That evening, after the day's matches ended, all academy teams returned to their camps.
"Is Yang Yunhai here?" A voice called outside the tent just after dinner. Everyone instinctively turned their eyes toward Yang Yunhai.
They didn't even need to guess who Feng Xiaotian had come for. Likely, it had something to do with Huo Wu.
"I'll go take a look," Yang Yunhai said, rising and stepping outside to meet Feng Xiaotian.
"Brother Feng, what's the matter?" he asked.
"The drawing results are out. Tomorrow your team faces ours. I hope you'll be the first to step onto the stage. Is that alright?" Feng Xiaotian asked.
He knew the odds of victory were slim, but he still wanted a fair and upright fight against Yang Yunhai.
"Alright," Yang Yunhai nodded without hesitation.
Feng Xiaotian squeezed out a faint smile and nodded back. "Then we'll meet tomorrow on the battlefield."
He turned and left.
Yang Yunhai shook his head lightly and returned inside the tent. After chatting idly with the others, he prepared to rest and cultivate his soul power.
"Yun, tonight I'll accompany Lingling," Dugu Yan said with a smile.
"Alright," Yang Yunhai nodded.
The team only had three girls. Ye Lingling usually slept alone, so Dugu Yan, as her close friend, sometimes stayed with her for company.
So Yang Yunhai brought Zhu Zhuqing back to their room and began cultivating soul power.
Inside the tent, he had no thoughts of doing anything else. Once training ended, he went straight to sleep.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, the team headed to the tournament grounds.
Across the arena, Qin Ming, Yu Tianheng, Tai Long, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Ning Rongrong arrived with Shrek Academy. Today, only six of them showed up. Judging by their appearance, Yu Tianheng and Tai Long's injuries had mostly healed enough to let them play. After all, with Oscar and Jiangzhu providing double healing, once their soul power recovered, they could use their skills to aid recovery. Unless the wounds were too severe, they could recover fairly quickly.
Oscar and Jiangzhu weren't here today, likely staying at the camp to heal the others.
Yang Yunhai withdrew his gaze, uninterested in watching them further.
Soon, all the academies gathered. After the host finished the usual opening words, the matches began.
First up: Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Godwind Academy.
Yang Yunhai stood, while on the opposite side, Feng Xiaotian also rose. Together, they stepped into the field.
"Looks like Feng Xiaotian went to challenge Yang Yunhai," said Huo Wushuang from the Blazing Academy stands.
Huo Wu's face remained calm, her eyes flashing as she stared at Yang Yunhai.
"Second soul skill, Double Wolf Body Enhancement!" Feng Xiaotian's hands spread, the shadow of a two-headed wolf appearing behind him. "Third soul skill, Stormwind Wings!" Blue wind-wings stretched out, and with a push of his feet, he soared into the air. His arms swept wide: "Fourth soul skill, Demon Wolf Blade Claws!" From the gaps between his finger bones, glowing blades burst forth, nearly a meter long, sharpened by blue light.
"Haah!" His wings gathered glowing energy, their span expanding, becoming more solid.
Below, Yang Yunhai's long spear formed, the vine-snakes behind him rising and coiling.
"First soul skill, Wind Blade Burst!" Feng Xiaotian's wings sliced downward, releasing ten blades of wind.
His body followed, spinning sharply, his wing merging with his arm, transforming into a massive blade as he dived after the wind blades.
"A self-created soul skill?" Yang Yunhai feigned surprise. His body trembled. "Lightning Storm!"
Golden arcs spread out. The storm of lightning shattered the incoming wind blades one by one, striking Feng Xiaotian as well. Yet his wings and the wind aura surrounding his body protected him, keeping him in motion as he dived.
Bang!
Yang Yunhai's spear clashed with Feng Xiaotian's wing-blade. The ground cracked from the force, dust flying.
The vine-snakes lashed forward, one biting, the other releasing spores.
Swish, swish!
Vines lashed out from the spear itself.
Feng Xiaotian spun, his free wing swiping the vine-snake aside. The spores were blown away by a burst of wind pressure that exploded outward, propelling him back up into the air.
"When did Feng Xiaotian become this strong?" Huo Wushuang blurted from the stands.
Beside him, Huo Wu's eyes flickered with shock.
'So he's put in real work. He even developed counters against my vines. His mastery of his Martial Soul has grown a lot,' Yang Yunhai thought with some satisfaction. He looked up at Feng Xiaotian and smiled.
"Brother Feng, congratulations."
"Thanks to you, Brother Yang," Feng Xiaotian admitted.
His recent progress was largely inspired by Yang Yunhai's mastery and battlefield displays. He had adapted those concepts to his own Martial Soul.
In some sense, Yang Yunhai was half his teacher.
"Brother Yang, I'm ready!" Feng Xiaotian called. His flight consumed soul power constantly; he couldn't drag things out. His body spun as he dove again.
