"Caw—"
A clear and melodious phoenix cry resounded throughout the entire Inner Courtyard. Everyone's gaze involuntarily followed the source of the cry, only to see golden-red light obscuring half the sky. A majestic and beautiful phoenix flew out from the Golden Ancient Tree. It spread its golden-red wings, which seemed to be engulfed in flames. Its tail feathers were long and magnificent, with golden patterns woven into a captivating flame emblem.
Behind the fire phoenix were nine spirit rings—six black and three red—displaying her most exalted human identity: a Titled Douluo!
"Whoosh—" "Whoosh—"
Several figures flashed out from the Inner Courtyard and landed beside Zhu Ziyang.
"Ziyang, is that…?" Xuan Zi asked, his eyes filled with surprise and excitement. Although the identity of the fire phoenix was already very clear, he still habitually asked.
"Yes, it's Sister Xiaotao," Zhu Ziyang said with a chuckle. "I think the Tian Yuan Pavilion should consider bestowing a title upon Sister Xiaotao."
"It really is Xiaotao!" Yan Shaozhe was extremely agitated, for she was his disciple! The thought of his disciple reaching the Titled Douluo realm at only twenty-four years old made Yan Shaozhe incredibly excited. He said, "Does Xiaotao's title even need other considerations? I think Phoenix Douluo is quite good!"
"Exactly, exactly!" Cai Meier echoed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
The elders present also voiced their opinions, agreeing that the title Phoenix Douluo was very fitting for Ma Xiaotao. This could also be considered a hereditary title for Ma Xiaotao's lineage.
As a descendant of Phoenix Douluo Ma Hongjun, one of the Original Shrek Seven Devils, Ma Xiaotao's Ma family had always been one of the most important components of Shrek Academy. However, due to a Spirit defect, the Ma family had always struggled with a lack of connections and dwindling numbers. By Ma Xiaotao's generation, only she remained.
Compared to the issue of Ma Xiaotao's title, her somewhat astonishing spirit ring configuration was secondary. This was because the elders present were all aware that Zhu Ziyang, Ma Xiaotao, and Jiang Nannan had received the favor of the gods, so they naturally considered their spirit ring situation to be a matter of course.
Regarding the three of them receiving divine favor, Zhu Ziyang had implicitly informed the elders shortly after his return from the Martial Soul Continent and his ascension to the position of Tian Yuan Pavilion Master. The elders were naturally very excited and thrilled, lamenting their good fortune to witness Shrek Academy's unprecedented most glorious era.
In the elders' view, the worst-case scenario for Shrek Academy in the future was to possess three Limit Douluo, which was already an unprecedented peak. Moreover, given the talent and abilities displayed by Zhu Ziyang and the other two, the probability of achieving a God Position was very high. Therefore, even though Zhu Ziyang was only a young man in his early twenties, the old fellows in the Tian Yuan Pavilion, the youngest of whom were nearly a hundred years old, were still very willing to obey his command and orders.
"Caw—"
The golden-red fire phoenix soared across the sky and landed in front of Zhu Ziyang and the others. Her form quickly shrank, finally transforming into a charming and alluring woman, Ma Xiaotao.
"Xiaotao, congratulations!" Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier walked forward together to congratulate Ma Xiaotao.
"Teachers!" Ma Xiaotao's pretty face also showed joy when she saw Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier. She said, "Hehe, how about it? Don't I bring you a lot of prestige?"
"Mm-hmm!" Yan Shaozhe nodded heavily. Since coming out of seclusion, this was the first time he had been so happy, his face filled with a complex mix of excitement, joy, and relief.
"Xiaotao, have you thought about your title? Our old fellows' suggestion is Phoenix Douluo. Do you have any thoughts of your own?" Old Lin asked.
"A title, huh?" Ma Xiaotao was startled by the question. She really hadn't considered it. Subconsciously, she looked at Zhu Ziyang, wanting him to help her decide, but saw Zhu Ziyang smile at her, his meaning clear: she should think for herself. Helpless, she could only lower her head and ponder, "Let me think!"
"No rush, take your time," the elders were all very patient. They had plenty of time. Although Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao still had to depart for Mingdu to compete, could such a minor matter as a competition be compared to the major event of a title conferment?
"Ugh! Forget it, I'm too lazy to think. Let's just call it Fire God Douluo!" Ma Xiaotao was not one who enjoyed thinking, especially about naming things. After only thirty or forty seconds of thought, she impatiently exclaimed.
