Shi Nian

"Bang!"

A loud bang suddenly erupted from the VIP seats. Hu Huyan Zhen of the Elephant Armored Sect, had somehow crushed the armrest of his chair, and his large, bell-like eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

He was unwilling to accept it; he was truly unwilling to accept it.

Although Platinum Bishop Salas made a mistake in his judgment, based on the exact information Salas had given him, the Shrek Academy Team had simply replaced the Agile Attack System Xiao Wu with Dai Mubai.

Dai Mubai's Soul Power has reached level 55, which is indeed an incredibly terrifying weapon. Perhaps there is no other genius like him in the entire Spirit Master World.

However, Dai Mubai is indeed powerful, but under normal circumstances, Huyan Zhen believes that even if his eldest grandson Hu Yanli and three other disciples of the Elephant Armored Sect who are above level 40 joined Huyan Li, they might not be unable to withstand Dai Mubai's offensive.

The fact that Huyan Li and the others held off Dai Mubai's attacks for so long is proof of this.

Huyan Li's decision to deal with the rest of the Shrek Academy alone was also correct, because Dai Mubai's terrifying strength after Bronze Wall Iron Barrier the Elephant Armored Academy Team's impenetrable defenses was indeed shocking.

However, if Huyan Li can deal with the rest of the Shrek Academy, then when the seven of them join forces to fight Dai Mubai, the victory will be a foregone conclusion.

Furthermore, Huyan Li's Soul Power Level is as high as level 43. Although it is two levels lower than Zhu Zhuqing and one level lower than Tang San, he has a Head Soul Bone that is perfectly suited to him as a Huyan Li. In Huyan Zhen's opinion, it is only a matter of time before Huyan Li defeats the others from the Shrek Academy.

After all, neither Zhu Zhuqing's agility nor Tang San's control posed a threat to Huyan Li after he used his Spirit Bone; they could only rely on their speed to dodge.

Although Tang San used that strange footwork and the special technique of the Blue Silver King to dodge Huyan Li's first wave of impact, could he withstand the second wave?

The events of just now flashed through Huyan Zhen's mind, and the final scene of seeing his grandson being seriously injured by Dai Mubai's punch made him furious.

Huyan Li is the future of their Elephant Armored Sect. If he suffers any setback because of him, Huyan Zhen's anger will be truly uncontrollable.

It was precisely because of this rage that Huyan Zhen overlooked some things.

Apart from the four Soul Elder —Tai Long, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Jiang Zhu— Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing did not use their Fourth Spirit Ability, and even Dai Mubai, the Spirit King, only used his first three Soul Skills.

In other words, their Shrek Academy Team didn't actually use their full strength.

Moreover, Tang San himself had already absorbed a 20,000-year-old Torso Soul Bone, and he hadn't used his Second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer. If these are taken into account, then the Shrek Academy Team actually had quite a few trump cards up their sleeves.

Of course, it's not entirely accurate to say that Dai Mubai did retain most of his strength, but Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing don't count.

Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing's Fourth Spirit Ability both involve absorbing abilities beyond their level, and their power is indeed strong enough compared to Soul Master of the same level. However, if their Fourth Spirit Ability were used to deal with the seven members of the Elephant Armored Academy Team whose defense was maxed out, their effectiveness would not be very significant.

However, their victory in this battle was not actually that difficult, because Dai Mubai's strength was indeed powerful enough. He alone was enough to break through the combined defense of the seven members of the Elephant Armored Academy, ultimately forcing Huyan Li to expose even his Spirit Bone.

This Soul Fighting demonstrated the strength of the Shrek Academy to all the spectators and high-ranking officials in the VIP seats. The performances of Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, Tai Long, Jiang Zhu, and others, as well as the power of Dai Mubai, the Spirit King, all raised everyone's expectations for the Shrek Academy, this dark horse.

Especially Xue Ye, when he saw that Dai Mubai was a Spirit King, he already had the ambition to compete for the championship of this year's All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Although the tournament is a grand stage to showcase the talents and strength of Soul Master, in the end it is still a contest between the Two Great Empires and the Spirit Hall.

After all, the talent and strength of young Soul Master determine the future strength of Soul Master in this country. In the past, most of the championships were won by the Spirit Hall, with a few by the Star Luo Empire, and the number of championships won by the Heaven Dou Empire was negligible.

