When the Shrek team saw several students from Balak Academy charge onto the stage, they immediately rushed forward as well.
"What, planning a brawl now?" someone from Shrek snapped.
At that moment, the referee stepped out swiftly and shouted at Balak's team, "What do you think you're doing? Get back—now!"
"This is a match. Are you looking to die?"
A cold, cutting voice rang out from the VIP platform.
It was Salas, the Platinum Bishop from Spirit Hall, who stood up with a chilling gaze fixed on the students below.
Balak Academy's supervising teacher quickly stepped onto the field, glaring angrily at his students. Then he turned and bowed respectfully toward Salas. "Please calm your anger, Platinum Bishop. We merely wished to carry our injured teammate off the stage."
Salas replied coolly, "This is a match, not your backyard. Know your place. Non-participants are not allowed on the field. If this happens again, your team will be disqualified."
With that, he returned to his seat.
Though seething, the Balak team could only grit their teeth and carry their unconscious teammate off the field in silence.
Clearly, they'd been thoroughly humiliated by Tang San, and to save face, their second fighter was also a Spirit Ancestor.
This time, another male Spirit Master stepped forward—shorter than the previous one, but with a stockier, well-muscled build.
As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he glared fiercely at Tang San.
"You'll pay for what you did just now," he growled.
Before the referee could even speak, he had already activated his Martial Soul. A large, bright yellow flower appeared in his hand, and four Spirit Rings lit up around him—white, yellow, yellow, purple.
"A Sunflower?" Tang San frowned slightly.
Sunflower was a Martial Soul that could release a strange aroma laced with neurotoxins—once inhaled, the victim's nervous system would become paralyzed, rendering them immobile. Additionally, its petals were tough as steel, and it could be wielded like a weapon.
The Sunflower was, in terms of Martial Soul quality, far superior to Tang San's current Blue Silver Grass.
Moreover, his opponent was a Spirit Ancestor, a whole rank above him, and had access to a fourth Spirit Ability. This match wouldn't be as easy as the last.
The referee finally stepped in and warned, "Don't forget the rules. Any violation will result in disqualification."
"Understood," both sides replied.
Seeing them nod, the referee declared, "Begin!"
Before the word had fully left his mouth, the Balak Spirit Ancestor immediately activated his first Spirit Ring.
With a burst of light, the delicate sunflower in his hand rapidly grew in size. Within moments, it reached over a meter in diameter, and its stalk extended three meters long.
His second Spirit Ring flashed next. With a wave of his arm, the sunflower transformed into a strange, flower-bladed weapon. As it spun in his hands, thick yellow mist spewed forth, spreading rapidly toward Tang San.
Seeing the oncoming poison mist, Tang San immediately held his breath and activated Mysterious Heaven Skill to resist the toxins. Instead of attacking, he quickly retreated.
Though Tang San wasn't afraid of poison—he had many antidotes and countermeasures—those were all stored in his Soul Tool, and tournament rules forbade the use of external items.
The poison mist was spreading too fast. It quickly enveloped the space in front of Tang San.
Despite holding his breath, some of the neurotoxin still managed to infiltrate his body, and Tang San immediately felt a wave of dizziness and tightness in his chest.
However, no one understood poisons better than Tang San.
He swiftly tapped several acupuncture points on his own body while channeling Mysterious Heaven Skill to purge the invading toxins.
Thanks to his innate poison resistance and internal cultivation method, the symptoms quickly faded.
But the fight was far from over.
The Balak Spirit Ancestor activated his third Spirit Ring, and the previously scattered mist began condensing into a structured toxic formation around him.
Tang San's frown deepened.
Now he understood: the first ability enlarged the sunflower, the second released toxins, and the third created a poison field. All his opponent's Spirit Abilities focused on poison, and he still hadn't revealed his fourth skill.
What a troublesome opponent.
