Life had to go on. The next day, at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, in the Heaven Dou Martial Arena.
It was the middle of the afternoon practical training session. Sunlight filtered through the lush purple bamboo forest, casting dappled shadows on the smooth arena floor. Qin Ming stood with his hands behind his back, explaining to the members of the Imperial Fighting Team the advanced applications of attribute resonance. He explained how combining multiple elements could produce unexpected effects, just like how Dugu Yan cleverly incorporated poison into Mars that day, which was a perfect example.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
A series of very rhythmic footsteps came from the entrance of the training ground.
Following the sound, everyone looked and saw a tall, slender young man dressed in a light blue outfit slowly walk in. Most striking was the light blue metal mask he wore, revealing only a pair of sharp, hawk-like eyes, with wisps of light blue wind Sisi swirling around him.
"This look... Lanling King?" Gu Tian spat out a fruit pit, looking at the newcomer's iconic mask, and couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath.
The young man stood in the center of the hall, bowed slightly to Qin Ming, and said in a very polite tone, " Feng Xiaotian, captain of the Godwind Academy, greets Teacher Qin Ming and all my colleagues from the Imperial Fighting Team."
Qin Ming raised an eyebrow. He was naturally familiar with this prominent figure from the Four Elements Academy: "Welcome! May I ask what brings you here today?"
Feng Xiaotian ignored the gazes of others and fixed his eyes directly on Gu Tian, who was sitting on the stone bench. His eyes revealed an extremely complex emotion—fear, scrutiny, but even more so, fighting spirit.
"This Sunday, Shenfeng Academy hopes to have a friendly team battle with the Royal Fighting Team at the Heavenly Dou Arena," Feng Xiaotian said in a deep voice, his voice slightly lowered by his mask. "At the same time, I personally hope that Brother Gu Tian can attend. Of course, if you'd like, we can also have a one-on-one sparring session after the team battle."
"Looking for me?" Gu Tian pointed to his nose, somewhat amused.
" Feng Xiaotian, you're a captain, yet you personally came to challenge me to a duel?" Dugu Yan crossed her arms, a hint of suspicion flashing in her emerald eyes. "Is it because we defeated Blazing Academy last week, and you can't sit still anymore?"
Sitting to the side, Ye Lingling suddenly spoke up in a cool tone, with a hint of sarcasm. "Oh right, Feng Xiaotian, as far as I know, haven't you always liked Huo Wu, the vice-captain of the Blazing Academy? What, are you feeling sorry for your goddess being bullied and want to come and get revenge? Well, Huo Wu is indeed beautiful and has a great figure, no wonder Captain Feng cares about her!"
Upon hearing Ye Lingling mention Huo Wu, Feng Xiaotian's originally cold and stern aura instantly collapsed, and even though his old face under the mask was not visible, one could feel the blood rushing to his head.
As Ye Lingling said, it was indeed true. Last week, during the team battle and the two-on-two match, Feng Xiaotian hid in the audience to cheer for Huo Wu. Seeing that Huo Wu not only lost the team battle, but also that her proud fire attribute was defeated by Gu Tian, and seeing her absent-minded appearance after the match, Feng Xiaotian was furious.
After the match, he immediately went to comfort her, but Huo Wu pushed him away. Huo Wu's eyes were red, and she told him through gritted teeth, " Feng Xiaotian, don't you pride yourself on being the best in the wind attribute? If you can defeat that Gu Tian in Sunday's match, I'll consider officially dating you. If you lose, don't bother me anymore!"
Because of Huo Wu's promise, Feng Xiaotian disregarded his status and came to challenge her early the next morning, fearing that other teams would beat him to it.
"Ahem, these are the conditions." Feng Xiaotian forced a calm expression. "Brother Gu Tian, give me a straight answer. Do you dare to accept?"
"Since it's about such an important matter as your lifelong happiness, of course I have to grant your wish." Gu Tian waved his hand lazily. "I'll be participating in the battle on Sunday."
After receiving a positive reply, Feng Xiaotian breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to Qin Ming again, and then disappeared swiftly like the wind at the exit of the martial arts arena.
After Feng Xiaotian left, Dugu Yan stepped forward, her expression becoming somewhat solemn. " Xiao Tian, don't underestimate him. Although Godwind Academy is relatively weak in overall strength among the Five Elemental Academies, Feng Xiaotian is an anomaly. His Soul Power is already at level twenty-eight, only one level lower than Shui Bing'er. In terms of one-on-one combat ability, his Gale Two-Headed Wolf Martial Soul possesses both strong offensive and agile offensive attributes, making him extremely difficult to deal with."
"Moreover, I heard that he has been studying and Self-Created Soul Skill, which is his true trump card."
Meng Yiran said somewhat naively, "Isn't that simple? During team fights, we can all focus our fire on him first, right?"
"It's not that easy." Ye Lingling shook her head and analyzed, "His speed is too fast. With his wind attribute Martial Soul combined with his movement technique, it's very difficult for control-type Soul Master to catch him with their Soul Skill. In the next few days, we'll probably have to focus on training his reaction speed to counter high-agility attack Soul Master."
That evening, after school.
As night deepened, Dugu Yan suddenly clutched her forehead at the gate, feigning weakness. "Oh dear, my body probably hasn't adjusted yet after the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison was cleared up; why am I suddenly feeling dizzy again..."
As she spoke, her eyes kept glancing towards the villa behind the mountain. "No, I have to go to the villa to see Senior Bi Ji and stay there for the night, so that nothing happens on my way back."
Just as Dugu Yan was about to run towards the back mountain, a fair hand firmly grabbed her wrist.
" Yanzi, didn't Senior Bi Ji leave a couple of days ago?" Ye Lingling looked at her with a smile that made Dugu Yan feel a little uneasy. "Since Senior Bi Ji isn't here, there's no point in you going. I happen to be a healer, Nine Heart Begonia is most effective for this kind of dizziness. Why don't I treat you right now?"
"No need, no need!" Dugu Yan waved her hands repeatedly, guiltily avoiding Ye Lingling's gaze. "There are medicinal herbs that Senior Bi Ji specially left for me there. I need to take them with my medicine."
"Medicinal herbs? That's even better. As a medical assistant, I can take a look and see what kind of precious herbs they are."
Ye Lingling didn't let go; instead, she leaned even closer, half-jokingly and half-seriously saying, "Anyway, I'm quite worried about you. How about... I come with you tonight? We're best friends, we can look after each other, so you don't get a relapse of your old illness while you're alone with Gu Tian."
Ye Lingling's words were laced with a cold dagger. She knew Dugu Yan all too well; the way this woman looked at Gu Tian lately was practically drooling. If she was allowed to go to the villa alone, her Soul Power might surge again when she came back tomorrow.
Seeing Ye Lingling's unyielding stance, Dugu Yan gritted her teeth and could only force a smile, "Alright, since you care about me so much, Lingling, let's go together."