The first fight of the second elimination round ended. Although Shrek Academy didnât win by a landslide, they still demonstrated their strength. This was especially true for Wang Qiuâer. Her performance in the team round caused all the other team leaders to turn dismal. Of course, the expressions of the Holy Ghost Sectâs members couldnât be seen, since they concealed their faces.
The tournament continued, and the next few fights were very intense. In order to qualify, every team gave their best. There were many casualties in this second elimination round. The bloody smell coming off the stage also grew stronger and stronger.
âLetâs return,â Huo Yuhao said to his teammates after looking up at the sky.
âYou are not watching anymore?â Xu Sanshi was a little stunned as he glanced at Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, âWeâve seen what we need to. Thereâs nothing much left to see. No matter who our opponents are, weâll have to give our all, right? Letâs return to rest.â As he spoke, he gestured for Wang Dongâer to push his wheelchair.
Although Huo Yuhao wasnât the oldest among them, he was the stand-in team leader since Bei Bei wasnât around. No one questioned his words. Everyone stood up and left the venue silently, returning to the Ming Yue Hotel.
They were competing tomorrow. Their opponents werenât well-known, and were from a sect too. They didnât have any information regarding this sect, and they didnât notice this sect in the first elimination round either. However, that didnât mean that their opponents were lousy.
------
After returning to the hotel, Huo Yuhao called his teammates to his room.
In the the tournament, they had had a meeting room they could use. However, they had to make do with this for this round.
âIâll talk about tomorrowâs strategy briefly,â Huo Yuhao began.
Xu Sanshi laughed, âAre you planning to compete first and continue all the way until the end?â
Huo Yuhao shook his head as he smiled and replied, âItâs different from the previous round. There were many competing teams then, and we had sufficient time to rest. From this round onwards, the time between each successive round will be shorter. We must try our best to conserve our fighting strength. After all, we donât have many substitutes. In fact, we should learn from Shrekâs strategy today. None of them depleted too much of their energy, but they still fought to warm up their bodies. They kept themselves in their best physical condition for the team round. Tomorrow, we shall follow their strategy. Third senior, youâll fight first tomorrow. What do you think about this arrangement?â
Xu Sanshiâs eyes brightened, and he said, âGreat idea! However, donât you want us to conceal our true abilities?â
Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, âYou only have two opponents to defeat before you concede defeat. Are you really going to reveal your trump card in those two fights?â
âOf course not!â Xu Sanshi said proudly.
Huo Yuhao laughed, âThatâs great! Second senior, youâll be the second to compete. Youâll fight two of them also. Xiao Xiao, youâll be the third to fight. Youâll only need to fight one. Fourth senior, youâll fight one person only too. Dongâer will be last, and sheâll take care of the last person.â
Na Na looked a little pitifully at Huo Yuhao. After hearing that she had no role, she lowered her head.
Huo Yuhao chortled, âNa Na, havenât you realized that weâll have to lose a few fights in the individual elimination round with such an arrangement? The final fight will be in the team round. Youâll have your chance then. In the team round, Iâll have to rely on everyone else. Iâll only be the main controller of the team.â
Na Na lifted her head again and subconsciously said, âMaster, I have no objections to any of your arrangements.â
After hearing the word âMasterâ, everyoneâs expressions turned a little weird.
Huo Yuhao also felt very helpless. He had corrected her many times, and struggled to get her to call him by his name. However, there were times when she wasnât careful, and still called him Master. Na Na didnât find anything wrong with this, since she was very grateful to Huo Yuhao. Not only did Huo Yuhao save her parentsâ souls, but he also gave her a new life! He was her benefactor!
Huo Yuhao coughed and said, âSeniors, please return to rest. Na Na, stay behind.â
Xu Sanshi stood up and patted Huo Yuhaoâs shoulder. He shot him a weird look and softly said, âYuhao! You must control yourself since youâre already in this state!â Wang Dongâer could hear him clearly even though he was trying to speak softly.
Besides laughing bitterly, what else could Huo Yuhao do? Everyone else left, but they wore weird smiles on their faces.
Only Wang Dong didnât smile. She walked to one side and poured a glass of water for Na Na.
âThank you, Mistress.â Na Na received the glass respectfully.
Wang Dongâer felt very helpless too, âSister Na Na, please donât call me that. I canât take it. We are senior and junior from the same sect. Yuhao has helped you before, but everythingâs already in the past. Donât tell me that you wonât help us when we are in trouble? Donât be too botheredâ¦â
âOkay.â Na Na acknowledged her words naturally, but it was evident that she didnât take them in.
