Seeing the growing fervor in the eyes of the elites before him,
Emperor Xue Ye smiled slightly.
Suddenly,
his smile froze, and his gaze slowly became dull.
Xue Qinghe, noticing this, immediately nudged him gently.
Emperor Xue Ye snapped back to reality, his smile stiff, a mixture of laughter and tears.
Seeing the astonishment in everyone's eyes,
Emperor Xue Ye composed himself for a moment, suppressing his grief.
He announced loudly, "Everyone, the advancement competition will be held in a month. I hope you can make another breakthrough within this month."
"Alright, I won't say anything more. You children are all very intelligent, and I think you will make a wise choice."
After saying this,
Emperor Xue Ye's gaze shifted,
sweeping across the face of Platinum Bishop Salas before turning away, accompanied by a group of high-ranking imperial officials.
Salas's eyes flickered slightly, but his expression had completely calmed down; it was difficult to discern anything from his face.
Just as Emperor Xueye had said, although he hadn't explicitly stated it, the captains and vice-captains of each academy's battle team understood his meaning.
The Empire or the Spirit Hall—a choice between the two.
Ye Qiu's expression was solemn; Emperor Xueye's health seemed far worse than he had imagined.
Dugu Yan had no interest in the so-called imperial title; with her status as the granddaughter of a Title Douluo, she already possessed the strongest background on the continent.
She took Ye Qiu's arm, pulling it close.
"Husband, let's go."
"Mm."
Ye Qiu nodded slightly, leading Dugu Yan towards the exit of the Great Spirit Arena.
The others were waiting for them outside.
Just then, a sudden voice called out to Ye Qiu.
"Ye Qiu!"
Ye Qiu turned his head and saw a large expanse of red before him; it was Huo Wu who had called him.
"Huo Wu, is there something you need?"
Ye Qiu asked疑惑地问道.
Huo Wu walked a few steps to him, stopping when she was less than a meter away.
It has to be said that standing face-to-face with Huo Wu was quite intimidating, because her height was exceptionally tall for a girl, not much shorter than Ye Qiu's.
Ye Qiu's physical development was already far superior to his peers, and he was already over 1.8 meters tall. Huo Wu
was also 1.8 meters tall.
Huo Wu stared at Ye Qiu, who possessed outstanding looks and an air of nobility.
Her face flushed, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow.
"If you're going to say thank you, then forget it. Even without your words, I would have taken care of things myself." Huo Wu,
about to speak, froze, her face turning red.
"You—what nonsense are you talking about? Don't flatter yourself. I didn't come here to thank you."
She had indeed intended to thank Ye Qiu first, but he had said it first.
His nonchalant attitude made Huo Wu very unhappy.
"If you're not here to thank me, then what are you doing here? Throwing yourself into my arms? There's a queue for that."
Dugu Yan, who could still gain the upper hand in a verbal battle with the little witch, was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
She easily broke down Huo Wu's defenses.
"Throwing myself into my arms? How could that be! This young lady would never do such a thing!"
Huo Wu seemed to have her secret exposed, her eyes filled with panic; perhaps deep down she had indeed had such thoughts
. "Is that so? Then I'm relieved."
Dugu Yan smiled teasingly, already having a pretty good idea of the reasons behind Huo Wu's flushed face.
"You!"
Huo Wu gritted her teeth and snorted coldly.
"Hmph! Think what you want. I came to find Ye Qiu to challenge him."
Huo Wu stared directly at Ye Qiu.
"Do you have the guts to fight me without using your martial spirit?"
Ye Qiu was stunned for a moment, while Dugu Yan beside him laughed.
The sisters all knew very well Ye Qiu's hand-to-hand combat ability; even Liu Erlong couldn't gain much of an advantage.
Many times, he would be exhausted or faint from overjoyment.
Ye Qiu shook his head, waved his hand, and was about to leave with Dugu Yan.
"Sorry, I don't have time."
"You..."
Huo Wu's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Isn't your close combat ability very strong? Why don't you fight me?"
Ye Qiu frowned, stared at Huo Wu, and looking at this woman who was like a flame, he repeated:
"Sorry, I don't have time."
After saying that, Ye Qiu turned around and walked towards the group from Blue Tyrant Academy, not wanting to get entangled with Huo Wu any further.
Just now, on the central arena, he was confessed to by Shui Yue'er in public, which was enough for him to suffer.
If he were to do anything more with Huo Wu,
Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu would keep pestering him.
"You bastard, stop right there!"
Ye Qiu's indifference ignited Huo Wu's fury, and her pent-up emotions finally exploded.
Her right leg shot up, aiming straight for the back of Ye Qiu's head.
She was already tall and long-legged, and this kick was like lightning.
But with Ye Qiu's keen senses, how could she let him succeed so easily?
Holding Dugu Yan, he took a slight step forward, released her, and with a half-spin, his left hand lashed out, grabbing Huo Wu's ankle.
Huo Wu felt the force of her kick vanish like a mud ox sinking into the sea, instantly dissipating under the slight tremor of Ye Qiu's arm.
Ye Qiu's hand gripped her ankle like cast iron, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pull it back.
His left hand had turned a color like white jade.
"You—you let me go!"
Huo Wu clutched her short skirt, her face burning.
Ye Qiu frowned, raised his left hand, pushed Huo Wu's long legs, and released her.
Huo Wu staggered and was supported by Huo Wushuang.
"Do I even need to think about the outcome of fighting you without using your martial spirit?"
"I have no interest in this kind of meaningless competition. Even if your brother came, he wouldn't be my match."
"You should go back and cultivate properly. We can meet again in the advancement competition."
Ye Qiu shrugged helplessly and was about to leave again.
Huo Wu shouted:
"Ye Qiu, why don't you face my Huo Wu Yaoyang directly? Is it because you're afraid? Or do you look down on my strength?"
"?"
Ye Qiu frowned. What was all this about?
"Huo Wu, I advise you to stop thinking about these things. I didn't mean to look down on you."
"Ye Qiu! You stop right there! You just wait, I'll definitely make you pay!"
Huo Wu wanted to rush out again, but Huo Wushuang forcibly pulled her back.
"Don't waste your energy, you're no match for him."
Huo Wushuang sighed, holding his sister tightly. As an observer, he could see that Ye Qiu didn't mean it.
But his sister was too competitive.
She habitually wanted to prove herself against Shui Bing'er and the others, and now she was naturally getting carried away. (End of Chapter
)