Since the merger of the two teams, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Shrek Team had been riding high on success, achieving an impressive winning streak. The team was virtually unstoppable.
However, due to three early consecutive losses, their overall ranking remained fifth in the Heaven Dou region. Ranked above them were: Godwind Academy, Thunderclap Academy, Tianshui Academy, and Blazing Academy.
Their record was better than Elephant Armored Academy's, though the results between them were very close.
During this period, both Yu Xiaogang and Tang San were visibly upbeat. The team had regained its confidence after bouncing back from their losing streak.
Of course, Salas and other committee members had officially acknowledged the roster changes, but they issued a stern warning that further changes would not be allowed.
Salas, in particular, had marked the Shrek Team as a key observation target. Based on age alone, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Yang Xiong were all on track to break the record for youngest Soul Sects in history. Especially Tang San, who was already very close to reaching Soul Sect level, and was a well-known enemy of Spirit Hall.
Moreover, the Shrek Team's members had incredibly powerful backgrounds. Even Salas wouldn't dare act recklessly.
Another unexpected development was that Shi Nian and Canghui Academy, who had attacked Shrek and Tang San in the original storyline, did not make any moves this time. After all, few in Shrek were people Shi Nian could afford to offend, especially since Tang San had already revealed his Clear Sky Hammer.
Also, Canghui Academy didn't use their seven-man spirit fusion technique as in the original, leaving Yu Xiaogang without that key reference.
After more than ten rounds of matches, Shrek finally faced a formidable opponent: Tianshui Academy.
Although ranked third overall, Tianshui Academy's performance had actually surpassed Blazing Academy and was second only to Thunderclap and Godwind Academies.
For this match, Yang Xiong had taken leave. He had been missing for several days. As a result, Xiao Wu had to fill in as the agility-attack-type soul master. Her martial soul was a rabbit, very fast, and she had recently advanced to level 39.
Even so, Shrek had five Soul Sects available, making it arguably their best lineup aside from Yang Xiong. This showed how seriously they took Tianshui Academy.
But despite their soul power advantage, the reality of battle proved very different.
Shui Bing'er, a level-43 control-type Soul Sect, had an Ice Phoenix martial soul. She was considered the best control-type soul master in the Heaven Dou region, wielding ice elements with great speed and precision.
As soon as the match began, Shui Bing'er launched her first soul skill: Ice Seal.
This rare instant-cast ice-element control skill froze even the lightning-fast Tang San.
Only Yu Tianheng fared slightly better. His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul's thunder element helped him break free from the ice faster than others.
Still, Tang San and Dugu Yan, both control-type soul masters, were heavily suppressed.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass became brittle under the ice, and he couldn't even use his second soul skill, Parasite.
It appeared that all plant-based martial souls were severely weakened by ice, and Blue Silver Grass, being fragile by nature, was especially vulnerable.
Dugu Yan's poisonous mist from her Emerald Scaled Snake was also frozen solid, turning into snowflakes and falling uselessly onto the arena.
Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai reacted quickly and used their second soul skills. Dai Mubai released his White Tiger Light Wave, a golden beam that shattered his frozen body and freed him. Yu Tianheng similarly burst into lightning, shattering the ice around him.
Even so, Shrek's formation had already been broken. Tianshui had seized the initiative. What's more, Ice Seal was only Shui Bing'er's first skill and consumed little soul power.
She immediately followed up with her second soul skill: Ice Ring Armor. All Tianshui team members appeared to be wearing icy armor, greatly boosting their defense. Even Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai gained no clear advantage against their Soul Sect opponents.
By the time Tang San and the others broke free from the ice, Shrek's formation was completely in disarray. Tianshui had fewer Soul Sects, but Shui Bing'er's control was overwhelming. The fight became a back-and-forth struggle.
Gradually, Shrek began to recover, thanks to having two more Soul Sects. Tang San and Dugu Yan still had decent fighting ability.
Unfortunately, both were completely countered by Shui Bing'er. Their usual double-control tactic failed entirely.
The team tried to surround Shui Bing'er. Xiao Wu even used her teleportation. But just as they were closing in, Shui Bing'er activated her third soul skill: Repelling Ice Ring.
This move, similar to Huo Wu's Repelling Fire Ring, was a top-tier defensive soul skill. Shui Bing'er used it cleverly, blasting away Xiao Wu, Tang San, and others preparing to strike.
