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"Why are the lights on in the dorm?"
Before they even entered, Yu Feng's familiar voice drifted in.
"Shi Quan, you finally decided to come back?"
The dorm door opened, and everyone immediately saw Shi Quan in the living room.
"You haven't seen me in so long, did you miss me?" Shi Quan asked with a smile.
"Who would miss a big man like you?" Yu Feng laughed heartily, then looked at Ye Lingling beside him, "Others, though, that's hard to say!"
Everyone naturally knew who Yu Feng was referring to, and their gazes all fell on Ye Lingling. Ye Lingling's face subtly flushed a bit, but with the veil covering it, no one noticed.
"What were you all doing out so late?"
"Where else? Getting beaten up at the Great Spirit Arena, of course." Yu Feng said with a bitter expression, lying down on the sofa.
"You were the one who got beaten up," Dugu Yan emphasized with a smile.
Currently, everyone's strength was not much different from the original story.
Yu Tianheng was still at Level 39.
Dugu Yan's strength, however, was much stronger than in the original story. Although she was also Level 39, the density of her spirit power was even higher than Yu Tianheng's. Without a doubt, she was definitely the first person in the Heaven Dou Battle Team to Break through to Level 40.
Both of the Shi Family Brothers were at Level 38.
Yu Feng was Level 36.
Ye Lingling was also Level 36.
Even if there was a gap, it was only about one level.
Qin Ming said, "Since Shi Quan is back, starting tomorrow, in addition to your individual matches and two-on-two Martial Spirit Arena matches, you all should begin preparing for the team matches."
Besides training individual abilities, the team also needed to start working together.
"Team matches? With the seven of us, there's nothing to be afraid of," Yu Feng said with a chuckle.
"Teacher Qin, can you ask the academy to help me forge a better sword based on this blueprint?" Shi Quan handed the blueprint in his hand to Qin Ming.
Qin Ming looked at the blueprint in his hand, remembered something, and then nodded, "Although your sword is a bit strange, it's not troublesome. The academy has all the Materials. I'll go ask the Education Committee. If all goes smoothly, it can be done in one day."
"Then you all chat first; I'll go ask."
Qin Ming left with the blueprint.
Dugu Yan was the first to ask, "Shi Quan, have you finished everything you needed to do?"
"Yes, it's all done. Oh, by the way, Sister Yanzi, after the Martial Spirit Arena tomorrow, can you take me to see Grandpa Dugu? I have something to ask him."
Dugu Yan frowned slightly and said, "What is it? Is it urgent?"
"Not really."
"Grandpa Dugu, he came to find me two days ago and said he had to go on a long trip. I'm not sure when he'll be back."
"Gone on a long trip?" Shi Quan raised an eyebrow slightly, "No problem. Then tomorrow, we'll just leave a letter at Grandpa Dugu's house. We can talk when Grandpa Dugu returns."
The Immortal Herb matter wasn't urgent these few days. If Dugu Bo wasn't around and he gave the Immortal Herb to Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling to eat, it would inevitably make people suspect he possessed Immortal Herbs, and then he would be in trouble.
The few of them began to chat idly.
Soon, news came from Qin Ming's side that the sword Shi Quan needed was already being prepared by the academy.
Everyone had the chef prepare a feast to welcome Shi Quan, and they didn't return to their rooms to rest until late at night.
The next day.
Morning training concluded, and due to the Martial Spirit Arena matches in the evening, the afternoon training time was halved to allow for better preparation.
The Martial Spirit Arena matches in the evening quickly began. Without a doubt, whether it was the individual matches, the two-on-two Martial Spirit Arena matches, or the team matches, as long as Shi Quan was present, victory was achieved with great ease.
After the Martial Spirit Arena matches ended, Dugu Yan and Shi Quan went to Dugu Bo's house, left a letter, and then returned to the academy with everyone.
Upon returning to the academy, the longsword Shi Quan had asked the academy to forge was also delivered. The longsword was extremely sharp and cold to the touch, clearly forged from excellent iron.
With the longsword, Shi Quan's sword practice was also put on the agenda.
Just like that, a few more days passed.
Heaven Dou City's Great Spirit Arena.
In the lounge, Qin Ming sat at the table, his brows slightly furrowed. "I believe everyone has noticed that although our team has achieved consecutive victories in team matches recently, it has primarily been by gaining the upper hand through Shi Quan's Martial Spirit's stable control. Setting aside this factor, the individual abilities and teamwork of the other members have not been well demonstrated. I believe this goes against the original intention of practical combat."
"Victory is important, but honing oneself through battle is even more important."
After listening, all the main combat members showed a hint of awkwardness.
Shi Quan's Blue Silver King Martial Spirit's control ability was indeed a bit fierce; once bound, there was almost no breaking free. This also led to them, the main attackers, basically playing the role of finishers.
Although consecutive victories were exhilarating, they truly achieved victory without much effort.
"Shi Quan, what do you think about this?" Qin Ming looked at Shi Quan.
Shi Quan had also noticed this problem. The Blue Silver King's control was powerful, and by surpassing the spirit ring's age limit, the same Spirit Ability, Shi Quan's Spirit Ability's power was several times theirs.
