"Oh my god, Captain, something's wrong! Grandmaster's predictions were completely off!"
"The opponents aren't Spirit Elders, but Spirit Ancestors, all of them Spirit Ancestors! And they are Spirit Ancestors with ten-thousand-year spirit rings!!!"
On the arena, seeing the spirit ring configuration of the Peach Garden Team members, the seven members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team were all dumbfounded.
They often sparred and trained with the powerful main team, but they had never seen such a lineup!
Those five jet-black ten-thousand-year spirit rings across from them were truly terrifying.
Last night, Grandmaster told them that the students of Peach Garden Academy should only have one or two Spirit Ancestors!
"Didn't your Grandmaster teach you that getting distracted is a major taboo in the arena?"
As the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team was intimidated by the ten-thousand-year spirit rings, the one-minute Spirit activation time had already passed.
The Peach Garden Team members, who had long been annoyed with Shrek, wouldn't be polite to them.
"Nine Treasure turns out with Glazed Tile, first, power; second, speed!"
"Hell Rush Stab!"
"Nine Nether Hundred Claws!"
Ning Rongrong snorted coldly, the golden Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda appearing behind her, not in her palm, much larger, instantly boosting her teammates.
Zhu Zhuqing's Spirit evolved, her Spirit carrying a daunting hellish aura. Under Su Ran's cultivation over the past year, her first two Spirit Abilities had also transformed.
The Hell Rush Stab's thrusting distance and speed were enhanced by 40%, and the Nine Nether Hundred Claws' attack power was enhanced by 30%.
Coupled with Ning Rongrong's amplification, these two Spirit Abilities alone were equivalent to nearly doubling their effectiveness.
In the blink of an eye, Zhu Zhuqing's figure weaved through the Great Spirit Arena. Before the attack system Spirit Master of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team could react, she had already moved from the side to the vicinity of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team's captain.
Hiss—
In an instant, dozens, even hundreds, of purplish-black Nine Nether Sharp Claws were unleashed, striking the control system Spirit Master and captain of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team.
There was no surprise. With Zhu Zhuqing's current strength, as an agility-attack system Spirit Master, focusing on efficiency, she directly took the initiative to instantly take down the opposing captain. The Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team's captain's clothes were torn, his body covered in blood, lying on the ground, unable to get up.
Zhu Zhuqing did not end her attack but turned her gaze towards the opponent's support.
The teacher had said that the opportunity for an agility-attack system Spirit Master's surprise attack is often best only the first time. Once successful, they must achieve the best effect to gain more space for the team.
The support met Zhu Zhuqing's cold gaze, and immediately, bead-sized drops of sweat appeared on his forehead. He weakly stammered:
"Can you… not hit me?"
"No, you can't."
Zhu Zhuqing said flatly.
Her figure swept past once more.
The opponent's support immediately fell to the ground.
"You're courting death!"
"Focus fire on Zhu Zhuqing!"
"I repeat, change strategy, focus fire on Zhu Zhuqing first!"
"Not good, watch out ahead, they're coming!"
"The five of us are surrounded by three enemies!"
When the five attack system Spirit Masters of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team discovered Zhu Zhuqing in their ranks, they reacted by surrounding Zhu Zhuqing. If the encirclement succeeded, Zhu Zhuqing would surely lose her combat effectiveness.
However, the other four teammates of the Peach Garden Team had already formed a tacit understanding. As Zhu Zhuqing's figure lunged forward, Xiao Wu also activated her third Spirit Ability—Teleportation—and directly charged at the wolf Spirit Master in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team, using a Waist Bow to slam him, leaving him dizzy and his bones cracking.
The leopard Spirit Master attempted to rescue his teammate, fixing his gaze on Xiao Wu, but in a flash, he was controlled by Xiao Wu's second Spirit Ability, Charm.
Boom!
Tiger Fiend Roar!
Wang Sheng released a sound wave Spirit Ability from a mid-range distance, sweeping forward with turbulent flow.
