"Bang!"
A sudden loud noise came from the VIP section. Hu Yanzhen, the sect master of the Elephant Armored Sect, had unknowingly crushed the armrest of his chair, and his large bell-like eyes seemed to spit fire.
He was unwilling, truly unwilling.
Although Platinum Bishop Salas had misjudged, according to the exact information Salas had given him earlier, the Shrek Academy team had only swapped out Xiao Wu, the agility attack type spirit master, and replaced her with Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai's spirit power had already reached level 55. He was indeed a terrifying weapon of mass destruction. Perhaps across the entire Spirit Master world, it would be difficult to find such a genius.
But even though Dai Mubai was powerful, under normal circumstances Hu Yanzhen believed that, with his eldest grandson Hu Yanli leading, three Elephant Armored Sect disciples over level 40 working together would not necessarily be unable to withstand Dai Mubai's assault.
The fact that Hu Yanli and the others had held off Dai Mubai's attack for so long earlier was proof enough.
Later, Hu Yanli's decision to fight Shrek Academy's other members alone was also the correct move, because after Dai Mubai broke through Elephant Armored Academy's iron wall defense, the terrifying strength he unleashed was indeed shocking.
However, if Hu Yanli had managed to deal with Shrek Academy's other members, then the seven of them working together against Dai Mubai would have left no suspense about the outcome.
Furthermore, Hu Yanli's spirit power level was as high as level 43. Although it was two levels lower than Zhu Zhuqing's and one level lower than Tang San's, with a head spirit bone that was perfectly compatible with him, in Hu Yanzhen's view, it was only a matter of time before Hu Yanli defeated Shrek Academy's other members.
After all, whether it was Zhu Zhuqing's speed or Tang San's control, neither could threaten Hu Yanli after using the spirit bone. They could only dodge using their speed.
Although Tang San had used that strange footwork and avoided Hu Yanli's first wave of assault with the special ability of the Blue Silver King, could he withstand the second wave?
Everything that had just happened flashed through Hu Yanzhen's mind, and when he recalled the scene of his grandson being badly injured by Dai Mubai's punch, his anger flared again.
Hu Yanli was the future of the Elephant Armored Sect. If he suffered any permanent harm, Hu Yanzhen's fury would be impossible to suppress.
And precisely because of this anger, Hu Yanzhen overlooked some things.
Aside from Tai Long, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Jiang Zhu, none of them had used their fourth spirit abilities, and Dai Mubai, a Spirit King, had only used his first three spirit abilities.
This meant that Shrek Academy had not even gone all out.
Moreover, Tang San had absorbed a 20,000-year spirit bone and had not used his second martial spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer. If those were considered, Shrek Academy still had many trump cards left.
Of course, this was not completely one-sided. Dai Mubai had indeed held back much of his strength, but Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing could not really be considered as holding back.
Their fourth spirit abilities were both higher-than-level absorption spirit rings, much stronger than ordinary spirit masters of the same level. However, if they used those against the full-defense Elephant Armored Academy team, they would not have been very effective.
In the end, Shrek's victory had not been particularly difficult, because Dai Mubai's power was overwhelming. He alone was enough to shatter the Elephant Armored Academy team's joint defense and force Hu Yanli to reveal his spirit bone.
This match had shown every spectator and the Empire's high officials the strength of Shrek Academy. Whether it was Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, Tai Long, Jiang Zhu, or especially Dai Mubai, they all raised the audience's expectations for this dark horse team.
Particularly Emperor Xue Ye, when he saw that Dai Mubai was a Spirit King, he had already begun to consider the possibility of them winning the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament.
Although the tournament was meant to showcase the talent and power of young spirit masters, it was ultimately a contest between the two empires and Spirit Hall.
After all, the talent and strength of young spirit masters determined a nation's future. Most of the champions in past years had been Spirit Hall teams, with very few wins for the Star Luo Empire or Heaven Dou Empire.
At this moment, Ning Fengzhi's face was already full of smiles as he watched the seven victorious Shrek Academy members celebrating.
Beside him, Sword Douluo's eyes were bright. Seeing Hu Yanzhen's loss of composure, Chen Xin said casually, "In the face of absolute strength, all else is meaningless."
Hearing this, Hu Yanzhen did not dare to lash out and simply turned his gaze to the Shrek Academy team, narrowing his eyes as if deep in thought.
By this time, the Spirit Saint referee had already sent Hu Yanli back to the platform, and Jiang Zhu had activated her first spirit ability, Healing Formation, to heal the Elephant Armored Academy members.
