When Yang Xiong returned to the Shrek Academy team, he immediately noticed that the entire group seemed subtly abnormal, particularly since the team members' unity and morale didn't appear as strong as before his departure.
However, Yang Xiong didn't concern himself with these internal dynamics, acting as if nothing significant had occurred during his absence.
Ning Rongrong pinched Yang Xiong's waist firmly: "You good-for-nothing Yang Xiong, at such a crucial moment in our competition, you actually took leave to go out and have fun. Let's see if I don't teach you a proper lesson."
Yang Xiong felt a sharp pain in his waist and couldn't help but pull away from Ning Rongrong: "You little troublemaker, how dare you pinch me like that? Let's see if I don't pinch you back in revenge."
The two whispered and bickered casually within the team, which drew curious sidelong glances from the other team members.
Yang Xiong asked somewhat strangely, "Rongrong, how have our tournament results been during these past few days?"
Ning Rongrong replied helplessly, "What else could they be? We suffered a defeat against Heaven Water Academy a few days ago, and now our overall record is ranked fifth. If we lose several more matches, it will become very difficult to qualify for advancement."
Despite this setback, the Shrek Academy team did possess genuine strength. They subsequently embarked on another impressive winning streak, consistently maintaining their fifth-place ranking among all participating teams.
In the final preliminary round, the Shrek Academy team finally faced the top-ranked team in this competition: Wind Spirit Academy, which had only suffered a single defeat throughout the entire tournament.
Wind Spirit Academy's attack power was extraordinarily formidable, especially since all their members possessed wind elemental attributes and could achieve flight. They were universally recognized as the strongest team in the entire Heaven Dou region, having only lost to Blazing Fire Academy during the entire preliminary round.
In comparison, the Shrek Academy team had suffered a total of four defeats so far. Although they remained ranked fifth, the Elephant Armor Academy, ranked sixth, had already lost five matches. This meant that regardless of the outcome, the Shrek Academy team would be able to advance to the next stage.
This represented the first time in tournament history that two teams from Heaven Dou Royal Academy had successfully advanced. Regardless of other considerations, Emperor Xue Ye and his supporters seemed quite pleased with this development.
Yang Xiong looked at Feng Xiaotian with a sense of resigned helplessness. This Feng Xiaotian was indeed a famous flatterer in the Douluo World, but unfortunately, his actual strength proved somewhat disappointing compared to his reputation.
Originally, during the pre-match strategic briefing for this contest, Yang Xiong had directly suggested conceding the match, since they could still advance based on their win record even if they suffered another defeat.
However, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San had absolutely no intention of giving up; they even planned to fight with maximum effort. Yang Xiong particularly noticed a hint of intense determination in Tang San's eyes—perhaps his recent breakthrough to Rank 39 had created considerable pressure for him.
Over the years, Yang Xiong and Tang San had developed some understanding of each other, and he knew that although Tang San appeared refined and composed on the surface, his inner character was extremely strong-willed, even stubborn. He would not easily admit defeat, nor would he allow others to surpass his achievements.
However, once they actually stepped onto the arena stage, the tactical situation became extremely grim and challenging.
Wind Spirit Academy actually fielded only four Spirit Ancestors. In terms of the total number of Spirit Ancestors and even overall spirit power levels, they were weaker than the Shrek Academy team, and they didn't even maintain an advantage over other Five Element Academy teams.
However, Wind Spirit Academy possessed three very important tactical advantages, which were also the primary reasons why their record could rank first in the region.
The first crucial point was that all their team members could achieve flight.
Although martial souls in the Douluo World were bizarre and extraordinarily varied, only Flying-type Spirit Masters and Titled Douluo could truly achieve sustained flight. Other Spirit Masters, regardless of how powerful their spirit power might be, could only engage enemies through enhanced jumping abilities and temporary aerial maneuvers.
Therefore, Wind Spirit Academy maintained an absolute advantage compared to other competing academies. Any academy facing seven flying Spirit Masters would almost always find themselves at a severe disadvantage throughout the entire match, having no effective attack or defensive counter-measures besides releasing long-range Spirit Abilities.
The second characteristic was their collective control system capability. Since all members of Wind Spirit Academy were wind elemental Spirit Masters, wind elements naturally possessed inherent control system abilities. Especially when seven people simultaneously unleashed coordinated wind elemental skills, virtually any formation would be broken through immediately.
With all seven members of Wind Spirit Academy possessing wind attribute abilities, it was equivalent to facing seven control-type Spirit Masters simultaneously. This level of control system dominance was almost unimaginable for opposing teams.
Therefore, in every Soul Duel match, Wind Spirit Academy operated with exceptional ease and confidence. After seven members released their Spirit Abilities from aerial positions, opponents would gradually be eliminated from the stage.
