Preselection Competition! (Part 2)
Unlike the first day, there were now five arenas' identical to the one that Wulin and the others battled on.
The increased arenas allow five fights to operate simultaneously, making a total of three rounds for all 30 Academies to compete.
The officiant declared the opening of today's tournament, and he beckoned for each of the competing teams of the first round.
From the waiting zone, one by one, ten teams exited the hallway under the gazes of the spectators and took their place on their respective stage.
The competitors of Shrek Academy hopped onto the central arena, followed by the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
From the dedicated spectator stands for competing Academies, Wulin could see that only the feminine captain and the female vice-captain were from the previous team.
They were presumably treated very quickly due to Ning Fengzhi covering the costs for healing.
The other five were substituted members that didn't fight on the previous day, and they were still arrogant when faced with the unknown Shrek Academy.
The feminine captain didn't stop his team from talking poorly towards the Shrek Academy Team as he was distracted by something else.
He felt like the emblem of the Shrek Academy team was familiar but didn't know where he had seen it before.
He couldn't be blamed for not remembering though, as he didn't pay attention to the badge on Wulin's clothes.
Instead, he was more focused on Wulin's face, and the fists that were pummeling his face.
"Both sides salute, non-competitors withdraw from the stage." The officiant exclaimed, stopping the two sides from trash-talking each other.
…
"School Master Ning, it seems that my academy and yours are facing each other once more. Who do you think has a better chance?"
Emperor Xue Ye had a slightly strained smile on his face as he kindly asked Ning Fengzhi.
Even a blind person could see that something was fishy with the draws that Bishop Salas made
So, Emperor Xue Ye naturally understood he was pitting the two sides against each other.
Ning Fengzhi also knew this, but didn't show it in his expression, "They are not my school, my daughter just studies there."
"As for their strength, I am not too sure, but they are not a weak team." He answered.
"I am afraid that this match will be without suspense…" A tired sounding voice suspired from behind them.
Emperor Xue Ye looked behind himself and saw that the speaker was none other than Meng Shen Ji, the head of the board of education.
"Principal Meng Shen Ji, why do you think this?" Emperor Xue Ye inquired curiously.
He now knew of Shrek Academy's greatness through the Seven Treasure Team but didn't see the strength of the other members.
In his mind, he believed that the most powerful members were already in the Seven Treasure Team, and the others wouldn't be as strong.
"They have not even brought out their true strength. Shrek Academy does not think our Heaven Dou Imperial Academy is even worth using their full strength against."
Meng Shen Ji sighed once more as he looked at the people on stage, there were only two people on the platform that he remembered, Xiao Wu and Dai Mu Bai.
He couldn't see the ordinary-looking youth who left a profound impression on him. Meng Shen Ji thought he was the strongest of the Shrek Academy Group, yet he didn't even appear.
However, that youth was on stage right now. Because of the Secondary Awakening, Tang San's appearance underwent drastic changes, so only those that know him well would know his identity.
Prince Xue Xing glared at Meng Shen Ji hatefully, "Principal Meng, as someone directly in charge of the academy, how can you empower another academy?!"
Last night, Prince Xue Xing got scolded by his brother, The Emperor, for rejecting the students of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Feeling aggrieved and angry, he channelled the blame and anger towards Meng Shen Ji and the other two.
Meng Shen Ji only ignored Prince Xue Xing. Even someone as tolerant as he had his limits, he sincerely regretted letting those kids go.
Prince Xue Xing was immediately enraged by Meng Shen Ji's action and was about to lash out, but was promptly stopped by Emperor Xue Ye, "Enough!"
Emperor Xue Ye turned to Ning Fengzhi and smiled awkwardly, "Sorry about that poor display. Was Meng Shen Ji telling the truth, this isn't their true force?"
Ning Fengzhi didn't think exposing or hiding the information would be harmful.
So he nodded his head, attesting to Meng Shen Ji's words.
"Right now, they have four substitutes on the stage. I met them recently, and even the substitutes are pretty talented." He said.
Emperor Xue Ye was shocked, if Ning Fengzhi was telling the truth, then not even half of their main force was competing right now.
He had a feeling that the misdeed his brother did of chasing them away was much more significant than he thought.
…
Soon, the officiant announced the beginning of the battle and both teams released their Spirit Rings.
The audience gasped in shock when their attention turned to the centre stage.
On the Shrek Academy side, a lone black coloured Spirit Ring floated in front of all the other purple and yellow ones, like a solemn commander standing in front of his soldiers.
Ning Yuzi gasped audibly at the sight of Tang San's black Spirit Ring, "A 10,000-year-old Spirit Ring, how is this possible!? It is only his fourth Spirit Ring as well!"
Rong Rong was sitting closest to Ning Yuzi, and she shook her finger as she tutted, "Tut-tut, you don't even know this, Yuzi. The stronger your body is, the older the Spirit Ring you can absorb."
"The optimal age configuration is only a general guide that normal people can follow,"
"However, if your body is stronger than your Spirit Rank, you theoretically can absorb an older Spirit Ring."
Rong Rong puffed out her chest with a proud look on her face as she explained the phenomenon to Ning Yuzi.
"Once you start absorbing Spirit Beasts over 10,000 years old, you must make sure your willpower is strong enough as well."
