Skysea Alliance Tournament : Opening and Shrek's defeat

Nero slept for the whole ride as there was nothing much he could do while on the bus. " Nero, we have arrived at Skysea city " Xie Xie's voice roused Nero from his slumber. Opening his eyes, Nero saw that everyone was disembarking from the bus.

Both Skysea City and Eastsea City shared similarities as coastal towns, offering stunning views and boasting the largest harbors and docks on the continent. Some noticed a massive naval ship anchored offshore, a clear sign of the powerful Federation's presence.

Skysea City was situated amidst a more mountainous landscape compared to Eastsea City. Many structures were integrated into the slopes, giving rise to a striking scenery. Some skyscrapers even brushed against the sky's very canvas.

Skysea City held a strong military force, making it the top city along the eastern coast. Its importance rivaled major inland cities due to its strategic location .Young adults usually joined the military at eighteen, and those in the Skysea Alliance region often chose to serve in Skysea City's navy

They were guided to a luxurious hotel with a unique twist - half of it extended into the ocean. Each room offered a stunning view, a constant reminder of their vicinity to the sea. Nero opted for a single room while the rest of the class zero shared the rooms in a group of two. Wu Zhangkong only gave minimum information about next day's opening ceremony, where the matches would be determined.

Nero decided to cultivate for the rest of the day as he was very close to breaking through Rank 27.

*Next Day*

The opening ceremony of the Skysea Alliance Tournament was held in Skysea Stadium. It was the largest stadium in the Skysea Alliance, boasting a maximum seating capacity of eighty-thousand people. Representatives from the various cities flooded into the stadium. The arena was gigantic, hordes of people teeming as far as the eye could see. The terrace had long since been filled with spectators. Excitement permeated the air as the opening ceremony proceeded. Despite the spectacle, Nero didn't feel even a pan of excitement as he could see that the tournament was nothing but a net to hoard geniuses for the Skysea Alliance and elevate its status within the federation. From what he knew Skysea alliance was economicly very high in federation but quite the opposite when it came to force.

As soon as the teachers of various academies drew the lots for competition, Nero separated from class zero to grab a meal as he skipped breakfast and was feeling hungry.

*🥙🥙🧃🧃*

" What happened to him " Nero who just came back asked Xie Xie as Tang Wulin was absentmindedly touching his face. " I am also not sure but a blonde girl just titled him as a bad guy " before Xie Xie could continue reciting the announcement started broadcasting.

"Today marks the commencement of the Skysea Alliance Tournament. We have invited a team specially from Shrek Academy to exchange pointers with last year's champions. Accounting for the gap in strength, this match will be held between different age groups. The contenders are last year's youth division champions of the seven-man team competition and Shrek Academy's seven-man team from the junior division. Now, will both sides please come on stage."

The representatives of the Skysea Alliance arrived on the platform. Since they were the winners of the previous tournament, they were now all over twenty years old and should be placed in the adult division. There were five men and two women clad in silver team uniforms, standing with confidence and valiance imbued in their hearts. Their synchronous movements illustrated their rigorous training while their eyes shined with excitement.

"Hey, wait a sec. Aren't those two up there the boy and the girl that we just met " Xie Xie pointed at the two students at the back of the Shrek academy team. Nero shifted his gaze to the students Xie Xie pointed at, ' so it's them ' Nero finally recognized the golden haired girl and the slightly chubby boy. ' What was their name again, why am I brainstorming? Aria their status '

[

Name: Ye Xinglan

Age: 10

Martial soul: Stargod sword

Rank: 28

Soul Ring configuration: 🟡🟡

]

[

Name: Xu Lizhi

Age: 10

Martial soul: Stuffed Bun

Rank: 26

Soul Ring configuration: 🟡🟡

]

' Right , Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi I forgot about them ' Nero thought as he forgot about how Class Zero encountered them in the original timeline.

The two parties exchanged courteous greetings. The seven-member Skysea Alliance team loomed tall over the Shrek Academy students, there was a considerable difference of more than five years between the two groups.

The match failed to provide any sort of emotion to Nero as Shrek Academy easily thrashed the Skysea alliance team. Nero spent the rest of his day watching movies on his tablet as they were not really allowed to wander the city alone and there was no place to train.

The next day the tournament officially began , Nero didn't even bother to participate in the first team fight as the opposition team was so weak that their members weren't even able to bring out Tang wulin's Dragon claw. As for the individual competition, Nero's opponent got his jaw dislocated with just one punch.

{ I didn't write the first two days of matchups as there is no point, the Protagonist would easily defeat his inexperienced opponents }

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On the third day of the Skysea alliance tournament Nero who was getting bored finally felt excited as his opponent was Ye Xinglan who would at least put up a substantial fight as for winning even Tang Wulin forced her to use her second spirit ability in their fight so winning against Nero who defeated whole class zero is a distant dream.

" Nero, you would at least avoid hitting Ye Xianglan's face right " seeing Nero's itching hands Xie Xie asked him hesitantly. " I believe in Gender equality " hearing Nero's response Class Zero's lips twitched and they prayed silently for Ye Xinglan as no one could save her from this straight Demon king.

" Both contestants, please enter the Arena ! " hearing the announcement both Ye Xinglan and Nero entered the Arena. Ye Xinglan didn't trash talk Nero as she didn't know he was from class zero and Nero was too lazy to bother with something like that.

