Chapter 226: The Black Hand and the Dirty Hand

"Why do you use me and you as a metaphor?" Wang Dong'er avoided the topic of the Soul Guidance Device that Su Yu was discussing.

"I like to, there is no other reason." Su Yu smiled, looking at Wang Dong'er's slightly bewildered profile, "Actually, I know that ever since I left Shrek Academy, you have always been very worried about my situation. Ever since then, when you saw me again, you no longer had your former casualness; there was more probing, probing how to eliminate that layer of estrangement between us that didn't exist. Just like how you clearly know that the current Tang Sect Battle Team needs you, yet you still chose to quietly accompany me to wander here in Mingdu. In fact, between you and me, where is there still any estrangement caused by time?"

Wang Dong'er stopped talking. She looked at Su Yu's gentle smiling face and found that she seemed to have nothing left to say.

As expected, nothing had changed; she had just naturally fallen for this wicked guy.

Even though her true identity had been exposed by this guy very early on, he still enjoyed it. As expected, this guy's heart was not ordinarily wicked.

The essence of life is actually plain and quiet, just like it is now, following one's heart, without the great ups and downs of the past. This was Wang Dong'er's greatest realization since coming to Mingdu to compete while following Su Yu. Although Su Yu had never said it, she naturally felt that perhaps when everything could settle down, this kind of life was what she wanted.

Of course, all of this had to be based on whether Su Yu was willing to live such a life.

"Yeah, yeah, nothing can be hidden from you."

"It's not that nothing can be hidden from me, but rather that many times, you write your thoughts on your face. Why don't you look in a mirror? There are still words on your face right now, aren't there?" Su Yu reached out and pinched Wang Dong'er's cheek.

Under Su Yu's firm gaze, Wang Dong'er took out a mirror with half-belief and carefully observed her slightly suspicious face.

"Hmm? Where!"

"Hahaha..." Su Yu stopped teasing her, reached out a hand, and gently helped her tidy up the stray hair by her ear. At the end, he didn't forget to reach out a finger to wipe away the snack crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

Under the night sky, Wang Dong'er looked up at the brilliant starlight of Mingdu, like that cold and ambiguous night during the last tournament. That was also when Su Yu held her hand, sitting quietly by her side.

So there is no estrangement between him and me; everything was just me overthinking it.

Then where exactly is the estrangement?

It turns out it's at...

"Do you want to learn about Soul Guidance Devices?"

"Can I learn?"

"Of course you can. My Dong'er is so bright and clever; if you learn Soul Guidance Devices, you will definitely be even more amazing than me in the future."

"............"

Wang Dong'er suddenly turned her head, "No, why should I learn Soul Guidance Devices? Just cultivating my martial soul is already enough to give one a headache. Do you think everyone is a freak like you?"

Su Yu was stunned.

"Cough, cough... I was just asking, just asking."

Regarding Soul Guidance Devices, Su Yu knew that Wang Dong'er had always rejected them due to certain reasons, but Wang Dong'er was also right; she herself knew that one could not dual-cultivate martial souls and Soul Guidance Devices.

"The future might become even more difficult..."

Putting his arm around Wang Dong'er's waist to hold her, Su Yu felt the stray hair by her ear being blown by the breeze. The stray hair brushed lightly against Su Yu's face, and the feeling was a bit itchy. Su Yu didn't know if it was his face that was itchy, or if his heart was itchy.

"Future matters, let's talk about them in the future. With you in the present, I am content."

Although Su Yu was not looking at Wang Dong'er's expression at this moment, there was no need to guess; she must be blushing now.

Su Yu did not consider himself a gentleman, and of course, he was not a jerk with his mind on lust. Right now, he was just an ordinary person, quietly kissing the girl he loved. However, Wang Dong'er's body suddenly became unnaturally stiff for a moment, but then it went limp in Su Yu's arms.

Inside the coat was the lining that Su Yu had once spent a large sum of money to have the shopkeeper make for Dong'er in the imperial capital of the Star Luo Empire. He didn't know what material the lining was made of, but it felt really soft to the touch...

What the future holds is a matter for the future. No matter what, even if it's bad, it's not necessarily a desperate situation where everything is lost. He was afraid of losing everything, but could worrying about gains and losses change anything?

How everything turns out depends on heaven's will and himself.

Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

The competition had already reached the second match. The person on stage for the second match was Xiao Xiao, and the one facing Xiao Xiao was the somewhat thin and small Lu Jiuyu.

