Even after Shrek Academy swapped out players, Taining Academy still saw no hope of victory. Their remaining four players were all Spirit Ancestors. Facing Dai Huabin, a high-level Spirit King, they might have a chance if they all went at once, but going one by one would only lead to them being defeated individually.
The match had reached a point where there was no suspense. Dai Huabin defeated Taining Academy's last student, marking the victory of the entire match. Since Shrek Academy had already secured six points, the subsequent team competition no longer had any meaning.
Shrek Academy won this match, taking eleven points and advancing to the third round.
After the match, Zhu Ziyang did not linger at the arena and directly led everyone back to the hotel. Just as they arrived at the hotel, the Taining Academy team also happened to return. The two teams, having just concluded their confrontation, met again in the hotel lobby. However, the Taining Academy players were all dejected, like a flock of defeated roosters.
Their leader, on the other hand, looked calm. It was clear that he had long been mentally prepared for such a result. Upon seeing the Shrek Academy group, a smile appeared on his face, and he quickly went up to them, calling out, "Ziyang, Xiaotao, long time no see!"
"Senior Brother Zhu, it really has been a long time!" Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao both responded with happy smiles.
The leader of Taining Academy was none other than Zhu Lie, a Shrek Inner Courtyard Disciple who had left Shrek Academy after the Star Dou incident and returned to his hometown. He, Zhu Ziyang, and Ma Xiaotao were considered to be close friends, so even though the three had not seen each other for many years, their excitement and joy were still evident when they met again.
Zhu Ziyang and Zhu Lie embraced, then happily introduced him to the others: "This is Senior Brother Zhu Lie, an excellent Disciple who graduated from the Inner Courtyard seven years ago."
"Greetings, Senior Brother!" The people, led by Jiang Nannan, understood the situation and called out one after another.
"No need to be so polite." Zhu Lie quickly waved his hand, smiling sheepishly, "When I brought them to participate in this competition, I wondered if I would meet any acquaintances from the Academy, but I never expected it to be under such circumstances. It's a bit helpless, isn't it!"
"Haha, this means our fate is not yet over!" Zhu Ziyang said with a laugh.
Afterward, Zhu Ziyang had Jiang Nannan take the others back to their rooms. Zhu Lie also had the Taining Academy students return to their rooms to pack their belongings, while he followed Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao to the hotel lobby's tea restaurant.
The three found a quiet corner to sit down and began to reminisce. Through their conversation, Zhu Ziyang learned about Zhu Lie's experiences after leaving the Academy.
It turned out that after Zhu Lie left the Academy, he returned to Taining City in the Tianhun Empire. His family owned the largest business association in Taining City, which had considerable influence in Taining City and the surrounding towns. This influence became even more pronounced after Zhu Lie returned as a graduate of the Shrek Academy Inner Courtyard. After returning home, Zhu Lie first settled the families of Cheng Hui and Wan Wan, and then, at the invitation of the Taining City Lord, he became a teacher at Taining Advanced Soul Master Academy.
He worked at Taining Advanced Soul Master Academy for seven years, and now he is the Dean of Teaching and Vice Principal. He is also the strongest person in the Academy, already a 75th-level Spirit Saint at only thirty years old. Any normal person in the ruling class of Taining City would be friendly with him, so Zhu Lie has been doing quite well these past few years.
"Ziyang, the Academy's actions these past few years have been quite significant," Zhu Lie said with a meaningful smile, "Several of the junior Spirit Master academies in the towns under Taining City's jurisdiction have been transformed into Tian Yuan Academy, and our Taining City Lord is still foolishly happy about it."
"Oh? Is that so? Has Tian Yuan Academy expanded so quickly?" Zhu Ziyang was also surprised to hear this, as it was the first time he had learned that there was a Tian Yuan Academy near Taining City. The construction and expansion plans of Tian Yuan Academy were mainly handled by Cai Meier, and Zhu Ziyang never inquired about the specific details, only learning about the progress of the plans from Cai Meier's reports during each Tian Yuan Pavilion meeting.
