The next day.
Unlike the preliminaries, where multiple arenas were used simultaneously, the promotion tournament had only one competition venue , the Grand Drill Grounds of the Royal Knights.
A total of fifteen teams participated in the promotion tournament, competing in fourteen rounds of round-robin matches, one round per day. Each day one team would have a bye, with seven matches held. All matches were conducted on the same field.
The Grand Drill Grounds had been remodeled, with a circle one hundred meters in diameter marked in the center as the competition area. Compared to the arenas used in the preliminaries, this space was far larger, giving participants much more room to display their strength.
On the north side of the grounds, facing south, a temporary VIP stand had been erected, which also served as the judges' stand. Unlike last time, there were fewer nobles present, and not a single commoner could be seen.
From a distance, one could see that apart from the first row where Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and the Platinum Bishop Salas were seated, the remaining seats were filled with generals and officers of the Heaven Dou Empire as well as high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall's Heaven Dou City branch.
Team battles were usually chaotic, making it hard to see everything clearly. The promotion tournament was different , each participant would be showcasing their individual strength under the eyes of all, which made it the perfect opportunity to evaluate a soul master's true ability.
In other words, as long as one was strong enough, the promotion tournament could turn into a personal performance.
Outside the drill grounds, ten thousand Royal Knights surrounded the entire field in a tight formation, their armor gleaming brightly.
The front row of knights stood firmly on the ground, while those in the back sat on their mounts, forming a massive ring of defense.
This airtight formation was not only for security. Emperor Xue Ye also wanted his most elite soldiers to witness the strength of the new generation of soul masters and be inspired to fight harder.
It was, after all, a way to keep this "benefit" within the empire and give his own troops an extra "meal."
Inside the large circle formed by the knights, all fifteen participating teams were already present. Even the team with a bye that day was there , they still had to observe their opponents' strength.
The rules were simple: each side would send seven members to fight. Each combatant would continue until they were defeated, with the winner staying to face the next challenger, until all seven fighters on one side were eliminated.
The drawing of lots had been completed the previous night. Shrek Academy was not the team with the bye in the first round.
Each team had its own designated rest area surrounding the central arena, where their teachers and team leaders would watch the matches.
Under the direction of the host, Emperor Xue Ye stood from his seat and spoke loudly through a soul guide:
"The promotion tournament officially begins today. In the next fourteen days, I hope every academy team will fully display their strength and demonstrate the glory of soul masters. I now declare... the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament Promotion Tournament, officially begins!"
As soon as he finished, the surrounding soldiers and knights let out a thunderous, mountain-shaking roar: "Long live! Long live! Long live!"
The Royal Knights raised their lances in unison, the clang of their armor and their loud cheers startling some of the competitors. The might of a great nation was fully displayed.
There were seven matches every day, three in the morning and four in the afternoon. Shrek Academy was scheduled for the very first match of the first round. Their opponents were Barak Academy from the Barak Kingdom , the direct academy under King Barak himself, who had previously been at odds with Flender.
As the kingdom's top academy, Barak Academy was fairly strong, boasting two Soul Ancestors and five high-ranking Soul Elders. But facing today's Shrek Academy, they could only be considered unlucky.
Before the match began, Flender gave only one instruction , crush them completely and let them see that today's Shrek Academy was nothing like before.
This time, there was no mocking from the opponent as in the original story. When the referee announced the start, both teams went straight to the field, officially opening the first match of the first round of the promotion tournament.
Shrek Academy's order of appearance was Tai Long, Xiao Wu, Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and finally Dai Mubai.
In truth, Dai Mubai was hardly needed for this match. Even Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San might not get a chance to fight, because Tai Long had successfully absorbed his fourth spirit ring three days ago and had advanced to level forty-one, becoming a Soul Ancestor.
His fourth spirit ring had been prepared for him in advance by the academy. This was a special period, and Tai Long did not have the chance to hunt for a spirit beast in the forest himself. Fortunately, the academy now had the resources to capture a thousand-year soul beast for him.
Tai Long's first opponent was Barak Academy's captain, the son of King Barak himself, named Ao Erbai. His spirit was a mutated Sunflower with both control and attack abilities, and his spirit power was at level forty-two.
Despite facing someone one level above him, Tai Long showed no fear. Tang San had already told him before the match that with his current strength, his opponent's control was meaningless , if he could close the distance, victory would be his.
At the referee's signal, both of them released their spirits.
With the activation of the Vigorous Orangutan spirit, Tai Long's body suddenly expanded, becoming even more tall and imposing. When his two yellow and two purple spirit rings appeared, everyone present was shocked. After all, just a month ago, Tai Long had only been level thirty-nine, and now he had broken through to the Soul Ancestor rank.
"Tai Long of Shrek Academy, Spirit: Vigorous Orangutan, Level 41 Assault-type Battle Soul Ancestor."
Seeing that Tai Long was only level forty-one, Ao Erbai's expression relaxed slightly, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips. He clearly remembered how Flender had refused his father's offer and had secretly opened an academy outside Soto City. Today, he would teach this so-called Shrek Academy a lesson!
This arrogance was due to their lack of information. Since arriving at the Royal Drill Grounds, they had been cut off from outside news. People from other kingdoms and principalities also didn't know how powerful Shrek Academy had become, so Ao Erbai assumed Shrek was still the down-and-out academy of the past.
Ao Erbai also released his spirit , a large golden Sunflower appeared in his hand. His two yellow and two purple spirit rings rose around him, his level forty-two spirit power clearly evident.
