In the early morning at the competition venue, the glow of the rising sun shone on everyone's shoulders, reflecting the excitement on their faces.
Today was the day of the semi-finals for the Continental Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition. All the spectators had arrived early, eagerly awaiting the first two of the last three matches of the tournament. Today's matches were bound to be even more spectacular than the previous ones.
As the start time of the competition approached, all four teams had already entered the arena. Today's matches were divided into two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. According to the draw, the morning match was Tang Sect versus Snow Demon Sect, while the afternoon match was Shrek Academy versus Holy Spirit Sect.
On the VIP platform, Xu Tianran, who had stormed off two days prior, now appeared as if nothing had happened, taking his seat beside Regent Consort Ju Zi and the Black-Robed Imperial Teacher. As for Jing Hongchen, he hadn't reappeared since Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy withdrew from the competition two days ago.
"Heh heh, this grouping is quite interesting," Xu Tianran first sighed, then said, "Imperial Preceptor, your sect is facing Shrek Academy. How confident are you of victory?"
"Eighty percent!" the Black-Robed Imperial Teacher said with great confidence.
"Oh!" Xu Tianran showed a hint of surprise, then asked with great interest, "As expected of the Imperial Preceptor. Then let us look forward to the afternoon match!"
To be honest, Xu Tianran's initial thought was not to let Holy Spirit Sect's performance be too eye-catching, as he was well aware that he was destined to be an emperor, and Holy Spirit Sect was ultimately not on the same path as him. But ever since he was severely humiliated by He Caitou and Ma Xiaotao two days ago, he had greatly hoped that Holy Spirit Sect could win, or at least suffer a mutual defeat with Shrek Team!
Otherwise, he didn't know when he would be able to vent his anger!
The first half of the semi-finals began, with Tang Sect facing Snow Demon Sect (Body Sect). To be honest, the strengths of these two teams were very similar. If judged solely by strength, it was hard to say who would win or lose.
However, the Tang Sect team had a Child of Destiny, and his very existence meant that the strength in this match was unequal and unfair.
Sure enough, Huo Yuhao, who had been keeping a low profile in previous matches, appeared as Tang Sect's first player in the individual elimination round, and then began his performance, easily defeating three Body Sect players, allowing the Tang Sect team to meet the conditions for starting a team battle.
Then, the team battle between Tang Sect and Body Sect began. Although Body Sect's seven-member team had excellent coordination, they were unable to unleash their full strength against Tang Sect's seven members.
As an observer, Zhu Ziyang clearly noticed that the Body Sect team was completely in a state of having power but unable to use it. The reason for this was that their main control player, Vina, was suppressed throughout by Tang Sect's main control player, Huo Yuhao, preventing her from concentrating fully on commanding the battle.
Ultimately, the Tang Sect team defeated the Body Sect team and advanced to the finals.
All the spectators showed expressions of disbelief at this outcome, because it meant that if the Shrek Academy team defeated the Holy Spirit Sect team in the afternoon, then they would meet the Tang Sect team in the finals. In this way, both teams in the Mingdu Grand Competition finals would be from Shrek Academy. How could the Mingdu audience accept such a situation?
Therefore, even those spectators who didn't particularly care for Holy Spirit Sect began to pray for the afternoon match. They all hoped that the Holy Spirit Sect team could win, but judging from the strength shown by the two teams so far, it would be very difficult for the Holy Spirit Sect team to defeat the Shrek Academy team.
The Shrek Academy team had already revealed players including at least two Spirit Saints, two Spirit Emperors, and three Spirit Kings. Such strength could already look down on all other teams in this competition. What was even more terrifying was that among the seven players who had appeared for the Shrek Academy team, it seemed only four were members of the main team!
The three Spirit Kings were not members of the main team, which meant that the Shrek Academy team had at least three more Spirit Emperor-level players!
In contrast, the Holy Spirit Sect team, although their performances were always cruel and bloody, only showed the strength of one Spirit King and two Spirit Emperors. Would such strength truly be a match for the Shrek Academy team?
The Mingdu audience expressed deep concern about this.