Meng Yiran's Death Serpent Staff hovered in mid-air, spitting out three dark black snake blades, cooperating with Wang Sheng to launch mid-range attacks.
This was the first Spirit Ability of the Serpent Staff, which was considered to lack mobility more than a year ago. After Spirit evolution, the snake blades' damage was improved, and it could simultaneously release three snake glows for mid-range attacks.
The Tiger Roar Storm, combined with the snake blade attacks, completely disrupted the opponent's formation. The Spirit Master charmed by Xiao Wu was at the center of the sound wave attack and was even shaken to the point of bleeding from all seven orifices.
"Third Spirit Ability, Tiger King Three Consecutive Slashes!"
Wang Sheng's figure was like a descending tiger, burly and fierce. The third spirit ring on his body flashed, his tiger claws grew, transforming into two greenish-yellow axe teeth. Each swing also carried a small stormy tornado that could cause terrain interference. He directly charged into the attack system formation of the Second Team and began a flurry of slashes.
But he wasn't just swinging wildly; his movements had rhythm and power, each axe strike precise. With one axe slash, an attack system Spirit Master's Spirit Ability was forcefully split open. If Wang Sheng hadn't held back two points of strength, he might have been directly cut in half.
Su Ran could tell that Wang Sheng's three consecutive slashes contained the fierce boxing momentum of Tiger Form Fist. Although he had told them not to use their unique techniques, Wang Sheng's Tiger Form Fist had already reached mastery, and its boxing intent had integrated into every one of his movements, becoming instinctual, which was uncontrollable.
For a time, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team was utterly defenseless.
The captain, the support, and three attack system Spirit Masters instantly lost their combat effectiveness, leaving only two attack system Battle Spirit Masters with Lion and Fierce Tiger Spirits trembling on the field, stunned by the terrifying combat power of the Peach Garden Team.
"Do you still want to fight?"
Wang Sheng's tiger-toothed great axe's second slash landed just before the forehead of the Fierce Tiger Spirit Master of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team. He pulled back his strength in time, but a trickle of blood still flowed down.
The Fierce Tiger Spirit Master's legs trembled, like a small tiger meeting a tiger king, so scared that he wet his pants. He stammered:
"I, I, I…"
"Not speaking? If you're not speaking, then you don't want to admit defeat yet."
Wang Sheng waved his hand, using the back of his Tiger Tooth Great Axe to send them flying, knocking all the shit and piss out of them.
...
Silence.
The entire Great Spirit Arena was silent.
All eighty to ninety thousand spectators in the Great Spirit Arena were completely silent.
This was a one-sided crushing victory.
Moreover, two students from Peach Garden Academy hadn't even activated their Spirits and were watching the show from the back.
"Xiaogang... Xiaogang, don't tell me we didn't even manage to test out their fourth Spirit Ability... It seems they didn't even use their third Spirit Ability much, and they... instantly defeated our Second Team!"
Flender was stunned.
Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun also recalled the fear of being dominated by Peach Garden Academy on the arena; after a year, their teamwork had become even more synchronized, and even their first and second Spirit Abilities had been strengthened.
How was this even possible?
"Su Ran, does he really have the ability to evolve a Spirit Master's Spirit Abilities? How is that possible?!"
Yu Xiaogang's face was ashen. Spirit evolution? Spirit Ability evolution? Do you know how much I yearn for evolution? Yet, he has taught five students whose Spirits evolved, and even Xiao Wu completed her transformation!
"Could it be that I was wrong? When Xiao Wu pulled me to go to Peach Garden Academy to become a disciple, I shouldn't have hesitated. Instead, I should have joined Peach Garden Academy like Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong."
Tang San looked at the radiant Xiao Wu on the arena with complex eyes, and it was clear that her condition... was indeed very good. Tang San muttered in his heart:
"In that case, perhaps I could also stand in that team, couldn't I?"
A faint voice cried out in Tang San's heart:
How can I possibly win?