Soon, the seven woke up to the sound of cheering. Shrek Academy's seven members stood in a row, watching them calmly.
The Elephant Armored Academy members struggled to stand and returned the salute before leaving the field.
Hu Yanli looked solemnly at Dai Mubai, who was smaller and shorter than him, yet gave him an incomparable sense of pressure.
A level 55 Spirit King, just the difference in spirit power alone was twelve levels. Even with a head spirit bone, he could not bridge that terrifying gap.
Hu Yanli knew that he had not lost to Shrek Academy, but to Dai Mubai. Without Dai Mubai, Shrek might not even have been able to break through their defense, let alone win.
He slowly exhaled and said, "You are very strong. This academy is not worthy of you. If you are willing, the gates of the Elephant Armored Sect are always open to you. Name your terms."
His voice was soft, but just loud enough for both teams to hear.
Dai Mubai raised an eyebrow and replied after thinking for a moment, "Oh? Then I will think about it carefully."
Hearing this, Hu Yanli's heart leapt with joy. Even if Dai Mubai was just being polite, what if he was serious?
After all, he had already shown plenty, his spirit bone, his strength, his identity and status, these might be enough to attract a genius like Dai Mubai.
Both sides saluted each other and left the field.
The audience erupted into cheers the moment the match ended. At first only a few shouted Shrek Academy's name, but soon more and more joined in until the entire arena roared with their chant.
Most of the spectators were not spirit masters. As the saying goes, outsiders watch for the spectacle. The seven Shrek members had given them the most spectacular match. Dai Mubai's one-against-seven performance, Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step, and other moments left a deep impression.
The huge difference in body size made most spectators see Shrek as the weaker side, and ordinary people naturally sympathized with the weak.
But when Dai Mubai's two yellow, two purple, and one black spirit rings rose, the atmosphere completely changed.
A Spirit King, this level of strength was enough to make him a guest of honor in most factions across the continent, and this Spirit King was not even twenty-five years old. What terrifying talent!
This match had brought Dai Mubai into the spotlight and raised Shrek Academy's value as a dark horse team to a whole new level.
Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Liu Erlong had made a fortune just from betting.
Although Shrek left the arena, the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena was still boiling with excitement. The cheers for Shrek lasted until the end of the day's matches.
Shrek was not the only team with two consecutive wins, but the fact that they had defeated Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's second team and one of the Seven Great Sects' Elephant Armored Academy made them the focus of attention.
In the VIP section, Hu Yanzhen had calmed down, sitting silently deep in thought. Platinum Bishop Salas seemed thoughtful as well.
Emperor Xue Ye was still smiling, occasionally whispering a few words to Ning Fengzhi.
Clearly, Emperor Xue Ye had developed a strong interest in Shrek Academy, which was understandable.
Oscar paid no mind to what Salas or Hu Yanzhen were thinking. Dai Mubai's talent and strength were amazing, but there was nothing they could do about it now.
As Oscar prepared to take everyone back to the academy, he noticed a team on the platform.
This team's seven members all had gem-type spirits. Their style was very distinctive, and they belonged to an advanced spirit master academy called Canghui Academy.
Oscar remembered them clearly, because in the original story Tang San's first spirit bone came from Canghui Academy's dean, Shi Nian.
But this time, because of Oscar, Shrek had not clashed with Canghui Academy, and Shi Nian bore no grudge against them. So the ambush from the original story would not occur.
Still, Oscar did not intend to let this old man go. He was not a good person to begin with. Dealing with him would be removing a hidden danger.
Of course, Oscar's main motive was not public justice, but Shi Nian's 10,000-year head spirit bone.
This old man did not have the money to buy a spirit bone, so he ambushed someone from an auction house, stole it, and absorbed it himself.
For such a bad man, Oscar saw no reason to refuse such a gift.
For now, however, Oscar showed no reaction. He quietly took Ma Hongjun and the others back to rest and prepare for tomorrow's match.
The tournament would last nearly a month, with one match per day, testing not only strength but endurance.
Like today, Tai Long had taken Hu Yanli's full-powered strike head-on, which left him uncomfortable.
Luckily, Jiang Zhu's healing was timely, so Tai Long was fine and could fight tomorrow.
After bringing everyone back, Oscar left again to observe Shi Nian's movements and look for an opportunity to strike.
Since this clone only had level 55 strength, Oscar created another clone in Star Dou Forest and sent it to Heaven Dou City to prepare for action.
