The next day, Jun Tianlin woke up from his sleep. He had been in a restless mood the day before, so he had chosen not to meditate or practice, fearing he might go astray. Once again, his dreams were haunted by that strange scene.
"I keep dreaming about what happen that time" Jun Tianlin muttered, holding his forehead before jumping out of bed "Forget it. I'll think about the future later. I have a backup plan anyway. Besides, if that really happens, Tang San should be the most unfortunate one."
Since overthinking wouldn't solve anything, Jun Tianlin decided to focus on what mattered most—strength. As long as he became powerful enough, he would be able to handle whatever came his way.
After a quick wash, he reunited with the Emperor Team and headed to the competition venue. In the match against Zixing, both he and Gu Ran had been left out of the fight. They were simply too weak, and the two twin brothers of the Shi family had effortlessly broken through their opponents' battle formation using the advancement tactics that Qin Ming had devised for them.
The battle itself was dull and uneventful. No one had expected Zixing to have even a chance of defeating Emperor Team. However, the following match—Shrek versus Canghui—captured everyone's attention.
Shrek had proven to be a formidable dark horse in the competition, boasting an impressive win rate. Their displayed strength was not far behind that of the Five Elements Academy. Most notably, Tang San had sent three Emperor Team members flying out of the arena the previous day.
Canghui Academy, seemingly unremarkable at first, had taken everyone by surprise by unleashing a seven-in-one fusion technique called the Seven Asura Illusions.
Among all the academies, aside from Jun Tianlin's external soul bone and the Spirit Hall's fusion skill, Demon Charm, there was probably no other force capable of resisting this move. Yet, they still lost—thanks to Tang San's Purple Demon Eye.
'Tang San's Purple Demon Eye has actually reached the third level, allowing him to see through the Seven Asura Illusions' Jun Tianlin thought to himself 'His luck is truly extraordinary. It seems that the spiritual power I gave him turned out to be a blessing in disguise.'
Both Canghui and Shrek had fought ruthlessly, leading to Shi Nian's disappearance. Canghui believed Shrek was responsible, knowing that Shi Nian had set out to deal with Tang San before vanishing. Shrek, on the other hand, assumed that Shi Nian had stolen Tang San's soul bone but, fearing retaliation from two Spirit Saints—Flender and Zhao Wuji—or even an inquiry from the competition's organizing committee, had fled in panic.
The only mystery was why Shi Nian hadn't killed Tang San. Had he softened over the years, learning to show mercy to the younger generation?
If there was no answer, there was no point in dwelling on it. Regardless, Canghui Academy had acted with malice and Shrek had retaliated just as harshly. As in the original novel, the Seven Asura Illusions had been shattered by Tang San's mental attack, leaving Canghui's seven students as mindless husks, their own soul skills rebounding against them.
However, Saras did not move against Shrek this time. He simply didn't see them as a threat. Tang San's ordinary Blue Silver Grass and lack of a ten-thousand-year spirit ring made him unworthy of serious attention. The competition rules forbade killing, and technically, all of Canghui Academy's students were still alive. Whether or not they lived well was none of his concern.
As a result, Shrek had no need to feign weakness and Tang San and his teammates continued to compete in the remaining matches
Before long, the qualifying round of the tournament reached its final day, and the five advancing teams were determined.
As expected, Emperor Team secured first place, winning all 26 of their matches.
Next was Thunder Academy, which had been lucky enough to avoid facing Emperor Team. They won 25 out of 26 matches, their only loss being to God Wind Team.
Third place went to God Wind Team, who had defeated Thunder Academy. They won 24 out of 26 matches, losing only to Emperor Team and Blazing Academy. Losing to Emperor Team was expected, but as for Blazing Academy well, that was thanks to a certain individual deliberately throwing the match.
Fourth place went to Tianshui Academy, which won 23 out of 26 matches. Their three losses came against Emperor Team, GodWind Academy, and Thunder Academy—attribute disadvantages playing a crucial role in the last defeat. This time, they also defeated Shrek. Without Tang San's Blue Silver Cage and Heart Separation Method he had been unable to stop Shui Binger and Xue Wu's martial soul fusion skill, Ice Snow Drifting.
Finally, Shrek and Blazing Academy were tied, each winning 22 out of 26 matches. Shrek's four losses came against Emperor Team, Blazing, Tianshui, and Thunder.
Blazing Academy meanwhile, had suffered defeats at the hands of Tianshui, Thunder, Elephant Armored, and Emperor Team. The loss to Tianshui and Thunder was inevitable given their strength, but their match against Elephant Armored had been pure misfortune. They had exhausted their soul power fighting Thunder Academy the day before and were caught off guard by a well-rested Elephant Armored team in a back-to-back battle.
In their final match against Emperor Team, Jun Tianlin's Ultimate Fire had completely overwhelmed Blazing Academy, rendering their soul skills nearly useless. The battle had been painfully one-sided.
With only five teams allowed to advance, the organizing committee had no choice but to make Shrek and Blazing fight again for the final spot.
This time, however, the unexpected happened—Blazing Academy lost. Desperate not to be eliminated, Yu Xiaogang had no choice but to play his last trump card: Ning Rongrong.
The level-45 Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could elevate the entire Shrek team's strength to an entirely new level and the pitch-black fourth soul ring left everyone astonished.
One thought crossed everyone's minds: Was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan a haven for monsters? Not only did they have two Spirit Kings but Ning Rongrong had also achieved a ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring. Were they trying to scare people to death?
With Ning Rongrong's powerful support abilities, Shrek barely managed to secure their place in the tournament, though Blazing was clearly resentful of their loss. After the match, Huo Wu approached Feng Xiaotian, the captain of God Wind Team, seemingly discussing something.
Jun Tianlin suspected that the new elemental team from the original story would still emerge.
Inside the grand hall, the five advancing teams stood in formation. Ning Rongrong blinked playfully at Jun Tianlin, her expression clearly seeking praise for her performance in the battle.
Jun Tianlin discreetly gave her a thumbs-up.
The members of Emperor Team and Shrek pretended not to notice the silent exchange, but Ning Fengzhi smiled knowingly. He had watched these two grow up, and the closer they became, the happier he was.
At that moment, Emperor Xue Ye stepped forward and announced "All the participants from the advancing teams are talents of our empire. Today, I personally confer the title of Viscount upon each team's captain and vice-captain, while the rest of the members shall be granted the title of Baron. Upon graduation, you will be given fiefs."
Just like in the original novel, Emperor Xue Ye had issued a shocking decree, bestowing noble titles so easily