For Lu Jiuyu, this was a painful day. As a Soul Engineer who was not very strong in actual combat but relied on his own martial soul and Soul Guidance Devices for support, he was simply a rare type of Soul Engineer in the army and team battles. But to actually go up and fight others, that was simply a form of torture.

"The captain is really ruthless, specifically letting Lu Jiuyu go up against that little girl named Xiao Xiao." Fang Wei smiled and sighed as he watched Lu Jiuyu being chased around by Xiao Xiao.

Jing Peng shook his head and said, "Although the vice-captain is Leiqier, only Lu Jiuyu took the notes the captain gave. That is to say, this time it was Lu Jiuyu himself who chose to fight that little girl named Xiao Xiao from Shrek."

"Can we go a little easier? I'm really not good at fighting..." Lu Jiuyu painfully activated his Soul Guidance Protective Barrier and looked at Xiao Xiao with a face full of grief and indignation.

Xiao Xiao curled her lips and said, "That wasn't the case when you guys came to find us for sparring. How is your strength as a Soul Engineer so poor? Shouldn't the strength of the Sun Moon Empire's main team members all be very powerful Soul Engineers?"

The Great Cauldron slammed into the Soul Guidance Protective Barrier again, shaking Lu Jiuyu back a few steps.

"Don't ask about that; I won't tell you anyway. How about we both take a step back and call it a draw? Otherwise, if we keep fighting like this, we'll end up exhausting our soul power."

Lu Jiuyu tried his best to stall for time, seemingly not wanting to continue fighting, but Xiao Xiao had no intention of letting him continue to stall. The three Great Cauldrons emitted violent vibrations and slammed into Lu Jiuyu's Soul Guidance Protective Barrier.

Bang!

A violent boom sounded, and Lu Jiuyu was blown away by the air wave, slamming heavily onto the ground.

This scene fell into the eyes of the Tang Sect members, all of whom showed joy. But the next moment, the smoke and dust dissipated, and Lu Jiuyu stood up shakily from the smoke, moved his stiff body, and said, "I already said that if we keep fighting, it will be the same. Why don't we both take a step back and call it a draw?"

"Impossible."

The three Great Cauldrons, accompanied by a roar, slammed into Lu Jiuyu's Soul Guidance Protective Shield again. The huge force knocked Lu Jiuyu back several meters, but apart from this strong inertia, it still couldn't cause any effective injury to Lu Jiuyu. It seemed that in this match, Lu Jiuyu was clearly trying to tell her that continuing would lead to the same result.

Boom!

Xiao Xiao was not idle either. While driving the Great Cauldrons to continue attacking, her first, second, and third soul rings lit up one after another.

Ding of Suppression, Ding of Oscillation, Ding of Might.

Looking at the three whistling Great Cauldrons carrying a terrifying aura as they smashed down toward where he was, Lu Jiuyu knew that the opponent was making one last attempt. If this attempt still yielded no results, then she would probably really choose a draw.

Lu Jiuyu looked at the Great Cauldrons getting closer and closer. Behind him, a pair of blue wings suddenly unfolded, and blue flames sprayed out from the wings with a huge sonic boom.

"First one."

A black mist swallowed one of the Great Cauldrons. The speed of the Great Cauldron dropped sharply, and the distance from the Great Cauldron that was originally close to Lu Jiuyu was instantly opened up, perfectly avoiding the first Great Cauldron.

The second Great Cauldron followed closely. Lu Jiuyu's third soul ring lit up, and the two Great Cauldrons passed through Lu Jiuyu's body. Lu Jiuyu's figure seemed as if it didn't exist, being caught in a pincer attack by the two, and the two Great Cauldrons slammed into each other. However, Xiao Xiao knew that she had completely lost her target; this attack had completely missed.

"Xiao Xiao's attack, missed?" Bei Bei looked at the disappearing Lu Jiuyu with some surprise.

Huo Yu Hao nodded and said, "Lu Jiuyu is very smart. It's not that he used a soul skill to dodge Xiao Xiao's attack, but that he wasn't in that position to begin with."

A faint golden light lit up in Huo Yu Hao's eyes. That pair of eyes seemed to want to pierce through everything.

In his Spirit Eye, all of Lu Jiuyu's actions were seen through, but he didn't understand why the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance Devices could create effects similar to Spirit Interference. Could it be that the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance Devices were already fully capable of replacing the role of soul skills?

"Do you mean that guy named Lu Jiuyu used an interference-type soul skill?" He Caitou leaned over and asked.

