Ao Yue Returns

According to the news from the Spirit Hall, the competition will officially begin in three days. After a long journey, these three days of rest will be enough for each academy to make adjustments.

The Star Luo Empire's participating academies were arranged to rest on the other side of Spirit City, which meant that the Spirit Hall had inadvertently divided the participating teams from the Two Great Empires into two camps.

In the Shrek Academy lounge, Oscar sat in the main seat, next to the mature and Dugu Yan.

Oscar glanced at everyone, quite satisfied.

After more than two months, with the Grand Finals just around the corner, the Shrek Academy team has improved once again. Even with Oscar and Dugu Yan not making a move, the Shrek Academy Team is now no match for the strongest Spirit Hall Team.

Excluding Oscar and Dugu Yan, the current strength of the Shrek Academy Team members is as follows:

Ma Hongjun, Martial Soul: Evil Fire Phoenix, Level 55 Assault System Attack Spirit King.

Dai Mubai, Martial Soul: White Tiger, Level 55 Assault System Attack Spirit King.

Zhu Zhuqing, Spirit Hall: Hell Spirit Cat, Level 46 Agile Attack System Spirit Master.

Ning Rongrong, Martial Soul: Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Level 46 Support Spirit Master.

Tang San, Martial Soul: Blue Silver King, Level 45 Control Spirit Master.

Xiao Wu, Martial Soul: Soft Bone Charm Rabbit, Level 44 Attack Spirit Master.

Tai Long, Martial Soul: Great Strength Gorilla, Level 41 Attack Spirit Master.

Jing Ling, Martial Soul: Skeleton, Level 37 Agility Attack Spirit Elder.

Huang Yuan, Martial Soul: Yellow Wolf, Level 37 Assault Spirit Elder.

Jiang Zhu, Martial Soul: Healing Scepter, Level 36 Support System Soul Elder.

With the Shrek Academy's current lineup, not counting Oscar, Dugu Yan, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Jiang Zhu, Dai Mubai's group is already quite strong.

With Tai Long breaking through to the Soul Ancestor, the main members who could participate became two Spirit Kings and four Soul Ancestor, making their strength unparalleled.

Even the Spirit Hall might not be able to match their lineup. They were well aware of the strength of the two level 55 Assault System Spirit King, and with the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, they couldn't think of anyone who could be their opponent.

Upon entering Shrek Academy's rest area, everyone returned to their rooms to cultivate, striving to be in top form three days later to secure victory in the Grand Finals and continue their undefeated streak from the Preliminary Round and Promotion Match! Oscar and Dugu Yan were resting in their room when suddenly Oscar's expression became somewhat peculiar.

Spirit Hall.

Ao Yue entered the core area of the Spirit Hall alone, and no one stopped him along the way because he was holding the token of the Saintess Hu Liena. Seeing the token was like seeing the Saintess Maiden herself.

After leaving for three months, Ao Yue returned to the place and found something amiss.

Hu Liena wasn't here. Ao Yue learned from Hu Liena's servant that she hadn't returned for over a month and was probably at the Spirit Hall Academy preparing for the Grand Finals.

Upon receiving the news, Ao Yue went to the Spirit Hall.

Ao Yue went to see Hu Liena, not because he missed her, since his relationship with Hu Liena was just a fling, and he only had Dugu Yan as his wife.

The reason Oscar went to find her as soon as he returned to Spirit City was because Oscar wanted to find out who wanted to intercept Tang San, or who leaked the information.

As Saintess, Hu Liena could act as his mouthpiece even if she was unaware of the situation. After all, Ao Yue's younger brother, Oscar, was at the Shrek Academy. In Ao Yue's eyes, this assassination attempt was directed at his brother, which makes perfect sense, right? How did Ao Yue know that his brother had been assassinated? Heh, who would care about that? Perhaps Oscar questioned his brother? Or perhaps Sword Sect warned the young master? Ao Yue arrived at the Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy, presented the token representing Hu Liena's identity, and easily entered the academy. After casually inquiring with someone and learning Hu Liena's location, he went straight there.

At this moment, Hu Liena was making final preparations with the members of the Spirit Hall Academy in the training hall. When she suddenly saw Ao Yue walking in at the entrance of the training hall, she was overjoyed and stopped training to run straight towards Ao Yue.

Given Ao Yue's past personality, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to come see her as soon as he returned to Spirit City, but Ao Yue's appearance now surprised and delighted Hu Liena.

"You're back?" Hu Liena ran up to Ao Yue, gently stroking her hair, and exclaimed in surprise.

Ao Yue nodded. "Mm."