At this moment, Ning Fengzhi's face was full of smiles as he looked at the seven Shrek Academy students who were cheering their victory on the Spirit Dueling Platform, and he couldn't help but admire them in his heart.

Sword Douluo beside him also had his eyes light up. Noticing Hu Yanzhen's loss of Huyan Zhen, Chen Xin said indifferently, "In the face of absolute strength, all external things are illusory."

Hearing Chen Xin's words, Huyan Zhen did not dare to lash out at him. Instead, he turned his gaze to the Shrek Academy Team members, his large eyes narrowing slightly as if he were thinking about something.

At this moment, the Soul Saint referee had already sent Huyan Li back to the Spirit Dueling Platform, while Jiang Zhu activated her First Spirit Ability: Healing Array to restore the injuries of the seven members of the Elephant Armored Academy.

A short while later, the seven woke up to cheers. At this time, the seven members of the Shrek Academy Team were already standing in a row, calmly looking at them.

The seven members of the Elephant Armored Academy struggled to their feet and stood in a row in front of the Shrek Academy Team. Both sides bowed and left.

Hu Huyan Li looked solemnly at Dai Mubai, who was shorter and smaller than him, but the pressure Dai Mubai exerted on him was unparalleled.

The level 55 Spirit King was twelve levels lower than him in Soul Power Level alone. Even though he possessed a Head Soul Bone, he still couldn't bridge this terrifying gap.

Huyan Li knew that he had not lost to the Shrek Academy Team, but to Dai Mubai. Without Dai Mubai, the Shrek Academy Team might not have even been able to break through their defenses, let alone win.

Exhaling slowly, Huyan Li said, "You are very strong. This academy is not suitable for you. If you are willing, the gates of the Elephant Armored Sect are always open for you. You can name your conditions!"

Huyan Li's voice was very soft, but just enough for both teams to hear.

Upon hearing Dai Mubai raised an eyebrow, pondered for a moment, and replied, "Oh? Then I'll have to think about it carefully."

Hearing Dai Mubai's answer, Huyan Li was secretly delighted. Although Dai Mubai might be just being polite, what if it was true?

After all, he has already shown enough, whether it's his Spirit Bone or his status and position, these things might be enough to attract such a genius.

Both sides bowed to their opponents and then left the field in an orderly manner.

The audience erupted in cheers the moment the match ended. At first, only a few people were chanting Shrek Academy's name, but like a lit fuse, the number of people chanting grew larger and larger. When the seven members of the Shrek Academy stepped off the stage, the audience had even forgotten that there were still several matches to be played. A wave of chants for Shrek swept through the stands.

The vast majority of the audience were not Soul Master; as the saying goes, laymen watch the spectacle. The Shrek Academy seven delivered the most dazzling matches for them. Dai Mubai's shock at fighting seven opponents and Tang San's final Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track left an extremely deep impression on the audience.

The huge difference in size between the two sides made the audience immediately see Shrek Academy as the weaker party, and sympathy for the weak is an emotion that ordinary people are most likely to have.

Although Shrek Academy Team appeared to be the weaker side on the surface, the atmosphere of the entire arena changed when Dai Mubai's five Soul Ring — Two Yellow Two Purple, and one black—rose.

Spirit King! Even on the continent, a powerhouse of this level would be a guest of honor for most forces. Yet, the Spirit King on the Spirit Dueling Platform is not even twenty-five years old. What terrifying talent!

Dai Mubai garnered a lot of attention in this match, and it was precisely because of his appearance that the value of the Shrek Academy Team, this dark horse, skyrocketed.

Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Liu Erlong have already made a fortune simply by placing bets on gambling.

Shrek Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena Shrek Academy Team left the arena, but the atmosphere inside did not calm down because of their departure. The cheers for the name Shrek continued until the other four matches were over.

Shrek Academy was not the only team to achieve two consecutive victories, but the opponents they defeated in those two wins were the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team Two, which symbolized the Heaven Dou Empire, and Elephant Armored Academy, a subordinate of the Elephant Armored Sect, one of the Seven Great Sects.

The strength of their opponents and Shrek Academy's near-crushing victories in every match undoubtedly made them the focus of all the viewers.

