In the meeting room of the Mingluo Sect, the atmosphere was so heavy it had nearly solidified.
Under the dim lighting, Huo Yuhao sat upright in the primary seat, his body exuding a faint, cold aura.
He looked calmly at his teammates below, who still bore expressions of shock and dazed disbelief.
Everyone's brows were furrowed, their faces solemn, as their minds constantly replayed the scenes from the mock battle against Xu Tianhao's group.
That sense of helplessness from being suppressed in every aspect, their strength completely countered, was still deeply etched in their hearts and would not dissipate for a long time.
Seeing that their expressions had not settled even after a long while, Huo Yuhao raised his hand and lightly tapped the table in front of him.
The dull thud echoed in the silent meeting room, finally pulling everyone's wandering thoughts back.
His expression was indifferent, his tone calm and steady: "What are you afraid of?"
As soon as he spoke, the meticulous You Ya was the first to stand up from within the team.
Her brow was tightly knit, her face full of gravity as she spoke truthfully: "It's not fear, it's just that I didn't expect Xu Tianhao and the others to be so strong—strong far beyond our expectations."
They had originally thought that even if the Sun Moon Empire's team possessed decent strength, they would certainly be no match for them.
But in the confrontation just now, the combat power Xu Tianhao and the others displayed, along with their team's seamless cooperation, had made them feel unprecedented pressure.
Immediately after, Wang Lufei also spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of undisguisable gravity:
"Even though this time was just an act and neither side went all out or staked their lives."
"That feeling of being completely countered cannot be faked. Having one's Spirit completely suppressed... that sensation is far too uncomfortable."
Beside him, Robin, who was usually calm and steady, still had a lingering solemnity on his face.
His gaze was sharp as he analyzed coldly: "If this battle hadn't been an act, but a real struggle where we fought with everything on the line, we might not have won. We might have even fallen into a disadvantage."
All three Spirit Emperor level experts had given such a heavy assessment.
The remaining three—Li Kui, Zhang San, and Li Si—felt an even stronger sense of shock and crisis in their hearts.
They only had Spirit King cultivation, and the suppression they felt during the confrontation was even more obvious.
When facing Ye Guyi, they had even developed a fleeting thought of being unable to resist.
Now, as they looked at Huo Yuhao, there was a bit more trepidation in their eyes.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao did not show the slightest bit of worry; instead, a faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
Huo Yuhao's tone was as light as a breeze: "So what? Our target was never the Sun Moon Empire to begin with."
Everyone was stunned. You Ya immediately took a step forward and said urgently: "But if we let them grow, they will definitely be a great enemy to the Holy Cult in the future!"
"Right now, they have only temporarily shown their brilliance, yet they have already brought us such immense pressure."
"In time, once Xu Tianhao's group has fully matured, this pressure will spread to the entire Holy Cult and become a mortal threat."
"If we don't curb their development in time, they will surely become the Holy Cult's nightmare in the future. By then, it will be too late for regrets!"
You Ya's words accurately struck the concerns in everyone's hearts.
Everyone present was an Evil Soul Master; they were ruthless and bloodthirsty by nature, always acting with cold-blooded decisiveness and believing in pulling up weeds by the roots.
In their view, even if they currently had a brief intention of cooperation with the Sun Moon Empire, it was merely a matter of expediency.
They could use the name of cooperation to gain the trust of Xu Tianhao and the others, making the opponent lower their guard.
Once the time was ripe, they would suddenly strike, dealing a fatal blow to the Sun Moon Empire and completely eradicating this massive potential threat.
Huo Yuhao understood this logic perfectly well; he had his own calculations in his heart.
However, buried deep in his heart was a sky-high hatred for Shrek Academy and the Star Luo Empire.
This hatred far exceeded his wariness of the Sun Moon Empire.
He planned step by step so that one day he could take revenge on Shrek and wash away his past humiliations.
Therefore, in his heart, there was a clear distinction between primary and secondary goals.
If he had to make a choice, he would rather choose to temporarily cooperate with the Sun Moon Empire.
Using the power of the Sun Moon Empire, he would first deal a heavy blow to Shrek Academy.
At the same time, he could spite the other Three Great Empires of the original Douluo Continent and realize his revenge plan.
