Chapter 176: Two Yellows, One Purple, One Black? Two Purples and Three Blacks!
"The preliminary rounds are based on points, not a single match. As long as we finish in the top five, we'll advance. If we field our full strength lineup in the first match, even if Shrek Academy wins by chance, it will be a Pyrrhic victory. All our trump cards, tactics, and soul skill combinations will be completely exposed to all the other academies!"
"This means that throughout the entire preliminary round, we'll become the target of everyone's attacks, studied and countered by all our opponents. We'll have no secrets left, and the situation will be extremely unfavorable."
"Giving up this match, preserving our main strength, and concealing our power—ensuring we secure points in the more crucial matches later with minimal cost—is the most sensible choice right now."
After hearing the Grandmaster's words, everyone fell into deep thought.
Just as everyone was pondering the Grandmaster's suggestion, Flender suddenly stood up, his face filled with pain and conflict. He rubbed his hands, his voice trembling with emotion, and said,
"Avoid...avoid the battle? Xiao Gang, this...this probably won't work!"
He pointed to the conspicuous advertising logos on the team members' clothes, "We signed contracts! If we forfeit in the first match, our exposure will be greatly reduced. How am I supposed to explain this to the sponsors? My advertising fees...cough cough, what about our academy's reputation..."
Before he could finish speaking, Liu Erlong glared at him fiercely, her beautiful eyes almost spitting fire, and interrupted him sharply:
"Flender! What time is it! Is your pittance of advertising fees more important, or the children's future and the academy's competition?! Is money all you care about?"
Startled by Liu Erlong's outburst, Flender immediately shrank back, nodding awkwardly and saying sheepishly, "Yes, yes...Erlong, you're right, the competition is important, the competition is important!"
"Since that's the case, then... then should we just avoid the fight?"
Hearing this, Tang San and Dai Mubai exchanged a glance but remained silent.
"Why don't we all just go out there? Why should we be afraid of them? Last time in Soto City, if that Tang Chuan hadn't tricked us by pretending to be a woman and suddenly ambushing us, would we have lost?" Just then, Ma Hongjun, who was not far away, couldn't help but complain.
Grandmaster looked at Tang San, and after a moment of silence, asked, "Little San, now that you're back, as the soul and controller of the Shrek Academy team, it's your decision."
"Teacher, let's fight!"
A faint glint flashed in Tang San's eyes, and he shouted coldly.
"Little San, have you thought this through? Heavenly Movement Academy is no ordinary force. Since Tang Chuan and Dugu Bo dared to devise such a scheme, they must have something to rely on." Grandmaster looked at Tang San and confirmed again.
Turning his gaze to the Grandmaster who was watching him, Tang San said in a deep voice,
"Teacher, since I dared to accept this match, I am naturally extremely confident."
"You have no idea that in the past three months, besides my fourth spirit ring reaching the ten-thousand-year level, my father personally hunted countless top-tier ten-thousand-year spider-like spirit beasts for me, helping me obtain a perfectly matched thirty-thousand-year right arm bone!"
"It was precisely because of the enormous boost from this spirit bone that my physique and spirit power underwent a qualitative leap, enabling me to withstand the energy impact of the ten-thousand-year spirit ring and successfully absorb it."
At this point, he turned his gaze to Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing not far away, "Now that I possess a ten-thousand-year fourth ring, carry two spirit bones, and with Mubai and Zhuqing's spirit fusion skill capable of turning the tide of battle, we might very well be able to fight against Heavenly Movement Academy!"
"Heavenly Movement Academy is only strong because of my brother and that blonde woman. As long as we devise a strategy beforehand and concentrate our efforts on eliminating these two key figures at the start of the match, we'll have a great chance of winning!"
Upon hearing this, Grandmaster's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widened instantly, and he almost cried out in surprise. He gripped the armrests of his wheelchair tightly, his voice trembling with excitement:
"What did you say?"
"Little San! You…you obtained another soul bone? And a 30,000-year one at that?!"
Tang San met Grandmaster's burning gaze and nodded firmly.
At the same time, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and the others looked at Tang San with eyes filled with shock and undisguised envy.
Soul bones!
Those were the most coveted treasures of every soul master, and Tang San had obtained two!
Slowly exhaling a long-suppressed breath, the hesitation and solemnity in the Grandmaster's eyes were instantly replaced by a light of ambition. He slammed his hand on the armrest of his wheelchair and said decisively,
"Alright! Since that's the case, then let's face Heavenly Movement Academy in this match!"
At this moment, his back seemed to straighten a bit, and he regained the confidence and arrogance of a theoretical master. "I refuse to believe that, under my full guidance, Shrek Academy, which gathers you little monsters, can lose to them every time!"
"If... if we really do lose this time, it's not a big deal. The preliminaries have only just begun."
His gaze swept over the crowd, and the Grandmaster threw out an even more astonishing idea.
"The Royal Fighting Team has disbanded, but so what? I'll swallow my pride and personally talk to Tianheng! I'll get him to join our Shrek Academy team! He's my and Erlong's nephew, and the most outstanding descendant of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family!"
"Then, our Shrek Academy will have both the Clear Sky Hammer and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, two of the top martial souls from the three upper sects! I refuse to believe that with such a lineup, we can't make a name for ourselves in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament!"
...
Half an hour later, the atmosphere inside the magnificent Heaven Dou Grand Arena had reached its peak.
Under the huge dome, several sub-arenas simultaneously lit up with dazzling soul guide light, illuminating the central main arena and several surrounding sub-arenas as if it were daytime.
Team uniforms of different colors began to surge at the various entrances, representing the twenty-eight elite academy teams from various provinces and kingdoms of the Heaven Dou Empire, entering in turn and proceeding to their designated arenas according to the draw results.
