Xu Jiawei's Apology

The next day, just as dawn broke, someone appeared at Bao Liang's door, much to his surprise.

"Xu Jiujiu? What are you doing here?"

Indeed, the person who arrived was none other than Princess Xu Jiujiu of the Star Luo Empire.

She wore an elegant white dress, with only a simple jade hairpin in her hair. She looked less noble and more graceful than she had at the auction the night before.

Her face was still somewhat pale, clearly indicating that last night's events had had a significant impact on her, but her eyes remained clear and bright, carrying a complex emotion that Bao Liang couldn't decipher.

As Bao Liang called out Xu Jiujiu's name, the door to Meng Hongchen's room quietly opened a crack.

A chill instantly enveloped the entire floor.

It was a bone-chilling cold, as if the temperature of the entire corridor had instantly dropped to freezing point.

The flowers and plants outside the window were covered with a layer of white frost at a visible speed, and even the guiding streetlights in the corridor were covered with a thin layer of icy mist.

Upon sensing the familiar chill, Bao Liang's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly ran to Meng Hongchen's room to check on her condition.

"Sister Meng, what's wrong? Why is the cold energy erupting again? It shouldn't be like this. It's been so long since it's erupted, why is it happening now..."

Feeling Bao Liang's sincere concern, the chill instantly dissipated, and a happy smile spread across Meng Hongchen's face.

Her long, silvery-white hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her icy-blue eyes held a hint of playfulness and smugness.

"I'm fine A-Liang. I just woke up and lost control for a moment."

"Are you sure you're alright? This is no laughing matter!" Bao Liang frowned, reached out to touch her forehead, and checked her Soul Power fluctuations. He only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there were no problems.

Meng Hongchen gently patted Bao Liang's head.

"It's really nothing."

"Let's go, it's so early in the morning, I'm starving."

As he spoke, he pulled Bao Liang towards the Star Emperor Grand Hotel's dining hall.

But on the way to the cafeteria, one had to pass Bao Liang's room, and at the door of Bao Liang's room, Xu Jiujiu was still standing there.

The three of them stared at each other, an awkward silence falling over them.

Xu Jiujiu, he looked at Meng Hongchen holding Bao Liang's hand, and then at Meng Hongchen's charming appearance, a subtle and complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

She was, after all, a royal princess; she'd seen it all, but this situation... was indeed a bit awkward.

The atmosphere was too awkward, Bao Liang couldn't help but laugh it off, "Haha, well, Princess Jiujiu, have you eaten?"

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Bao Liang. I've Jiujiu had breakfast, so I won't disturb you and Miss Meng any longer." Xu Jiujiu smiled, her movements very ladylike. "Jiujiu, I do have something to discuss with Bao Liang."

"Oh, what is it?" Bao Liang

Xu Jiujiu nodded, and at the same time took out a bracelet-shaped Storage Soul Tool and handed it to Bao Liang.

The bracelet was entirely emerald green, and it was engraved with exquisite Star Luo Imperial Family; it was clearly no ordinary item.

"I've come here to express my gratitude to Mr. Bao Liang for saving my Jiujiu Jiujiu," Xu Jiujiu said softly and sincerely. "This Storage Soul Tool contains a gift of thanks prepared by my elder brother and Jiujiu. I hope Mr. Bao Liang will accept it."

Seeing how quickly Xu Jiawei acted, Bao Liang couldn't help but think to himself: He's pretty fast. I was originally planning to have Grandpa Jing go and visit Xu Jiawei today.

But now that the other party has already given a gift as a token of gratitude, if we ask for more, it will inevitably lead to gossip.

It's fine to be shameless yourself, but it's not good if it drags other team members down with you.

It's common knowledge that the Sun Moon Empire Douluo Continent are at odds, so Bao Liang wouldn't be surprised if they used any means necessary. Therefore, it's best to take precautions.

Bao Liang took the Storage Soul Tool and nodded to Xu Jiujiu.

"Alright, I'll accept the gift."

"If Princess Jiujiu has nothing else, we'll go have breakfast now."

She smiled for Xu Jiujiu, her movements very ladylike. "Alright, I wish Mr. Bao Liang and Miss Meng a lovely morning."

"I hope the cuisine of our Star Luo Empire will not disappoint you two. I'll take my leave Jiujiu."

After speaking, he turned and left Xu Jiujiu, his back view elegant and composed.

Bao Liang then had a hearty breakfast with Meng Hongchen.

