stonecrandall Page 128
Page 128
Upon hearing this, Mu Ci stroked his chin and said, "Then I'll go check on the team. If there's nothing else, I'll go to the VIP section. We can't disrespect Xue Ye."
"Alright, I'll wait for you in the VIP section!" After saying that, Xue Qinghe hugged Mu Ci and then walked towards the VIP section in the distance.
As for Mu Ci, she didn't feel there was anything wrong with her actions. After saying goodbye to Xue Qinghe, she walked towards the direction of the plant team.
However, when he walked into the group, he found Yan Jing looking dumbfounded.
Confused, Mu Ci frowned and asked, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Ahem!" Yan Jing's wide-open mouth finally closed under Mu Ci's question. "Captain, you and His Highness the Crown Prince have a really good relationship."
Upon hearing this, Mu Ci's expression turned awkward for a moment, and she understood the specific reason.
Spending a lot of time with Qian Renxue makes one subconsciously ignore their disguise, which can indeed lead to misunderstandings if someone suddenly sees it.
However, Mu Ci completely ignored this matter and skillfully changed the subject, asking Yan Jing, "How were the results of the lottery last night?"
Upon hearing Mu Ci's question, Yan Jing quickly became serious and said somewhat embarrassedly to Mu Ci, "I had a bit of bad luck and drew Tianshui Academy."
There are fifteen teams in total. Even if you exclude yourself and the teams that get a bye, the odds are still pretty high.
"Alright then," Mu Ci said helplessly. "You guys can play by yourselves for a while. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose in the qualifying rounds anyway."
"I'm going to the VIP section in a bit, so don't worry about me!"
After speaking to Yan Jing, Mu Ci waved towards Tianshui Academy and telepathically explained what had happened that day before heading towards the VIP area.
At the VIP table.
As soon as Mu Ci stepped onto the stage, he received a warm welcome from Emperor Xue Ye.
"Sect Leader Mu, please take a seat."
Seeing the enthusiastic Emperor Xueye, Mu Ci returned the smile.
"Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty. You look to be in good health."
With a strong and powerful body and a rosy face that is almost wrinkle-free, he doesn't look like a man in his sixties at all; instead, he looks like a middle-aged man who exercises regularly.
Mu Ci's words immediately made Emperor Xue Ye beam with joy, "Haha! With the pills refined by your sect, my health has been incredibly robust these past few years, and even my harem... cough cough!"
Having unconsciously brought up something inappropriate, Emperor Xueye immediately stopped talking, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"We can talk about that later. Let's get started on the competition!"
After Emperor Xueye's perfunctory remarks, amidst the shouts of the Royal Knights.
The qualifying rounds have officially begun!
The first match was between the Blazing Fire team and a team from the Fabia Academy from another duchy.
However, under the threat of Huo Wu's fifth spirit ring, the Fabia team, which only had two spirit masters, surrendered after losing two matches.
This also set a great precedent for the qualifying rounds, with a seven-game winning streak.
"Sect Leader Mu is young and promising. Aren't you going back to the team to prepare for the competition?" Ning Fengzhi said, looking at Mu Ci beside him. "I'm still waiting to witness that amazing scene from six years ago again!"
"There's a chance, but today's draw is for the Tianshui team, so let them compete against each other!" Mu Ci waved his hand helplessly.
Ning Fengzhi immediately understood. After a moment of silence, he looked at Mu Ci and said, "Sect Leader Mu Ci, we've known each other for quite some time now, haven't we?"
Mu Ci looked at Ning Fengzhi with some surprise, not understanding what he meant, but still replied.
"Of course, if we start from when we first met, it's been almost five years. I wonder if Sect Leader Ning has any questions for us?"
Ning Fengzhi looked at Mu Ci with a more serious expression. "I want to know when we can schedule the refining of Martial Soul Evolution Pills again?"
“We’ve applied several times since last year, but each time we’ve been turned down because we’re still in the queue. It’s really…” Ning Fengzhi said with a wry smile.
Mu Ci was naturally aware of what Ning Fengzhi was talking about.
These large orders all need to be reviewed by him, and his application regarding the Eight Treasure Glazed Tile School was also directly rejected by him personally.
Mu Ci's smile faded slightly. "Sect Leader Ning, I don't want to give any evasive answers. This matter is indeed quite difficult to handle."
"As for the specific reasons, you should already know them in your heart!"
Ning Fengzhi's complexion was also somewhat unwell.
He was naturally aware of what Mu Ci was talking about; the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's amplification was too powerful, and the threat was too great.
Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only three Title Douluos at the time; their actual combat strength is equivalent to that of five or six, and they can even hold their own against two or three peak Douluos.
Seeing Ning Fengzhi's expression, Mu Ci's tone softened a bit, "As a merchant, this is indeed not a good thing."
"Alright, Sect Master Ning, let's give each other some time to think it over. After this competition ends, if your sect can agree to some conditions..."
