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A few days later, the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena was buzzing with the final energy of the competition. The qualifiers for the Heaven Dou Division of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament had officially ended.
After many intense battles, five teams had earned their spot in the next round. These teams were Tianxing Academy, Divine Wind Academy, Blazing Academy, Shrek Academy, and Tianshui Academy.
Following the rules of the competition, a small ceremony was planned to take place right after the qualifiers. This was a time to give the winning teams their certificates and noble titles. It was a moment of great honor and pride. However, when the announcer called out the name of Shrek Academy, no one walked onto the stage.
The spot remained empty. The people from Shrek Academy were nowhere to be seen. It was not that they did not want the awards; they were simply too busy dealing with a crisis to care about titles and certificates.
At that very moment, Shrek Academy was in a state of total chaos. The news about Tang San had spread through the streets of Heaven Dou City like it had wings. Everyone was talking about how Tang San was actually a fallen Evil Soul Master.
Within just a few days, it became the main topic of conversation for everyone in the city. The young man who was once seen as a genius had become someone that people hated and feared. Because Shrek Academy had trained him, the school was now being blamed by everyone.
Outside the academy gates, large crowds of people gathered. They pointed at the buildings and whispered to each other. Their eyes were full of fear and disgust. Inside the gates, the situation was even worse.
Parents were shouting and pushing their way through the halls. Many were crying out that they wanted to leave. They kept yelling that they had to withdraw their children immediately. They asked how they could let their kids stay in a place where an Evil Soul Master lived.
They told Dean Flender that they sent their children there to learn the righteous path and cultivate their spirits, not to learn how to hurt others. They didn't even care about getting their money back; they just wanted to leave as fast as possible.
The parents were terrified that their children might be influenced by evil or that the academy was hiding other dark secrets. The teachers tried their best to calm everyone down, but no one would listen to them. Their words felt weak against the anger of the crowd.
The school, which used to be full of life, now looked like it was facing the end of the world. The few students who stayed were hiding in their rooms, too afraid to come out. In just a few days, the good name of Shrek Academy had completely disappeared.
Flender stood by his office window and looked down at the mess. He could hear the shouting and the curses coming from the courtyard. He looked like he had aged ten years in a single night. He had worked for over twenty years to build this academy.
It was his life's work, and now it was falling apart right in front of him. While the school was struggling with all these problems, the door to his office slowly opened. Qin Ming walked in and saw Flender standing there. He felt a sharp pain in his heart seeing how sad and old the Dean looked.
Qin Ming spoke softly, calling out to the Dean because he was very worried. Flender did not turn around. He kept watching the angry crowd downstairs. He took a deep breath and tried to stay calm as he told Qin Ming that he was okay. Then he sighed and said it was a shame for children like Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Dai Mubai, and Zhuqing.
He said they all had great futures, but now they were being treated badly because of what happened with Tang San. He hated that these innocent students had to suffer because of the academy's bad reputation.
Qin Ming walked over to stand next to Flender. He looked out the window too and asked a very important question. He wanted to know if they were still going to play in the next round of the tournament.
He mentioned that since Tang San was taken away, Yu Xiaogang had been locking himself in his room. Yu Xiaogang was very sad and depressed, so they couldn't count on him for help.
Flender was quiet for a minute. Then he turned around, and even though his eyes were red from lack of sleep, his voice was strong. He told Qin Ming that they would definitely participate.
He said that even if they didn't win, the children needed to finish what they started. He looked out the window again, imagining the faces of his students. He reminded Qin Ming that Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and the others would still be young enough to compete in the next tournament in a few years.
He wanted to treat this difficult time as a way to make them stronger. He believed that if they could survive this, they could handle anything. He even hoped that Shrek Academy might win the whole thing next time.
Meanwhile, far away in Spirit City, the Supreme Pontiff Palace stood tall and grand. Inside the main hall, Bibi Dong sat on her high throne. She was holding a secret letter from Salas. The letter explained everything that happened with Tang San.
As she read it, she didn't get angry. Instead, a cold smile appeared on her face. She stood up gracefully and said that it was very interesting that the Clear Sky Sect had produced an Evil Soul Master. She repeated those words as if she were enjoying a funny joke.
Chrysanthemum Douluo was standing nearby. He waited for a moment and then stepped forward to bow. He asked how they should handle Tang San. He wondered if they should just have him executed right away to show everyone what happens to evil people. He thought that was the easiest way to deal with the problem.
Bibi Dong looked at him and said that Salas wanted to wait until the promotion rounds were over. Then, Salas would bring Tang San to Spirit City so she could deal with him herself. When she said this, she thought about Yu Xiaogang for a second.
She remembered how stubborn he was. Chrysanthemum Douluo was confused. He thought bringing him all the way back was a lot of extra work, but he didn't argue. He asked if Tang San would be sent to a place for criminals once he arrived.
