The Soul Master Grand Tournament continued as usual.
The commotion from the previous night had been suppressed by the Heaven Dou Empire's officials.
Several days passed, and gradually, the audience gained a deeper understanding of the competing teams' strengths.
Only three teams stood out as true contenders for the top three positions:
Shrek Academy's Shrek Team,
Glazed Academy's Glazed Team,
and Blazing Wind Academy's Blazing Wind Team.
As for teams like Elephant Armor Academy and Thunderclap Academy—despite having decent Soul Ancestor-level fighters—they stood no chance against these three powerhouses.
The tournament progressed steadily. Ning Rongrong occasionally disappeared for days at a time, leaving Dugu Yan to oversee the matches. When Ning Rongrong returned after another "justice-serving" excursion, she received an update from Dugu Yan:
The battle between Blazing Wind Team and Shrek Team had concluded.
The result? Blazing Wind Academy suffered a crushing defeat.
"Princess Xue Ke seems to have discovered Tang San's identity, though I'm not entirely certain."
Ning Rongrong took the intelligence report from Dugu Yan and carefully reviewed it.
"Hmm, so both Tang San and Tang Long participated in this morning's match?" Ning Rongrong was slightly surprised. In the original timeline, it was rare for Shrek to field all their main fighters during the preliminaries.
Yet in today's battle against Blazing Wind Academy—
Tang San, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Tang Long, and Xiao Wu had all taken the stage.
"Two Soul Kings and five Soul Ancestors... No wonder Blazing Wind lost."
Clearly, Shrek Academy had been worried Tang Long couldn't hold the line alone, so they sent Tang San as well.
"Oh? Netherworld White Tiger... I see. Tang San didn't go all out. It was just Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing using their Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
"Rongrong, why do you think they fielded this lineup?" Dugu Yan asked.
"Team synergy practice," Ning Rongrong chuckled. "It seems that Yu Xiaogang's ambitions are bigger than I thought. Let's see if he bites off more than he can chew."
"Uh... What do you mean?" Dugu Yan looked confused, unable to follow Ning Rongrong's reasoning.
"They want to secure first place in the preliminaries. As the rising star of the newly resurfaced Clear Sky Sect, Tang San isn't just aiming for the preliminaries—he's targeting the knockout rounds and finals too."
"But we represent the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan!" Ning Rongrong set the report aside. "Here's the plan. Tomorrow, our Glazed Team has no matches, but the day after..."
"You and I will both take the stage. If the Clear Sky Sect is this greedy, we'll crush their momentum early."
"Is that really necessary? It's just the preliminaries..." Dugu Yan frowned.
"Sister Yan, you're only missing one final breakthrough."
Ning Rongrong met Dugu Yan's gaze seriously.
"Tang San has most likely cleared the City of Slaughter and Hell Road. I want you to experience that during our match."
Hearing this, Dugu Yan sighed. "To be honest, I'm not confident."
"With me here, nothing will go wrong," Ning Rongrong reassured. "The worst-case scenario is just revealing some of our strength."
"Even if I expose part of my power, the Ten Thousand Demon King won't detect it."
"Fine. If you've made up your mind..."
"Then it's up to you, Sister Yan!" Ning Rongrong patted Dugu Yan's shoulder.
"Speaking of which, my useless fath—cough—my father claims not to care, but I bet he secretly wants us to sweep every category."
"Uncle Ning has such ambitions?" Dugu Yan was surprised.
"The Clear Sky Sect, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan have been rivals for millennia. As a clan leader, it's natural to want to prove superiority."
Ning Rongrong continued,
"Among the Top Three Sects, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan usually ranks last. The real competition for first has always been between the Clear Sky Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"That's because the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan isn't a combat-oriented sect, right?"
Truthfully, the clan's strength relied on its elders and spouses. Being slightly weaker was inevitable.
"Exactly. That's why Father wants to rebrand us as the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—and use this tournament victory as the perfect opportunity for a grand reveal."
"It's a bit childish, but as a daughter, shouldn't I indulge his dreams sometimes?" Ning Rongrong's earnest expression made Dugu Yan speechless.
After a long silence, Dugu Yan sighed. "I don't mind either way. But have you considered how to handle Star Dou Forest and the Spirit Hall afterward?"
Truthfully, Dugu Yan didn't care much about the tournament.
What worried her was the aftermath—if the Spirit Hall and Star Dou Forest joined forces to eliminate the Top Three Sects, what then?
According to Ning Rongrong, the slumbering Silver Dragon King might awaken soon.
"After our match with Shrek Academy, I'll head to the City of Slaughter."
Ning Rongrong's words plunged the room into silence.
Dugu Yan frowned after a long pause. "Does Uncle Ning know about this?"
"Not yet. I'll probably get an earful when I tell him." Ning Rongrong shrugged. "Honestly, I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission."
"You're so irresponsible!"
"I have no choice. That's the only place where I can harvest time without reservations."
Ning Rongrong sighed. Like she'd told Tokisaki Kurumi earlier, she still had some principles.
"You're the one who told me the City of Slaughter belongs to the Asura God," Dugu Yan argued. "No matter how you look at it, going there is far riskier than other options."
"Kurumi has awakened. I've learned a useful skill from her—even a God King would struggle to detect me unless I reveal my true form."
"Is this really necessary?"
"Ugh, I'd love to just laze around!" Ning Rongrong groaned. "But if I do, I might wake up one day to find my head rolling on the floor."
The Spirit Hall would likely make major moves after the tournament—possibly even a purge of the Top Three Sects. For now, accumulating strength was the priority.
Strike only when struck first.
Ultimately, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was too weak. If they had eight or ten Class 10 soul tools, they could crush the Spirit Hall and its Sanctuary in an instant.
But for now, that was just wishful thinking.
As for Tang Chen...
The Asura God was probably being monitored by other God Kings, unable to intervene directly.
"I understand. Leave the rest to me." Dugu Yan nodded solemnly. "I'll ensure Glazed Academy takes first place in the knockout rounds."
"Don't stress over it. Safety comes first!" Ning Rongrong waved her hand. "Besides, that's Ning Fengzhi's dream."
"Realistically, qualifying is enough. If you're unsure against Tang San, it's fine to concede."
Dugu Yan was a Level 67 Soul Emperor, but Tang San was no ordinary opponent. Ning Rongrong wasn't entirely confident in Dugu Yan's chances.
After all, that man possessed a skill renowned across countless realms—
Blue Silver Entanglement.
Who in the myriad worlds hadn't heard of its terror?
Truly... a force to be reckoned with.