In the following days of the preliminaries, with the addition of Yu Tianheng, an attack system Spirit Ancestor with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, Shrek Academy's performance finally stabilized.
Ten days passed in a flash, and Shrek Academy achieved a record of eight wins and two losses.
Of the two losses, one was an unsurprising defeat to the unfathomably strong Tianxing Academy, and the other was a narrow loss to the speed-focused Divine Wind Academy.
Although not perfect, with this record, they still firmly remained among the frontrunners with a chance to advance.
As for Tianxing Academy, they advanced triumphantly, winning all ten matches without encountering a single opponent, leading the scoreboard with an absolute advantage.
However, ever since Tang Chuan defeated Shrek Academy in the first preliminary match in a way that shocked the entire arena, he never participated in a match again.
The subsequent matches were all completed by Xiao Rui'er leading the other team members, while he himself just sat quietly in the spectator stands, like an ordinary audience member.
Today, the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena's atmosphere was exceptionally lively and boisterous.
Because a highly anticipated battle was about to take place, attracting countless eyes.
Although Tang Chuan was also sitting in the spectator stands at this moment, his gaze was also fixed on the Douhun Stage below.
But his expression seemed somewhat heavy, his brows slightly furrowed, as if his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere, out of sync with the surrounding lively atmosphere.
"Kid, what's wrong with you lately? You're distracted. Why do I feel like you're hiding something?" Dugu Bo acutely noticed Tang Chuan's abnormality, glancing at him sideways with a puzzled expression.
At this moment, Tang Chuan was indeed preoccupied. Ever since that night when he learned that Ditian was by his side, an invisible sense of pressure had always lingered in his heart.
He worried that Ditian was constantly lurking in the shadows, observing him, his true intentions unknown.
This feeling of being watched by an existence far beyond his own power was like a sharp sword hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment, making him feel as if he had thorns in his back.
However, regarding Xiao Rui'er, Ditian, the Red King... and the secrets of the Star Dou Great Forest's core area, he temporarily couldn't reveal a single detail to Dugu Bo.
"Old Poison, you say... if one day, you discover that your every move might be under the gaze of an existence you are completely unable to contend with, and you can't guess his intentions, whether they are good or evil, whether it's exploitation or something else... what would you do?"
Taking a soft breath, Tang Chuan chose a relatively vague but still expressive way to convey his worries, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible confusion and heaviness.
Hearing this, Dugu Bo paused, a flicker of light flashing in his cloudy eyes.
He had lived for most of his life, old and cunning.
He immediately understood that Tang Chuan was referring to no ordinary strong individual, perhaps even beyond the scope of humans. Connecting this to the Red King from before, he already had some guesses in his heart.
Dugu Bo didn't press for details, he just extended his withered hand and patted Tang Chuan's shoulder, his tone uncharacteristically carrying a hint of elder-like comfort:
"Kid, I don't know what exactly you're worried about. But this World is inherently a place where the strong prey on the weak. At the Peak of the mountain, there will always only be a few people, or... a few existences."
Speaking of this, he paused, his gaze looking up at the starry sky.
"Before you have enough power to change or understand everything, overthinking will only add to your troubles. Since he hasn't acted against you yet, and instead seems to be... observing, what you need to do now is seize every opportunity to make yourself stronger! Strong enough that one day, no matter what you face, you will have the confidence to deal with it, instead of worrying idly here."
"There will be a way when you get to the mountain, and the boat will naturally straighten when it reaches the bridge. For now, let's watch the match. Even if the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up."
"Don't worry, since I promised to stay by your side and protect you, even if Qian Daoliu comes, I will do my best to keep you safe."
Dugu Bo finally comforted him in his unique way. Although it wasn't overly warm, it carried a sense of open-mindedness and realism after experiencing much in life.
After listening to Dugu Bo's pragmatic and somewhat open-minded words, Tang Chuan's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and the gloom in his heart seemed to dissipate considerably.
He nodded slightly, "Yes."
Thinking too much now was useless; improving his strength was the fundamental solution.
Just then, the host's voice, amplified by a spirit tool, rang out passionately on the Douhun Stage:
"Next, the eleventh round of the preliminaries: Shrek Academy versus Blazing Academy!"
