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Hearing Tang San's naive declaration, Su Wen let out a cold sneer. He didn't even feel like humoring the boy with a proper response.
Su Wen's dismissive attitude made Tang San's blood boil.
"Su Wen, regardless of what fortunate encounter gave you your current strength, that is no excuse for you to look down on everyone else," Tang San stated, his voice tight with suppressed irritation.
Tang San could deeply feel the shift in Su Wen's personality. Back at Notting Academy, Su Wen had been a silent cultivator, someone so devoid of presence that he almost seemed like a ghost. He hadn't gone out of his way to be kind, but he hadn't made enemies either. Now, however, the change was stark.
Perhaps this was the psychological shift brought about by a difference in raw talent.
Even the current Tang San couldn't help but feel a slight lack of confidence when facing Su Wen. The abilities Su Wen had displayed were simply too powerful, and his potential was terrifyingly vast.
However, Tang San knew his own talent. He knew that his true explosive growth would happen in the later stages of his cultivation.
My second martial soul is the Clear Sky Hammer, Tang San thought to himself, his gaze becoming sharp and piercing. Once I reach the point where I can add spirit rings to it, and if I fill every slot with ten-thousand-year rings, my strength will surpass any Spirit Master on this continent!
No, it wasn't just about the future.
"Su Wen, I haven't had the chance to fight you before. I hope that in the upcoming finals, we can cross paths again. When that time comes, I will show you my true strength."
Su Wen's blatant disrespect toward Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang, had forced Tang San to make a decision. He would reveal his ultimate trump card during the finals if it meant putting Su Wen in his place.
"I'm ready whenever you are," Su Wen replied, his tone utterly indifferent.
Then, as if out of the goodness of his heart, he offered a reminder: "Of course, that's assuming you and your team can actually last long enough to face me."
The structure of the Continental Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament was incredibly complex. In the first three rounds of the finals, there were specific "bye" slots where certain teams would skip rounds.
These slots weren't determined entirely by luck or a simple draw.
The three teams that received a bye for the first round were the "seed" teams: the Heaven Dou Imperial Second Team, the Star Luo Imperial Combat Team, and the Spirit Hall Academy Team. The remaining thirty teams from the two great empires would draw lots to fight each other, completing a preliminary screening until only fifteen winners remained. Combined with the three seeds, that left a total of eighteen teams.
Theoretically, Su Wen's Heaven Dou Second Team wouldn't even step onto the field until the second round.
If Tang San wanted to fight Su Wen again, the Shrek team first had to secure a spot in the Top 18 of the finals.
In the original timeline, this wouldn't have been a challenge at all. With a full roster of Spirit Ancestors, they would have been guaranteed at least a runner-up finish.
But things were different now. Without the boost from the "Immortal Herbs," the Spirit Power levels of the Shrek team members were significantly lower.
Dai Mubai had only barely managed to break through to Level 40 and obtain his fourth spirit skill.
Aside from Dai Mubai, only Tang San had reached Level 39. Tyrone was at Level 36, and the three substitutes—Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, and Jiang Zhu—were all at Level 35. The remaining four core members of the team hadn't even reached Level 35 yet.
With such a lineup, facing opponents who averaged two to four Spirit Ancestors per team would be an uphill battle.
Tang San could "carry" the team, but his ability to do so was limited. Between the qualifiers and the ranking matches, his skills had already been fully exposed. His opponents had seen through his tactics and were already developing specific strategies to counter him. His impact in the finals would only diminish as time went on.
Hearing Su Wen's words, Tang San's expression grew heavy and grim.
It was true. Given the current state of the Shrek team, even surviving until the second round would require a fair amount of luck.
Furthermore, even if they made it to the Top 18 and entered the second round, what were the chances of actually drawing the Heaven Dou Second Team?
The odds were slim.
To increase the competitiveness and spectacle of the event, the "random" drawing of lots usually involved some behind-the-scenes manipulation.
In the first round, the fifteen teams from one empire were typically pitted against the fifteen teams from the other empire. In other words, during the opening of the tournament, the fifteen teams from the Heaven Dou Empire would not fight each other; instead, they would face off against the fifteen teams from the Star Luo Empire.
Even though many suspected this "default" arrangement existed, no one spoke out against it or questioned its fairness.
The fifteen teams from the same empire had already fought each other during the ranking matches. For the sake of novelty and to demonstrate the empire's might to its rival, both sides looked forward to these cross-empire clashes.
By the second round, although there was no official rule, the matches were rarely truly random. There was still a high probability of Heaven Dou teams being matched against Star Luo teams.
This meant the Heaven Dou Second Team would likely collide with a top-tier team from Star Luo, while the seeded Star Luo Imperial Team would face a strong contender from Heaven Dou.
Essentially, even if Shrek made it to the second round, the probability of them meeting Su Wen was negligible.
By the third round, only ten teams would remain.
With Shrek's current strength, could they even break into that Top 10?
That was the realization that kept Tang San silent. Su Wen wasn't just offering a reminder; he was twisting the knife with pure mockery.
"Our Shrek team will make it to the third round. And not just the third round—we'll fight our way into the Top 6, and then the Top 3!"
Ma Hongjun and the others walked up behind Tang San, and the fatty's voice rang out loudly. "If it weren't for the fact that we're younger than everyone else, why would Shrek ever fear you? By the next tournament, Shrek will be the undisputed champions!"
After Dai Mubai broke through to become a Spirit Ancestor, Shrek's performance in the ranking matches had been respectable. They weren't at the bottom of the fifteen teams; in fact, they had managed to rank eighth overall.
Having fought their way to that rank despite their disadvantage in Spirit Power, Ma Hongjun and the others had become quite arrogant. They truly believed that if they were just a few years older, they would dominate the entire era.
Currently, in the Shrek team, only Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Tyrone were above Level 35. The other four were Spirit Elders under Level 35 and were not even fifteen years old. This meant they could technically participate in two more tournaments.
In ten years, even with their current levels, they would easily reach Level 45 or even Level 50! They felt they had the capital to be cocky.
However, Su Wen only responded with a cold, mocking laugh.
"Forget about the next tournament. You clearly have no idea about the lineup of the Spirit Hall Academy Team."
"So what? At most, they have a Spirit King leading them. Do you think we're scared of that?" Ma Hongjun puffed out his chest, refusing to back down.
What was a Spirit King?
"The Spirit Hall team this year has three Spirit Kings. And if my intelligence is correct," Su Wen said flatly, "two of those Spirit Kings possess a Spirit Fusion Ability."
He looked at Ma Hongjun and then swept his gaze across the rest of the Shrek group. "Do you still think that's 'nothing'?"
Ma Hongjun's face and neck instantly flushed a deep, embarrassed red.
Facing a lineup like that, even he didn't dare to continue his grandstanding.
Heavens!
Three Spirit Kings? And two of them could perform a Spirit Fusion?
That kind of power...
It wasn't just Shrek. The Spirit Masters from other teams who were eavesdropping nearby all paled in comparison.
They had all heard rumors that Spirit Hall's team was absurdly strong this year, but they hadn't realized it was this ridiculous.
Some academies had gathered data confirming the three Spirit Kings. However, the fact that two of those Spirit Kings could use a Spirit Fusion Ability was a bombshell that no one had expected.
A Spirit Fusion performed by two Spirit Kings might not be enough to challenge a Spirit Saint, but it could absolutely crush most Spirit Emperors. It was a force that could decide the fate of the entire tournament.
(End of Chapter)