The final point was Feng Xiaotian himself. Feng Xiaotian, with spirit power of Rank 44 and the Swift Wind Twin-Headed Demon Wolf martial soul, was recognized as the student with the highest spirit power in the entire Heaven Dou region. His combat talent was particularly formidable, earning him the title of top master in the Heaven Dou region. Notably, he had only utilized two Spirit Abilities so far and had not even exerted maximum effort against Thunder Academy.
After the Shrek Academy team members stepped onto the arena stage, as soon as the referee announced the official start of the match, all Wind Spirit Academy members immediately took flight, forcing all Shrek Academy members to look upward at their opponents while experiencing a profound sense of helplessness.
Tang San swiftly activated his first Spirit Ability: Binding. The Blue Silver Grass quickly extended toward the Wind Spirit Academy members, moving at extremely high speed.
However, the Wind Spirit Academy members showed no fear whatsoever. Feng Xiaotian directly unleashed several devastating wind blades, and the Blue Silver Grass was instantly torn to shreds.
Especially under the influence of powerful wind currents, Dugu Yan's poisonous mist was also immediately dispersed, rendering both control-type abilities completely useless.
The Shrek Academy members looked at each other with obvious dismay. No wonder Wind Spirit Academy ranked first in the region; their flying ability, control system capability, and attack power were all utterly despair-inducing.
Indeed, as time progressed, the Wind Spirit Academy members, appearing refreshed and confident, occasionally unleashed Spirit Abilities for attack purposes, sometimes even generating gusts of strong wind, making the Shrek Academy members somewhat exhausted from constantly defending against these attacks.
Seeing that Wind Spirit Academy appeared to be toying with the Shrek Academy members, both Tang San and Dai Mubai immediately became furious. Tang San directly activated his third Spirit Ability: Blue Silver Hurricane Array. Countless Blue Silver Grass vines instantly enveloped the entire stage area, appearing extremely sharp and threatening.
However, Feng Xiaotian showed no concern whatsoever. He directly activated his first Spirit Ability: Wind Blade Array. Instantly, a pair of wolf claws unleashed dozens of cutting wind blades. After the wind blades collided with the Blue Silver Hurricane Array, the Blue Silver Grass was once again completely torn apart.
Dai Mubai unleashed his second Spirit Ability: White Tiger Light Wave, but every member of Wind Spirit Academy possessed incredible speed and managed to dodge all attacks successfully. One of their Spirit Ancestors even activated his third Spirit Ability: Hurricane Roar, directly blocking the coordinated attacks from Dai Mubai and other team members.
The Shrek Academy team actually possessed one potential strategy to break through this disadvantageous situation, which was Oscar's Flying Mushroom Sausage. Unfortunately, Oscar had already been transferred to the first team, and his spirit power rank was relatively lower than needed.
As time continued to drag on, the confrontation between the Shrek Academy team and Wind Spirit Academy resembled a war of attrition, with the Shrek Academy team finding themselves completely at a disadvantage throughout.
Feng Xiaotian's wind blades proved extremely sharp and powerful in their attacks, easily injuring even Beast-type martial souls that fully resisted the assault.
As the battle progressed, under the relentless strong gales, Shrek Academy members gradually began to be eliminated from the arena.
Naturally, the first to be eliminated were the slower-reacting Stone Brothers. Although their defensive capabilities were substantial, Wind Spirit Academy employed an unconventional approach, creating several small tornadoes that directly swept the two slower individuals off the stage.
This intense battle lasted for more than half an hour, especially in the later stages, where several people summoned their martial souls to defend with maximum effort. Tang San even used his Clear Sky Hammer to attack various incoming wind blades, clearly indicating that both his Blue Silver Grass and Mysterious Jade Hand defenses had ultimately proven limited.
Throughout the entire process, only Yang Xiong, relying on his Teleportation ability, successfully eliminated three members of Wind Spirit Academy. Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai simultaneously activated their Spirit Abilities in coordinated cooperation, particularly Dai Mubai's White Tiger Meteor Shower, which was a large-area attack skill and his fourth Spirit Ability, possessing immense destructive power. Multiple team members working together managed to eliminate one Spirit Ancestor.
Ultimately, as expected, Tang San and the others exhausted their spirit power reserves and were all knocked off the arena stage, leaving only Yang Xiong to face the remaining three members of Wind Spirit Academy.
This prolonged resistance was only possible because Yang Xiong possessed sufficient speed, always escaping wind blade attacks at the first indication of danger. His predictive abilities even made Feng Xiaotian question his own combat effectiveness.
Finally, after a bitter and exhausting struggle, Yang Xiong reluctantly conceded defeat.
However, Yang Xiong found himself somewhat curious: how had Wind Spirit Academy continuously lost to Shrek Academy in the original timeline? According to their demonstrated fighting style, the advantage held by same-rank Spirit Masters was extremely obvious. Even if he wanted to achieve victory, it would require tremendous effort, yet Shrek Academy had repeatedly defeated Wind Spirit Academy in the original story.