As soon as the words fell, a thunderous roar of cheers and shouts erupted from the surrounding stands.
Blazing Academy, as a veteran strong team, was quite popular.
And Shrek Academy also received much attention due to its unique school uniform and previous controversies.
Immediately after, under the gaze of countless eyes, the Shrek Academy team emerged from the player aisle not far away.
They were still clad in their striking, shit-green school uniforms.
Dai Mubai walked at the very front with a stern face, his evil eyes filled with Battle Intent.
Closely following him was the newly joined Yu Tianheng, his expression calm, the domineering aura of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul faintly visible. Behind him were Tai Long, Xiao Wu, Huang Yuan, and Jing Ling.
However, when the last person in the team walked out, Dugu Bo, in the spectator stands, frowned. He showed an expression of disbelief and muttered in surprise:
"Oh? That kid named Tang San? How could his body recover so quickly?"
According to his and Tang Chuan's estimation, Tang San had suffered such severe injuries, and his external Spirit Bone had been destroyed, that he would definitely not be able to get out of bed for at least half a month.
But now, only about ten days had passed, and Tang San was actually able to return to the match?
Although his face was still a bit pale, his movements were already unhindered.
Tang Chuan, sitting beside him, was also stunned. His sharp gaze swept towards Tang San, feeling the stable, though not Peak, Soul Power fluctuations within him. After a moment of contemplation, he whispered:
"He must have consumed some extremely potent Heaven And Earth Treasure. Otherwise, relying solely on healing Soul Masters and ordinary medicine, it would be impossible to recover so quickly."
Tang Chuan guessed correctly.
In order to allow Tang San to return to the arena as soon as possible and make up for the lack of Shrek Academy's core combat power, Master gritted his teeth and gave Tang San the last bit of Soul Returning Grass and Dragon Blood Ginseng that Liu Erlong had brought back from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to sustain his life and heal his injuries.
These two were top-grade precious medicines treasured by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, with astonishing medicinal effects. This allowed Tang San's injuries to greatly improve in such a short time, enabling him to participate in the battle ahead of schedule.
The seven students from Blazing Academy all looked to be around the same age, about twenty years old.
Walking at the front was a young man of average build and ordinary appearance, wearing a golden team uniform. His name was Huo Wushuang, his Martial Soul was Fire Dragon, and he was a level 42 attack system Battle Soul Master.
Beside him stood a girl, the only girl in Blazing Academy. Her name was Huo Wu, her Martial Soul was Fire Shadow, and she was a level 43 control system Battle Soul Master.
Looking at the team battle about to begin on the Douhun Stage below, Tang Chuan yawned somewhat listlessly, then stretched lazily.
"This match isn't very interesting; the outcome is pretty much set."
He casually said to Dugu Bo beside him:
"Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is naturally completely countered by fire attributes. Facing a team like Blazing Academy, which is entirely fire-attributed, his control power will be greatly reduced. I estimate that after the match, he'll be depressed for quite a while again. I'm going back to the Academy first."
With that, Tang Chuan stood up, preparing to leave the spectator stands.
Dugu Bo heard this, glanced at Shrek Academy below, whose attributes were indeed countered, and felt that Tang Chuan had a point. So he casually asked:
"Are you coming back this afternoon? Our Tianxing Academy is fighting Canghui Academy."
"Canghui Academy?" Tang Chuan's footsteps paused slightly as he murmured softly.
He had a vague impression of this Academy; it seemed to specialize in some mental control, but in the face of absolute strength, these tricks probably wouldn't cause much trouble.
"Forget it, I'm not coming. It's probably another crushing victory, not much meaning." After a moment of contemplation, Tang Chuan waved his hand, his tone flat.
With that, he no longer lingered and walked directly towards the exit passage of the Great Spirit Arena.
Just as Tang Chuan was about to leave the bustling Great Spirit Arena, he happened to meet Xiao Rui'er at the passage entrance, who was also preparing to return to the Academy.
The two exchanged glances but said nothing.
They simply walked side by side in tacit agreement, leaving the Great Spirit Arena together.
At this moment, their attention was focused ahead, and they did not notice an old man in the crowd not far behind them, dressed in a moon-white Soul Master robe, with a sinister face and cold eyes.
He was silently trailing them like a ghost.
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