Chapter 234: Half-Month Countdown, The Qualifying Tournament Begins Soon
Shui Bing'er made a trip to Thunder Academy and stayed for only a day, yet when she returned, she had risen 3 levels. The news left her teammates completely stunned.
Taking the chance, Shui Bing'er told them everything she had discussed with Yu Tianlin, the cooperation between the 2 academies.
No one objected.
First, Shui Bing'er had immense prestige within the team. Second, even though Skywater Academy had taken 2nd place in the preliminaries, the coming stages would be far more unfavorable for them. Rather than getting battered later, joining forces with Thunder Academy now was not a bad choice at all.
With Skywater Academy settled, the two sides reached full agreement. The only remaining hurdle was the competition organizing committee.
Since Yu Tianlin and the others were competing in the Heaven Dou Division, the organizing committee consisted of Heaven Dou Empire officials and Spirit Hall representatives.
After the report was submitted, the Heaven Dou Empire responded quickly. The officials stated that it was permitted under the rules and that they would not interfere.
From the Heaven Dou Empire's perspective, the action looked like "giving up a spot," but in reality, the combined strength would rise sharply. That meant a better chance of bringing glory back to the empire, so they naturally had no reason to oppose it.
Spirit Hall, however, was another story.
Platinum Bishop Salas tried to make trouble and rejected the transfer merger proposal outright.
In Salas's eyes, Thunder Academy was already a major threat. If Skywater Academy joined and added another Martial Soul Fusion Technique, the team would become even stronger. It might even threaten Spirit Hall Academy's chances. Of course he wanted to stop it.
Unfortunately for Salas, he could not justify his interference.
Just a few days earlier, he had approved the alliance between God Wind Academy and Blazing Fire Academy, precisely because he wanted to stir up chaos for Thunder Academy. Now that Thunder Academy and Skywater Academy wanted to do something similar, Salas found it difficult to refuse.
It was the definition of shooting himself in the foot.
With Yu Yuanzhen stepping in, and the Heaven Dou Empire applying a bit of pressure in order to win over the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Salas was forced to back down in the end and give his consent.
No matter how fiercely the Heaven Dou Empire, Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall fought behind the scenes, they still maintained harmony on the surface. Salas was not in a position to openly clash with the Heaven Dou Empire.
In short, after all the back and forth, Thunder Academy and Skywater Academy officially joined forces.
With the alliance confirmed, the next step was reorganizing the lineup. The new team, ranked by Spirit Power, was:
Captain Yu Tianlin, Martial Soul Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Level 55 Power Attack Type Spirit King.
Vice Captain Shui Bing'er, Martial Soul Ice Phoenix, Level 46 Control Type Spirit Ancestor.
Lei Dong, Martial Soul Thunder Spider, Level 43 Control Type Spirit Ancestor.
Xue Wu, Martial Soul Slender Dance of Snow, Level 42 Auxiliary Type Spirit Ancestor.
Lei Tian, Martial Soul Thunder Eagle, Level 42 Power Attack Type Spirit Ancestor.
Lei Mie, Martial Soul Thunder Fang Blade, Level 41 Agility Attack Type Spirit Ancestor.
Yu Hairou, Martial Soul Coral Barracuda, Level 41 Power Attack Type Spirit Ancestor.
After the reorganization, the team had Yu Tianlin, the Spirit King with the highest cultivation in this tournament, along with Shui Bing'er, a top tier control type who had reached the Spirit Ancestor realm. The rest were all Spirit Ancestors, and they also possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Technique. This lineup was absolutely top class, only slightly inferior to Spirit Hall's lineup of 3 Spirit Kings.
And even with Spirit Hall's advantage on paper, Yu Tianlin had confidence. As a Spirit King, he believed he was stronger than any of their 3 Spirit Kings.
Still, even with a terrifying lineup, training was essential. None of them had fought as true teammates before, and cohesion mattered.
Fortunately, there were still 2 weeks before the qualifying rounds began, and the qualifying rounds themselves would last 2 weeks. Since the qualifying rounds were one on one battles and did not require teamwork, it was basically another 2 weeks of buffer time.
In other words, they had roughly 1 month to build chemistry. That was more than enough to form reliable coordination.
Before, Yu Tianlin would often let his teammates train while he trained alone. Now that Skywater Academy had merged in, he could not keep doing that. This time, he trained with everyone.
Day by day, they pushed through the adjustment period, built basic coordination, and learned each other's habits. At least, Yu Tianlin believed they were ready.
Soon, the remaining 2 weeks passed, and the qualifying rounds were finally about to begin.
The qualifying rounds were held at the Heaven Dou Royal Hunting Grounds, about 50 kilometers southwest of Heaven Dou City. Besides being a royal hunting site, it was also the training base of the Heaven Dou Empire's elite force, the Royal Knights.
Because of its special status, ordinary civilians were not allowed to approach. In other words, the qualifying matches were not open to the public.
Royal Knights were allowed to watch, though. In fact, the Heaven Dou Empire chose this venue partly to inspire the knights and push them to train harder.
The 10 teams from the 4 kingdoms and 1 duchy arrived early to familiarize themselves with the environment. The 3 teams from the Heaven Dou Empire arrived on the morning the qualifying rounds began.
After presenting their qualification certificates to the outer guards, Yu Tianlin and his group entered the Royal Hunting Grounds under the guidance of a knight captain.
Beyond the small hills at the perimeter, the hunting grounds opened into a grassland. The Royal Knights' camp was set up here. Yu Tianlin's group was assigned 6 barracks inside the military camp.
To avoid conflict, the qualifying teams were housed in separate areas, so there were no other teams nearby.
Unlike the preliminaries, the qualifying rounds had no ceremony at all. Everyone arrived in the morning, rested for a day, and the competition began the next day.
After Yu Tianlin's group was assigned their barracks, they were about to rest when someone suddenly came to see them.
The visitor was none other than Yu Yuanzhen.
Yu Tianlin was surprised by his grandfather's sudden appearance. He knew Yu Yuanzhen well. Usually, Yu Tianlin would go to him. If Yu Yuanzhen came personally, it could only mean one thing.
Something important had happened.
.....
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