In the VIP section, Huyan Zhen had calmed down and sat there with a deep, unreadable expression, seemingly lost in thought. Beside him, the Platinum Bishop Salas appeared to be deep in thought as well.

Xue Ye always wore a smile, occasionally whispering a few words to Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Clearly, Xue Ye also developed a strong interest in the Shrek Academy, which is understandable.

Oscar didn't care what Salas and Huyan Zhen thought. Although Dai Mubai's talent and strength were indeed amazing, there was nothing they could do about it now.

As Oscar was preparing to lead his students to the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, he suddenly noticed a team competing on the Spirit Dueling Platform.

All seven members of that team possessed Gemstone Martial Soul, each with distinct characteristics. This team belonged to a high-level Soul Master Academy called Canghui Academy.

Oscar has a vivid memory of this academy because Tang San's first true Spirit Bone in the original novel came from Shi Nian, the dean of the Canghui Academy.

However, this time, because of Oscar, Shrek Academy did not have a conflict with the Canghui Academy, and Shi Nian did not hold a grudge against them, so naturally the incident of Shi Nian ambushing Tang San as in the original work would not occur.

But Oscar didn't want to let the old man go. Putting everything else aside, the old man was no good person to begin with, and getting rid of him would be like eliminating a menace.

Of course, Oscar thought of Shi Nian not to rid the people of evil, but because of a ten-thousand-year-old Head Soul Bone in his body.

This old man didn't have the financial means to buy Spirit Bone, so he secretly harmed the people at the Auction House, stole the Spirit Bone, and absorbed it himself.

For such a bad person, how could Oscar refuse a Spirit Bone offered to him for free?

However, Oscar did not show any unusual behavior at this time. He quietly led Ma Hongjun and the others back to the academy to rest and recuperate for tomorrow's competition.

The competition will last for nearly a month, with one match every day, which will be a huge test of the Soul Master's endurance.

Just like Tai Long today, although he is quite strong, he still felt uncomfortable after taking a full-force attack from Huyan Li.

Fortunately, Jiang Zhu recovered in time, and Tai Long was not seriously injured. He rested well today and it will not affect his ability to play tomorrow.

After Oscar led everyone back to the Shrek Academy, he left to observe the situation at that Shi Nian and then prepare to find a suitable opportunity to make his move.

However, this clone was only level 55, so to be on the safe side, Oscar created another clone on the spot from the Star Dou Great Forest and sent it back to Heaven Dou City to prepare for action.

Five days have passed in the blink of an eye. Since Shrek Academy Team crushed Elephant Armored Academy Team five days ago, all five of their subsequent opponents chose to forfeit without even playing a match.

That's right, it's abstention.

The final five spots in the Heaven Dou Competition Area Preliminary Round were determined by points, with the five academies with the highest final scores advancing.

Among Shrek Academy Team's opponents in the next five days, the strongest academy only had two Soul Ancestor at level 42. Therefore, knowing that they were no match for the Shrek Academy, the opponents chose to forfeit in order to preserve their strength.

Although Salas didn't say anything explicitly, since it was a tactical maneuver, he was quite unhappy about it.

After all, it was his behind-the-scenes manipulation that led to the Shrek Academy Team against the Elephant Armored Academy Team, and he stopped doing so later in order to avoid being discovered.

However, to everyone's surprise, Shrek Academy was indeed lucky. The opponents for the next five days were all of average strength, which gave the Shrek Academy students more time to rest.

Now that Tai Long's injuries have fully healed, they still haven't encountered a worthy opponent.

Although the opponents forfeited today, everyone still came to the Great Soul Arena to watch the match, because there were two powerful teams competing today.

Dai Mubai is indeed very strong, but the Shrek Academy Team is not invincible. According to Tang San's idea, if they do not want to expose Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, and the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing in the Preliminary Round and the Promotion Match, then they must know themselves and their enemies in order to win every battle.

After all, although Dai Mubai is powerful, the level of Tai Long, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan and Jiang Zhu is still somewhat of a hindrance when compared to true geniuses.

There are only a few genius Soul Master Academy each year. Apart from the Elephant Armored Academy, which they encountered before, there are only four academies left in the Heaven Dou Competition Area that can pose a threat to Shrek Academy Team.

