After the qualifying rounds concluded, the various academies rested in Heaven Dou City for three days. Three days later, the teams heading to Spirit City officially set off.
As arranged at the end of the qualifying rounds, Godwind Academy and Shrek Academy advanced to the finals as the top two teams, while the teams ranked third through tenth went to Spirit City to watch the ceremony.
The Heaven Dou Empire dispatched a guard team, personally led by Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, to protect the safety of all participating students.
On the morning of the departure, Dugu Bo appeared directly in front of the Godwind Academy team. He was wearing a dark green robe, and his face was not very good, as if he had just had an argument with someone.
Feng Qingxuan glanced at him, didn't ask why, but simply gestured for someone to arrange a carriage for him. Before getting into the carriage Dugu Bo passed by Feng Lingtian, coughed lightly, and awkwardly said, " Little Monster, I'm free now, and I still prefer it here. I'll stay here. Just remember to take care of me in my old age."
Feng Lingtian chuckled, "Alright, we'd be more than happy to have Titled Douluo like you choose to retire here."
Dugu Bo was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, patted him on the shoulder, and climbed into the carriage.
After the caravan set off, Feng Lingtian leaned against Dugu Bo's carriage and casually asked, " Old Monster, what happened? You looked so pale just now?"
Dugu Bo did not answer immediately. He leaned against the carriage wall and remained silent for a while. In that instant, his eyes glazed over, and some images flashed through his mind.
The argument that took place in the royal side hall yesterday is still fresh in my mind.
The Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team only managed seventh place in the qualifying rounds. Although they qualified to attend the ceremony in Spirit City, they were ranked behind the Xin Luo Royal Academy, which made the Heaven Dou Imperial Family feel ashamed.
What displeased them even more was that the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, as the face of the empire, hadn't even made it to the finals.
So someone had an idea: to have Dugu Bo use his relationship with the Godwind Academy to temporarily insert several core students from Team One into the Godwind Academy's final team. Even if they didn't play, just having their names on the team would be considered a benefit.
Dugu Bo refused on the spot. The royal family, having lost face, became increasingly rude, constantly bringing up the past debt of gratitude they owed him. Dugu Bo listened, then laughed in anger, and uttered two words: "I won't do it."
A moment of silence fell over the side hall. Someone was about to say something more when Dugu Bo stood up. " Prince Xue Xing saved my life back then. I've served the Heaven Dou Imperial Family for so many years; I've already repaid what I owed him."
"The debt of gratitude is settled, and we owe each other nothing. From now on, I will still be Titled Douluo, but no longer Titled Douluo of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family." After saying this, he turned and left without looking back.
Inside the carriage, Dugu Bo snapped out of his reverie and waved his hand, "It's nothing, I just don't want to stay any longer."
Feng Lingtian glanced at him, but didn't press the matter. He simply handed him a glass of wine. Dugu Bo took it, drank a sip, and narrowed his eyes. "It's still more comfortable here."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's carriage followed behind the Godwind Academy. Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin accompanied them, Ning Rongrong sat next to her father, and Oscar was also in the same carriage.
Since Ning Fengzhi took her away from Shrek's rest area that day, Ning Rongrong has never returned to Shrek's team. Oscar followed her, and Sword Douluo would tease him from time to time, which made Oscar stand up straight every time, making Ning Rongrong laugh.
Blazing Fire Academy and Skywater Academy's teams followed closely behind. The Three Academy Alliance's convoy was magnificent, and the mere presence of Titled Douluo made passersby along the way give way.
Shrek Academy's carriage followed behind the Three Academy Alliance. After Ning Rongrong and Oscar left, Shrek only had five official members and three substitutes left, led by Flender and Liu Erlong.
Yu Xiaogang did not accompany the team—he set off for Spirit City ahead of time, saying he was going to consult the cultivation manuals for Twin Martial Souls. Tai Tan, accompanied by elite guards from the Strength Clan, stood on both sides of the Shrek Academy carriage, their expressions wary.
Tang San sat in the carriage, closing his eyes to rest, holding several Hidden Weapon in his hand. From the moment he left Heaven Dou City, his Soul Power perception had been constantly released. He knew that this journey would not be peaceful.
Thunder Academy, Star Luo Royal Academy, and other spectator groups followed at the rear, the entire convoy stretching for hundreds of meters.
After traveling for five days, the convoy entered a valley. The mountains on both sides were steep, with only a narrow path through the middle, and only a sliver of sky could be seen when looking up.
Xue Qinghe's scouts, who had gone ahead to explore, reported that the valley was treacherous and prone to ambushes, and suggested that they speed up their journey. So Xue Qinghe announced that they should proceed at full speed.
Just as the convoy reached the narrowest point of the valley, several muffled cracking sounds came from both sides of the mountain wall at the same time.
More than a dozen boulders rolled down the mountainside, hitting the various joints of the convoy precisely and cutting the entire convoy into several sections.
At the very front was Xue Qinghe's guard, followed by the carriages of the Three Academy Alliance and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School, then Shrek Academy, and finally Thunder Academy, Star Luo Royal Academy, and other spectator groups.
Shrek's carriage was separated from the rest of the carriage by two massive rocks, one in front and one behind, in a narrow area.
