Time flew by quickly. With the support of Oscar and Ning Rongrong, everyone's combat power improved significantly, and they no longer had to worry about energy consumption. In contrast, the Royal Fighting Team lost their only support-type member, which stripped them of their former advantage.
After a series of intense battles, the Royal Fighting Team began to fall apart. The first to be eliminated were the Shi brothers, who had relatively slower movements. Both possessed the Black Tortoise spirit, but under Yang Xiong's relentless attacks, combined with Dai Mubai's assistance, the Shi brothers were quickly knocked unconscious and eliminated.
As the battle progressed, the Royal Fighting Team completely collapsed. In the end, Yu Tianheng was surrounded and beaten by the entire Shrek team, resulting in a complete defeat. Shrek Academy achieved a flawless victory.
However, Yu Xiaogang's expression turned serious as he observed the situation in the arena. He hadn't expected the team to win so decisively against such formidable opponents, and they had done so with apparent ease.
Yang Xiong, in particular, stood out during this Soul Duel. He led the eliminations and performed better than anyone else, completely overshadowing all the other participants.
Dean Flender, on the other hand, was visibly excited. The match had brought him a substantial profit, especially since the Soul Arena had drastically lowered Shrek's win odds, resulting in a high payout. On top of that, Shrek had earned a significant appearance fee for participating in the duel.
At that moment, a young man walked over. He appeared to be Qin Ming, the Royal Fighting Team's coach.
Qin Ming bowed respectfully to Flender. "Dean Flender, I've returned."
Flender was pleasantly surprised. "Xiao Ming? I didn't expect you to become the Royal Fighting Team's coach so quickly. Watching these younger students perform so well, it really shows you were trained by me and that you're a product of Shrek Academy."
After some mutual flattery, Qin Ming explained the purpose of his visit.
"Dean, I've observed that these students are incredibly talented. But given the limited resources of Shrek Academy, it may not be possible to develop their full potential here. I have a proposal: why not send them to Heaven Dou Royal Academy as exchange students? With better resources, they could progress even further."
Flender's face darkened. "Xiao Ming, you should know Shrek Academy is my life's work. I would never sell out my students, much less send them to the Royal Academy just for the sake of prospects."
Qin Ming then elaborated on the exchange program, emphasizing the resources available at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, which could better support the students' development.
While Flender hesitated, Yu Xiaogang spoke up. "Flender, I think it's a good idea. Maybe we should consider what's best for the children."
Flender was surprised. "Xiao Gang, even you support taking the students to the Royal Academy? I just worry they won't be able to come back. I want them to grow through hard work and perseverance, not by taking shortcuts. That's the only way to become true high-level Soul Masters and not waste their talents."
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Flender, you know as well as I do, these students aren't meant to stay in a village school or even Soto City. Only by stepping into the wider world can they reach their full potential."
"Besides, Shrek has limited resources. There's no simulation environment, and we're even running out of gold soul coins. How do you expect them to train next?"
Flender fell silent. He had founded the school to nurture talent, but the current facilities were now holding the students back.
Eventually, Flender sighed. "Xiao Gang, I know you have your motives. But have you considered what these kids will face at the Royal Academy? Qin Ming, you came from there, you know that it only admits nobles. You also know what kind of people those nobles are."
Qin Ming nodded. "Dean, you still care deeply for your students. It's true that the Heaven Dou royal family has heavily invested in the Academy, and it's considered the best in the empire. But the students there have lacked strong talent in recent years, and the leadership is desperate for capable individuals."
"However, the Academy's atmosphere is… complicated. The students may be pulled in different directions, and I can't guarantee that there won't be attempts to recruit them away."
Flender smiled bitterly. "It's rare to see you still care about the school. Xiao Gang, tell me what you really want."
Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Qin Ming, according to Soul Master rules, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy should have two spots in the Grand Soul Master Tournament a year and a half from now. If you can help Shrek secure one of those spots, then I think the transfer would be worthwhile."
"But I also have one condition: if the Academy accepts the students, they must also accept all the teachers. After all, these students have been training under them."
Flender frowned. "Xiao Gang, is it really worth it just to participate in the tournament? We might end up losing Shrek Academy entirely."
Yu Xiaogang replied, "Flender, you're missing something. After we train these students, they'll need a platform to showcase their abilities. They won't all stay to become teachers at Shrek, and wandering around aimlessly won't help them either. The Soul Master Tournament could be their best springboard."
"And why do you think that just because they go to the Royal Academy, they'll stop being Shrek students? These kids aren't ungrateful. They won't forget what Shrek did for them."
After some back and forth, the three reached a general agreement about the future of Shrek Academy.
