After all, Flender's run-down Shrek Academy didn't even have the qualifications of a high-level Spirit Master academy, making it fundamentally impossible to register for the Continental Spirit Master Elite Tournament.
And Yu Xiaogang was determined to let Tang San shine brilliantly on that stage, which drew the attention of the entire continent.
Thus, there was only one most realistic path left before them.
That was to use the internal connection of Qin Ming, an outstanding graduate, to naturally have Tang San and the others join the Heaven Dou Royal Academy as members of the Second Team to participate in the competition.
Of course, this encounter between Qin Ming and the Shrek group was not like in the original work, where they became acquainted through a fight on the team battle stage of the Suotuo Great Spirit Arena.
Instead, after arriving in Suotuo City, Qin Ming went directly to visit Shrek Academy outside the city.
After all, the current Shrek Academy only had four people in total: Tang San, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun.
With just these four pitiful individuals, they couldn't even scrape together the minimum number for a seven-person team battle, so they naturally couldn't participate in any team matches at the Great Spirit Arena.
After Qin Ming inspected the four freshmen...
Aside from Tang San's comical white second spirit ring, which indeed left him quite shocked and surprised...
...the top-tier Spirits of the other three students, along with their cultivation talent that far exceeded their peers, left Qin Ming quite satisfied.
Therefore, Qin Ming unhesitatingly agreed to Flender's request, willing to act as the recommender to let them join the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
In the noisy spectator stands on the outskirts of the Great Spirit Arena...
Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands behind his back, teaching Tang San and the other three with a serious expression, "Perk up, all of you; this is a very rare opportunity for observation!"
Yu Xiaogang pointed at the massive central stage below: "Today, right here, you can witness with your own eyes the true strength of the main players from the three top-tier high-level Spirit Master academies on the continent!"
"You must keep your eyes wide open and observe carefully, memorizing their Spirit characteristics and Spirit Ability coordination. Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you emerge victorious in every battle in the future tournament."
Flender, standing to the side, smiled and said, "Indeed, I also traveled quite a distance to broaden my horizons. I'm actually quite curious."
A sharp light flickered in Flender's eyes. "Just how strong is the true power of this Heaven Dou Royal Team One?"
After extending the invitation to them, Qin Ming had already taken Yu Tianheng and the other substitutes back to the Heaven Dou Academy.
The two parties did not travel together.
Therefore, when Flender met Qin Ming last time, he didn't have the chance to inquire in detail about the specific information regarding the current members of Heaven Dou Team One.
Flender and the others only knew one piece of incredibly shocking information:
That was, even someone as strong as Yu Tianheng, a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, was actually only a bottom-tier substitute in the current Heaven Dou Team One!
Whether it was the self-proclaimed knowledgeable Yu Xiaogang or the Spirit Saint Flender, when they first learned of this outrageous news...
...they were both so shocked they were speechless, their hearts churning like a stormy sea.
One must realize that when Yu Tianheng was undergoing Spirit fighting training at the Suotuo Great Spirit Arena, the true cultivation he displayed was that of a powerful Level 41 Spirit Ancestor!
To reach Level 41 at his age, his talent was beyond question; it was undoubtedly top-tier.
Furthermore, it was said that Yu Tianheng himself was extremely diligent in his cultivation and never slacked off.
However, how could Yu Xiaogang and the others know the bitter truth behind it?
The reason Yu Tianheng had been able to desperately reach Level 41 over these years was primarily because, during these four years, he had been severely stimulated and influenced by the intense competition and the almost abnormal cultivation speed of Lin Yuan and the other regular members!
In the current Royal Team One, anyone even slightly related to Lin Yuan, or rather, the women who were relatively close to him...
...their current cultivation levels were, at the very least, at the Spirit King rank!
Although Yu Tianheng was among the first batch of members to enter the regular roster back then, as time passed, while his spirit power improvement speed was considered fast, he was still gradually left far behind by Lin Yuan and those "cheaters."
Ultimately, he was ruthlessly eliminated, falling directly from a regular member to a substitute.
The current seven-member regular roster of the Heaven Dou Royal Team is as follows:
Captain Lin Yuan, Vice-Captain Dugu Yan, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Zhuyun, Ning Rongrong, and Ye Lingling!
Among these seven, even Ning Rongrong, who belongs to the support system, is now a genuine Spirit King!
As for Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, who are Battle Spirit Masters of the attack system and agility-attack system specializing in frontal combat, their combat power goes without saying—it is even higher than Ning Rongrong's.
This once made the proud Yu Tianheng feel extremely frustrated, even leading him to doubt himself.
He could not understand no matter how he tried; when Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and the others first entered the academy, their cultivation was much lower than his!
Moreover, they were generally much younger than him.
But for some reason, after they followed Lin Yuan, their cultivation speed over the past few years had been like riding a rocket, getting faster and faster!
Ultimately, they forcibly dragged Yu Tianheng down from his throne as a regular member.
At this moment, in the outer spectator stands...
Ma Hongjun, puffing out his large belly, curled his lip dismissively and shouted, "Grandmaster, I think Senior Qin Ming is just bragging on purpose to scare us!"
Ma Hongjun had a look of defiance on his face. "I don't believe it. How could there be so many powerful freaks in this Heaven Dou Team?"
Oscar also nodded repeatedly from the side, echoing:
"Yeah, Fatty is right. No matter how much they hype it up, it's useless; seeing is believing."
"I don't believe they can be much more formidable than Boss Dai."
Hearing the praise from his two juniors, Dai Mubai's brow furrowed, and he shook his head with a solemn expression.
Dai Mubai analyzed in a low voice, "Fatty, Little Ao, don't be too optimistic. If what Senior Qin Ming said is true..."
"...that even a top-tier Beast Spirit Genius like Yu Tianheng at Level 41 can only be a substitute in their team..."
A look of horror flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes. "Doesn't that mean their seven regular members all have cultivation levels above the Spirit Ancestor rank?!"
"Furthermore, their captain's cultivation is very likely infinitely close to the Spirit King Realm!"
Dai Mubai took a deep breath and sighed, "If that's truly the case, then in the Continental Spirit Master Elite Tournament over a year from now..."
"...there might actually be several Spirit King powerhouses under the age of twenty in this Heaven Dou Team One. This would be a terrifying lineup that has never been encountered in previous Spirit Master Tournaments!"
...