The Next Day
In the early morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Chen Xuan got up.
He packed all the weapons he would need into his storage soul guide, including a hundred kunai, which would last a long time.
Chen Xuan set off, taking Chen Yiyi to the agreed-upon meeting place.
As the sun began to rise and everything came back to life, the first rays of sunlight touched the earth.
Before long, at the end of the road, a beautiful silhouette appeared. Zhu Zhuqing walked over with a slender and tall figure, wearing a tight-fitting outfit that exuded a cold aura.
Her face was icy and her figure was outstanding, especially in the tight-fitting attire that accentuated her nearly perfect form.
Chen Xuan was stunned for a moment. No matter how many times he met her, her vast presence would always draw his gaze. It was truly remarkable.
It could only be said that Zhu Zhuqing was indeed extraordinary; there were very few on the continent who could match her. Even the current Pope Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue were not comparable.
"Brother, can you tone it down a bit? Your eyes are almost glued to her," Chen Yiyi pouted, clearly dissatisfied.
Chen Xuan had already retracted his gaze and was somewhat speechless. It was an exaggeration to say his eyes were glued to her.
"What are you looking at?" Zhu Zhuqing asked with a cold and distant tone as she approached. Her beautiful eyes were as cold as the stars, staring directly at Chen Xuan.
As she approached, she felt a scorching gaze, a similar look she had encountered from many repulsive men.
"Of course, I'm looking at you," Chen Xuan admitted openly, with no need to lie.
Since she allowed him to look, he looked generously. It was normal to appreciate beautiful things.
Zhu Zhuqing's brows furrowed slightly. Despite being so blatantly scrutinized, she surprisingly did not feel disgusted.
She noticed that Chen Xuan's eyes were very clear, without any ulterior motives, only an appreciative gaze, without any aggression or malice.
Unlike those repulsive men, she seemed to dislike this behavior less. It was rare.
Even Dai Mubai's gaze sometimes had a hint of greed. She was no longer the naive girl she once was and was very aware of what such people were thinking.
"Bold," Zhu Zhuqing said as she adjusted her hair and then ignored Chen Xuan.
She turned her attention to the young girl beside him, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
Chen Xuan was just going through the motions and wasn't overly infatuated. He took the initiative to introduce Yiyi. "This is my younger sister, Chen Yiyi. She just turned twelve this year."
"Yiyi, call her Sister Zhuqing," he nudged his sister.
Chen Yiyi rolled her eyes. The woman in front of her didn't seem much older than she was.
Although reluctant, since Chen Xuan was her older brother, she had to comply.
"Sister Zhuqing, hello!" she said through gritted teeth.
Chen Xuan gave an awkward laugh. He suddenly realized it was inappropriate. Zhu Zhuqing was only thirteen or fourteen years old, while his sister was just twelve. The age difference made the address awkward.
However, his sister looked nothing like a twelve-year-old. She was small and weak, about one meter fifty-six in height, and really did look like a little girl.
"Let's talk on the road," Zhu Zhuqing said abruptly, her voice cold, interrupting the two.
Chen Xuan nodded without hesitation, carrying Yiyi on his back and starting their journey.
At the city gate, they finally encountered a carriage. There weren't many merchants or drivers in the morning.
Chen Xuan spent thirty gold soul coins to hire a luxurious carriage.
The carriage left Heaven Dou City, heading south toward the Star Dou Forest.
Time passed quickly. A day and night went by as the three traveled.
On the other side, in the Heaven Dou region.
After a month of the All-Continent Senior Soul Master Tournament, the curtain finally came down on this day.
"This year's All-Continent Soul Master Tournament saw every team deliver brilliant performances in the preliminaries. On behalf of the empire, I express our gratitude. Each of you is an exceptionally outstanding individual," Emperor Snow Night said from the podium.
After a lengthy ceremony, Emperor Snow Night announced the top five students of the tournament.
Shenfeng Academy and Thunder Academy had the same record of twenty-six wins and one loss, both tied for first place.
However, since Shenfeng Academy had defeated Thunder Academy, the final ranking was adjusted, with Thunder Academy becoming second.
Shrek Academy came in third with twenty-four wins, one draw, and two losses.
The fourth and fifth places went to Flame Academy and Heavenly Water Academy, with their results being nearly identical, separated by just a small margin.
When the top five list was announced, the awards ceremony took place with each team's captains and vice-captains receiving their prizes.
Emperor Snow Night looked at these five teams, seeing them as the hope of the empire, with the potential to bring unexpected benefits.
His expression was as satisfied as it could be, he coughed a few times and said seriously, "The contestants of the advancing teams are talents of our empire. The captains and vice-captains of each team will be granted the title of Viscount, and the remaining team members will receive the title of Baron. These titles will be conferred upon your graduation."
For nobles, receiving a title wasn't a big deal.
But for commoners, it was a reward worth more than gold and silver. Being promoted from commoner to noble meant being among the elite.
Such generous rewards made many contestants happy, as their years of effort finally paid off.
Under normal circumstances, it was as hard as climbing to the heavens for an ordinary person to become a noble, a significant gap that was not easily crossed.
On the continent, there was a severe divide between nobility and commoners. Nobles were esteemed, while commoners were lowly. Even if one reached the Soul Emperor or even Soul Sage level, they would still not be favored by the royal family.
The two great empires of Heaven Dou and Star Luo were like this, let alone smaller countries.
In terms of equality, perhaps only the Spirit Hall was different.
During the award ceremony, Emperor Snow Night continued his speech, focusing on praising Tang San.
At thirteen or fourteen years old, with a rank of forty-one, ten-thousand-year soul rings, and some strange self-created soul skills, all these attributes combined in one person made the royal family very eager to recruit him.
Emperor Snow Night felt especially regretful. There was another talent he wanted from Shrek Academy, Chen Xuan, who also had a rank of forty-one and ten-thousand-year soul rings.
Although he was a couple of years older than Tang San, he was still considered a genius in the empire.
Emperor Snow Night regretted not seeing that little genius in action. It was truly strange.
Originally, he wanted to wait and see Chen Xuan's real strength before deciding on what conditions to use to recruit him.
Next, Emperor Snow Night made another promise. If a team from the Heaven Dou Empire won the final championship, the entire team's titles would be promoted one rank.
Moreover, the academy would be given a royal title and receive financial support from the empire.
Additionally, the top three most outstanding members of the team would receive a substantial reward: the empire would send troops to hunt any soul beast within thirty thousand years.
"The finals will be held one month from now. I hope you will take this time to accumulate and prepare, and bring glory to the empire," Emperor Snow Night said with a warm smile.
Thus, the preliminaries of the All-Continent Soul Master Tournament came to an end on this day.
After the preliminaries, all the teams returned. Tang San and Dai Mubai, among others, went back to Shrek Academy.
"Where is Zhuqing?" At the evening celebration banquet, Dai Mubai finally noticed that Zhu Zhuqing was missing.
He searched all around Shrek Academy but found no trace of her, as if she had vanished from the world.
Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu shook their heads, indicating they hadn't seen their good friend Zhuqing in the past two days.
Moreover, they realized that Chen Xuan was also missing, and his whereabouts were unknown.
Dai Mubai was nearly driven to madness, a bad premonition rising in his heart.
"Why do I have this feeling of anxiety?" He clutched his chest, feeling an inexplicable sense of panic.
He immediately thought that his little kitty might be in trouble.
Tang San was moved. When Xiao Wu went missing before, he also had a very strong feeling of anxiety and panic.
"Mubai, I'll go with you to find her."
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