In the top-floor No. 1 suite of Mingyue Grand Hotel, Xu Zihuang was likewise pondering the deeper intentions behind the Body Sect's actions.
One thing was certain: the Body Sect would definitely take action this time.
From his memories of his previous life, Xu Zihuang knew that the Body Sect's goal had always been to feign an attack on Mingde Hall while actually assassinating Xu Tianran. Since they had decided to do something like this, completely offending the Sun Moon Empire, they naturally wouldn't care about killing students from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy during the competition.
The reason the Body Sect deliberately did this seemed more like a way of declaring an attitude.
Xu Zihuang had wiped out the Holy Spirit Cult on behalf of Shrek Academy, and the Body Sect had also killed students from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy.
It wasn't just Xu Zihuang who saw this; the person beside him, Ye Guyi, had also realized it.
At this moment, Ye Guyi had completely abandoned any pretense of decorum. Her long, fair legs were draped across Xu Zihuang's body as she softly teased him with a smile.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Princess Wei Na should come looking for you soon. Oh, and there's also Princess Xu Jiujiu from the Star Luo Empire. Right now, they probably can't wait to tie you onto their ship."
"But if we want to achieve our goal, we do indeed need the power behind them." Xu Zihuang helplessly turned his head to look at Ye Guyi, who was leaning against his shoulder. Their faces were so close that through each other's pupils, they could clearly see their own reflections.
In Xu Zihuang's eyes, there was only sincerity. Toward Wei Na and Xu Jiujiu, he had always harbored only intentions of using them, without any other feelings mixed in.
It was precisely because she understood this that Ye Guyi showed no unusual reaction. But when she thought of Orange and Ning Tian, her gaze suddenly grew much hotter. Slightly raising her smooth chin, she leaned in closer.
A woman's jealousy and possessiveness were not so easily dispelled.
Back then, Ye Guyi had thought she could truly not care about these things, but in the end, she had underestimated her own somewhat pathological possessiveness toward Xu Zihuang.
Xu Zihuang took the initiative to pull Ye Guyi into his embrace and began to respond.
For Ye Guyi to make such a concession, not wanting to make things difficult for him, was already forcing herself. If she truly wanted to monopolize him without regard for anything else, she would never have accepted Ning Tian and Orange's existence from the very beginning.
But Xu Zihuang could not give up any one of them. In the end, it was his own fault.
A moment later, Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi continued watching the final top-eight match through the ability of the Void Eye. Clearly, the atmosphere between the two had become much more harmonious.
Sometimes, actual actions were far more effective than words. They also made it easier to dispel the emotions in one's heart.
A light screen materialized from spiritual power. The match between the Heavenly Dragon Gate and the Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy was, just like the previous one, a complete all-around suppression.
On the Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy's side, the only one with relatively strong individual strength was Xu Tianzhen, while the Heavenly Dragon Gate had two Soul Emperors, Yu Tianlong and Xing Yan. Especially Yu Tianlong, his strength was enough to rank in the first tier among all the participants in this competition.
In the end, Xu Tianzhen could not hold out alone, but she very straightforwardly chose to concede.
This match between the Heavenly Dragon Gate and the Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy was much more harmonious; basically, no casualties occurred on either side.
With this, the four teams advancing to the semifinals of this tournament were now clear.
Shrek Academy, Haotian Sect, Snow Demon Sect, Heavenly Dragon Gate.
Worth mentioning was that the Haotian Sect, Snow Demon Sect, and Heavenly Dragon Gate were all ancient soul master sects with long inheritances within the Heavenly Soul Empire's territory, and Shrek Academy was likewise located in the Heavenly Soul Empire.
Having the top four teams all come from the same country, this had never happened in any previous tournament. Of course, Shrek Academy's status was transcendent; strictly speaking, it did not belong to any single nation on the original Douluo Continent.
On the other side, Ning Tian had slept soundly for the entire afternoon and only groggily woke up near dusk.
