Is it fate?

Zhongli stood on the stage with his hands clasped behind his back, showing no expression at all.

Simply by standing there, his looks and aura captivated the gaze of every young woman present.

Among them was a staff member holding a tray.

She was only five steps away from Zhongli, and the radiance he exuded left her utterly mesmerized.

With someone like Zhongli—this "old-school charmer"—it wasn't just young women who found him incredibly handsome and charismatic; even many young men were equally impressed.

"Xiao Qing, bring the battle emblem forward quickly…"

The host noticed the girl holding the tray was distracted and instinctively reminded her.

He was well aware of how appealing someone like Zhongli was to young women; in this case, he really couldn't blame her.

Hearing his words, the girl snapped out of it, her eyes clearing up a bit, and a blush crept over her face.

Though the host hadn't explicitly called her out, the girl's thoughts being revealed left her feeling quite embarrassed.

"Y-Yes… yes…"

Seeing Xiao Qing's reaction, Xiao Feilian's face darkened in the competitors' resting area, clenching her fists tightly.

She muttered under her breath, "Is that girl a fox spirit?"

"Huh?"

"Holy Maiden, why would you think she has a fox spirit?"

"Hmph…"

Xiao Feilian gave a cold snort and replied, "Her expression looks just like a fox's, doesn't it?"

"Uh…"

Everyone glanced at Xiao Qing, then looked back at Xiao Feilian, who had cat-like ears, and for a moment, they were at a loss for words.

Their Holy Maiden was truly dignified in front of others, always composed and never putting on airs; as long as it didn't involve the sect leader, she was approachable and easy to talk to.

But once it concerned the sect leader… it was as if she became a completely different person.

Then again, it seemed… they weren't any different either.

Du Siji had always had a dream—to defeat Xiao Feilian and prove that he was the most talented and exceptional in the sect.

After reaching the Soul King level, achieving a Silver-level second awakening, and even obtaining a pair of external soul bones, he had thought he finally stood a chance. Yet, even with all this, when he challenged Xiao Feilian once more…

He still couldn't beat her!

Even without her sword, he was still no match!

At that moment, Du Siji finally accepted it.

A prodigy cultivated from the very first spirit ring was indeed not someone like him, who came into it halfway, could ever hope to rival.

For some reason, Du Siji always felt that Xiao Feilian seemed able to anticipate her opponent's moves and respond with the best counterattacks.

That was a skill he simply did not possess.

On the stage, Xiao Qing, her face still flushed, walked up to Zhongli with the tray in her hands, head down, staring at her toes without saying a word.

Zhongli blinked in slight confusion.

This young woman seemed to be in good health, breathing steady and calm, so why was she suddenly blushing?

It was somewhat puzzling.

Besides Xiao Qing, there were a dozen other girls holding empty trays, waiting for the drawing.

Once Zhongli drew two battle emblems, they would step forward to receive them from him, determining which two teams would face off in the first round.

Without hesitation, Zhongli reached out toward the tray Xiao Qing held. The tray was covered by a red cloth, concealing the emblems underneath.

For the first match of the first round, only one emblem needed to be drawn, as the opponent was predetermined to be the Heaven Dou Royal Team One.

Zhongli understood this rule fairly well.

After drawing an emblem, Zhongli didn't look at the emblem's design.

Instead, he simply placed it on an empty tray.

As the emblem appeared, the host glanced at its design and then announced, "First match of the first round: Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team 2 versus Shrek Academy!"

Hearing this, Zhongli froze, he was a bit bewildered.

Heaven knows, he hadn't used any special methods; he even sealed off all his senses before drawing the emblem.

Who could have guessed it would turn out like this!

It was going to be Heaven Dou Royal Team Two facing off against the Shrek Team—just like in the original timeline, exactly the same.

Of course, the current Heaven Dou Royal Team Two was no longer the same as before.

Originally, neither Heaven Dou Royal Team One nor Team Two had any substitute members. But due to Xiao Feilian and the others, after Yu Tianheng and his teammates joined Heaven Dou Royal Team Two, the team now had backup members—specifically, the original Team Two members.

The audience fell silent. Could it really be that clown team?

Naturally, no one suspected Zhongli of tampering with the emblem drawing. It was just fate!

"Tang San, we lost to you in Soto City because we were careless. This time, we won't lose again!"

In the Heaven Dou Royal Team Two's resting area, which wasn't far from Shrek's, Yu Tianheng spoke gravely.

That last loss had been due to overconfidence on their part. Now, with all members at the Soul Ancestor level or higher, they were absolutely determined not to lose again!

"What?"

"Yu Tianheng and his team actually lost before?"

"And to the Shrek Team, no less?"

The competitors were taken aback, though a few of them could vaguely guess why Yu Tianheng's team had lost.

Tang San was a Twin Martial Soul user with an external soul bone, so it was actually quite normal for him to have won against opponents of the same title.

Although he had been no match for Xiao Feilian, no one considered Tang San weak; rather, it just showed how overwhelmingly strong Xiao Feilian was.

At the same level, very few could confidently claim to beat someone like Tang San.

"We've beaten you once; we can beat you a second, even a third time!" Tang San replied solemnly, surprised to find himself facing a former formidable foe right off the bat.

Though Yu Tianheng had been defeated, he was no pushover.

This was quite an intense start.

Unconsciously, Tang San looked up at Zhongli on the stage.

Could it be that Zhongli had done this on purpose?

It was a very Tang San way of thinking—just like him to consider such a possibility.

At first, everyone thought that the Heaven Dou Royal Team Two had drawn the easiest team in this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Who could have expected Shrek to be a dark horse, once having defeated the Heaven Dou Royal Team Two!

To have beaten Yu Tianheng and the others, Shrek Academy clearly had some strength.

As a past loser, Yu Tianheng didn't argue much with Tang San; he'd wait until the drawing was over and let their true skills decide.

"Teacher, Dean, we…"

Originally, the preliminaries were a time to hide their strength, to avoid revealing too much too early.

But their opponents were Yu Tianheng's team!

How could they hide their strength in this situation?

In light of the rewards Zhongli had offered, the preliminaries had already turned into a free-for-all where everyone would show their skills.

For the sake of soul bones, everyone would go all out.

Given the stakes, no one could afford to hold back!

Flender and Yu Xiaogang exchanged a grim look, both equally unsettled.

"Everyone, go ahead. There's no point in conserving strength just to lose a match—better to admit defeat outright."

After a long pause, Yu Xiaogang finally said.

By this time, the drawing for the first round had concluded, and Zhongli swiftly returned to his position.

••••

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