"Isn't that right?" Zhu Lie said, "At least fifteen Tian Yuan Academy have appeared throughout Linbei Province, and these Tian Yuan Academy are connected in a line, almost surrounding Taining City."
"Hehe, it seems Junior Sister's work is going well!" Zhu Ziyang sighed, then looked at Zhu Lie and asked, "Senior Brother Zhu, how do the high-ranking officials of Taining City view Tian Yuan Academy?"
"How can they view it? Besides mocking the Academy for being nosy, no one can truly see the real intention behind the Academy's move." Zhu Lie's face showed a hint of mockery as he spoke.
"Then Senior Brother Zhu, what do you think?" Zhu Ziyang looked at Zhu Lie intently and asked.
"Hehe, Ziyang, to be honest," Zhu Lie rubbed his head, a simple smile on his face, and said, "Just before we came to participate in the competition, the Academy had already negotiated with Taining City Junior Spirit Master Academy. Taining City Junior Spirit Master Academy will be renamed Taining City Tian Yuan Academy, and I will serve as the first Dean. This appointment was personally given to me by Dean Cai!"
"Oh!" Zhu Ziyang looked enlightened, then exchanged a smile with Zhu Lie and said, "Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhu, on your promotion to Dean!"
"Hehe," Zhu Lie chuckled awkwardly, saying, "Actually, I also had selfish motives. Only by becoming the Dean of Taining City Tian Yuan Academy can I prevent this Academy from becoming an aristocratic academy again, and my family's juniors, along with Cheng Hui and Wan Wan's juniors, won't need to go to the towns below to attend school."
"I understand!" Zhu Ziyang said with a solemn expression, "This is also the purpose of the Academy establishing Tian Yuan Academy. We want all children to be able to awaken their Spirit and enter a Spirit Master Academy to study!"
Half an hour later, Zhu Lie led the Taining Academy students away from Mingyue Hotel. Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao stood at the hotel entrance, seeing them off.
The competition continued. The first day's matches ended, and the second day's matches immediately began. The Shrek Academy group returned to the pattern of the first round of competition. The others cultivated in the hotel, while Zhu Ziyang and the four girls, including Jiang Nannan, took turns going to the arena to watch the matches.
On the second day, only one match was worth Zhu Ziyang's attention: Tang Sect against Iron Sword Sect. Iron Sword Sect was an obscure small Sect, and Tang Sect, possessing a Spirit Saint, undoubtedly achieved victory against an opponent of this level.
On the fourth day of the second round, at the entrance of Mingyue Hotel, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan saw off Falan Advanced Soul Master Academy, where Yang Zhenzhen was. Falan Academy was not as lucky in the second round as they were in the first. They encountered a Sect team called Tianjia Sect. This Sect team was very strong, having fielded five Spirit Kings in the first round. In their second-round match against Falan Academy, they only sent out three players and still secured victory.
The members of the Falan Academy team departed, and there was no dejection on their faces. After all, they had come with a 'let's give it a try' mindset this time, and reaching the second round was already a pleasant surprise. Jiang Nannan, however, was a bit downcast. After all, she truly liked Yang Zhenzhen, and now that Yang Zhenzhen had left with her Academy, she naturally felt a touch of sadness.
The second round quickly concluded. The ninety-two advancing teams had no time to rest and immediately needed to draw their lots for the third round. The third round required forty-six matches, to be completed over four days, with eleven matches on the first two days and twelve matches on the last two days.
Soon, the draw results for the third round were out. Shrek Academy was still in the first match of the first day, and their opponent was a Sect team called Overlord Sect. Judging from the first two rounds, the strength of this Overlord Sect was similar to that of Tianjia Sect, which eliminated the Falan Academy team. They were a decent opponent, but still not quite a match for Shrek Academy.
Zhu Ziyang and the other members of the Shrek Academy team did not take them seriously and simply went to sleep peacefully.
And indeed, that was the case. In the match on the second day, Shrek Academy faced Overlord Sect, and the battle was an overwhelming one-sided crushing. Zhu Ziyang did not even let Zhou Tianhe play. Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, and Xie Huanyue, the three reserve team Disciples, easily secured the victory.