"Would it really be this much of a coincidence?" As Salas's voice fell, Oscar couldn't help but mutter.
"Perfect!" Ma Hongjun pressed his fingers together, joints cracking crisply. "Didn't the Heaven Dou Royal Academy chase us out before? And wasn't that Yang Yunhai so arrogant at the Suotuo Great Spirit Arena? This time we'll settle everything once and for all!"
"Hmph, this time my Phoenix Flame will definitely burn his vines to ash!" After breaking through to Soul Elder, he had gained an extremely powerful soul skill — Phoenix Soaring Wings. Once activated, not only could he temporarily fly, but it could also ignite his second soul skill, instantly doubling the strength of his Phoenix Flames and expanding their attack range by 50%. He refused to believe Yang Yunhai's Blue Silver Grass could withstand it.
Xiao Wu snorted coldly. "Just in time to settle the score for knocking me unconscious for days last time!"
Tang San didn't speak, but his fists clenched tightly. The grudge of being injured along with Xiao Wu also had to be repaid.
Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai exchanged glances, both eyes burning with fighting spirit.
'I hope I won't be sent out this round…' Ning Rongrong glanced down at the ugly uniform she was wearing, thinking to herself.
"Xiaogang, this fight won't be easy to win." Up in the stands, Flender frowned deeply.
Though he had always tried to instill confidence in his students, he was very clear that the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team led by Yang Yunhai would not be easy to deal with. Even Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul could control Soul Ancestors across levels. Yang Yunhai, with his evolved martial soul, would be even harder.
Not to mention, the training grounds and equipment Shrek Academy had built were originally taken from Heaven Dou Royal Academy. If Shrek could rapidly improve with them, then naturally so could Heaven Dou.
And when it came to cultivation resources, with the Heaven Dou royal family and Dugu Bo behind them, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team clearly had the advantage. To Flender, Yang Yunhai's current soul power would not be any weaker than Tang San's. With that, even Soul Ancestors like Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai might not fare well against Yang Yunhai's control.
Their only real advantage now was that Shrek Academy had three Soul Ancestors.
"Don't forget, we still have Rongrong." Xiaogang said flatly, "With Rongrong's support, Tianheng, Mubai, and Tai Long's combat strength can almost rival a Soul King, and the rest of the team can fight at Soul Ancestor level. In terms of raw strength, we have the advantage."
"Not only that, we also have Ma Hongjun. After reaching Soul Elder and gaining his third soul skill, his Phoenix Flames have become incredibly strong. Even if Yang Yunhai's martial soul evolved, at its core it is still Blue Silver Grass. Its resistance to fire cannot be too high."
Plant-type martial souls being weak against fire was common knowledge.
"I have confidence in Ma Hongjun. His flames will be enough to incinerate Yang Yunhai's vines."
"Let's hope so." Flender nodded.
As long as Ma Hongjun's flames could burn away Yang Yunhai's vines and break his control, Shrek would indeed hold the upper hand. After all, the Heaven Dou team lacked a boosting-type support soul master.
As for Dugu Yan, their last encounter had already proven that her poison was restrained by Ma Hongjun's flames, so she was not a major concern.
As they thought this over, the draw ended. Salas's gaze swept across the arena as he declared, "I swear on the honor of Spirit Hall, this draw is absolutely fair. At the same time, I hereby announce: any academy team that can advance to the finals will be granted permission to directly join Spirit Hall."
The crowd immediately erupted in an uproar. In the main seat, Emperor Xue Ye's expression turned instantly dark.
"Your Majesty…" Ning Fengzhi, seated nearby, quietly reminded him, shaking his head. Only then did Xue Ye's face ease slightly.
At that moment, Salas returned to his seat, and the host stepped forward to announce: "Next, the first match of the first round of the qualifiers — Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Shrek Academy! All participating teams, please withdraw in order under the staff's guidance. The two academies set to fight, please prepare yourselves. The match will begin in half an hour."
"Third Brother, let me go on!" Ma Hongjun, ignoring the scornful looks around him, turned to Tang San, fists itching with eagerness. His face brimmed with confidence.
Tang San didn't answer immediately. Instead, he said, "We'll discuss it once we're back."
He knew Yu Tianheng's strength very well by now. For Yang Yunhai to have defeated Yu Tianheng while still only rank 31, across an 8-rank gap, showed how formidable he truly was. Tang San burned with vengeance, but he dared not underestimate his opponent again. A true hidden weapon master had to remain calm at all times — he would not repeat the same mistakes.
They waited patiently until the staff finally came to lead them out.
"Dammit!" Dai Mubai growled, fists clenched. "Last ones to enter, last ones to leave. The longer we stay, the more time the crowd has to mock us, like we're monkeys on display."
"Don't get angry. Let's use victory to shut their mouths later." Tang San said quietly.
Dai Mubai drew a deep breath and said no more.
Because today was the opening ceremony, there was only one match. This meant all the other academies had no fights that day and were led away directly to their designated viewing areas. Meanwhile, as the imperial representatives, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team was placed in a private area instead of the general resting zones.
That left Shrek Academy as the last team alone in the rest area.
Flender, Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong quickly came over.
Without directly voicing his own tactics, Xiaogang said, "Xiao San, what do you think?"
Tang San thought for a moment, then said, "Teacher, Fatty must play. Against Yang Yunhai's vines and Dugu Yan's poison, his flames are crucial. He can also counter their flying-type soul master."
The teachers all nodded in agreement.
Ma Hongjun straightened proudly, smug at being singled out.
"Second is Xiao Wu," Tang San continued. "Ye Lingling must be taken out first. Without eliminating her, our attacks won't deal effective damage. Xiao Wu's teleportation can bypass their defenses. But to be safe, I suggest sending another agility-attack type alongside her to pin down Dugu Yan as well."