Before the dust from the boulder had settled, several black figures had already descended from the mountainside. Each figure was shrouded in a black cloak, obscuring their faces.
Soul Saint —at least fifty-odd. On the higher mountain wall, two figures remained motionless, simply looking down at the entire valley as if watching a good show about to unfold.
A dozen or so men in black rushed towards the area where the Three Academy Alliance and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were located. However, they suddenly stopped halfway there—
Three auras at the Titled Douluo level erupted simultaneously from the convoy, forming an invisible wall in their path.
Feng Qingxuan stepped out of the carriage, his aura as Titled Douluo spreading out without any concealment, his azure Wind Attribute Soul Power solidifying around him.
Dugu Bo sneered as he lifted the carriage curtain, and purple poisonous mist spread out from his sleeves, creating a poisonous barrier in front of the convoy.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin stood atop the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's carriage, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze sweeping over the black-clad figures on the mountainside, as if counting how many were worthy of his drawing of his sword.
Ning Fengzhi sat in the carriage, the amplifying light already gathering in his palm.
With three Titled Douluo- level combatants releasing their auras simultaneously, coupled with Ning Fengzhi's top-tier support, the pressure instantly increased.
The black-clad men at the front abruptly stopped. The leader made a hand gesture on the mountainside—the black-clad men in the middle area immediately abandoned their attack and rushed towards the rear of the group.
Their original targets were two things: the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and the Clear Sky Hammer. However, Ning Rongrong was protected by three Titled Douluo, so they had no chance to make a move. Therefore, they concentrated all their forces to capture Tang San.
A large number of men in black turned to the back of the line, and the pressure in Shrek's area increased sharply.
More than a dozen black-clad men at the Soul Saint level surrounded the narrow area separated by the boulder from all directions, making it completely impassable.
Tai Tan roared, transforming into a giant ape and standing at the forefront of the group, smashing a boulder flying towards them with a single punch. The elite guards of the Strength Clan simultaneously released their Martial Soul, tightly protecting Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the others in the middle.
Flender and Liu Erlong rushed out of the carriage and engaged in a fierce battle with two black-clad Soul Saint.
Shrek has a large number of members, but their combat strength above the Soul Saint is limited. Tai Tan is Soul Douluo level, fighting three black-clad Soul Saint alone, causing the mountain walls to tremble and rocks to fly everywhere.
Flender and Liu Erlong joined forces to suppress one Soul Saint, but another Soul Saint took the opportunity to break through the defense and rushed straight at Tang San. Tang San quickly threw out Hidden Weapon to force the opponent back, while at the same time protecting Xiao Wu by taking another step behind him.
Substitute player Tai Long and two other substitutes rushed forward, standing firmly in front of Tang San. Although they were not high-level, they outnumbered each other, and for a time, they managed to hold the line.
On the cliff face, of the two motionless figures, the one on the left chuckled softly, "They're quite resilient."
The person on the right did not respond, but continued to watch the battle below.
Tang San's Hidden Weapon left several wounds on the black-clad Soul Saint, but the difference in their levels was something that Hidden Weapon couldn't overcome. One of the black-clad Soul Saint, enduring the Hidden Weapon, rushed forward and struck down with a palm.
Tai Tan turned to block, but was forced back several steps by the force of the palm strike, his back slamming against the mountain wall, sending rocks tumbling down. Another Soul Saint seized the opportunity to cut in from the side, heading straight for Xiao Wu.
Tang San stepped aside to block Xiao Wu, Clear Sky Hammer appeared in his hand, forcefully blocking the attack. His tiger's mouth was numb from the impact, but he did not retreat even half a step.
The battle continued for a while longer. Tai Tan's breathing became increasingly heavy, the guards of the Strength Clan were all wounded, and Flender and Liu Erlong's Soul Power was already more than half depleted.
On the mountainside, the figure on the left had finally watched enough of this desperate struggle.
"That's about it."
After a sigh, he stepped down from the mountainside, leaving a trail of afterimages in mid-air, and landed in front of the area where Shrek was.
The aura of Titled Douluo spread out without any concealment, and the guards of the Strength Clan changed their expressions drastically. He raised his hand, his gaze passing over the defenses of Tai Tan and the Strength Clan, and landing on Tang San.
Tang San shielded Xiao Wu behind him, holding his Clear Sky Hammer horizontally in front of him. He did not retreat.
At that very moment, inside the carriage of the Godwind Academy, Jiang Lin suddenly raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his Spirit Eyes.
"Someone is sending a message to the dean," he said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on a shadowy spot on the mountainside.
Following his gaze, Feng Lingtian indeed detected an extremely subtle fluctuation of Soul Power —very faint and light, like a wisp of wind, silently passing through the noisy battlefield and disappearing into Feng Qingxuan's body.
Feng Qingxuan's Soul Power slightly condensed.
He didn't turn around or ask any questions; he simply raised his right hand slightly, and cyan Wind Attribute Soul Power silently condensed in his palm.
(I originally thought I could write faster, but I'm still not satisfied with what I've written. I've revised it several times, and the next chapter will have to wait a while. I'm still not quite satisfied.)