"Good!" Yang Yunhai's eyes flashed. His fist shot out. "Thunder Fist!"
Boom!
Lightning burst on contact, blasting Feng Xiaotian backward, wings cracking under the shock. Pain lanced up his arms as if tearing apart.
If not for the wind pressure surrounding his body, the lightning would've pierced him directly.
"Discharge!" Yang Yunhai pointed, and a bolt of lightning shot forward. Feng Xiaotian lifted his wing to block.
Bang!
His already damaged wing collapsed under the impact, his body driven further back.
"Fourth soul skill, Thunder Prison!" Yang Yunhai spread his arms, golden arcs surging outward in a dome.
No ring fusion. Against a flier like Feng Xiaotian, speed was everything—he had to strike while his opponent faltered.
"Drink!" Feng Xiaotian roared, blue veins bulging. His wing shone, condensed into a blade of compressed wind. At the moment the dome of lightning fell, he slashed.
Slash!
A three-meter-long wind blade, as thin as a finger, tore through the air.
"Well done!" Yang Yunhai exclaimed. The strike sliced through his lightning shield and still rushed forward. Too fast to counterattack, he stepped aside.
Psshh!
The blade carved a deep gash into the earth.
Slash!
Feng Xiaotian spun again, breaking through arcs of lightning, diving with his remaining strength.
"A pity." Yang Yunhai raised a fist. "Thunder Fist!"
Boom!
The punch shattered the wing, blasting Feng Xiaotian back.
This time, the vine-snakes seized him, biting into his shoulders and dragging him forward.
"I admit defeat!" Feng Xiaotian said bitterly.
That wind blade had drained his last strength. He could no longer fight.
Yang Yunhai looked at his swollen, bleeding arms and shook his head. "Brother Feng, you didn't lose in mastery or ability. You only lost in cultivation and endurance."
He slowly set him down.
"Your self-created soul skill is powerful, but it consumes tremendous soul power and requires a stronger body to withstand it. At your current level, it's beyond what you can sustain."
"Work hard. When you can fully control it, I'll look forward to fighting you again."
Feng Xiaotian managed a tired smile and nodded. "Together, we'll strive forward."
Strangely, he felt lighter inside.
Yang Yunhai glanced at Ye Lingling. She rose and used her Nine-Heart Begonia to heal Feng Xiaotian.
"Until next time, Brother Feng," Yang Yunhai said with a bow, leaving the field.
Feng Xiaotian clenched his fists, then smiled gratefully at Ye Lingling before departing.
On the VIP stand, Emperor Xue Ye smiled warmly. "These young people are extraordinary."
He hadn't expected Feng Xiaotian to create such a powerful self-created skill. Though his endurance was lacking, his future was promising.
"At such a young age, to grasp a skill like that is rare indeed," Ning Fengzhi agreed.
He realized why Feng Xiaotian's cultivation lagged despite his talent—he had poured his effort into creating a technique. Risky, but not a loss. If he caught up in cultivation later, his future achievements would be remarkable.
For a moment, Tang San's image crossed his mind.
He realized Tang San's comprehension wasn't on Yang Yunhai's level—or even Feng Xiaotian's.
"Captain, amazing!" Over at Godwind Academy's stands, the team cheered.
Though he lost, Feng Xiaotian had lasted longer than anyone else against Yang Yunhai—and even broke his fourth skill.
"Didn't expect Feng Xiaotian to reach this point," Huo Wushuang sighed at Blazing Academy's side.
Huo Wu bit her lip, then said, "Brother, I'm going back to cultivate." She turned and walked away.
Huo Wushuang watched her go, but only shook his head.
The tournament continued.
Yu Feng went next, trading against two Soul Elders. Then Shi Mo and Shi Mo's brother, Shi Mo and Shi Mo's "shield wall" tactics slowly exhausted Godwind Academy. Their defense was too tough. Finally, the opponents conceded.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy claimed victory.
No one was seriously hurt.
Later, Shrek fought a duchy team. Tai Long, pent up, came out strong and struck too heavily, injuring an opponent badly, which enraged the rest. One after another, they fought like mad. Tai Long was eventually carried off.
Yu Tianheng went next, fighting lighter, but still lost.
In the end, they scraped a 2v7 win.
Meanwhile, Ye Lingling earned gratitude everywhere she healed injuries—but Shrek's reckless, brutal fighting style turned all the other academies against them even further.
"Shrek Academy people must be crazy, hitting that hard every time!"
"Next time we meet them, no one hold back!"
"Exactly! With Ye Lingling here, even if we get hurt, we'll be healed. Just go all out!"
Ning Fengzhi stayed silent.
So did Ning Rongrong.
Qin Ming sighed. He could feel the hostility toward Shrek. Their students truly were fighting too brutally, Tai Long and Xiao Wu most of all.
Now, they had stirred public anger.
For the academy, this was bad news.
(End of Chapter)
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