Using Spirit Bones, using the Clear Sky Hammer, can I do it?
If my teacher were Su Ran, what would the situation be like?
...
"Grandmaster, if we lose in the end, we don't have to have our tongues cut out and legs broken with you, do we?"
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun gasped at this moment, their self-confidence, so painstakingly built up over the past year, was crumbling again.
"Shut up!"
Yu Xiaogang's jaw was clenched, his sense of crisis at its peak. If Peach Garden Academy truly entered the finals, did the team he cultivated... really have a chance to win against them?
Yu Xiaogang glanced at the leader of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team, who immediately understood. He checked the injuries of the Second Team's students and protested to the referee on the spot.
"Referee, I want to complain! They are not competing; they are committing murder! Our team members have shattered bones and are on the verge of death! They violated the rules of the competition, and I demand that they be ruled to have lost."
Seeing the tragic state of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team members, the referee also felt a pang of fear and looked seriously at the Peach Garden Team.
The Spirit Master Tournament is a joint effort by the two Empires to select elite Spirit Masters and genius Spirit Masters; killing participating Spirit Masters is not allowed.
Facing the referee's judgmental gaze, Captain Ning Rongrong showed no fear whatsoever:
"Excuse me, are they dead?"
"What's more, if we truly wanted to kill them, why would we only let five people attack? And my teammates didn't even dare to use their fourth Spirit Ability, precisely because they were afraid of accidentally killing them, weren't they?"
"Besides the courtesy Ning Rongrong mentioned, as a teacher of Peach Garden Academy, I have another question: I want to know if the Spirit Master Tournament is truly for selecting Spirit Master geniuses and competing based on strength, or if it's for playing dirty and coddling the weak?
If it's about playing dirty and coddling the weak, then there's no need for the Spirit Master Tournament. In every match, one would only need to feign death to have the opponent ruled to have lost, and then lie their way into the finals."
"What do you think, Grandmaster?"
"Or are you saying that the dignified Grandmaster, with his invincible theories, can't handle losing and plans to renege?"
Su Ran calmly stood up at this moment. Although his tone was normal, his voice had spread throughout the arena. Even Dream Machine and Salas in the VIP section heard him clearly, and their expressions turned very ugly.
Ning Fengzhi, however, showed a gentle smile:
"Your Majesty, I actually think what he said makes a lot of sense. Although the original intention of the Spirit Master Tournament does not advocate killing, it also cannot restrict strong teams from demonstrating their abilities. If a weak team knows it cannot win, it should surrender proactively."
"..."
In the contestant area, feeling Su Ran's gaze, Zhao Wuji and Flender coughed and dared not say a word.
Yu Xiaogang and the Second Team leader were also choked by these words.
Su Ran's words were very profound. If the referee dared to rule Peach Garden Academy to have lost, it would mean that Su Ran's proposed scenario was valid, and the entire Spirit Master Tournament would lose its fairness. Everyone would just imitate it from then on.
Lie their way into the finals? What a joke!
Who could bear such a stigma?
The Grandmaster, who cherished his reputation greatly, waved his hand and said:
"I, Yu Xiaogang, am not the kind of petty person who can't handle losing. If we lost, we accept it."
"Little San, Mubai, let's go."
"I hope your Peach Garden Academy can maintain this state and not perish in the preliminaries."
...
Seeing that the protesting teacher had already left, the referee took a deep breath and announced:
"Preliminary Round One, Match One, Peach Garden Academy wins!"
[Ding—]
[The Peach Garden Team has achieved its first victory in the Spirit Master Tournament, completing the achievement—'Stunning Debut,' rewarding the host with a 0.2-level increase in spirit power, a 5% increase in the age of all spirit rings, and a random ten-thousand-year Spirit Bone.]
[Student performance was excellent, fighting with fewer numbers. Wang Sheng completed the Quadra Kill achievement—rewarding the students with 7 'Hundred-Year All spirit ring Age Enhancement Pills'...]
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 30 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"