"Huh?"
"Well, is it true or not?" Huo Wu didn't seem to notice the many pairs of eyes now fixed on her.
Feng Xiaotian froze for a moment and glanced at
"Are you a man or not? If you like me, say so. If not, say so. Can you even speak?" Huo Wu's voice was cold—exactly the opposite of her Martial Soul's elemental affinity.
"I do. I've always liked you." Feng Xiaotian had no intention of becoming a laughingstock. If he still couldn't bring himself to say something at a moment like this, he'd probably never get another chance to pursue Huo Wu.
Huo Wu nodded at him. "Fine. As long as you can defeat the Shrek Academy team, and you personally defeat that
Huo Wu had grown up surrounded by admiration her entire life. Even though she was a girl, whether at home or at the academy, she was the one everyone fawned over. On top of that, she possessed extraordinary talent and had always stood at the very top among her peers. At only nineteen years old, she had already reached the level of forty-plus—a feat unprecedented in the history of Infernal Academy. Her pride was well-founded. Appearance, strength, family background—she had every reason to be proud. Yet now, try as she might, she could not forget the look in Tang San's eyes, and even less could she forget the words he'd spoken, calling her naive.
For Huo Wu, losing that match meant more than just a defeat in a competition. It was a blow to her pride and her dignity. The outcome of that match had shaken her to the core. What she found hardest to accept was that Tang San's elemental advantage had completely countered her, leaving her no chance whatsoever to turn things around.
Even Huo Wushuang, at that moment, couldn't fully grasp his sister's feelings. All he could do was hurry after her.
Feng Xiaotian stared blankly in the direction Huo Wu had vanished, and only after her figure had completely disappeared did he finally snap back to his senses.
What did she say? She said she'd give me a chance to date her? As long as I defeat Tang San from Shrek Academy, she'll be my girlfriend? Heavens, it's like a meat pie falling straight from the sky!
As his mind gradually cleared, an uncontrollable excitement began to ignite within him. His feelings for Huo Wu were nothing new—this had been going on for a long time now. The Advanced Academy of Wind and Infernal Academy were located very close to each other and frequently held exchanges between them. The first time he'd laid eyes on Huo Wu six years ago, he had fallen deeply in love with this stunningly beautiful prodigy. To win her affections, he had even swallowed his pride and befriended Huo Wushuang. And in every spar he'd had with the two siblings, he had never won once. Even so, Huo Wu had always been lukewarm toward him. But now, the opportunity had finally arrived! In Feng Xiaotian's heart, what burned was nothing less than the power of love. He suddenly realized that the members of Shrek Academy were absolutely adorable, and that their victory today could not have come at a more perfect moment. This was truly wonderful. The chance had finally come. Huo Wu, just you wait—I'll prove through my strength that I am the man most suited for you!
The Shrek Academy group, naturally, knew nothing of the agreement reached between the Advanced Academy of Wind and Infernal Academy. After barely any rest, they headed straight back to the academy.
No sooner had they stepped through the gate than Tang San was summoned away by the Great Master. The others were long accustomed to this sort of thing—after all, Tang San was the Great Master's direct disciple.
Following his teacher into the office, Tang San closed the door behind him.
The Great Master's expression was calm, though his brows were faintly furrowed. He waved a hand, gesturing for Tang San to sit down.
"Little San, you've gone too far."
This seemingly random remark caught Tang San off guard, but he said nothing, quietly waiting for his teacher's rebuke.
The Great Master spoke in a low voice. "What I mean is, the strength you've revealed is already far too much. Among every team member participating in the preliminaries, your performance has been far too conspicuous. Not only have you caught the attention of every academy, but I suspect those people up in the VIP boxes are already watching you very closely. This is not a good thing."
Tang San smiled wryly. "Teacher, you saw it yourself—our opponents were simply too powerful. It wasn't what I wanted, but if I hadn't done it, we would have had a very hard time winning."
