"Even if this faction is an Advanced Soul Master Academy..."
"Of course, if it's just an academy, it doesn't pose much of a threat!"
"But wouldn't an academy be an even better partner for cooperation, Teacher?" Xue Qinghe said with a soft smile.
Ning Fengzhi was momentarily taken aback, then shook his head and laughed. "Seems I was overthinking it."
He had still been viewing things from a sect's perspective, but clearly, the relationships between academies weren't as complex as those between sects. As long as you're willing to invest and bring in talented students to raise an academy's reputation, cooperation becomes quite simple.
Originally, after Ning Fengzhi's recommendation, Xue Qinghe had favored Shrek Academy. The plan was to visit Shrek tonight — but unexpectedly, a new contender had appeared: Wuji Academy. And from the looks of it, Wuji might even surpass Shrek. So the plan changed.
Shrek Academy certainly had its strengths — most notably, Tang San, with a Title Douluo father and backing from the Clear Sky Sect. Not to mention his outstanding talent: not even fifteen, and already a Soul Ancestor.
Indeed, Tang San alone was enough to capture Xue Qinghe's interest.
But now, it seemed Xue Qinghe had more options on the table.
———
Meanwhile, Tailong had returned to the Strength Clan.
"Grandpa!"
"Tailong, why aren't you with the Young Master? What brings you back?"
"Grandpa, I ran into people from the Defense Clan and the Control Clan today!"
"What do you mean?" Titan frowned, not understanding.
"Remember when Grandpa Yang and Grandpa Niu wrote you that letter inviting you to join that academy? I saw the academy they were talking about today!"
"Oh? What about it?"
Tailong quickly relayed everything he had learned during tonight's meeting at Shrek Academy.
"Those three old guys pulled it off, huh?" Titan's expression was complicated. He was happy for his old brothers, but also a little regretful that they hadn't joined him in following Tang San.
"There's even speculation that a Title Douluo might be backing the academy..."
But how could Shrek's intelligence gathering compare to that of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan or the Heaven Dou Imperial Family? Even the Title Douluo rumor had only been guessed by Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
Titan didn't yet realize that this difference of opinion today would lead to a permanent rift — things would never be the same again. He was fully committed to following Tang Hao and Tang San, but that was something Yang Wudi simply couldn't accept.
———
The first round of the preliminaries concluded swiftly.
The preliminaries weren't single-elimination. They followed a point-based system — each victory awarded a point. After all rounds concluded, the top five teams with the most wins would advance to the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
In the next few rounds, Wuji Academy continued its winning streak. However, Yun Yibai did not appear on the battlefield — he was replaced by Niu Tian.
Then came the sixth round — Wuji Academy's opponent: Blazing Fire Academy.
———
In Blazing Fire Academy's waiting room, before the match—
"Little sis, looks like it's our turn to face Wuji Academy," said Blazing Fire Academy's captain, Huo Wushuang, who was lazily sprawled across the sofa.
"I wonder if that guy Feng Xiaotian will show up."
Blazing Fire Academy.
Huo Wushuang – Captain, 42nd-rank Assault-type Battle Soul Ancestor. Martial Soul: One-Horned Tyrant Dragon
Huo Wu – 43rd-rank Control-type Battle Soul Ancestor. Martial Soul: Fire Shadow
Huo Chexiang – 40th-rank Assault-type Battle Soul Ancestor. Martial Soul: Fire Sword
Huo Yun – 37th-rank Agility-type Battle Soul Elder. Martial Soul: Fire Crane
Huo Yu – 39th-rank Agility-type Battle Soul Elder. Martial Soul: Fire Crane
Huo Xing – 39th-rank Control-type Battle Soul Elder. Martial Soul: Fire Whip
Huo Chen – 39th-rank Control-type Battle Soul Elder. Martial Soul: Fire Whip
As one of the five Elemental Academies representing the Heaven Dou Empire, Blazing Fire Academy had an impressively strong lineup: three Soul Ancestors and four high-ranked Soul Elders — all of them fire-attribute users, leaving no holes in their offensive lineup.
Even the four Soul Elders—Huo Yun and Huo Yu (twin sisters), and Huo Xing and Huo Chen (twin brothers)—had such strong synergy that they could fight on par with Soul Ancestors when paired.
A team like this was rare across the entire tournament.
"Hmph! So what if we run into them? We'll just flatten them!" Huo Wu snorted coldly, gritting her teeth — though she failed to completely hide her emotions, and everyone noticed.
Truthfully, Huo Wu had a serious grudge against Feng Xiaotian.
Back when he followed her around every day, she found him annoying. But ever since he stopped chasing her and started treating her like a normal friend, she'd grown increasingly irritable, though she would never admit it.
She refused to let someone she disliked see her vulnerability. Yet bottling it all up was eating away at her.
Especially during the past two rounds against Godwind Academy, every time she looked at their lineup, she couldn't help but think of Feng Xiaotian, spotting his shadow in their team. But since he was no longer part of them, she had no one to vent her frustration on. Her mood was downright awful.
So she had made up her mind — the next time she saw Feng Xiaotian, she'd give him a proper beating.
"Hehe." Huo Wushuang chuckled awkwardly. As her older brother, of course, he could see what was going on.
Deep down, he thought: That Feng Xiaotian has some moves — to come up with a trick like this and completely ensnare my little tigress of a sister. Hmph, I may be annoyed about it, but honestly, anyone willing to take that walking headache off our hands is doing me a favor.
With two tiger women at home, both my father and I have suffered long enough.
The corners of his mouth curled into a faint, nearly imperceptible smile. He was secretly grateful. Outwardly, he might act disapproving, but the truth was — he wasn't going to interfere at all.
Having someone willing to "adopt" the little princess of their house was like a gift from heaven.
He was quite satisfied with Feng Xiaotian as a brother-in-law.
So if Feng was willing to step into this fire pit, Huo Wushuang could only offer his silent condolences.
The other Blazing Fire team members watched the sibling duo with barely concealed amusement.
As the saying goes, the one involved is always the last to see clearly.
They all knew — Huo Wu had well and truly walked into Feng Xiaotian's trap.
Then again, maybe that trap was a kind of blessing. Not everyone had someone willing to set such a scheme just for them.
"Still," someone said, "Wuji Academy isn't an easy opponent. They've already revealed four Soul Ancestors, and Feng Xiaotian is another."
"And don't forget Yun Yibai. If he managed to recruit Feng Xiaotian from Godwind Academy to Wuji Academy, that alone proves he's no weaker."
———
(Half an hour left... Damn, this meeting made me late. Sorry for the delay!)