Wulin nodded his head in agreement to Rong Rong's explanation, but also added,
"Even if your body can absorb the Spirit Ring. If you can't withstand the Spirit Beast's Soul Shock, then you will become mentally disabled."
Ning Yuzi's eyes shined with a light of understanding, as well as a hint of fear. As a Spirit Ancestor, his next Spirit Ring will be over 10,000 years old.
However, he never planned to go above his limit and try to absorb something past the optimal level. He would be fine as long as he kept stable.
…
It wasn't only the spectators and Ning Yuzi to be shocked, but everyone in the VIP section was also astonished by the lone 10,000-year-old Spirit Ring.
Prince Xue Xing couldn't hold back his emotions as he shouted, "Impossible! How can it be a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring?!"
Emperor Xue Ye's eyes trembled as he looked at the Spirit Ring. He quickly turned to ask Ning Fengzhi but stopped when he saw his gobsmacked appearance.
Not even Ning Fengzhi knew that Tang San had absorbed a ten-thousand-year-old Spirit Beast for his fourth Spirit Ring.
This was utterly ignoring the optimal ring configuration by 5,000 years. It must be known that the fourth Spirit Ring should only be a Spirit Beast under 5,000 years.
…
The Heaven Dou Imperial Academy side also had optimal Spirit Ring configurations, but they were nothing like the Spirit Masters that the others were.
They relied on teachers, nobility and other such powers, so it isn't that hard to achieve an optimal Spirit Ring configuration.
However, none of the seven people on stage right now had a Spirit Rank over the fortieth level, and they all had three Spirit Rings.
When they saw the opponents with not just one, but two fortieth rank Spirit Masters, they couldn't help but grow dull.
More than that, however, was the 10,000 year Spirit Ring of Tang San. Just the appearance of it seemed to short circuit the brains of the competitors as they stared slackly at it.
Nonetheless, this was a match, a battlefield, and daydreaming on the battlefield was a major taboo.
As a team with ample combat experience, Tang San and the others from Shrek Academy naturally wouldn't stare like the Heaven Dou Academy Team.
"Blitz—" Tang shouted, initiating their attack before the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team could regain their composure.
Mu Bai led Tai Long and Huang Yuan as he roared, his muscles swelling and his hair changing to a black and white colour.
The three of them integrated with their Spirits and charged at the stunned Heaven Dou Academy. Xiao Wu and Jing Ling also flanked outwards simultaneously.
The feminine captain was brought out of his stupor and quickly yelled at his teammates, "Attack!"
His only chance at winning this battle was by striking first and take out their front line before the others can react.
Sadly, that chance was nigh impossible against the two Spirit Ancestors and five Spirit Elders blitzing them.
Mu Bai and Huang Yuan released their third Spirit Rings, the White Tiger Vajra Transformation and Sky Wolf Transformation, respectively.
Tai Long, on the other hand, released all three Spirit Rings. He was using all his pure strength amplifications to become a ruthless raging orangutan.
Nobody expected them to start the fight by releasing their thousand-year Spirit Ring's already. After all, with the Spirit Power consumption, they would hardly have anything left if their attack was blocked.
However, that was only if their attack was blocked. Without any prior warning, from under the Heaven Dou Team, hundreds of strands of black coloured Blue Silver Grass rushed out of the ground.
The Blue Silver Grass became seven solid cages, ultimately trapping the seven Heaven Dou Academy competitors within.
The Heaven Dou Academy's Power Attack System Spirit Masters attempted to strike at the Blue Silver Grass cage.
However, it proved to be fruitless, completely halting their momentum.
At this time, Mu Bai's trio struck at their intended targets with all their force. The Blue Silver Grass cage dissolved before their attacks connected and promptly bound the feet of their opponents.
Simultaneously, Xiao Wu and Jing Ling also arrived at their chosen opponents, releasing their thousand-year Spirit Abilities on the poor Heaven Dou Academy students.
In the entire arena, the only noise was the sickening sound of bones crunching and skin-crawling shrieks before cutting abruptly due to the victims fainting.
Realising how horrible the situation was turning, the coach of the Heaven Dou Academy's second team hastily threw in the towel.
The Shrek Academy Team stopped their attacks and let the Heaven Dou Academy's team go, returning to Tang San and Jiang Zhu's side.
Seeing each of his team members covered in blood, their bones were broken, and tendons snapped, the Heaven Dou Academy coach was outraged.
"Referee, I must file a complaint. They were not competing but murdering! They've violated the rules of the competition. I demand they be judged."
The referee came back to himself. These Heaven Dou Academy seven were even worse off than the ones from yesterday. At least then, there were only superficial wounds that quickly healed.
The referee glared at the Shrek Academy Team but only met with a calmly smiling Tang San.
"Respected Referee, I only want to ask you one thing. Are they dead?"
The referee blanked once more and looked at the conditions of the Heaven Dou Academy. Although brutally beaten, there shouldn't be any danger of dying.
The referee became stuck between a rock and a hard place, unsure of what to call. Two more referees rushed onto the stage, and the three of them discussed quietly.
After a small talk, the first referee declared, "Preselection competition first round, first match, Shrek Academy's victory."
The audience immediately erupted in the discussion, not only on the first day but on the second day as well!
The Heaven Dou Imperial Academy second team were destroyed without a chance to fight back, and they were representing the Imperial Family with their actions.