black-haired boy from Shrek Academy.
(Huo Yuhao: Someone speak up for me! Speak up for me! I'm innocent!)
Below the stage, the stands were packed shoulder to shoulder. The crowd roared