Lin Jie glanced at the red-uniformed team behind them and immediately recognized who they were—the Fire Element Academy team, one of the Five Elemental Academies. As for the girl who'd just spoken, it had to be Huo Wu.
"Maybe," Lin Jie replied casually after a glance in her direction, then turned his head back toward the match, uninterested.
Tai Long, always quick-tempered, didn't take kindly to her remark. He shot to his feet and glared at Huo Wu with a roar, "What do you mean by that?"
Before Huo Wu could respond, the boys around her immediately jumped to her defense. To them, Huo Wu was someone to be pampered and protected—even scolded gently was rare, let alone shouted at by some outsider. Tai Long might've looked large and intimidating, but that didn't mean the Fire Element Academy team was afraid. One of them immediately yelled back even louder, "What do we mean? We mean Shrek Academy is going to lose!"
"You—!" Tai Long clenched his fists and was just about to roar again, not one to back down in a shouting match, but Lin Jie's voice cut in. "That's enough, Tai Long. Watch the match."
"Hmph," Tai Long huffed and sat back down. He still respected Lin Jie enough to obey.
Huo Wu had taken her seat just behind Lin Jie not long ago, and she'd heard everything he said—he hadn't bothered to lower his voice. When she saw that the Elephant Armored Academy's tactics played out exactly as Lin Jie had predicted, even she was surprised.
They had watched the first round of the preliminaries, so naturally they were curious about Shrek Academy. And now, sitting in front of her was none other than the boy who'd displayed a ten-thousand-year fourth Spirit Ring. That alone made Lin Jie stand out to Huo Wu, which was why she'd intentionally provoked him—just to catch his attention.
But he'd only given her a glance and then ignored her completely. Huo Wu had been doted on since childhood, used to being the center of attention. No one had ever dared dismiss her like this. And now Lin Jie had flat-out ignored her. That stung. With her naturally fiery temper, she couldn't help but huff, "Hmph! Shrek Academy is doomed to lose."
"Huo Wu," the red-and-grey-haired boy beside her with the headband said, clearly displeased with her behavior.
Tai Long's temper flared again at her words, but just as he was about to shout back, he caught Lin Jie's gaze—and for some reason, that look sent a chill down his spine. He sat back down without a word.
"It's starting," Lin Jie said calmly, turning his gaze back to the arena.
Hearing that, Ning Rongrong, Tai Long and the others also turned back toward the stage.
Down in the ring, Tang San judged the timing was right and gave a low shout, "Step forward three paces."
At his command, all but Oscar—Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and the others—stepped forward. Then several strands of Blue Silver Grass coiled around their waists.
Tang San called out to the back, "Oscar, now!"
Oscar, already prepared with his Flying Mushroom Sausages, passed one to Tang San. Tang San quickly bit into it, and a pair of translucent wings unfurled from his back.
"Lighten!" Tang San barked.
At his command, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Jing Ling—all agility-type Spirit Masters—channeled their spirit power to lighten their weight, nearly becoming weightless.
Dai Mubai and Huang Yuan did the same, focusing their spirit power to reduce their mass. In total, the five of them weighed no more than 400 jin (approx. 200 kg). Oscar's Swift Flight Mushroom Sausage could handle loads up to 500 jin—more than enough.
Using the Blue Silver Grass as tethers and relying on his Mysterious Heaven Skill combined with Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, Tang San lifted the five into the air.
"Wait—flying Spirit Ability?"
"I didn't know they could fly!"
Gasps and exclamations echoed through the stands as Shrek's seven-person team took to the skies.
On the VIP platform, Emperor Xue Ye's eyes lit up in surprise. "So they can fly! That's the one you mentioned, isn't it, Ning Sect Master? Tang San?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Ning Fengzhi replied with a smile. "That's Tang San, disciple of the Grandmaster. Although, I believe the flight ability comes from the auxiliary-type Spirit Master beside him."
"The Grandmaster's disciple?" Salas muttered, clearly shaken.
Ning Fengzhi had already noticed Salas acting strangely when the Grandmaster was mentioned earlier. Though he was curious, he was too clever to ask directly—he knew he wouldn't get an answer anyway.
Meanwhile, Oscar, now carried on Tang San's back, handed him a Recovery Sausage as soon as he noticed Tang San starting to show signs of fatigue.
Tang San took it and recovered immediately.
On the stage below, the seven members of Elephant Armored Academy watched the airborne Shrek team in disbelief.
This was their weakness. While their defense was formidable, it came at the cost of speed. Against equally ranked agility-type Spirit Masters in open terrain, they couldn't even catch a tail. And now, Shrek was in the air.
With a flick of his Blue Silver Grass, Tang San dispersed the team midair. Each of them swooped toward a different member of the Elephant Armored team, and at the same time, Tang San unleashed his Binding skill, attempting to entangle them all.
To their credit, the Elephant Armored team reacted quickly. Under Huyan Li's command, they closed ranks, standing back to back in a tight formation. Massive palms like steel fans lashed out at the incoming attackers.
Seeing their quick response, Tang San withdrew his vines and readjusted.
Back in the stands, Lin Jie watched calmly and said quietly, "Next up—Huyan Li will be the first to fall."
Ning Rongrong and the others glanced at him, then back to the stage, eager to see if his prediction would hold true again.
The Fire Element Academy team overheard Lin Jie too. They weren't convinced. Huyan Li was the strongest of the seven—how could he be the first to go down?
Tang San knew from testing earlier that he had twenty seconds. His Blue Silver Grass couldn't bind them longer than that, so he had to end it fast.
He shouted, "Defeat Huyan Li in twenty seconds!"
At once, three of his Spirit Rings lit up. While he'd been attacking before, he'd quietly planted his Parasitic skill. Now, all of the vines erupted from within, tangling the Elephant Armored team again.
Inside the binding, Huyan Li smirked. Defense was their best weapon. Let them waste their spirit power attacking—it would only make them easier to crush later.
Tang San didn't stop. He popped another Recovery Sausage, instantly refreshing his reserves.
The others were already poised.
On the VIP platform, Huyan Zhen stood up abruptly when he saw his grandson about to be hit by five attacks. His eyes glowed, lips moving silently.
Ning Fengzhi saw this and said coolly, "Sect Master Huyan, that seems a bit unfair, doesn't it?"
"I don't know what you mean," Huyan Zhen replied, sitting back down as if nothing had happened.
In the ring, Huyan Li's fourth Spirit Ring suddenly lit up. The vines binding him began to tear apart faster.
Jing Ling struck first, his third Spirit Ability—Mad Battle—activating. His arms turned into razor-sharp bone blades that slashed at Huyan Li's head. But all they produced were sparks. No real damage.
Then came Zhu Zhuqing. Her third Spirit Ability, Hell Demon Slash, burst forth—two blades of energy wrapped in dark, sinister aura.
She had absorbed her third Spirit Ring from a two-thousand-plus-year-old Man-Faced Demon Spider, and her Martial Soul had evolved into the Dark Night Elf. With her own body enhanced by the mysterious pink energy, her attack power was not to be underestimated.
As her blades struck—
Boom! Boom!
Screeech—Screeech—
The ice-crystal armor formed by Huyan Li's fourth ability cracked under her blow. His feet sank into the ground, and his legendary defense… began to shatter.
A huge gash tore across his forehead, blood trickling down.
"Arghhhh—!"
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