Li Zhexian once said he would never go to the Ye Clan's residence again.
But this time, he had no choice.
Entering the chamber thick with medicinal fragrance, Li Zhexian's gaze fell upon the scene on the bed, and the hands hidden in his sleeves clenched tightly.
Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Yu Tianheng… all seven members of the Imperial Battle Team lay there, their breathing faint.
Their robes were soaked with blood, their faces pale as paper.
Most horrifying of all—
Each of them had an arm twisted into an inhuman shape.
Jagged white bone pierced through torn flesh.
Madam Ye summoned her Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, and torrents of healing radiance rained down upon them.
The seven's ghastly injuries began to heal quickly.
The chamber's atmosphere weighed heavy as lead.
Dugu Bo and Yu Yuanzhen, two Titled Douluo, stood with faces dark as iron, gazes locked on their battered juniors.
The arrival of Li Zhexian eased their expressions only slightly.
They gave him faint nods of acknowledgment.
Li Zhexian strode forward quickly, asking:
"How is their condition?"
Dugu Bo's voice rasped, his eyes never leaving the bloodless face of Dugu Yan.
"Thanks to the Ye Clan's Nine Heart Begonia."
"Otherwise, with the Continental Spirit Master Tournament opening tomorrow…"
"Even if the Imperial Battle Team had no match scheduled, appearing in such a state would be a humiliation beyond words."
His emerald eyes surged with killing intent—
yet in the end, it dissolved into a bitter sigh.
The world feared him as the Poison Douluo.
Even great powers' Titled Douluo hesitated to provoke him.
But against Spirit Hall, which commanded eight-tenths of the continent's top powerhouses—
Dugu Bo could feel only deep helplessness.
"This was no ordinary clash between juniors."
Yu Yuanzhen's hair flickered faintly with arcs of lightning.
Though his voice seemed calm, it carried the pressure of an impending thunderstorm.
"Those juniors from Spirit Hall must have acted under orders."
"They deliberately used such vicious methods to trample on Tianheng and the others right before the tournament!"
"Spirit Hall no longer even bothers to hide its wolfish ambition?!"
Neither Dugu Bo nor Yu Yuanzhen understood why Spirit Hall would strike so viciously.
But in Li Zhexian's heart, a suspicion already stirred.
That time, on the way back from the Wind Sword Sect to Heaven Dou City—
Because he had grown too close to Qian Renxue,
The Spirit Hall Pope had dispatched over a dozen powerhouses to ambush him midway.
He was certain—
It must have been Qian Renxue's words after that incident that provoked the Pope's fury.
This matter now…
was the Pope's warning to Qian Renxue.
And an even sharper warning to him, Li Zhexian: Spirit Hall's kill order was far from over.
As his thoughts spun like lightning, Li Zhexian calmly looked at Xue Qinghe beside him.
Xue Qinghe's expression was calm as ever.
But—
In the depths of those gentle eyes—
Boiled a murderous chill that made the heart tremble.
Li Zhexian was about to speak—
When the clamor of hurried footsteps erupted outside.
A servant led Feng Xiaotian, Huyan Li, Huo Wushuang, Huo Wu, and others quickly inside.
The moment they saw the battered Imperial Battle Team on the bed—
All of their faces changed.
"Spirit Hall's battle team has gone too far!"
Li Zhexian's brows drew tight.
"How did you hear of this?"
He had received Xue Qinghe's message at the very first instant—how had Feng Xiaotian and the others learned so quickly?!
Huo Wushuang's face burned with fury.
"The news that the Imperial Battle Team's first team was crushed by the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall has already spread through Heaven Dou City!"
At those words—
Everyone's faces shifted again.
The Imperial Battle Team had only just returned—
Yet the rumors were already a storm across the city!
Clearly, Spirit Hall was behind it, fanning the flames.
An icy chill radiated from Dugu Bo. "What a vicious scheme."
"The tournament hasn't even begun, yet Heaven Dou City already knows the Imperial Team suffered a crushing defeat."
"At that point, how could the common folk still have faith in them? Even if the seven recover, this shadow will linger, weighing down their minds, weakening their strength."