As for the Shi brothers, though their defense was strong, their speed and attack were lacking. They had no good way to deal with Tianshui's Ice Ring-armored Soul Elders.
Seizing this rare chance, Shui Bing'er unleashed Ice Seal again, while the other five Tianshui members held off Shrek's seven.
Then Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu's martial souls began to fuse. A giant Ice Phoenix formed in the sky, and the arena's temperature plummeted. Snowflakes swirled down, blanketing the stage.
This was their martial soul fusion skill: Snowfall.
Its area of effect was enormous, and even the referee had to activate the arena's full shield to protect the audience.
With a deafening cry, the Ice Phoenix prepared to strike. Even top-tier beast souls like White Tiger and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon couldn't help but tremble. While individually not weaker than Ice Phoenix, they were now facing a powerful fusion skill.
Xue Wu's silk-based martial soul, Light Snow Dancer, complemented Ice Phoenix perfectly, combining into the devastating Snowfall technique.
As the fusion skill completed, the five other Tianshui team members left the arena, leaving Shrek's seven to face the Ice Phoenix alone.
From the sky, Shui Bing'er called out, concerned: "You should surrender now. This technique isn't something you can endure."
The massive Ice Phoenix prepared to dive. No wonder the others exited early, it was clearly a large-area attack with massive power.
Tang San and the others, shivering in the cold, clenched their teeth and refused to give in. They believed the fusion skill must consume huge energy and might be more for show.
They unleashed their strongest soul skills in hopes of withstanding the attack.
But as the Phoenix descended, the entire arena seemed to explode in icy energy. Even the protective barrier struggled to contain the cold. The audience could feel the chill.
Tang San struck with his Clear Sky Hammer, while Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng transformed into White Tiger and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon respectively. The rest gave it everything they had.
But it was no use. Several were knocked off the stage. Tang San and the others were frozen solid again—this time the ice was far more intense than before.
Several minutes later, calm returned to the arena. The ice sculptures that had been Tang San and the others were pushed off stage. Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu, gasping for breath, had clearly used up their soul power.
Still, the referee declared Tianshui Academy the winner. All seven Shrek members had been defeated.
Tang San and the others shivered from the cold, their soul power nearly drained. A loss was a loss.
While Tianshui celebrated, the Shrek team was filled with frustration. Despite a soul power advantage, their tactics were crushed, and everyone was countered by Shui Bing'er. Tianshui had clearly pulled off a textbook case of the weak defeating the strong, while Shrek had become the unlucky loser.
As both teams prepared to leave, Shui Bing'er suddenly spoke.
"Wait, Tang San. Why didn't Yang Xiong show up today? I was hoping to face the strongest defense-type soul master in the Heaven Dou region."
Tang San glanced at the still-shivering Xiao Wu and shook his head. "Yang Xiong's on leave. I don't know where he went."
Shui Bing'er replied, "That's a shame. All the elemental academies were looking forward to testing whether my ice could overcome him."
After this loss, the expressions of Emperor Xue Ye, Yu Xiaogang, and others were very grim. What had seemed like a sure win ended in such a humiliating defeat.
Since the team reshuffle, Team Two had seemed invincible, dominating with five Soul Sects, the strongest roster on paper. Yu Xiaogang had placed immense confidence in Tang San, believing his control and combat abilities would make him the brightest star in the Heaven Dou region.
But Tang San was suppressed the entire match by Shui Bing'er. The entire Shrek Team was outplayed, which was hard to accept, especially since all their tactics were designed by Tang San.
Now, if they could lose to Tianshui Academy, what would happen in the finals against Spirit Hall?
Beating weak teams meant little. Only against strong opponents did true skill and tactical awareness show, and Shrek had clearly fallen short.
Their teamwork was lacking. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was completely countered, reducing his control effectiveness.
Another problem was team leadership. Team One originally revolved around Yu Tianheng, while Team Two had Dai Mubai as captain, with Tang San as the tactical core, and the aloof Dugu Yan. Now, there were four captains or vice-captains, each eager to prove themselves. Especially Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai, both of whom had complicated family situations.
Back when Yang Xiong was around, everyone acknowledged he was the strongest. No one dared challenge him in a duel. And Yang Xiong, being easygoing, focused only on training and spending time with Ning Rongrong, he didn't care about tactical leadership.
But now that Yang Xiong was on leave, all kinds of problems were surfacing. At the very least, the team had lost its sense of unity.
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