Huo Yuhao knew that there was no point trying to convince her. He didnât bother doing so. âNa Na, howâs your progress on the matter that I wanted you to investigate?â
Na Na turned serious, and a look of fear flashed across her eyes. She nodded gently and replied, âYes, youâre right. Itâs them, Iâm sure of it! I wouldnât forget their aura even if I turned to ashes. Itâs them! It must be them!â
Huo Yuhao nodded and said, âRight. Youâve verified my guess. The Holy Ghost Sect is the Holy Ghost Church. Donât be afraid, everyone will protect you as long as you remain with us. What about the other thing? Howâs the contact?â
Na Na said, âI went to three black markets, and only the biggest one says that there are goods available. However, the details have to be discussed. Furthermore, their asking price is very high, and they are difficult to deal with.â
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, âItâs okay if the price is high, as long as the goods are available. Before the war starts, we must prepare. Continue to maintain contact with them and bargain. After that, set a time to meet. Iâll meet them. Letâs do it this way; continue to contact them a further three times and let them sense our sincerity. After that, purchase some samples.â
âAlright.â Na Na acknowledged his words.
Huo Yuhao said, âYou should return to rest, too. Take care of your safety when you are alone at night. If you canât handle it, ask for help from Sister Ziyan or Brother Ji. After all, they are people who canât handle loneliness.â
âAlright!â Na Na regarded herself as Huo Yuhaoâs servant. After acknowledging his words, she turned around and left.
She closed the door behind her after she left. Wang Dongâer asked curiously, âWho did you ask Na Na to contact? Why donât I know about it?â
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, âHave you forgotten that my spiritual power has reached the concrete-immaterial realm? I instructed her a few days ago. Since we are here at the Sun Moon Empire, we canât leave empty-handed. Weâve found some big clients.
âAt the same time, we are going to purchase some goods.â
Wang Dongâer was intelligent. She immediately thought of something, and asked, âRare metals? You asked Na Na to search for rare metals for sale on the market?â
Huo Yuhao nodded, âMy love, you are really intelligent. Come here, Iâll reward you with a kiss.â
Wang Dongâerâs face turned red, and she said, âStop fooling around. Letâs get back to proper business first.â
âAlright. Since youâve agreed, Iâll wait until we are done with proper business first.â Huo Yuhao said with a serious look on his face.
âSince when did I agree?â Wang Dongâer asked in embarrassment.
Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, âYou said that we should get back to proper business first. Naturally, that means that weâll get to improper business after that.â
âYouâ¦â
âLetâs get back to proper business. Youâre right. I want to buy some rare metals.â
Seeing Huo Yuhaoâs serious face, Wang Dongâer snapped as she pulled his hand toward her. She bit the back of his hand. However, she bit very gently. This was evident from how Huo Yuhao enjoyed her bite.
âCan you buy rare metals in the Sun Moon Empire? Theyâre war resources now.â Wang Dongâer asked doubtfully after she finished biting him.
Huo Yuhao smiled gently and asked, âWhy not? As long as you have the money, nothing is impossible. Itâs because rare metals are considered war resources that theyâre very expensive. But this also means that selling them is very profitable. Some people will be interested in such profits. Furthermore, they are bound to be authoritative figures. This time, our two clients have accepted very expensive deposits. Gold soul coins are only useless, expensive metals. What we need are rare metals that can be continuously converted into wealth. Storing metals is better than storing money. Thatâs why I plan to purchase rare metals. Before we left, eldest senior brought all our liquidated money. That includes the funds we gained by selling the Zhuge Divine Crossbow to the academy. Along with the payments that Princess Jiuju and Princess Wei Na gave us, the money that we have is quite substantial!â
Wang Dongâer was a little worried, âHowever, Iâm afraid itâll be very troublesome to purchase rare metals here. What if we donât get the goods even after paying up? Even if we get the goods, can we return safely?â
Huo Yuhao patted her hand and said, âThereâll always be a solution. Trust me.â
âAlright.â
Huo Yuhao said, âWe are done with proper business.â
Wang Dongâer naturally stood up and said, âIâm going to wash my clothes.â
Huo Yuhao wouldnât let her go just like this. He pulled with her right hand, and she landed on his thigh.
She didnât struggle, and only buried her embarrassed head in his arms. She didnât struggle because she was afraid of hurting him. After all, only his right arm out of his four limbs could move!
âMy love, just a while, alright?â