Tang San knew full well that if he wanted to win, he'd have to enter that poison field, which would flood his system with neurotoxins the moment he stepped in. Even if he blocked his meridians and held his breath, the poison could still seep in through skin and eyes.
His best bet was to end the fight in one explosive attack.
Moreover, forming a large-scale poison array must have drained his opponent's Spirit Power significantly.
Resolved, Tang San activated his Spirit Rings.
A wall of Blue Silver Grass rose in front of him, temporarily holding back the oncoming mist.
"First Spirit Ability—Bind."
Dozens of Blue Silver Grass vines whipped out, shooting toward the Spirit Ancestor within the poison formation, attempting to bind him instantly.
But the Balak Spirit Master wasn't so easily caught.
His fourth Spirit Ring glowed purple as his sunflower weapon spun rapidly, releasing countless golden pollen-like projectiles that blasted toward Tang San's vines.
"Boom! Boom!"
The Blue Silver Grass was blown apart.
At the same time, Tang San withdrew his wall of vines, using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to launch himself straight into the poison field—completely ignoring the danger.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of his opponent.
His third Spirit Ability—Spider Web Restraint activated instantly.
It all happened so fast, the enemy couldn't react in time and was tightly bound by Tang San's spider web.
Ignoring the toxins around him, Tang San launched into a flurry of attacks—grapples, strikes, shoulder throws, finishing with a powerful toss that sent the Spirit Ancestor flying out of the stage and crashing to the ground.
The match was over.
The referee confirmed the unconscious Spirit Ancestor's defeat and announced Tang San's victory.
Tang San, breathing heavily from the effort, stepped down from the stage.
Next up, Xiao Wu leapt gracefully onto the battlefield.
"Be careful," Tang San whispered as she passed.
"Don't worry, I got this," she said with a playful smile.
Tang San nodded and made his way back to the rest area, visibly fatigued.
"Little Ao, give him some sausages," Lin Jie said, turning to Oscar.
After consuming a few of Oscar's Recovery Sausages, Tang San's condition quickly improved.
Xiao Wu's opponent from Balak Academy was a Spirit Elder with three Spirit Rings.
But just as the match was about to begin, Balak Academy's teacher stood up and surrendered.
They had already lost their two strongest Spirit Ancestors. Worse, their relationship with Shrek had turned tense due to earlier conflicts. If they lost another fighter to serious injury, they might not even make it to the next round.
Reluctantly, Balak's instructor chose to concede.
Lin Jie had expected to be sent out for this match. Seeing the forfeit left him a bit disappointed.
Shrek's only real display this round came from Tang San, who as a Spirit Elder had defeated two Spirit Ancestors in a row. His reputation rose dramatically in the aftermath.
The rest of the day's matches were between three of the Elemental Academies and teams from the kingdoms and duchies. As expected, the Elemental Academies won without issue.
The first round of the advancement tournament came to an end.
With all five Heaven Dou Empire representatives claiming victory, Emperor Xue Ye was very pleased. He immediately declared that each winning team would receive 1,000 gold coins, while the losing teams would be awarded 500 gold coins as consolation.
After the matches, each academy's headmaster went up to the VIP platform for the next round's match draw.
When Flender returned, he gathered the team and announced,
"Shrek's opponent tomorrow in the second round… will be Blazing Academy."
Everyone had expected to face the Elemental Academies eventually—they just hadn't thought it would happen this soon.
Over on Blazing Academy's side, the announcement drew mixed reactions. Some were anxious—they knew Shrek's strength might even surpass their own. But one person was visibly thrilled:
Huo Wu.
She had been longing for a rematch with Lin Jie. Over the past month, she had undergone intense, even torturous training—all for the sake of defeating him.
And now, her chance had come.
Back at the camp, Tang San went to rest early to recover his Spirit Power for tomorrow's match.
Meanwhile, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang summoned everyone to a meeting and cut straight to the point.
"Tomorrow, your opponent is Blazing Academy. I want to hear your thoughts—how should we arrange our lineup?"