If one were to look only at the raw Spirit Power levels of Shrek Academy's students, they didn't seem particularly outstanding on the continent—many others surpassed them. But when age was taken into account, their strength was enough to astonish anyone.
The eldest among them, Dai Mubai, was only seventeen and had already reached Rank 44 Spirit Power. Even more shocking, Zhu Zhuqing, who had just turned fourteen, was already at Rank 45. And Lin Jie—still a few months shy of fifteen—had already reached an astounding Rank 47.
What kind of team was this? So young, yet so powerful. If they were to compete again five years from now, what kind of terrifying force would they become?
The journey passed quickly, and since most were busy cultivating, time seemed to slip by unnoticed.
Ten days had already passed. With half the journey behind them, the fifteen teams continued forward under the protection of the Royal Knight Regiment. With their grand procession, they looked more like a convoy of nobles than an academy delegation. Wherever they went, no one dared cause trouble.
On the eleventh day of travel, only Tang San and Oscar remained inside the carriage cultivating. The others, not wanting to disturb them, disembarked and took a slow ride alongside the carriages on the specially prepared mounts provided by the Royal Knights.
Tang San was determined to break through to Rank 40 before the finals began, to further boost Shrek Academy's team strength. But he had only reached Rank 39 five days ago—advancing again within ten days was unlikely. Still, he wasn't willing to give up.
As for Oscar, his motivation stemmed from not wanting to fall too far behind his companions.
Lin Jie rode on horseback, observing the Royal Knights marching in tidy formation. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Truly worthy of representing the pride of the Heaven Dou Empire.
But as he looked around, Lin Jie's gaze narrowed. The terrain here was treacherous—towering hills on either side and a narrow road in the middle, creating the perfect setup for an ambush. Instinctively, he activated his Mind Net, spreading it outward to scan the surroundings.
His brows furrowed immediately.
He could sense it—dense, disorderly spiritual presences blanketing the surrounding area.
Lin Jie's Mind Net worked by combining electromagnetic pulses and spiritual force into an undetectable field. Since both were invisible energy forms, even a Title Douluo would have difficulty detecting his scan unless they were actively probing for it.
Originally, the convoy had been traveling along an official route. But someone had proposed this shortcut, claiming it would save time. Lin Jie had a good idea who that "someone" might be.
Just then, an eerie aura surged from both sides of the mountain pass.
Sensing it, the Royal Knight captain immediately barked, "Something's wrong! All units—prepare for engagement!"
His shout hadn't even faded before the nearby knights lifted their long spears with grim determination, awaiting further orders.
Compared to the vigilant knights, the Spirit Masters from the various academies remained relaxed and at ease. After all, who would be foolish enough to attack them? Each of them was a Spirit Master, and the weakest among them was a three-ringed Spirit Elder. Moreover, many of the instructors were Spirit Sages or even higher. Altogether, their combat power could rival that of a large military corps.
But to everyone's surprise—someone really did dare to attack them.
From the slopes above, enormous boulders began rolling down in perfect unison.
The Royal Knight Regiment Captain reacted instantly. After analyzing the terrain, he gave the order to accelerate through the canyon. Meanwhile, the task of intercepting the falling boulders was handed to the 500 knights.
The well-trained knights responded with military precision. They stepped back to expose the center path, raised their shields, and thrust their long spears upward, aiming to deflect the incoming rocks.
Though the slopes weren't insurmountably steep, they still posed danger. But with their disciplined formation and training, the knights managed to form a steel defense line.
Hundreds of spears thrust upward in unison. Dozens of falling boulders were deflected and scattered. Not a single one breached their line.
Witnessing this, many couldn't help but marvel—this was the might of the Heaven Dou Empire's elite Royal Guard.
Under the guidance of their instructors, the academy students abandoned their carriages and began sprinting out of the canyon toward safer ground. As long as they escaped the unfavorable terrain, their strength as Spirit Masters would render these ambushers meaningless.
Even Tang San and Oscar, who had been cultivating in the carriage, rushed out the moment they heard the commotion and quickly joined the others.
"Don't be rash, Sister Erlong. It's not that simple," Lin Jie said as he grabbed Liu Erlong's arm, halting her advance.
"You noticed something?" she asked, calming down immediately.
Lin Jie nodded. "This isn't an ordinary ambush. Their coordination rivals that of the Royal Knights. These aren't just bandits. Let's get to open ground before doing anything."
With that, he, Liu Erlong, and the others withdrew quickly.
Though the Royal Knights had blocked several waves of falling stones, they were starting to lose ground. After all, they were only human—soldiers trained for battle, yes, but still weaker than Spirit Masters.
Suddenly, a massive boulder crashed down from above—too large for the knights to block.
That was when the true strength of Spirit Masters revealed itself.
The elite students stepped forward, forming a protective ring around their auxiliary-type companions. When the giant boulder descended, they activated their Martial Souls and unleashed powerful Spirit Abilities, shattering the stone before it landed. And all without slowing their retreat.
Just as the Spirit Masters and the knights were about to escape the mountain pass, a sharp whistle rang out.
In an instant, thousands of masked figures dressed in black surged from both sides of the canyon. Many of them had Spirit Rings flashing brightly around them. They swooped down from the cliffs like a black tide.
Forced to halt, the academy teams immediately deployed. Martial Souls were released, and radiant Spirit Rings illuminated the battlefield—they were ready for battle.
While coordination between academies wasn't ideal, each team was still a trained unit. And for many young Spirit Masters, fighting bandits was a chance to prove themselves—a righteous cause that stirred their blood.
None of them retreated.
With their teams as units, they charged toward the black-clad attackers.
However, they quickly discovered that these weren't ordinary bandits. Many of the attackers were Spirit Masters too—and in large numbers. They outnumbered the academy students several times over.
Worse still, their coordination was excellent. Groups of three or four ganged up on individual students, attacking with ruthless precision. Shrek's students and their peers, who had never experienced real large-scale warfare, were caught off guard.
Though they quickly counterattacked with powerful Spirit Abilities, even some of their opponents were Spirit Masters—using superior speed and coordination to suppress them. A deadlock quickly formed across the battlefield.
What truly drew the instructors' attention, though, was the sudden emergence of more than thirty Spirit Kings—Spirit Masters above Rank 50—among the enemy ranks.
Even Liu Erlong and Flender's expressions turned grave.
Across the entire continent, the number of Spirit Masters didn't exceed 100,000. And those above Rank 50? Fewer than 5,000. For so many to appear at once could only mean they belonged to a major organization.
"Conserve your Spirit Power! End this quickly!" Flender shouted, stepping forward.
Fifteen academies were under attack by over 1,500 masked assailants. Each academy had over 100 students, many of whom were high-ranking Spirit Masters. Shrek alone had two Spirit Kings—both with optimal Spirit Ring configurations.
The enemy's strength was impressive. Each black-clad warrior was clearly well-trained, and their tactics ruthless.
As they charged at Shrek's team, the first to counterattack was Ma Hongjun. A blazing phoenix fireball roared toward a Spirit King.
But power difference mattered. His fire was instantly shattered by the Spirit King's superior level.
The two enemy Spirit Kings advanced rapidly—only to be intercepted by Flender and Liu Erlong. As powerful Spirit Sages, their response was swift and ferocious.
The Spirit Kings didn't stand a chance. Caught off guard by the overwhelming strength of Flender and Liu Erlong, they were quickly forced on the defensive.