The schedule of the Elite Competition was quite tight, giving the teams that passed the elimination round no time to catch their breath. The very next day, the round-robin phase began as scheduled.
In the rest area beside the arena, the spaces for the remaining teams had become much more spacious.
Although some sects did not have reputations as great as those of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy or Shrek Academy, which had performed very well in the previous Soul Duel Competition, the fact that they could enter the round-robin already proved their strength, and they drew quite a few cheers from the audience.
Lin Xiao led the people from the "Holy Spirit Sect" to sit in the rest area. Looking around, he saw that, including Shrek Academy, several academies' contestants looked somewhat fatigued, as if they had not rested well last night.
"Elder." Behind Lin Xiao, someone stood up and spoke softly. The expression under the bamboo hat did not look good.
Lin Xiao roughly knew the reason, because in their first match after entering the round-robin, their opponent was none other than the renowned Shrek Academy.
As evil soul masters, the disciples of the Holy Spirit Sect were certainly confident, but Shrek Academy's reputation had likewise been forged through previous Soul Duel Competitions.
"There's no issue. The round-robin determines qualification for the top eight based on final points. The other teams in our group are not strong. The outcome of this match is not important."
Lin Xiao had no intention of forcing these disciples to defeat Shrek Academy.
After all, these disciples were not the strongest group in the cult; they did not have the certainty to defeat Shrek Academy. The ones he had chosen were merely a few among the vast Holy Spirit Cult who had not yet fully adapted.
However, after Lin Xiao finished speaking, the disciples behind him did not immediately sit back down.
"Elder, we want to try."
Lin Xiao's expression shifted. He turned to look behind him. Several disciples were concealed under bamboo hats, their specific expressions unclear, but there seemed to be a feeling on them that had never appeared before.
"You all want to try?"
The group seemed momentarily intimidated by the aura around Lin Xiao and shrank back slightly, but after a moment of hesitation, they all nodded.
"Very well, then go and try." Lin Xiao withdrew his gaze. "We have no substitutes. Try not to get injured."
"Yes, Elder."
The several disciples responded in unison, their bodies straightening slightly.
"As for the first one…"
"I'll go."
Before Lin Xiao could make a decision, a voice rang out. Lin Xiao turned back and saw that Tang Ya had already stood up.
Lin Xiao hesitated slightly.
Perhaps because the current her had not become the Holy Spirit Cult's Saintess as in the original story, and had only undergone the basic spirit ascension ceremony, she was not in the muddled, dazed state from Lin Xiao's memory and still felt considerable resistance toward the matters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
But he was also unsure just how effective the spirit ascension ceremony's brainwashing had been on her, after all, Shrek Academy still had Beibei, and in this world, some things simply did not follow reason.
After thinking for a moment, however, he still nodded.
"Round-robin first match, first phase, individual elimination match. Both sides' contestants, please take the stage."
Unbreakable Douluo's voice sounded from the arena. Tang Ya leaped up lightly and landed on the stage without making the slightest sound, demonstrating extremely proficient control over her power.
"Holy Spirit Sect, Holy Spirit Sect—"
Although there were not many people supporting the Holy Spirit Sect, a few scattered voices still rang out.
Lin Xiao glanced back a few times but did not see anyone who appeared to have been arranged by the Holy Spirit Cult. They were probably ordinary audience members who had been attracted by the Holy Spirit Sect during the previous elimination rounds.
The other disciples in the rest area seemed to sway slightly, but compared to when they first arrived here on the first day, it was much better. They were gradually adapting to the gazes focused on them.
"We—" In the Shrek Academy rest area, Wang Yan had just opened his mouth when Beibei suddenly stood up and walked toward the arena.
"Beibei—" Wang Yan called out, but Beibei only glanced back once before continuing forward without hesitation.
Wang Yan was slightly stunned. In this team, the one he felt most reassured about was Beibei. Although Huo Yuhao was the team's main control, the steady and calm Beibei was the true captain of this squad.
Yet he had never expected that in merely the first match of the round-robin, the Beibei he was most reassured about would be the first to have an issue.
"Yuhao, Beibei he…" Wang Yan turned to look at Huo Yuhao, then shifted his gaze to the others, but everyone only shook their heads slightly, unclear on what had happened.
Only Huo Yuhao paused for a moment before suddenly exclaiming, "Teacher Xiao Ya?"
"What?"
Huo Yuhao's spiritual power surged, sharing the scene he had just detected into everyone's minds. In an instant, several gazes turned simultaneously toward the arena.
The contestant who had walked out from the Holy Spirit Sect wearing a bamboo hat was none other than the long-missing Tang Ya.
"Could it be that Beibei recognized Tang Ya and that's why…" Xu Sanshi guessed. "But just now none of us recognized her."
"Yeah." Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. "Because Eldest Senior Brother is the one who understands Teacher Xiao Ya the most. Even after she's been missing for so long, he could recognize her at a glance."
After speaking, he suddenly thought of something and turned to look toward the Holy Spirit Sect's position. With just that one glance, his expression changed drastically, and he quickly withdrew his gaze.
He Caitou, beside him, wanted to follow his line of sight to take another look, but was pulled back by Huo Yuhao.
"Little Junior Brother, what did you see?"
Huo Yuhao turned his head and softly uttered two words:
"Elder."
Although almost all the audience's attention was on the arena, there were always a few people watching the Shrek Academy area.
Lin Xiao was one of them. At some point, he had removed the bamboo hat from his head and placed it on the table beside him. Beneath the bamboo hat was an ice-cold metal mask.
And this mask was not unfamiliar to Huo Yuhao; he had even seen it the previous night.
Holy Spirit Sect… Holy Spirit Cult… Huo Yuhao's thoughts surged within his mind. These days of competition had also left him bewildered by the methods of the Holy Spirit Sect disciples.
In his eyes, although those few Holy Spirit Sect disciples' martial souls were uncommon, they did not seem to have much connection to evil soul masters. Yet he had never expected that things would still reach the outcome he least wanted to see.
This Holy Spirit Sect was indeed the Holy Spirit Cult they had learned about earlier, and not only had they taken Ma Xiaotao, but even the previously missing Tang Ya had been taken by them.
Lin Xiao looked at Huo Yuhao from afar, his eyes narrowing slightly, as if he could see what Huo Yuhao was thinking.
Since Huo Yuhao wanted to enter the Holy Spirit Cult to investigate the truth, he might as well add some fuel to the fire and let him make his decision sooner.
The mysterious Holy Spirit Cult, the alloy that could replace rare metals, and Shrek Academy's Ma Xiaotao, along with his Teacher Xiao Ya.
For him, as long as Huo Yuhao was willing to mix into the Holy Spirit Cult, all these matters could potentially be investigated clearly. It only depended on whether he would come.
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