" Begin! " hearing the Ye Xinglan was the first to summon her martial soul which was a long yellow sword. The blade shimmered with scattered sparks akin to stars in the night sky, its brilliance catching the attention of everyone who watched. On the contrary Yamato didn't cause such commotion as they regarded it as some common top martial soul, perhaps they shouldn't have judged a book by its cover.

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" So, How long do you think your student will fare against Ye Xinglan ? He seems pretty strong " A white haired woman asked Wu Zhangkong while watching the match from the chamber above the arena. " Shen Yi, Get ready to use your martial soul " Wu Zhangkong instead of replying requested Shen Yi. " Why? I don't think Ye Xianglan will beat your student that much " Wu Zhangkong shook his head and clarified " I meant for Ye Xinglan as what she has encountered is a veritable Demon king "

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Ye Xinglan was the first to move, She confronted Nero using her sword skills, her fast and elusive made her look like a dancer . If it was anyone else against her, she might have won already but Nero wasn't anyone, without even unsheathing Yamato Nero effortlessly dodged and deflected Ye Xinglan's every attack.

switching her strategy, Ye Xinglan approached Nero using ghost-like tracks and thrusted her sword at Nero with star energy converged at its tip. Nero intercepted Ye Xinglan's attack using Yamato's sheath while the star energy disintegrated the moment it touched Yamato as if a tiny creature encountering a Behemoth. Ye Xinglan's eyes widened as she watched her Star energy which always suppressed everyone dissipate, realizing that she had underestimated Nero Ye Xinglan retreated, assuming a state which seemed like she was one with her sword.

" Woosh..Woosh..Woosh.." a flurry of starry sword shadows attacked Nero from multiple angles leaving no dead ends. In response Nero unsheathed Yamato and deflected every incoming attack at an inhuman speed and precision; To onlookers it looked like afterimages flashed around Nero and Ye Xinglan's attack dissolved into nothingness only the high rank soul masters were able to witness Nero's actions.

For a brief moment, Ye Xinglan lost her focus as she watched Nero easily dismantle her " One with the sword " intent attacks. " Don't you know that losing concentration during a fight is disastrous " she was snapped back to reality by Nero's voice and before she could even try to raise her sword a hand seized the back for head and the next second she found herself slammed face-first into the ground.

' He really did it ' was the collective thought of Class Zero and Wu Zhangkong as they watched Nero mercilessly slam Ye Xinglan face into the ground. Nero didn't stop there as he picked Ye Xinglan by her leg and flung her straight towards the barrier surrounding the Arena like a frisbee. " Boom! " a loud noise was generated from the impact enveloping the collision area in smoke, at this point the female participants of the Individual tournament were glad that they didn't encounter Nero. Ye Xinglan soon emerged from the smoke of her collision with the barrier but she looked like a beggar with her disheveled hair and slightly swollen face, if it weren't for the Shrek academy uniform she was wearing then no one would be able to recognize her although She was still mostly fine as Nero used enough force to not injure her

" Second spirit ability Sword God's Net " acknowledging the fact that she would not be able to win, Ye Xinglan used her second spirit ability to at least make Nero use his spirit ring ability. A densely-knitted sword's net descended towards Nero from the sky with each strand exuding a terrifying sword energy. Despite her energy-depleted and pale appearance, Ye Xinglan looked at Nero with a glimmer of hope that he would have some panic on his face but Regrettably Nero still had a straight face with nothing but calmness in his eyes.

" Boom! " a terrifying explosion imbued with sword intent erupted as Nero used his Sword intent mixed mirage blades to explode the binding points of the Net which he discerned using his Demon eyes. " You..How were you able to effortlessly switch to ' one with sword ' state " Ye Xinglan was more shocked by Nero's instant use of 'one with the sword ' state as even she needs to focus all her attention to effectively use that state. " Is it difficult? why would i focus to fuse with my own martial soul " Nero nonchantly said but seeing that Ye Xinglan was still like a clueless chicken he then proceeded to demonstrate, " Think of it like matching frequencies or in simpler terms, imagine sword intent and my intent as two fruits and spirit energy acting as the milk. Combine them together and you get the ' one with sword ' juice ".

There was a pin drop silence in the arena with most of the Soul Masters looking at Nero with eyes that clearly said ' Are you sure it's that easy '. Ye Xinglan who at this point was doubting her status as genius fell unconscious as the physical and mental impact she received just now was overwhelming for her.

The crowd soon erupted in a frenzy of excitement as it was the first time a Shrek academy student lost. Nero returned to Class Zero's stand without paying any heed to the cheers. " Is something wrong?" Nero asked with a raised eyebrow as everyone in class zero was looking at him with a weird look. Xie Xie who was pushed into the front as a scapegoat, stuttered, "N-nothing"

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Shen Yi who just healed Ye Xinglan was now looking at Wu Zhangkong with twitching eyes. " Senior brother, tell me honestly did you teach him to be so..equal ". Wu Zhangkong immediately denied with a straight face " Don't involve me. I just taught him knowledge, everything else you saw be it his combat prowess or his unique mindset was something he already had and don't even try to recruit him. Based on my understanding of Nero, he would immediately deny admission into Shrek using backdoor".

Shen Yi let out a sigh, as it was true she wanted to invite Nero in Shrek academy.

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🙋🙋 Spoilers-: Don't worry the skysea alliance arc will not end with the upcoming Team finale.