Using Himself as Bait

On the field, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team all looked miserable.

The petite boy who was previously proud of his Nobles background has now gone bald after Ma Hongjun burned off his hair, so he probably won't be so proud anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the girl who had a crush on Chen Feng was clutching her chest, writhing in pain.

She had a rather voluptuous figure, with her breasts providing excellent cushioning, but someone kicked her in the chest, almost turning her from a D cup to an A cup.

The others each had their own experiences; some were knocked unconscious, while others were covered in cuts and bruises.

Of course, nothing fundamentally damaged them, and given their family backgrounds, recovery shouldn't be a problem.

Chen Feng and his companions had no interest in making a fool of themselves on stage. After the Referee announced the result of the match, they went straight off the stage to the rest area and then left the Spirit Fighting Arena with the others.

Their matches for today are over, so there's no need for them to stay here any longer. As for information about their opponents, that will be handled by the Grandmaster.

As they left, the noise in the arena gradually subsided.

However, it is clear to everyone that the aftermath of this competition has already spread. The appearance of three Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring will inevitably make this year's Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament unique.

In the Spirit Hall Headquarters, Pope Bibi Dong sat on her Throne, quietly listening to the Gui Mei report below.

"Your His Holiness the Pope, these three individuals all possess Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and they will likely become formidable enemies for our Spirit Hall in this competition."

Bibi Dong gently tapped the armrest of the Throne and said softly:

I have confidence in my students.

Gui Mei thought about the current situation of the Spirit Hall Team and felt that His Holiness the Pope said made sense.

"Then what's the technique for obtaining Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring ahead of time?"

"It's most likely the work of that Scholar. Those children are probably materials for him to verify his theory. I just don't know if he will publish this theory as he has in the past," Bibi Dong said.

"Your His Holiness the Pope, should we take action against that Scholar? He has connections to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which could potentially hinder our Spirit Hall in the future," Gui Mei asked.

"What kind of action do you plan to take?" Bibi Dong countered.

"If we can win them over, we will; if not, we'll eliminate them directly," Gui Mei said without hesitation.

"Ha, do you know that within the Spirit Hall, there are quite a few people who admire that Scholar? Especially the younger generation who have benefited from the Foundation Building Method."

"This..."

"It's not convenient to deal with someone like that right now, otherwise it would cause a lot of trouble. It will be easier to subdue him when the Spirit Hall has achieved its great ambitions. Of course, it would be best to subdue him and use him for our own purposes as soon as possible."

Bibi Dong thought for a moment, then continued:

"Send a message to Heaven Dou and see if she's willing to try to win over that Scholar. She and that Scholar are about the same age, and she's also a cultivation genius with God-level Martial Soul, which might pique that Scholar's interest and make communication easier."

"Of course, all of this depends on finding the Scholar's whereabouts."

"Yes, I understand." The Gui Mei nodded, then asked:

"Then, how should we handle the matter that Bishop Salas requested?"

"If he wants to test me, let him test me. If he can find out something, that will be good. Let's see if that Scholar has any greater abilities," Bibi Dong said calmly.

"Yes, Your His Majesty's message will be conveyed to him."

"As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, let's see. It's an auxiliary sect, and it wouldn't be a bad thing if we could absorb it. I heard that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan also underwent some changes in recent years?" Bibi Dong asked casually.

The Gui Mei paused for a moment, then quickly realized what the Pope was asking and hurriedly replied:

"Yes, intelligence indicates that the Grandmaster has returned to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and it seems that relations with his family have improved somewhat."

"Is that so? I understand. You may leave." Bibi Dong waved her hand.

The Gui Mei withdrew from the main hall.

Bibi Dong sat there quietly for a long time before letting out a Youyou sigh.

"So you're willing to return to your family because of your cousin? That's good, at least your family has accepted you; otherwise..."

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace

"Sect Master Ning, do you think that Nine-Headed Serpent Academy can cause trouble for the Spirit Hall?" Xue Ye asked Ning Fengzhi beside her, leaning on the railing in front of her.

"Your His Majesty, I believe they can do it," Ning Fengzhi.

