Chapter 177: Su Mo's Appearance
Watching Zhu Zhuqing's more mature figure, Dai Mubai clenched his fists tightly, wishing he could confront Zhu Zhuqing and demand an explanation. Why did she leave Shrek Academy? Why did she betray the Star Luo Empire?
However, Dai Mubai forcibly restrained himself. Zhu Zhuqing had already given her reasons for leaving and had left resolutely. No matter how unwilling he was to accept it, there was nothing he could do.
But to expect him not to harbor resentment towards Zhu Zhuqing was impossible.
Zhu Zhuqing's actions had truly caused him great harm.
Due to Zhu Zhuqing's betrayal, he knew he no longer had a chance to compete for the position of crown prince against Daiweis. Once Daiweis's position as crown prince was confirmed, Dai Mubai would face a very unfavorable outcome.
"It's Zhu Zhuqing..."
"She's actually in the Spirit Hall team..."
Ma Hongjun and Oscar were also surprised to see Zhu Zhuqing in the Spirit Hall team.
"Not strange. Zhu Zhuqing has quite good talent. Since she joined the Spirit Hall, they would definitely make full use of her abilities!" Tang San calmly analyzed.
There was nothing more to say about Zhu Zhuqing's betrayal. Moreover, his focus was not on the Spirit Hall team at the moment. He was waiting for the appearance of the Tiandou Royal Team.
When they came together, he did see the Tiandou Royal Team, but there was no sign of Su Mo.
However, the information that Principal Flender had gathered confirmed that Su Mo had indeed rejoined the team.
So now Tang San was waiting for the Tiandou Royal Team to make their appearance and see if Su Mo would show up.
When Dai Mubai and the others saw Zhu Zhuqing, she naturally noticed her former teammates as well.
Faced with Dai Mubai's angry gaze, she felt no guilt.
After joining the Spirit Hall, she had been keeping an eye on the situation in the Star Luo Empire.
So she was well aware that Dai Mubai's elder brother, Daiweis, had, through years of maneuvering, won the support of almost all the officials and nobles and could be formally crowned crown prince of the Star Luo Empire at any time.
Knowing this, Zhu Zhuqing was very relieved that she had made the right choice back then.
Otherwise, even if she and Dai Mubai had stayed together in the Shrek team and won the championship at this Soul Master Tournament, it would still be impossible to beat Daiweis in the competition for the crown prince position.
So Zhu Zhuqing felt no regret at all when she learned that the current Shrek team had four Soul Kings.
Because she knew her choice was the right one.
Moreover, once she had made a choice, she would never regret it.
"Strange, why can't I see that guy Su Mo?"
Hu Li'ena, the team leader of the Spirit Hall team, was also looking for Su Mo's figure but failed to spot him in the Tiandou Royal Team.
However, Hu Li'ena knew that Su Mo had indeed participated in this Soul Master Tournament.
Su Mo's name was on the roster of the Tiandou Royal Team.
"Maybe Su Mo will show up when it's the Tiandou Royal Team's turn to compete," Zhu Zhuqing said after searching and hearing Hu Li'ena's muttering.
Zhu Zhuqing had always been grateful to Su Mo. Without him, she might never have been able to break free from the shackles of her family.
"We'll just have to wait for the Tiandou Royal Team's match," Hu Li'ena sighed disappointedly.
She had been full of anticipation, thinking she would finally see Su Mo, but she was still disappointed.
Hu Li'ena was now worried that even during the Tiandou Royal Team's match, Su Mo might not show up.
Then she would miss the chance to see him this time.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Hu Li'ena strangely. Although Hu Li'ena didn't say it, Zhu Zhuqing could tell that she had developed feelings for Su Mo.
Was it because they had adventured together in the Land of Slaughter?
Zhu Zhuqing speculated in her heart but didn't offer any advice to Hu Li'ena. After all, Hu Li'ena was the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, and she didn't have the standing to guide her.
Moreover, Hu Li'ena's affection for Su Mo couldn't be a bad thing for him.
When all the teams gathered in the Spirit Hall Square, the final round of this tournament finally began.
In the first round, three seed teams were directly given a bye, so Tang San and the others had no chance to see the Tiandou Royal Team take the stage.
It wasn't until the second round that the top teams from the two empire regions were given a bye, and the one from the Tiandou Empire region was undoubtedly the Shrek team.
