The round-robin matches were held every other day. After a day had passed, nearly half of the teams that had entered the round-robin had already completed their first match.
Shrek Academy's representative team was among them.
Compared with the elimination rounds, the round-robin stage was relatively calmer.
Each team was adjusting its strategies, and the level of tactical sophistication in each match had clearly improved. However, the desperation of the elimination battles—where every match was a fight for survival—was gone.
Still, anyone with keen eyes could tell that as the later rounds of the tournament approached, the intensity of the matches would rise sharply. After all, many teams could no longer afford to lose.
That night, after dinner, everyone from the reserve team was summoned by Wang Yan back to the Star Emperor Hotel.
Inside the spacious conference room, Wang Yan, sitting at the head seat, listened as Beibei finished recounting their encounter with the Body Sect earlier that day. His expression immediately changed.
"I didn't expect the Body Sect to have specifically sent people to watch this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. This could be troublesome."
As he spoke, Wang Yan subconsciously glanced toward Xu Zihuang, who sat calmly to his left, and gave a wry smile.
"Even with the Star Luo royal family's involvement, knowing how overbearing and domineering the Body Sect acts, I doubt they'll let this matter rest so easily."
"Tianhuang, if those two from the Body Sect approach you again, do not resist them. Just go with them. They only value talent—they won't harm you."
Of course, deep down, Wang Yan hoped Yu Tianhuang would stay with Shrek Academy. But as a teacher, his first responsibility was his student's safety.
"Teacher Wang, I don't plan on joining any sect for now. I'm not fond of a life filled with constant restrictions," Xu Zihuang said, shaking his head.
"Rather than joining a sect, I feel that Shrek Academy's environment suits me better."
Seeing Yu Tianhuang's clear fondness for Shrek Academy, Wang Yan smiled in relief.
"Tianhuang, I'm glad you think that way. But I must admit, the Body Sect truly is the place that best understands main body martial souls. If you could receive their instruction, the potential of your Golden Eyes martial soul could be developed to its fullest. This concerns your future—it's a decision none of us have the right to make for you. And remember, Shrek Academy is only an academy; there are no binding constraints here. Still, if you're determined to stay, the Academy will do everything in its power to protect you. Take your time and think it over. Whatever you decide, we'll respect your choice."
Xu Zihuang smiled freely.
"Teacher Wang, there's no need to think it over. I still want to stay at the Academy."
"Good!" Wang Yan fell silent for a moment, then broke into a genuine smile before continuing seriously.
"In that case, I'll contact Elder Xuan through Shrek Academy's special communication point here in Star Luo City. Once Elder Xuan personally arrives to oversee things, I doubt the Body Sect will dare to act recklessly."
Hearing the wariness in Wang Yan's tone toward the Body Sect, Wang Dong couldn't help asking curiously, "Teacher Wang, is the Body Sect really that terrifying?"
Among the seven members of the reserve team, only Wang Dong and Jiang Nannan were unfamiliar with the Body Sect.
The difference was that Jiang Nannan came from a commoner background and had no access to such information, while Wang Dong simply had never cared about such things.
Wang Yan clasped his hands together beneath his chin and nodded seriously.
"You are all now core disciples of the outer court and members of the reserve team. Getting into the inner court in the future won't be difficult for you, so it's fine to tell you. On Shrek Academy's Sea God Island, there is a place called the Sea God Pavilion. That's where the elders of our Academy reside. Elder Xuan is one of them. The Sea God Pavilion is also the highest authority within Shrek Academy. All major decisions are made there. Even the four deans and vice-deans of the Martial Soul and Soul Tool Departments only hold the lowest seats in the Pavilion."
"In the soul master world of our Douluo Continent, there's a saying—that the top powers stand in a state of tripartite balance. One of them, of course, is Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion. The second is the Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Mingde Hall, like our inner court, is a place where only the most outstanding students can enter to study and research. It's also the Sun Moon Empire's supreme authority in the field of soul tool production. To put it bluntly, they lead the entire continent's soul tool technology. As for the third power—well, I think you all already know. Yes, it's the Body Sect."
"Even with all that said, you might still not have a concrete idea of just how powerful the Body Sect really is. So let me tell you a real story. Around two thousand years ago, more than forty members of the Body Sect entered the Star Dou Forest and successfully hunted seven ten-thousand-year soul beasts. That's why the promise those two from the Body Sect made to Tianhuang wasn't empty talk—they truly have the ability to hunt ten-thousand-year soul beasts."
"I've heard of this as well," Ning Tian said, taking over the conversation from her seat beside Xu Zihuang.
"It's said that because the Body Sect hunted seven ten-thousand-year soul beasts in succession, it triggered a beast tide that lasted an entire year. That beast tide was the largest counterattack by soul beasts in recorded history. Countless villages near Shrek City were wiped out."
Wang Yan sighed heavily, his expression grave.
"Ning Tian is right. The Body Sect walks a fine line between righteousness and evil, making them truly troublesome. Although that beast tide was caused by them, they later joined in defending against it of their own accord. Because of that, Shrek Academy chose not to go to war with them. It was also during that crisis that the Sea God Pavilion was formally established. At the time, Shrek's leadership realized that the Body Sect's overall strength actually surpassed ours. Moreover, it had only been a thousand years since the collision of the Douluo and Sun Moon Continents, and the continent's situation was still unstable. Considering all factors, the Academy had no choice but to compromise."
Jiang Nannan clenched her fists angrily. "So all those civilians died for nothing?"
Her words immediately drew strange looks from everyone in the room.
Jiang Nannan's question came from genuine compassion, but in that situation, there truly hadn't been a better solution. Would it have been better to fight the Body Sect to the death?
That would only have led to even more meaningless sacrifices.