In the stands, tens of thousands of spectators erupted in thunderous cheers and shouts, the sound almost shaking the entire stadium.
The air was thick with excitement, tension, and a burning fighting spirit.
The arena itself had changed; in the brief half-hour that had passed, the prepared arena had been erected.
The arena was ten meters high, circular, and over thirty meters in diameter—
a vast area.
Of course, this was just one arena.
Each team would face twenty-seven opponents.
A win earned one point, a loss earned no points.
After twenty-eight rounds, the top five teams would advance to the qualifying rounds.
This month-long preliminary round was a test for any academy team. Twenty-eight consecutive days of competition would be enough to wear down teams with poor stamina.
Soon, the host next to the main arena in the center received the instruction. He gathered his soul power, and his loud voice instantly drowned out the noise from the other arenas, saying:
"Next match, the first round of the preliminary round, Heavenly Movement Academy versus Shrek Academy!"
"Please bring both teams onto the stage!"
As soon as the words were spoken, all eyes in the arena focused on the main arena in the center. On either side of the passage, Tang Chuan and Tang San led their respective teams, striding resolutely onto the arena, instantly creating a tense atmosphere.
However, to everyone's surprise, only two people from Heavenly Movement Academy stepped onto the stage: Tang Chuan and a tall, cold-faced blonde woman.
Shrek Academy, on the other hand, had a full seven-person lineup:
Tang San, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, Jiang Zhu, and Tai Long.
As soon as they stepped onto the stage, Dai Mubai took a sharp step forward, his evil eyes flashing coldly as he stared intently at the two opponents, his voice icy as he shouted:
"Brothers, activate your Spirits!"
"White Tiger, Possession!"
With that, Dai Mubai unleashed his power.
His muscles bulged, black and white hair instantly covered his body, and a distinct king-shaped mark appeared on his forehead, emanating a fierce aura.
Two yellow and two purple spirit rings, four perfectly matched rings, rose from beneath his feet. The dazzling light and surging spirit power immediately drew gasps from the stands!
The host, looking at the only two remaining members of the Heavenly Movement Academy team, showed a surprised expression. He quickly stepped forward and said to Tang Chuan and Xiao Ruier with a puzzled look,
"Heavenly Movement Academy, please note, this match is a seven-person team battle, not a two-on-two duel. Your remaining team members..."
Before he could finish his advice, Xiao Ruier stepped forward.
She didn't even glance at the host; her golden eyes indifferently swept over the seven members of Shrek Academy who were ready for battle, and her red lips parted slightly as she said,
"Enough talk. Just consider the remaining five as having already surrendered and left the stage."
"To deal with an academy like this, the two of us are enough."
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured into a boiling oil pot. The entire Heaven Dou Grand Arena fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a deafening uproar!
"Too arrogant!"
"Two against seven? Who do they think they are?"
"Shrek may have ugly clothes, but they still have Soul Masters!"
"Who is this woman? How dare she spout such nonsense!"
Countless questions, exclamations, and even angry curses surged from all sides of the stands. Everyone was shocked by the almost humiliating arrogance of Heavenly Movement Academy.
Hearing this, Tang San's face instantly turned ashen.
The other party's undisguised contempt and insult pierced his heart like a sharp thorn.
"Hmph, brother, you dare to underestimate me? Today you'll pay the price!"
With a cold laugh, he took a step forward. The ground beneath Tang San's feet seemed to tremble slightly. Then, a soul power far more solid and powerful than Dai Mubai's suddenly erupted!
"Buzz—!"
A shocking soul ring configuration was revealed.
Two yellow, one purple, and a deep, chilling black soul ring, a total of four soul rings, spiraled upwards from beneath his feet, their light dazzling.
Especially that black ten-thousand-year spirit ring, which exuded a suffocating pressure!
"What?!"
"That...that's a black spirit ring?!"
"A ten-thousand-year spirit ring?! How could the fourth spirit ring be ten-thousand years?!"
"My god! Am I seeing things?"
The exclamations of shock and disbelief from the stands, which were originally condemning the arrogance of Heavenly Movement Academy, were instantly replaced by an even louder chorus of screams and disbelief!
All eyes were fixed on Tang San, on that illogical fourth spirit ring, and the entire Great Spirit Arena was plunged into a strange uproar.
Even Emperor Xue Ye on the VIP platform couldn't control his emotions and shouted, "What? This...it's impossible, how can the fourth spirit ring be ten-thousand years?"
Looking at the crowd in the stands who were shocked and noisy because of Tang San's ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring, Tang Chuan's lips curled into a cold, undisguised sneer.
The next second, he also stepped forward and stood side by side with the blonde woman beside him.
Without a word, an even more terrifying and chilling pressure of soul power suddenly spread out from him as if it were a tangible force!
"Buzz—!"
An even more astonishing soul ring configuration than Tang San's was revealed to everyone without reservation.
Two purple! Three black!
A full five soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet and then spiraled upwards!
The deep purple was already awe-inspiring, but the three jet-black, light-devouring ten-thousand-year soul rings that appeared afterward brought a devastating visual impact and a shock to the soul!
"Boom!!!"
The entire Heaven Dou Arena seemed to have been silenced; all the exclamations, discussions, and uproars ceased abruptly, plunging into a deathly silence.
Everyone's pupils contracted violently, their faces filled with utter dumbfoundedness and a sense of absurdity.
Two purple and three black? The third soul ring was ten thousand years old?
This was completely beyond their comprehension, overturning their existing knowledge!
In this absolute silence and horror, the five illogical soul rings on Tang Chuan's body emitted a light that filled the Shrek Academy members with despair.
"It's fake, absolutely fake! His spirit rings are definitely fake!"
"Little San, don't be fooled by him!"
Just then, the Grandmaster's voice came from not far away.
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[end of the chapter]