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That evening, the Seven Treasures team arrived at the Tiandou Great Soul Arena.
Inside the rest area, Feng Xiaotian shared the information he had gathered earlier in the day with everyone. "Recently, a soul battle team with thirty consecutive wins has appeared in the arena. Like us, they're also a school team."
"Could it be the Imperial Team, or perhaps the Blazing Fire, Thunderclap, or Skywater teams?" Ning Rongrong couldn't help but ask.
In Tiandou City, these four academies were all prestigious institutions, so achieving such results would be normal for them.
For their team, this was also a good opponent to face.
Feng Xiaotian shook his head. "It's the Blue Tyrant Academy team. However, they should now be called the Shrek Academy team."
"Shrek Academy?" Ning Rongrong and two others exchanged puzzled glances.
Ning Tianchen wasn't surprised—this was how things unfolded in the original timeline as well.
When Blue Tyrant Academy changed its name to Shrek Academy, their team had been hunting soul rings in Sunset Forest, so they hadn't learned of the news right away.
"I think I've heard of Shrek Academy before. If I remember correctly, aren't they based in Suotuo City?" Yu Die chimed in.
She and her sister had once passed through Suotuo City during Shrek Academy's enrollment season, when the city was filled with promotions about the academy.
Ning Tianchen nodded. "That's the one you've heard about. However, they've now moved to Tiandou City."
"Have you heard of the Golden Iron Triangle? Shrek Academy's principal, Flender, and teacher Yu Xiaogang, were both members of the Golden Iron Triangle. As for Blue Tyrant Academy, it was founded by Liu Erlong, the Killing Corner of the Golden Iron Triangle."
"Now that the Golden Iron Triangle has reunited, it makes sense for Liu Erlong to hand over the academy to Flender to manage."
The Golden Iron Triangle had disappeared from the continent for over a decade. Among the Seven Treasures team, only Feng Xiaotian, who was slightly older, had some memory of them.
"Why don't we challenge the Shrek team to a match?" Zhu Zhuqing suggested.
Deep down, she harbored thoughts of defeating Dai Mubai.
Ning Rongrong linked arms with her and shook her head. "Sister Zhuqing, I don't think that's possible. The strongest member of the Shrek team, Dai Mubai, is likely at the peak Soul Elder level. Most of our team are Soul Ancestors. According to the rules of the Great Soul Arena, we wouldn't even meet the conditions to challenge them."
Ning Tianchen sat up straight, his gaze shifting toward the nearby soul arena.
Currently, there was still a year until the Soul Masters Tournament. Various academies were gradually sending their teams to participate in soul battles here.
Ning Tianchen's gaze lingered on the Blazing Fire Academy team, which was currently battling another team.
After a pause, he withdrew his gaze. "There's no need to dwell on the Shrek team. We can spar with some of the older academy teams instead."
Feng Xiaotian suddenly recalled something. "I remember that every year, the Four Elements Academies hold an inter-academy exchange tournament before the Soul Masters Tournament begins."
"This year, it's Godwind Academy's turn to host it. But since I'm no longer part of the academy, Grandfather might not organize it this time."
This tournament, frankly speaking, was just a chance for the brother academies to understand each other's strength, avoiding fierce clashes during the main tournament that could lead to injuries preventing participants from continuing.
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up—she loved being part of the excitement. "Why don't we have this year's inter-academy exchange tournament hosted by Seven Treasures Academy? Later, I'll send someone to inform Father."
If Seven Treasures Academy hosted the exchange tournament, Godwind Academy would surely respond, but the other three academies might not agree so easily.
Ning Tianchen also wanted to get a glimpse of the other three teams' abilities beforehand, especially the Thunderclap Academy team—they'd need to prepare carefully.
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Not long after, Sun Buyu hurried into the rest area to share the latest news with everyone.
"The arena just informed us that among today's Gold Soul Badge teams, there's no team with more than eight members. Therefore, one of you won't be able to participate."
As the team captain, this matter naturally fell to Ning Tianchen to arrange.
"I'll sit this one out. During my absence from the academy, all of you trained around Xiaotian as the core. This will be a test of your training progress."
No one objected.
Previously, if Chen Huayu and Zhu Zhuqing hadn't failed to break through to Soul Elder, they would have already come here to test their progress.
"Brother Tianchen, make sure to watch our soul battle carefully," Ning Rongrong said confidently, hands on her hips.
Ning Tianchen patted her forehead gently, reminding her, "Before the Soul Masters Tournament, we can't reveal too many trump cards. Your fourth soul skill absolutely cannot be used."
"I know, Brother Tianchen is always lecturing me," Ning Rongrong turned her head and muttered quietly.
Sun Buyu chuckled and added, "Before the Soul Masters Tournament, all the major academies will be watching the Great Soul Arena closely, gathering intelligence on other academy teams. Over these days, I've collected quite a bit of data on various teams."
As the teacher responsible for the team's logistics, this was part of his duties.
At that moment, the Great Soul Arena's broadcast rang out: "Please, the 'Sword and Tower' duo, and the 'Bear Out' duo, proceed to the central soul arena for a soul battle."
Training at the Great Soul Arena—one-on-one and two-on-two soul battles—were mandatory lessons for everyone.
With Feng Xiaotian joining, Oscar was fixed as his partner; Ning Rongrong and Ning Tianchen fought side by side once again.
"The Bear Out duo is one of the veteran strong teams in the Tiandou Great Soul Arena. Tianchen, Rongrong, to avoid revealing your trump cards, you may tactically concede defeat if necessary."
"Teacher Sun, don't worry," Ning Tianchen replied. In his dictionary, there was no such word as "concession."
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At another corner of the Great Soul Arena…
Since the Shrek team began making waves in the arena, their treatment had improved significantly. The Great Soul Arena even provided them with a private rest area free of charge.
Upon hearing the arena's announcement, the sharp-eared Tang San immediately picked up on something. "Sword and Tower—aren't those Rongrong and Tianchen's duo?"
Back at Shrek Academy, Ning Tianchen had mentioned the name of his two-on-two soul battle team with Ning Rongrong.
"It really is them," Xiao Wu chimed in.
These days, seeing Dugu Bo hadn't come to capture her, she had grown bolder.
Especially after obtaining a herb that concealed her presence, there was no longer any need for her to hide in the academy.
Yu Xiaogang let out a faint hum. "Although they're traitors of Shrek Academy, watching their soul battles will help us understand our opponents."
Tai Long scratched his head. "Master, if I'm not mistaken, the central arena hosts two-on-two matches only for Gold Soul Badge holders."
He hadn't expected that the original Shrek Academy had such formidable talents.
"Tai Long, I also hold a Gold Soul Badge," Tang San said calmly, emphasizing the point.
Now part of the Shrek Seven Monsters, Tai Long naturally understood the relationship between Tang San and Xiao Wu, so he didn't make the same mistakes as in the original timeline.
Thus, this master-servant pair remained unaware of each other's true identities for now.
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