Hu Liena seemed to have gotten used to Ao Yue's taciturn nature and couldn't help but take his hand. "Have you eaten?"

Ao Yue shook his head. "Not yet."

Hu Liena was even happier upon hearing this. "You must be tired from your journey. You just arrived in Spirit City and came to find me without even having a meal. Did you miss me?"

Looking at the charming and beautiful Hu Liena in front of him, Ao Yue couldn't help but swallow. If he hadn't been drained dry by his sister Dugu Yan, that vixen, how could he have resisted the temptation of this beauty in front of him?

Ao Yue turned his head away. "I didn't think so."

Ao Yue neither refused nor tried to please him; this was their way of getting along, and Hu Liena seemed to like Ao Yue's gentlemanly demeanor.

"Hehe, you don't tell me the truth." Hu Liena chuckled upon hearing this, and pulled Ao Yue outside, saying, "I'll take you to eat something delicious."

Ao Yue turned and left with Hu Liena, but still asked with some concern, "Won't this affect your training?"

Hu Liena waved her hand. "We've already practiced together a long time ago. These next two days are just the last chance to get used to that ultimate move!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Yue looked at Hu Liena with a puzzled expression. "Ultimate move? What other ultimate moves do you have?"

Hu Liena gave a wicked smile, "Tch! Want to know? Give me a kiss and I'll tell you."

Upon hearing this, Ao Yue didn't reply but simply pulled Hu Liena straight to the cafeteria. Seeing that Ao Yue wasn't responding, Hu Liena wasn't discouraged and just followed Ao Yue with a smile.

This wasn't Ao Yue's first time at the Spirit Hall Academy; he was already quite familiar with the place. After all, in other people's eyes, the two of them were already a couple.

Inside the training hall, Yan frowned as he watched Hu Liena leave. After a long while, he simply sighed and said nothing.

Xie Yue patted Yan on the shoulder. "Brother, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Nana has always treated you like a brother. Now that the real one is back, you should stop thinking about him."

Yan glared at Xie Yue upon hearing this. "Mind your own business!"

Xie Yue couldn't help but chuckle, "You can't beat them in a fight, and you're far inferior in talent. Why bother?"

Yan turned his back, ignoring Xie Yue, and his sullen voice came. "Who said I can't beat her? Just you wait and see, I'll show Nana my true strength in the Grand Finals!"

Ao Yue and Hu Liena were eating in the cafeteria. Hu Liena shared some interesting stories from the past few months with Ao Yue, and Ao Yue also shared basic information about some geniuses in the Star Luo Empire with Hu Liena, and warned her to be careful of those dark horse academies, etc.

In the end, Ao Yue did not kiss Hu Liena, but Hu Liena told Ao Yue their killer move.

Hu Liena placed a piece of fish on Ao Yue's plate and then said, "Some time ago, our teacher arranged a teacher for us. Although this teacher isn't very strong, he is indeed quite knowledgeable. We are currently training in the Seven-in-One Fusion Skill that he taught us, which can fully demonstrate the power of my brother's and my Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

Upon hearing this, Ao Yue seemed to ponder for a moment, but on the surface he didn't react much, only smiling slightly, "So you're telling me the secret now?"

Hu Liena rolled her eyes at Ao Yue: "I told you to kiss me but you wouldn't, so I couldn't help but say it."

"Besides, what good would it do to tell you? The competition is a team competition. No matter how strong your individual skills are, you can't possibly be our opponent."

Upon hearing this, Ao Yue smiled slightly, "Is that so? Then let's wait and see."

Hu Liena smiled and said, "Of course, if we run into your brother first, we can also help you take care of him."

Upon hearing this, Ao Yue's expression turned somewhat strange. "Are you sure? I heard that not only did he not appear in the previous Preliminary Round and Promotion Match, but Shrek Academy also has a level 55 Spirit King."

"So, Shrek Academy now has at least two Spirit Kings. With two Spirit Kings and five Soul Ancestor, their strength is no less than that of your Spirit Hall Academy. Are you that confident?"

Hu Liena nodded confidently upon hearing this. "You'll know when you see our ultimate move. When have I ever lied to you?"

Upon hearing this, Ao Yue nodded. "Alright, but I hope that Oscar and I can resolve our issues ourselves. It feels strange to rely on you."

Hu Liena pouted. "Why do you say the same thing as your brother? Do you think we're different? Anyway, if we meet first, I'll kill your brother!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Yue patted Hu Liena's head and said, "Alright, but he's not as simple as you think. You'll have to be careful."

Hu Liena smiled slightly, "Understood!"

