20+ Advance chapters on Patreon
"Haha, you're full of tricks, aren't you? Alright, let's do it your way." Bone Douluo patted Ning Tian on the shoulder, his grin wide and friendly, like they'd known each other forever.
"I've got to hand it to you, that's a solid plan. On behalf of Rongrong and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I owe you one." Ning Fengzhi took a slow breath, his eyes on Ning Tian flickering with both respect and a hint of caution.
He'd thought he had fully understood the young man, but there was more beneath the surface. Beyond his charm and sharp mind, Ning Tian had a cunning edge.
Ning Tian smiled lightly. "Rongrong means a lot to me, and you're like family. I'm not about to let some random fool disrespect the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
After Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo left, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't hold back her question. "Ning Tian, what did you tell Rongrong to say to her father?"
Ye Lingling, Zhu Qing, and the rest of the New Heaven Dou BattleTeam turned their curious gazes toward him.
Ning Tian leaned closer, using soul power to whisper to Zhu Qing, Zhu Zhuqing, Ye Lingling, and Ning Rongrong. "I told Rongrong to suggest they strip Oscar of his soul power and haul him back to the sect to produce a bunch of sausage Spirit Masters."
The four girls' faces turned red in an instant, even Ning Rongrong's. 'Only he could come up with something that brutal,' they thought, half-amused, half-shocked.
The rest of the team didn't hear the details, but the girls' flushed expressions told them Oscar was in deep trouble. And frankly, he had it coming. A lowly food-type Spirit Master daring to set his sights on the princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the top three sects was asking for it.
.......
Meanwhile, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and the two Heaven Dou Academy substitutes had woken up from their stupor. They were all groggy, but Oscar was a mess.
When he realized he'd spilled his dark, twisted thoughts about Ning Rongrong in front of everyone, he collapsed into sobs, kneeling by the makeshift toilet Tang San had rigged up with Blue Silver Grass. "Xiao San, you've got to save me!" he wailed, voice breaking. "Only your dad can help me now, or Bone Douluo from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will end me!"
Still crying, he crawled over to Ning Rongrong's brother, Ning Tao, grabbing his hand. "Brother Tao, please, you've got to help me! That wasn't me, it was Cang Hui Academy messing with my head!"
Ning Tao pulled his hand back with a cold laugh. "Don't call me that. You're not worth my time. Save your excuses for my father and Grandpa Bone."
He glanced at Tang San, still hidden behind the grass. "Tang San, looks like I won't be needed for the preliminaries or promotion matches. See you in the finals." With that, he walked out of the arena.
Tang San didn't say a word.
It wasn't until late at night that he stepped out, done with his business. Oscar was still on his knees, while Xiao Wu and Dai Mubai sat nearby, meditating. The arena was deserted otherwise.
Tang San spoke quietly. "Get up. Stay close to me for now. Next time I see my dad, I'll talk to him. Ning Fengzhi will listen to him."
'Oscar's too important for the fights ahead,' he thought. 'Can't let him go down like this.'
........
The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Competition's preliminaries pressed on. Ning Fengzhi had decided to handle Oscar after the tournament; stripping his soul power and using him to breed sausage Spirit Masters, so there was no rush to act.
Oscar let out a small sigh of relief, assuming Tang San's father had already smoothed things over with the sect.
But after the clash with Cang Hui Academy, the Shrek Team's mood had changed. Oscar was a nervous wreck, always glancing around, expecting payback. Dai Mubai wasn't much better. Since admitting he was a eunuch, he'd picked up the nickname "Eunuch Dai" around the arena, nearly as notorious as Tang San's "Feces Guy." Ma Hongjun, Yu Tianheng, and the others slipped into the background, overshadowed by the trio's infamy.
Cang Hui Academy, the ones who'd humiliated them, couldn't keep up. Their Seven-as-One Fusion Skill had worn them out, and they fell to Tianshui Academy and Blazing Academy back-to-back. They still had to face the top-ranked New Imperial Team, and it was obvious they wouldn't survive the preliminaries unless Shrek lost to Blazing Academy, Divine Wind Academy, Thunder Academy and the Tianshui Academy. Only then could there be a tiebreaker for the last spot.
The competition reached the twentieth round, with seven left. The top six teams stood as follows:
New Imperial Team: 19 wins, ranked first.Divine Wind Academy: 19 wins, 1 loss (to Blazing Academy, though some whispered it was rigged since they'd beaten Thunder and Tianshui earlier).
Thunder Academy: 19 wins, 1 loss (to Divine Wind), tied for second.
Tianshui Academy: 18 wins, 1 loss, 1 bye (loss to Divine Wind), tied for second.
Shrek Team: 19 wins, 1 loss (to Cang Hui), tied for second, yet to face the other top teams.
Blazing Academy: 17 wins, 3 losses (to New Heaven, Tianshui, and Thunder), ranked sixth.
The twenty-first round began, pitting the New Imperial Team against Cang Hui Academy, the team that had beaten Shrek. Cang Hui tried their Seven-as-One Fusion Skill again, but Ning Tian shut it down fast. His first soul ring glowed, and a ten-meter sword beam sliced through the air, striking all seven of Cang Hui's gem Spirit Masters. They coughed up blood and hit the ground hard.
