At three in the afternoon, everyone in Shrek's lounge at the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena gathered around a round table.
Jiang Huai had written down everyone's names and set them aside. Then he labeled the game pieces with the names and arranged them one by one. When the others looked again, they saw that the pieces had formed two different formations.
Jiang Huai addressed them all. "The people competing this afternoon are Gu Yue, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, Tang San, Oscar, Jing Ling, and Jiang Zhu. During the match, you seven can't stick rigidly to the tactics I've laid out. You'll have to adapt as the situation changes."
Jiang Huai arranged the pieces for Blazing Academy around Huo Wu. Looking at them, Tang San pondered, "Brother Huai, does the way you've arranged these pieces mean they'll do everything they can to help Huo Wu attack?"
Jiang Huai nodded. "Huo Wu is the strongest among them. Her Martial Soul is her own body, making her one of the rarest Body Martial Soul users. Everyone with a Body Martial Soul possesses a talent skill called Ring Fusion. As the name suggests, it combines Soul Rings, though not in the true sense of fusing them. Instead, it draws on the power of the fused Soul Rings to increase the strength of a Soul Skill."
Everyone nodded at that. Jiang Huai turned to Gu Yue. "You're the only Soul Master on our Shrek team who can control fire in this match, so I need you to deflect the fireballs Huo Wu sends at us. Can you do that?"
Gu Yue nodded. "Of course."
Jiang Huai looked at Tang San. "Although you can't resist fire throughout the match, I need you to buy time. That way, Gu Yue can charge up her fourth Soul Skill and take them all out in one strike."
Tang San nodded. "Understood. I'll do my best to hold them off and give Sister Gu Yue time to use Frozen Domain."
Jiang Huai then went over the tactics with the others. Their job was to protect Gu Yue and give her enough time to charge up her fourth Soul Skill.
Half an hour later, Gu Yue and the others headed to the waiting area to prepare, while Jiang Huai went to the stands with the rest.
Before long, the Great Soul Arena was packed. Jiang Huai and Flender took their seats, and the match was about to begin. Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and Salas, the three judges of the tournament, arrived with their entourages and sat down.
Dou Dou picked up the microphone and called out, "The match begins!" Then she flew into the air.
Gu Yue and Dai Mubai exchanged a glance before releasing their Martial Souls and charging in. Seeing Shrek's two strongest fighters rush forward, Huo Wu didn't panic. She immediately unleashed her Soul Skill. "First Soul Skill: Repulsive Fire Ring!"
Gu Yue conjured barriers of ice around herself and Dai Mubai, so Huo Wu's first Soul Skill was rendered useless.
Gu Yue raised the Silver Dragon Spear and struck, while Dai Mubai unleashed a blast of White Tiger Intense Light Wave.
Seeing this, Huo Wushuang immediately used his skill. "First Soul Skill: Explosive Dragon's Fury!"
Gu Yue responded at once with her first Soul Skill. "First Soul Skill: Elemental Perception!"
Gu Yue swung the Silver Dragon Spear, flinging away the flames Huo Wushuang had spat out and sending them crashing into his teammates. Two of Blazing Academy's support Soul Masters were knocked off the platform and eliminated.
Huo Wu saw this and cursed, "Despicable!"
But it wasn't over. Gu Yue raised her spear again, ready to attack, while the White Tiger Soul Power around Dai Mubai began to glow.
"Self-Created Soul Skill: White Tiger Meteor Annihilation!"
Dai Mubai's move caught the opposing team off guard. Huo Wu instinctively released a Soul Skill to defend herself, only to find her defenses easily shattered.
Huo Wushuang and several other team members rushed forward to resist, but the meteors sent them flying off the Soul Fighting platform. Just like that, Huo Wu was the only member of Blazing Academy left standing on the platform.
Huo Wu was furious. Like most fire-attribute Soul Masters, her rage only fueled her flames.
Huo Wu raised both hands and began Ring Fusion. Seeing this, Gu Yue began charging her fourth Soul Skill, while everyone else moved to protect her.
All of Huo Wu's Soul Rings fused into her already-active third Soul Skill. A fireball blazing with intense heat appeared between her hands.
Gu Yue had finished charging. The fourth Soul Ring on her body lit up.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Elemental Control—Frozen Domain!"
Gu Yue unleashed her fourth Soul Skill, Frozen Domain. She did this to force Huo Wu to abandon her charge and attack immediately.
Huo Wu couldn't move while releasing her Soul Skill, so she had no choice but to stop charging and hurl Blazing Sun at Gu Yue.
The extreme cold of Gu Yue's ice clashed with the scorching heat of Huo Wu's sun. Tang San used Blue Silver Grass to shield his teammates.
Gu Yue and Huo Wu's skills continued to collide. Jiang Huai frowned as he watched the match below without blinking.
Huo Wu's blazing sun was melting the ice, while the ice's frigid temperature steadily cooled the sun.
Rumble!
A sudden crash rang out. Jiang Huai immediately stood and went to the railing. The others did the same, eager to see whether the ice or the sun had prevailed.
As the icy mist cleared, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass released Gu Yue. Everyone from Shrek was safe and unharmed. Tang San had also protected Huo Wu with Blue Silver Grass, so she had only exhausted too much Soul Power and suffered no other harm.
The match ended when Blazing Academy forfeited. Amid the cheers, Jiang Huai and the others left the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.
After the match, though, Jiang Huai caught someone's attention. The person watching him was Shi Nian, a mentor from Canghui Academy, whom Shrek would face the next day.
Jiang Huai and the others returned to the academy to rest. Since they might have a bye on some days of the tournament, Jiang Huai, as team captain, gave them a little time off.
Everyone went back to their rooms. Some relaxed, while others cultivated.
Jiang Huai, meanwhile, was tinkering with a new type of Soul Tool. Once finished, it would take the form of two blades, but their hilts could be locked together.
On the blueprint, Jiang Huai named the pair the Space-Time Twin Blades.
After assembling the parts, Jiang Huai had finished the blades. Aside from the blades themselves, which he'd commissioned from a workshop in Heaven Dou City, he had forged everything on his own.
To make Soul Tools more effectively, Jiang Huai had even made himself a Soul Engraving Knife, designed specifically for carving Soul Guidance Arrays and fine details.
Just as Jiang Huai was wiping the Soul Engraving Knife with a tissue, someone knocked on his door. He put the knife in its case and opened the door. Flender was standing outside, and he walked straight into Jiang Huai's room.
Jiang Huai closed the door and asked, "President Flender, what can I do for you?"
Flender sighed. "Xiao Huai, I won't hide it from you. Lately, I've had to go with you all to watch the matches, while worrying about the academy every day.
"To be honest, I've always wanted to make Shrek bigger and stronger. But it's already become more than I can handle. A few fourth-year brats caused trouble recently, challenging each other to a fight at the academy. Both sides ended up badly hurt, and they even dragged their parents into it. I wanted to ask for your advice."
Jiang Huai asked, puzzled, "Why not ask Grandmaster to help you come up with a plan?"
Flender shook his head and gave a dismissive laugh. "Xiao Huai, do you really think Grandmaster knows what he's doing? All his knowledge was plagiarized from Spirit Hall. You'll get your answer once the Spirit Master Tournament is over. For now, let's think about the academy's rules."
Seeing that Flender didn't want to say too much just yet, Jiang Huai didn't press him.
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