The first match of the Round Robin Stage ended, and the subsequent matches continued.
According to the schedule rules drawn up in advance by the Tournament Organizing Committee, the ninety participating teams were evenly divided into ten groups.
Each team had to complete a series of matchups within their group during the Round Robin Stage.
Every day, the teams in each group had to compete in three high-intensity matches; the schedule was extremely tight.
Following the established match order, after the curtain fell on the first group's opening duel, the arena referees and staff quickly completed the restoration of the venue.
Immediately afterward, it was the second group's turn to take the stage and begin their first competition of the Round Robin Stage.
The ten groups followed in sequence, cycling through one after another.
The match procedures were closely linked, and the entire Soul Fighting Arena remained in a tense yet orderly competitive atmosphere.
Such a schedule provided Xu Tianhao and his group, who had just finished a fierce battle, with a precious short period of rest.
Therefore, after the match ended, Xu Tianhao and the other six reserve members left the rest area directly.
Since they were putting on an act, they naturally had to perform flawlessly and without any loopholes.
At this moment, they were presenting an appearance of having suffered a massive loss of Origin Qi; if they continued to stay in the rest area, it would be inevitable for other teams to notice something was amiss.
Only by returning to their hotel as quickly as possible and pretending to seize every moment to heal, recover, and meditate in seclusion could they completely dispel all outside suspicions.
On the other side, the Mingluo Sect team's actions were identical to those of Xu Tianhao's group.
Under the simple emergency treatment of their Healing Spirit Master, several members pretended that their injuries had eased and they were barely stabilizing their condition.
After receiving basic treatment, they did not linger in the arena for even a moment longer, heading straight out of the contestants' rest area and back toward the hotel.
The two teams arrived at the hotel lobby one after the other, eventually walking side by side toward the Elevator Hall.
Along the way, members of both sides maintained the hostile state they had shown in the arena.
Their gazes were cold, their temperaments distant, and there was no unnecessary communication.
They appeared to be incompatible rivals, without any sign of abnormality.
It wasn't until they reached the quiet and secluded elevator entrance that Qiu Hetian paused slightly and looked sideways discreetly.
Qiu Hetian sent a sound transmission: "How was it? Was that performance just now considered Perfection?"
Xu Tianhao's expression was calm as he continued to maintain the appearance of being heavily injured and weak, his eyes showing no fluctuation.
He also responded quietly via sound transmission: "Not bad, the coordination was seamless. I look forward to you personally crippling the Star Luo National Academy next."
A faint cold smile played at the corner of Qiu Hetian's mouth as the evil aura surrounding him retracted slightly. He replied via sound transmission:
"Rest assured, we will. Just leave the Star Luo National Academy side to us."
After the brief exchange, the two had no further interaction.
Just then, the elevator arrived at the first floor. The two teams separated with tacit understanding, each entering a different elevator.
The elevator doors closed slowly, completely cutting off contact between them.
To onlookers, this was merely the normal behavior of two rival teams deliberately avoiding each other, with nothing suspicious about it.
Xu Tianhao and his group took the elevator to the top floor and returned discreetly to the hotel's exclusive Conference Room.
Once the Conference Room door was tightly shut, completely cutting off all outside gazes and perception...
The weak state of being on the verge of death and critically injured instantly vanished from everyone without a trace.
Their originally tense expressions relaxed completely. The pain they had deliberately feigned faded from their eyes, replaced by relaxed smiles.
There wasn't the slightest sign of spirit power exhaustion or being heavily injured.
Ye Guyi was the first to speak, her tone carrying a hint of heartfelt sentiment: "Even though we were acting from start to finish and deliberately suppressing our strength to cooperate with their performance..."
"But I must say, that Qiu Hetian from the Mingluo Sect really cannot be underestimated."
As an Angel, she naturally possessed a suppressive power over Evil Soul Masters.
But during the battle just now, when facing Qiu Hetian, this suppressive power was actually greatly diminished.
Instead, it made her feel an indescribable sense of pressure.
"This person gives me the feeling of being far more powerful than those three Evil Soul Emperors."
"This match was just a performance after all. Once the Round Robin Stage is over, we cannot easily let these Evil Soul Masters off the hook."
Xu Tianzhen's face was also full of seriousness, her previous relaxed smile gone; she was clearly very wary of Qiu Hetian's strength.
Xu Tianzhen said, "In the duel just now, Qiu Hetian's Domain was also very strong."
"Guyi and my abilities usually have absolute suppression over Evil Soul Masters."
"But facing his Domain, not only did they fail to have a suppressive effect, but there was also a sluggish feeling of my power being countered and restrained."
Nana also frowned slightly, her tone full of confusion and surprise: "My Nether Spirit Master Spirit can suppress all kinds of evil Spirits and sinister Spirit Masters."
"Even against that Rank 68 You Ya, I could clearly feel an absolute suppression over her."
"But only when facing Qiu Hetian did this suppressive power completely fail, as if my Spirit talent was useless before him."
Listening to the analysis of the three girls—Ye Guyi, Xu Tianzhen, and Nana—Long Aotian, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen all nodded in agreement, solemn expressions appearing on their faces as well.
They knew well how powerful the suppressive force of Ye Guyi and the others' Spirit attributes was against Evil Soul Masters.
Not to mention ordinary Evil Soul Masters, even the Rank 68 You Ya was restricted everywhere under this attribute suppression, finding it difficult to fully exert her strength.
Yet, Qiu Hetian was only at the Rank 59 Spirit King Realm, his cultivation not yet having broken through to Spirit Emperor, but he could ignore such extreme attribute countering.
The strangeness of his strength and the power of his talent were enough to make all the Geniuses present feel troubled, and even give rise to a trace of wariness in their hearts.
Seeing everyone's solemn expressions, Xu Tianhao's mouth curled into a meaningful smile as he spoke slowly:
"When facing him, did you have the same feeling of being suppressed at the same Rank and being unable to resist, just like when you face me?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Conference Room fell into a brief silence.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then suddenly snapped out of it, nodding vigorously one after another, their eyes full of agreement.
Long Aotian was the first to speak, his tone certain: "Exactly! That's the feeling!"
"Among Spirit Masters of the same Rank, besides Tianhao, I have never felt this kind of pressure."
Xiao Hongchen reached out to stroke his chin, his eyes full of surprise and doubt as he couldn't help but ask:
"What exactly is the background of that guy named Qiu Hetian? His talent and strength couldn't possibly be comparable to Tianhao's, could they?"
Hearing this, Xu Tianhao's eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of imperceptible solemnity and suspicion flashing through them.
The far-fetched guess that had been faintly emerging before now became increasingly clear and certain.
Even Long Aotian and Xiao Hongchen had felt this unique sense of suppression at the same Rank.
This was enough to show that Qiu Hetian was by no means as simple as he appeared on the surface.
His identity and his background definitely hid some unknown, earth-shattering secret.
Moreover, what normal person would take a name like 'Qiu Hetian,' which was so full of hostility and extremely evil?
Behind this name, there must be a monstrous hatred and an unknown past; it was definitely not a name an ordinary Evil Soul Master would use.
However, right now was not the best time to delve into this matter.