I had promised Yan Shaozhe that I would arrive in Star Luo City before the competition started.
But Xuan Zi was late yet again!
When he arrived in Star Luo City with the two Inner Court students selected by Yan Shaozhe, Shrek Academy's first competition had already ended.
Fortunately, I heard that Shrek Academy successfully passed the first elimination round, and won with a crushing victory.
Xuan Zi was overjoyed, feeling that his selection method was indeed correct, and the selected reserve team members had achieved such results!
Having successfully advanced, Xuan Zi didn't immediately lead the two students to find Wang Yan. Instead, he hid in the audience, planning to appear later that evening to surprise everyone.
Night falls, and the city lights begin to twinkle.
The top floor of the Star Emperor Hotel, inside the Shrek Academy conference room.
The group sat around a long table, the atmosphere somewhat somber.
Although we advanced smoothly today, the injuries of the starting players still weigh heavily on everyone's minds.
Moreover, they met their future opponents today, and it's fair to say that this year's opponents are very strong!
Wang Yan was looking down at his notes when suddenly...
"Bang!"
The conference room door was flung open with great force, and everyone looked up in astonishment.
Xuan Zi strode in, carrying a wine gourd and beaming with pride.
"What are you all doing, all so listless?" He took a swig of his drink and laughed heartily, "You played pretty well today! Although I didn't see it myself, I heard you showed the spirit of Shrek and didn't embarrass this old man!"
Everyone was worried about the upcoming matches, but Xuan Zi's expression at this moment made everyone frown secretly, and even reminded them of that accident.
Xuan Zi seemed oblivious to the change in everyone's expressions, and continued with a smile, "This time I didn't come alone; I've brought you a great gift."
He turned around and called out to those behind him, "You two, come in!"
As two figures walked in, Wang Yan and the three regular team members finally smiled.
" Zhu Yu, Tang Mingxuan, you two have arrived!"
Dai Yueheng's evil eyes flashed, and he called out the names of the two Inner Court students.
As Yan Shaozhe's disciple, Ma Xiaotao didn't have much contact with the Inner Court students on a regular basis, while Ling Luochеn always had a Bingbing demeanor.
Therefore, among the three injured starting players, Dai Yueheng is the one who is most familiar with the other two.
Information about the two people also surfaced in Wang Yan's mind.
Zhu Yu, a level 53 Agility Attack System Soul King, Martial Soul: Shadow Blade.
Tang Mingxuan, a level 54 Auxiliary System Soul King, Martial Soul Starlight Lyre.
With the addition of these two Soul King, they should be able to hold out through the round-robin tournament until Dai Yueheng and the others recover.
The support of two Soul King slightly dispelled the crowd's dissatisfaction with Xuan Zi.
The conference room at the Star Emperor Hotel can accommodate more than twenty people.
Therefore, there are still many empty seats left at this moment.
Zhu Yu and Tang Mingxuan sat down casually, while Wang Yan gave the main seat to Xuan Zi.
Xuan Zi raised his wine gourd and took another gulp, a flush rising to his face from the wine. He placed the gourd on the table and chair, and laughed, "Were you discussing tomorrow's competition? Wang Yan, you continue hosting!"
Wang Yan nodded, and the expressions of everyone else in the conference room also became serious.
"I've already explained the format of the round-robin tournament. Now that Zhu Yu and Tang Mingxuan have joined, the other seven academies in our group are no longer a threat."
Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief; this support was indeed a timely help.
However, Wang Yan's expression then darkened. "Next, let's talk about our old rival."
"I've received information that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy has a very strong lineup this time, and I think everyone should have noticed that from today's elimination rounds."
Dai Yueheng and the other two were busy recovering from their injuries and didn't even watch today's match.
The scene from the daytime match flashed through the minds of all five reserve players.
As the captain of the reserve team, Bei Bei spoke up, "The seven people who appeared today from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy are all reserve team members, but their strength has indeed exceeded our expectations..."
He then described the battle that took place during the day. Upon hearing about the opponent's Soul Ring Configuration, even the more powerful members of the main team became much more serious.
