Three days after the Sea God's Fate Blind Date Event ended, everything returned to normal and settled back into its routine.
The Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition was still about half a year away, and given that Bei Bei's team, the original Shrek Academy preliminary team, would represent the Tang Sect, Zhu Ziyang needed to re-form a participating team.
Firstly, there were already four main team members: Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, Fifth Huan'er, and himself. Although he didn't plan to compete, he still occupied a main team slot at Xuan Zi's suggestion. Therefore, they needed to select three more main team members from the Inner Courtyard Disciples.
Secondly, preliminary team members needed to be chosen. Although this Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition was likely the only one for the next ten or even twenty years, it was always good to be prepared. Preliminary team members naturally needed to be selected from the Outer Courtyard, preferably under fifteen years old.
Finally, there was no 'finally'. Currently, only these two matters needed Zhu Ziyang's attention. More accurately, it was one matter: he only needed to select the main team members, while the preliminary team members would be chosen by Xuan Zi.
At this moment, in the Inner Courtyard Martial Arts Arena, all Inner Courtyard Disciples who met the competition requirements had been notified and had been waiting here for a long time. There were six of them: Zhou Tianhe, Chu Hua, Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, and Wu Feng. Among them, Zhou Tianhe and Chu Hua were from Zhu Ziyang's cohort, while Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Xie Huanyue were from Huo Yuhao's cohort.
Soon, Zhu Ziyang arrived at the Martial Arts Arena with Jiang Nannan and the other two girls. He directly got to the point, saying, "I presume you already know why the Academy has summoned you. I only need three slots—no, to be precise, I only need one slot."
Zhu Ziyang's words caused some commotion among the six, as Xian Lin'er had told them that the team representing Shrek Academy in the Soul Master Competition needed three people, yet Zhu Ziyang said only one was needed. This clearly conflicted with their understanding.
However, no one dared to question Zhu Ziyang. After all, the strength he displayed on the night of the Sea God's Fate was simply too terrifying.
"A complete team requires Spirit Masters of various styles. We already have attack system and agility-attack system Spirit Masters. What we currently need are a support system Spirit Master and a control system Spirit Master," Zhu Ziyang said calmly, disregarding the six people's murmurs. "Fortunately, among the six of you, there happens to be one support system Spirit Master and one control system Spirit Master."
Hearing Zhu Ziyang's words, Ning Tian and Chu Hua's faces showed a hint of joy. Ning Tian, as the owner of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit, was naturally the undisputed first choice for a support system Spirit Master. Chu Hua, on the other hand, was the only control system Spirit Master among the six, and she was also a Spirit Emperor, so she would inevitably occupy a slot. This was why Zhu Ziyang said he actually only needed one slot.
"Ning Tian, Chu Hua, starting today, you are members of the Shrek Academy main team. Stand behind me!" Zhu Ziyang said.
"Yes!" Ning Tian immediately nodded in agreement, walked behind Zhu Ziyang, and stood next to Fifth Huan'er.
Chu Hua first glanced at Zhou Tianhe. Seeing Zhou Tianhe give her a confident smile, she also walked behind Zhu Ziyang, standing next to Jiang Nannan.
She and Jiang Nannan could be considered friends. After all, before Jiang Nannan was admitted to the Inner Courtyard, she had served as their class monitor until Bei Bei took over the position after Jiang Nannan entered the Inner Courtyard.
"The last slot isn't strictly necessary, but only one of you four can stay," Zhu Ziyang said, looking at the remaining four. "Next, we will determine the ownership of this slot through combat. The combat format will be one-on-one, with winners advancing and losers withdrawing. Fair, just, and open!
I will now toss out four numbered slips of paper. Whichever one you grab will be your number. Odd versus even, any problems?"
Dai Huabin, Zhou Tianhe, and the other two naturally had no problems and all nodded.
Seeing this, Zhu Ziyang didn't delay and immediately threw out the pre-prepared slips. Four wads of paper fluttered in the air. Zhou Tianhe, Dai Huabin, and Wu Feng simultaneously rushed upwards, while Xie Huanyue, a defense system Spirit Master, simply gave up. Everyone would get one anyway, so why bother snatching?
Soon, the match-ups were decided: Zhou Tianhe vs. Dai Huabin, Wu Feng vs. Xie Huanyue.
