The next day.
As the faint morning glow swept across, Heaven Dou City was already a sea of people, bustling with activity.
As one of the grandest events on the continent, everyone across the continent was following the Elite Soul Master Competition.
Not only did the participating academies gather here, but the imperial family, nobles, and merchants all highly valued the Soul Master Competition and came to observe.
Orderly city defense troops maintained order in Heaven Dou City, preventing any disturbances.
The Peach Blossom Spring teachers and students wore their team uniforms today, looking refined and elegant.
Combined with the six female students' natural beauty, like lotuses emerging from water or graceful peach blossoms, their presence along the way made countless youths drool.
As soon as they entered the Heaven Dou City Great Spirit Arena, exclamations of admiration and affection arose:
"Why are all the students in this team girls? They are so beautiful!"
"They are indeed beautiful; they can probably compare to the aesthetic of the Heavenly Water Academy, right?"
"It seems I've never heard of this team's name.
Their uniforms are also very distinctive; I wonder how strong they are?"
"It doesn't matter.
If they lose, I'll go comfort them.
This is my dating trick.
To win a girl's heart, you need to give her warmth when she's feeling down, and it's very easy to hit the mark!"
Wang Sheng: "..."
"Xiaogang, look quickly, it seems the Peach Blossom Spring Academy team has entered."
In the core viewing area, Flender and Zhao Wuji had arrived early.
As soon as they saw the Peach Blossom Spring Team entering, their eyes were sharper than anyone else's, and they immediately spotted them, quickly reporting the situation to Grandmaster.
Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang saw Su Ran, dressed in a peach-white robe, calmly leading his students to participate, and there was some surprise in his eyes:
"This Su Ran, he looks so calm and composed.
Did Sword Douluo not injure him? How is that possible? That's a Super Douluo strong individual."
"It is said that Ning Fengzhi had a daughter in his middle age and dotes on her immensely.
Could it be that Sword Douluo showed mercy to Su Ran out of consideration for Ning Rongrong?"
"That's the only possibility.
This kid is really lucky; all the students he takes in have excellent Aptitudes and impressive backgrounds."
Yu Xiaogang saw Su Ran's figure, and his eyes instantly changed, becoming very complex, filled with envy, jealousy, and even hatred.
No one knew that during this past year, while teaching and nurturing at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, he had poured his heart and soul into researching various tactics, studying the drawbacks and advantages of different Spirits, and using the most extreme and rigorous training to hone his students' abilities, all to wash away his past humiliation!
He wanted to stand tall and proud in front of Su Ran and tell him:
I am Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, invincible in theory, the corner of wisdom.
When I knelt in Soto City back then, you didn't help me; you misjudged me.
Only Tang San's eyes were slightly dim:
Super Douluo?
My father seems to be one too.
But he didn't tell his teacher that even his own father, Clear Sky Douluo, had once been injured by Su Ran's Peach Blossom Sword, and... the Spirit Bone injury has not healed to this day.
"Ye Lingling, she really chose to betray us!"
"She went back to Dugu Yan just to join Peach Blossom Spring Academy!"
"What a seemingly pure but deeply scheming, dirty bitch, asking for it!"
"If I had known she was going to betray our team, I shouldn't have been polite to her.
I should have conquered her at the Royal Academy and made her my girlfriend, then dealt with her!"
Ma Hongjun, seeing Ye Lingling's figure indeed appear in the Peach Blossom Spring Team, spoke with regret.
"Alright, Fatty, don't act like you've never seen a woman before, getting worked up.
This matter is in the past; we need to remain rational."
Dai Mubai said.
During this past year, Grandmaster's training, in addition to high-intensity physical training, also emphasized that they must maintain rational judgment at all times, and absolutely not repeat the suicidal behavior they exhibited at the Soto City Great Spirit Arena.
"Okay, anyway, as long as we win this competition, these girls will be like stray dogs, and we'll have plenty of opportunities then."
Ma Hongjun licked his lips, recovering a bit of his intelligence.
"I just wonder how much progress they've made in a year?"
"According to my estimation, a year ago they were basically at spirit power levels thirty-one or thirty-two.
Now, most should be around spirit power level thirty-five, with only Dugu Yan's spirit power possibly breaking through to forty."
Yu Xiaogang gazed at the Peach Blossom Spring Academy students, standing with his hands behind his back:
"This kind of configuration is decent for the preliminaries, but it's still somewhat difficult to secure a promotion spot."
"In the Heaven Dou City division, although there are the most promotion spots, it is also the most intense among the major divisions.
Not only is our second team participating, but there are also the Elephant Armored Academy and the Four Element Academies.
These teams may have more than one Spirit Ancestor member, and they have their own Spirit Master system.
Even if you encounter them, winning will be difficult."
"This is also why I insisted on having you watch the preliminaries.
Our baseline is to defeat Peach Blossom Spring Academy, and ultimately, to win the championship.
So your opponents are not just Peach Blossom Spring Academy; the Four Element Academies are also teams you need to familiarize yourselves with."
