On the eighth day after departing from Häagen-Dazs City, the unhurried Häagen-Dazs Royal Convoy finally arrived in Heaven Dou City.
"On this trip, you represent the Hagendas Kingdom. Remember not to lose face, but also do not intentionally cause trouble; after all, this is someone else's territory."
"There are still thirty days until the promotion matches officially begin. If you wish to Cultivate, you can take these tokens to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy to use their Mimicry Training Grounds. If you want to sightsee in Heaven Dou City, I can also provide you with a spending allowance of one thousand gold coins."
After settling into a luxurious royal hotel in Heaven Dou City, the King of the Hagendas Kingdom gathered the participants and explained the matters they should pay attention to while in the city.
The spending allowance mentioned afterward was purely a gesture of goodwill from the Häagen-Dazs royalty. The students present were all the cream of the crop among the younger generation of the Hagendas Kingdom. If he didn't show favor now, was he supposed to wait for other factions to come and win over these little Geniuses?
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Hearing that there were free gold coins to spend, many people present were delighted and expressed their gratitude to the King.
While some were happy, others naturally didn't care much for a mere thousand gold coins. For instance, the immensely wealthy Ning Rongrong, the well-off Yu Yan and Xiao Wu, and those like Dugu Yan, whose grandfather was a Titled Douluo.
The King of the Hagendas Kingdom observed the expressions of everyone present, analyzing and judging who could be recruited and who needed to be befriended.
After explaining a few more things, the King announced their dismissal, allowing them to go about their business.
Among the Exotic Beast Team, Dugu Yan, Ning Rongrong, and Ye Lingling wanted to take the Opportunity to visit home. Zhu Zhuqing, Bai Chenxiang, Meng Yiran, Wang Hu, Xiong Da, and Xiong Er prepared to go to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Mimicry Training Ground to Cultivate. Yu Yan and Xiao Wu planned to take a good stroll through Heaven Dou City and enjoy this rare moment of leisure.
The Hagendasi Battle Team's captain, Wu Li, and Feng Jianluo had abandoned any thoughts of play due to their previous crushing defeat. They intended to spend this time in secluded Cultivation to reclaim their lost dignity during the promotion matches.
Poor Wu Li and Feng Jianluo still believed they had lost only because they lacked the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit... As the contestants from the four kingdoms and one duchy all arrived in Heaven Dou City, a discussion about which academy's students were the strongest gradually spread through the city. The general public could not watch the promotion matches, but that didn't stop them from debating the matter.
Walking down the streets of Heaven Dou City, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu could hear arguments from the supporters of various contestants.
Some said Feng Tianxiao had the strongest combat power, as he had shown formidable performance in battle and could even fly to dodge many Spirit Abilities.
Those opposing the idea that Feng Tianxiao was the strongest immediately pointed out the fact that he had once lost to Huo Wu.
The supporters immediately slammed the tables in anger, cursing the others for being blind and stupid. That battle was clearly one where Feng Tianxiao had held back; he didn't use a single Spirit Ability the whole time, just chatting with Blazing Academy's Huo Wu. They pointed out with sharp words the fact that Feng Tianxiao liked Huo Wu.
The dissenters then pointed out that Feng Tianxiao only managed to narrowly defeat Shrek Academy by luck while they were recovering from injuries and couldn't field their full roster. If the dark horse Shrek Academy had been at full strength, it was uncertain whether the Godwind Battle Team could have achieved a near-perfect victory.
Those who felt Shrek Academy was nothing special would say that every one of Shrek's battles was won by a hair's breadth. If they hadn't had some luck on their side, they would have been eliminated long ago.
Another person said that the promotion matches weren't about team combat, but were a test of individual strength. Yu Tianxin of the Thunder Academy and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was the true expert for the promotion matches.
Others claimed that Shui Binger of Heaven Water Academy was the truly formidable one, possessing a Phoenix that was not at all inferior to Dragon-type Spirits.
Spectators who had come from the Hagendas Kingdom heard these people praising one person after another. Curiously, they asked about the Spirit Power Levels of these individuals. Upon hearing that among them, only one Blue Silver Grass Control System Spirit Master was above Rank 45, they burst into laughter, declaring that first place in this year's promotion matches definitely belonged to the Hagendas Kingdom.
Hearing someone refute them, Dugu Yan's staunch supporters immediately spoke of the situation regarding the Exotic Beast Academy's Dugu Yan, who was at Spirit Power Level 48 and possessed a Dragon-type attack system Spirit.
Once this statement was made, the spectators who had only watched the matches in Heaven Dou City were all left speechless. The suppression in Spirit Power Level was very intuitive; no matter what words you used to argue, it could not be changed.
Sitting in this tea house, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu ordered a pot of coarse tea and listened to the discussions around them, piecing together the combat situation in Heaven Dou City bit by bit.
Because they lacked many of their trump cards, Shrek Academy's battles could truly be described as incredibly tragic, with all their remaining cards exposed.
When facing the Elephant Armored Academy, Shrek Academy's victory relied mainly on Tang San's Blue Silver Grass control abilities and added toxins. By relying on stall tactics to let the toxins invade their bodies, they finally secured the win.
Facing the Blazing Academy, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Spirit would ignite at a touch. Relying on Ma Hongjun's certain degree of fire immunity after his rebirth, combined with Hai Xing's water-attribute abilities and Oscar's Big Recovery Sausage, they endured the Blazing Academy's attacks and won the battle with an extremely slim margin.
Facing Canghui Academy's seven-in-one Fusion skill, Shrek Academy won at the cost of everyone suffering mental damage. The spectators didn't see this fight clearly, but Yu Yan guessed that Tang San and everyone in Shrek Academy must have used the Purple Demon Eye to withstand the attack and secure the victory.
Speaking of Canghui Academy, because Tang San did not have a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, he did not suffer the malicious attack from Canghui Academy's Shi Nian, and Shi Nian was not counter-killed.
Also, because Tang San's Purple Demon Eye had not evolved, the seven people from Canghui Academy who performed the seven-in-one Fusion skill only suffered a shock to their mental force and could not continue the competition; they didn't directly become idiots as they had in the original story.
In the final battle against Heaven Water Academy, Shrek was no match for the Martial Soul Fusion Skill performed by Shui Binger and Xue Wu. They suffered a tragic defeat, and the entire team was injured.
If not for Shrek Academy having a Rank 71 food system Spirit Saint, they would have been eliminated long ago due to their severe injuries.
Even though the road was fraught with anxiety, Shrek Academy still made it through the qualifiers, becoming one of the five teams to cross the line from the Heaven Dou City division.
Tang San, the Control System Spirit Master with terrifying close-combat capabilities who led Shrek Academy to victory and had brilliant performances in every battle, naturally became the focus of everyone's discussion.
Hmm... interesting. If I face Tang San head-on in the promotion matches, how long can he hold out against me?
Yu Yan never thought he would lose, nor was it possible for him to lose. Without the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and without the Eight Spider Lances Opportunity, Tang San was much weaker than in the original book, aside from his Spirit Power Level.
While Yu Yan listened to the stories, Xiao Wu's gaze fell upon him. As she observed Yu Yan, she was also pondering a question she had thought about for a long time: why did Yu Yan pay so much attention to this Shrek Academy?
Was it because of the Golden Triangle's Golden Holy Dragon Martial Soul Fusion Skill?