Promotion Match Begins

The next day.

Unlike the Preliminary Rounds, which have multiple arenas running simultaneously, the Promotion Match are held in a single venue: the Royal Knights' Grand Training Ground.

A total of fifteen teams will participate in the Promotion Match, playing fourteen rounds of a round-robin tournament, one round per day, with one team having a bye each day and playing seven matches. All matches will be held in the same venue.

The Grand Training Ground has been renovated, with a 100-meter-diameter area in the center designated as the competition arena. Compared to the Preliminary Rounds, this space is much larger, making it easier to showcase one's abilities.

On the north side of the Grand Training Ground, a temporary VIP seating area, which also served as the referee's seat, was set up facing south. This time, there were not as many VIPs as last time; many nobles were gone, and not a single commoner could be seen.

Looking around, apart from Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and Platinum Bishop Salas in the first row, the seats behind were occupied by generals and officials of the Heaven Dou Empire dressed as military officers, as well as some high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall and the Spirit Hall Sanctuary of Heaven Dou City.

Team Battle are quite chaotic, and many things are not easy to see clearly. However, the Promotion Match are different. Every student will show their personal strength in front of everyone, which is also the best time to assess the strength of a Soul Master.

It can be said that this Promotion Match, as long as the player is strong enough, can even become a personal showcase.

At this moment, outside the Grand Training Ground, a full ten thousand royal knights surrounded the entire Grand Training Ground, their armor gleaming.

The Royal Knights stood on the ground in the front row, while those in the back sat on the backs of their mounts, forming a huge circle.

Such a tight defense is practically watertight. Besides maintaining security, Xue Ye's purpose in sending this group of soldiers was to let his most elite warriors see the strength of the new generation of young Soul Master, in order to inspire their fighting spirit.

This can be considered a good opportunity to "add fuel to the fire" for one's own army, keeping the benefits within the family.

Between the large circle formed by the knights and the competition venue, all fifteen participating teams had arrived, including those who had a bye today. Even if they didn't have to compete, they still wanted to get a clear picture of their opponents' strength.

The rules of the competition are simple: each side sends seven players to participate, and each player must fight until they are defeated. The winner then faces the next opponent, until all seven players on one side are defeated.

The draw was completed last night, but Shrek Academy did not receive a bye in the first round.

Teams from different divisions who passed the Preliminary Round were grouped together, and each academy had its own rest area around the central arena, where the academy's teachers and team leaders watched the games.

Guided by the emcee, Xue Ye stood up from the VIP seats and announced loudly through his Soul Tool: "The Promotion Match officially begin today. Over the next fourteen days, I hope that each academy team will give full play to their strength and demonstrate the style that Soul Master should have. I hereby declare... the Promotion Match of the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, the shouts of the soldiers and knights on the periphery rose in unison like a landslide and a tsunami, "Long live! Long live! Long live!"

The Royal Knights raised their lances high, the clanging of their armor and their booming shouts startling some of the participating Soul Master, showcasing the grandeur of a great nation.

The Promotion Match consist of seven games each day, three in the morning and four in the afternoon. Shrek Academy will play in the first match of the first round. Their opponent is Barak Academy from the Balak Kingdom, which is the direct academy of King of Barak, who was once at odds with Flender.

As the top academy in the kingdom, the Balak Kingdom is quite strong, with two Soul Ancestor level members and five High-level Spirit Masters. However, they are simply unlucky to have encountered Shrek Academy.

Before the match began, Flender only said one sentence: to crush their former rivals and make them understand that Shrek Academy is no longer what it used to be.

This time, there was no mockery from the opponents like in the original story. After the referee's announcement, both teams went straight onto the field, starting the first match of the first round of the Promotion Match.

The order of appearance for the Shrek Academy is: Tai Long, Xiao Wu, Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and finally Dai Mubai.

In fact, Dai Mubai was not needed at all to deal with the Barak Academy. Even Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San might not have had a chance to participate, because Tai Long had already successfully absorbed his Fourth Spirit Ring three days ago and advanced to become a level 41 Soul Ancestor.

The academy found Tai Long's Fourth Spirit Ring for him in advance. After all, these are extraordinary times, and Tai Long has no chance to hunt Soul Ring in the Soul Hunting Forest. Fortunately, the academy has a deep foundation, so capturing a thousand-year-old Soul Beast for Tai Long is not a problem.

