Chapter 152: Yu Tianheng's Provocation

In the tournament format of the finals, there is a one-day rest and adjustment period between each round and the next.

As the top-ranked team in the Heaven Dou division during the promotion round, Nine Stars Academy would receive a bye in the second round.

Therefore, after their match against Tianshui Academy concluded, Nine Stars Academy had three days to adjust and prepare for their third-round match.

Their opponent in the third round was none other than the seed team of the Heaven Dou Empire, the Royal Heaven Dou Academy team.

On the day the match began, the Nine Stars team arrived early at the competition arena, running straight into the Royal Heaven Dou team led by Yu Tianheng as they entered.

Xiao Yu did not take the Royal Heaven Dou team seriously at all. Yu Tianheng, the highest soul power holder in their entire squad, was merely at rank forty-five, and they possessed no soul fusion techniques or other ultimate moves capable of catching Xiao Yu's eye. Leaving aside the Spirit Hall Academy team, even the Star Luo Imperial Academy team could easily crush Royal Heaven Dou.

The Star Luo Imperial Academy team boasted six soul ancestors, whereas Royal Heaven Dou only had three—half the number of their rivals.

In terms of soul power, Star Luo's captain, Dai Weisitu, had reached a staggering rank forty-nine, just a hair's breadth away from becoming a soul king, while vice-captain Zhu Zhuyun possessed rank forty-seven soul power. The Netherworld White Tiger soul fusion technique unleashed by their joint effort likely already possessed the strength to contend with a soul emperor.

If the seed teams of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires were to actually clash, the other five members of the Star Luo team wouldn't even need to lift a finger; the soul fusion technique unleashed by Dai Weisitu and Zhu Zhuyun alone could trample Royal Heaven Dou into dust.

Xiao Yu had no desire to pay attention to the Royal Heaven Dou team, but some people simply seemed bent on courting death.

"Dugu Yan, Ye Lengleng, you two traitors of the Royal Heaven Dou team!"

With a roar, Yu Tianheng stepped forward to block the path of the Nine Stars Academy team, his eyes glaring fiercely at Dugu Yan.

Compared to Ye Lengleng, the target of Yu Tianheng's deepest hatred was naturally Dugu Yan. After all, he had once pursued her, and now he stared with burning anger, fixing his gaze on that valiant and spirited figure not far away.

"Brother Tianheng, she is Dugu Yan, the traitor who betrayed Royal Heaven Dou!"

Just as Yu Tianheng's voice fell, a soft and delicate voice chimed in to agree—it was Xue Ying, the control-system soul master who had replaced Dugu Yan.

As a princess of the Heaven Dou imperial family, joining the Royal Heaven Dou team to replace Dugu Yan as their control-system soul master was merely a minor task for Xue Ying. Her far more important objective was Yu Tianheng, the primary successor to the current patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan.

If she could unite with Yu Tianheng and bear a child carrying a portion of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family's bloodline, Emperor Xue Ye would elevate their branch of the family to become dedicated imperial retainers.

The Heaven Dou imperial family's inherited Swan Spirit was simply too weak, and the imperial lineage had practically no standout figures to speak of. Aside from the few imperial retainers heavily bribed with fortunes and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the only thing Xue Ye could truly rely on was strength. In his heart, those outsiders with different surnames were ultimately far less reliable than his own flesh and blood.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan had always held intentions of aligning themselves with the Heaven Dou imperial family, and this sentiment grew even stronger after they suffered a heavy blow from the Nine Stars Palace in the Sunset Forest. Under the matchmaking efforts of their elders, Yu Tianheng and Xue Ying had naturally come together.

Xue Ying offered a seductive smile, walking up to Yu Tianheng to link her arm through his, casting a highly provocative glance at Dugu Yan.

Yu Tianheng's frantic pursuit of Dugu Yan was no secret whatsoever within the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and Xue Ying naturally felt threatened by the sudden appearance of Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan had no interest in participating in petty catfights. She didn't even spare Xue Ying a glance, instead looking coldly at Yu Tianheng as she spoke: "Yu Tianheng, watch your language! It was your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family that colluded with the Heaven Dou imperial family in an attempt to harm my grandfather and young master Xiao. You are the ones who wronged me, which is why I dropped out and left the Royal Heaven Dou team!"

Just as Yu Tianheng's hatred for Dugu Yan surpassed his feelings for Ye Lengleng, Dugu Yan's hatred for Yu Tianheng was likewise far greater than her resentment toward Ye Lengleng.

Although Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng had not truly become a couple while at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Yu Tianheng's prolonged pursuit had indeed shaken her heart. She never expected that just as she was considering whether to accept his advances, Yu Tianheng would viciously stab her in the back.

If not for the formidable backing of the Nine Stars Palace, which suppressed the joint raid by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family and the Heaven Dou imperial family, her grandfather would undoubtedly have met a certain death had their scheme succeeded.

And if she herself were to lose her grandfather's protection, what kind of end awaited her? How would her grandfather's former enemies treat her? As the young patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan, could Yu Tianheng possibly fail to foresee this?

Yet, even so, Yu Tianheng still chose without the slightest hesitation to backstab their grandfather and granddaughter. How could Dugu Yan, who had once viewed Yu Tianheng as a partner to spend the rest of her life with, not harbor a deep and burning hatred for him?

The other members of the Royal Heaven Dou team, such as the brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo, alongside Osuro and the rest, lowered their heads one after another upon hearing Dugu Yan's denunciation. To be selected for the Royal Heaven Dou team, their families undoubtedly held high status within the Heaven Dou Empire; even if they didn't know the full picture of what had happened back then, they were generally aware of the truth.

To put it bluntly, under those circumstances, had they been in her shoes, they would have made the exact same choice to drop out and draw a clear line between themselves and the Heaven Dou imperial family.

However, since their families all depended on the Heaven Dou Empire for patronage, they naturally could not afford to slap the imperial family in the face at this moment. They could only express their silent, intangible support for Dugu Yan through their quietness.