Chapter 79: Dai Youheng Joins the Team – New BloodEveryone connected the dots, realizing that the immortal-grade medicinal herb was within Youheng's expectations. His Cultivation Technique could only conceal his spirit power, not his spirit rings, so he had already prepared an excuse.In the early days, it wasn't unheard of for the first generation Shrek Seven Devils to advance five, six, or even seven Ranks in a single day, and they relied on immortal-grade medicinal herbs. This event is recorded in Shrek's history books, and everyone knows about it.However, Dai Youheng's plan also had a flaw. Having obtained the immortal-grade medicinal herb, his potential was limitless. If he also displayed exceptionally strong combat abilities in this competition, helping Shrek win the championship, Shrek might not let him go when he later processed his Outer Court graduation. They might try every means to pull him into the Inner Court.But it didn't matter. For this situation, Dai Youheng already had a plan; he would definitely be able to leave Shrek.Moreover, in the future, it was likely that he and Shrek would eventually be enemies, not friends. Because no one with ambitions to rule the world would truly tolerate the existence of a terrifying and uncontrollable'state within a state' within their sphere of influence."Immortal-grade medicinal herb!" Dai Huabin, who was standing nearby, heard these words and his body trembled violently. His face turned even paler, his tightly bitten lower lip almost bleeding, and his clenched fists were white at the knuckles from excessive force.Boundless jealousy and resentment gnawed at his heart like venomous snakes. "Why—why are both my elder brother and I crippled, yet he can obtain such a Heaven-Defying Opportunity? Why him?!"The extreme psychological disparity almost made him lose control on the spot, fortunately, Zhu Lu, who was beside him, held him tightly.Zhou Yi, on the other hand, was both surprised and delighted.She was surprised that an immortal-grade medicinal herb had reappeared in the world, and delighted that Dai Youheng's strength had made a qualitative leap!When he was a Spirit Elder, he could suppress a Spirit Ancestor. Now that he was a Spirit Ancestor with a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, his true combat power could probably rival an ordinary Spirit King. For them, who were about to face the strong enemy Zhengtian Academy, this was undoubtedly a godsend!"This is great! This is truly great!" Zhou Yi exclaimed, repeating the word "great" twice. "We'll immediately reorganize the combat meeting. Youheng, you've come at just the right time!"In the time that followed, Zhou Yi quickly gathered everyone to redeploy tactics against their next formidable opponent, Zhengtian Academy, which possessed three Spirit Kings.Dai Youheng's inclusion greatly enriched their tactical options. He himself could single-handedly contain or even confront one Spirit King, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi could jointly handle another, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's Spirit Fusion skill, the Power of Hao Dong, could serve as a trump card for victory, supplemented by He Caitou's long-range Soul Engineer firepower support and Huo Yuhao's Spirit Detection Sharing for overall field control.The scales of victory seemed to be tipping towards Shrek.As long as they won this match, Ling Luochen, who was recovering from serious injuries, could return to the team! Zhou Yi seemed to already see the dawn of the team overcoming its difficulties.After the combat meeting, everyone returned to their rooms to rest and adjust. Huo Yuhao quietly approached Dai Youheng, lowering his voice, and asked with a hint of curiosity and concern, "Brother, I heard that your return to the team this time was facilitated by Princess Xu Jiujiu's recommendation? You—you and she—"The young man's eyes held a hint of gossip and happiness for his elder brother.Dai Youheng glanced at him, a smile appearing on his face that fit his "former simp" persona and the idea of "after suffering, joy comes." He gently patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder and said in a tone of someone who had finally achieved his wish after enduring countless hardships, "I guess this is what they call'sincerity can move even stone.'"He naturally wouldn't reveal the truth of the calculations and exchanges of interests between him and Xu Jiujiu. Let this beautiful misunderstanding continue; this disguise was beneficial to him and had no drawbacks.Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao indeed showed a knowing and congratulatory smile, nodding vigorously, "Brother, congratulations!"In his simple mind, his elder brother had finally won the princess's heart, which was naturally a great thing.Dai Youheng smiled, saying nothing more, his gaze turning to the night view of Star Luo City outside the window. In his deep eyes, a calculating glint flashed and disappeared. The stage was set; now it was his turn to perform.The next day. The third round of the round-robin tournament, Shrek Academy versus Zhengtian Academy, was undoubtedly one of the most significant matchups since the start of the competition, and the atmosphere was unprecedentedly enthusiastic.In the waiting area, the expressions of the Shrek team members were more solemn than ever before.Zhengtian Academy was the first truly formidable opponent they had encountered. This long-standing academy from the Tianhun Empire was renowned for its pure, traditional Spirit Master cultivation path.They strongly rejected the Soul Engineer system; the academy didn't even have a Soul Tool Department, pouring all its resources into Spirit Master Cultivation.This extreme choice resulted in their team members having exceptionally high average spirit power Ranks, second only to Shrek and the major imperial academies among all competition teams, and not to be underestimated.Their captain, Ye Wuqing, was even more famous. He was about twenty years old and extremely handsome, comparable to Wang Dong in their team, but even more striking was his formidable strength.His Spirit, Golden Leaf, was a Rank 58 attack system Battle Spirit King, a Genius who had already made a name for himself in the previous competition, and this year he was the backbone of the team.The crucial moment to determine the match format arrived. The reserve team captain, Bei Bei, took a deep breath and stepped forward to draw lots on behalf of Shrek.The glowing orb stopped flashing, and the result appeared. The referee announced loudly, "Shrek Academy versus Zhengtian Academy, the drawn match format is: Two, Two, Three Battle Method! Two two-on-two matches will be held first, followed by one three-on-three match. A best-of-three system will be used. If one side wins both of the first two matches, the third match will be canceled!"This result made Zhou Yi's heart sink slightly. What she most hoped for was a team battle. Only with a seven-person team battle could Huo Yuhao's miraculous Spirit Detection Sharing ability be maximized for perfect team coordination.The Two, Two, Three Battle Method had greater variables and tested the individual strength of the contestants and the instantaneous cooperation between duos and trios more.Fortunately, during yesterday's tactical meeting, they had already simulated and analyzed various possibilities, including the Two, Two, Three Battle Method.According to intelligence, Zhengtian Academy had three Spirit Kings: the strongest, Rank 58 Ye Wuqing, the weakest, Rank 52 Tang Xiaolei, and another of intermediate strength, Yu Mengdi, who possessed an Angel Spirit.Ye Wuqing, as the captain and strongest point, was highly likely to anchor the final three-on-three match to secure victory in the decisive round. And to gain an early advantage and try to win the first match to make an initial impact, the second-ranked Angel Spirit King Yu Mengdi would likely participate in the first two-on-two match.Based on this judgment, Zhou Yi made a bold decision on the spot.In the original story for this match, Shrek sent out Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, saving Bei Bei for the last match.But due to Dai Youheng's arrival, she changed her tactics, sending Bei Bei out early, partnered with Xu Sanshi, and entrusting the final anchoring role to Dai Youheng.Her sharp gaze swept over her team members, and she decisively ordered, "For the first match, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, you're up!"Their opponents were strong, so they had to give it their all!Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, one was recognized as the strongest offense in the Outer Court, the other the strongest defense.They had partnered for many years, had the highest level of understanding, and could unleash the most formidable combined combat power of "spear and shield."Zhou Yi hoped that with the powerful impact of this golden duo, they could directly confront the Spirit King Yu Mengdi, who was likely to participate, and strive to secure an initial victory, laying the foundation for the entire team's triumph.
