Wang Dong had never even considered that Huo Yuhao might have been abducted. From what she knew of him, if someone really meant him harm, he would not have been unable to let out even a single cry for help.
Of course, Wang Dong would never have imagined how underhanded players could be with a Concealment Cloak and a tranquilizer dart.
Huo Yuhao woke in a daze and discovered that he had been tied up.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Qian Xixi said, "Huo Yuhao, why don't you take a look at where you are?"
I Am an Angel lit a soul lamp, illuminating their surroundings.
Only then did Huo Yuhao finally see his surroundings clearly, along with the grave he had built with his own hands.
"Mother!"
I Am an Angel said, "Our dear devoted son, have you forgotten your own mother? You were practically on her doorstep, yet you couldn't even be bothered to visit her."
"No, that's not it. I, I..."
Huo Yuhao wanted to explain, but he found that any explanation he could give sounded utterly hollow. During the Soul Master Tournament, he truly had never thought of tending his mother's grave.
Ten-Year Veteran said, "Do you really still remember that you're supposed to avenge your mother? Or have you already become so happy at Shrek Academy that you've forgotten home?"
"No! I haven't forgotten! I've never forgotten! I joined Shrek Academy and worked hard to grow stronger precisely so I could avenge my mother."
Qian Xixi said, "Really? Why can't we see any sign of that? Haven't you been having a wonderful time at Shrek Academy?"
Qian Xixi said, "Maybe this is exactly what your mother would have wanted. Why don't you just forget about avenging her and settle down as a student at Shrek Academy? You won't be able to avenge her in the end anyway."
"That's nonsense! No matter what, I will avenge my mother! Untie me! I want to tend her grave."
Ten-Year Veteran said, "Fine, we'll let you all go. But you'd better remember what you said. Otherwise, even a protagonist like you might become our quest target."
"What does that mean? Who exactly are you?"
I Am an Angel said, "None of your business. Our quest is complete. Take your time tending the grave."
The game system had already notified them that they had completed the quest, so naturally, they had no interest in answering Huo Yuhao's unnecessary questions.
After the players left, Huo Yuhao carefully cleared the weeds from his mother's grave, then respectfully kowtowed three times before it.
"I'm sorry, Mother! I shouldn't have forgotten. I will avenge you. I'll make the White Tiger Duke's entire family pay."
Huo Yuhao then took out the White Tiger Dagger, the keepsake his mother had left him, and cut the back of his hand as a warning to himself.
Watching this from behind the scenes, Tang Yi nodded. "Not bad. If he can still get sucked into a whirlpool of romance after this, then this protagonist really isn't worth keeping."
The Thousand-Year Soul Bone awarded for completing the players' quest still ended up in Qian Xixi's hands, while the other players received some Fate Coins as compensation.
The other players had barely contributed to the quest and still received compensation, so naturally, they were delighted.
Wang Zhongwang said, "You didn't stay a little longer to see how Huo Yuhao reacted?"
I Am an Angel said, "Couldn't be bothered watching him. He was bound to put on a performance at his mother's grave. Whether he actually follows through is another matter."
Ten-Year Veteran said, "We'll know if anything's changed by watching him tomorrow. Anyway, let's talk about tomorrow's individual matches. Who's going first?"
I Am an Angel said, "I will. We've basically seen all of Jiang Peng's attacks. I'm confident I can kite him and wear him down."
Primordial One said, "After your match tomorrow, they'll probably have to set a time limit for the next Soul Master Tournament."
I Am an Angel said, "That's a matter for the next tournament. Nothing to do with me. As long as I can win, that's enough."
The next day, in the individual competition arena, Jiang Peng did indeed take the lead for Diao Academy.
"Today, I'll make every last one of you fall beneath my Heaven-Shaking Axe!"
I Am an Angel said, "You talked a big game yesterday too, didn't you? And how did that turn out? A word of advice: don't act so full of yourself, or lightning might strike you."
Right on cue, thunder actually rumbled through the cloudless sky.
I Am an Angel said, "See? Even heaven agrees."
Jiang Peng's face turned livid. "Enough talk. Let's let our skills do the talking."
As the referee announced the start of the match, I Am an Angel immediately spread her wings and flew into the air, putting distance between herself and Jiang Peng.
Gripping the Heaven-Shaking Axe, Jiang Peng pushed off the ground and charged straight at I Am an Angel.
I Am an Angel kept her gaze fixed on Jiang Peng, constantly watching the distance between them.
She did not take the initiative to attack, simply continuing to evade him. Jiang Peng's attacks looked incredibly fierce and swift, yet not one of them touched I Am an Angel.
Over on Shrek Academy's side, Ma Xiaotao asked, "Teacher Zhou, doesn't this count as breaking the rules? How can she just run without fighting?"
"It really isn't against the rules. There's no rule saying contestants have to take the initiative to attack. She's clearly planning to wait until Jiang Peng exhausts his soul power before counterattacking. That's a reasonable way to make use of her advantages."
"Hmph. That trick wouldn't work against me. I'm no slower than she is."
In the arena, although Jiang Peng was not particularly bright, he finally caught on after expending more than half his soul power.
"You want to exhaust my soul power? Not a chance! I'll stop moving too. Let's see which of us can outlast the other."
I Am an Angel said, "You're not moving? That won't do! Second soul skill: Purifying Feather!"
I Am an Angel attacked from long range. Jiang Peng wanted to dodge, but her soul skill covered an area and activated so quickly that he could not evade it at all.
Unable to dodge, he could only block it head-on. In an instant, offense and defense traded places.
Jiang Peng was still hoping I Am an Angel would come closer. Then he would finish her off in one blow with Dark Demon-Shaking Heaven.
Yet I Am an Angel showed absolutely no intention of approaching him.
I Am an Angel said, "I've already seen through your tricks. I'm definitely not coming any closer. Let's see which of us can hold out to the end."
The match dragged on for a very long time. The spectators were all complaining, but there was nothing they could do. The referee could not simply stop the match either.
In the end, Jiang Peng exhausted all his soul power and collapsed in the arena.
Many people expressed disdain for winning a match this way, but the players did not care. Playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses-wasn't that the most correct tactic? What was there to criticize?
After Jiang Peng's defeat, Diao Academy's team did not put up any further struggle and simply conceded.
And so, the players smoothly advanced to the semifinals.
The other three teams were naturally Shrek Academy, Star Luo Imperial Academy, and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
Whichever of these three teams they faced, they would have to reveal some of their hidden cards to have a chance of winning.
The players would have to discuss things carefully.
Before you continue