On the Martial Arts Arena, Zhu Ziyang silently watched the two sides in combat: one was Zhou Tianhe, a Level 63 Spirit Emperor, and the other was Wu Feng, a Level 55 Spirit King. The difference in their strength was considerable, and although Wu Feng had used her full power, she still lost to Zhou Tianhe without any suspense.
Zhou Tianhe became the last member of the main team.
Honestly, this main team of theirs was definitely the strongest team in history. Not to mention Zhu Ziyang, a Titled Douluo, just Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, and Fifth Huan'er, these three Spirit Saints, were enough to sweep all previous teams.
"Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue, the three of you can go back first." Since the team members had been decided, Zhu Ziyang had no obligation to keep the three of them, so he spoke directly.
"Yes!" Dai Huabin was very straightforward. Although he was arrogant and headstrong by nature, he was not foolish. Losing head-on to Zhou Tianhe made him unhappy, but it wouldn't make him hostile towards the other party, as it was due to his own insufficient strength.
Dai Huabin and Xie Huanyue left without any lingering reluctance. Wu Feng, however, hesitated and looked at Ning Tian.
"Ah Feng, you go back first." Ning Tian saw Wu Feng's expression and eyes, and could only say helplessly.
"Alright!" Despite her extreme reluctance, Wu Feng could not disobey Ning Tian's words and had no choice but to leave the Martial Arts Arena.
After Dai Huabin and the other two left, only Zhu Ziyang and six others remained in the Martial Arts Arena. Zhu Ziyang said, "From now on, all of you are members of the Shrek Academy main team and will travel to Mingdu in the Sun Moon Empire in half a year to participate in the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition. From today onwards, we will be companions and teammates. So, now, let's introduce ourselves. Nannan, you go first."
"Okay!" Jiang Nannan smiled faintly, "My name is Jiang Nannan, a Level 79 agility-attack system Battle Spirit Saint. My Spirit is the Taiyin Jade Rabbit."
Jiang Nannan had already reached Level 79 and was about to break through to Level 80. At least before the Soul Master Competition began, this possibility was very high.
Zhou Tianhe, Chu Hua, and Ning Tian only knew that Jiang Nannan was a Spirit Saint, but they were unaware of her specific spirit power. Now, hearing that her spirit power was as high as Level 79, they all couldn't help but gasp, revealing shocked expressions.
"I am Qian Lingyi, a Level 76 attack system Battle Spirit Saint. My Spirit is the Seraphim." Qian Lingyi then said.
"Fifth Huan'er, a Level 77 attack system Battle Spirit Saint. My Spirit is Suanni." Fifth Huan'er said expressionlessly, her red eyes seemingly containing only Zhu Ziyang's figure.
"Suanni!" Ning Tian was the best-born among the three, and relatively, had access to the most knowledge. Therefore, Zhou Tianhe and Chu Hua did not understand Suanni very well; only she exclaimed, her pretty face filled with surprise and shock, even more exaggerated than when she heard Qian Lingyi's Spirit was the Seraphim.
"My name is Zhou Tianhe. Everyone can call me Tianhe or Ahe. I'm from the Douling Empire, 20 years old, a Level 63 attack system Battle Spirit Emperor. My Spirit is the Wild Giant Ape, and I specialize in head-on close combat!" As the only male among the three newcomers, Zhou Tianhe naturally introduced himself first. In reality, Zhu Ziyang's request for self-introductions was mainly for Zhou Tianhe and the other two to introduce themselves. Therefore, Zhou Tianhe's self-introduction was quite serious.
"My name is Chu Hua, also from the Douling Empire, 20 years old, a Level 62 control system Battle Spirit Emperor. My Spirit is the Heavenly Net." Chu Hua then said. Not many control system Spirit Masters emerged from Zhu Ziyang's generation, and Chu Hua was considered the strongest. Although Tang Ya and Xue Weiwei were also control system Spirit Masters, neither could be considered pure control system Spirit Masters; their more accurate positioning was support-control system.
"My name is Ning Tian, from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School of the Tianhun Empire, 17 years old, a Level 54 support system Spirit King. My Spirit is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. I'll be troubling all of you senior brothers and sisters in the future!" Finally, it was Ning Tian's turn. Her face carried confidence and pride as she spoke.
"Well, I don't need to introduce myself, do I? You all should know me." Zhu Ziyang said with a smile, "I have no other demands, only one: everything needs to be under my command. Understood?"