Wang Yan turned to the latest page of his notebook and said, "I've compiled some information about their personnel here. Let me read it to you in detail."
His voice was a little hoarse, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
" Kong Ling, thirteen years old, Martial Soul: Sun, Soul Ancestor."
" Xu Tianyi, fourteen years old, Martial Soul: Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, Soul Ancestor."
" Xu Wei, twelve years old, Martial Soul: Lightning, Soul Elder."
" Gu Yuena, thirteen years old, Martial Soul unknown, Soul Ancestor."
" Shui Ling, thirteen years old, Martial Soul unknown, Soul Ancestor."
" Huo Yuhao, twelve years old, Martial Soul unknown, Soul Grandmaster."
" Kong Xuan, thirteen years old, Martial Soul unknown, cultivation level unknown."
Wang Yan truly lives up to his reputation as a research-oriented talent; this information was gathered through today's match and the information he obtained afterward.
The meeting room was deathly silent. Everyone had different expressions, but all of them spoke of the shock they felt.
Even Xuan Zi, who had just put the gourd of wine to his lips, stopped drinking, losing all interest in it.
"There's more than one Soul Ancestor at the age of thirteen!"
Even Ma Xiaotao, who had the best talent, gaped. "Even our academy has never produced such a genius, has it?"
Everyone was pondering Ma Xiaotao's words when Bei Bei suddenly spoke up, " Kong Xuan, who hasn't made a move yet, is the one we should be most wary of."
All eyes immediately turned to Bei Bei, wondering why he said that.
Bei Bei continued, "I met him once before in the Star Dou Great Forest."
At that time, he wasn't just naive towards Kong Xuan, but also towards Huo Yuhao.
However, Huo Yuhao, who only has two rings now, is clearly not worth Bei Bei Bei's time to talk about, so he was skipped over.
"That happened more than a year ago. Back then, Kong Xuan was the Soul Ancestor."
"Moreover, his Soul Ring configuration is... two purple and two black!"
"Bang!" Dai Yueheng slammed his hand on the table involuntarily, staring at Bei Bei in disbelief. "How is this possible?!"
Wang Yan couldn't help but say, "Absorbing Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring requires resisting the Soul Shock of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. How could he possibly do that when he was only at the third ring? Could it be that his Martial Soul is of the Spiritual System?"
Bei Bei shook her head. "Although I don't know what his Martial Soul is, my feeling is that it's not Spiritual System."
"And now that a year has passed, I think he has very likely advanced to the Soul King level."
"Impossible!" Xuan Zi, sitting at the head of the table, immediately denied the possibility. " Soul King at the age of thirteen has never appeared in history!"
He squinted, his gaze sweeping over each student. "There's no need to be surprised by their cultivation speed. The Sun Moon Empire habitually uses various elixirs to enhance Soul Power, but this is squeezing their potential, wasting their talent, and cutting off their path to becoming Titled Douluo!"
Wang Yan remained silent, but observing the students' reactions, he sighed inwardly, " Xuan Zi, even if you want to restore the students' confidence, you can't speak without thinking!"
As students of Shrek, they couldn't possibly be unaware that with Kong Xuan and the others' Soul Ring configurations, it's impossible for them to have achieved such a result through taking medicine!
Therefore, when everyone looked at Xuan Zi at this moment, their gazes were somewhat strange, as if to say, "Is this all the academy's elders are?"
" Xuan Zi, I don't think their Soul Power cultivation could have been increased through pills."
When his words were refuted, Xuan Zi felt a surge of anger rising within him.
However, when he saw that it was Bei Bei who spoke, he could only suppress his anger.
Mu En's great-grandson, we should still give him face.
" Kong Xuan and Kong Ling are successors of Titled Douluo; they couldn't possibly be so short-sighted."
Bei Bei didn't refute Xuan Zi on the grounds of common sense, which was a way of saving face for him.
Xuan Zi also showed some interest and asked, " Titled Douluo of the Sun Moon? Who is it?"