Chapter 362: The Opening Match – Blazing Fire Academy’s Impressive Power, and Team Two’s Terrible Luck

The captain of Heaven Dou's Team Two handed the draw results to the announcer with a slightly grim expression. The announcer, glancing at the outcome, appeared momentarily stunned. It seemed Team Two's luck wasn't on their side; they'd drawn a tough opponent right off the bat.

He announced loudly, "The first match of the qualifiers: Heaven Dou Team Two versus Blazing Fire Academy! Teams, please enter the arena!"

At that, Su Ming and his teammates finally understood why Team Two's captain looked so downcast. Su Ming almost felt sympathy—his luck was awful.

Even without Shrek Academy in the picture, Team Two had drawn Blazing Fire Academy. Truly unfortunate.

Tang San, meanwhile, seemed a bit disappointed; he had hoped Team Two might face his own team.

Yu Xiaogang, noticing Tang San's thoughts, said seriously, "Tang San, watch this match closely. Blazing Fire Academy is one of the Five Elemental Academies and shouldn't be underestimated. Today, we can analyze their spirit levels and abilities, which will help us prepare for later matches."

Calming himself, Tang San focused intently on the arena. As the team's control-type spirit master, he needed a clear understanding of Blazing Fire Academy's strength to prepare effective countermeasures.

Meanwhile, the large screen displayed both teams' spirits and spirit power levels.

Blazing Fire Academy lineup:

Captain: Huo Wushuang, Level 43 Assault-type Spirit Ancestor, Spirit: Fire Unicorn Dragon

Vice Captain: Huo Wu, Level 47 Control-type Spirit Ancestor, Spirit: Fire Shadow

Member: Huo Yun, Level 38 Agility-type Spirit Expert, Spirit: Fire Crane

Member: Huo Yu, Level 41 Agility-type Spirit Expert, Spirit: Fire Crane

Member: Huo Lie, Level 42 Agility-type Spirit Ancestor, Spirit: Fire Leopard

Member: Huo Chui, Level 41 Support-type Tool Spirit Ancestor, Spirit: Fire Spark

Member: Huo Jun, Level 41 Support-type Spirit Ancestor, Spirit: Fire Spark

All seven members were the primary fighters for Blazing Fire Academy. Huo Wu had instructed her team to refrain from using their fourth spirit rings unless necessary, preserving their strength for later rounds.

Su Ming's gaze settled on Huo Wu. Her strength had increased rapidly, and the entire team's level seemed much higher than he remembered. In the original timeline, only Huo Wu, Huo Wushuang, and the Fire Leopard spirit user were supposed to be Spirit Ancestors. Was this some butterfly effect?

System: Heh, heh, heh.

Meanwhile, the Blazing Fire team was far from happy. Nine months prior, Huo Wu had suddenly thrown them into relentless training. Their days had consisted of nothing but intense training, with only brief breaks for meals and four hours of sleep. It was torture—but effective. Because of Huo Wu's strict regime, those on the brink of reaching the Spirit Ancestor level had managed to break through and obtain their fourth spirit rings.

The audience was stunned by Blazing Fire Academy's prowess, including the announcer, who exclaimed, "Six Spirit Ancestors in one team! This level of strength is incredible. Let's see how Heaven Dou's Team Two responds to the challenge. Let the match begin!"

In the royal box, Emperor Xue Ye turned to Ning Fengzhi and Salas, observing, "The quality of this year's students is remarkable. Usually, the Five Elemental Academies have around three Spirit Ancestors each. Yet Blazing Fire Academy now has six."

Ning Fengzhi smiled, "No need to worry, Your Majesty. Team Two was never expected to reach the finals. This year's Team One, however, is exceptional." Ning Fengzhi avoided mentioning the presence of three Spirit Kings in Team One, particularly with Salas from the Spirit Hall nearby.

Understanding the message, Emperor Xue Ye nodded approvingly. Salas, however, narrowed his eyes. The two old foxes were hiding something, but he knew Team One contained at least one Spirit King. His sources had informed him about their recent friendly match against Tianshui Academy, with a Spirit King among them.

In the arena, as expected, Blazing Fire Academy won handily. The gap in power was too great for Team Two, who didn't have a single Spirit Ancestor on their side.

As the match concluded, Huo Wu glanced triumphantly in Su Ming's direction. Su Ming assumed this was a display of arrogance. Perhaps defeating Team Two had given her an inflated sense of confidence, and she wanted to flaunt it in front of Team One.

But, in truth, Huo Wu was silently sending a message to Su Ming: "This is my true strength! We'll see you in the finals."

There was indeed a hint of challenge in her gaze. That was just like Huo Wu.

While Huo Wu's strength, combined with the two Spirit Ancestor support members on her team, was troublesome, Su Ming was less concerned for himself and more curious about how Tang San would handle them.