"How about I personally start the furnace and refine the pills then?"
condition?
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi instinctively wanted to refuse, but since it concerned the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda, he couldn't bring himself to do it. So he gritted his teeth and agreed for the time being, planning to discuss it further once he returned to the sect.
Chapter 178 Mu Ci vs. Shrek
As for the rest of the match, the VIP seats were completely silent.
The matter of the Nine-Jeweled Glazed Pagoda concerns many people present.
Emperor Xueye naturally wanted Ning Fengzhi to successfully awaken the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda, so that the empire could be more stable.
After all, Seven Treasures City is near Heaven Dou City, and the Spirit Hall will have to be more restrained then.
However, the Platinum Bishop Salas, standing to the side, had a gloomy expression and let out a disdainful sneer at Ning Fengzhi's idea.
'Awakening the Eight Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda is already an incredible stroke of luck; how dare you dream of the Nine Treasures?'
As for Mu Ci and Qian Renxue's thoughts, they were actually alright.
If Ning Fengzhi is willing to make some offers in the future, he can become a member of the future grand plan.
Qian Renxue wasn't unwilling to give Ning Fengzhi and the others a chance, considering how many years they had called him "teacher," and allow Mu Ci to improve and stabilize the other party's martial soul.
However, the thoughts of those in the VIP seats did not affect the intense competition taking place on the fighting stage below.
Besides Huo Wu's incredible seven-kill streak in the first match, Tang San of Shrek Academy also achieved a seven-kill streak against the Barak Kingdom's Barak team.
Apart from that, in the battle between Tianshui and the plants, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er did not participate; it was a direct exchange match between Xue Wu and Yan Jing.
-
As the matches went by, at Shrek Academy...
A month later, Yu Xiaogang's aura had become much stronger, but it had also become increasingly eerie.
That inexplicable feeling made even Flander subconsciously distance himself from him.
Seeing Tang San return from the competition camp, Yu Xiaogang quickly stepped forward and asked, "Xiao San, how did the draw go?"
Yu Xiaogang's question only made Tang San's expression worse.
Meeting the gazes of his teammates and teachers, Tang San said, word by word, "Botany Academy!"
The moment those four words were uttered, the entire camp fell silent.
Many people's eyes already revealed a hint of fear.
The original members of Blue Tyrant Academy were alright, but Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai were well aware of Mu Ci's strength.
Even Zhao Wuji, a Soul Saint, couldn't last a single round against Mu Ci. How could those who were at most Soul Kings possibly defeat him?
Fear flickered in Oscar's eyes as he nervously addressed the crowd, "We have absolutely no chance! Should we just surrender tomorrow?"
Before anyone else could react to Oscar's words, Yu Xiaogang rejected them without a second thought.
"Oscar, what are you saying? Did I ever teach you to just admit defeat like that? Besides, it's not even certain whether Mu Ci will play or not."
However, as soon as Yu Xiaogang said this, everyone's faces showed reluctance.
Even Yu Tianheng and the other two were the same. They had fallen into evil, but they were not stupid. The absolute difference in their combat strength was still obvious.
They can't even beat Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er, yet they want to beat Mu Ci? Isn't that just wishful thinking?
Seeing everyone's expressions, Tang San finally made up his mind and said, "Alright, since the advancement tournament isn't an elimination system anyway, let's just use tomorrow as an opportunity to figure out Mu Ci's strength!"
Tang San was indeed quite eager to see just how strong Mu Ci was. He had even trained his fiancée to reach the pinnacle of her abilities, awakening her Silver Martial Soul and True Dragon Martial Soul.
"And what about him?" Tang San asked, somewhat curious.
The campus of the College of Botany.
As soon as Mu Ci returned, Yan Jing rushed over.
"Captain, the draw is over! Guess who it is?"
Yan Jing looked at Mu Ci with excitement.
With just one glance, Mu Ci understood what the other person meant.
"Shrek Academy?"
"Huh?" Yan Jing's face instantly fell. "Captain, you guessed it!"
"Otherwise what?" Mu Ci looked at him with a caring gaze. "Anyone could see that from your performance."
"Captain, what about tomorrow?" Yan Jing asked, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"I'll do it myself!"
With the last sound, Mu Ci entered her room.
-
The next day arrived, and the second round of the qualifying tournament began.
Compared to the qualifiers, the qualifying rounds are much faster. Without the cheers and shouts of the audience, Soul Masters no longer need to keep their eyes and ears open to coordinate with their teammates.
In this mode, you only need to defeat the opponent in front of you. If the gap between the two sides is even slightly large, the match will end quickly.
Not to mention the top teams in the Tiandou region, which are a whole level above the ten teams from the ducal kingdoms. They often have to admit defeat after just two or three matches.
Soon, the qualifying rounds came to their final match of the day.
The match was one that everyone present watched with bated breath and rapt attention.
Plant Team vs. Shrek Team!