Both teams took to the field. Tai Long's opponent was the captain of the Barak Academy, who was also the current King of Barak's son. His Orbai, and his Martial Soul was a mutated Sun Flower that combined control and attack. His Soul Power Level was 42.

Facing Orbai, whose Soul Power Level was one level higher than his own, Tai Long showed no fear whatsoever. Before the match began, Tang San had told him that with his current strength, his opponent's control was nothing to worry about. As long as he could get close, victory would belong to Tai Long.

At the referee's signal, the two released their respective Martial Soul.

With the release of his Great Strength Gorilla Martial Soul, Tai Long's body suddenly swelled, making him even taller and more imposing. When four Soul Ring —Two Yellow Two Purple —appeared on his body, all the students present were astonished. After all, just a month ago, Tai Long was only level thirty-nine, but now he had already broken through to the Soul Ancestor realm.

"Tai Long Shrek Academy Team, Martial Soul: Great Strength Gorilla, Level 41 Attack Spirit Master."

Noticing that Tai Long's Soul Power Level was only level 41, Orbai's serious expression lessened, and a sinister smile appeared on his lips. He knew that Flender had refused his father's offer and had even secretly established an academy outside Suotuo City. Today, he was going to teach this so-called Shrek Academy a lesson! The reason Orbai had these thoughts was naturally due to his lack of information. After all, since they entered the Royal Training Ground, they had no other sources of information. People from other kingdoms and duchies were unaware of the Shrek Academy's current strength, so Orbai still thought that Shrek Academy was the once-impoverished academy.

Orbai also released his Martial Soul, and a huge golden Sun Flower quietly appeared in his hand. Four Soul Ring Two Yellow Two Purple, rose on his body, clearly demonstrating his level 42 Soul Power fluctuations.

"Barak Academy, Orbai, Martial Soul: Crimson Gold Sun Flower, Level 42 Control Spirit Master."

After both players released their Martial Soul, the referee's voice rang out again. "The first match of the first round of the Promotion Match begins!"

As soon as the referee finished speaking, Tai Long charged straight at Orbai. Orbai was completely unafraid of Tai Long's attack. Two yellow Soul Ring lit up, and two golden rays of light quietly flew out from the Sun Flower, about to Entanglement Tai Long.

At the same time, an inexplicable pressure surged towards Tai Long, causing his forward speed to suddenly decrease, or rather, his overall movement speed was affected by a special airflow.

Faced with this situation, Tai Long entered the arena and also lit up two Yellow Spirit Rings.

"First Spirit Ability: Stone Defense".

"Second Spirit Ability: Explosive Great Strength!"

The immense defense and power amplification were instantly released under the effect of the Soul Skill. With terrifying power, Tai Long forged ahead through the air current that was blocking his progress, and even the two beams of light that Entanglement him were torn apart by him.

Only then did Orbai realize just how terrifying his opponent's power was; the combined use of his two Soul Skills had failed to cause him any trouble.

Orbai understood how formidable and powerful his opponent was. Although his Soul Power Level was one level higher Tai Long's, if things continued like this, he would be powerless to resist once he was in close combat.

Facing the rapidly approaching Tai Long, Orbai immediately unleashed his Fourth Spirit Ability. The Sun Flower in his hand shone brightly, suddenly condensing into a crimson-gold light. Then, under the effect of the Fourth Spirit Ability, it transformed into a crimson-gold pillar of light, instantly attacking the charging Tai Long.

Faced with the full force of this level 42 Soul Ancestor's attack, Tai Long made a second choice for the first time. Instead of confronting his opponent head-on, he rolled to the left to dodge the impact of the golden beam of light. Then, his purple Third Spirit Ring and Fourth Spirit Ring lit up.

"Third Spirit Ability: Berserk Giant Ape"

"Fourth Spirit Ability: Source of Power!"

With two more amplification skills used instantly, Tai Long's power had reached a terrifying level, far surpassing that of other Soul Ancestor of the same level, and at least reaching the terrifying power of a high-level Soul Ancestor.

Tai Long bowed slightly, then leaped up suddenly. The ground beneath his feet was so powerful that it created a deep crater. Orbai was taken aback by Tai Long's sudden movement and hurriedly released his Third Spirit Ability to try and control the leaping Tai Long.

