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Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Yu Tianheng only took a two-day leave of absence before returning to the academy, whereupon he informed Dugu Yan of the decision made by the family.
Visibly, the relationship between the two became even more intimate.
As a result, Su Wen was forced to stuff himself on "dog food"—watching their public displays of affection—until he was full on several occasions.
The Soul Bone was also delivered personally by Yu Yuanzhen very quickly. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yu Yuanzhen had a cordial conversation with Su Wen.
Before leaving, Yu Yuanzhen imparted some techniques for controlling the lightning element to Su Wen.
Evidently, seeing that Su Wen had already developed mastery over three elements, he felt that these lightning manipulation techniques would likely be useful to Su Wen in the future.
Su Wen was genuinely verifying grateful for this.
Regardless of whether he developed in that direction in the future, at the very least, with these lightning element control techniques, Su Wen could begin attempting to develop cultivation methods related to lightning body tempering.
"Alright, everyone. Our upcoming itinerary will be very tight. If anyone has private matters to attend to, you must report them in advance."
"Good. Our first stop is Blazing Fire City."
The other eight members all turned their gazes toward Su Wen.
Clearly, the order arranged by Qin Ming was well thought out.
The first stop was Blazing Fire City, and presumably, the subsequent stops would be Kamikaze City and the other cities where the Five Element Academies were located.
Heading to these cities, famous for their respective five elements, in advance would allow Su Wen to draw inspiration from them and digest these insights as much as possible during the battles over the next three months.
"Let's move out!"
Led by Qin Ming, the group of ten left the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and departed from Heaven Dou City.
"Little Wen, Rongrong, the two of you have already achieved Purple Gold Spirit Fighter badges as a team. When we arrive, you two will team up for 2v2 battles. You will be challenging Purple Gold Spirit Fighter teams in Blazing Fire City, which means fighting above your level."
At the Soul Ancestor (Level 40+) stage, teams possessing Purple Gold Spirit Fighter badges became much more common.
"One of you is a Soul Elder and the other a Great Soul Master. Challenging two Soul Ancestors above your level should provide sufficient pressure."
"Additionally, within the quota for the Emperor Team, the two of you have also applied. I will arrange the lineup before specific battles, so there is a possibility you two will take the field."
(Note: To add a setting detail, the 'Scholar Who Can Fight' initially appeared wearing a mask.)
Su Wen sighed inwardly.
There would come a day when he, too, would have to cheat.
There was no helping it; since he had hidden his Soul Power level, this was the only way.
His true Soul Power level was rank forty-eight, which was considered high-tier even among Soul Ancestors.
It couldn't be considered fighting above his level at all.
The opponents wouldn't be able to bring him enough pressure.
However, for Su Wen, this wasn't a major issue. He cultivated using his brain, not through oppression and brute force.
He could analyze the enemy's methods and perceive them; he didn't necessarily need to be under immense pressure to make a breakthrough.
Blazing Fire City was located to the east of Heaven Dou City, situated in the eastern part of the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
The group spent a full ten days traveling.
During this period, they participated in Spirit Fights in the transit cities along the way, but they would leave the city after participating only once.
This competition tour was also about entering various Great Spirit Arenas to observe battles and gain experience, increasing their knowledge and broadening their horizons.
For this itinerary, their targets remained the several major cities, where they would stay for a week in each, awaiting the "sniping" from the local Great Spirit Arenas.
Ten days later, Blazing Fire City.
The temperature in the entire Blazing Fire City seemed much higher than the outside world, bringing with it a wave of stifling heat.
However, the residents living in Blazing Fire City did not find this strange.
Blazing Fire City Great Spirit Arena.
As the team leader, Qin Ming signed the Emperor Team up for tonight's team battle.
"A Purple Gold Spirit Fighter team?"
Among the seven members of the main team, only Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan held Gold Spirit Fighter badges, while the other five were merely Silver Spirit Fighters.
However, due to the two substitutes, Su Wen and Ning Rongrong, the Emperor Team was rated as a Purple Gold Spirit Fighter team.
After learning the Soul Fusion technique, Su Wen had changed his appearance and started over with a new alias. He then queued up with Ning Rongrong—who was already a Gold Spirit Fighter—to continue experiencing team battles at the Gold rank.
This allowed his Spirit Fighter badge level to skyrocket.
Even though he was fighting above his level every time, and even though he was duo-queuing with an auxiliary system Soul Master, Su Wen still performed consistently. After a streak of consecutive victories, he had long since promoted to the Purple Gold Spirit Fighter badge.
Of course, he had been "sniped" by targeted counter-teams before, breaking his winning streak and preventing his badge level from rising even further.
After all, after creating his new account to re-cultivate, he had only participated in matches at the Great Spirit Arena for half a year.
The Emperor Team's Purple Gold badge attracted the attention of the staff.
But this was not enough.
What truly made them take this team seriously was the moment Qin Ming took out one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and placed a bet on the Emperor Team to win.
One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!
If they won, the Blazing Fire City Great Spirit Arena would definitely bleed heavily.
Even if it didn't cause a massive hemorrhage of funds, the relevant personnel would absolutely face immense pressure.
"Alright, you all need to start preparing. I will wait for them to arrange an opponent and then compile the data for you," Qin Ming said.
A quarter of an hour later.
"This is the data on your opponents. A Gold Spirit Fighter team, all members are Soul Elders. Three of them have the optimal configuration of soul rings. Their captain is among those three, and the team's rank is largely due to the Gold Spirit Fighter badge possessed by this captain." Qin Ming handed the data to Yu Tianheng.
"This match won't serve much purpose for Little Wen's training, so let Tianheng and the other six take the field. It will serve to accumulate their Spirit Fighting points, allowing Yufeng and the other five to promote to Gold Spirit Fighter badges as soon as possible.
"As for Little Wen and Rongrong, you two can just sign up for the 2v2 battles here tonight. If you are looking for pressure, you can try challenging Soul Ancestors above your level."
"Okay." Neither Su Wen nor Ning Rongrong had any objections.
"Rongrong, let's go." Su Wen led Ning Rongrong away to register.
Watching the backs of Su Wen and Ning Rongrong, Qin Ming frowned, inexplicably feeling that something was amiss.
"Hello, please register a battle team for the two of us."
The staff member looked at the young boy and girl in front of him and froze.
"Little brother, battle team competitions are seven-person team battles. If the two of you register a battle team, you will have to fight two against seven if you participate as a team. If you want to compete in the Great Spirit Arena, I suggest you register a 'Duo Combination,' so you can participate in 2v2 matches."
Su Wen appreciated the staff member's good intentions, but he directly took out his Purple Gold Spirit Fighter badge.
Seeing the staff member freeze in place, Ning Rongrong let out a secret giggle and immediately pulled out her Purple Gold Spirit Fighter badge as well.
The staff member's mouth fell open.
He looked at Su Wen, and then at Ning Rongrong.
Bro, I'm trying to look out for you, and you're playing games with me?
Possessing Purple Gold Spirit Fighter badges and wanting to fight two against seven... he didn't know what the result would be.
However, two against seven... surely they couldn't win, right?
Although he maintained his rationality, out of respect for the two Purple Gold Spirit Fighter badges, the staff member proceeded to register a battle team for Su Wen and Ning Rongrong.
(End of Chapter)