The wind did not roar.
It tightened.
On the field, Blue Wind captain twisted free of the first layer of Tang San's Spider Web Restrain, his fourth spirit ring trembling like a drawn blade. The falcon spirit behind him spread its wings wider, and every gust inside the arena sharpened into a thin, screaming edge.
He took one step forward.
Then the arena floor in front of him split with pale cuts.
Not from any weapon.
From the wind pressure itself.
The crowd cheers from the side then changed into a murmur of alarm.
Tang San expression remained calm, but his eyes had already shifted into that cold, analyzing stillness of his. He had seen the change in spirit pressure the moment the fourth ring shimmered.
"Wind compression," he said quietly.
Dai Mubai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "I noticed."
The Blue Wind captain raised both hands. The falcon spirit behind him folded its wings, and then—like a storm being pulled into a funnel—the air condensed around his body.
His fourth spirit ring flared.
A ring of pale blue light expanded outward.
Storm Falcon Domain.
The name had not been announced yet, but everyone on the field could feel what it was.
The air pressure slammed downward.
Jiang Zhu hair fluttered despite herself manage to balance herself. Huang Yuan stance shifted trying to withstands the force of the wind. Even Tai Long, who had been pushing forward with brute force, was forced to sink lower on his feet.
Team One movement slowed by half a beat.
That half beat was enough for Blue Wind team.
Two of their defenders launched a synchronized strike, wind blades crossing in an X pattern toward Jiang Zhu and He Ming.
The healer was still the obvious target.
But this time, Blue Wind had learned from the previous mistake.
The blades did not aim only for the back line.
They aimed to split Team One structure in two.
He Ming stepped forward.
His body expanded with spirit power, the Tyrant Shield Tortoise aura thickening into something that looked less like a shell and more like a fortress wall made visible.
"Not gonna past me," he said.
His third ring ignited.
Blue Tyrant Bastion.
A deep blue barrier of shield force erupted around him and Jiang Zhu, layered and heavy, each fold of energy resembling overlapping tortoise plates. The incoming wind blades struck it, screeching against the surface and breaking apart into harmless fragments of air.
The crowd cheered again, louder this time.
He Ming did not move after that.
He simply stood at the front.
And because he stood there shielding her, Jiang Zhu could lift her scepter and let her healing light settle into the formation without being forced to use it by much.
Blue Wind captain eyes narrowed.
He had wanted the opponent to panic.
But he got stuck by a wall.
Tang San seized the moment.
His fourth ring flashed.
The Blue Silver Grass at his feet suddenly thickened, darkened, and spread in spiraling lines across the arena like a prison being written in living ink.
Blue Silver Prison.
The vines shot upward in layers, not toward the captain limbs this time, but toward the wind currents themselves—locking the battlefield into a lattice of constriction and interference.
The arena became a cage.
Not for people inside of it.
For airflow and the wind of this area.
Blue Wind captain's expression finally changed.
His domain depended on movement. On pressure. On open paths. That is why he able to attack beyond his area of control.
Tang San was cutting those paths apart.
"Now," Tang San said.
Dai Mubai grinned.
He had been waiting for that word.
His fourth ring erupted in purple light.
The White Tiger aura around him detonated outward in a burst of compressed force, the light condensing above him into dozens—then hundreds—of glowing tiger-formed spheres.
White Tiger Meteor Shower.
The crowd gasped as the first volley rained down.
Each sphere was no larger than a fist, but the force behind them was ruthless. They locked onto Blue Wind formation, striking the ground, the air, the shields, and the gaps between movements with relentless precision.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Blue Wind front line staggered.
Their captain spread his wings of wind and tried to force an opening, but the Blue Silver Prison kept twisting around his movement lanes, and every time he attempted to accelerate, another meteor sphere slammed into his shoulder line or the ground at his feet.
Tai Long roared and charged into the opening the meteor barrage created.
Huang Yuan lunged with wolf-like ferocity from the side.
Jing Ling slipped through the chaos like a blade through cloth.
The captain tried to lift his hands again.
Too late.
Tang San Blue Silver Grass had already wrapped around the base of his ankles.
Then around his wrists.
Then around his waist.
The prison tightened.
The falcon behind him tried to flare its wings, but Dai Mubai last few meteor spheres shattered that movement, forcing the spirit body to flicker.
He Ming advanced one step.
Only one.
The battlefield did not need him to move more than that.
Blue Wind captain looked from Tang San to Dai Mubai, then to He Ming holding the rear line with impossible steadiness.
He understood then.
Shrek Team One was not built to win by one person.
It was built to deny every answer the opponent had.
The captain clenched his teeth and forced a final burst of wind into his feet.
The prison cracked.
He broke one vine.
Then a second.
For one brief second, it looked like he might actually escape.
Then Jing Ling appeared at his blind side and struck with clean, brutal precision.
The captain knees buckled.
The falcon spirit dissolved into blue sparks.
The referee moved at once, voice cutting through the arena.
"Blue Wind Academy captain is unable to continue!"
The crowd exploded.
Shrek Academy section rose in a wave of cheers, while the Blue Wind side fell into stunned silence.
The referee lifted his hand again.
"Victory—Shrek Academy Team One!"
The roar that followed shook the stands.
Dai Mubai let out a breath and rolled his shoulder once, the fighting tension beginning to leave his body. Tai Long cracked a grin. Huang Yuan looked satisfied in the quiet way of a hunter who had landed the right strike. Jing Ling stepped back without expression, as if the result had always been obvious. Jiang Zhu lowered her scepter and finally relaxed her stance.
He Ming let the Blue Tyrant Bastion fade around him.
Tang San withdrew the last of the Blue Silver Prison.
The people around the arena slowly stopped screaming.
On the waiting wing, Oscar let out a long whistle. "That was a nasty wind spirit."
Meng Yiran nodded once. "And they still crushed him."
Xiao Wu smiled, eyes bright. "Tang San prison was good."
Zhu Zhuqing voice remained flat, but there was approval in it. "He reduce the area of movement before he block the man."
Ning Rongrong glanced toward Li Wei. "What do you think?"
Li Wei had watched every second.
His eyes remained on the arena even after the referee declared the result.
"Blue Wind had enough talent to threaten them," he said. "But they lacked a second attacker once Tang San closed the field."
Oscar blinked. "That sounds like a very you thing to say."
"It is."
Yu Xiaogang was already speaking to Team One in a low voice, likely dissecting the match in his mind and finding every flaw before the crowd had even settled down. That was his way. No victory escaped inspection.
The victorious Team One exited the field under applause.
As they passed the waiting corridor, Dai Mubai gave a short nod toward the Team Two group. It wasn't showy. It was just recognition.
Tang San eyes met Li Wei for an instant.
No words.
Just understanding.
The opening test had passed.
And now the real tournament could begin.
On the far side of the arena, the next match teams were already being called to prepare.
Li Wei straightened from the railing.
Not because it was his turn.
Not yet.
But because the atmosphere had changed.
The tournament had stopped being ceremony.
It had become a machine.
And machines only got more dangerous after the first successful strike.
"Next round," Meng Yiran murmured.
Li Wei gave a small nod.
"Now we start watching the people who think they can still hide."