A week quickly passed.
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament preliminaries had smoothly reached the sixth round. Among the competitors, Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Thunderclap Academy, and Godwind Academy had all secured six straight victories.
After defeating Elephant Armor Academy, Shrek Academy also rode a streak of victories. In the last four matches, only Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Xiao Wu took the field, winning four consecutive 3v7 matches. Their momentum soared, and for a time, their reputation was unmatched.
As for Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Yang Yunhai rotated his seven teammates to fight in turns. His purpose was to temper them and improve team synergy. After all, the biggest reason for joining the tournament was to gain experience. If they never entered the battlefield, how could they be trained?
In the last four matches, their only encounter with a Soul Ancestor-level team was against Elephant Armor Academy. Yet, Elephant Armor's defensive martial souls were completely suppressed by Dugu Yan's poison fog. One gust from Yu Feng blew the poison over their formation, leaving them dizzy and incapacitated. The rest was easy—Zhu Zhuqing and Oslo swiftly cleaned them up.
Yang Yunhai didn't even need to act. It was a crushing victory.
On the eighth day of the preliminaries, in the seventh round, inside the Heaven Dou Royal Academy rest area:
"Your opponents have forfeited today," Meng Shenshou entered with the news.
"Uncle Shou, are there any big matches this morning?" Yang Yunhai asked.
"There are," Meng Shenshou nodded. "Godwind Academy will face Skywater Academy, and Shrek Academy also has a match this morning."
"Since we're already here, let's go watch." Yang Yunhai suggested.
"Good idea," Meng Shenshou agreed. "Right now, only Thunderclap Academy, Godwind Academy, Skywater Academy, and Blazing Academy pose any real threat to us. Observing their battles will help us prepare for when we face them."
Shrek and Elephant Armor had already been defeated. They were no longer worth mentioning.
The group set out for the viewing stands.
"Shrek Academy!" As soon as they entered, cheers erupted from the audience.
"It seems Shrek's opponents also forfeited," Meng Shenshou remarked.
Indeed, after four consecutive 3v7 victories, Shrek had gathered a wave of support from the crowd.
Yang Yunhai nodded slightly, sweeping his gaze across the arena.
Tang San had been putting on quite the performance lately. With Xiao Wu and Dai Mubai, he had strung together four more wins, overturning the humiliation of their earlier defeat to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. They even helped Flender secure extra sponsorships.
Though their opponents were average Soul Elder-level teams, Tang San's control, Dai Mubai's burst power, and Xiao Wu's teleporting backline assassinations made for an efficient formula.
'Looks like he's desperate to prove himself,' Yang Yunhai thought, before turning back toward the stands.
"Heaven Dou Royal Academy!" When his team appeared, the cheers grew even louder.
But some spectators grumbled. Both matches were canceled because of forfeits, leaving them no chance to watch their favorite teams fight.
"Hey, what's this? Even Heaven Dou's match is gone?"
"Refund! I want a refund!"
The staff of the Great Spirit Arena winced but could do nothing. This was an official tournament, not a casual soul fight. Any team had the right to forfeit, and they couldn't force them to play.
From afar, Tang San also glanced at Heaven Dou's lineup walking into the stands. Because the Arena had been divided into five smaller stages, teams who wanted the best view had to sit close to the fighting stage. That meant teams often ended up side by side.
"Hmph!" Xiao Wu snorted coldly.
"It seems their opponents also quit," Oscar whispered.
"Then they'll just have to watch us," Yu Xiaogang said calmly.
The Shrek group quieted and turned back toward the ring.
Yang Yunhai ignored them completely and took a seat not far away with his teammates.
The matches began. Godwind Academy and Skywater Academy were both on stage, though on different platforms.
Skywater's team, made up entirely of striking beauties in tight uniforms, immediately drew the crowd's attention. Even Shrek's Ma Hongjun and Oscar were wide-eyed, while their male opponents on stage flushed with distraction.
One moment of hesitation was all it took—their formation was broken in an instant, and Skywater snatched a victory in under two minutes.
"…" Yang Yunhai's mouth twitched, and he shot his teammates a look.
They all sat stiff-backed, pretending to be solemn.
Dugu Yan folded her arms and scolded sharply, "When it's our turn, don't you dare lose face just because a few girls bat their eyes!"
She wasn't worried about her man. Yunhai wasn't one to waver, not in loyalty or in heart. And even if he did get distracted, it would only be for her and Zhu Zhuqing. In both looks and figure, they easily surpassed Skywater's girls.
