After Shrek Academy switched out their fighter, Taining Academy still saw no hope of victory. The four remaining members of their team were all Soul Ancestors. Against Dai Huabin, a high-ranking Soul King, they might have had a chance if they fought together—but one-on-one, they were destined to be defeated one after another.
At this point, the outcome was all but decided. When Dai Huabin defeated Taining Academy's last student, it marked the end of the match. With Shrek Academy having already secured six points, the team battle that would follow had no further meaning.
Shrek Academy won this match with a total of eleven points, successfully advancing to the third round.
After the match, Zhu Ziyang didn't linger at the arena. He led everyone straight back to the hotel. Coincidentally, as they arrived, Taining Academy's team also returned, and the two teams—who had just battled moments ago—met again in the hotel lobby. However, this time the students of Taining Academy hung their heads in defeat, like a group of beaten roosters.
Their team leader, on the other hand, maintained a calm demeanor. Clearly, he had mentally prepared for such an outcome. When he saw the members of Shrek Academy, a smile appeared on his face and he walked over quickly, calling out, "Ziyang! Xiaotao! Long time no see!"
"Senior Brother Zhu! It really has been a long time!" Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao both greeted him warmly.
This team leader of Taining Academy was none other than Zhu Lie—a former inner court disciple of Shrek Academy who had left after the Star Dou incident and returned home. He, Zhu Ziyang, and Ma Xiaotao were comrades who had gone through life and death together. So even though it had been years since they last met, their reunion was filled with joy and emotion.
Zhu Ziyang gave Zhu Lie a hug, then happily introduced him to the others: "This is Senior Brother Zhu Lie, an outstanding disciple who graduated from the inner court seven years ago."
"Greetings, Senior Brother!" said Jiang Nannan and the rest, their confusion now resolved.
"No need to be so formal." Zhu Lie waved his hands with a sheepish grin. "Honestly, when I brought my students to this tournament, I was wondering whether I might run into some old acquaintances from the Academy. Never thought it'd be in this kind of situation, though. A little awkward, huh?"
"Haha, it just means our fates aren't over yet!" Zhu Ziyang laughed.
Afterward, Zhu Ziyang asked Jiang Nannan to take the others back to their rooms, while Zhu Lie told his students to go pack up. He then followed Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao into the tea lounge of the hotel.
The three found a quiet corner and began catching up. Through their conversation, Zhu Ziyang learned about Zhu Lie's life after leaving the Academy.
After his departure, Zhu Lie had returned to Taining City in the Heaven Soul Empire. His family owned the city's largest merchant association, and they held considerable influence in the surrounding area. When Zhu Lie came back with the credentials of a Shrek inner court graduate, that influence grew even stronger. He first made sure to arrange homes for Cheng Hui and Wan Wan's families. Then, at the invitation of the city lord, he became a teacher at Taining Advanced Soul Master Academy.
He had stayed there ever since—seven years now. Today, he was both Head Instructor and Vice Dean, as well as the academy's top expert. At just thirty years old, he had reached the rank of Soul Sage, level 75. In Taining City's power circles, anyone with sense treated him with respect. So yes, Zhu Lie had done quite well for himself.
"Ziyang, the Academy has been quite active these past few years," Zhu Lie said with a meaningful smile. "Several of the basic-level soul master academies under Taining's jurisdiction have already been converted into Tianyuan Academies. Our city lord was actually dumb enough to be happy about it!"
"Oh? Is that so? Tianyuan Academy expanded this far already?" Zhu Ziyang was taken aback. It was the first time he'd heard that there were Tianyuan Academies near Taining City. The Tianyuan Academy expansion was handled entirely by Cai Mei'er—Zhu Ziyang never involved himself in the specifics. He only heard updates during Tianyuan Pavilion meetings.
"It sure has." Zhu Lie nodded. "There are already at least fifteen Tianyuan Academies in the entire Linbei Province. They practically form a ring around Taining City."
"Heh, looks like Junior Sister Cai is doing a great job." Zhu Ziyang chuckled and asked, "Senior Brother Zhu, what do the higher-ups in Taining City think of the Tianyuan Academies?"
"What do you think?" Zhu Lie gave a wry smile. "Other than mocking the Academy for meddling, none of them really understand the true intent behind this expansion."
"Then what do you think?" Zhu Ziyang looked at him intently.
"Heh, to be honest," Zhu Lie scratched his head, smiling sheepishly, "right before we came here, our academy finalized a deal with the local authorities. Taining City's basic soul master academy will officially be renamed Taining City Tianyuan Academy, and I'll be its first dean. Dean Cai herself gave me the appointment!"
"Oh!" Zhu Ziyang's expression cleared with understanding. He and Zhu Lie shared a look and smiled. "Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhu! That's a well-deserved promotion!"
"Heheh…" Zhu Lie scratched his head, embarrassed. "Honestly, I had a personal motive too. As dean, I can make sure the academy doesn't revert back to a school only for nobles. This way, kids from my family—and from Cheng Hui and Wan Wan's families—won't have to go off to some small town to get an education."
"I understand." Zhu Ziyang grew solemn. "That's the whole point of establishing the Tianyuan Academies: to let all children awaken their martial souls and attend a soul master academy to learn!"
Half an hour later, Zhu Lie led the Taining Academy team out of the Mingyue Hotel. Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao stood at the entrance to see them off.
The tournament pressed on. With the first day concluded, the second day began immediately. Shrek Academy returned to their routine from the first round: the rest of the team cultivated in the hotel, while Zhu Ziyang and his four girls took turns going to the arena to observe.
There was only one match on the second day that caught Zhu Ziyang's attention—Tang Sect vs. Iron Sword Sect. The latter was a nameless small sect, and against Tang Sect, which had a Soul Sage on their team, the result was no surprise: total victory for Tang Sect.
On the fourth day of the second round, outside the Mingyue Hotel, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan saw off the Falan Advanced Soul Master Academy, where Yang Zhenzhen studied. They hadn't been as lucky in the second round. They'd drawn a sect called Tyrant Armor Sect—a powerful team. In the first round, Tyrant Armor had fielded five Soul Kings. In the second round, they only needed three to defeat Falan.
Falan's team left without any visible disappointment. After all, they had only come with the hope of trying their luck. Making it to the second round was already a surprise. Jiang Nannan, however, was visibly gloomy—she truly liked Yang Zhenzhen. Now that Zhenzhen had left with her academy, Nannan naturally felt a bit down.
The second round ended quickly. The 92 advancing teams had no time to rest before they had to draw lots for the third round matchups. There would be 46 matches spread over four days: 11 matches per day for the first two days, and 12 matches per day for the last two.
Soon, the draw results were out. Shrek Academy was, once again, assigned to the very first match of the first day. Their opponent: a sect team named Tyrant Sect. Judging from the previous rounds, Tyrant Sect's strength was on par with Tyrant Armor Sect—the same team that eliminated Falan. A strong opponent, no doubt, but still not strong enough to pose a threat to Shrek Academy.
Zhu Ziyang and the rest of the Shrek team didn't even take them seriously and went straight to bed.
Their instincts were right. In the next day's match, Shrek Academy crushed Tyrant Sect. Zhu Ziyang didn't even have Zhou Tianhe take the stage. Just Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, and Xie Huanyue—three members of the pre-selection team—easily secured the victory.
(End of Chapter)
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