Countless Shrek seniors had already died resisting the beast tide.
Coming from Jiang Nannan, such a remark—though kind-hearted—seemed somewhat naïve. To put it gently, it was compassion; to put it bluntly, it was speaking without understanding the full picture.
Her emotional reaction likely stemmed from viewing things from the perspective of the slaughtered civilians.
A person's background determines their perspective—there was truth to that saying.
Aside from Jiang Nannan, everyone else remained silent. Even Wang Dong said nothing, for unlike Jiang Nannan, they could see beyond the surface.
Xu Sanshi reached out, trying to place a comforting hand on Jiang Nannan's shoulder, but she brushed it away without hesitation.
Noticing the somber mood, Wang Yan chose not to answer Jiang Nannan's question directly. Instead, he deliberately shifted the topic.
"Alright, enough about that. I have some good news for everyone. Our next round-robin opponent has chosen to forfeit."
As captain, Beibei immediately took the cue and lightened the atmosphere.
"That really is good news. Teacher Wang, that means after we get through the third round, Senior Chen Zifeng and Senior Gongyang Mo will be back, right?"
"Correct," Wang Yan replied with a smile.
"In fact, I called everyone together tonight for another reason as well."
He glanced around the room.
"From what you've seen, the teams from Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy and Sylvis Academy still rely on traditional soul master combat methods. But let me tell you this—among all the teams participating in this year's tournament, more than eighty percent are no longer purely soul master academies. Their development is centered on integrating soul masters and soul engineers."
"Integration? What kind of integration?" Xu Sanshi asked in surprise.
Wang Yan explained while glancing meaningfully toward Xu Zihuang.
"There are many forms of integration. The simplest is like Tianhuang's. You all saw his battle against Gu Fengli from Sylvis Academy. In that match, Tianhuang didn't use any soul skills at all. Part of that was due to his martial soul's strength and his combat experience—but that close-combat soul tool he used also played a major role. After observing that battle carefully, I came to a realization."
"Our Shrek Academy has actually been stuck in a misconception all these years. Soul masters and soul engineers are not opposites. Soul tools can also enhance a soul master's combat ability. For example, a control-type battle soul master like Tianhuang—when paired with a melee soul tool—can fight head-on with a power-type soul master. Well, Tianhuang is a special case, but take Nannan for example. If she used a soul tool that increased her speed and another that compensated for her weak defense, wouldn't that allow her to perform even better?"
"And Ning Tian, as a support-type tool soul master—if she were equipped with defensive soul tools, her ability to protect herself would greatly improve. She could even use ranged soul tools powered directly by soul force, giving her some offensive capacity. Even if not powerful, at least she wouldn't be a weak point for the team. That's especially important for support-type soul masters, who generally have low survival rates on the battlefield."
Ning Tian nodded slightly in agreement.
"I support Teacher Wang's idea."
Wang Yan then turned his gaze toward Beibei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Wang Dong. He didn't worry about Yu Tianhuang, Ning Tian, or He Caitou—they were already open-minded—but he wanted to convince the other four.
"The point I'm making is that soul tools are simply another form of weapon for soul masters—an inevitable result of evolution. You will become the next generation of Shrek's Seven Monsters, and I hope this change can begin with you. Tomorrow night, there will be a soul tool auction here in Star Luo City. If any of you are willing to try using soul tools, you can come with me. If not, I won't force you."
To Wang Yan's surprise, Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and even Jiang Nannan didn't show any resistance to the idea.
Xu Zihuang's earlier battle with Gu Fengli had left too deep an impression on them.
Beibei and Xu Sanshi both readily agreed to try integrating soul tools into their fighting styles.
Only Jiang Nannan seemed hesitant, but Wang Yan, seeing her expression, smiled knowingly.
"You don't need to worry about the cost. You're all core disciples of the outer court and members of the reserve team. The Academy will cover all expenses for the soul tools you need."
Jiang Nannan's eyes immediately lit up, her expression like that of a little money-grubber.
"I'll try it too."
When Wang Yan turned toward Wang Dong, however, Wang Dong abruptly stood up.
"Sorry, Teacher Wang. I refuse to use soul tools."
With that, Wang Dong turned and quickly left the conference room, clearly upset.
His sudden outburst left almost everyone baffled—except Xu Zihuang, who understood perfectly.
Wang Yan sighed.
"Forget it—everyone has their own path. Tianhuang, Ning Tian, Caitou—you three are fine with this, right?"
Xu Zihuang smiled lightly.
"Teacher Wang, I personally don't reject the use of soul tools. But I won't be attending tomorrow's auction. I feel like I'm close to breaking through a bottleneck, so I'd rather stay in the hotel to cultivate."
After all, he already had the Golden Essence of Life. That small-scale soul tool auction held little value to him.
Ning Tian smiled gracefully.
"Teacher Wang, if Tianhuang isn't going, then I won't go either."
Xu Sanshi immediately grinned wickedly.
"Oh~ so it's a husband-and-wife act now, huh?"
Xu Zihuang remained expressionless, while Ning Tian, though slightly embarrassed, maintained her composure.
"Alright then, the two of you stay here and rest," Wang Yan said cheerfully.
To be honest, everyone already knew that the relationship between Yu Tianhuang and Ning Tian was no longer a secret.
Xu Zihuang then said to He Caitou, "Senior He, go with Teacher Wang tomorrow night. With your understanding of soul tools, you can give them some advice."
"Sure," He Caitou replied with a simple smile.
Seeing that everything was settled, Wang Yan announced the meeting's end.
Overall, he was very satisfied with the results.
Yu Tianhuang was willing to stay at Shrek Academy, and aside from Wang Dong, the other six were open to using soul tools.
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