A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Su Cheng ended his brief period of cultivation at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and headed for the location where the promotion matches were being held—the Heaven Dou Empire's Imperial Hunting Grounds.
The promotion matches of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament were nowhere near as lively as the qualifiers.
To protect the privacy and personal safety of the spirit masters, spectators were not permitted to watch the promotion matches.
On the Heaven Dou Empire's side, there were fifteen teams in total, including the five teams that had qualified from the Heaven Dou City preliminary division. All of them had completed registration that morning and gathered at the promotion match venue.
There were fewer teams now, but anyone capable of making it through the qualifiers was undoubtedly among the elite of the elite.
The ten teams that had qualified from the five kingdoms and duchies had arrived somewhat earlier so that they could familiarize themselves with the environment.
The Imperial Hunting Grounds were located fifty kilometers southwest of Heaven Dou City. The terrain was varied and the grounds covered an enormous area. Normally, this was where members of the imperial family hunted and trained.
Ordinary civilians were strictly forbidden from approaching the place. Ten thousand soldiers of the Imperial Knight Regiment were stationed here to patrol, guard, and conduct their own training.
To avoid unnecessary trouble and conflict, as well as to prevent the participating academies from observing one another's strength too closely, all fifteen advanced spirit master academy teams were assigned separate resting areas.
Led by a soldier, Su Cheng soon arrived at the resting area assigned to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
Until the promotion matches ended, the members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team would stay here.
This stage of the competition also used a round-robin format. However, since the number of teams had been greatly reduced, the competition period had also been shortened from one month to half a month.
After that, there would be another half-month break before the final tournament was held at Spirit City, located near the border between the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires.
Not long after Su Cheng entered the resting area, his cheap disciple Feng Qingyu somehow received the news and immediately came running over.
Accompanying her was Feng Xiaotian, captain of the Godwind Academy team.
"Greetings, Teacher!"
The moment they met, Feng Qingyu bowed solemnly to Su Cheng.
Feng Xiaotian looked at her in astonishment before turning toward Su Cheng.
Su Cheng was instantly rendered somewhat speechless.
"You don't have to do that."
"A teacher for a day is a father for life. From now on, I'll respect you just like my own father."
"…"
Su Cheng couldn't be bothered with her and instead looked at Feng Xiaotian standing beside her.
"Brother Feng, did you come to see me because something happened?"
The promotion matches were about to begin.
Unlike Feng Qingyu, Feng Xiaotian still had to participate, and unlike Su Cheng, he couldn't simply ignore everything.
On the contrary, as team captain, he was actually quite busy.
Even if he had previously decided to join Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's team during the finals, there was no reason for him to come here right now.
"It's like this. Brother Su, I appreciate your previous invitation, but during the finals, our team plans to join forces with Blazing Academy and give it our best shot. Even if we can't win the championship, at least we won't have any regrets."
"…"
Standing nearby, Feng Qingyu lightly rolled her eyes and gave Su Cheng a look that clearly said, You know what's going on.
Seeing this, Su Cheng sighed.
"Is it because of Huo Wu from Blazing Academy?"
"She's part of the reason. I hope you can understand," Feng Xiaotian admitted frankly.
Su Cheng glanced at him. He had originally intended to say something more.
But in the end, he merely waved his hand.
"Everyone has their own ambitions. There's no need to force anything. In that case, I wish Brother Feng success in winning the beauty's heart as soon as possible."
Some things were meaningless even if spoken aloud.
His relationship with Feng Xiaotian wasn't close enough for him to judge the other man's choices.
Besides, Feng Xiaotian himself seemed perfectly happy with the situation. That final blessing in particular pleased him immensely. He had only come over to inform Su Cheng anyway.
Seeing that Su Cheng didn't mind, he relaxed and smiled.
"Then I also wish Brother Su success in winning the championship. I'll have to trouble you to look after Qingyu."
"No problem."
The competition officially began the next day.
Unlike the qualifiers, where several arenas operated simultaneously, the promotion matches used only a single competition field—the grand training ground of the Imperial Knight Regiment.
The fifteen participating teams would undergo fourteen rounds of round-robin matches, all on this same field.