Starting from the preliminary round, the Shrek team had never lost and naturally couldn't be any other team taking first place.
By the second round, the three seed teams had also taken the field.
The first to appear on the arena was the Spirit Hall team.
Buzz——
When the entire Spirit Hall team summoned their martial souls, everyone clearly understood the strength of this year's Spirit Hall team.
Indeed, they were not as strong as the last edition. Apart from Zhu Zhuqing, who had become a Soul King, the rest were all Soul Masters.
"Zhu Zhuqing has actually broken through to Soul King as well!"
"Amazing!"
"Zhu Zhuqing must have worked extremely hard to achieve the breakthrough to Soul King..."
"What a pity. If Zhu Zhuqing hadn't left, we would have had five Soul Kings in our team now..."
"..."
Oscar and the others were also surprised to see that Zhu Zhuqing had broken through to Soul King.
Because they knew that compared to them, Zhu Zhuqing's talent was slightly inferior, so they were well aware that her current achievement must have been earned through hard work.
"Why don't you mention Su Mo and Ning Rongrong?"
"If those two hadn't left either, our current Shrek team would be a full team of Soul Kings!"
Ma Hongjun grumbled in response to Oscar's words after hearing them.
Upon hearing the words of Oscar and Ma Hongjun, the expressions of the others didn't change much. However, the faces of Flender and Yu Xiaogang were the most interesting.
Flender felt more regretful. If it had been true as Ma Hongjun said, his Shrek Academy would definitely have become even more famous.
Yu Xiaogang, on the other hand, felt somewhat embarrassed and even ashamed.
Because he was well aware that if it hadn't been for him back then, the Shrek team, maintaining its original members, would have had a good chance of forming a team with all members above the Soul King level in this Soul Master Tournament.
It was impossible not to feel regretful deep down.
But regret was one thing; he definitely wouldn't admit it.
"The Spirit Hall team has another Soul King. They truly live up to being the Spirit Hall team!"
"Did you notice? Zhu Zhuqing used to be a member of the Shrek team as well..."
"It does seem so..."
"I wonder why she joined the Spirit Hall team. If she had stayed with the Shrek team, it would have been even more formidable..."
"..."
Apart from the members of the Shrek team, others were also amazed by the strength of the Spirit Hall team. Subsequently, some people recognized that Zhu Zhuqing had once been a member of the Shrek team.
This caused great surprise among all the other academies, who looked at the Shrek team with curiosity.
What kind of magic did this Shrek team possess? How could it cultivate so many outstanding talents?
They were well aware that Su Mo and Ning Rongrong, who had won the championship in the previous Soul Master Tournament, were originally members of the Shrek team as well.
For a moment, everyone developed a strong interest in Shrek Academy.
They were also curious as to why Su Mo, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing had all chosen to leave Shrek Academy back then.
Especially Su Mo and Ning Rongrong. If they hadn't left in the previous tournament, the championship of the last Soul Master Tournament would definitely have gone to Shrek Academy.
"In this year's Soul Master Tournament, Su Mo from the Tiandou Royal Team is also participating. I wonder if he can still lead the Tiandou Royal Team to the championship!"
"Yeah, if he can, then Shrek Academy would have effectively lost two championships..."
"Haha, now that you mention it, it does seem so. Suddenly, I'm starting to look forward to Su Mo's appearance. I wonder if the Tiandou Royal Team he leads can bring us a surprise..."
"..."
For a moment, everyone became very eager to see the performance of the Tiandou Royal Team.
Given how formidable Shrek Academy was, they naturally wanted to see it stumble!
As the discussions continued, the Spirit Hall team quickly defeated their opponents and secured their first victory.
After that, the seed team from the Star Luo Empire, the Star Luo Team, also made their appearance and won their match.
It wasn't until the last match of the second round that the Tiandou Royal Team finally took the stage.
Their opponents were the Barak Team, also from the Tiandou Empire.
Amidst the anticipation of the crowd, the seven members of the Tiandou Royal Team began to walk onto the arena.
Su Mo was naturally among them.
"Here he is, Su Mo has indeed come..."
"I wonder to what extent he has grown after five years?"
...
Upon seeing Su Mo's appearance, everyone's attention was drawn to him.
"Su Mo!"
The members of the Shrek team also looked at Su Mo, with Tang San staring intently at him, his eyes slightly burning with a palpable killing intent.