Pushing open the bedroom door and seeing Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi sitting on the sofa, Ning Tian couldn't help but blush slightly. Somewhat embarrassed, she said, "Tianhuang, Sister Guyi, I slept a bit too long."
"It's nothing. The top-eight matches have all just ended. There are still two days of rest before the semifinals begin. Just rest well."
Having spent the afternoon alone with Xu Zihuang, Ye Guyi's mood seemed to have returned to normal. Smiling, she stood up and took Ning Tian's arm.
"You came at just the right time. Let's go eat together."
"The top-eight matches are already over?" Ning Tian subconsciously looked toward the sky outside the window. The sleepy haze in her eyes gradually cleared.
"Sister Guyi, what were the results of the afternoon matches?"
"The Snow Demon Sect and Heavenly Dragon Gate advanced." Ye Guyi smiled as she recounted the afternoon's match results to Ning Tian.
Watching the unusually harmonious scene between the two women, it was hard to connect the earlier Ye Guyi with the one now.
Xu Zihuang, following behind the two, lightly sighed and shook his head. Every time Ye Guyi did those things with him behind Ning Tian's back, she would be in an exceptionally good mood for a while afterward. This had practically become a routine.
The No. 1 suite of Mingyue Grand Hotel had its own dedicated restaurant. Not only was the environment elegant, but the view was also extremely open. Through the floor-to-ceiling crystal windows, one could take in nearly half of Mingdu bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
On the exquisite crystal dining table were laid out all kinds of delicate food. With no one to disturb them, Xu Zihuang, Ning Tian, and Ye Guyi ate and chatted, spending more than an hour there.
Night had now fallen. The soft soul guidance lighting poured down, adding a touch of ambiguity to the quiet restaurant.
Gazing at the night view of Mingdu outside the window, Xu Zihuang suddenly felt dazed. The night scene of Mingdu was both familiar and strange to him. Perhaps it was because his strength had increased that his state of mind had changed, allowing him to calm down at this moment and appreciate everything before him.
"Tianhuang." Ning Tian's voice came from beside his ear, and only then did Xu Zihuang come back to his senses.
He saw Ning Tian place a plate of fresh fruit brought by the maid in front of Xu Zihuang.
Moved in his heart, Xu Zihuang smiled gently and took Ning Tian's jade hand. In front of Ye Guyi, Ning Tian tightly interlocked her ten fingers with Xu Zihuang's, her heart filled with both sweetness and shyness.
Ye Guyi looked up at Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian, about to say something. But then her movements suddenly paused, her gaze shifting to land in the direction behind Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian.
The approaching footsteps from far to near also drew Xu Zihuang's and Ning Tian's attention. The two turned their heads and saw several people walking toward them.
Leading the way was Zhang Lexuan, and following behind her were Wei Na, Mu Xue, Long Aotian, Xu Jiujiu, and Yu Tianlong.
Xu Zihuang would not have been surprised to see Wei Na, Xu Jiujiu, or even Long Aotian here, but he had never imagined that Yu Tianlong would be mixed in with these people.
"Senior Sister."
Xu Zihuang stood up and greeted Zhang Lexuan. Ye Guyi and Ning Tian also quickly stood up after him.
"Princess Wei Na and Princess Jiujiu have something they wish to discuss with us."
Zhang Lexuan's gaze met Xu Zihuang's for a moment before she slightly nodded and explained.
"Now that everyone is here, if there's anything to say, let's go to my room."
Before entering Zhang Lexuan's room, the group tacitly maintained silence.
Afterward, everyone took seats one after another on the sofa in Zhang Lexuan's room.
Zhang Lexuan looked seriously at Xu Zihuang, Ye Guyi, and Ning Tian, then spoke words that shocked them.
"The Academy has decided to cooperate with the Body Sect and Princess Jiujiu's people to participate in this operation to assassinate Xu Tianran."
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