Suddenly, Bibi Dong started laughing. It was a cold, scary laugh that echoed through the giant hall. She asked if devouring life force was really considered evil. She called the rest of the world foolish. She stopped laughing and looked down with pride.
She said that if those people were right, then her own spirit, the Soul Eating Spider Emperor, would also be called evil. Chrysanthemum Douluo started to shake a little. He looked down at the floor and didn't say anything.
Bibi Dong looked back at the letter and spoke in a mysterious voice. She said she would decide what to do with Tang San when he got there. She suggested that they might be able to use him to catch a much bigger fish. Chrysanthemum Douluo was surprised at first, but then he understood. He gasped and asked if she was talking about Tang Hao.
Bibi Dong nodded slowly. She looked very serious and full of anger. She said that a father and son are connected. She knew that if Tang San was in danger, Tang Hao would come to save him, even if it was a trap. She was determined not to let Tang Hao escape this time. She then told him she was going to the Hall of Worship and disappeared from the room instantly.
A few more days passed by. The tournament moved into the next stage, which was the promotion rounds. Unlike the first part of the competition, this part was very quiet and serious. Regular people were not allowed to watch.
This was done to keep the skills of the Spirit Masters a secret and to keep everyone safe. The matches were held at the Royal Hunting Ground near Heaven Dou City. Only the players, the staff, and a few teachers could enter.
In the Heaven Dou Empire, fifteen teams were ready to fight. This included the strong Tianxing Academy and others like Divine Wind and Blazing Academy. There were also teams from smaller kingdoms, like the Plant Academy and the Balak Kingdom Academy.
Shrek Academy was there too, even though they were missing Tang San and everyone was talking about them. When they arrived, the other teams looked at them with a mix of pity and dislike.
The format for this round was different. Each team had to fight every other team once. The winners would be decided by how many points they got. In each match, both sides would pick seven players. One player would stay on the field until they lost. If they won, they would face the next person from the other team. The match ended when one side had no players left.
The schedule for the matches had been made the night before. When the Shrek Academy team saw who they were fighting first, they all went silent. Yu Xiaogang let out a low growl of anger. He stared at the paper that said Shrek Academy would fight Tianxing Academy.
He looked very upset and complained that the organizers were out to get them. He hated that they had to fight the strongest team right away again. He felt like they had no chance of winning without Tang San, especially against the two Spirit Kings from Tianxing.
Flender sighed and put a hand on Yu Xiaogang's shoulder. He told him to calm down because complaining wouldn't change the results. He looked at the students, who were feeling very sad. He reminded Yu Xiaogang that they had to support the kids through this. He told him to stop worrying and come up with a plan for the fight because it was starting soon.
Yu Xiaogang looked at Flender with red eyes. He was so frustrated that he slammed his hand on a table. After a few moments, he just gave up and started picking players without much of a plan.
He told Tai Long to go first because he was strong and had good defense. He was just using Tai Long to try and tire out the other team. Then he picked the rest of the players in a random order. He wasn't thinking about strategy at all; he was just going through the motions.
A few minutes later, the competition began at the Royal Hunting Ground. Emperor Xue Ye stood on a high platform and gave a speech to open the promotion rounds. There were no loud cheers, only a heavy feeling of pressure in the air. The referee announced the first match: Shrek Academy versus Tianxing Academy.
On the Tianxing side, a woman named Xiao Ruier jumped onto the stage. She looked very calm and strong. Tai Long frowned when he saw her.
He didn't want to fight a woman and started to say that he wouldn't hit her. But before he could finish his sentence, a golden light flashed in front of him. Xiao Ruier moved so fast that he couldn't even see her.
Before he could do anything, a huge force hit him in the chest. There was a loud bang that everyone could hear. Tai Long was thrown backward like a heavy bag.
He flew through the air and crashed onto the ground outside the arena. The stone floor cracked where he landed. Tai Long lay there with blood on his face, completely knocked out. The whole thing happened in less than a second.
Xiao Ruier stood on the stage and pulled back her fist. She hadn't even used her spirit rings yet. She just used her own strength to win the fight.
she looked down at Tai Long and coldly told the referee to send the next person. The whole area went quiet. Flender and Yu Xiaogang looked pale. They knew she was strong, but they didn't think she could win that easily.
Nearby, Yu Tianheng watched the fight. He used to be the captain of the Royal Fight Team, and he was shocked by her speed. He realized she didn't even use a spirit ability. He remembered that her spirit was the Golden Dragon.
This made him think of an evil plan. He knew his family, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, loved dragon spirits. He thought that if he told them about her, they would want to use her to make their own family spirit stronger. He saw it as a huge opportunity for his clan.