"Xiao San, what's wrong with you?"
Liu Erdong was the first to notice Tang San's unusual behavior and couldn't help but look at him worriedly.
"I'm fine, I'm just a bit excited!"
Hearing Liu Erdong's voice, Tang San forced himself to calm down, realizing that this was not the time for impulsiveness.
Tang Hao had previously told him that if he lost control, he would be taken away and not allowed to continue participating in the Soul Master Tournament.
So, despite the intense killing intent he felt towards Su Mo, Tang San managed to force himself to stay calm.
"Su Mo, Tang San's gaze towards you is off. He must have already found out about Xiao Wu's sacrifice to you!"
As Su Mo entered the arena, the voice of Bibo Dong echoed in his mind.
"Is that so?"
Su Mo's heart stirred, and he turned to look at the Shrek team, also catching sight of Tang San.
Even though Tang San quickly concealed his emotions upon noticing Su Mo's gaze, Su Mo still noticed that something was off in Tang San's look.
"It seems Tang San knows about Xiao Wu's situation!"
Su Mo inwardly snorted.
He wasn't too surprised by this.
After Tang San emerged from the Slaughter City, he would definitely go to the Starfall Forest to look for Xiao Wu.
It was unlikely that Tang San would find Xiao Wu, but it was quite possible that he would find Da Ming and Er Ming.
Thus, Tang San could easily learn from Da Ming that Xiao Wu had been forced to sacrifice herself to Su Mo.
"If there's a chance..."
Su Mo muttered to himself. Previously, Su Mo had returned to the Slaughter City, looking for an opportunity to eliminate Tang San, but Tang Hao's constant presence prevented him from finding the right moment.
Now that he knew Tang San was aware of Xiao Wu's fate, Su Mo was even more determined to get rid of him.
So, this Soul Master Tournament might just be a great opportunity.
Clashes on the arena were inevitable.
If he made a move on the stage, Tang Hao wouldn't be able to stop him in time.
Su Mo and Tang San were thinking along the same lines. Tang San also planned to use the arena to his advantage, disregarding the rules of the competition, and intended to use hidden weapons to take Su Mo down and avenge Xiao Wu.
"Now, please release your martial souls, both teams!"
As Su Mo was contemplating in his mind, the host of the Spirit Hall's competition, seeing that both teams were on the stage, asked them to release their martial souls.
Upon hearing the host's words, everyone in the audience immediately focused their attention on Su Mo.
They all wanted to know what Su Mo's strength was like after five years.
This included the Pope Bibo Dong, who was watching from above. Although she had already learned about Su Mo's current soul power level and soul ring configuration from Qian Renxue, she wanted to see it with her own eyes.
"Su Mo, let everyone witness your prowess!"
"Let everyone know that you are the true genius!"
Hu Li'ena, the team leader of the Spirit Hall team, was also gazing at Su Mo's figure with a dazed expression, eagerly anticipating Su Mo's performance.
She was looking forward to Su Mo's achievements shocking everyone.
She had also learned about Su Mo's current soul power level from Pope Bibo Dong. When she first found out about Su Mo's soul power level and soul ring configuration, Hu Li'ena was stunned.
Even though she liked Su Mo and hoped he would make rapid progress, she was still shocked when she learned the details.
Now, she wanted others to be equally astonished by Su Mo's soul power level and soul ring configuration.
However, everyone was disappointed. Even after both teams had revealed their martial souls and soul rings, Su Mo still did not show his soul rings.
Su Mo did take his martial soul-hunting spear from his back and twirled it skillfully, but his soul rings remained hidden.
Without a necessary reason, Su Mo did not plan to reveal his level and soul rings just yet.
"Ah..."
"Su Mo actually doesn't show his soul rings..."
"Isn't this a bit too arrogant?"
...
Seeing that Su Mo did not reveal his soul rings, all the expectant spectators became disappointed.
"Sister Hu Li'ena, what is Su Mo's current soul power level?"
Zhu Zhuqing, standing next to Hu Li'ena, could no longer contain her curiosity and asked again.
She knew that Hu Li'ena had already learned about Su Mo's situation, but Hu Li'ena did not tell her, instead encouraging her to see for herself.
But now Su Mo was not showing his soul rings!
"Guess!"
Hu Li'ena's eyes never left Su Mo, and she giggled without turning her head.
...
(End of chapter)
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