Oscar had unknowingly returned to his original appearance, changed into the Shrek Academy team uniform, and went back to the spectator area to continue watching the matches.
When the morning matches ended, Oscar led the Shrek Academy group back to the academy to continue cultivating.
Following the flow of people, the young man who had just clashed with Canghui Academy leisurely trailed behind the Elephant Armored Academy team, not too close and not too far, looking almost like a little follower.
This person was, of course, Oscar , but it was a clone he had created just a week ago in the Star Dou Forest.
This clone was at the same level as Oscar, and as long as Oscar's consciousness controlled it, it could be said to possess the same strength as his real body.
After Oscar followed the Elephant Armored Academy team out of the Great Spirit Arena, somewhere in the shadows, a pair of gloomy eyes had locked onto him without his notice.
Just as the crowd was about to disperse, before the Elephant Armored Academy members realized anything was wrong, Oscar quietly broke away from the group in disguise, looking completely relaxed as he headed in a certain direction.
It was still morning, the bright sunlight shining warmly, giving people a comfortable feeling.
Oscar's spiritual power had already reached the Spirit Sage level, not far from Spirit Douluo. If he could break through to level sixty, his spiritual power would very likely reach Spirit Douluo level as well.
It was an acknowledged fact that spiritual power grows along with a spirit master's strength, but Oscar's spiritual power was far stronger than most of the same level.
Moreover, he had taken a rare immortal-grade pill refined from the Dew of Autumn Water, making his spiritual power even tougher than ordinary spirit masters. This was why Oscar dared to take on Shi Nian alone.
In addition to his own strong spiritual power, Oscar's second spirit ability granted him immunity to spiritual enchantment, mind control, and similar negative effects.
With these two abilities, Oscar was confident he could take down the old man.
At this moment, Oscar could clearly sense a powerful spiritual force locking onto him from the shadows. Even as he moved away from the Great Spirit Arena, his surroundings gradually began to change.
Had his spiritual power not been strong enough, he would not have noticed this change.
Oscar did not resist. He acted like an ordinary, clueless spirit master, continuing to walk right into the trap the enemy had set for him.
Shi Nian, though he resented Oscar for his earlier insolence, still had to consider Elephant Armored Sect's stance. He would not dare to act against Oscar in public.
Oscar thought the same. After all, once Shi Nian was dead, he intended to take his spirit bone, which could not be done in front of an audience.
After walking for some time, Oscar suddenly slowed down, pretending that he had sensed something wrong.
The sunlight still shone on him, but its warmth was gone. Instead, a faint chill seemed to creep in from all directions.
Oscar feigned panic and quickened his pace, but no matter how he walked, his surroundings did not change. It was as if he had become a lost ant trapped in a maze.
From that faint chill, Oscar felt a murderous intent spreading , clearly the opponent was ready to strike.
The surroundings suddenly became eerily quiet. The sounds that should have been present on the street vanished completely.
Everything before his eyes turned hazy, as though a thin veil had been drawn over it.
A faint figure gradually appeared ten meters ahead of Oscar.
It was an old man dressed in white, wearing the uniform of Canghui Academy. This was Oscar's target , Shi Nian.
Shi Nian's voice sounded faintly. "Heh, I thought a little follower like you would die quietly in my illusion. I didn't expect you to notice something was wrong. Your vigilance isn't bad. Perhaps you are a decent talent."
Shi Nian looked calmly at Oscar, a trace of appreciation on his face. "I've changed my mind. If you're willing to join Canghui Academy, not only will I spare your life, I will cultivate you well. Your treatment will be far better than just being someone's lackey."
Oscar looked panicked. "You want to kill me? You know I'm one of Young Master Ali's people, and you still dare to strike?"
Shi Nian looked at the frightened youth, and something deep within him stirred. He loved to toy with geniuses, watching them struggle helplessly in his illusion until they died.
A mocking smile appeared on his face. "No one has ever offended me and lived, but I'll give you this chance. The choice is in your hands. How you choose is up to you."
"You!" Oscar's panicked expression did not fade, but he pretended to be calm. "I belong to Young Master Ali. If you kill me, are you not afraid of the wrath of the Elephant Armored Sect?"
"Don't forget, we're on a public street. Kill me, and you'll never be able to stand in the spirit master world again."
Shi Nian laughed, his wrinkled face twisting so much it could crush a fly. His sinister eyes gleamed coldly as he said, "It seems you've chosen wrong. Since I've decided to act, I've already made perfect preparations. You expect the Elephant Armored Sect to avenge you? Don't worry, I'll leave no evidence behind."
He pointed around. "Look carefully. Do you really think this is still a street in Heaven Dou City?"
With his words, the hazy scenery became clear. Oscar "appeared shocked" to find himself in the dense woods of a park.
During the continental advanced spirit master academy tournament, such a park would naturally be deserted. Obviously, this was the burial ground Shi Nian had prepared for him.
But who would be buried here today was still yet to be decided.
Shi Nian's face was filled with mockery. "Do you know what I love most? Watching my enemies go mad in my illusions until they die."
"Since you have made your choice, prepare to depart. I will make you see your greatest fear before you die."
As his voice fell, spirit power fluctuations rose from Shi Nian's body. But at this moment, the fear on Oscar's face vanished, replaced by utter calm.
He stood still, his silver-white eyes no longer dazed by the illusion, as though he had completely ignored it.
Oscar slowly raised his left hand, a sky-blue jade sword appearing there at some unknown moment.
Shi Nian watched him calmly, mocking, "You want to resist? Can you even find my real body?"
