With so many participating academies, the first round of elimination matches stretched over three full days before only 67 teams emerged victorious from the original 133, advancing to the round-robin stage.
During the two free days that followed, while Teacher Wang Yan spent every moment at the dueling arena, meticulously analyzing the strengths of each academy to help the reserve team select appropriate opponents, the rest of the Shrek group spent their time wandering through the streets of Xingluo City.
Chen Junting and Ning Tian were no exception.
These two days belonged entirely to them—no one dared intrude upon their quiet companionship.
Yet during this time, Chen Junting also made a quiet visit to the Nine Treasures Pavilion within the city, inquiring about the items scheduled for auction at the upcoming Starlight Auction, which was set to open in just a few days.
He could not afford to let the Snow Emperor embryo vanish from his grasp.
The night before the second round of round-robin matches began, Teacher Wang Yan summoned them all to the meeting room. He reiterated the rules of the new stage, then dismissed them with a simple directive: rest well and prepare mentally.
The next morning.
As dawn broke, Xingluo Square was already packed to overflowing—even with the Xingluo Empire's inflated ticket prices. The sight filled Emperor Xu Jiawei with quiet delight.
At this moment,
Every eye was fixed on the dueling arena, impatient and eager.
Why? Because today's match mirrored the opening of the elimination round: the legendary Shrek Academy would be the very first to step onto the field once more—this time to ignite the crowd's spirit anew.
No one in the vast audience dared look away.
Soon, a group of students clad in dark green academy uniforms appeared through the entrance tunnel.
Amid the thunderous roar of the crowd, the Shrek team split in two. The four untouched core members headed for the rest zone, while Teacher Wang Yan led the outer academy students to the waiting area.
They already knew their opponent: the Yunluo Advanced Soul Engineer Academy from the Xingluo Empire. Among the competing academies, they ranked only barely above the lower tier.
For Shrek, their reserve team was more than sufficient.
As the master of ceremonies took the stage, his voice rising in passionate crescendo, he called for the captains of both teams to step forward and determine the match format—and the atmosphere in the stands reached its boiling point!
When Chen Junting calmly ascended the platform, every gaze locked onto him. Three days had passed since that breathtaking sword strike—and it still burned vividly in every spectator's memory.
Chen Junting opened his eyes, studying his opponent.
The captain of Yunluo Academy was a broad-shouldered, golden-haired giant whose physique rivaled He Caitou's. Yet as he faced Chen Junting, his entire body tensed—as if standing before some primordial force of destruction.
But what earned Chen Junting's silent respect was this: despite the crushing pressure, the man's eyes held nothing but caution—no arrogance, no fear, no contempt. Only pure, unadulterated wariness.
And so—
"Please guide me."
The words landed like a stone dropped into still water.
The Yunluo captain blinked—his mind refusing to process what he had just heard.
A Shrek student… had just said 'please guide me' to him?
Then, snapping back to reality, he quickly bowed his head.
"It is we who should be asking for your guidance."
At that moment, an elderly figure appeared beside the master of ceremonies. Of average height and slender build, yet radiating sharp vitality, he was Cheng Gang—the Imperial Enshrined, the Mighty Strength Douluo.
To prevent the kind of catastrophic injuries seen during the elimination round—or worse, another referee being flung into the stands by Chen Junting's blade—Emperor Xu Jiawei had assigned Cheng Gang, the weakest among the imperial enshrined, to serve as the official referee for the round-robin stage.
Once the master of ceremonies withdrew, Cheng Gang produced a sealed draw cylinder and extended it toward the two captains.
After they inspected it thoroughly, he spoke in a low, authoritative tone: "Draw."
Chen Junting deliberately lagged behind, allowing the Yunluo captain to grasp one side of the cylinder at the same moment. Together, they tossed it high into the air.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, a small yellow ball tumbled down.
The result: individual duels.
Cheng Gang caught the ball in his palm, displaying it clearly to the competitors, Emperor Xu, and the entire audience before announcing:
"Match between Shrek Academy and Yunluo Academy: individual one-on-one format. Please send forth your first combatant."
One-on-one?
The crowd reacted with mild interest—this was standard. But among the competing academies, excitement rippled through the ranks. This format would finally reveal the hidden depths of Shrek's reserve team—valuable intelligence for future matches.
Yet the Yunluo captain's face darkened.
One-on-one?
He feared he'd become the first of seven to fall.
If that happened, Yunluo Academy would be humiliated beyond repair.
Even if the humiliation came at the hands of Shrek Academy.
As the captain stood frozen in silent turmoil, he suddenly paused—then, under Cheng Gang's puzzled gaze, gave the faintest nod of agreement, as if silently accepting some unseen agreement.
Without another word, he turned and descended the platform.
Chen Junting likewise turned away, leaving Cheng Gang standing alone, brow furrowed in confusion.
Though their exchange had been conducted through soul power whispers, the old man—standing mere steps away—had sensed every nuance.
And worse—he realized they weren't even trying to hide it.
That was what troubled him. The tournament rules mentioned nothing of such pre-match coordination.
This… was unprecedented.
When Chen Junting returned to the waiting area, Teacher Wang Yan asked, "Well? Who are you sending out first?"
Chen Junting nodded—but his next words left everyone stunned.
"I've made an arrangement with the Yunluo captain."
"What?! You made an arrangement—with the opponent?!"
Wu Feng immediately reached out, fingers hovering near Chen Junting's forehead as if checking for fever.
"Pah!"
Chen Junting swatted her hand away with a light slap. "What do you know? Their captain is only a Soul Ancestor—and their entire team is likely no stronger than that. They're Soul Engineers; they probably don't even have five Soul Ancestors total. Facing us? They have zero confidence."
"So when the format was revealed," he continued, "I told him: Since your academy has no real hope of winning, why not use this one-on-one round-robin as an opportunity to give your students real battle experience? You send one, we send one. You send another, we send another. This way, it ensures everyone gets a chance to participate, and at the same time, they can fight against people with similar cultivation levels to gain experience."
It all made sense now.
The outer academy students gasped in sudden understanding.
…Actually, that wasn't a bad idea at all.
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