As for how much of a thank-you gift Xu Jiawei gave in that Storage Soul Tool, Bao Liang didn't really care.

Anyway, if he gets too much, he'll accept it; if he gets too little... Xu Jiawei cares about his reputation, so he'll never give too little. At most, the gift he gives won't be as good.

The time has come to start the game again.

Yesterday, the final group stage match concluded, and the list of the top four teams for this year's Soul Fighting Tournament was released.

These are: Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Shrek Academy, Star Luo Royal Academy, and Di'ao Academy from the Heavenly Soul Empire.

Ha, the semi-final tickets for this competition have already been distributed. Guess which of the four great empires' Heaven Dou Imperial Academy didn't qualify?

Dou Ling, what do you say?

Compared to the Dou Ling Team, which has already fled, the teams that have advanced to the semifinals are already studying their opponents.

A one-third chance is already quite high; every team has the potential to become an opponent.

In particular, the Sun Moon Team was targeted by the other three teams who tried to find ways to defeat them from various tricky angles.

For the Sun Moon Team, winning the championship is an insurmountable hurdle.

However, their research cannot be said to have yielded little result; it would be more accurate to say that it was completely fruitless.

The Sun Moon Team is just too mysterious. The opponents they encountered before were too weak, and there was no way to force them to show their true abilities.

Aside from Xiao Hongchen's abilities as Soul Engineer being almost fully revealed, they also knew information and combat methods that the rest of the Sun Moon Team lacked.

Xiao Hongchen's superb firepower coverage, Bao Liang's terrifying explosive power and absurd physical body, Meng Hongchen's ice and poison with overwhelming dominance like an ice queen, and Ji Juechen's swordsmanship without any fancy moves, which is only for killing enemies.

As for the others, they had almost no way of knowing how many hidden methods or tactics the Sun Moon Team had never shown.

In layman's terms, Soul Master Soul Fighting are an information war.

If you know the opponent's Martial Soul and Soul Skill, you can predict when and how they will attack based on their behavior.

Conversely, if the opponent is unaware of your Martial Soul and Soul Skill, you can catch them off guard and defeat them completely in a way they never expected.

Therefore, in the Soul Fighting Tournament, besides the team's own strength, gathering intelligence on other teams is the most important thing.

But the Sun Moon Team's intelligence protection measures are so strict that it's impossible to check them!

Aside from the few Soul Skill they revealed on stage, they knew absolutely nothing else!

What are the specific effects of the Soul Skill? Does it have Soul Bone? Are there any desperate measures? I know absolutely nothing about any of these!

It is precisely because of this uncertainty that everyone is extremely wary of the Sun Moon Team.

So during this period, apart from the Sun Moon Team, who already had victory in their grasp, the other three teams were completely numb.

The two Heaven Dou Imperial Academy are alright, after all, losing to Shrek or Sun Moon Academy isn't shameful, since they've lost count of how many times they've lost anyway.

Instead of thinking about how to win the championship, you should think about how to get into the finals. Getting the runner-up position would be a success.

Of course, it would be even better if we could suffer less.

After all, nobody wants Bao Liang to replicate his five-second brilliance from the preliminary round.

In this respect, Star Luo Royal Academy, with its home-field advantage, is undoubtedly in a more comfortable position.

They've already decided to fight Shrek. Facing a severely weakened Shrek, winning would be ideal, but losing wouldn't matter. Losing to Shrek isn't their fault.

But both the Di'ao Academy and Shrek Academy began to wear masks of pain.

One of them knew that the Star Luo Empire would set him up, and that he would have to fight the Sun Moon Team head-on in the semifinals.

The other team had long considered the Sun Moon Team as the biggest obstacle on their road to the championship and racked their brains to come up with a way to deal with them.

Especially Wang Yan.

In order to prevent himself from losing the championship in the Soul Fighting Tournament, he resorted to every possible means.

He attended every single one of the Sun Moon Team's matches, except for the opening ceremony's elimination rounds which he missed because of Huo Yuhao's boasting. Every time a match started, he would be on the sidelines with his notebook, spying on the Sun Moon Team, hoping they would reveal more of their skills so he could find more weaknesses.

The Di'ao Team has practically given up hope; they're just waiting for the semifinals to have a good, exhilarating battle.

But Shrek's honor must not be desecrated.

So how exactly can you win?

A: Cheating secretly! Don't do it openly!

"For the honor of the academy, for the championship, let me bear the infamy!"