As the sun rose higher into the sky, the wisps of purple qi dispersed. Lin Jie let out a long breath, sensing the subtle changes in his eyes and the pink energy swirling within his body. A smile crept onto his face. With a light leap, he descended from the tree and returned to his room to continue cultivating.
Not far away, Tang San also concluded his training. He glanced toward the direction where Lin Jie had been earlier, eyes filled with puzzlement. He'd clearly sensed that the purple qi in that direction had been significantly denser. But because he was focused on absorbing the rare sunrise qi for his Purple Demon Eye cultivation, he hadn't had time to investigate.
Now that the purple qi had faded from the sky, Tang San leapt down and made his way to where Lin Jie had been. But by the time he arrived, Lin Jie was long gone. In fact, Lin Jie had deliberately chosen a secluded place to train. So in the end, Tang San left without any findings and returned to focus on his Heart Separation Control training.
Time passed quickly during cultivation. It was now the second round of the tournament. When the Shrek team arrived outside the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, they immediately drew attention. Spectators along the streets pointed and murmured in awe, their gazes tinged with reverence.
The performance Shrek had delivered in the first round the day before had been simply too shocking.
More than that, the way the Shrek team was treated at the arena today was entirely different from when they first arrived. Respect and admiration now followed in their wake.
Flender was nowhere to be found again—he'd mysteriously vanished. Today, Liu Erlong was leading the team. She walked beside Lin Jie as the group made their way into the arena.
Other participants and spectators who saw them quickly stepped aside, many casting looks of fear and respect.
Once they entered, several arena staff immediately stepped forward to guide them to the competitor's waiting area.
With the first round concluded the day before, today marked the start of the second round. From this point on, the arena would host fourteen matches per day.
When the Shrek team entered the waiting area, the other academies' contestants all turned their attention toward them—more specifically, toward Lin Jie. A fourth Spirit Ring that was black? A ten-thousand-year ring as his fourth? That alone had all the other teams on edge.
Lin Jie noticed that Flender hadn't even bothered to come back for registration—Liu Erlong had done it for him. He turned to her and asked, "Erlong-jie, where's Headmaster Flender?"
"Him? Probably off chasing some sponsorship deal." Liu Erlong chuckled. She knew Flender's temperament very well—he was obsessed with making money, even small sums. Now that Shrek Academy had made a name for itself, there was no way Flender would miss out on capitalizing on it.
"Don't tell me he's trying to get us to wear another one of those ridiculous ads on our uniforms," Ma Hongjun muttered, barely holding back a laugh.
"Right? I'm not wearing anything with strange advertisements again," Oscar added with a sigh.
Among the Shrek team, Oscar and Ma Hongjun were probably the two who understood Flender's habits the best.
Even Xiao Wu shivered slightly at the memory of the bizarre uniforms and brand logos Flender had made them wear in the past.
"Haha, relax, all of you," Liu Erlong said with a grin. "I don't think he'll go that far this time. Anyway, I've completed your registration. Now let me tell you about your next opponent. You're up against a team from the Elephant Armored School. I'm sure you've heard of them before—they're ranked sixth among the Seven Great Sects. The team you're facing is from Elephant Armored Academy."
Her tone grew more serious. "They're very strong. Three of them are over rank 40, and the other four are close to it. More importantly, they're all Defense-type Spirit Masters. Their Martial Souls are Diamond Mammoths—extremely tough to break through. In terms of defense, few Spirit Masters at the same rank can match them. Because this is still the qualifiers and you just need to place in the top five, my suggestion is to forfeit this round and conserve your strength."
Everyone was stunned. Forfeit? That thought had never even crossed their minds.
All eyes turned to Lin Jie—he was their de facto leader and strategist now.
Lin Jie had done plenty of research on the various sects and understood the capabilities of the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul. As Liu Erlong said, they were powerfully defensive and had decent offensive power too. But they had a major flaw: very low speed.
However, the arena platform was limited in size, so agility wouldn't be easy to leverage to full effect.
After thinking it over, Lin Jie came up with a plan. Since they were all Diamond Mammoth users, there was no chance any of them could fly. With that, a battle strategy formed in his mind.
He decided he wouldn't participate in this match—instead, Tang San would take command.
Then he turned to the team. "Do any of you want to forfeit?"
"No!"
"Even if they're strong, we're not weak. Why should we forfeit?!"
"In that case, we'll fight," Lin Jie said, clenching his fist.
"Fight!" the others echoed in unison.
"Lin Jie, what's the plan for this match?" Dai Mubai asked.
Lin Jie nodded. "I'm not going up for this one. Tang San will take my place and lead this match."
"You're not participating?" Oscar was clearly surprised. Lin Jie was the strongest among them and had exceptional control skills.
Tang San smiled slightly. "Sure. I'll take the lead." He had full confidence in his tactical abilities, and believed he could handle it just as well as Lin Jie.
"Tang San, I'm guessing you've already come up with a way to deal with a team of heavily-armored Defense-type Spirit Masters?" Lin Jie asked, a knowing look in his eyes.
"Of course. I'd bet you've already figured it out too," Tang San replied with a grin.
Then, both of them turned to look at Oscar.
Oscar immediately got chills. "Lin Jie, Tang San... why are you both looking at me like that?"
"Looks like we had the same idea," the two said in unison, sharing a laugh.
Their camaraderie showed—they truly appreciated each other's minds.
Unable to handle the suspense, Tai Long blurted out, "Come on, Third Young Master, what's going on? Don't keep us guessing!"
"Yeah, Tang San, just tell us already," Ma Hongjun added.
"Well, since they're asking, why don't you explain it to them, Tang San?" Lin Jie said with a smile.
"Alright. I'll be directing this match. Since the Elephant Armored team's strengths are their defense and their slow movement, I'll be making a few lineup changes. Jiangzhu will sit this one out, and Oscar will take her place. Tai Long will also sit out—he'll be replaced by Zhu Zhuqing."
Tang San glanced at Lin Jie again, as if to confirm they were on the same page.
"Huh? Why me?" Tai Long asked, a little confused. "Sure, they're Defense-type Spirit Masters, but I'm strong too."
"Because you're too heavy," Lin Jie replied, half-smirking.
"Too heavy...? What's that supposed to mean?" Tai Long scratched his head.
Tang San shot Lin Jie a meaningful look. Truly, this guy was always a step ahead.
"Alright," Lin Jie said. "Tang San will be in charge for this one. I'm sure you all will win. Go ahead, Tang San, share the battle plan."
"Okay," Tang San replied.
He then laid out the general strategy for the match. Of course, battlefield conditions could change at any moment, so they'd have to adapt as needed.
Once they understood Tang San's approach, the team finally realized why he and Lin Jie had both turned to look at Oscar earlier.
The third day of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament—Round Two, Match One: officially underway.
The Shrek team's lineup: Dai Mubai, Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Oscar, Jing Ling, and Huang Yuan.