"Teacher is right; knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle, especially Peach Blossom Spring Academy, which is not an ordinary team.
We need to use our best state and best strategy to deal with them.
We cannot relax our vigilance just because we have made significant progress over the past year."
Tang San's gaze remained fixed on the Peach Blossom Spring Team:
The conviction I lost in Soto City, my father's injury, and Xiao Wu's departure... From this moment on, there will finally be an end.
I hope you, Peach Blossom Spring Team, can last until the final moment of the competition.
...
"Why are these vulgar guys here too?
Didn't Teacher say they were seeded teams and didn't need to participate in the preliminaries? I hate seeing them."
Ning Rongrong and the others also noticed the few ruffians from Shrek looking at them, pouting in displeasure.
Zhu Zhuqing said coldly: "They might be here specifically to study us."
Meng Yiran also understood now, "Studying the opponent team's moves and strength is common in Spirit Master competitions.
However, as a seeded team, staring at us so intently clearly means they were scared by us last time and want to see how much we've improved this year."
"It's still Teacher who was farsighted, having already formulated counter-strategies for us yesterday."
"Hmph, they're just a bunch of sore losers, knowing they have a seeded team spot and taking advantage of us."
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong glared back fiercely, waving their small fists, warning the Shrek teammates:
"What are you looking at? Stare again and I'll punch out your remaining eyes, One-Eyed Tiger, Lame Chicken, Little Blue Worm, Yu Little Dog, bah!"
How mocking.
Just a few words from the two little girls instantly broke Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Yu Tianheng, and Yu Xiaogang:
"This young master is the Evil Fire Phoenix!"
"I am the Evil Eyes White Tiger! Evil Eyes, understand?"
"I am the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the strongest Beast Spirit!"
"What a bunch of disrespectful girls! How presumptuous."
...
The VIP platform, located at the highest point of the viewing area, offered an expansive view.
Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and Platinum Bishop Salas of Spirit Hall sat in the first row at the top, while the next two rows were occupied by Prince Xue Xing, the three great teaching committee members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and other Heaven Dou nobles.
When all the teams had entered the contestant area and the audience seats were full, His Majesty the Emperor of Heaven Dou Empire, dressed in a crimson-gold robe, slowly rose amidst thunderous applause and officially announced the opening of the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Competition.
Ning Fengzhi, as the Sect Master of the only one of the Upper Three Sects with close ties to the Heaven Dou imperial family, also delivered a very official and smooth speech, which brought a satisfied smile to Emperor Xue Ye's Face.
Apparently, the host felt that Ning Fengzhi's official speech was not enough to stir the atmosphere, so he asked a controversial question:
"School Master Ning, you are the most powerful support system Spirit Master.
On behalf of the audience watching today, I would like to ask you: Which of the thirty teams participating in the Heaven Dou City preliminary division do you favor?"
Although Ning Fengzhi still smiled, he felt a bit helpless internally:
"This question is a bit difficult for me to answer.
I believe Heaven Dou Royal Academy's first team will achieve eye-catching results.
However, among the twenty-nine teams this time, I also favor another team.
Not only do they have the ability to pass the preliminaries, but I also believe they will win the championship of this year's All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Competition."
Before the host could ask again, Ning Fengzhi spoke first:
"As for which academy this team belongs to, please forgive me for keeping it a secret for now.
But I believe that regardless of whether this team ultimately becomes the champion, the ultimate championship glory of this competition will definitely belong to the Empire."
After speaking, Ning Fengzhi sat back in his seat and politely smiled at Emperor Xue Ye.
Emperor Xue Ye was somewhat surprised by Ning Fengzhi's words.
School Master Ning, quite clearly, intended to show his support.
The Heaven Dou Royal Academy team, to a certain extent, represented the royal prestige, yet he publicly expressed favor for another team to win the championship.
What kind of team could it be that made Ning Fengzhi, who always sought to please everyone, willing to reveal a potential weakness in such an occasion just to support them?
Emperor Xue Ye and Platinum Bishop Salas's eyes swept across the twenty-nine teams, seemingly trying to discern which team Ning Fengzhi so highly favored.
"It seems that among our twenty-nine participating teams, there is one very strong team.
It's a pity that School Master Ning is unwilling to reveal the specific name of this team, but it doesn't matter.
If this team is indeed very powerful, they will likely soon stand out in the upcoming matches."
"Next, we invite the Hall Master of the Heaven Dou City Spirit Temple, His Excellency Platinum Bishop Salas of Spirit Hall, to conduct the drawing for the first round of preliminaries.
After the drawing, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's vice-team will compete against their first-round drawn opponent.
This will also be the only match today."
Platinum Bishop Salas slowly stood up and, led by a palace maid, walked to the host's side to begin the drawing.
He seemed to exchange a glance with Yu Xiaogang across the distance, a playful smile playing on his lips:
"Preliminary Round One: Canghui Academy versus Purple Star Academy."
"Preliminary Round One: Blue Overlord Academy versus Blazing Radiance Academy."
"..."
"Preliminary Round One: Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Peach Blossom Spring Academy!"
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