"I hope so. The Spirit Hall has been dominating the Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament for far too long. If this continues, all the young Soul Master will be recruited by the Spirit Hall, and then our Heaven Dou will be in danger," Xue Ye sighed.

Ning Fengzhi hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Your His Majesty, perhaps we can make some minor reforms."

"I understand what you mean, Sect Master Ning, but this is not an easy task for the current Heaven Dou." Xue Ye patted the railing in front of her. "Just like this palace, it was easiest to change it when it was first built, but after it has been built for so long, it is extremely difficult to modify it."

Ning Fengzhi silent.

"If we're going to Renovation it, we'll have to demolish the existing structure. But the problem is," Xue Ye said with a helpless expression, "No one knows if we'll accidentally hit Load-bearing Wall during the demolition process, or if a small problem will trigger a chain reaction that could ultimately cause the entire palace to collapse. So I have no choice but to..."

Xue Ye sighed, "I can only leave it as it is, especially with the Spirit Hall watching from the sidelines. There's no way I'm going to do any Renovation."

"Your His Majesty is right." Ning Fengzhi sighed inwardly.

He knew that Xue Ye had a point, but maintaining the status quo was clearly not enough under the current circumstances. Xue Ye was a competent ruler who could maintain the status quo, and the fact that the Heaven Dou Empire had not experienced any trouble during his reign was proof of that.

However, Xue Ye clearly lacked the courage to reform, and the atmosphere at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was deteriorating, producing few truly outstanding talents. This was one of the reasons why Ning Fengzhi didn't send his daughter there in the first place.

The main team members of the Heaven Dou Royal Team are alright, but that's mainly because they are excellent on their own, and their coach, Qin Ming, is also quite good.

As for the rest, they can only be described as rotten fish and shrimp.

Ning Fengzhi may only be able to rely on His Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness the Crown Prince is young and promising, and perhaps he can bring about a change in the Heaven Dou Empire.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has a close relationship with the Heaven Dou Empire. If the Heaven Dou Empire really collapses, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will not have a good ending either.

In another palace, Crown Prince Qian Renxue, on whom Ning Fengzhi placed high hopes, was chatting with his guardian.

"Elder Ci Xie, the Main Hall wants me to find that Scholar's whereabouts and try to win him over?"

"Yes," Ci Xie said, head bowed.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. However, although I'm becoming more and more certain of Chen Feng's identity, I still can't find any evidence to expose him to his face," Qian Renxue sighed.

"Was it due to my incompetence, or was it because I failed to find a weakness in that person's defenses?" Ci Xie said.

"It's not your fault, he's just been hiding it too well," Qian Renxue said, then suddenly laughed. "But the more difficult he is to deal with, the more interested I become in him, and the more I want to bring him to my side."

This gives her a sense of pleasure in recruiting talented people.

"By the way, Elder Ci Xie, could you please send an invitation to the Nine-Headed Serpent Academy for me, saying that I'd like to catch up with Brother Chen Feng?" Qian Renxue said.

"If that person doesn't come."

"It doesn't matter whether he's willing to come this time or not, because he can't refuse every time. We have a long future ahead of us."

"Understood."

"Xiao Feng, there's an invitation for you. It's from His Highness the Crown Prince."

Arriving at a clearing in the Academy Forest, the Grandmaster handed the Golden Invitation to Chen Feng, who was practicing his Fourth Soul Skill, Ice Heart Chen Feng.

Although the Chen Feng Yin Sword has the characteristic of automatically triggering when it loses its own consciousness, making it less susceptible to the influence of Mental Soul Skill, this method is still too passive.

What Chen Feng wanted even more was to be able to activate his Ice Heart Soul Skill before or at the same time as his opponent unleashed their Spirit Soul Skill, thereby achieving Instant Control Break effects.

Others nearby were also either training or fighting, all busy and enjoying themselves.

After hearing the Grandmaster's words, Chen Feng waved to his sparring partner Gu Yue Ling, indicating that they would continue later.

Then he walked up to the Grandmaster, took the invitation, glanced at it, and said without much hesitation:

"Grandmaster, please decline this invitation for me. Just say that I need to prepare for the competition these days and it's not convenient for me to go out. Thank you for your kindness His Highness the Crown Prince."

