The matchbetween the Emperor Team and the Elephant Armored Team was the first to begin.
The Elephant Armored Team lived up to their reputation, walking the path of pure, overwhelming brute force.
When Huyan Li and his six teammates released their Martial Souls, they became like seven mobile fortresses of war, thundering forward with the momentum to shatter the arena itself, stomping straight toward Yu Tianheng and the others.
For a Spirit Master battle team, there were two primary approaches.
The first was the balanced route—composed of different types of Spirit Masters—chosen by most teams.
The second was the extreme assault route, like the Elephant Armored Academy: an all–Battle Spirit Master lineup, focusing solely on devastating offense.
Once they charged—
It was truly heaven's thunder igniting earth's fire, their assault wild and unstoppable!
Boom—
Boom—
The stomping rang like muffled thunder.
The entire arena trembled violently.
Seven piercing elephant trumpets tore into the skies, making the ears of the audience's students buzz in pain.
"Avoid their edge!"
Yu Tianheng shouted.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul possessed him, arcs of lightning flashing around his body.
His hands shot out like lightning, grabbing the Shi Mo brothers, Shi Mo and Shi Mo, one in each hand.
Lightning burst from beneath his feet, and he barely escaped the range of the mammoths' trampling.
Behind him, Yu Feng's Wind Chime Bird flapped its wings, launching him into the sky like an arrow. Osler, the Ghost Leopard, turned into a blurred black shadow, darting clear of danger.
Dugu Yan twisted her slender waist, pulling Ye Lingling close. The two of them, like drifting willow catkins, bounced lightly through a gap between the mammoth stomps, narrowly avoiding disaster.
The Emperor Team had evaded the first wave of impact by a hair's breadth.
However—
Before the audience's exclamations could burst out—
A yellow Spirit Ring suddenly lit up beneath Huyan Li's feet.
"Second Spirit Ability—Mammoth Strength!"
His speed and power surged at once.
The two–point–five–meter frame tore through the air, turning with incredible speed, slamming toward Yu Tianheng just as he had regained his footing!
At such close range—
Dodging was impossible—
And doing so would only lead to being completely suppressed.
Lightning flooded Yu Tianheng's eyes. A yellow Spirit Ring rose from beneath him, and his right hand swelled into a dragon claw wreathed in lightning.
"First Spirit Ability—Thunder Dragon Claw!"
He didn't retreat—he advanced.
Meeting Huyan Li head–on—
His claw lashed out hard!
BOOM—!!!
Two torrents of immense force collided in an explosion.
A ferocious shockwave spread from the two of them, sweeping across the entire stage.
The phantom of the Diamond Mammoth reared up and trumpeted, while fine arcs of lightning exploded at the point of impact.
Under countless eyes—
Yu Tianheng staggered back three steps, the stone slabs beneath him shattering.
Huyan Li's massive frame, however, was forced back five steps before barely steadying himself.
Such was the might of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—the strongest Beast–type Martial Soul on the Douluo Continent today!
Even against the Diamond Mammoth, famed for its raw strength, it could still seize the upper hand!
The spectator stands were silent for several seconds.
Then a deafening roar erupted like a volcano.
"Captain Yu Tianheng is too fierce!"
"No wonder he's the number one at Emperor Team!"
"Yu's gotten even stronger! Can Sword Wine still take him down in one strike?"
On the VIP section—
The three Board of Education members smiled in satisfaction.
Xue Qinghe's face remained calm, revealing nothing.
Li Zhexian, meanwhile, still lounged back, idly pinching a candied fruit as he watched the stage with interest.
On the arena—
Dugu Yan and the others had regrouped swiftly—
Launching a fierce, proactive offensive.
After an intense battle—
In the end—
The Emperor Team narrowly defeated the Elephant Armored Team.
When Huyan Li finally crashed to the ground, the stands erupted in a tidal wave of cheers.
"Good! Good! Good!"
The three Board of Education members clapped and laughed.
But the joy didn't last long.
As the match between Godwind Academy and Blazing Academy began—
Both the spectators and the VIP gradually lost their smiles.
For one simple reason—
The Godwind Team was too strong.
Or rather, Feng Xiaotian of Godwind Academy was too dazzling.
Each slash of Feng Xiaotian's blade was faster and heavier than the last!
Wave after wave of azure wind blades poured down like a violent storm, leaving Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu barely able to defend!
Yu Tianheng's fists clenched quietly.
The stands fell into a heavy silence again.
On the VIP section—
Xue Qinghe, Dugu Bo, and the three Board of Education members all turned their eyes toward Li Zhexian, who was still sampling candied fruit.
Under so many gazes, Li Zhexian finally stopped eating.
His eyes swept across Feng Xiaotian on stage, and he nodded.
"Interesting."
It was no idle remark.
In the original timeline, Feng Xiaotian had been born with innate full Spirit Power.
His self–created Thirty Six Successive Chops was akin in concept to the Clear Sky Sect's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.
Before the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation and the Shrek Seven Monsters had risen—
Feng Xiaotian was unquestionably one of the strongest among his peers.
Relief flashed in Xue Qinghe's eyes.
She knew Li Zhexian too well.
If he could still glance at the candied fruit and wine gourd at this moment, it meant he was perfectly confident.
"Li Zhexian has done me a huge favor…"
"How should I repay him this time…"
...
Blazing Academy lost to Godwind Academy.
After an hour's rest—
The final battle for first place began.
The cheers from the audience gradually shifted—from fervent at first, to quieter, until they faded to silence.
This change in mood—
Announced that the home team, Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, ultimately could not overcome Godwind Academy.
Yu Tianheng stood pale–faced at the base of the stage, his expression betraying an unshakable sense of defeat.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, supporting each other, exchanged a glance—two beautiful faces of entirely different styles, now both showing a hint of anticipation.
"Li Zhexian should act now…"
The atmosphere in the entire arena had reached its most oppressive point.
Only the seven from Godwind Academy stood proudly at the center of the stage, gazing down at the three somewhat battered teams below.
Feng Xiaotian, a confident smile on his handsome face, called out in a loud voice:
"Thanks to everyone's courtesy, my Godwind Academy has managed to claim first place in this exchange tournament."
He paused, sweeping his eyes over the crowd.
"According to the rules, the captain of the winning team must accept a challenge from a Spirit Master of the same generation."
"I wonder—which fellow student is willing to come up and instruct me?"
Below the stage—
Silence.
After defeating both Huo Wushuang and Yu Tianheng, two captains of considerable fame—
Feng Xiaotian's strength was undeniable. At this moment, who dared test his edge?
"If no one will fight, then I shall…"
Feng Xiaotian smiled faintly, turning to step down from the platform.
On the VIP section—
Li Zhexian lifted the warmed wine cup and took a slow sip.
Feeling the pleasant heat spread through his throat, he put the cup down and rose unhurriedly.
"Qinghe, if the wine you brought cools, it won't taste as good."
"I'd better hurry."
The moment the words fell—
Under countless watching eyes—
Li Zhexian's figure swayed as if strolling through a garden—
And in the blink of an eye, his spotless white robes were already in the center of the stage.
He looked at Feng Xiaotian, who was just about to step down, and his clear, even voice wasn't loud, yet carried clearly across the arena.
"I'll do it."
The students widened their eyes.
Smiles spread across the faces of Dugu Yan and the others.
The seven burly men of the Elephant Armored Team looked baffled, while the Blazing Team, led by Huo Wu, wore expressions of surprise and doubt.
Feng Xiaotian turned slowly, meeting the gaze of the refined young man a few dozen meters away, and nodded.
"There are no eyes on our fists and feet. Be careful."