...
"Impressive." As the referee called the New Imperial Team's win and they stepped off the stage, a young man in a silver-embroidered green robe approached. It was Feng Xiaotian, the persistent flirt.
"You're not off chasing Huo Wu? Why do you keep showing up here?" Ning Rongrong frowned at him. Ever since their match with Blazing Academy, Feng Xiaotian had been a regular pest.
Feng Xiaotian shifted on his feet, looking sheepish. "You've figured it out, huh?"
"With you running between Blazing Academy and us, always trailing after Huo Wu, it's pretty obvious," Ning Rongrong said sharply.
Ning Tian smirked, reading Feng Xiaotian's intentions. "Spit it out already, puppy."
"I've told you a dozen times, call me Feng Xiaotian or Brother Feng. 'Puppy' makes me sound ridiculous," Feng Xiaotian said, scratching his head. Then he straightened up. "Fine, I'll get to it. Ning Tian, I want a one-on-one duel with you. The winner decides the match between New Imperial and Divine Wind Academy."
Before Ning Tian could answer, a rough voice cut in. "If that's the deal, how about I join?"
Everyone turned to see Tang San walking over; short, dark-skinned, and stocky like a bear.
"You too?" Feng Xiaotian blinked, then shook his head. "Tang San, no offense, but I know about your second spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer. It's strong, sure, but you haven't added any soul rings to it. With just Blue Silver Grass, you're not on our level."
"Don't worry about that. Just say if you're in or not." Tang San said, his eyes locked onto Ning Tian.
Ning Tian met his stare evenly. "Alright. I don't know what's fueling your confidence, but I never turn down a challenge. I'm in."
"Good. See you on the field." Tang San turned and headed back to Shrek's rest area.
"You're really going to fight him?" Feng Xiaotian glanced at Tang San's retreating back.
"Why not?" Ning Tian shrugged.
"Fair enough. It'll be over quick anyway," Feng Xiaotian said with a nod.
"Don't underestimate him. He's got two thousand-year soul rings on his Clear Sky Hammer. Get careless, and you'll pay for it," Ning Tian warned.
"Two thousand-year rings?" Feng Xiaotian's eyes lit up. "Now I'm interested."
.......
At Shrek's rest area, the team crowded around Tang San.
"Did he agree, Third Brother?" Oscar asked, practically bouncing. Ever since Tang San promised to get Tang Hao's help, Oscar had been clinging to him like a lifeline.
"Not just Ning Tian but Feng Xiaotian too," Tang San said calmly.
He'd planned to challenge Ning Tian alone. The New Heaven Dou BattleTeam was tough, especially with Ye Lingling and Ning Rongrong backing them up. In a team fight, Shrek's chances were slim. A duel was smarter and a shot at proving he was more than "Feces Guy," a real genius.
Running into Feng Xiaotian was a bonus. Divine Wind Academy's flyers were a pain in group battles, so a one-on-one tilted things his way.
After the Heaven Dou Battle Team crushed Cang Hui, five more matches passed. Then Shrek faced Blazing Academy, who'd already lost to New Imperial, Thunder, and Tianshui.
Oddly, Tang San didn't use his spirit fusion skill, Evil-Eyed Green Tiger, or put Yu Tianheng in as the main striker. He swapped in a Heaven Dou substitute instead.
His Blue Silver Grass was useless against Blazing Academy's fire, completely countered. At the key moment, Tang San pulled out his Clear Sky Hammer. Two purple soul rings flared up. The first ring glowed, turning the hammer gold. With one heavy swing, he sent Huo Wushuang flying off the stage.
"You jerk! I'll kill you!" Huo Wu shouted, her third soul ring lighting up. Her Repelling Fire Ring burst out, knocking everyone but Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Xiao Wu off the platform.
The three jumped high, dodging the fire ring just like Ning Tian had before. Then Tang San's second soul ring ignited.
"Second soul skill: Demon Bear Hammer!"
The hammer shifted from gold to gray, and a huge bear spirit appeared behind him. As he swung, the bear charged at Huo Wu and her team.
"You think you're Ning Tian now?" Huo Wu gritted her teeth, dodging the bear while her fourth soul ring flared. The two fire-support Spirit Masters poured their power into her, forming a rough three-in-one fusion. A massive white fireball formed above her head, outshining the arena's lights.
In the VIP seats, Ning Fengzhi leaned forward. "Controlling three people's soul power at once? Her spirit control's among the best in this competition."
Bone Douluo chuckled. "At the Spirit Ancestor level, that move's no joke. The Clear Sky kid's in trouble."
Emperor Xue Ye nodded. "A pity about Tang San."
'A twin-spirit genius like him could've rivaled Spirit Hall's Pope Bibi Dong,' he thought. 'But Yu Xiaogang's nonsense gave him that diarrhea drawback and made him waste two ten-thousand-year soul ring slots on his second spirit. Even as a Title Douluo, he'll never match her.'
Bishop Salas smirked to himself. 'Looks like Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo won't need to step in.'
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━━
patreon.com/DUKE3500 for advance chapters for all the novels i translate for 2$