This was just an excuse, of course. The real reason was that Chen Feng hadn't heard any news about Shi Nian's activities yet, so going out to have fun at this time was just that—going out to have fun.

However, if Chen Feng waits until the Shi Nian begins, he might encounter Shi Nian he goes out.

When that time comes, he can just find some excuse to meet Qian Renxue, and then encounter Shi Nian on his way out or back. That would cause quite a stir.

Shi Nian of whether the Spirit Hall orchestrated the elimination of talented contestants, the fact that Chen Feng was attacked while out meeting Qian Renxue would certainly ignite Qian Renxue's anger.

Because this was a slap in the face, Qian Renxue, being such a proud person, would certainly not let it go.

If Shi Nian acted voluntarily, that would be fine. But if he was indeed instructed by the Spirit Hall, as Chen Feng suspected, then this matter could further widen the rift between Qian Renxue and the Spirit Hall.

The bigger the crack, the easier it is to sow discord; this is called "Sowing Discord."

In other words, Chen Feng didn't intend to let Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer show up, otherwise he could have used the same trick again on the way to the Finals, and Qian Renxue would have been furious.

The talents she has her eye on are being repeatedly targeted and killed by the Main Hall. What does this mean?

Of course, this method of using oneself as bait to provoke others is extremely dangerous. Chen Feng must have a way to ensure his own safety; he has no intention of becoming Death Agent spy.

The ability to summon the Snow Empress is the source of Chen Feng's confidence in causing trouble.

The Grandmaster was not surprised by Chen Feng's choice. He put away the invitation in his hand and said:

"Okay, I'll get back to you later. I also came here about something else, which is your next opponent."

After he finished speaking, he clapped his hands, attracting the others who were training to gather around.

After everyone had arrived, the Grandmaster said:

"Flender, Erlong. Based on the performance of each Academy, there are Five Opponents you must be wary of."

"Five Opponents? That's so many!" Ma Hongjun said with some surprise. "I thought there would only be one or two that we could care about."

"We need to conceal our strength, have you forgotten? And don't underestimate our other opponents," Tang San reminded them.

"Oh, right." Ma Hongjun slapped his forehead.

Their current lineup is quite extreme, with virtually no stamina. They can easily dominate weaker teams, but when facing strong opponents, they tend to run out of steam.

The Grandmaster nodded and said:

"Xiao San is right. Even if we have to hold back our strengths, these Five Opponents are still quite threatening. They are the main team of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the Four Element Academy, and we can't rule out the possibility that other Academy are also holding back."

"Send me when we fight the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. I have a lot of experience fighting Tang Ying." Xiao Wu raised her hand and said with a grin.

"Yes, if we encounter them, Xiao Wu, you go." The Grandmaster nodded.

"What are the characteristics of the other Academy?" Chen Feng asked.

The Grandmaster recounted the information he had seen to everyone, and as Chen Feng listened, he suddenly asked:

"Grandmaster, isn't there a single contestant from the Skywater Academy named Shui Bing'er?"

"No, I didn't see any of this round's matches. Is there a problem?" the Grandmaster asked, puzzled.

The others looked at Chen Feng with suspicion. After thinking for a moment, he explained:

"When Poison Douluo went out, he encountered the Shui Family. They cooperated on an adventure and each obtained a Immortal Herb. Poison Douluo's Immortal Herb allowed his Martial Soul to evolve and solved the problem of Poison Damage to the Body. The Shui Family's Immortal Herb was said to be given to their generation's genius, a girl with Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, who is Shui Bing'er, whom I just mentioned."

"Ice Phoenix? That's Top-tier Martial Soul." Dai Mubai glanced at Ma Hongjun.

Ma Hongjun scratched his head. "What if I run into someone I can't beat? Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?"

"That would be embarrassing. When Martial Soul of similar quality meet, whoever loses is the one who loses," Oscar said, patting Ma Hongjun on the shoulder.

"It seems that Skywater Academy, like us, has also chosen to conceal its strength," the Grandmaster said, frowning.

"Is it possible that other Academy have also hidden things?" Ning Rongrong asked.

"Even if they're hiding, there shouldn't be many. As long as they can't overwhelm us, we still have a chance to win," Chen Feng said.