"Understood!" Zhou Tianhe, Chu Hua, and Ning Tian answered in unison. Of course, they knew that Zhu Ziyang's words were directed at them, and they had no objections to this. On the Douluo Continent, strength ultimately reigned supreme. Although everyone was of similar age, with Zhu Ziyang's current strength, he would be treated with courtesy by the ruler of any country he visited, while they, even Ning Tian, the young Sect Master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, did not have such qualifications.
With the main team members finalized, the main task thereafter was to conduct team cohesion and strength improvement. The best way to build a new team's cohesion was through actual combat. Thus, for the next few days, Zhu Ziyang found a team to spar with the main team.
Forming a sparring team within the Shrek Academy Inner Courtyard was a very simple matter. After all, without age restrictions, Shrek Academy could form several battle teams with complete division of labor in minutes.
With sparring partners, the main team's tacit understanding and combat power grew day by day. From initially fighting individually and being defeated one by one, they could now fight the opposing team to a draw. Of course, Zhu Ziyang did not participate; with his strength, fighting would simply be too unfair.
This afternoon, the main team had not yet started today's training, and Han Ruoruo and the others, who served as sparring partners, had not yet arrived. However, the Martial Arts Arena was still bustling with people; a group of young individuals gathered, seemingly chatting and laughing, enjoying themselves immensely.
It turned out that Xuan Zi had selected the reserve team members and brought them to meet the main team members. At the same time, the members of the Tang Sect were also called by him because he wanted to inform everyone about some matters concerning this year's competition.
Therefore, at this time, at least two dozen exceptionally talented young people were gathered in the Martial Arts Arena.
The members of the Shrek Academy main team naturally didn't need introductions, and the members of the Tang Sect were all familiar faces. The only ones who needed mentioning were the reserve team members selected by Xuan Zi. Due to the special rules of this year's competition, Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, and Wu Feng, who had previously failed to compete for main team spots, were now also assigned to the reserve team by Xuan Zi, serving as substitutes for the main team members.
Besides Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, and Wu Feng, the other four members of the reserve team were all Outer Courtyard disciples: Dai Huabin's fiancée Zhu Lu, and Outer Courtyard fifth-year students Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo.
These four were all Spirit Ancestor cultivation, with Zhu Lu having the highest cultivation at Level 49, with a good chance of breaking through to Spirit King within half a year. Also, because she had a Spirit fusion skill with Dai Huabin, she was the first to be chosen by Xuan Zi. After Zhu Lu was Cao Jinxuan, who was the most valued by the Academy among the seven reserve team members. He possessed the rare time-attribute Spirit, the "Time Fleeting Bell," with Level 47 spirit power. Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu were a pair of twin sisters. Both sisters' Spirits were hair, and they also possessed a Spirit fusion skill. Both of their spirit power levels were Level 45.
"Next, I will tell you the specific competition system." Xuan Zi began, and the scene immediately fell silent. "You must remember. This year's competition is different from previous ones. Due to the introduction of Spirit Master Sects participating, it will inevitably lead to a surge in the number of participating teams, and the competition will be unprecedentedly fierce."
After official research by the Sun Moon Empire, it was finally decided that the competition system would be as follows:
First, the new competition will ultimately be named the Continental Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition.
Second, due to the excessive number of participating teams, the preliminary rounds of this competition will directly adopt a knockout system until the top thirty-two are determined. After the top thirty-two, the matches will be divided into four groups, with eight teams in each group competing for two spots in the top eight. From the preliminaries, group stages, to the final stage, all competition systems will be the same: individual knockout rounds plus team battles.
Finally, the specific rules. In each match, each participating team can only send seven people to compete. Once the roster is designated, no changes can be made after the match begins.
In the individual knockout rounds, both teams send one person to the stage. The winner can remain on stage to continue fighting until they lose the match, or they can forfeit during the match. For each win, one small point is awarded, and the ultimate winner of the individual knockout rounds will receive an additional two small points.
The team battle will be a standard seven-on-seven large-scale team battle. Both participating teams can only send the contestants from the previous individual knockout rounds to the stage. There is no rest period between the individual knockout rounds and the team battle. If one side's seven members are incomplete due to injuries, then however many people they have, that's how many will participate.
The winner of the team battle will receive five small points. In the preliminary stage, after the match ends, the side with the higher small points wins."