Three days later, Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.
In the Shrek Academy rest area, the atmosphere was slightly heavy.
Yu Xiaogang sat at the table, flipping through a notebook recording tournament information, his expression serious.
"Cang Hui Academy's strength cannot be underestimated. Since the start of the tournament, they have only lost four matches, and those were against the veteran powerhouses: Elephant Armored, Thunderclap, Tianshui, and Kamikaze Academies."
He paused, looking up from the notebook to sweep his gaze over the Shrek members, and continued, "They have achieved victory against all other opponents, and their overall ranking is even higher than Elephant Armored Academy."
The Shrek members stood quietly in place, their expressions grave.
They adjusted their breathing, letting the soul power in their bodies circulate and warm up at peak condition, preparing for the upcoming match.
Yu Xiaogang put down the notebook, his gaze unconsciously sweeping toward an empty seat, and sighed softly.
Tang San's sudden disappearance had caught everyone off guard.
Yu Xiaogang speculated inwardly, Did my disciple hide away because the pressure from the last match was too great, and he couldn't bear it psychologically?
For some reason, he suddenly remembered his own youth, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips. "Never mind, hiding for a while is fine. I hope Little San can pull himself together soon."
"Creak~"
The door to the room was slowly pushed open, and everyone subconsciously turned their gazes toward the entrance.
"Tang San!" Ma Hongjun spotted the figure at the door instantly and jumped straight up from his chair.
Tang San walked into the room with a smile and said, "Teacher, partners, I'm back!"
Ma Hongjun immediately ran up to Tang San, smiling as he punched him on the shoulder. "Tang San, I thought you were hiding and deserting us."
Tang San smiled slightly and retorted, "Fatty, is your skin itching again? Want to spar?"
"Bring it on! But you're not allowed to use your hidden weapons," Ma Hongjun responded, not backing down.
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang walked quickly to Tang San's side and asked with a face full of concern, "Little San, where have you been these past few days?"
Tang San bowed slightly to Yu Xiaogang apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Teacher, for making you worry. For the past two days, I went with an elder from my family to hunt soul beasts and obtain my fourth soul ring."
"Whew~" Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang let out a long sigh of relief. "It's good that you're okay..."
He hadn't finished speaking when he suddenly reacted and asked with disbelief, "Hunting for a soul ring? Little San, isn't your soul power only level 38? How could you hunt for a fourth soul ring?"
Saying this, his heart stirred, and his expression became heavy.
"Family elder? Could it be the Clear Sky..." The words reached his lips but were swallowed back down.
Yu Xiaogang knew clearly that the most likely elder in Tang San's family was the famous Clear Sky Douluo.
Tang San nodded and said with a smile, "That's right, it was my father. The reason I was able to break through to level 40 is because my family gave me a soul bone."
"A soul bone!!!" As soon as these words came out, everyone instantly couldn't sit still.
One had to know, any soul bone was a priceless treasure. No one expected that Tang San, who usually dressed simply, would have a family capable of producing a soul bone.
"Correct. I absorbed a right arm bone of about five thousand years, and my soul power broke through to level 40 because of it," Tang San said calmly.
"Tang San, I'm so envious of you," Ning Rongrong walked up to Tang San and pouted.
With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's wealth, it wasn't that they couldn't afford a soul bone. It was just that they hadn't encountered one suitable for Ning Rongrong, so she still didn't have a single soul bone to this day.
Ma Hongjun scratched his head and said with a grin, "Grandmaster, since Tang San is back and has broken through to level 40, aren't we guaranteed to win this match?"
"Hmph," Yu Xiaogang snorted coldly and said indifferently, "Then I demand that you defeat your opponent within ten minutes in the next match. Otherwise, everyone will run laps."
"Ah?" As soon as Yu Xiaogang's words fell, a chorus of wails erupted from the group.
Soon, the Shrek members adjusted their condition and strode toward the spirit battle stage in high spirits.
In the past few matches, the Shrek members had performed extremely well. Especially in the battle against Blazing Academy, Zhu Zhuqing had perfectly interpreted what extreme individual heroism meant with her powerful strength.
In the spectator stands, a small group of audience members excitedly shouted Shrek's name.
Gradually, everyone had gotten used to the unique poop-green uniforms, and quite a few replicas had even appeared in the stands.
Yu Xiaogang stood there with his hands behind his back, chest puffed out, facing the cheers of the audience.
Looking at the students on the field, his heart was full of pride.
These were all students he had taught.
One day, his name would resound throughout the entire continent.
On the host's podium.
Owen sat tall and straight, his voice steady and powerful. "Both academies currently have a record of four wins and four losses, tied for sixth place in the standings. Whoever wins this match will seize the initiative in the subsequent schedule."
After speaking, Owen turned slightly and looked at Lu Feng beside him. "Chief Host Lu, which team do you favor?"