...
Five days passed in the blink of an eye. After Shrek's crushing victory over the Elephant Armored Academy team, their next five opponents all forfeited without a fight.
Yes, they simply forfeited.
The last five qualifying spots for the Heaven Dou division were determined by points. The five teams with the highest points advanced.
Among Shrek's scheduled opponents, the strongest only had two Spirit Ancestors at level 42. Knowing they had no chance against Shrek, they chose to preserve their strength by giving up.
Salas did not openly complain, since this too was a kind of strategy, but he was clearly unhappy.
After all, Shrek's match against Elephant Armored Academy had been his manipulation, but he had not interfered afterward to avoid suspicion.
No one expected Shrek's luck to be this good, with such weak opponents later, giving them plenty of time to rest.
Now Tai Long's injuries were fully healed, and they still had not faced a strong opponent.
Even though today's opponent forfeited, Shrek still went to the arena to watch, since two of the strongest teams were fighting today.
Dai Mubai was strong, but Shrek was not invincible. According to Tang San, they wanted to avoid revealing Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing's fusion ability too early, so they had to know their enemies to win.
After all, while Dai Mubai was powerful, Tai Long, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Jiang Zhu were still somewhat weaker compared to true geniuses.
Every year, there were only a few truly top-level academies. Apart from Elephant Armored Academy, only four other academies posed a real threat: Thunderclap Academy, Godwind Academy, Blazing Academy, and Tianshui Academy.
From their names alone, one could see these academies specialized in four powerful abilities: lightning, wind, water, and fire. Together with Elephant Armored Academy, which specialized in defense (earth), they were called the Five Elemental Academies of Heaven Dou Empire.
Elephant Armored Academy was directly founded by the Elephant Armored Sect.
The other four academies also had powerful backers. Thunderclap Academy, for instance, was secretly supported by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the top three clans. The academy mainly trained branch family disciples, while core members were trained internally.
Even branch disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan were strong, so Thunderclap Academy was not to be underestimated.
Few knew the backers of Godwind, Tianshui, and Blazing Academies, but everyone could sense they had strong backgrounds.
In past tournaments, aside from Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's first team (who were automatically qualified), most qualifying spots were taken by the Five Elemental Academies, with very few dark horses like Shrek.
Since there were only five qualifying spots, if Shrek wanted to advance, one of these academies had to be eliminated.
Thus, whenever one of the Five Elemental Academies had a match, Tang San would take Dai Mubai and the others to watch and gather intel.
Today, Thunderclap Academy and Godwind Academy were competing.
Just like their names suggested, their teams specialized entirely in lightning and wind respectively, even their support-type members.
Such single-attribute teams were extremely explosive and could unleash terrifying power.
Their opponents today were not weak but still lost quickly under the onslaught of lightning and wind. Even with his Purple Demon Eye, Tang San did not gather much useful data.
Meanwhile, Oscar had already left the viewing area, disguised himself, and waited at the gate with a cup of coffee.
Soon, a team emerged from the arena, wearing light blue uniforms with the words "Canghui" embroidered on their chests. Leading them was an elderly man in his seventies, Shi Nian, the dean of Canghui Academy.
Oscar walked casually toward the gate, pretending not to see them. Shi Nian, a level 75 Spirit Saint, would never make way for a young man.
Somehow, Oscar stumbled forward, falling toward Shi Nian, spilling his coffee on his face and clothes.
Before Shi Nian or his students could get angry, Oscar raised his voice and shouted, "What's wrong with you? Can't you watch where you're going? Do you know who this coffee was for?"
Oscar deliberately acted righteous even though he was in the wrong.
"This was meant for Hu Yanli, the captain of Elephant Armored Academy. Now look what you've done, what if it affects his mood later?"
Shi Nian had originally intended to strike this arrogant brat down, but when he heard Hu Yanli's name, he held back.
He was not afraid of Hu Yanli himself, but of the Elephant Armored Sect behind him. Hu Yanzhen was known for being vengeful, and Shi Nian could not afford to offend him.
Killing Hu Yanli's follower in public would be slapping Hu Yanzhen's face.
Shi Nian, an experienced schemer, instantly decided how to act. He memorized Oscar's disguised face, snorted coldly, and left with his students.
Oscar pointed at his back, barking insults like a petty tyrant relying on someone else's power.
Only after Shi Nian and Canghui Academy disappeared from sight did Oscar bend down, pick up the broken ceramic pieces, and reveal a wicked smile.
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