"Imperial Preceptor, I hope your disciples will not disappoint me!" On the VIP platform, Xu Tianran also said to the Black-Robed Imperial Teacher, "I do not wish to see two Shrek Academy teams meet at the pinnacle in Mingdu. This would be a lifelong disgrace for me!"
"Your Highness, please rest assured, this one has made thorough preparations!" The Black-Robed Imperial Teacher nodded confidently and said.
Soon, amidst countless expectations, the afternoon arrived, and the semi-final's second half, Shrek Academy versus Holy Spirit Sect, was about to begin!
In the player's lounge area, within the Shrek Academy lounge, besides the Shrek Academy members, there were also Tang Sect members and the two princesses, Vina and Princess Xu Jiujiu. The reason for their presence in the Shrek Academy lounge was simple: to cheer on the Shrek Academy members.
"Ziyang, you must win!" Princess Xu Jiujiu said, "I can't wait to see Xu Tianran's furious face."
"I think, with Ziyang's strength and the efforts of everyone in Shrek Team, the Holy Spirit Sect team has a very small chance of winning," Vina said seriously.
"What do you mean 'very small'? They have no chance at all!" Tang Ya couldn't help but roll her eyes and retort.
"Senior Brother, if you win this match, we can leave early, right?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"Uh-huh!" Zhu Ziyang nodded, stood up, and said, "Alright, we're going on stage. We'll talk about anything else tonight!"
After speaking, Zhu Ziyang led Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, Fifth Huan'er, Zhou Tianhe, Chu Hua, and Ning Tian into the waiting area. This was the first time the Shrek Academy team had sent out its complete main team. Although Zhu Ziyang had already decided to let Qian Lingyi be the main combatant in this match, it was always right to be fully prepared.
On the other side, Holy Spirit Sect's players also underwent some changes. The Spirit King Jili, who had appeared many times before, was gone, replaced by two similar-looking young girls. Their team leader had also changed, becoming an acquaintance of Zhu Ziyang.
Uh, having met once, he should be considered an acquaintance, right? Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng. He also saw Zhu Ziyang, and his face instantly changed, his mouth twitching uncontrollably. He really wanted to stop this match, because he was one of only two people in Holy Spirit Church who clearly knew Zhu Ziyang's strength—that was a monster who could even force back Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao! Letting Holy Spirit Church's disciples fight him, wasn't that just sending them to their deaths?
Zhang Peng was already about to speak, but the words caught in his throat because he heard a warning in his ear. His gaze turned to Zhu Ziyang, only to see the seemingly harmless and handsome young man making a shushing gesture at him. Connecting this with the warning in his ear, he instantly shut his mouth.
Better for a fellow daoist to die than for this poor daoist to die. Sacrificing his own life for these dispensable disciples was not worth it!
Zhang Peng made a wise choice, and Zhu Ziyang smiled with satisfaction.
On the VIP platform, the moment they saw Zhu Ziyang, Xu Tianran, Ju Zi, and the Black-Robed Imperial Teacher all showed unusual expressions. Xu Tianran was filled with jealousy and resentment. He was jealous of Zhu Ziyang's talent, his appearance, and even more jealous that he could have four stunning beauties by his side, while he himself had the desire but lacked the ability!
The Black-Robed Imperial Teacher was wary and excited. He had previously been more disbelieving than believing about Zhu Ziyang possessing six 100,000-year spirit rings, but Fifth Huan'er's spirit ring configuration a few days ago forced him to believe. Coupled with the high possibility that this young man possessed Ultimate Light, he was eager to kill Zhu Ziyang before he grew stronger!
Now seeing the possibility of Zhu Ziyang appearing, he was naturally very excited. In his opinion, no matter how extraordinary Zhu Ziyang's talent was, his current strength would at most be that of a Spirit Douluo. A mere Spirit Douluo could not possibly be a match for the Wu Yun and Wu Yu sisters!
As for Ju Zi, the moment she saw Zhu Ziyang's appearance, she instantly recognized his identity. A hint of excitement flashed in her eyes, but more than that was worry. She prayed in her heart, not wanting to see the scene of her recently found benefactor bleeding on the competition stage.
For the first time in a long while, she felt powerless again.