Led by Liu Yuan, Xiao Hongchen and the others quickly entered Star Luo City.
The streets were still bustling with activity. The excitement stirred up by the tournament continued to ferment, turning the entire city into a blazing furnace filled with passion and anticipation.
Unlike Shrek Academy, which made a point of announcing its arrival to the entire world, Liu Yuan's group kept an unusually low profile.
However, midway through their journey, they unexpectedly overheard many passersby talking about Shrek.
"Hey, did you hear? Shrek's people were ridiculously arrogant at the hotel just now!"
"Of course! The old man leading them is a Titled Douluo—he directly revealed nine spirit rings! He nearly scared the registration clerk half to death!"
"The scariest part is their students! Their captain, Ma Xiaotao, is actually a Rank 72 Spirit Saint! Nineteen years old—a Spirit Saint!"
"And their vice-captain, Dai Yueheng, is a Rank 69 high-level Spirit Emperor! I heard the rest of the main team are all Spirit Kings!"
"With that lineup, who could possibly stop them? The champion this time has to be Shrek. No suspense at all."
The passersby spoke with great enthusiasm, their voices filled with shock and envy, as though they themselves had been the ones showing off.
Though their information wasn't perfectly accurate—after all, most of it was secondhand gossip—it was more than enough for Liu Yuan and the others to piece together what had happened.
Liu Yuan, who had been walking at a steady pace, slowed slightly.
A trace of amusement flickered in his deep eyes.
"So…"
"Shrek Academy has already arrived."
Ma Rulong, walking beside him, let out a cold snort.
"Not only did they arrive, they clearly put on quite a show."
"He deliberately flaunted their cultivation levels, even announcing exact ranks. Now the whole city knows about it."
Shaking his head, Ma Rulong frowned in confusion.
"What are they trying to accomplish? Just to hear people shout a few compliments?"
"What's there to be proud of?"
Meng Hongchen, always competitive, puffed out her cheeks and waved her fist defiantly.
"Then let's show them too! Let them know Shrek isn't the only academy with geniuses!"
"We'll release our spirit rings and spirit tools and scare them senseless!"
As she spoke, her spirit power surged, as if she were truly about to activate her abilities right there in the street.
"It's meaningless."
Liu Yuan shook his head helplessly. He reached out and gently pressed down on Meng Hongchen's shoulder, stopping her before she could act.
"Xiaomeng, aren't you making the same mistake?"
He glanced at the nearby passersby who were clearly eavesdropping and lowered his voice.
"Shrek Academy made a foolish move. For the sake of so-called 'prestige' and 'vanity,' they revealed all their cards in advance."
"That's a fatal mistake in any battle."
"We absolutely cannot follow their example."
He then turned to Jing Hongchen, who was walking calmly at the rear of the group.
"Dean, if I remember correctly, the tournament registration only requires name, age, and academy information, right?"
"As for specific spirits, spirit abilities, and cultivation ranks… the organizers never explicitly required those details to be fully disclosed, did they?"
Jing Hongchen's eyes lit up with approval. He nodded.
"That's correct."
"Those detailed registrations are more of an unspoken practice by the tournament committee—used to gather intelligence, arrange brackets, or build hype."
"But strictly speaking, as long as bone age is verified and eligibility is confirmed, that's sufficient."
"Whether someone is a Spirit Ancestor or a Spirit King is something to be proven on the battlefield."
Hearing this, the corners of Liu Yuan's mouth curled into a mocking smile.
"Then what's the point of declaring everything?"
He couldn't help but scoff.
"Stripping yourself bare and putting it on display for others to see—how stupid can that be?"
"True deterrence comes from the unknown."
"Let them guess. Let them fear."
"And when the real match arrives, deliver a 'surprise.' That's what makes it satisfying."
As soon as Liu Yuan finished speaking, Xiao Hongchen and the others—who had been itching to show off—suddenly felt as though they'd been awakened from a dream.
That's right.
Why expose everything now?
The smartest approach was to keep opponents guessing, then unleash everything during the match, catching them completely off guard.
Shrek's behavior, aside from feeding their own vanity, offered no real advantage in winning the championship. Instead, it handed their opponents a chance to prepare countermeasures in advance.
"Brother Liu Yuan is right."
Xiao Hongchen restrained the arrogance in his eyes and nodded.
"I was thinking too simply."
"We almost got dragged down by Shrek and their idiocy," Meng Hongchen said, sticking out her tongue with an embarrassed grin.
After Liu Yuan's explanation, the entire team completely abandoned any thought of revealing their strength early.
The more they thought about it, the more Shrek's behavior felt like that of a nouveau riche—flaunting wealth without understanding its consequences.
Walking at the back, Jing Hongchen watched Liu Yuan's steady figure with increasing admiration.
He discovered yet another of Liu Yuan's strengths.
Patience.
Talent in the young wasn't frightening.
What was truly frightening was possessing talent while knowing how to restrain it, conceal it, and judge the situation clearly.
Shrek's arrogance was deeply ingrained, blinding them to basic strategic sense.
Liu Yuan, however, had no such flaw.
"This child is destined for greatness," Jing Hongchen sighed inwardly.
Entrusting the team to Liu Yuan had been the best decision he had ever made.
…
Before long, they passed through the lively streets and arrived at the Star Luo Royal Hotel.
Although Shrek's people had already left the lobby, the aftershock of their display still lingered.
Representatives from various academies stood in small clusters, and the topic of conversation remained that awe-inspiring "Rank 72."
At that moment—
Liu Yuan and his group appeared at the entrance to the lobby.
"They're here! The people from Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy are here!"
It was unclear who shouted, but in an instant, all eyes turned toward the entrance once again.
As the runner-up of the previous tournament—and the only academy in a thousand years to truly threaten Shrek—Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was naturally impossible to ignore.
The academy representatives who had been discussing Shrek fell silent, staring intently at Liu Yuan's group.
Curiosity.
Scrutiny.
And even a trace of hostility.
"So this is the Sun Moon team?"
"They don't look that impressive… their presence doesn't compare to Shrek's at all."
"I wonder what kind of strength Liu Yuan is leading this time."
"Do you think they'll also drop a bombshell like Shrek did?"
"Very possible. Old rivals—if you lose the fight, you still can't lose face."
Teachers and students alike stared wide-eyed, ears perked up.
Some even discreetly pulled out notebooks, ready to record information about the Sun Moon team.
If Sun Moon were to expose their strength like Shrek had, it would be invaluable intelligence for academies hoping to plan strategies in advance.
After all, although Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy had long been labeled a "perennial runner-up," it was undeniable that their spirit tool technology was unrivaled, and their overall strength second only to Shrek.
To everyone else, they were still an insurmountable mountain.
As a result, information about them was just as crucial.
Gradually, the atmosphere in the lobby grew tense once more.
Everyone held their breath, waiting to see how these challengers from the Sun Moon Empire would respond to Shrek Academy's earlier show of force.