Bibi Dong ignored his fear, her gaze returning to the secret letter. Her tone became profound and unfathomable, carrying a casual sense of control, as she said:
"As for how to deal with this Tang San."
"We'll see when the time comes."
"Perhaps, he can be used to catch a bigger fish."
Upon hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo was slightly startled at first, then a flash of insight struck him, and he instantly understood what Bibi Dong was referring to. He couldn't help but gasp, blurting out:
"Your Eminence, you mean… Tang Hao?!"
"Precisely." Bibi Dong slowly nodded, a layer of grim killing intent shrouding her beautiful face, saying: "A father and son are connected at heart. With Tang San in dire straits and his life hanging by a thread, given Tang Hao's protective nature, even if he knows it's a dragon's den, he will definitely come!"
"This time, Tang Hao must not be allowed to escape again!"
"I… I'll go to the Hall of Worship now."
After dropping these words, Bibi Dong's figure instantly vanished within the empty Supreme Pontiff Palace… A few more days passed.
The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament entered its next stage, the promotion rounds.
Unlike the highly anticipated and boisterous preliminaries, the atmosphere of the promotion rounds was solemn and secluded. To protect the privacy of the Soul Masters from various academies, and also for safety reasons, ordinary people were not allowed to watch the promotion rounds.
The competition would take place within the Royal Hunting Ground southwest of Heaven Dou City. Only the competition's organizing committee, relevant staff, and participating team members and a few Soul Masters from each academy were permitted entry.
The promotion rounds would still proceed according to the two great Empires' divisions.
The thirty elite teams selected through the preliminaries would complete this stage of the competition within their respective Empires.
In other words...
The Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire each had fifteen teams participating in the promotion rounds.
The fifteen teams from the Heaven Dou Empire naturally included Tianxing Academy, which advanced with a perfect record, as well as veteran powerhouses like Divine Wind Academy, Blazing Academy, and Tianshui Academy.
And teams that advanced from kingdoms and duchies below the Heaven Dou Empire, such as Beast Academy, Plant Academy, Balak Kingdom Academy, and so on!
Shrek Academy, deeply embroiled in public opinion and having suffered significant losses in strength, was also prominently among them.
However, as soon as they appeared, they drew complex and varied gazes from the other academies—some sympathetic, some disdainful, but more often, scrutinizing and distant.
The format of the promotion rounds was a fourteen-round round-robin.
Each team needed to face the other fourteen teams in their division one by one, with the final ranking determined by wins, losses, and points.
The rules of the competition were simple.
Both sides would send seven players. Each player on the field had to fight until they were defeated; if they won, they would face the next opponent, until all seven players from one side were defeated.
The results of the draw had been finalized last night.
Now, as everyone saw the black-on-white match-up table, the air in Shrek Academy's preparation room seemed to instantly solidify.
"Damn it!"
The next second, a suppressed growl, filled with deep resentment and anger, burst from Master's throat.
He stared intently at the line "Shrek Academy VS Tianxing Academy" on the match-up table, his face alternating between green and pale, gasping for breath as he said:
"Is this competition organizing committee run by Tianxing Academy themselves?! It's like this every time!"
"We faced them in the first match of the preliminaries, and now they're our first match in the promotion rounds again! These people are simply scoundrels! They're deliberately making trouble for my Shrek Academy!"
Having lost Tang San and facing the unfathomable strength of Tianxing Academy, especially the two Spirit Kings, Tang Chuan and Xiao Rui'er, he saw no chance of victory, and even felt it was ridiculous to continue participating.
Watching this scene unfold, Flender silently sighed in his heart. Then, he walked over and patted Master's shoulder, his voice weary:
"Xiaogang, calm down."
"What's the use of complaining? The draw results are set; they can't be changed."
Then, he glanced at Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and others nearby, who looked uneasy and dispirited, and slowly exhaled a turbid breath.
"Even though Little San isn't here, we promised these children we'd see them through this competition. This is their trial, and it's a reality we must face."
"You... you quickly arrange the next tactics! The match is about to begin!"
"Tactics?!" Master seemed to be provoked by the word, suddenly raising his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Flender. He slammed his fist hard on the nearby table again, letting out a dull thud that made Tai Long and others nearby flinch.
Gasping violently, he remained silent for a full half-moment before finally throwing caution to the wind and saying:
"Alright then."
