Three days after the Sea God Fate Love Conference ended, everything had returned to normal.
With around half a year left until the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, and considering that the original Shrek preliminary team led by Beibei would be representing the Tang Sect, Zhu Ziyang now needed to assemble a new team to represent the Academy.
Firstly, four members of the main team were already confirmed: Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, Diwu Huan'er, and himself. Although he didn't plan on participating in the matches, based on Xuanzi's suggestion, he still occupied one of the official slots. Thus, they needed to select three more official members from the Inner Court disciples.
Secondly, they needed to choose preliminary team members. Even though this tournament might be the only one held in the next ten or even twenty years, it never hurts to be prepared. These members would be selected from the Outer Court, preferably aged under fifteen.
And finally… actually, that was it. Only these two matters needed to be handled. More precisely, Zhu Ziyang only needed to select the official team members — the preliminary team would be chosen by Xuanzi.
At that moment, all Inner Court disciples who met the qualification requirements had been informed and were already waiting at the Martial Practice Field. There were six of them in total: Zhou Tianhe, Chu Hua, Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, and Wu Feng. Zhou Tianhe and Chu Hua were from the same class year as Zhu Ziyang, while Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Xie Huanyue were from Huo Yuhao's year.
Soon, Zhu Ziyang arrived at the Martial Practice Field with the three girls — Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, and Diwu Huan'er. He went straight to the point and said, "I assume you all already know why you were summoned by the Academy. I only need three people — no, to be precise, I only need one."
His words caused a ripple of unease among the six. Lin'er had told them the Academy needed three team members to represent Shrek, but now Zhu Ziyang was saying only one was needed. That was clearly different from what they'd expected.
Still, no one dared to question him. After all, the strength Zhu Ziyang displayed at the Sea God Fate event was simply too terrifying.
"A full team requires soul masters of various types. We already have Power Attack and Agility Attack types. What we're missing are a Support and a Control type." Zhu Ziyang continued calmly, "Coincidentally, among the six of you, there is one of each."
Upon hearing this, both Ning Tian and Chu Hua showed a trace of joy. Ning Tian, as the wielder of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, was the natural choice for Support. And Chu Hua, the only Control-type soul master among them, was already a Soul Emperor — her position was almost guaranteed. This explained why Zhu Ziyang only needed one more person.
"Ning Tian, Chu Hua, from today onward, you are official members of Shrek Academy's tournament team. Step behind me," Zhu Ziyang said.
"Yes!" Ning Tian immediately agreed and stepped up behind him, standing beside Diwu Huan'er.
Chu Hua glanced at Zhou Tianhe, who gave her a confident smile. She then also stepped behind Zhu Ziyang and stood beside Jiang Nannan.
Chu Hua and Jiang Nannan were quite close, after all. Before joining the Inner Court, Jiang Nannan had been their class monitor, and after she advanced, that position passed to Beibei.
"For the last spot, there's no fixed requirement," Zhu Ziyang said, looking at the remaining four, "but only one of you can stay. We'll decide with one-on-one duels — winners advance, losers step down. Fair and square!"
"I'll toss four slips of paper, each with a number. Whoever grabs which one will be assigned that number. Then odd-numbered vs even-numbered — any objections?"
Of course, Dai Huabin, Zhou Tianhe, Wu Feng, and Xie Huanyue had no objections. They all nodded.
Without delay, Zhu Ziyang tossed the four prepared slips into the air. Zhou Tianhe, Dai Huabin, and Wu Feng all leapt up immediately. As a defense-type, Xie Huanyue simply waited on the ground — no need to compete over something all four would get anyway.
The matchups were soon set: Zhou Tianhe vs Dai Huabin, Wu Feng vs Xie Huanyue.
"Nannan, who do you think will claim the last slot?" Qian Lingyi leaned in close and whispered.
"I think Zhou Tianhe has the best shot," Jiang Nannan replied. "He's already a Soul Emperor — his soul power is nearly at rank 64."
She then looked over at Chu Hua. "Chu Hua, when did you and Zhou Tianhe get together?"
"After we joined the Inner Court," Chu Hua replied with a smile. "You know how it is — from our year, only a few of us made it in. You and Big Brother Zhu don't count. Tang Ya, Beibei, and Xu Sanshi all got in after fourth year. That left just me, Tianhe, and Xue Weiwei."
"So the two of you got together?" Jiang Nannan teased.
"Yep." Chu Hua nodded. "Actually, I liked him for a long time, but that blockhead made me do all the work. Ugh, I was so mad!"
"Haha, I figured it'd be like that." Jiang Nannan wasn't surprised.
After all, Zhou Tianhe was certainly talented — in any previous class, he'd be a top-tier standout. With good looks and natural gifts, he was quite the catch, just a little too dense. Otherwise, Chu Hua wouldn't have had the chance. Back in the Outer Court, he had two loyal followers: Su Li and Yang Yumeng. It was a pity both left the Academy, or they'd have easily made it into the Inner Court too.
While the girls chatted, the first duel began.
It was a Power Attack clash: Dai Huabin vs Zhou Tianhe. Dai Huabin, a 57th-rank Power Attack Soul King with the White Tiger martial soul; Zhou Tianhe, a 63rd-rank Power Attack Soul Emperor with the Wild Giant Ape martial soul.
Both excelled in raw strength and physicality, so the battle entered a fever pitch from the start.
Dai Huabin activated three power-boosting soul skills — first, third, and fifth rings — bulking up with bulging veins and rippling muscles. Zhou Tianhe responded in kind, with his first, third, and sixth skills: Wild Soul, Ape's Fury, and Ape God Transformation. His body swelled massively, growing to five meters tall with arms like thick tree trunks.
They clashed head-on, and the first impact clearly favored Zhou Tianhe. Despite the gap in martial souls, his rank and strength gave him the edge.
Zhou Tianhe's Wild Giant Ape had traces of Titan Giant Ape bloodline — purely in terms of strength, Dai Huabin had no advantage.
They collided again and again in just seconds, trading blow for blow. When they finally stepped back, Dai Huabin's arms were trembling uncontrollably, while Zhou Tianhe merely looked slightly pale.
The outcome was clear. Though Dai Huabin fought hard, every attempt at a comeback was blocked. In the end, Zhou Tianhe won with his second soul skill, Giant Ape Slam.
Next up: Wu Feng vs Xie Huanyue.
Both were Soul Kings with similar power levels, but Wu Feng was a Power Attack-type and Xie Huanyue a Defense-type. It was a tough match for the latter, especially since Wu Feng's martial soul was the Crimson Flame Dragon, while Xie Huanyue had the Rubber Elephant. There was simply no contest.
Wu Feng won cleanly and would now face Zhou Tianhe for the final slot.
Zhu Ziyang didn't like dragging things out, so the final match began immediately. Zhou Tianhe and Wu Feng stood opposite each other, eyes locked.
Zhou Tianhe silently vowed: For Chu Hua.
Wu Feng also clenched her fists: For Ning Tian!
(End of Chapter)
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