"Ao Erbai of Barak Academy, Spirit: Scarlet Gold Sunflower, Level 42 Control-type Battle Soul Ancestor."
Once both had released their spirits, the referee's voice rang out again: "First round, first match of the promotion tournament, begin!"
As soon as the referee spoke, Tai Long charged at Ao Erbai. Ao Erbai showed no fear , his two yellow rings lit up, and two golden rays silently shot from the sunflower, trying to bind Tai Long.
At the same time, an invisible pressure surged toward Tai Long, slowing him down as though a strange current was affecting his movements.
Tai Long's expression grew serious. His two yellow spirit rings lit up as well.
"First Spirit Skill: Rock Shield!"
"Second Spirit Skill: Explosive Strength!"
Under the effect of these two skills, his defense and strength increased massively. He forced his way through the oppressive current and even ripped apart the two golden rays that tried to bind him.
Ao Erbai finally understood how terrifying Tai Long's strength was , even the combination of his control skills couldn't restrain him.
Knowing he was in trouble, Ao Erbai immediately unleashed his fourth spirit skill. The sunflower in his hand shone brightly, gathering a scarlet-gold beam of light, which transformed into a pillar of energy that shot toward Tai Long.
For the first time, Tai Long chose not to take the attack head-on. He rolled to the left to dodge the pillar, then activated his third and fourth spirit rings.
"Third Spirit Skill: Berserk Giant Ape!"
"Fourth Spirit Skill: Source of Strength!"
With both boosts activated, Tai Long's power rose to a terrifying level, exceeding most soul masters of his rank and reaching the strength of a high-level Soul Ancestor.
He crouched slightly, then leapt into the air, stomping the ground so hard that a deep pit formed where he had stood. Ao Erbai, shocked, hastily activated his third skill to stop Tai Long.
Five golden rays shot out to block him, but Tai Long's monstrous strength shattered them with a single punch before crashing down toward Ao Erbai.
With terrifying force gathered in his fist, Tai Long struck Ao Erbai in the chest. A cracking sound was heard , likely ribs breaking , as Ao Erbai was sent flying like a broken sack and landed heavily at the edge of the arena, unable to rise.
Ao Erbai was defeated by Tai Long's unstoppable attack and was seriously injured.
The medical team quickly rushed to Ao Erbai, confirming that his life was not in danger though he had broken two ribs. The referee then announced the match would continue.
Barak Academy's teacher looked as though his eyes would pop out in fury. After all, this was the king's own son. Such an injury would affect the rest of their matches.
But there was nothing he could do , the opponent was simply too strong.
"First round, first match, Tai Long of Shrek Academy wins. Shrek Academy gains one point, Tai Long gains one point. Match continues, Barak Academy send up your next competitor."
Tai Long's next opponent was a level thirty-seven Assault-type Soul Elder. For Tai Long, who still had both his third and fourth boosts active (lasting half an hour), this was no challenge.
Under these buffs, Tai Long went on to defeat three more of Barak Academy's Soul Elders in a row. He finally lost to their fifth competitor, a level forty-one Soul Ancestor , one of only two Soul Ancestors on their team.
Still, Tai Long's performance was brilliant. He had defeated a stronger level forty-two opponent and four more in a row, which was already an amazing feat.
The second fighter for Shrek Academy was Xiao Wu, still at level forty-three. Despite her efforts over the past month, she hadn't reached the next breakthrough yet.
Her opponent was a level forty-one Agility-type Soul Master, but to Xiao Wu this was no threat.
The moment the fight began, Xiao Wu used her second spirit skill, Charm, followed by her third skill to close the distance. She then used Waist Bow, her first skill, to finish him off.
In less than ten seconds, she had eliminated the opponent. The next two Barak Academy Soul Elders suffered the same fate.
Shrek Academy won the first match with just two fighters, earning seven points , four from Tai Long and three from Xiao Wu.
The referee announced:
"First round, first match , Shrek Academy versus Barak Academy. Shrek Academy seven wins, one loss, seven points. Barak Academy one win, seven losses, one point."
As the match ended, Jing Ling and Huang Yuan felt a bit strange , they hadn't even gotten to fight before the match was over. Perhaps this was the downside of having such strong teammates.
Dai Mubai and Tang San, however, didn't mind. For most academies, the promotion tournament was the best chance to showcase individual strength. But Dai Mubai and Tang San didn't care much , they had already displayed overwhelming power in the preliminaries.
In fact, even if Dai Mubai didn't fight, anyone who had seen Shrek's matches knew he was the strongest young talent in the Heaven Dou Empire.
Tang San's control and combat ability were just as impressive, and Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing were also forces to be reckoned with.
For the Four Element Academies, if they wanted good results in the promotion tournament, facing Shrek Academy was an unavoidable obstacle.
In team battles, many of them didn't even get the chance to use their trump cards before being defeated. The promotion tournament's individual matches were their best chance to prove themselves.
But Shrek Academy was simply too strong. They had already dominated team battles, and now that the tournament focused on individual performance, Dai Mubai , a level fifty-five Soul King , was an insurmountable wall.
After all, who among them could defeat Dai Mubai in a one-on-one fight?
Perhaps they could try a war of attrition, but Shrek also had Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu. Now that Tai Long was a Soul Ancestor, he too was a serious threat.
So their only hope was to do their best against the other academies, showcasing their own strength and talents so that the VIPs could see their value.
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