"Tai Long, you'll be the first to go out."
Master pointed to Tai Long, who had the best defense and strength in the team.
This was clearly a pure cannon fodder arrangement, the sole purpose being to exhaust the opponent as much as possible.
"Then Tian Heng you're second, Dai Mubai third, Xiao Wu you..."
At this point, Master paused. His brain seemed to be in a chaotic state due to despair; there was no tactical thinking at all, only a mechanical arrangement based on Martial Souls and general impressions.
His arrangement was haphazard, with no strategy targeting Tianxing Academy whatsoever—a complete attitude of leaving things to fate and just going through the motions... A few minutes later, within the secluded and solemn Royal Hunting Ground.
On the high platform, Emperor Xue Ye, the Heaven Dou Empire's emperor, delivered a brief and majestic speech, announcing the official opening of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament's Heaven Dou Empire division promotion rounds.
At this moment, there were no roaring cheers like in the preliminaries, only the solemn gazes of the academy teams and the invisible pressure permeating the air.
With the referee's loud announcement, the first match of the first round of the promotion rounds began.
The highly anticipated showdown immediately unfolded: Shrek Academy versus Tianxing Academy!
On Tianxing Academy's side.
A golden figure gracefully leaped onto the arena—it was Xiao Rui'er.
Looking at the tall, cold-faced Golden-haired woman on the arena, Tai Long frowned. That bit of machismo belonging to a strength-type Soul Master acted up, and he spoke in a booming voice:
"I, Tai Long, don't hit women! Does your Tianxing Academy have no one else? Sending a..."
However, his chivalrous words were not yet fully spoken.
"Whoosh—!"
Tai Long only felt a golden flash before his eyes! It wasn't the light of a spirit ring, but the afterimage left by the opponent's extreme speed of movement!
The next second, a terrifying, irresistible force, like a high-speed battering ram, struck his chest squarely and without any flourish!
"Bang—!!!"
A dull, teeth-grindingly loud bang exploded on the arena!
Tai Long couldn't even make any effective defensive or evasive moves. His strong body, like a broken sack thrown with full force, left the ground and flew backward, tracing a pathetic arc in the air before crashing heavily onto the hard ground outside the arena!
"Crack..."
Centered on his landing spot.
The hard stone slab ground instantly cracked, spreading out like a spiderweb!
Tai Long lay slumped amidst the shattered stones, his chest caved in, blood continuously oozing from his mouth and nose, his eyes rolled back. He didn't even manage a whimper before completely falling unconscious.
From the start of the match until he was sent flying, the entire process took but a single breath!
On the arena.
Xiao Rui'er slowly retracted her seemingly slender, yet explosively powerful, fist.
She hadn't even fully released her Martial Soul; merely relying on the instantaneous burst of Physical Body strength and Soul Power, she had delivered this earth-shattering blow!
Her gaze indifferently swept over Tai Long, who lay like a dead dog below the stage. Xiao Rui'er's clear, cold voice echoed distinctly in the silent arena, with just three simple words:
"Next one."
Instantly, the entire venue fell into a deathly silence.
In Shrek Academy's preparation area, Master's and Flender's faces instantly turned ashen.
They knew Tianxing Academy was strong, but they hadn't expected that just one Xiao Rui'er could be so powerful! Tai Long couldn't even last a single move against her?
Not far away.
As the former captain of the Royal Fight Team, Yu Tianheng, he looked at the golden figure on the arena who instantly defeated Tai Long, his pupils slightly constricted, and he thought to himself:
"What terrifying strength and speed! She didn't even use a Soul Skill, did she?"
"I remember this Xiao Rui'er's Martial Soul, it seems to be... Golden Dragon?"
Thinking of this, Yu Tianheng's eyes suddenly became profound, even carrying a trace of uncontrollable fervor.
Golden Dragon! The ancestor of power, its Dragon Clan Bloodline is noble and powerful.
Then, an evil thought, like wild grass, grew wildly in his heart.
"If I bring the news of her Golden Dragon Martial Soul back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan..."
"I think... those old guys will definitely be interested in her!"
At this moment, he thought of the Elders in his Family who had always been dedicated to researching dragon-type Martial Souls and yearned to further advance the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Bloodline.
"After all, if we could obtain the Golden Dragon's Bloodline, it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! It might even cause an unexpected evolution in the Family's Legacy Martial Soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"
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