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Outside the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, the morning sun felt just right. It was warm but not too hot, and the soft light covered Tang Chen and Xiao Ruier as they walked side by side. The feeling between them was a little quiet and sweet.
Suddenly, Tang Chen stopped walking. He turned to look at Xiao Ruier and spoke in a voice that sounded a bit shy and sorry. He whispered to her, asking if she was still angry about what happened with Ye Lingling earlier.
When she heard this, Xiao Ruier stopped too. She did not look at him right away. Instead, she turned her head a little bit, letting the sunlight shine on her neck. After a short moment, she made a soft sound and spoke without showing much emotion.
She told him that she wasn't that petty. Right after saying that, she looked at Tang Chen with her golden eyes. She gave him a look that was a mix of a glare and a playful scolding.
She told him that he isn't allowed to let other girls hug him so easily anymore. She paused for a second and then said that if he did it again, she really wouldn't talk to him anymore.
Tang Chen looked at her and could tell she really cared about him, even though she was trying to act like it was no big deal. He felt much better and quickly made a promise.
He told her he wouldn't do it again and explained that it happened so fast he didn't even have time to react. A second later, he leaned closer to her with a playful smile. He whispered that he thought she looked quite cute when she was being jealous.
As soon as he said that, Xiao Ruier's face turned red. She raised her hand and gave Tang Chen a light punch on his shoulder. She laughed and told him to stop talking nonsense, asking who he thought was actually jealous.
However, right at that moment, both of them frowned at the same time. They felt the air around them start to twist and change. A heavy feeling of pressure suddenly filled their hearts. They both knew something was wrong and felt like something bad was about to happen.
Tang Chen whispered that it wasn't good and that they were being followed. Xiao Ruier asked if it could be someone from Shrek Academy. Tang Chen shook his head and said that it shouldn't be them because the people at Shrek Academy wouldn't have the courage to do something like this. The happy smiles they had just a moment ago disappeared. They both looked very serious and began to look around carefully to see who was there.
Not far away, in the dark shadow of a building, an old man was watching them. He was wearing the moon-white robes of a Spirit Master and had a cold look in his eyes. This man was Shi Nian, the lead teacher from Sunshine Academy.
He was a level 72 Spirit Saint who specialized in mental attacks. His Spirit was called Fading Dream. When he saw how quickly the two students reacted, he looked a little surprised. Then, a mean smile appeared on his wrinkled face.
He spoke to himself, wondering if the two kids were there to fight in the matches or just to flirt with each other. He then said that it didn't matter anymore. He planned for them to step fully into his Fading Dream Illusion so that everything would be over.
He believed that as long as these two died, his school, Sunshine Academy, would definitely win the fighting soul competition that afternoon. After he finished speaking, his body seemed to melt into the shadows, moving just like the Titled Douluo Gui Mei.
Shi Nian did not notice that someone else was watching him. On a rooftop nearby, a middle-aged man with a bit of golden hair on his forehead had appeared silently. His eyes were bright and sharp. He looked down at Shi Nian with a look of contempt. Golden light glowed in his eyes as he watched every move the old man made.
Meanwhile, Tang Chen and Xiao Ruier kept walking toward Tianxing Academy. Even though they were moving, their hearts felt heavy. they noticed that the road felt much longer than it should be. They had been walking for a long time, but the buildings around them looked the same over and over again.
The academy was still far away and they couldn't seem to get any closer to it. It was very strange. Every few minutes, a man pushing a cart would pass them. Every time, the man had his head down and was selling the exact same things.
As another man with a cart started to walk toward them, Tang Chen's eyes became sharp and dark. He stopped moving and shouted at the man to stop pretending and show himself. When the man heard this, his body went stiff.
He looked up, and his face changed from a normal expression to something scary and twisted. He began to laugh loudly. He told Tang Chen that he didn't expect a kid to figure out his trick so fast.
In the next second, the man's body changed like water rippling. He turned back into the evil-looking Shi Nian. He looked at Tang Chen and Xiao Ruier and spoke in a sharp, mocking voice. He asked them what they could do now that they knew the truth. He told them they were completely stuck inside his Fading Dream Illusion.
He claimed that in this world, he was the ruler and that they should just wait to die. Shi Nian spread his arms wide as if he owned everything around them. He looked very proud of himself for catching them.
Tang Chen did not look scared at all. Instead, he smiled coldly at the old man. He told Shi Nian that to them, the old man was just a gift package because he was carrying a Spirit Bone. Tang Chen asked him if he really thought a level 70 Spirit Master with an Illusionary Wisdom Skull could cause them much trouble.
When Shi Nian heard this, the proud look on his face vanished. He looked completely shocked and terrified. He yelled out, asking how Tang Chen knew he had a Spirit Bone and that it was a skull. This Spirit Bone was his biggest secret, and he had never told anyone about it. He was so angry and shocked that he stopped talking.
A mean look came into his eyes, and he said that since they wanted to die so badly, he would kill them. He moved his hands quickly to use his power. The space around them began to shake and twist. Many scary monsters and mental attacks started rushing toward Tang Chen and Xiao Ruier like a big wave.
At the same time, inside the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, a match was happening. On the stage, Tang San was having a hard time. His Blue Silver Grass was being pushed back by the fire attacks from the Blazing Academy team.
Yu Xiaogang sat in the stands with a very dark expression on his face. He clenched his fists and cursed quietly. He could see that Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was being countered by the fire. He thought that if Shrek Academy wanted to win the whole thing, Tang San might have to start using his other Spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer, sooner than planned.
The fire from Blazing Academy was the perfect counter to the Blue Silver Grass. This made it hard for the Shrek team to use their normal plans. Yu Xiaogang felt very worried. While he was looking around, his eyes landed on a small stove used for making tea. There was a kettle of water on it. The water was almost gone, and it was starting to boil dry. The fire was very hot under the kettle.
As he watched the water disappear, Yu Xiaogang's eyes went wide. He felt like he had just realized something very important. He whispered to himself that water is the source of life and can help all things grow.
He thought about how the fire was destroying the water in the kettle. A strange idea came into his mind. He muttered that the fire from the other team could stop Tang San's grass because grass is like wood, and fire beats wood.
Then he started thinking about Tang Chen. He knew Tang Chen's Blue Silver Grass had a lot of Life Qi. It could even make other plants grow. He thought that this Life Qi was very similar to how water works.
Yu Xiaogang started breathing fast, and his face turned red with excitement. He wondered if fire could also stop Tang Chen's special grass. He thought that if fire beats wood and water, it must be the weakness of Tang Chen's power too.
He believed he had finally found a way to beat Tang Chen. He thought that if Tang San started using the Clear Sky Hammer and gave it a fire-attribute Spirit Ring, they would be able to win.