The grand training ground had been remodeled. A circular area one hundred meters in diameter had been marked out in the center as the competition zone.
Compared with the arenas used during the qualifiers, the space here was much larger, allowing the contestants to display their individual abilities far more freely.
On the northern side of the training ground, facing south, a temporary VIP stand had been erected. It also served as the judges' platform.
There were far fewer distinguished guests attending this time.
Looking over, aside from Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, Platinum Bishop Salas, and a few others seated in the front row, the seats behind them were occupied mainly by military officers and senior members of the Heaven Dou City Spirit Temple.
Team battles were chaotic, after all, and many things were difficult to observe clearly.
Promotion matches were different.
Every student would display their individual strength under everyone's gaze, making this one of the best opportunities to evaluate a spirit master's true ability.
Outside the grand training ground, ten thousand Imperial Knights surrounded the entire area so tightly that not even water could seep through. Security was extremely strict.
Between the ring formed by the knights and the competition field, all fifteen participating teams had already arrived.
Even the team with a bye that day was present.
Even if they didn't need to fight, they still wanted to clearly observe the strength of their opponents.
The rules were simple.
Each side sent out seven team members.
Every contestant who entered the field had to continue fighting until defeated. A winner remained on the field and faced the next opponent.
The match only ended once all seven members of one side had been defeated.
The draw had already been completed the previous evening.
By an astonishing coincidence, Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's first opponent was once again Shrek Academy.
Emperor Xue Ye stood from the VIP platform and spoke loudly through a spirit tool.
"The promotion matches officially begin today. Over the next fourteen days, I hope every academy team will fully display its abilities and demonstrate the bearing expected of spirit masters."
The moment his words ended, a unified roar rose like a landslide and tsunami.
"Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty!"
Afterward, the seven members selected by Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and Shrek Academy stepped forward.
Su Cheng glanced at the opposing side.
Zhu Zhuqing still acted as though he didn't exist.
Tang San, on the other hand, looked directly back at him with open hostility.
"So he's started using the Clear Sky Hammer? He looks pretty confident."
With a slight probe of his senses, Su Cheng detected the changes in Tang San's aura over this short month and immediately understood.
"Though this might not actually be a bad thing for him. There's no hope of awakening the Blue Silver Emperor anymore, so he may as well cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer directly."
Tang San was indeed extremely confident at the moment.
His cultivation had now astonishingly reached rank forty-seven.
The increase in spirit power brought by absorbing spirit rings had been far too significant.
Especially at lower cultivation levels, absorbing a spirit ring at the maximum tolerable age could already increase one's spirit power by more than one rank.
What Tang San had absorbed, however, went far beyond merely the maximum normal limit.
One thousand-year spirit ring on his Blue Silver Grass, combined with four ten-thousand-year spirit rings on his Clear Sky Hammer, had raised his spirit power by more than seven ranks.
He was even already approaching rank forty-eight.
At last, he had become the strongest member of his academy team.
At least, that was what Tang San himself believed.
Although Zhu Zhuqing was at the same cultivation rank as him, there were differences even among Spirit Ancestors.
Tang San stared solemnly at Su Cheng among the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team.
Although there was still a gap between their current cultivation levels, Tang San possessed a full eight spirit rings.
His Clear Sky Hammer alone had four ten-thousand-year spirit rings attached to it.
Due to the limitations of his body, each of those rings was only slightly above ten thousand years in age.
Even so, compared with Su Cheng's mere two ten-thousand-year spirit rings, Tang San believed he now possessed the qualifications to fight him.
The first person Shrek Academy sent onto the field was Xiao Wu.
She consecutively defeated two members of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
Su Cheng, watching from the sidelines, wasn't surprised.
Xiao Wu's combat strength far exceeded others at the same rank.
After comprehending the method by which spirit rings formed, Su Cheng had already come to understand something.
These transformed spirit beasts possessed bloodlines that directly became their martial spirits. As a result, both their bloodlines and martial spirits were exceptionally pure.
They could even be called "origin martial spirits."
Therefore, when they generated their own spirit rings, the spirit abilities they obtained were almost always top-tier abilities perfectly suited to their needs.
The age of those spirit rings would also automatically reach the optimal limit permitted by their bodies.