"Nannan, who do you think will get the last slot among the four of them?" Qian Lingyi leaned close to Jiang Nannan and whispered.
"I think Zhou Tianhe has a greater chance. After all, he's a Spirit Emperor, and his spirit power is close to rank 64," Jiang Nannan replied, then her gaze fell on Chu Hua beside her. "Chu Hua, when did you and Zhou Tianhe get together?"
"It was after we entered the Inner Courtyard," Chu Hua answered openly with a smile. "Class monitor, you know, only a few of us from our cohort got into the Inner Courtyard. You and Class Monitor Zhu don't count. Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Xu Sanshi all entered the Inner Courtyard after finishing their fourth year. The only ones from our cohort who truly graduated from the Outer Courtyard and then entered the Inner Courtyard were me, Ah He, and Xue Weiwei."
"So, you two got together?" Jiang Nannan continued to ask with a smile.
"That's right," Chu Hua nodded and replied. "Actually, I've liked him for a long time, but this guy is such a blockhead; he insisted on me, a girl, making the first move. It really made me angry."
"Haha, I guessed that much," Jiang Nannan was not surprised by Chu Hua's words.
After all, Zhou Tianhe was indeed excellent. In previous years, Zhou Tianhe would have been enough to be the leader of his cohort. Both his talent and looks were on point, but he was truly slow-witted. Otherwise, Chu Hua wouldn't have been his girlfriend. When they were in the Outer Courtyard, Zhou Tianhe always had two little 'tails' following him: Su Li and Yang Yumeng. Unfortunately, neither of these two girls chose to stay at the Academy, otherwise, with their talent, they were fully capable of entering the Inner Courtyard.
While the girls were chatting and laughing, the battle on the other side had already begun.
First to start was the battle between Dai Huabin and Zhou Tianhe, a struggle between attack system Spirit Masters. Dai Huabin, a rank 57 attack system Battle Spirit King with the White Tiger Spirit; Zhou Tianhe, a rank 63 attack system Battle Spirit Emperor with the Wild Giant Ape Spirit. Both were Spirit Masters known for their strength and physical resilience, so the battle entered a white-hot stage from the very beginning.
Dai Huabin immediately activated his first, third, and fifth major enhancement Spirit Abilities, causing his body to swell, his upper body veins to bulge, and muscles to ripple. Zhou Tianhe likewise activated all his enhancement Spirit Abilities: his first Spirit Ability, Wild Soul; his third Spirit Ability, Giant Ape's Rage; and his sixth Spirit Ability, Ape God Transformation, which caused his entire body to expand several times, directly growing from a normal size to five meters tall, with his arms becoming thick with lantern-like muscles.
The two directly collided. In their initial clash, Zhou Tianhe undoubtedly gained the upper hand. After all, Zhou Tianhe was a Spirit Emperor, while Dai Huabin was only a Spirit King. Although there was a certain gap between their Spirits, it was not enough for Dai Huabin to overcome the stronger opponent.
Zhou Tianhe's Wild Giant Ape Spirit possessed a partial bloodline of the Titan Giant Ape. Just in terms of strength, Dai Huabin did not have an advantage.
The two clashed again, exchanging blows several times within seconds, then simultaneously retreated a step. It was clear that Dai Huabin's claws were trembling uncontrollably, while Zhou Tianhe merely looked a bit pale.
The outcome of this battle was already obvious. Dai Huabin was very unwilling and tried several counterattacks afterward, but without exception, all were blocked by Zhou Tianhe. Finally, Zhou Tianhe ended the battle with his second Spirit Ability, Giant Ape's Fall.
Zhou Tianhe won.
Next was the battle between Wu Feng and Xie Huanyue. Both were Spirit King level, with similar spirit power, but one was a defense system Spirit Master and the other an attack system Spirit Master. Asking a defense system to fight an attack system was already somewhat difficult, and coupled with Wu Feng's Spirit being the Scarlet Flame Dragon and Xie Huanyue's Spirit being the Pi Pi Elephant, there was no possibility of a stalemate between them.
Wu Feng smoothly secured the victory and would now contend with Zhou Tianhe for the last slot.
Zhu Ziyang had no habit of delaying, so the battle between the two was about to begin. Zhou Tianhe and Wu Feng stood facing each other, gazing at one another.
Zhou Tianhe silently thought, 'For Chu Hua!' Wu Feng also silently thought, 'For Ning Tian!'