After hearing Hu Liena's words, Xie Yue could only shake his head helplessly.
Forget it, forget it. There really was something wrong with Yan's personality—letting him hit a wall might do him some good.
Not far from them, a stunning woman in a platinum-white long dress suddenly appeared, looking toward the center of the plaza.
Soon, her gaze locked onto Shui Wuhen, and a faint curve appeared on her lips.
Immediately after, she let out a soft laugh and said, "Since you're here, then participating in this Elite Tournament wouldn't be a bad idea."
After Shui Wuhen and the others returned to the Tianshui Academy area, a young man wearing the uniform of a Spirit Hall affiliated academy appeared in front of him.
"And you are?"
Looking at the unfamiliar young man before him, Shui Wuhen asked in confusion.
"Spirit Hall team, Yan!" Yan replied concisely, then stared intently at Shui Wuhen. "I heard you're very strong. Interested in a spirit battle?"
When Yan said this, he had already assumed Shui Wuhen would agree. At this time, refusing a spirit battle between Spirit Masters was almost seen as disrespectful.
Moreover, before such a battle, both sides would usually declare their details—name, martial spirit, rank, and classification—giving it a sense of ritual, like duels between nobles in ancient times.
However, Shui Wuhen's next action completely exceeded Yan's expectations.
"Sorry, not interested."
Shui Wuhen shook his head and directly refused Yan's invitation.
Yan instantly flushed red with anger and said furiously, "You… are you afraid of me? You coward!"
If Shui Wuhen refused to fight, how could he win Hu Liena's favor?
"What did you say?"
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er raised her brows and stepped forward coldly. "Coward? Heh. My brother just doesn't feel like dealing with you. If he accepted challenges from every random nobody, he'd spend all day playing games with people like you."
"Random nobody?"
Yan froze for a moment, then laughed in anger. "If I'm a nobody, then what are you?"
As he spoke, Yan released his martial spirit. Two yellow, two purple, and one black—five spirit rings appeared around him.
"See this? My strength. You're just a little girl who hasn't even reached Spirit King, and you dare speak so arrogantly in front of me? Ridiculous!"
At the same time, a powerful pressure radiated from Yan.
Shui Bing'er felt the immense pressure bearing down on her. Just as she was about to use her spirit power to resist, Shui Wuhen released an aura from beside her, instantly pushing Yan's pressure back.
Feeling that overwhelming aura, Yan's expression changed drastically as he looked at Shui Wuhen in shock.
The information wasn't wrong—Shui Wuhen really was a Spirit Emperor. And judging by the intensity of his aura, it even surpassed many powerful Spirit Emperors within Spirit Hall.
"Hmm~~"
At the same time, the Articuno on Shui Wuhen's shoulder opened its eyes, glanced at him, and then shot out a beam of Ice Beam straight toward Yan.
Because the attack was so fast, even Shui Yue'er didn't have time to react before Yan was frozen into a massive block of ice.
Seeing this, Articuno nodded in satisfaction and leaned back against Shui Wuhen, closing its eyes again.
Shui Wuhen couldn't help but smile wryly and reached out to pat Articuno's head.
Originally, he had planned to personally teach Yan a lesson, but he hadn't expected Articuno to act even faster.
"..."
In the audience stands, Xie Yue saw Yan get frozen so easily and couldn't help but slap his forehead, feeling utterly helpless.
Sometimes, he really didn't want to admit that this guy was part of the same "Golden Generation" as him.
Meanwhile, Hu Liena was completely stunned by Shui Wuhen's strength. Although Yan was slightly weaker than her and her brother, he was still a Spirit King. Even the two of them would not find it easy to defeat him.
Yet such a Spirit King had been instantly defeated so easily—and Shui Wuhen hadn't even made a move himself. It was just his martial spirit.
Such decisiveness—even their academy's Spirit Emperor teachers probably couldn't achieve that.
At the same time, as both teams took the stage, the next match was about to begin.
"Shrek Academy versus Blazing Fire Academy—begin!"
With the referee's command, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and the rest of the Shrek Seven Devils clashed with Huo Wushuang, Huo Wu, and the others from Blazing Fire Academy.
On the field, numerous spirit abilities collided and clashed, creating dazzling displays.
"Brother, do you think Blazing Fire Academy has a chance of winning this time?" Shui Bing'er asked after sitting down.
Shui Wuhen replied without hesitation, "They can't win. Shrek's overall strength is a notch higher, and they also have the trump card—Netherworld White Tiger."
"But Sister Huo Wu has her ring fusion," Shui Bing'er continued.
Shui Wuhen still shook his head. "Ring fusion only increases the power of spirit abilities, but it doesn't raise their level. Huo Wu's flames haven't reached the ultimate level, and Tang San's Blue Silver Grass can resist most damage."
Not long after Shui Wuhen finished speaking, the students of Blazing Fire Academy began to fall one by one, leaving only Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu struggling to hold on.
But without their teammates' support, how long could they last? Soon, they were defeated under the combined assault of Shrek.
With the defeat of Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu, Blazing Fire Academy's journey in this Elite Tournament came to an end, stopping at the first round of the finals.
The matches continued, and just as the first round was nearing its end, two figures finally arrived late.
"Are we late?"
Looking at the scene on the field, the somewhat weary Feng Qingcang sighed.
Feng Xiaotian, however, was more composed and smiled. "Being late doesn't necessarily mean elimination. Have some faith in Yunfan and the others."
Even without Feng Xiaotian, the Shenfeng Academy team was extremely strong—all members were Spirit Ancestors, and not newly advanced ones. As long as they didn't face top-seeded teams, they would likely win.
"I hope so."
Feng Qingcang sighed again, then led Feng Xiaotian to the Shenfeng Academy area.
Their arrival naturally attracted attention, and when Shui Wuhen looked at Feng Xiaotian, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why does he feel different from before?"
Shui Wuhen felt puzzled. In just over twenty days—and with Feng Xiaotian having only recently broken through to Spirit Emperor—there shouldn't have been such a drastic transformation.