"Dugu Yan's martial soul may have evolved, but her soul skills are poison. Her melee ability should be average."
"For that, I recommend Senior Huang Yuan. His second soul skill allows ranged disruption, which can buy Xiao Wu time. At key moments, he could also interrupt Dugu Yan's soul skills and prevent her from filling the field with poison."
"Next is Senior Jiangzhu. In sudden situations, she lets us trade injuries and increases our tolerance for mistakes. If Xiao Wu and Huang Yuan get blocked, we can regroup and try again."
"Then there's me, Tianheng, and Mubai. Tai Long's ability is too close-range and easily countered by Yang Yunhai's control. But Tianheng and Mubai both have fourth skills with strong long-range bursts. I think we should aim for a swift victory."
"Xiao San, you mean use my and Mubai's fourth skills to break through straightaway?" Yu Tianheng asked.
Tang San nodded. "The Heaven Dou team doesn't have powerful assault-types, but they do have two defense-types, a harassing wind-attribute flier, Yang Yunhai's control, and Ye Lingling's healing. This is clearly a defensive counter team. The longer the battle drags, the more it favors them. We can't allow that."
The others nodded one after another.
"Of course, we could also send Rongrong. That would make our offense overwhelming. If Fatty gets pinned by their flier, the rest could still push through with brute force. But that lowers our safety margin and risks exposing our true strength too early."
Everyone immediately understood the trade-off.
Tang San added, "There's another extreme option: replace Huang Yuan and Xiao Wu with Oscar and Tai Long. We'd use flight to storm their formation, blast Dugu Yan first from above, then land and gang up on Yang Yunhai. After that, it's easy to crush the rest. As for their flier Yu Feng, with our current strength, even his third skill couldn't stop our charge."
"Third Brother, you're giving them too much credit." Ma Hongjun frowned.
Yu Tianheng shook his head. "Not at all. I've fought Yang Yunhai. His control is always unpredictable. He's diligent too. With Heaven Dou royalty and Dugu Bo backing him, his resources won't be any less than ours. His soul power likely isn't weaker than Xiao San's now. Controlling someone like me, a Soul Ancestor, won't be difficult for him."
"Back at the Great Spirit Arena, he earned his Purple Gold Badge by consecutively defeating Soul Ancestors above his level. He's only grown stronger since then."
Oscar tugged at his uniform with a wry smile. "Brothers, maybe we shouldn't bother hiding our strength. Just look at these ridiculous uniforms. If we lose in the very first match of the opening ceremony, we'll be humiliated beyond belief."
Everyone exchanged looks. Dai Mubai's face twitched. "Oscar's right. We can't hide anything this time. Not only do we need to win, we need to win cleanly. Otherwise, we really wore this joke of a uniform for nothing."
"Besides, with our strength, there's no need to hold back. We'll just sweep through. Absolute power makes tactics pointless. And we came to the tournament to sharpen ourselves. That means pushing forward without fear."
Tang San nodded and turned to Xiaogang. "Teacher, shall we go with this plan?"
"Yes." Xiaogang nodded.
It was exactly what he wanted — to make a statement in the very first match, to show the world Shrek Academy's strength.
Flender also nodded. "No more talk. This one, you'd better make it beautiful. Show everyone the pride of Shrek!"
"Of course!" Ma Hongjun lifted his chin, brimming with confidence.
"In that case," Tang San looked at his teammates, "Tianheng, Mubai, Tai Long, Fatty, Rongrong, Oscar — the seven of us will fight this round." He extended his right hand, gaze sharp and filled with fighting spirit. "Victory is ours!"
"Victory is ours!" The chosen members stacked their hands together and shouted as one.
Xiao Wu pouted from the side, sulking at not being picked.
"Don't worry, Xiao Wu. I'll get our revenge this time." Ma Hongjun thumped his chest solemnly.
Meanwhile, in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's private lounge.
"Xiao Hai, are you really going to field this lineup!?" Meng Shenshou was visibly shocked as he looked at Yang Yunhai.
"Uncle Shou, rest assured. If I weren't absolutely confident, I wouldn't make this decision." Yang Yunhai smiled calmly. "As for why I'm so confident, you'll soon see."
"Hmph, this match will be perfect to settle personal grudges," Dugu Yan said, eyes flashing.
The others exchanged glances, still shocked by Yang Yunhai's decision, but they chose to believe. Yu Feng grinned. "Captain, Sister Yan, Zhuqing — go for it! We'll be waiting to see you crush Shrek!"
Yang Yunhai only smiled lightly and nodded.
Half an hour passed quickly. To the shock of the staff, after repeated confirmation, Yang Yunhai led his team into the passage.
On the other side, Shrek's chosen members also walked into the passage.
Before they even stepped out, deafening cheers thundered from the arena. The host's voice rang out, full of disbelief and excitement:
"First to enter — the captain of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team, Yang Yunhai!"
"Damn it, they're using us as background just to highlight them!" Ma Hongjun snarled.
Tai Long's eyes blazed as he growled, "Background? More like cow dung to make their flowers shine brighter!"
"Hmph, let's see who's the real dung soon enough." Dai Mubai coldly snorted.
"Let's go. It's our turn." Tang San steadied them as they walked out into the light.
But when they stepped out, their eyes all narrowed sharply.
"What's the meaning of this? Are they looking down on us?" Tai Long's voice turned dark.
Tang San's brow furrowed, his gaze cold. Across from them, only three members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy walked out of the passage.
Yang Yunhai. Zhu Zhuqing. And Dugu Yan.
(End of Chapter)
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