"No, it's his Soul Guidance Device. Although I don't know if it's related to his soul skill, he successfully caused Xiao Xiao's attack to deflect and strike the phantom he created using the Soul Guidance Device. This guy named Lu Jiuyu, while not strong in terms of raw power, is extremely calculating. From the start of the match until now, he hasn't launched a single effective attack, yet he has perfectly calculated Xiao Xiao's every move. If this opponent were truly thrown into the battlefield between the Three Great Empires and the Sun Moon Empire in the future, he would be a terrifying adversary!"

Huo Yu Hao looked at Lu Jiuyu, a faint killing intent appearing in his eyes.

Such an opponent is best not left as a future threat!

This is a terrifying person, and the one who cultivated this opponent is even more terrifying. If there is a chance, Huo Yu Hao wants to think for the future of the Three Great Empires, or at the very least, reduce a future opponent for the Tang Sect!

"I already said there's no need for us to keep fighting; why not call it a draw?"

Standing behind Xiao Xiao, Lu Jiuyu gently patted the dust off his body, still habitually keeping his Soul Guidance Protective Barrier open; on his chest was a Level 6 Soul Master badge.

"Impossible."

The answer to him was still Xiao Xiao's Great Cauldron. Clearly, the plan to call this match a draw had fallen through. A golden light flashed suddenly, and Xiao Xiao's Great Cauldron landed on the ground. Lu Jiuyu, struck by the Great Cauldron, found his movements somewhat stiff, and a tiny crack spread across the Soul Guidance Protective Barrier from the point of impact.

Under the successive attacks of Xiao Xiao's Great Cauldron, the defense of the Soul Guidance Protective Barrier also reached its limit.

Just then, Xiao Xiao's speed increased. That golden Great Cauldron suddenly enveloped Lu Jiuyu. Seeing this scene, the members of the Tang Sect also showed joy. This was Xiao Xiao's fourth soul skill. With the support of over fifty levels of soul power, the sealing power of this soul skill was enough to prevent even a Soul Emperor controlled by the Great Cauldron from breaking free in a short time.

After the opponent's pride-and-joy Soul Guidance Protective Barrier was broken, she used her fourth soul skill again to seal Lu Jiuyu inside the cauldron, and this smooth, flowing action had only taken a few short seconds.

"It seems your disciple is truly capable, Teacher Qiu He," Wen Jiang said, looking toward the arena.

"Rest assured, although Lu Jiuyu is indeed inferior to Leiqier in terms of combat strength, he won't lose. After all, he still has a captain like Luo Yu. Teacher Wen Jiang, don't you think this sparring session is a great training experience?"

Qiu He recalled the plan Leiqier had mentioned to her about this sparring session. At first, she hadn't taken it to heart, just feeling that this sparring was too whimsical, but now, thinking about it carefully, perhaps it was she who was being whimsical.

The next instant, Xiao Xiao's expression became somewhat strange. She looked at her Great Cauldron in disbelief, as if suspecting that her Great Cauldron had been swapped.

She did not mobilize her Great Cauldron again, but instead vigilantly searched the arena for Lu Jiuyu's figure.

"Sorry, you missed again. But after this time, your soul power should be about bottomed out, right?"

A familiar voice came from behind Xiao Xiao's Great Cauldron. Lu Jiuyu, supporting his Soul Guidance Protective Barrier, poked half his head out from behind Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron.

"Fine, let's call it a draw," Xiao Xiao rolled her eyes helplessly.

If it weren't for this bastard in front of her doing nothing but dodging, she would have landed over a dozen attacks, but they were all dodged by the opponent. No matter how she attacked, she couldn't break through his ghost-like defense.

In Xiao Xiao's eyes, Lu Jiuyu wasn't strong; he was just weird.

He was like a ghost that couldn't be tracked, leaving absolutely no trace. She tried to find his trail from his movements, but could never find a pattern, which caused Xiao Xiao to have a rare moment of self-doubt.

"Alright, a draw."

Lu Jiuyu nodded with a smile. The two then signaled to the referee, and finally, under the referee's announcement, the result of this match was a draw.

Returning to the team, Lu Jiuyu was met with the curious gazes of many teammates.

"Why are you all looking at me? Who's going next? I already said I'm not good at fighting; at most, I can just collect information for you."

Lu Jiuyu spread his hands, looking at everyone helplessly.

Leiqier patted Lu Jiuyu's shoulder with great satisfaction and said, "No wonder the captain gave the handbook to you. You kid really has a black heart and truly dirty tactics."