"Your Excellencies, what are you doing? This is the Elite Tournament venue…"
Ning Fengzhi's words had little effect. Tang Zhen glanced at his students and confirmed they had already retreated to a safe area, so he no longer hesitated. If a fight broke out, then so be it.
In the end, with the situation at a stalemate, Xue Ye stepped in to mediate. The three Titled Douluo present weren't truly eager to fight either.
However, Tang Zhen still set one condition—Yu Luomian had to publicly apologize to both him and Yin Zhang.
The reason he didn't make any harsher demands was simple. Tang Zhen felt that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect would soon face major trouble anyway. That trouble might come in the form of the Golden Crocodile personally wiping them out, or it might be when Yin Zhang, once fully grown, came knocking to "seek an explanation."
After this farce, Xue Ye had no choice but to announce that the tournament would be postponed for three days.
From that day onward, the might of Spirit Hall was deeply engraved into the minds of everyone present.
Yu Luomian and the Thunder Academy group immediately left Heaven Dou City after receiving medical treatment, terrified that Tang Zhen or Dugu Bo might come looking for them afterward.
Following his victory, Yin Zhang used all the Spirit Ring Age Enhancement Cards on his third spirit ring, pushing it directly to the ten-thousand-year level.
That confrontation also made Spirit Hall even more feared—though Spirit Hall itself didn't care in the slightest.
Yin Zhang lay lazily in Qiangu Yunying's arms, his eyes half-closed.
Qiangu Yunying treated his skin as gently as if she were caring for a child, softly stroking him inch by inch, causing Yin Zhang to let out quiet, contented sounds from time to time.
"Your Majesty."
Outside the room, Tang Zhen frowned slightly as he looked at Salas.
"Salas, is there something urgent? You look rushed."
Salas quickly bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty, something has happened. Spirit Hall recently learned that a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast in Hurricane Forest is undergoing its Heavenly Tribulation. We dispatched three powerful Spirit Douluo into the Star Dou Great Forest to search for spirit beasts that had undergone Human Transformation."
"But I just received word that a beast tide erupted in Hurricane Forest. In the end, only one Spirit Douluo escaped with four others and brought back the latest news."
"A hundred-thousand-year spirit beast undergoing tribulation?"
Tang Zhen frowned deeply.
"What's the latest information? Speak."
Salas continued.
"The report says that Hurricane Forest doesn't contain just one hundred-thousand-year spirit beast—but two. Both are Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger Emperors. One of them has chosen Human Transformation. They only managed to learn this before fleeing the forest, but they were still intercepted by the Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger Emperor…"
Inside the room, Yin Zhang and Qiangu Yunying were already listening at the door.
Yin Zhang was slightly surprised to hear of Hurricane Forest—a spirit beast forest never mentioned in the original records—but the moment he heard "Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger Emperor," he understood.
He recalled the three-thousand-year Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger that Qiangu Yuan had led him to hunt in the Star Dou Great Forest.
The system prompt back then had already hinted that he would encounter the Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger Emperor in the future. He just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
Tang Zhen quickly grasped the situation.
"So, you want me to lead reinforcements?"
Salas nodded respectfully.
"It's the High Priest and the Second Consecrator's decision. They plan to send Your Majesty, along with one of the two Hall Consecrators, to test the situation. If things go well, they hope to capture the Human-Transformation Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger Emperor and bring it back to Spirit Hall. Ideally, they also wish to heavily injure the other Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger Emperor and bring it back as well."
Tang Zhen waved his hand dismissively.
"Bringing back the one that's undergone Human Transformation might be possible. But seriously injuring and capturing the other Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger Emperor? That's wishful thinking. Even if it were just me and one of the two, at best we could hold it off—not capture it."
Salas hesitated, then said carefully,
"Your Majesty, I've heard that Poison Douluo Dugu Bo is on good terms with you. If he were to join you, the chances of success would increase greatly."
Tang Zhen's expression turned cold.
"When did it become your place to tell me how to act?"
Salas immediately lowered his head, not daring to say another word.
Tang Zhen continued,
"I may be on good terms with him, but I doubt he'd agree. Still, it wouldn't hurt for me to go with one other person and see what happens."
In truth, if Tang Zhen truly wanted Dugu Bo's help, it would be easy—Yin Zhang only needed to say a word.
But Tang Zhen was worried that if he left Heaven Dou City, Ning Fengzhi might make a move in secret. If that happened, the consequences would be disastrous.
Caution was necessary.
So Dugu Bo had to remain behind to protect Yin Zhang.
After Salas left, Tang Zhen gently opened the door. Seeing Yin Zhang and Qiangu Yunying eavesdropping didn't surprise him at all; he simply smiled.
"You heard everything, didn't you? I'll be busy for a while. Before I leave, I'll have Dugu Bo stay behind to protect you. Otherwise, I'm worried Ning Fengzhi or Xue Ye might try something. Even though I trust Spirit Hall, it's better not to take risks."
Yin Zhang immediately understood.
"Alright. I'll wait for your good news, Uncle Tang."
After Tang Zhen departed, Dugu Bo officially joined the Spirit Hall Academy team as their protector.
The remaining matches of the top ten soon followed. Most teams deliberately kept their distance from Spirit Hall Academy.
Except for Qin Ming of Imperial Dou Team Two.
"Brother Qin Ming, how does it feel to advance into the final five?"
Yin Zhang smiled as he looked at Qin Ming approaching him.
After spending time together, Yin Zhang realized Qin Ming was someone worth befriending. The talent he displayed was indeed impressive.
Once they graduated and entered Spirit Hall for proper training, Qin Ming's growth would far surpass his original trajectory.
Qin Ming smiled and nodded.
"It feels great. Reaching the top five is already an excellent result for me. I just hope I don't run into you again—otherwise, losing would be far too embarrassing."
In the final five, the teams were Spirit Hall Academy Team, Huang Dou First Team, Imperial Dou Team Two, Huang Luo First Team, and Divine Wind Academy Team.
Two of the five spots belonged to Huang Dou's teams alone. Judging by numbers, Huang Dou seemed highly likely to win the championship.
However, Xue Ye and the others weren't so naive.
Just having two teams in the final five already made them extremely satisfied.
Even if Spirit Hall Academy ultimately took the championship, the reputation of the Heaven Dou Empire's academies within the Spirit Master world would remain strong—if not rise even further.
-----------------_-----_-----------------
Read 40 advanced chapter on
👉 patreon.com/Master_fic