"Fire God Douluo?" Upon hearing this, the elders' expressions all became strange, but they didn't object. After all, a title was ultimately a personal matter. Since Ma Xiaotao was willing to be called Fire God Douluo, they naturally had no reason to object. Moreover, as a favored one of the God of Fire, wasn't the title Fire God perfectly reasonable?
"Hahaha, good, Fire God is good, Fire God Douluo!" Xuan Zi said with a laugh, "First Dragon God Douluo, now Fire God Douluo. Heaven truly blesses our Shrek Academy!"
Thus, Fire God Douluo Ma Xiaotao made her grand debut.
Ma Xiaotao's coronation ceremony did not take up too much time. After all, the elders were all present, so there was no need to waste time waiting for people. It was held directly on the spot, and then Yan Shaozhe personally crowned his proud disciple. Afterwards, the elders congratulated Shrek Academy on the birth of a new Titled Douluo, and finally, the news of the Fire God Douluo's emergence was announced to the Three Great Empires.
After the coronation ceremony, there could be no further delay to the main business. According to the previously confirmed plan, Elder Xuan and Ma Xiaotao would lead the team to Mingdu for the competition. Ma Xiaotao would be the overt team leader and captain of the representative team, while Zhu Ziyang would be the actual leader. Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo would lead a team to support Zhang Lexuan and Old Song. Both teams departed simultaneously but acted independently.
"Everyone, the turning point of the continent's destiny is in our hands. Strive hard!" Before departing, Zhu Ziyang said seriously and solemnly.
"Yes!" The elders seemed to have returned to their youth, their blood boiling with excitement.
After everything was concluded, Zhu Ziyang, Ma Xiaotao, and Elder Xuan arrived at the Inner Courtyard Martial Arts Arena. Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, Fifth Huan'er, and thirteen other disciples, including both main and reserve team members, had been waiting for a long time.
"Sister Xiaotao, you've broken through?" Upon seeing the three of them arrive, Fifth Huan'er immediately scurried over to Ma Xiaotao, directly hugging her arm, and asked with a charming, innocent expression.
"Mm-hmm!" Ma Xiaotao said with a smile, patting Fifth Huan'er's head. "Your big sister is now Fire God Douluo Ma Xiaotao. From now on, no one will dare to bully you!"
"Mm-hmm!" Fifth Huan'er happily hugged Ma Xiaotao's arm, her small nose twitching as if she smelled something. A hint of an unusual expression flashed across her face, and then she glanced at Zhu Ziyang with a look of shy annoyance.
Unfortunately, Zhu Ziyang didn't see the girl's gaze, otherwise he would have pulled her into his arms and teased her mercilessly. He looked at everyone and said, "Alright, let's go!"
Without needing to say more, Zhu Ziyang led the way out of the academy. Jiang Nannan and Qian Lingyi followed closely, and the others also kept pace. Each person had their own thoughts, but without exception, they were all related to Ma Xiaotao. They had naturally seen the unusual phenomenon when Ma Xiaotao broke through, and all understood that the Inner Courtyard senior sister accompanying them to the competition was a genuine Titled Douluo, and only twenty-four years old.
Although the even more terrifying Zhu Ziyang was ahead, relatively speaking, Ma Xiaotao was easier to imagine. After all, most of them were under twenty years old. Reaching Titled Douluo before twenty was clearly impossible, but reaching Titled Douluo before twenty-five, when one thought about it simply, wasn't that difficult a thing!
In contrast, Jiang Nannan and Qian Lingyi's thoughts were much simpler. Jiang Nannan's thought was, "Darn it, Ma Xiaotao actually succeeded." Qian Lingyi's thought was, "Darn it, why was she ahead again? Qian Lingyi, you need to get serious!"
The Shrek Academy representative team left Shrek Academy and sped westward across the continent. Their destination was clear: the Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu!
Not long after the Shrek Academy representative team departed, another team also set off from Shrek City. This team also consisted of about ten people, all young people around twenty years old. They were, without a doubt, the Tang Sect team represented by Huo Yuhao, Tang Ya, and others.
Because they were nominally two teams, the Shrek Academy team and the Tang Sect team did not act simultaneously, but chose to operate separately. After all, appearances still needed to be maintained.
However, it had been decided beforehand that matters concerning the competition would naturally not interfere with each other, but for all matters outside of the competition, the Tang Sect team would uniformly follow Zhu Ziyang's command. After all, the Tang Sect members, in addition to being Tang Sect disciples, were also Inner Courtyard Disciples of Shrek Academy!