Shi Quan spoke, "How about this: in the upcoming matches, Sister Yanzi will replace me as the team's main controller. The Martial Spirit Arena matches don't restrict the use of weapons, so I'll switch to a main attacker, using a sword to attack and not using my Martial Spirit. Anyway, I've been practicing swordplay recently."
Qin Ming nodded. In fact, he had the same idea, because in the Martial Spirit Arena matches these past few days, Shi Quan had gradually started using a longsword in his individual matches in addition to using his Martial Spirit. Since Shi Quan wanted to practice sword, then he should practice thoroughly. Without his control, the entire team could also better coordinate.
"We'll do as you say. Now, everyone go sign up for your individual matches. I'll sign up for today's team match."
Everyone nodded and stood up in unison, walking towards the registration window.
Since he wanted to practice sword, Shi Quan simply didn't use his Martial Spirit even in individual matches, relying purely on his sword to face his opponents.
His consecutive victories in the past few days had matched him with a Level 39 Beast Spirit Master, who happened to be the tough, thick-skinned type.
Without a doubt, he lost his first match. The Dugu Nine Swords swordplay was profound, and even with Shi Quan's multiple Comprehension Ability transformations, it wasn't something he could fully grasp in just a few days. In the end, he was forced to take damage and charge forward, disrupting Shi Quan's swordplay. The Beast Spirit Master found a weakness and forcibly pushed him off the arena.
Although he lost, this battle also brought Shi Quan considerable gains.
As for the team battle, the result was a narrow victory.
Without Shi Quan's stable control, many problems within the team quickly became apparent.
The two sides in this battle were evenly matched. Because Shi Quan's stable control was absent, the team's weaknesses in experience and coordination were immediately magnified. If Shi Quan hadn't found a weakness and torn a gap in the opponent's formation, this Martial Spirit Arena match would most likely have ended in a loss.
These two battles also gave Shi Quan new insights into the Dugu Nine Swords.
Nine Swords: Breaking Swords, Breaking Sabers, Breaking Spears, Breaking Whips, Breaking Ropes, Breaking Palms, Breaking Arrows, Breaking aura.
From beginning to end, it emphasizes the word "break."
This is the essence of Dugu Nine Swords: to anticipate the enemy's movements, observe the weaknesses in the opponent's Move, and then strike later but arrive first, taking advantage of their vulnerabilities to win in one blow.
The sword strokes must be precise; if they don't strike, they are astonishing when they do!
After the matches, they gathered, and a summary was naturally unavoidable.
Everyone's performance today further determined that Shi Quan could not use his Martial Spirit in subsequent matches.
The next day, Shi Quan won his individual and two-on-two Martial Spirit Arena matches, but the team lost their team match.
The problems within the team became even more apparent. Coordination was one issue, and another was that when facing unfavorable situations, the attacking members became too impatient, unable to fully utilize their individual abilities, repeatedly being restrained, and ultimately losing inexplicably.
As for Shi Quan's performance, it remained very stable. His purpose in the Martial Spirit Arena matches, besides team coordination, was more for practicing swordplay. He didn't view winning or losing as very important.
Dugu Nine Swords, besides Comprehension Ability, required more accumulation.
Take the simplest and most basic Breaking Sword Move, for example. It includes breaking various types of sword weapons such as longswords, flexible swords, heavy swords, and short swords.
Although it is only one sword and one Move, its variations are endless. Facing various opponents, the same sword Move can produce numerous variations. Over time, these numerous variations merge into one, and the preceding and succeeding Moves become fully integrated, allowing Dugu Nine Swords to naturally come to fruition.
On the third day, the team match was still lost. The continuous setbacks also made everyone clearly recognize their respective shortcomings.
On the fourth day, although they won, in the following days, wins and losses were mixed, and their points did not drop too badly.
However, as the team's coordination became more tacit and their experience accumulated, their win rate slowly began to rise again.
Time flew by, and half a month later.
Looking at those who had just finished their battle and returned to the academy, Qin Ming said, "The first phase of training is pretty much done. Next, I'll give everyone two days off."
"After that, we'll depart to other main city Martial Spirit Arenas to challenge different opponents. This will further improve our team's coordination, especially our ability to react on the spot. This is the main objective of our next phase of practical training."
"Understood." Everyone nodded in unison.
"Alright then, you all rest." Qin Ming continued, "The carriages for the trip will arrive at the academy gate in two days. We'll gather at the academy gate then."
"Got it." Everyone responded.
Shi Quan was the first to turn and ask Dugu Yan, "Sister Yanzi, do you know where Grandpa Dugu went? He hasn't returned for so long?"
Dugu Yan shook her head, "I don't know, but the longest Grandpa Dugu has ever been away on a long trip was two months. I don't think it will exceed two months; at most, he should be back in a month."
Shi Quan nodded.
A few days later, west of Heaven Dou City, in Hagendas City of the Hagendas Kingdom, the Hagendas City Great Spirit Arena.
Hagendas City, as the starting point for their team's tour matches, officially began.
Similar to the battles in Heaven Dou City, Shi Quan consistently used his longsword from beginning to end, never using his Martial Spirit. Shi Quan was also happy about this, as it gave him more time to practice swordplay.
Time passed day by day until a few days later, the team concluded their training in Hagendas City and departed for Xilu City.
The cities Qin Ming selected were carefully chosen. Before departing, he would confirm in advance that these cities had teams worthy of the Heaven Dou Battle Team's challenge.