Five beams of light shot out simultaneously, attempting to block Tai Long, but Tai Long's power was too terrifying. He shattered Orbai's Third Spirit Ability with a single punch and fell straight down on him.

A terrifying power gathered in his fist, and Tai Long punched Orbai directly in the chest. A cracking sound, as if ribs were breaking, rang out, and Orbai was sent flying like a broken sack, crashing heavily to the edge of the Spirit Arena, never to rise again.

Faced with Tai Long's unstoppable attack, Orbai was defeated and suffered serious injuries.

The medical team on the sidelines rushed to Orbai's side. After a series of examinations, they determined that he was not in any life-threatening danger and had only broken two ribs. Only then did the referee announce that the game should continue.

However, the teacher in charge of the Barak Academy in the spectator area was furious. After all, this was King of Barak's son, and with such a serious injury, the subsequent matches would definitely be affected.

However, there was nothing he could do here, because his opponent was indeed very strong.

"In the first match of the first round of the Promotion Match, Shrek Academy's Tai Long wins. Shrek Academy has one point, and Tai Long has one point. The match continues. Please welcome the next player from the Barak Academy to the stage."

Tai Long's next opponent was a level 37 Assault System Soul Elder, which posed almost no pressure for Tai Long, as his third and fourth amplification skills were enough to last for half an hour.

Under the influence of these two terrifying amplification skills, Tai Long once again defeated three Soul Elders from the Barak Academy. It wasn't until the fifth student from the Barak Academy took the stage that Tai Long finally lost.

The fifth person from the Barak Academy to take the stage was also a Soul Ancestor, with a strength of level 41, and one of only two Soul Ancestor in the Barak Academy.

However, Tai Long's performance was already quite impressive. He defeated a level 42 opponent with a level 41 strength, and then went on to defeat four opponents in a row, which was an extremely exciting duel.

The second student from the Shrek Academy to perform was Xiao Wu. The little girl was still at level 43. Although she had worked hard over the past month, she still needed some time before breaking through.

However, facing a level 41 Agile Attack System opponent, Xiao Wu faced almost no pressure.

The duel began, Xiao Wu immediately used her Second Spirit Ability to Charm her opponent, then used her Third Spirit Ability to close the distance, activating her First Spirit Ability: Waist Bow.

In less than ten seconds, the Soul Ancestor from the Barak Academy was eliminated, and the fate of the two Soul Elders who followed from the Barak Academy was almost the same.

Shrek Academy won the first match with only two Soul Ancestor, accumulating seven points: four from Tai Long and three from Xiao Wu.

The referee's voice rang out. "The first match of the first round of the Promotion Match: Shrek Academy Team vs. Barak Academy Team. Shrek Academy Team has seven wins and one loss, with seven points. Barak Academy Team one win and seven losses, with one point."

After the match, Jing Ling and Huang Yuan felt like they had won without experiencing anything, which made them a little unaccustomed to it. Perhaps this is the downside of having too strong teammates.

Dai Mubai and Tang San, however, did not have any particular thoughts on this. For other academies, the Promotion Match were the best stage to showcase their individual strength, but Dai Mubai and Tang San did not value it, because they had already demonstrated unparalleled strength during the Preliminary Round.

It's fair to say that even if Dai Mubai didn't make a move, everyone who had witnessed Shrek Academy's matches understood that Dai Mubai was the most powerful individual among all the young talents of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Tang San's control and personal strength are equally impressive, as are Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing; they are both formidable figures.

For the remaining geniuses from the Four Element Academy who want to achieve good results in the Promotion Match, Shrek Academy is an indispensable part of their journey.

In Team Battle, some of them might be defeated before they even have a chance to use their trump cards, but the individual battles in the Promotion Match are their best opportunity to prove themselves.

However, Shrek Academy is too powerful. Their Team Battle are already ridiculously strong. Now, the Promotion Match are just individual battles. If you want to defeat Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai, a level 55 Spirit King, is an insurmountable obstacle.

After all, which of them has the strength to defeat Dai Mubai one-on-one?

A series of attacks might work, but Shrek Academy also has Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu. Now that Tai Long has also advanced to the Soul Ancestor level, he is also a formidable opponent.

Therefore, they could only do their best to showcase their strengths and advantages when facing other academies, so that the VIPs could see the value of these geniuses.

P. S.: Typos will be corrected later.