"You've worked hard." With Ning Rongrong and Ye Lingling present, the team members hadn't suffered much harm, and any injuries were quickly healed. However, as soon as they stepped off the stage and before they could reach the rest area, Dugu Yan and the others came forward to greet them.
"I was just cheering from the back—I didn't do much!" Ning Rongrong said.
This match was entirely the result of Shui Bing'er, Ye Lingling, and the others. All she did was provide some buffs and toss Yu Hairou over to Xue Ke's side to confirm whether the opponent had a full spirit bone set.
Honestly, in terms of support during the match, she couldn't even compare to Ye Lingling's constant healing. She'd been so idle she felt restless.
"Ahhh, I get it, our great captain," Dugu Yan rolled her eyes.
The group walked back to the rest area together.
Dugu Yan sat beside Ning Rongrong and whispered, "So, what do you think? About Xue Ke, and the person you mentioned..."
Ning Rongrong sighed. "It's probably them."
"I see." Dugu Yan didn't press further. After all, there were other team members around, and some things didn't need to be shared with them.
However, if it was Bi Ji, then Ning Rongrong would likely try to restore Kurumi's power as soon as possible.
Who knew how many people would die because of that.
"By the way, what about spirit beasts?" Dugu Yan asked abruptly.
Ning Rongrong fell silent for a moment. "Haven't tried it yet. Let's wait and see. From the looks of things now, we still have plenty of time."
This year's qualifiers and advancement matches were being held in their respective empires. Only the finals would take place in Spirit Hall City.
Whether it was Star Luo or Heaven Dou, the scale of this tournament was far grander than before. Even the match schedule had been slowed down—what was originally a three-month event had now been extended to six months, possibly even a year.
After all, Spirit Hall was leading the charge, offering a 100,000-year spirit bone as a reward. Who wouldn't give them some face?
Moreover, both empires sensed a storm brewing and planned to use this tournament to gather as many resources as possible in preparation for the potential war ahead.
In short, there was still plenty of time before they'd head to Spirit Hall City.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Dugu Yan's voice pulled Ning Rongrong back to reality. She gave Dugu Yan a deep look and shook her head. "No, I'll go alone."
"Alright then." Dugu Yan shrugged.
The conversation between Dugu Yan and Ning Rongrong was so cryptic that the other members of Glazed Academy's team couldn't make sense of it, so they simply stopped listening. Most of them were discussing the match instead.
After all, Blazing Wind Academy was no pushover.
In the rest area, the Blazing Wind team looked like defeated roosters, their heads hanging low without a shred of morale left.
Having played all their cards and still being crushed was a massive blow to teenagers and young adults in their early twenties.
Especially for Huo Wushuang, who had made such bold declarations of victory—he practically buried his head in his chest.
He had actually said, "Blazing Wind Academy has already won this match. Even if they have a Spirit Fusion Skill, it won't matter."
How quickly that had come back to bite him.
Who could've guessed that Ning Rongrong's domain could accelerate Spirit Fusion Skill fusion? Who could've predicted that?
With Ning Rongrong's domain and buffs stacked together, a Spirit Fusion Skill between a Spirit King and a Spirit Ancestor would naturally be stronger than one between two Spirit Ancestors.
Xue Ke was also a support-type spirit master, but her abilities leaned more toward healing and defense. Even with the enhancements from her spirit bone set, her offensive capabilities couldn't compare to the Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda's boosts.
On top of that, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er's Spirit Fusion Skill countered them perfectly, making their crushing defeat unsurprising.
"My dear students, can't you handle even a little setback?"
Bi Ji looked at Huo Wushuang and the others, whose eyes seemed devoid of light, and spoke up.
"Teacher, we…" Huo Wu raised her head and looked at Bi Ji, whose expression remained calm and serene. She opened her mouth but hesitated. "We lost. Even after giving it our all, we still lost."
They had used everything—Spirit Ring Fusion, Spirit Fusion Skill, spirit bone sets!
With skills and equipment that would make them nearly invincible in past tournaments, they wouldn't just lose in the qualifiers—even in the finals, against Spirit Hall's team of monsters, they had been confident they could knock them off the champion's throne and stomp on them.
But now…
"So what?" Bi Ji countered. "Who hasn't lost before? Did I ever demand that you win the championship?"
"Victory and defeat are common in battle—just temporary setbacks. Regroup, train harder, and next time, you'll win!"
"But…" Feng Xiaotian forced a bitter smile. "We've failed your expectations. Even if we face them again, we probably still won't win."
"Sigh…" Bi Ji exhaled. "Don't pressure yourselves. I never had such high expectations for you. Forget the championship—even making it to the top three wasn't something I ever considered."
"This year's tournament is the strongest in history. I only hoped you'd compete and advance, then go to Spirit Hall City to witness the strength and talent of the teams that would make it to the top three. That alone would be a great help for your future."
"If you had made it to the top three, that would've exceeded my expectations."
"Teacher… do you already know the overall strength of the teams likely to reach the top three?" Xue Ke tentatively asked.
"How should I put this?"
Bi Ji fell silent for a moment, her gaze flickering toward the VIP seats before quickly returning to Xue Ke.
"Your elder brother, Xue Qinghe's girlfriend, reached the Spirit Sage level years ago. As for where she is now… I'm not sure."
"That… Spirit Hall's representative?" Xue Ke nodded.
To be honest, Xue Qinghe's close ties with Spirit Hall weren't exactly a secret.
Xue Ke had met Qian Renxue before—aloof, elegant, and exuding an untouchable aura.
But if given the chance, Xue Ke would've loved to try touching her.
Because no matter how she looked at it, that woman seemed to have some ulterior motive regarding Xue Qinghe—and Heaven Dou itself. As for Xue Qinghe…
"Sigh…" Xue Ke recalled the visions she had seen through the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud after being severely injured by that sinister figure.
"Second Brother, Third Brother… even Father… all killed by Xue Qinghe."
The images had been blurry, and even Xue Ke wasn't entirely sure. But what could she do even if it were true? Bi Ji had told her that the spirit bone Xue Beng had given her was actually meant to win over the Clear Sky Clan, hence why she was sent to study under Tang Yuehua.
A 30,000-year spirit bone!
Fourth Brother, you really went all out.
If Bi Ji hadn't appeared, if none of these accidents had happened…
She might've had her bones extracted at the Clear Sky Clan, possibly even lost her life.
The current Xue Ke was no longer so naive. Though not entirely certain, she was 90% sure Bi Ji was one of Xue Qinghe's people.
"Big Brother… what do you want me to do?" Xue Ke sighed inwardly.
If Second Brother, Third Brother, and even Father were all killed by Xue Qinghe, then…
Should she seek revenge?
Truthfully, she didn't feel much attachment even to the long-deceased elder brothers, let alone Xue Ye.
When she was very young, Xue Ye had already planned to use her as a bargaining chip, betrothing her to nobles of subordinate kingdoms to secure alliances.
Pushing aside the chaotic thoughts in her mind, Xue Ke sighed inwardly. Let's wait and see. She's someone who cares for me—though it might also be surveillance. But sending a Limit Douluo to monitor me? I'm not that important.
"It seems our princess has caught someone's attention." Bi Ji's gentle voice pulled Xue Ke out of her thoughts.
"Teacher?"
When she looked up, Bi Ji was already walking toward the competition stage.