Ascending the stage…
It was the viewing platform where the Emperor Xue Ye and others were seated.
Near the arena, there was a vacant platform—just right for ceremonies like awarding honors.
At this moment—
Li Yu, Tang San, Feng Xiaotian, Shui Bing'er, and Huo Wushuang stood silently on stage, representing their respective teams.
"Li Yu, that person… is she Xiao Wu?"
While they were being watched by everyone—
Tang San's voice suddenly sounded in Li Yu ear.
This surprised Li Yu slightly.
With only 47 levels of spirit power, Tang San could already "condense sound into a thread"?
Wait, no…
As soon as that thought arose, Li Yu sensed something was wrong.
With so many eyes watching, including figures like Sword Douluo Chen Xin present, how could someone as cautious as Tang San do such a thing?
Wasn't he afraid of being overheard?
Li Yu calmed himself and focused—soon, he discovered something.
It was an extremely subtle power that had formed a connection with him through the ground.
Uh…
Bone conduction?
A term suddenly flashed through Li Yu mind. At the same time, he realized this was an effect of Tang San's martial spirit.
Although he hadn't paid too much attention to Tang San's performance during the preliminary rounds, he had noticed something—
His Blue Silver Grass had already evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor.
Having this kind of ability wasn't strange at all.
What shocked Li Yu even more was Tang San's restraint.
Although Xiao Wu had changed her appearance and even used the "Gate of Life" to mask her aura—now completely different from the past—
Her spirit skills were already fixed. Even if the appearance of her martial spirit changed when possessed, it would still be hard to disguise the identity of the Soft Boned Rabbit.
On a normal day, perhaps no one would find this suspicious.
After all, the current Xiao Wu had a huge difference in spirit power compared to before, and her fourth spirit ring was even a black, ten-thousand-year level one.
At a glance, there should be no relation to the "Xiao Wu" of the past.
But…
The timing was far too coincidental. And Xiao Wu appeared at Qianyu Academy along with Zhu Zhuqing.
Both had displayed terrifying talent.
It all seemed suspicious!
In this world, there couldn't possibly be that many geniuses!
The only reason so many had gathered now was because of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament.
That was all.
Therefore—
When Xiao Wu took the stage, Li Yu had already prepared for Tang San to cause a scene, just like Dai Mubai and the others had done before.
Yet—
Tang San had remained silent, as if he had noticed nothing at all.
He didn't even try to secretly meet Xiao Wu.
Very unusual!
However, Li Yu hadn't thought much of it. He had even almost forgotten about it.
But now—
Tang San finally couldn't hold it in.
He was even risking being overheard by people like Sword Douluo Chen Xin.
"Heh."
Li Yu smirked slightly.
If Tang San wasn't afraid, then he had even less reason to be.
He didn't bother hiding his voice and directly responded through Tang San's "channel":
"Are we that close?"
"You!"
Tang San was startled upon receiving the response, then angered.
Startled because Li Yu had somehow found and "hijacked" his communication path.
Angry because—of course they were close!
His Eight Spider Lances were now in Li Yu possession, and Li Yu had the audacity to ask, "Are we close?"
How infuriating!
How hateful!
But then again, this wasn't about closeness anymore. It was a deep-seated enmity!
"Go ahead and act arrogant!"
"Do you think we Defeated the preliminary round because I admitted defeat?"
"I was merely conserving strength!"
"When we reach the knockout stage—no, the finals—I'll show you my true strength!"
"Just you wait!"
Tang San didn't get the answer he wanted, but he didn't dwell on it. Whatever the truth, he would find out eventually!
After speaking, he took the initiative to sever the "connection".
His words were filled with confidence.
"Where does this guy get his confidence?"
Li Yu found it laughable.
With Tang San's current strength…
Li Yu thought it would be more interesting if Tang Hao came to fight him instead.
"Congratulations!"
The Emperor Xue Ye voice rang out:
"You have qualified for advancement in this year's Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament!"
Li Yu listened absentmindedly as the Emperor Xue Ye recited his usual lines—
Something about bestowing titles, lands…
It was all just about pulling people in.
Then, the platinum bishop Salas spoke up in protest. The two exchanged words, and Salas lost the argument. The emperor then promised something about hunting spirit rings…
Blah blah, on and on.
Li Yu felt drowsy just listening.
In the end—
The emperor briefly explained the knockout stage, handed out promotion booklets, and awarded each of the five teams ten thousand gold spirit coins.
Li Yu didn't care about any of it. When "Xue Qinghe" came over to hand it to him, he gave it directly to one of his accompanying guards to pass on to Cai Xu.
As for himself, he simply took Qian Renxue's arm and headed back to the Eastern Palace.
But—
Before they could reach it, a guard was already waiting.
"Xue Qinghe's" eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint in his gaze.
Yet the guard remained unfazed and respectfully saluted both "Xue Qinghe" and Li Yu:
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Crown Princess!"
"What is it?"
"Xue Qinghe" asked indifferently.
This guard was one of the Emperor Xue Ye personal attendants—naturally, "Xue Qinghe" recognized him.
And now—
The preliminary round had just ended, yet here he was, blocking the path to the Eastern Palace. No need to guess—he was clearly here for Li Yu.
But why?
The bond between her and Li Yu—didn't the Emperor Xue Ye already understand it?
At a time like this, she couldn't imagine what method the emperor might use to affect their relationship.
Let alone anything that could make Li Yu break off with her.
In truth—
Not only was "Xue Qinghe" puzzled, even Li Yu himself was puzzled.
However, unlike "Xue Qinghe," he didn't think that deeply and simply remained composed.
And with "Xue Qinghe's" approval, the guard stated his purpose.
"By order of His Majesty, the Emperor—His Highness summons the Crown Princess!"
"Oh?"
"Xue Qinghe" was not surprised. Her only question had been the emperor's "method."
So she nodded lightly and turned back with Li Yu toward the emperor's palace.
"Your Highness…"
The guard was initially pleased that "Xue Qinghe" didn't make things difficult and so readily agreed.
He was just about to lead the way—
But then he saw that "Xue Qinghe" and Li Yu had already started walking hand-in-hand toward the emperor's palace.
This…
How could there be so little sense of boundaries?!
The Emperor summoned the Crown Princess Li Yu, not the Crown Prince Xue Qinghe!
Like this, how was he supposed to explain it?
The guard instantly panicked.
"Xue Qinghe" stopped in her tracks and looked at the guard alongside Li Yu, her tone a bit cold:
"What, do I need your permission to accompany my Wife in meeting my father, the Emperor?"