After the meal, Ao Yue escorted Hu Liena back to the training hall. The others were still training. When he saw the familiar buzz cut man who was in charge of the training, his guess was finally confirmed.

The person in charge of the training on the field was Yu Xiaogang, still wearing his black linen clothes. Xie Yue and Yan were listening attentively to him.

Oscar didn't expect Yu Xiaogang to come to the Spirit Hall. Perhaps something happened that he didn't know about, but one thing was certain: Yu Xiaogang was definitely involved in the assassination attempt on Tang San.

Because apart from Oscar and Ma Hongjun, the only person who knew Tang San's identity and talent was Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang is currently in the Spirit Hall, and according to Hu Liena, he arrived in Spirit City several months ago.

Therefore, there is only one truth: Tang San was betrayed by his most respected teacher.

Of course, Oscar can't judge who's good or bad, since he's the one who created this situation.

However, Oscar was puzzled as to why Yu Xiaogang had become a teacher for the Spirit Hall Academy Team and had even successfully taught them the Seven-in-One Fusion Skill.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Although Yu Xiaogang is just a pure theoretical Grandmaster, the books he reads are genuine. He can plagiarize books and publish papers, so he must have some real talent and knowledge.

What Oscar didn't know was that the reason Yu Xiaogang was able to complete his Seven-in-One Fusion Skill was not only due to his own experiences and previous studies over the past two years, but most importantly, because of a student from the Spirit Hall Academy.

Through that student's special Soul Skill, Yu Xiaogang was able to enable the Spirit Hall Team to use the so-called Seven-in-One Fusion Skill.

However, Hu Liena did not tell Ao Yue these details. After all, Hu Liena was determined to defeat Ao Yue, so how could she reveal such crucial information? Having understood the cause and effect and obtained a lot of information, Ao Yue bid farewell to Hu Liena and planned to return to the hotel to rest and arrange some tactics. After all, Oscar also wanted to win a championship for fun.

At the hotel where Shrek Academy was resting, Oscar gave everyone a final pep talk and then explained the rules again.

Oscar's voice rang out calmly. "There are a total of thirty-three teams participating in the Grand Finals. Among them, there are three seeded teams, selected by the Two Great Empires and the Spirit Hall respectively. The team that poses the greatest threat to you is undoubtedly the one selected by the Spirit Hall Academy. They are also the biggest stumbling block to your final victory."

"The Grand Finals consist of only five rounds, which is shorter than the Preliminary Round and Promotion Match. However, because the competition is fierce, there will be a day of rest and adjustment between each round and the next. Before the final fifth round, there will be three days of adjustment."

"In the first round, the three seeded teams will receive a bye, and the remaining thirty teams will compete for fifteen qualifying spots. The losers will be eliminated directly. The brutal elimination rounds will surely make each Soul Master team fight even harder, so you must remember not to be careless in the slightest."

"According to the competition rules, the top-ranked academy from Two Great Empires regions will receive a bye in the second round of the Promotion Matches. This is the very purpose of the Promotion Match."

"At that time, the remaining sixteen teams will compete to determine eight teams that will advance to the third round, and that's when we'll need to take the stage."

"After the sixteen teams are decided, eight teams will be selected, plus two teams that receive a bye, making a total of ten teams. The teams that receive a bye in the third round will be the second-place teams in the Promotion Match, and the remaining eight teams will compete for four spots to advance to the fourth round together."

"There will be no byes in the fourth round, so only the top two teams will benefit in the Grand Finals during the Promotion Match. The earlier a team gets a bye, the better, because it can avoid being eliminated too early."

"The remaining six teams in the fourth round will compete to determine the top three."

"Finally, there is the fifth round, which is also the last round of the entire competition. Only three teams will enter the Promotion Match. The three teams will first use a round-robin elimination method with seven players from each team to determine the team with the strongest individual strength."

"Then the two losing teams will have a Team Battle, and the winner will challenge the winner of the previous individual competition to determine the final champion. Do you all understand?"

"Understood!" Ma Hongjun nodded in response.

To be honest, the rules of the competition are not complicated, but there is a lot of room for maneuver within them.

For example, the merger of the Blazing Academy and Godwind Academy in the original work was like this, but it is unknown whether New Divine Wind Academy will emerge this time.

The merger of the two academies means that one of the academies has completely given up its ranking in the Grand Finals, which is unacceptable to both the group of geniuses and the academy itself.

Oscar then discussed the battle strategy with the others, since he wanted to preserve as much as possible while still being able to.

Rather than simply showing off, being the sixth man is more in line with Oscar's way of life.

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