Under such circumstances, transformed spirit beasts naturally belonged among the strongest existences of their cultivation level.
Unless they encountered an opponent whose attributes or fighting style directly countered them, they were practically invincible within the same rank.
The third member Heaven Dou Imperial Academy sent onto the field was named Wang Yu.
He was a control-type spirit master whose spirit power cultivation, like Xiao Wu's, had reached rank thirty-eight.
Excluding the auxiliary-type spirit master Ning Rongrong, he could be regarded as the second-strongest member of the second team after Su Cheng.
Light flickered.
Behind Wang Yu, numerous tentacles appeared.
His martial spirit was an octopus.
As the referee announced the beginning of the match, Wang Yu stretched both hands forward.
His third spirit ring immediately lit up.
The eight tentacles behind him rapidly lengthened, twisting and spreading as they surrounded Xiao Wu from every direction.
Looking at those soft, writhing appendages, Xiao Wu couldn't help feeling disgusted.
She immediately focused her gaze on Wang Yu.
But at that moment, Wang Yu closed his eyes.
Clearly, he had no intention of allowing Xiao Wu's Charm ability to interrupt his third spirit ability.
During Xiao Wu's previous two matches, the combat methods of this supposed power-attack spirit master had already been fully displayed.
The effects of her three spirit abilities were no longer a secret.
Even with his eyes closed, Wang Yu's ability to fight wasn't affected in the slightest.
As a control-type spirit master, he possessed a second spirit ability specifically designed to strengthen his perception.
The scattered droplets of water on the ground constantly transmitted information about his surroundings back to him.
Even without relying on sight, he could clearly understand everything happening on the battlefield.
In fact, his perception was even sharper and more reliable than his eyes.
Xiao Wu moved lightly, silently circling along the outer edge of the field.
Wang Yu continuously pressed closer toward her.
The eight tentacles around him expanded further.
The tips of the tentacles even began splitting again, multiplying into a dense mass that spread toward her.
Xiao Wu frowned slightly at the sight.
Those tentacles were genuinely unpleasant to look at.
After Wang Yu used his first spirit ability to make them split, they were practically a form of mental pollution.
She began accelerating around the field, trying to drag the fight out.
Her goal was simple.
She didn't need to accomplish anything further; she merely needed to avoid making mistakes.
Maintaining three spirit abilities simultaneously consumed an enormous amount of Wang Yu's spirit power.
However, Wang Yu clearly had no intention of letting the battle become a contest of endurance.
Once he had forced Xiao Wu within a certain distance, he suddenly stopped and raised both arms.
Following his movement, the water droplets scattered across the ground abruptly rose into the air.
This unexpected development clearly caught Xiao Wu by surprise.
Unbeknownst to her, a large amount of moisture had accumulated silently across the battlefield since the match began.
This wasn't ordinary water.
It contained a special mucus produced by Wang Yu's martial spirit and could be easily manipulated by him.
The next moment, a large amount of it splashed across Xiao Wu's body.
Her movements immediately became far slower than before.
At the same time, the divided tentacles accelerated and surrounded her.
Watching from below the field, Tang San's expression became anxious.
According to their original plan, Xiao Wu should already have conceded by this point.
The opponent had revealed all of his spirit abilities.
Her tactical purpose had been completely fulfilled.
Moreover, she had very little spirit power remaining.
But Xiao Wu showed no intention of giving up.
Leaping.
Teleporting.
Xiao Wu finally pushed her speed to its absolute limit, hoping to break free.
According to her calculations, she should have been able to escape Wang Yu's attack range before those dense tentacles caught her.
But she quickly realized something was wrong.
As the divided tentacles came closer and closer, she could clearly feel a pulling force drawing her body toward them.
Even after using Teleportation, she couldn't completely escape.
Outside the competition field, Tang San had already risen to his feet, both fists clenched tightly.
The situation on the field had clearly gone beyond anything he could properly judge.
Xiao Wu had already fought two matches.
Her remaining spirit power was limited, making it impossible for her to repeatedly use Teleportation.
When the dense tentacles produced that pulling force on her body, her movements weren't merely slowed for an instant.