The Great Master sighed softly. "I understand. If you had a powerful force backing you, this wouldn't be a problem. But don't forget what happened with
Tang San shook his head, his voice resolute. "No, Teacher. I want to compete. And I want to lead the team to keep on winning. It's better for just me to be noticed than for the entire team to be noticed. If the opponents focus all their attention on me, they'll naturally let their guard down against everyone else. We seven Devils of Shrek are a single unit. I believe that only in this way can we go further in the final tournament and make ourselves harder for our opponents to deal with."
The Great Master smiled faintly, walked over to Tang San, and patted him on the shoulder. "You think far ahead. And your approach isn't wrong. But you must remember—even if your teammates' strength is perfectly hidden, the moment something happens to you, the entire team will collapse. I'm not opposed to what you're doing, but from now on, whenever you head to the venue for a match or return from one, I will have Er Long accompany you. Also, no matter what, you must stay with your companions. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Yes, Teacher."
The Great Master continued, "What you exposed today was your Fire Immunity ability and your close-combat skills. To be honest, even I didn't know just how far your close-combat ability could go. In the matches ahead, you should make more use of your close-combat techniques. With the enhancement your current Soul Power and Soul Rings provide to your body, unless you face another opponent with a Spirit Bone boost, very few people would be able to compete with you in hand-to-hand combat without using a Soul Skill. Make good use of this point. If you do it right, you're not just a Control Type Soul Master—you're also a powerful front-line fighter. But in the competition, you'll need to be careful. Your opponents will adapt their strategies to limit you based on what you've shown. Your control abilities in the match were already quite good, but you still haven't truly brought out the full potential of your teammates. If you could, you'd have a much easier time. This is something else you need to work on. Among your future opponents, there are still three major academies—Advanced Academy of Wind, Tianshui Academy, and the Thunderclap Academy. Of these, I'm not too worried about Tianshui Academy. The other two pose the greatest threat. Whether it's the speed of the Advanced Academy of Wind or the explosive power of the Thunderclap Academy, both will be extremely difficult to handle. My suggestion would be for you to forfeit those two matches. That way, you wouldn't advance in first place into the next round, and you'd also avoid exposing too much of your true strength."
Tactically speaking, the Great Master's advice was undoubtedly excellent. As long as they finished in the top five in the preliminaries, they were guaranteed to advance. But should they really avoid the fight?
Tang San hesitated for a moment, then shook his head firmly. "Teacher, after this tournament, we'll all be graduating. Let's leave something behind for the academy."
The Great Master smiled faintly. "I knew you'd say that. On the surface, you seem like a very mild-mannered person, but deep down, you're incredibly stubborn. This refusal to yield is a fine quality in itself, but remember—excessively rigid things break easily. Your father, it seems, suffered from exactly that problem back in the day."
"The rigidity in me... perhaps I was influenced by you, Teacher."
When the Great Master mentioned his father, Tang San's expression dimmed involuntarily. Lately, he had learned a good deal about his father—even some things about his own origins. But where exactly was his father? After all these years, he had never come back to see him. If what his teacher said was true and his father had always been watching over him, then why didn't he return? Even just one meeting would have been enough...
"You're still young. I want you to focus entirely on your cultivation without distractions. If your team truly wins the championship this time, then I will arrange for you to enter a long period of secluded training. Let the outside world forget about you. Because your current strength is not yet enough to protect yourself, let alone to pull yourself free from the vortex of conflict on all sides."
The Great Master's words sent a chill through Tang San's heart. Teacher and student locked eyes, and Tang San nodded silently.
One day later, Shrek Academy welcomed their twelfth opponent.
This twelfth opponent made Tang San feel a particular thrill—even stronger than the desire for victory he had felt against Infernal Academy. It wasn't one of the five great elemental academies. It was Cang Hui Academy.
The academy once led by Shi Nian—the man who had nearly dragged Tang San into eternal ruin.
With less than half an hour until the match began, every team was already waiting in the rest area. This time, Shrek Academy wouldn't appear in the first round; they wouldn't take the stage until the third.
—— (End of chapter)