"Dean, Heaven Dou City sent a summons for the tournament. It specifically names the Shrek Team and orders them to report early!"
The student delivering the message handed over a gold-stamped invitation. Flender took it, glanced through it, and showed not a trace of delight.
Tang San took the summons from him, scanned the date, and asked, "When do we leave?"
"You really intend to go?" Flender stared at him. "Xiao Gang is lying in there, his life hanging by that sliver of vitality you're supplying. The preliminaries are about to begin. What are we supposed to compete with?"
"Our lives."
Tang San clenched the summons in his palm. The paper rustled softly.
"Teacher needs medicinal ingredients. Heaven Dou City will be full of major sects and high-ranking Soul Master Academies, and the champion's prize is bound to include something that can repair his meridians. If there's medicine to be found, I have to go."
Flender removed his glasses and rubbed the lenses back and forth with his fingertips.
"Xiao San, do you know what kind of place Heaven Dou City is? The imperial family is there. So is the Spirit Temple, along with a crowd of people eyeing your Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. You'd take a group of children who've just absorbed Immortal Herbs and haven't even recovered their Soul Power into the tournament. How is that any different from delivering yourselves to their door?"
Dai Mubai walked to the table and pressed a hand over the summons.
"Dean, Grandmaster poured his heart and soul into us. We can't hand over this tournament just because he's fallen."
Flender looked up at him.
"What makes you think you can win?"
"I can't promise we will." Dai Mubai's fingers tightened, leaving five shallow marks on the tabletop. "But if I