The match between Wind Spirit Academy and the Shrek Academy team was the final contest, and all competitions in the Heaven Dou region had officially concluded, with all preliminary round qualifiers determined.
Wind Spirit Academy, Thunder Academy, Heaven Water Academy, Blazing Fire Academy, and the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Shrek Academy team—five teams successfully advanced, while Elephant Armor Academy was regrettably eliminated from further competition.
After delivering an impassioned speech, Emperor Xue Ye bestowed generous rewards upon each qualifying team, even promising additional rewards for the eventual champions. These rewards included, but were not limited to, substantial gold coins, noble titles, future spirit ring acquisition assistance, and even territorial fiefdoms.
From observing the ceremony, it appeared that the Heaven Dou Empire, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and Spirit Hall were beginning to clash more openly, though they hadn't completely abandoned diplomatic pretenses. However, Platinum Bishop Salas appeared quite displeased with the developments.
Meanwhile, Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng went on stage to receive their preliminary round certificates and prizes. Although Tang San also served as a vice-captain, his performance had not been particularly brilliant, and he had even been suppressed throughout most matches. At the very least, he wasn't as fierce and attention-grabbing as Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng, and certainly not as impressive as Yang Xiong.
It was clear that both Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were experiencing significant depression, as the team's tactical strategies were basically formulated by the two of them, but when facing Wind Spirit Academy, their approaches seemed somewhat inadequate.
Yang Xiong observed Tang San and Yu Xiaogang looking serious and contemplative, clearly unable to develop effective tactics to counter Wind Spirit Academy's advantages. However, Yang Xiong didn't want to involve himself with their strategic problems; some lessons truly needed to be learned through actual combat experience, especially real combat against flying Spirit Masters.
Immediately after the awards ceremony, following brief exchanges of pleasantries with everyone, Yang Xiong took Ning Rongrong aside and left the team gathering.
This Shrek Academy team was becoming increasingly boring and chaotic for his tastes. Yang Xiong didn't interact extensively with most other members, but Ning Rongrong maintained excellent relationships with everyone else, especially the female team members.
Of course, Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai also disliked each other considerably. Ning Rongrong possessed a somewhat childish personality and was also quite outspoken, feeling very sorry for Zhu Zhuqing's situation, while Dai Mubai maintained somewhat playboy tendencies with a rather chauvinistic attitude.
After leaving the team gathering, they unexpectedly encountered Feng Xiaotian and his group. These were mainly the core members of the Elemental Academies, including Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wushuang, Huo Wu, and Shui Bing'er.
Feng Xiaotian's eyes immediately lit up when he saw Yang Xiong and Ning Rongrong walking together: "Yang Xiong, I didn't expect you to win over such a beauty so quickly. If you have time, please give me some guidance and pointers too."
Yang Xiong felt somewhat helpless: "You good-for-nothing Feng Xiaotian, with your questionable behavior, you still dare to flirt around everywhere? Aren't you afraid of making Huo Wu jealous?"
Feng Xiaotian quickly looked toward Huo Wu, only to see her expression darkening, as if she was about to become angry.
Feng Xiaotian quickly said, "Sister Huo Wu, I am completely devoted to you. How would I dare to flirt with others? This Yang Xiong is just talking nonsense."
Ning Rongrong, standing nearby, appeared to enjoy stirring up trouble: "You good-for-nothing Twin-Headed Monster, I remember you asking for my personal information just a few days ago. How can you deny it so quickly?"
Feng Xiaotian immediately became incredibly flustered: "Little troublemaker, don't talk nonsense like that. You're completely ruining my reputation."
Ning Rongrong snorted dismissively: "With you wearing a mask every day, what reputation do you even have? Maybe you're incredibly ugly underneath?"
Recently, Yang Xiong had competed against the Elemental Academies many times and had gradually become familiar with these individuals. Although they were only casual acquaintances, these talented students were not as arrogant as he had initially imagined, and their behavior was relatively simpler and more genuine. At the very least, there were no conflicting interests between them.
After some light pleasantries, Feng Xiaotian actively put his arm around Yang Xiong's shoulder: "Yang Xiong, although you lost to Wind Spirit Academy this time, I am very optimistic about your true strength."
Yang Xiong rolled his eyes at Feng Xiaotian: "You good-for-nothing Twin-Headed Monster, do you honestly think I really lost to you?"
Feng Xiaotian's expression froze: "What do you mean by that? How about we arrange another private match? Then I'll show you my true strength."
Ning Rongrong interjected, "You good-for-nothing Twin-Headed Monster, are you trying to lead Yang Xiong astray? Yang Xiong, if this guy wants to be alone with you, he must be trying to ask you for some secret manual on how to attract girls. You absolutely must stay away from him."
Feng Xiaotian remained speechless.
The other Elemental Academy members also fell silent.
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