In the following days, Yang Xiong and Ning Rongrong walked hand in hand around Soto City. For Yang Xiong, it was one of the rare moments in years where he let go of training and just enjoyed life.
He had always focused solely on cultivation, either training his body or meditating, and had never thought about relationships. He even felt distant from his own family.
But after confessing his feelings, Yang Xiong felt more alive, no longer just a machine obsessed with training.
Back at the Academy, when Flender announced that Shrek would merge with Heaven Dou Royal Academy, everyone reacted differently.
Yang Xiong was especially surprised. If this happened, wouldn't Heaven Dou Royal Academy now have all the direct disciples of the Upper Three Sects? Things were about to get interesting.
He didn't care about Blue Tyrant Academy or Prince Xue Beng. If he had to choose, he'd rather stay at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
And he knew better than anyone what kind of place that Academy really was. Once they arrived, the Shrek students would likely start drifting apart. Fatty Ma Hongjun, for example, might not be able to resist the temptations there.
Also, being back in Heaven Dou City meant being closer to home. He needed to think more about his family now, it wasn't realistic to just keep being a training-obsessed loner.
Of course, Yang Xiong also knew the greatest danger in Heaven Dou City, and the biggest threat to the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. He had never dared reveal that he was reborn, afraid of unnecessary trouble.
But maybe, at the Royal Academy, he could guide others subtly. Perhaps he could prevent disaster and protect his family.
As for the rest of Shrek, it didn't matter. They were just studying away from home. The location wasn't important.
Ning Rongrong, meanwhile, complained. She had only come out for a few months of fun, and now she was going back to Heaven Dou City. How was that any different from going home?
Shrek packed quickly, ready in just a few days. Even the broken Academy signboard was carefully stored by Flender, who clearly had deep feelings for the school.
Soon, the group left Soto City for Heaven Dou.
Qin Ming had already gone ahead to arrange their admission to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Fifteen days later, they finally arrived.
The Academy was located on a mountain dozens of kilometers outside Heaven Dou City. The entire mountain was part of the campus, making it vast and impressive.
Ning Rongrong originally wanted to return home first, but Yang Xiong stopped her. He said it wasn't a good time to return to the clan and that they should go to the Academy together (mostly out of fear of getting scolded).
As Yang Xiong expected, they "coincidentally" ran into Prince Xue Beng in the plaza. Apparently, Qin Ming had leaked news of their arrival.
Xue Beng and a dozen followers had clearly prepared in advance. He mocked the Shrek students, calling them bumpkins unworthy of the Academy.
After traveling for more than ten days, the group did look a bit rough, but nowhere near as shabby as Xue Beng claimed. Dai Mubai, a prince himself, might've dressed simply, but he certainly didn't look like a country bumpkin.
Dai Mubai, never one to back down, beat Xue Beng and his followers up, especially Xue Beng, who ended up bruised and swollen.
Xue Beng clearly wanted to provoke them into fighting so he could pressure the Academy to expel them.
But things didn't go as he planned. Teacher Sun, who was assigned to welcome the Shrek students, arrived in time. Knowing full well what kind of person Xue Beng was, he scolded him on the spot.
Yang Xiong studied Xue Beng closely. He didn't trust this guy. Originally a typical playboy, Xue Beng became the sole heir of the Heaven Dou Empire after his brothers died. He earned fame by kneeling to Tang San, securing his position without effort.
This kind of spoiled noble turning into a wise ruler? Highly unlikely. And even if he claimed he had been acting to protect himself, what about all the people he hurt along the way?
As Xue Beng appeared to plot his revenge, Yang Xiong walked up and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. The force was immense, leaving Xue Beng unable to resist.
"What are you doing? Teacher Sun, he's provoking me!"
Yang Xiong smiled. "Teacher Sun, I just want to have a word with this student. I promise I won't hurt him."
Then he looked at Ning Rongrong. "This student here called us bumpkins. He might've just made a serious mistake. That young lady is the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. You might be in real trouble now."
Xue Beng's face turned pale with fear. Of course he knew not to mess with people like that.
"I didn't know she was from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan! I was just saying things casually! And besides, you already beat me up. What more do you want?"
Yang Xiong smiled coldly. "I don't want to beat you again. But Rongrong is deeply loved by Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo. If they hear you insulted her… do you think they'll let you keep that tongue of yours?"
Xue Beng trembled. "What do you want? I already got beaten up!"
Yang Xiong leaned close and whispered, "I know you have backers. But your backers can't afford to mess with us. If word of today gets out, or if you try to retaliate in any way, you'll lose more than just your pride. From now on, stay far away from us."
He patted Xue Beng's shoulder. Terrified, Xue Beng fled the scene.
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