Lu Feng looked calm. He raised his hand to gently adjust the microphone, a faint smile on his lips.
"Both teams have their strengths. One side has shown powerful individual strength, while the other has presented near-perfect teamwork. But if I really have to choose one..."
"Chief Host Lu, who do you choose?" Dou Dou blinked her big eyes and interjected.
"Cang Hui Academy." Lu Feng chuckled softly and gave his answer.
As soon as these four words left his mouth, it was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves.
Everyone's gaze instantly converged on the podium like a tide. Even the Shrek contestants on the field couldn't help but look sideways, their eyes full of confusion.
After all, in the previous matches, Cang Hui Academy's performance could only be described as "average."
Facing the major elemental academies, they had almost no power to fight back and were instantly overwhelmed by the opponents' extreme, violent soul skills.
Facing the questioning gazes and voices of doubt from the crowd, Lu Feng remained calm and composed.
He explained, "In this match, Cang Hui Academy has swapped out four people at once. According to the data, the seven people Cang Hui Academy is fielding all have Gemstone Martial Souls."
Saying this, he paused slightly, his gaze sweeping the venue as he intentionally raised his volume.
"Seven completely identical Martial Souls. Everyone, think about what this means? I believe Cang Hui Academy must have been hiding their strength before, waiting to amaze the world at the critical moment."
Lu Feng naturally had his own calculations.
In the original work, Cang Hui Academy was hiding a seven-person fusion skill, and it was an extremely troublesome spiritual attack.
If Tang San's Purple Demon Eye hadn't been cultivated to the third stage (Mustard Seed), Shrek Academy might not have won. And with Tang San's current Purple Demon Eye cultivation, Lu Feng wasn't sure if he could break the opponent's attack.
Therefore, Lu Feng could only indirectly remind his 'sworn brother'.
On the spirit battle stage.
Zhu Zhuqing heard every word Lu Feng said, and her gaze gradually deepened.
Is he reminding me? Zhu Zhuqing pondered inwardly.
In Cang Hui Academy's formation, the positions of the members formed a regular hexagon. The distance between each other was equal, and their auras were faintly connected, revealing an indescribable strangeness.
"Tacit cooperation between the team? Could there be something fishy about Cang Hui Academy's lineup?" Zhu Zhuqing frowned slightly, suspicion rising in her heart.
Thinking of this, Zhu Zhuqing quietly took two steps back, came to Ning Rongrong's side, and whispered, "Rongrong, later, after the referee announces the start of the match, give me your full support immediately."
Ning Rongrong didn't understand why, but seeing Zhu Zhuqing's solemn expression, she nodded without hesitation.
As both sides finished releasing their Martial Souls, the atmosphere at the scene was tense to the extreme.
The referee raised his arm high, then swung it down fiercely. "Match start!"
"Sou!"
At the exact moment the referee uttered the last word, Zhu Zhuqing was like a black lightning bolt, her figure instantly blurring.
The Shrek members only felt a gust of wind whistle past their ears. In almost the blink of an eye, Zhu Zhuqing had already rushed in front of the Cang Hui Academy formation.
Everyone's eyes widened, barely able to see her agile back.
At this moment, Tang San's Purple Demon Eye operated rapidly, and he was shocked to discover that Zhu Zhuqing's first, third, and fourth soul rings had lit up simultaneously.
"Bang!" A muffled sound. Zhu Zhuqing's fist hit a Cang Hui Academy student in the stomach.
The student didn't even have time to react before his body flew backward like a kite with a broken string.
Only then did three beams of seven-colored light merge into Zhu Zhuqing's body.
"Holy crap! How is Zhuqing so fierce!" Ma Hongjun's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but exclaim.
However, he quickly recovered and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Attack!"
This match ended very quickly; the entire process took only half a minute. After Cang Hui Academy instantly lost three students to Zhu Zhuqing's attack, their morale was completely gone, and they chose to surrender directly.
In the spectator stands, a tsunami-like cheer erupted instantly.
The roaring sound waves rushed straight into the sky.
Zhu Zhuqing used her actions to show everyone what a true agility attack system Soul Master was.
In the Cang Hui Academy rest area, a white-clothed old man's face was gloomy.
...
The Soul Master match ended, and Lu Feng walked out of the Great Spirit Arena with leisurely steps.
At this time, it was also very noisy outside the Great Spirit Arena. Some spectators who hadn't bought tickets were gathered at the entrance, along with ticket scalpers constantly soliciting business.
It was noon, and the warm sunlight poured down, giving a warm and cozy feeling.
Walking along, Lu Feng's steps suddenly slowed.
He vaguely felt something was wrong.
The bright sunlight shone on his body, but the warm feeling disappeared. Instead, a faint, cold aura surged from all directions.
"No way, Officer... I'm just a host."