Ji Jing understood his father's deeper meaning at once.
He nodded, indicating that he understood.
Seeing that Ji Jing had grasped his meaning, Ji Dong said no more. He simply gave an approving nod, then his towering figure atop the clouds gradually faded and finally vanished completely.
Meanwhile, at the Sea God Temple.
Tang San sat on the Sea God's throne, his brow furrowing slightly.
Naturally, nothing that happened in the lower world could escape his perception, especially the arrival of a God King's will.
Since Ji Dong had made no attempt to conceal anything, Tang San had clearly seen everything he had done to Tang Ya.
Tang San was somewhat displeased that Ji Dong had appeared on Douluo Continent, but after a moment's thought, he ultimately chose not to interfere.
Originally, in his long-term plan, this generation of the Tang Sect—including Tang Ya—were nothing more than pawns for guiding and tempering Huo Yuhao.
Since Ji Dong and his son wanted to do something, as long as it did not disrupt the bigger picture, Tang San ultimately decided to stay out of it.
All that mattered was that it did not affect his control over the fate of the entire Douluo Continent through Huo Yuhao.
He would make absolutely sure to keep the future development of Douluo Continent firmly in his hands, guiding it to devour the Abyss Plane and eventually ascend into a new Divine Realm.
Elsewhere, after watching his father leave, Ji Jing silently returned to the dormitory.
He glanced at Wang Dong, who was still fast asleep, and temporarily set aside the many thoughts stirred up by his father's appearance.
As his divine power slowly receded, fatigue washed over him. He lay down on his bed and immediately closed his eyes to sleep.
The next morning, the battle-damaged arena in Shrek Academy's Soul Fighting Zone had been completely repaired, leaving no trace of the previous day's fight.
When Ji Jing and the others arrived, Xuan Zi and the seven Inner Court students were already waiting there.
Xuan Zi's seemingly clouded gaze swept over everyone. Once he saw that they were all present, he said:
"Introduce yourselves so you can get to know one another. The reserve team will go first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Jing stepped forward first, his tall, straight figure and handsome face calm as he reported his details:
"Ji Jing, a Level 47 Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor."
After him, the other members of the reserve team came forward in turn:
Beibei, with his refined looks and ever-present gentle smile, followed close behind:
"Beibei, a Level 42 Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor."
Xu Sanshi, tall and handsome despite his lazy air, spoke next:
"Xu Sanshi, a Level 43 Defense System Battle Soul Ancestor."
Jiang Nannan, her long golden hair shining, spoke softly:
"Jiang Nannan, a Level 41 Agility Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor."
Wang Dong, with short pink-blue hair and exquisitely beautiful features, though dressed as a boy, took a step forward:
"Wang Dong, a Level 36 Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder."
Last to step forward was Xiao Xiao, a petite, adorable girl with twin ponytails:
"Xiao Xiao, a Level 29 Control System Soul Grandmaster."
After the reserve team had finished introducing themselves, it was the official members of the Inner Court's turn.
Ma Xiaotao, her long red hair flowing, spoke first, her voice clear and forceful:
"Ma Xiaotao, a Level 67 Power Attack System Battle Soul Emperor."
Next was Dai Yueheng, tall and powerfully built, with brilliant golden hair.
He stepped forward and said in a deep voice:
"Dai Yueheng, a Level 64 Power Attack System Battle Soul Emperor."
His gaze swept over Ji Jing, fear and scrutiny mingling in his eyes.
He knew very well that this boy before him had killed his younger brother, Dai Huabin, along with a Soul Emperor and a Soul King death servant.
But he also knew that Dai Huabin had been the first to harbor murderous intent, and afterward, both the Academy and his family had sternly warned him not to cause any trouble.
So in the end, he kept all his emotions buried inside and made no unnecessary move.
Then a tall, slender young man with a warm smile on his face stepped forward:
"Chen Zifeng, a Level 57 Power Attack System Battle Soul King."
A young woman with rather ordinary looks and build followed:
"Xixi, a Level 56 Agility Attack System Battle Soul King."
A woman of cool, otherworldly beauty, with skin white as snow and water-blue hair, spoke succinctly:
"Ling Luochеn, a Level 55 Control System Battle Soul King."
A thin young man stepped forward and said:
"Yao Haoxuan, a Level 55 Control and Support System Battle Soul King."
Finally, a handsome male student with delicate features stepped forward and spoke softly:
"Gongyang Mo, a Level 59 Support System Battle Soul King."
Xuan Zi nodded slightly. His gaze swept over the faces of all fourteen students before he spoke slowly:
"Good. You've all gotten a basic introduction to one another. To help you get better acquainted, today's training task is a friendly match. Fighting is the best way to learn one another's abilities."
He paused, his voice turning serious:
"Remember, you won't necessarily only work with the teammates from your own team."
"During future competitions, I may switch out members at any time depending on our opponents, to ensure we claim the championship. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, you'll each lead a team."
"Ma Xiaotao, you're the strongest, so you can only take two official team members, but you get first pick. Choose one official team member first, then one reserve team member. After that, Dai Yueheng will choose. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng answered in unison.
Xuan Zi chuckled:
"Oh, right, one more thing. Everyone on the losing side will be punished. The punishment's simple: shout 'I'm a pig!' three times."
At this, the reserve team's expressions turned rather strange, while the Inner Court students were already used to Xuan Zi's mischievous streak.
"All right, start picking."
Xuan Zi urged them on.
Ma Xiaotao barely hesitated. Her flame-like eyes swept over everyone before settling on two people.
"I'll pick Gongyang Mo and Huo Yuhao."
The Academy's higher-ups had done an excellent job of keeping the information under wraps. Apart from a handful of witnesses and people involved, almost no one knew how powerful Ji Jing had been that night.
Ma Xiaotao was naturally among those who didn't know.
As far as she was concerned, Ji Jing was just a Level 47 Soul Ancestor. At most, he was young, which meant he had good talent.
But that had nothing to do with this match.
Although she had yet to experience the power of Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, she was very interested in his Ultimate Ice.
She was confident she would win, so she naturally wanted to take Huo Yuhao along for the ride.
Hearing Ma Xiaotao choose Huo Yuhao, Dai Yueheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he knew little about Huo Yuhao, he was immensely relieved that he wouldn't have to face that monster Ji Jing in the first match.
When it was his turn to choose, he didn't hesitate either. He said at once:
"I choose Ji Jing."
He could let everything else go, but there was no way he wanted to be punished by having to shout, "I'm a pig!"
For the sake of victory, he had to choose Ji Jing, their strongest fighter!
Then he looked at his Inner Court teammate and added:
"Then I choose Chen Zifeng."
They were both Power Attack System Soul Masters, so they would work together more smoothly.
Seeing this, Ma Xiaotao continued with her picks:
"I choose Xixi and Beibei."
Dai Yueheng immediately added the two remaining official members of the Inner Court to his team:
"Ling Luochеn and Yao Haoxuan."
The selection continued. Ma Xiaotao looked at the remaining reserve team members and said:
"I choose Xu Sanshi and Wang Dong."
With that, the team assignments were settled.
The two left over, Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan, naturally joined Dai Yueheng's team.
And so, the two temporary teams were formed.
Before you continue