"Hmph!"
Seeing the scene fall silent, Platinum Bishop snorted coldly. Then his gaze swept across the entire arena as he said indifferently, "On behalf of the Spirit Hall, there is no need for deception. I hereby announce that no matter which team enters the finals this time, Spirit Hall will make an exception and allow them to join the Spirit Temple!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Spirit Masters present immediately erupted into an uproar. Even Shui Wuhen's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.
The Spirit Temple was, aside from the Pope Palace and the Douluo Hall, one of the highest institutions within Spirit Hall. Entering it guaranteed at least the future achievement of a Spirit Sage, and there was even hope of advancing to the Spirit Douluo realm.
Although this held little attraction for Shui Wuhen, for the students of the various academies present, it was absolutely an ideal place of employment after graduation.
After all, the only forces that could be compared to Spirit Hall were the Upper Three Sects and the two great empires. But although the Upper Three Sects were called sects, they were essentially families—an outsider entering them would always be treated as inferior.
As for the two great empires, although vast in scale, they had always lagged far behind Spirit Hall in nurturing Spirit Masters. Unless the empires offered real noble titles, they simply couldn't compare to even a fraction of Spirit Hall's appeal.
However, in recent years, due to lessons learned from duchies and kingdoms, their willingness to grant lands and titles had been steadily decreasing.
On the VIP platform, 's expression clearly darkened after hearing Salas' words. Such blatant poaching showed complete disregard for him as the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire!
Seeing this, the host's expression also changed slightly, and he quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Thank you, Bishop Salas, for the draw. Next, we will proceed to the first match of the preliminary round—the only match today: versus ."
"Brother, who do you think will win this match?"
At this moment, Shui Bing'er leaned closer and asked Shui Wuhen with a smile.
Shui Wuhen glanced casually at both teams and replied, "Shrek, I suppose."
"Oh? Why do you think that? You should know that Heaven Dou Royal Academy is heavily supported by the royal family, while Shrek Academy is just an unknown school."
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er was somewhat surprised, clearly not expecting such an answer.
Shui Wuhen replied, "That's just their second team. The truly outstanding members have already been taken away. And look at them—they've probably been pampered. Their actual combat performance won't be very good."
Although noble Spirit Masters were generally stronger than ordinary ones due to superior martial spirits and resources, it was undeniable that there was a huge disparity among them.
The outstanding ones far exceeded normal expectations, while the worst ones also fell far below them.
As for this Heaven Dou Royal Academy second team, while they weren't outright terrible, with such abundant resources, reaching only this level meant they were far from excellent.
Very quickly, the battle began. The Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team performed even worse than Shui Wuhen had expected, losing in just one minute.
"Looks like I overestimated Heaven Dou Royal Academy. They don't even have a single four-ring Spirit Ancestor."
Seeing this, Shui Bing'er curled her lips. From an overall perspective, the team's lineup was merely passable, even inferior to many ordinary advanced Spirit Master academies—completely unworthy of its reputation.
Shui Wuhen remained calm. "That's normal. Doesn't our still have a Spirit Elder? They're just the second team—it's perfectly normal not to have a Spirit Ancestor.
I just didn't expect them to lose in less than a minute."
"..." Shui Yue'er.
That was a bit rude.
Seeing the result, the host said in disbelief, "Unbelievable! Shrek has won—and so easily!"
"Hmph!"
At this, Emperor Xue Ye snorted coldly, his face ashen as he glanced back at Prince Xue Xing before flicking his sleeve and leaving.
Clearly, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team losing so easily to such an obscure academy had made the emperor lose face.
And as the person in charge of this matter, Prince Xue Xing would inevitably face some reprimand afterward.
With the opening match concluded, the audience and VIPs left in an orderly manner. Shui Wuhen and the Tianshui Academy group naturally had no reason to stay and also departed from the .
On the way back to the reception area, Shui Wuhen spoke briefly with Shui Bing'er and the others before leaving the group alone, heading toward the outskirts of .
Watching his departing figure, Shui Bing'er frowned slightly.
During their time in Heaven Dou City, Shui Wuhen would often go out alone, returning very late each time. It was hard not to make her think too much.
Suddenly, her eyes flickered as a possibility came to mind.
"Brother… he wouldn't be going to that kind of place, would he?"
At the thought of her brother possibly being surrounded by unfamiliar women, Shui Bing'er felt her heart tighten, an uncomfortable feeling rising within her.
But soon, she shook her head vigorously. "No, with brother's personality, he would never go to such a place."
Yet once such a thought appeared, it was difficult to erase.
"No, I have to follow him and see!"
With even the slightest possibility in mind, Shui Bing'er immediately informed Shui Yue'ruo before quietly trailing behind Shui Wuhen.
Watching this, Shui Yue'ruo could only shake her head helplessly. "Bing'er, honestly…"
Though she said that, she understood the situation.
After recruiting Shui Bing'er, she had investigated their background. It could only be said that their past was far from good.
Shui Wuhen and Shui Bing'er's mother had died when they were very young, and their nominal father was extremely indifferent, completely ignoring their survival.
At that time, their status as illegitimate children of a noble family instead became a burden. The nobles viewed them as a stain, something not even worth mentioning, while commoners, due to long-standing oppression from nobles, also rejected them.
If not for Shui Wuhen occasionally coming up with clever ideas and creating things to earn money, the siblings might not have survived.
This situation only improved after their martial spirits awakened.
Thus, Shui Bing'er cared deeply about Shui Wuhen, and deep down, she longed for her brother's recognition.
However, as the top genius of Tianshui Academy and the emotional pillar among the girls, she had to appear cheerful, calm, and composed to become someone others could rely on.
Meanwhile, Shui Bing'er followed Shui Wuhen and soon arrived at a small forest outside Heaven Dou City.
"Why would brother come here?"
A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes. As the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City gathered treasures from across the land—there was no need to leave the city for anything.
At that moment, Shui Wuhen called out behind him, "Bing'er, come out. I've already noticed you!"