They are Thunderclap Academy, Godwind Academy, Blazing Academy, and Skywater Academy.

In fact, you can tell from the names of the four academies that they represent four powerful abilities.

Lightning, wind, water, and fire, plus the defensive earth element represented by the Elephant Armored Academy, these five academies are collectively known as the Five Elemental Academies in the Heaven Dou Empire's academy world, and each academy has a certain background behind it.

Among them, the background of the Elephant Armored Academy is the most direct, as it was established by the Elephant Armored Sect itself.

The other four academies also have impressive backgrounds. For example, Thunderclap Academy is actually supported by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects. However, the support is relatively subtle, and those who join the academy are mostly collateral disciples of the family, while direct disciples are trained internally by the family.

However, even though it is a collateral branch, the collateral branches of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan have always been very strong, and the strength of the Thunderclap Academy should not be underestimated.

Most people don't know the background of the Godwind Academy, Skywater Academy, and Blazing Academy, but everyone can sense that these three academies have very deep backgrounds.

In previous years' Preliminary Round, apart from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One which was guaranteed a spot, most of the five qualifying spots were occupied by the Five Elements Academy, and other academies rarely produced a dark horse like Shrek Academy.

There are only five spots available for advancement from the Preliminary Round. If Shrek Academy Team wants to advance, one of these five academies will inevitably be eliminated.

Therefore, whenever the Five Elements Academy team had a match, Tang San would bring Dai Mubai and the others to watch the game, so as to learn as much as possible about their opponents and then make a decision.

The two Five Elements Academy teams playing today are Thunderclap Academy and Godwind Academy.

Just like their academy's name, both teams are single-attribute lightning or Wind Attribute, even the Support System Spirit Master are no exception.

Academy teams like Five Elements Academy, which specialize in extreme fighting styles, typically have members with abilities of the same attribute, and the power they can unleash is usually terrifying.

However, although the opponents of these two academies were not weak, they were not strong either. The battle ended quickly after it started, amidst the fury of thunder and the tearing of hurricanes. Even with the Purple Demon Eye, Tang San did not gather much useful information.

However, Oscar had already left the spectator area. After disguising himself, he walked alone to the main entrance, holding a cup of coffee in his hand, leaning against the corner of the door, seemingly waiting for something.

At this moment, a group of academy students walked out from inside the Great Soul Arena. They were dressed in moon-white clothing with the words "Canghui" embroidered on their chests. The person leading the group was an elderly man in his seventies, who was none other than Shi Nian, the dean of the Canghui Academy.

Oscar walked casually to the door, seemingly unaware that Canghui Academy was coming. As a level 75 Soul Saint, Shi Nian was naturally not going to give way to a young man.

For some reason, Oscar stumbled and fell forward, crashing into Shi Nian and spilling his coffee on Shi Nian's face and clothes.

Before Shi Nian and the others from the Canghui Academy could even get angry, Oscar, his neck stiff, roared, "What's wrong with you? Can't you watch where you're going?! Do you know who I'm giving that coffee to?!"

Oscar directly turned the tables and positioned himself on the moral high ground, implying that although he was wrong, he did it on purpose.

"I specially delivered this to Huyan Li, the captain of the Elephant Armored Academy Team. Now look what's happened! If this affects the young master's mood, let's see what you do!"

Shi Nian had originally planned to kill the barking brat in front of him, but upon hearing Huyan Li's name, he silently withdrew his hand.

He wasn't afraid of Huyan Li, a mere child, but rather of the Elephant Armored Sect behind Huyan Li. Moreover, that old bastard Huyan Zhen was extremely Huyan Zhen, and Shi Nian couldn't afford to offend him.

Killing Huyan Li's henchman in public was a slap in the face to Huyan Zhen.

Knowing how to handle things, Shi Nian instantly knew what to do. He silently memorized Oscar's disguised appearance, snorted coldly, and left with his students.

Oscar, meanwhile, pointed at Shi Nian's departing figure and barked wildly, like a tyrannical dog relying on its master's power.

Once Shi Nian and Canghui Academy had completely disappeared from sight, Oscar bent down to pick up the shattered ceramic shards, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

P. S.: Typos will be corrected first and then fixed later.