However, if he hadn't chosen to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Sect, Xu Tianran might not have been able to attain his current position.
Thus, every drink and peck is predetermined.
Xu Tianran does not regret his choice.
"I will not fail."
Xu Tianran skillfully masked his killing intent towards Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui, so that it wasn't sensed by Long Xiaoyao.
Nevertheless, Long Xiaoyao still furrowed his brows, feeling uncomfortable as he looked at Xu Tianran.
...
The tense atmosphere eased, but Su Yu's plan was not yet complete.
He looked toward the direction where a group of Titled Douluo from the Douluo Three Kingdoms was making their breakthrough, then turned his gaze to the contestants in the resting area.
"Even if they escape, they can run away the monk but not the temple."
The foundations of these sect academies can't be abandoned.
Poison Undying did not escape; he hadn't made a move earlier. Apart from Long Xiaoyao and Kong Deming, only Zhongli Wu noticed his presence, but Zhongli Wu had no intention of clashing with the Essence Sect, so he stayed put.
"Everyone, the Soul Fighting Competition has reached this point, and our Essence Sect cannot trust your nation's protective measures any longer. We are withdrawing from the competition, and you won't stop our Essence Sect disciples from leaving, right?" Poison Undying emitted soul power of poison attribute.
"The departure of the Essence Sect members is certainly acceptable, but until those who disrupt order are caught, some team members cannot leave." Xu Tianran spoke indifferently.
The teams he referred to were naturally those from the Shrek Tang Sect, as well as those from the Proud Sword Sect, Celestial Dragon Sect, and other sects with leaders who had acted out.
Teams from Shrek, Tang Sect, Proud Sword Sect, Celestial Dragon Sect, Xingluo Royal Academy, and other royal academies in the Douluo Three Kingdoms could not leave.
After thinking it over, Xu Tianran decided not to make things difficult for teams from smaller sects and academies.
The initial plan was to detain all participants.
But given the current situation, letting people from smaller sects return might be better.
Without a common goal, when Shrek and other major forces try to rescue the students and disciples here in the future, their ability to gather forces would greatly diminish.
Just right, from another perspective, following Shrek's failures in two consecutive competitions, numerous small and medium forces no longer heed Shrek's calls...
The decline of Shrek is already apparent.
Just take advantage of the upcoming schemes to highlight this fact, letting everyone realize it!
...
"Wait!"
As the Essence Sect and some teams attempted to leave, Su Yu spoke up, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"Could it be that Mingde Hall doesn't want to let people go?"
Poison Undying clearly wasn't worried if Mingde Hall didn't want to let people go; he just wanted to annoy Xu Tianran.
Although today's scene seemed like the Sun and Moon Empire showed its strength and temporarily eased previous tensions,
in truth, the tensions within the Sun and Moon Empire had just started to escalate.
Not only between Mingde Hall and the Holy Spirit Sect,
but deeper down, there's tension between Mingde Hall and Xu Tianran as the emperor!
After all, Mingde Hall had just openly challenged Xu Tianran.
Hearing Poison Undying's words, Xu Tianran's face became extremely unpleasant.
In his mind, he was contemplating countermeasures to weaken Mingde Hall's power.
"Armor technology must be handed over, military forces need to be reduced, some Soul Guides have been at a bottleneck in Mingde Hall for too long, enlist them and let them join the army. Also, since Mingde Hall has conflict with the Holy Spirit Sect, let them compete and exhaust each other's strength..."
....
"Of course not." Su Yu flashed a smile.
Su Yu's gaze swept over the Shrek Team and Tang Sect Team.
With Su Yu's glance, Fan Yu's face changed, and he had a bad premonition.
Seeing Su Yu purposely keeping them, and the way he glanced toward Shrek, Poison Undying was also curious about Su Yu's current plan.
"No other meaning, it's just that I have a Big Yiyi here!"
"With so many people gathered, I want to share this Big Yiyi."
Though Fan Yu was wracking his brain, unable to understand what Su Yu's so-called Big Yiyi was, the ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger.
He wished Su Yu would keep his mouth shut.
Unfortunately, he's unable to make it happen.
"Oh?" Poison Undying's expression was full of interest.
Is there some juicy gossip?
Then it might be worth hearing.
Before leaving, let's enjoy some gossip; you're quite a character.