"Spirit Hall's goal—is to disgrace the entire Heaven Dou Empire."
In the vast chamber,
the suffocating tension grew ever heavier.
At that moment, under Madam Ye's healing, the seven's external external injuries had basically healed.
Only the feeling of weakness from the exhaustion of their Spirit Power had not yet dissipated.
"Brother Zhe... Zhexian..." Yu Tianheng slowly opened his heavy eyelids and looked at Li Zhexian.
The eyes that had once burned with fighting spirit now held only crushing defeat.
"We thought…"
"…after so much bitter training, so much growth in strength…"
"…this time at the Tournament, though we spoke of aiming for the top three, deep down, we dreamed of the championship."
His voice rasped, thick with bitterness.
"But we lost.
"Against those three of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, we didn't even have the right to fight back."
"Brother Zhexian…"
Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling—
All seven of them stared at Li Zhexian, eyes burning with desperate hope.
"We beg you…"
"Join the Imperial Battle Team…"
Madam Ye, Dugu Bo, and Yu Yuanzhen remained silent.
This was a choice that belonged to the younger generation.
Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wushuang, and the others stared at Li Zhexian in shock.
Li Zhexian… had not joined the Imperial Battle Team?
Was he planning to miss this grandest of Spirit Master events?
"Brother Zhexian, you—"
Feng Xiaotian blurted—
But Li Zhexian lifted a hand, cutting him off.
"Focus on your recovery."
"And remember—attend the Tournament's opening tomorrow."
With that—
He turned, walking out with Xue Qinghe.
Leaving behind a room full of gazes, tangled with unwillingness, disappointment, and a sliver of hope.
...
On the way back—
Xue Qinghe lowered her head in silence.
Li Zhexian too said nothing.
As they passed through the alleys—
The voices of the people drifted clearly to their ears.
"Sigh, Spirit Hall truly is terrifying!"
"Shameful! Utterly shameful! And here I thought the Imperial Battle Team was so strong—before the Tournament even starts, they've been carried back in disgrace!"
"Did you hear? Spirit Hall only sent three people—and crippled the entire Imperial Team!"
"The gap's too great… I wonder if Sword Wine could beat them?"
By the time they reached Lotus Lake—
Li Zhexian finally asked:
"This blow to the Imperial Team—will it drag you down as well?"
Xue Qinghe's lips curved in a calm smile.
"The Tournament is nothing but icing on the cake."
"Even without its glory, no one can shake my place as Crown Prince."
Her tone was firm, without a trace of falsehood.
Indeed, within the Heaven Dou royal clan, there was none left who could threaten her succession.
But now—
Setting aside politics—
What truly stirred Xue Qinghe's fury,
Was that woman's warning.
It meant that woman would likely strike at Li Zhexian again!
At that thought,
Xue Qinghe could no longer suppress the rage clawing in her chest.
—
The next day marked the opening of the Spirit Master Tournament.
After lunch,
Xue Qinghe returned to the palace to handle state affairs.
Li Zhexian went alone back to his courtyard.
Pushing open the gate—
His eyes were instantly caught by something beneath the plum tree.
A neatly folded set of white-and-gold uniforms.
On the chest—
a crown insignia gleamed with light.
It was the uniform of the Imperial Battle Team's captain.
Li Zhexian walked to the table, his fingers brushing lightly across the emblem.
—
The following day—
The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, Heaven Dou Empire Division, opened in grand ceremony at the Great Spirit Arena.
This pinnacle event of the Spirit Master world drew countless eyes.
From princes and nobles to commoners in the streets, all treated it as the grandest festival on the continent.
Tickets for the opening ceremony—
Had sold out a month ago.
At dawn, the horizon tinged with orange—
Outside the newly renovated Great Spirit Arena, seas of people thronged, the streets empty.
All hoped, on this first day, to catch a glimpse of the genius youths of the Spirit Master world.
In the waiting area, all the great teams gathered.
The members of the Imperial Battle Team, Godwind Academy, Blazing Academy, and Elephant Armored Academy kept casting glances toward the empty entryway.
Their gazes dimmed.
That familiar figure—
Still had not appeared.