Seeing the still confused expressions of the crowd, Huo Yuhao spoke slowly, his tone carrying an air of unquestionable authority: "I understand your thoughts, but things have priorities."
"We have many enemies now. Rather than making enemies on all sides and putting ourselves in a position where we are attacked from both front and back, it is better to unite with one side and concentrate our power to strike the other."
"Once we join forces to annihilate Shrek Academy and the other participating teams from the original Three Great Empires of the Douluo Continent and resolve our primary concern, we can then turn around and deal with the Sun Moon Empire."
"By then, we will have no further worries, and our chances of victory will be greater."
His words were logically clear, hitting every key point and clarifying the pros and cons.
After speaking, Huo Yuhao said no more and turned his gaze toward Cult Leader Zhongli Wu, who had been sitting silently to the side the whole time, and asked respectfully: "Teacher, what do you think?"
Cult Leader Zhongli Wu had been watching coldly from the beginning, taking in everyone's reactions.
Hearing Huo Yuhao's inquiry, he slowly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before he finally gave a slight nod.
Cult Leader Zhongli Wu's tone was indifferent but extremely majestic: "Since this matter has been entrusted to you with full responsibility, you shall make the decision."
With the Saint having set the strategy and the Cult Leader expressing his agreement, no one present had any further objections.
Whether it was the concerned You Ya or the rest of the Evil Soul Masters, they all stood up with respectful expressions and bowed in unison, saying firmly:
"We obey the Holy Decree!"
...
The competition continued.
In the subsequent matches, Xu Tianhao and his group simply did not take the field.
With Ma Rulong, a Spirit Emperor, leading six Spirit Kings, victory was essentially guaranteed.
In their first group, besides the powerful Mingluo Sect, only the Star Luo National Academy had a lineup of seven Spirit Kings.
The other teams couldn't even put together a full Spirit King roster, so Ma Rulong and the others naturally faced no pressure in their matches.
This also meant that even if the Mingluo Sect appeared to be heavily injured on the surface, they were not something other participating teams could compare to.
Facing a group of opponents whose highest strength was only at the five-ring level, Huo Yuhao alone was actually enough to handle them easily.
It was worth mentioning that in the first group, except for when they faced the teams from the Sun Moon Empire, the Mingluo Sect dealt lethal blows to all other teams.
If it hadn't been for Huang Jinxu's timely rescue, those people might have been wiped out entirely.
But even though the Mingluo Sect acted so ruthlessly, the officials did not issue any punishments.
Because there was someone even more ruthless than the Mingluo Sect.
Shrek Academy was no longer hiding its strength; as long as the opponent was a team from the Sun Moon Empire, they would strike with their full main team.
With Level 68 Ma Xiaotao plus Level 64 Dai Yueheng, dealing with a group of Sun Moon Empire teams that didn't even have a Spirit Emperor was similarly a one-sided slaughter.
In Shrek Academy's first match against a Sun Moon Empire team, Ma Xiaotao directly burned four Spirit Ancestors to death.
This instantly aroused the anger of all the Sun Moon Empire teams, and Jing Hongchen went up to argue indignantly at the time.
But the Star Luo Empire officials ignored him, giving a very simple reason.
Spirit Abilities have no eyes in competition; if you're afraid of this or that, you can just admit defeat directly.
Once you've admitted defeat, others won't be able to hit you anymore.
Hearing this answer, Jing Hongchen appeared angry on the surface, but he was excited inside.
Good, good, good—you said it yourselves.
When the Sixth Highness strikes ruthlessly later, don't you dare use double standards.
This was also why the Mingluo Sect's bloodthirstiness afterward had no impact.
Besides the Mingluo Sect, the Sun Moon Empire's teams did the same.
Jing Hongchen had already secretly relayed orders.
If you meet someone you can beat, fight them to the death; if you can't beat them, just admit defeat directly.
The Fourth Princess and the Sixth Prince will seek justice for them.
In short, since the original Three Great Empires of the Douluo Continent wanted to target them, the other teams from the Sun Moon Empire simply wouldn't take the bait.
They only needed to conserve their strength; Xu Tianhao would get their revenge for them.
This led to the subsequent matches either being incredibly exciting, with blood drawn in every move;
Or having no highlights at all, with teams admitting defeat as soon as they stepped up.