Although he considered Tang San remarkably talented, Tang San was still far too young. Could he really win if he entered the tournament now?
Should I secretly give Tang San some more guidance when the time comes? Quietly teach him the Nine Absolute Techniques of Clear Sky, or perhaps that closely guarded secret?
With all sides pursuing their own schemes, the tournament finally began in earnest, in the arena of Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Teams from the advanced soul master academies of the Heaven Dou Empire and its subordinate kingdoms entered one after another. The Blue Tyrant Academy team mingled among them, looking thoroughly unremarkable.
Only Chen Ming, Qian Renxue, and Ning Fengzhi, standing in the judges' section, kept studying the Blue Tyrant Academy team with a peculiar look in their eyes.
Prince Xue Xing, who knew nothing of what was going on, merely felt as though the three people around him had shut him out. Of all the judges overseeing these matches, he seemed to be the one who fit in the least.
But what could he do? As a prince who had never gotten along particularly well with the crown prince, his position had grown increasingly awkward as the crown prince gained power. Now even Emperor Xue Ye had become somewhat distant toward him. Prince Xue Xing's greatest wish these days was simply to avoid being called to account later. As for any other power, he could forget about it.
Although Chen Ming had influenced the entire world in countless ways, drastically interfering with every academy's fighting strength and the composition of their student bodies,
the tournament's first match remained unchanged. It was still the opening match from the original story: Shrek Academy against the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's second team.
In