Oscar ignored him. Suddenly, an incomparably terrifying sword intent erupted from him, freezing Shi Nian's mocking expression.
Shi Nian had never imagined that the seemingly helpless youth would release such a frightening killing intent, powerful enough to threaten him.
Even so, Shi Nian felt secure. The boy was inside his illusion. No one of the same level had ever escaped once they entered. Oscar clearly could not be at the Spirit Sage level.
Though surprised by Oscar's terrifying talent, Shi Nian felt a surge of excitement , this was exactly the kind of genius he loved to torment.
Oscar gripped the jade sword with his left hand, his aura surging to its peak. His spirit power and spiritual power seemed to merge into the blade.
The sword intent burst forth. In Shi Nian's astonished gaze, Oscar located his real body in an instant and swung the sword.
"Nine Heavens Linked Sword Dance, sword light like lightning that pierces the sky. Sword Dao , Thunderous Sword Roar!"
The sword cut through the air with a sound like thunder. The light of the blade flashed for an instant, dazzling Shi Nian's eyes. Before he could react, the sword light had already passed him.
He felt a moment of daze, no pain , then the world spun. With a dull thud, something hit the ground. Then he saw his own headless corpse.
Shi Nian was dead. Just like that.
Oscar was breathing heavily. This strike had gathered all of his essence, energy, and spirit power , all to kill with one blow.
Shi Nian had been a Spirit Sage, and a very difficult one at that. Even a normal Spirit Douluo might not have been able to kill him easily because of his mastery of illusions.
But in front of Oscar, Shi Nian's illusion was useless.
Oscar had played along all the way, preparing to strike as soon as they reached this deserted park.
Since Shi Nian's body was fully exposed to him through his spiritual sense, locating him had been easy.
Most importantly, Shi Nian's defenses were not strong, and he had been careless. With Oscar's full-power strike landing, his death was inevitable.
Oscar was now at level fifty-nine, just one step away from level sixty. His understanding of the Sword Dao was also extremely high , he was only a step away from grasping his own unique sword intent.
This strike was the culmination of his year-long insights, inspired partly by Gai Yue's eighth spirit ability, Terrifying Heavenly Might.
After swallowing a Super Recovery Sausage, Oscar put away the jade sword and walked to the headless corpse. With one stomp, he crushed the skull.
The skull shattered, brain matter splattering, but Oscar's foot came down on something hard.
He lifted his foot and saw a round bone about three inches in diameter, glowing with faint rainbow light , a spirit bone, a ten-thousand-year head bone.
Expressionless, Oscar picked it up, cleaned it, and stored it in a soul tool.
He then took out a porcelain bottle from the soul tool and poured its green liquid onto the corpse. A sizzling sound was heard as the corpse rapidly corroded into pus.
Only after finishing this did Oscar slowly leave the park. Soon, the park returned to silence as if no one had ever been there.
This clone stayed behind in Heaven Dou City at Frost Escort Agency, keeping the spirit bone hidden. No one else knew of its existence.
The tournament was unaffected by this small episode. Canghui Academy might have noticed their headmaster's disappearance, but they could never imagine he had been killed and stripped of his spirit bone.
Soon, ten matches had passed, and Shrek Academy had achieved ten straight victories.
Apart from Shrek, four other teams also had ten wins.
These four teams were the other four elemental academies besides Elephant Armored Academy. Elephant Armored Academy was still strong, but after losing to Shrek, they faced all four elemental academies consecutively, losing each time.
Thus, from a team with a good chance to advance, they fell to five wins and five losses, ranking only mid-tier in the Heaven Dou division.
But it was still too early to draw conclusions. Only a third of the matches had been played, and the final rankings would depend on whether the teams could maintain their current performance.
For Shrek Academy, after crushing Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team and Elephant Armored Academy, five of their next eight opponents directly forfeited. The remaining three matches were all overwhelming victories.
So far, Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing's fourth spirit abilities, as well as Dai Mubai's fourth and fifth abilities, had not been revealed.
Even Xiao Wu had only used her first two spirit abilities in matches, never needing to use the third or fourth to win.
But Shrek's luck was about to run out , their eleventh opponent was Blazing Fire Academy, also with ten straight victories.
Blazing Fire Academy was a powerful team entirely composed of fire-attribute spirit masters.
Although they only had two Spirit Ancestors, their explosive firepower made them one of the strongest teams in the Heaven Dou division.
After obtaining information on their opponents, Tang San began studying them carefully.
Besides written data, Tang San and the others had personally watched several of Blazing Fire Academy's matches, including their match against Elephant Armored Academy, which revealed most of their abilities.
Thus, Tang San had a clear understanding of them. Their two Spirit Ancestors were siblings: the elder brother, Huo Wushuang, martial soul Single-Horned Fire Tyrannosaurus, level 42 assault-type battle spirit ancestor; the younger sister, Huo Wu, martial soul Fire Shadow, level 43 control-type battle spirit ancestor.
They also had two agility-attack spirit masters with Fire Crane martial souls, both level 39, a level 38 assault-type Fire Leopard spirit master, and two support-type spirit masters with Fire Star martial souls, both level 37.
Although they had one fewer Spirit Ancestor than Elephant Armored Academy, their seven members all had spirit power no lower than level 37, making them a formidable team.
For Tang San, facing Blazing Fire Academy was particularly stressful , his martial soul was weakest against fire.
Even though his Blue Silver Grass had evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor, it was still restrained by fire attribute attacks.
But Tang San would still compete , because he still had one card left unplayed, his fourth spirit ability.
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