After the first day of competition ended, Zhang Lexuan, who had accompanied the team, sought out Chen Ping.
"Senior Sister, what did you suddenly need me for?"
Chen Ping was passing the bar on the hotel's top floor and had just been about to step onto the balcony to admire Mingdu's nightscape when he saw a figure slowly rise from a corner of the bar and walk toward him.
She was wearing a dark blue fitted combat outfit, though it was difficult to make out clearly in the dim light.
"Hehe." Zhang Lexuan smiled faintly. "How did you feel after watching today's matches?"
"Nothing much. It was a lot easier than the last tournament."
Chen Ping smiled and voiced his most honest thoughts.
"Good. That's heartening to hear. You can't win a tournament without some fighting spirit."
"Seriously, Chen Ping, you ought to hold your head higher than every other team in this tournament. You beat the previous tournament's champions as a reserve team. You've earned the right to be a little cocky this time."
Zhang Lexuan raised her stemmed glass and drained the sea-blue liquor inside before continuing.
"I didn't come here to remind you to watch out for the overall increase in the teams' strength this year. Even if the addition of sects has generally increased the combat strength of the participating Soul Masters, it's still impossible for every team to have reached the level of the previous tournament's top sixteen."
"What I wanted to tell you is that the Body Sect has entered this tournament too."
"Not only are they competing, but according to the information we've received, some of their senior members have also secretly infiltrated Mingdu. It's still hard to say exactly what they intend to do."
"They might be here to protect their disciples,