Her teammates chorused, "Absolutely not!"
Satisfied, Dugu Yan turned back toward the ring, where Godwind Academy was fighting.
Their tactics were simple but deadly: fly into the air and dive-bomb in perfectly timed assaults, mixing feints with real strikes. With overwhelming speed, they shattered their opponents' formation and won within moments.
"Every one of them can fly… not an easy opponent," Dugu Yan frowned.
Their team only had one flyer. Most of their battle style was grounded. Poison mist could be blown away by wind, and even her fourth soul skill might not land against their speed.
Yang Yunhai smiled. "But they can't really hurt us either, can they?"
"And rooted vines can't be blown away," Zhu Zhuqing added. "Besides, Yun has his second soul skill."
"Not to mention, flight consumes soul power continuously," she reminded.
Dugu Yan's eyes lit up. She lifted her chin proudly, "Then all we have to do is dig in and wait them out."
"Exactly," Meng Shenshou nodded. "That's the flaw of uniform-attribute teams."
"Alright, match is over. Let's head back." Yang Yunhai smiled.
The group agreed and rose to leave.
Meanwhile, Shrek was also discussing the matches.
Tang San leaned toward Yu Xiaogang, lowering his voice. "Teacher, why don't these Elemental Academies balance their lineups? Like Elephant Armor, or these two schools?"
Yu Xiaogang sighed. "This is the difference between the Heaven Dou and Star Luo empires. In soul master development, there are two main schools of thought: balance, and extremity…"
"And the Spirit Hall?" Tang San pressed. "Do they follow balance or extremity?"
Yu Xiaogang's expression hardened. "The Spirit Hall has never declared either way."
"We at Shrek pursue a hybrid path," he went on. "Individual extremity, but team balance. A soul master must push his martial soul to its limits, exploiting every strength to the fullest. Weaknesses can then be covered by teammates. If every member specializes in one extreme and complements the others, the team will rise above all equals."
Tang San's eyes lit with realization. "So that's it. Balance and extremity both have value. Then… has balance been dominant all these years?"
"No," Yu Xiaogang sneered. "It's fusion. I wasn't the first to propose combining the two paths. Spirit Hall was. They don't admit it, but their tournament teams prove it every year. That's why Spirit Hall has dominated the championship."
Tang San frowned deeply.
"But why won't Spirit Hall make it public? With their authority, they could…"
"???" Ning Rongrong turned her head, staring at him in shock.
'Is he an idiot?' she thought.
Yu Xiaogang shook his head and began explaining the political implications.
Not far away, the Heaven Dou Royal team paused in the aisle, exchanging odd looks.
"Let's go," Yang Yunhai said coolly.
Yu Xiaogang broke off mid-speech, his frown deepening.
As they walked past, Dugu Yan tilted her head and smirked, calling back over her shoulder:
"I remember a certain someone came from a great clan, didn't he? He must've learned plenty of secret techniques. I even heard he can make artificial weapons. Tell me, why doesn't he share those treasures with the world? Wouldn't that be a great service to all soul masters?"
She chuckled. "And what about when teammates grow up, marry, and start families? Or when they take different paths in life? What then? You think a team will stick together forever?"
'Classic Sister Yan… that venomous tongue is sharp as ever,' her teammates thought with admiration.
Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red.
Tang San's expression darkened.
Dugu Yan's voice carried even as they walked away:
"Someone who refuses to contribute himself, yet demands others give everything for free… what do you call that?"
Another boy in the Heaven Dou team shouted dramatically:
"That's a fraud and a sham! I've never seen such a shameless man in my life!"
"…" Ning Rongrong buried her face, too embarrassed to look at Yu Xiaogang's crimson face or Tang San's glowering eyes.
She thought grimly, 'I have to tell Father about this later. These two really might be insane.'
The rest of Shrek fell silent.
Dugu Yan, Yang Yunhai, you're courting death…' Tang San's eyes glinted with cold fury as he watched them walk away.
But now wasn't the time. He wasn't strong enough yet. He needed to keep training, to grow.
"Teacher, I'll return to the academy first. My Four Apertures Constant Heart still isn't stable enough. I must keep practicing," he said.
"Then let's go together," Yu Xiaogang nodded.
'Hmph, the distraction control my family gave them has been completely wasted…' Ning Rongrong thought bitterly, rising to follow.
From afar, among the Canghui Academy section, a white-robed elder watched quietly, then lowered his head in thought before turning back to the matches.
(End of Chapter)
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