The main bodies of the eight tentacles also lashed toward her at tremendous speed.
This was the true killing move!
The timing was perfect.
They struck precisely along the route Xiao Wu had to take.
More importantly, it was immediately after she had completed a Teleportation, at the exact moment when she could no longer generate enough follow-up force to evade.
A control-type spirit master's ability to grasp the flow of battle truly wasn't something a power-attack spirit master could easily match.
From the situation before them, it was obvious that Wang Yu possessed considerable experience and an excellent understanding of battlefield timing.
White light flashed.
Xiao Wu's strangely leaping figure suddenly stopped.
Three tentacles missed.
Two struck her body.
The remaining three wrapped tightly around her.
Sea-blue light surged as the tentacles contracted.
Xiao Wu's face immediately filled with pain, her beautiful complexion turning deathly pale.
"We concede."
Yu Xiaogang's voice rang out just in time.
Hearing this, Wang Yu immediately withdrew his spirit abilities.
Sea-blue light poured downward and merged back into the ground.
A split second before Xiao Wu fell to the ground, Tang San had already rushed to her side and caught her in his arms.
Xiao Wu's body trembled slightly from the cold.
Several faint red whip marks could be seen across her body, left behind by the third spirit ability she hadn't completely managed to evade.
Seeing her eyes tightly shut and her aura weak, Tang San felt indescribable heartache.
He raised his head and looked toward their opponent.
Wang Yu's complexion was also somewhat pale after consecutively using several spirit abilities.
A cold light flashed through Tang San's eyes.
He no longer intended to wait until his battle with Su Cheng.
He would enter the field next.
He would avenge Xiao Wu.
Tang San carried Xiao Wu back and placed her in Jiang Zhu's arms.
Then he stood and slowly walked onto the competition field.
His pace wasn't fast, but every step was steady and powerful.
His expression was gloomy as he stared at Wang Yu.
Watching Tang San approach him without the slightest expression on his face, Wang Yu suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Although he had already consumed a tremendous amount of spirit power, he had no intention of simply surrendering.
Wang Yu knew that his strength wasn't sufficient.
Once they reached the later stages of the finals, he most likely wouldn't have the opportunity to compete.
The promotion matches were his final chance to prove himself.
Every battle was precious.
In truth, Wang Yu was already extremely satisfied and grateful to have made it this far.
His talent wasn't particularly outstanding, nor was his martial spirit especially powerful.
As a control-type spirit master, he was far inferior to Dugu Yan, so naturally he had never qualified for the first team.
He had also watched Su Cheng's battles against the powerful Elemental Academies.
He understood very clearly that without Su Cheng's presence, there was absolutely no way their second team could have defeated those Elemental Academies.
They probably couldn't even defeat the Shrek Academy standing before them now.
Without Su Cheng, they wouldn't have had the chance to participate in the promotion matches at all.
At this moment, Wang Yu had less than half of his spirit power remaining.
If he could force Tang San to consume even a little of his strength, that would be enough.
Regardless of what happened, Su Cheng was always there to clean up the situation for their team.
Still, Wang Yu didn't want to appear completely useless.
"Begin!"
The format of the promotion matches meant that contestants already on the field weren't allowed any time to rest.
The instant Tang San entered, the battle immediately began.
A small black hammer appeared in Tang San's hand.
Immediately afterward, his pitch-black first and second spirit rings lit up one after another.
The small hammer instantly expanded to an enormous size.
As Tang San swung the handle, the hammerhead arrived in an instant, accompanied by a tremendous howl of wind.
It effortlessly shattered the defensive line Wang Yu had constructed from the tentacles of his third spirit ability.
Then, without the slightest mercy, the Clear Sky Hammer smashed heavily into Wang Yu's right shoulder.
Bang!
In the next instant, Wang Yu's body flew directly out of the competition field like a torn rag.
Before losing consciousness, blood spilling from his mouth, Wang Yu clearly heard the sound of his own bones shattering.
Boom!
Driven by its remaining momentum, the Clear Sky Hammer continued downward and smashed into the ground beside Tang San.
A huge crater instantly appeared in the solid earth.
Accompanied by a series of cracking sounds, countless fine fractures spread outward in every direction.
===============
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