Friendly Match

Three days later, Skywater Academy accepted Heaven Dou Royal Academy's invitation for a friendly match.

The main purpose of this friendly match was to gauge Skywater Academy's true strength.

As the prestigious Heaven Dou Royal Academy, if they proved inferior to Skywater Academy in the tournament, it would be utterly humiliating.

Only by holding a friendly match before the tournament could they make adjustments afterward.

"Should we agree to take part in Heaven Dou Royal Academy's friendly match?"

Liu Ruyan could not figure out this matter either and did not know what to do.

"Dean, I heard that Heaven Dou Royal Academy has merged with Shrek Academy, and Shrek Academy's members are all very strong. Basically, all of them have reached above Level 40."

"Not only that, one of them has reached Level 51. His martial soul is even Blue Silver Grass. To cultivate such a useless martial soul to Level 51, he must be incredibly strong."

Inside the dean's office, everyone spoke over one another, yet they could not reach any conclusion.

"Zhu Zhuqing is Level 58, and Bi Tianling is Level 52, while Shui Binger, the captain, is only Level 43. The gap is simply too great. The Heaven Dou Royal Team is strong overall, so this friendly match is likely a trap."

Skywater Team's overall strength was still rather weak. Their strongest members were only Zhu Zhuqing and Bi Tianling, the two who had joined later.

"Since they invited us, why shouldn't we go?"

Chen Ping'an pushed open the door and walked in. Since they had merged with Shrek Academy, Tang San would definitely take the field. Then he could beat him into a pig's head again.

Since Chen Ping'an had said so, everyone naturally agreed.

The next day

Led by Liu Ruyan, Skywater Team arrived at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Although it was not Liu Ruyan's first time visiting Heaven Dou Royal Academy, she had never felt as confident as she did this time.

Whenever she had come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy before, she had needed to be respectful and deferential, afraid of offending someone from the royal family.

Now that Skywater Academy had risen to prominence, her status as dean had risen alongside it.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that her status as dean was equal to that of the sect masters of the Upper Three Sects.

Liu Ruyan led everyone to the entrance of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee.

Three elderly men stood at the entrance.

The identities of these three men were extremely special, especially judging by the black robes they wore, embroidered with strange patterns in golden thread.

These robes were not exclusive to them. They were formal attire available only to Soul Douluo Soul Masters above Level 80, second only to the red formal attire of Titled Douluo.

They were also symbols of status.

Generally speaking, such formal attire could only be worn on formal occasions or when receiving important guests.

This proved that they attached great importance to this friendly match.

Liu Ruyan knew all three powerful Soul Douluo. She had once come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy for exchange and study, so she was no stranger to them.

She had once needed to be utterly respectful whenever she faced the three of them, but times had changed.

Meng Shenji and the other two had thought Liu Ruyan would bow to them, but they never expected her to merely smile and nod.

Though angry, Meng Shenji did not dare say much due to Skywater Academy's foundations.

"Please, come in."

The Education Committee was not as luxurious as imagined.

On the contrary, its interior was extremely simple, with only a few necessary furnishings.

After entering the meeting room,

Liu Ruyan walked straight over and sat in the seat at the very center.

Although they were guests and doing so was rather improper, it was also meant to establish their dominance.

Since the other side wanted to probe their strength, they naturally could not be too accommodating.

Meng Shenji was helpless, but he could not afford to offend Skywater Academy.

Xue Ye had previously instructed him that Skywater Academy's foundations were now strong enough to rival the Upper Three Sects.

Thus, he could only sit opposite Liu Ruyan.

The students sat to one side. Chen Ping'an did not care either way and casually found himself a seat.

After they had taken their seats,

the members of the Heaven Dou Royal Team also emerged.

At the front was their captain, Dai Mubai, followed by Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, Oscar, and Yu Tianheng.

Chen Ping'an knew this was their strongest lineup.

Nearly all seven members of the Heaven Dou Royal Team had been replaced, with only Yu Tianheng remaining.

Perhaps Yu Tianheng had only been kept out of consideration for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Otherwise, he would not even have been qualified to take the field.

The Shrek Seven Devils were still stronger overall than the Heaven Dou Royal Team.

As Ning Rongrong sat down, she looked up and saw the carefree Chen Ping'an. The instant she saw his face, she was so frightened that she panicked.

She knew that face all too well.

Seeing Ning Rongrong's face suddenly turn pale, Oscar asked with concern, "Rong Rong, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Ning Rongrong shook her head forcefully.

At the same time, she lowered her head. She did not dare look Chen Ping'an in the eye, much less raise her head to face all of this.

Even Tang San felt a jolt of panic when he saw Chen Ping'an. That terror from the depths of his soul had already deeply entangled itself in his mind.

Dai Mubai, meanwhile, gazed deeply at Zhu Zhuqing. His hazy eyes made it seem as though Zhu Zhuqing were his wife whom he had not seen for a long time.

Meng Shenji also sensed that the atmosphere was off.

He hurriedly said, "Now that everyone is here, I'll briefly say a few words."

"This friendly match was organized by His Majesty. Whoever wins will receive a royal reward of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."

One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins was still highly tempting to Skywater Academy. Although Skywater Academy's foundations had become very strong, it was somewhat lacking in funds.

"The rules for this friendly match are also simple. They are almost the same as those of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. No lethal attacks are allowed. As for the rest, you may handle them as you see fit."

"I hope both sides will take this matter seriously and approach this friendly match with one hundred percent commitment."

"..."

Meng Shenji was quite professional in this regard, rambling on for half an hour.

Chen Ping'an was already dozing off from listening.

Bi Tianling beside him had long since closed her eyes to rest.

Especially after sensing Xiao Wu's gaze, she found it rather strange. Xiao Wu had been staring at Bi Tianling ever since entering.

"He's so long-winded." Unable to endure it any longer, Bi Tianling finally complained.

That complaint left Meng Shenji exceedingly embarrassed, and he hurriedly moved into his closing remarks.

Whenever people listened to his speeches in the past, they would all be fully alert and sit perfectly straight. Yet today, he had actually been criticized.

"If Dean Liu has no objections, then follow me to the arena. His Majesty will also come to observe, so all of you should perform well."

Meng Shenji finally finished speaking. Once he was done, he led everyone to Heaven Dou Royal Academy's arena.