Why had he casually given the White Tiger Dagger as a token of love back then? Thinking about it now, it wasn't just a simple gift.
What can a dagger be used for? Those who know, know. The key was that Huo Yun'er was just an ordinary person; why give a Class 5 Soul Tool as a gift to an ordinary person?
The mere fact that Huo Yun'er named her and Dai Hao's son "Huo Yuhao" left Dai Hao at a loss for words.
Was that woman too naive? Or was her affection for him truly that sincere?
His mind in a mess, Dai Hao looked toward Dai Yueheng: "...Did you also know about Huo Yuhao's identity?"
Dai Yueheng knelt on the ground with a bitter smile. Even Dai Huabin knew; how could he possibly not know?
Dai Hao didn't explode. His burly frame swayed slightly as he found a chair to sit in. He lowered his head deeply, clutching his head, and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "So, in this entire Duke's Mansion, I am the only one who didn't know I had such a son..."
Neither Dai Yueheng nor the Duchess spoke, but their eyes were filled with disdain.
A single night of pleasure had ultimately brewed this current situation. In truth, just as Huo Yuhao and the Duchess had said, the root cause lay with him.
Five years... that rebellious son only gave him five years. Could he really just watch his wife die at his hands?
If the legacy of the former Star Luo Royalty—the current White Tiger Duke lineage—which had lasted over ten thousand years, was severed in his hands, how could he, Dai Hao, face his ancestors after death?
Seemingly having figured some things out, he stood up. "Someone, come here."
Shortly after, a servant ran in and said respectfully, "My Lord."
"Go and call Dai Luoli to me."
No matter what, he had to leave a seed for the old Dai family.
"...Yes."
After the servant left, another White Tiger Personal Guard ran in.
"Lord Duke, the Royal Family has sent someone."
The guard realized he had misspoke under Dai Hao's meaningful gaze; he shrank his neck and lowered his head.
Dai Hao waved his hand powerlessly. "What are they here for? Shouldn't Xu Jiawei be busy taking control of the military power of the Western Army Group right now?"
The guard's expression became awkward. "They... they said they were worried about a situation similar to the other day happening again at the Duke's... oh no, the Viscount's residence. They want to... to check the blood relationships of everyone in the mansion..."
"!!!"
A cross-shaped vein popped on Dai Hao's forehead. He said nothing, but he picked up the table next to him and hurled it straight out.
...
Three days passed in a flash, and the finals were held as scheduled.
This final match was Shrek Academy against Star Luo National Academy.
To be frank, everyone from Shrek, including Ma Xiaotao, didn't actually take Star Luo National Academy seriously.
The team for this round mainly consisted of three Inner Court disciples: Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Gongyang Mo, joined by Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and Jiang Nannan.
As for Lan Xuanyu, Yu Tian, and the others, they were the preparatory team on standby, waiting for the individual rounds or the 2-2-3 combat depending on the situation.
Everyone, including Ma Xiaotao, believed this final was just a formality. After all, with Dai Yueheng expelled, the members of the Star Luo National Academy were all Soul Kings, with not a single Soul Emperor among them.
On Shrek's side, they had Ma Xiaotao, a powerhouse whose cultivation was close to a Soul Saint. She alone could take on at least four of the opponent's Soul Kings. No matter how you looked at it, the advantage was theirs.
But soon, Star Luo National Academy gave Shrek Academy a harsh lesson.
Ma Xiaotao desperately threw her Soul Skills at them—Phoenix Fireline, Phoenix Burst, Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike...
After a burst of flame and explosions, there was no effect.
Furious, Ma Xiaotao roared, "What kind of junk is this!"
As the saying goes, when rivals in love meet, their eyes blaze with hatred. Ma Xiaotao had naturally noticed Xu Jiujiu's unusual feelings for Huo Yuhao. Since Xu Jiujiu was the opposing captain, it gave Ma Xiaotao the perfect excuse to eliminate her.
But the result was that she was trapped by an [Absolute Defense] Soul Tool thrown by Xu Jiujiu, leaving her unable to intervene in the battlefield.
Ma Xiaotao's sudden entrapment and removal from the fight caught the Shrek team off guard.
Ma Xiaotao was their strongest attacker! She was half-eliminated shortly after the match began; how were they supposed to fight the rest of the battle?
Then, Xu Jiujiu released her fourth Soul Skill. It was the attribute-isolating Soul Skill that the Star Crown martial soul was most proud of: [Star Guard]. It bundled up Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan, leaving only He Caitou and Gongyang Mo standing bewildered outside the [Star Guard].
Between the two of them, one was an Auxiliary system and the other was a Food system. Aside from He Caitou, who was a Soul Tool system genius with some power-attack capability, they had no heavy-hitting methods. They could only use Soul Tool cannons to "scratch" the [Star Guard].
It was now a race against time: would Ling Luochen and Bei Bei be taken down inside the [Star Guard] first, or would He Caitou break the barrier first?
However, looking at the current situation, the probability of He Caitou breaking the [Star Guard] was slim...
In this moment of crisis, Bei Bei, true to his word about burning for Shrek's glory, revealed his trump card for the first time in the tournament: the Radiant Holy Dragon.
Although the romantic Xu Sanshi also wanted to explode with power like Bei Bei and use his Xuanwu Awakening, Jiang Nannan was perfectly fine, so he had no way to trigger his outburst...
The erupting Bei Bei did indeed catch Star Luo National Academy by surprise, but the gap in strength was too large. Four primary-attack Soul Kings took turns attacking; Bei Bei lasted only a few rounds before he was exhausted...
At a time like this, who was going to talk about martial ethics?
Just five minutes later, only Ma Xiaotao remained, lonely and imprisoned in the [Absolute Defense] Soul Tool, before being focused down by the seven members of Star Luo National Academy and knocked off the stage.
The voice of the Tiansha Douluo, Huang Jinxu, could not hide his excitement: "The team battle is over. Star Luo National Academy wins!"
As the hosts, the residents of Star Luo City were naturally all fans of Star Luo National Academy. Instantly, a world-shaking roar of cheers erupted.
Even the members of Star Luo National Academy, including Xu Jiujiu, were still in a state of disbelief.
They won? They actually beat Shrek Academy?
Morale is something that can sometimes dictate the outcome of a battle. The victory in the team fight boosted the morale of the Star Luo team significantly. In the following individual rounds, they actually managed to beat Shrek again!
With victories in both the team and individual rounds, there was no need for a 2-2-3 battle. So...
The Tiansha Douluo, Huang Jinxu, took a deep breath and shouted: "The 2-2-3 format is unnecessary. The winner is Star Luo Academy. All matches of this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament are now concluded. The final champion: Star Luo National Academy Representative Team."
The cheers reached a crescendo at his announcement. The entire Star Luo Plaza was boiling. Even on the walls of the Imperial City, many princes and officials of the Star Luo Empire couldn't help but shout out loud.
Xu Jiawei's face was flushed red. This was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence! Star Luo National Academy had actually won the championship of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament!
Say no more—he was going to give himself and Jiujiu their own separate page in the family genealogy!
Looking at the cheering Star Luo team, Ma Xiaotao's spirit was somewhat dazed.
Lost? Just like that, she had lost? Shrek had lost?
Lan Xuanyu sighed secretly in his heart. Once Huo Yuhao left, the history he knew had completely changed...