After chatting with the group for a while, Luo Yanglu left the room and happened to run into Wu Changkong. The latter frowned at him. "Can you leave them some dignity?"
He had heard the story.
Shen Yi lacked a full understanding of Huo Yuhao. She might think her side had a chance to win. But Wu Changkong, who clearly knew Huo Yuhao's strength, understood that this time, the academy would probably... lose very badly.
Luo Yanglu paused. Considering their recent harmonious getting along, he sighed and said bluntly: "Teacher Wu respect is mutual. You should ask them if they're willing to hold back. And... Yuhao needs this opportunity. Now that it's been presented to us, we can't let it go."
Wu Changkong pressed his lips tightly, momentarily speechless.
At the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition, the most anticipated event was naturally the seven-person team competition, followed by the five-person team competition.
Not only the 80,000 live spectators, but also Countless viewers in front of soul tool screens were watching these highly anticipated matches.
Including Dean Yu of Eastsea Academy.
Ever since the news of the Shrek students challenging Class Zero spread to the soul tool network, he had been somewhat dumbfounded.
Their academy had become famous this time famous in every sense of the word.
In his office, Long Hengxu looked at Dean Yu and smiled bitterly. "Teacher Luo's response was to tell us not to worry. He would handle it, and it wouldn't affect the academy."
"...I'm not actually worried about the academy's reputation," Dean Yu shook his head. "Right now, the Alliance is mostly praising us."
Probably because the exhibition match loss had been so devastating, the Tianhai Alliance urgently needed a public opinion direction. With the Alliance's spin, no one was now favoring the Class Zero kids, but not many were belittling them either. Instead, they were considered admirable for their courage.
In everyone's eyes, this was just an coaching match arising from a verbal spat.
"Alright — enough of that. The five-person team competition is starting." Just then, seeing the picture on the soul tool screen, a glint flashed in Dean Yu's eyes. He sat up straighter and watched the match.
The five-person and seven-person team competitions were the top two in terms of viewership. The former was held at noon, the latter at night — both times with high online traffic. This was Eastsea Academy's first five-person team match, and their opponent was Tianhai Academy, which ranked among the top in the Alliance.
But seeing the contestants on their side, Dean Yu smiled, not at all worried they would lose.
Those were the pride of the Spirit Transmission Tower.
At the venue, the referee glanced at the ready contestants on both sides and called out:
"Begin!"
The five Tianhai Academy team members had just assumed their formation. The leading captain shouted: "Release — martial souls——"
But before he could finish, a cool, clear voice rang out.
"Let me."
Gu Yuena stepped forward. Her black hair moved without wind. Three spirit rings rose from beneath her feet.
—Yellow, yellow, purple!
The entire audience erupted.
"A three-ring Spirit Elder!"
The most unbelievable thing was that this girl, standing in the center of the arena and commanding the audience's attention with her presence alone, was barely over ten years old.
The Tianhai Academy team members' pupils contracted sharply. But before they could recover from the shock, Gu Yuena's spirit ability had already been unleashed.
Her fingertips lightly pressed. In an instant, the entire arena seemed to be torn by an invisible force. Elemental power surged out like a tsunami.
Flames turned into angry dragons, ice condensed into blades. The ground, under the manipulation of the earth element, churned like waves. The Tianhai Academy team members, unable to even fully release their defensive spirit abilities, were completely swallowed by this overwhelming elemental storm!
BOOM!!!
The five Tianhai Academy members flew backward like kites with severed strings, crashing at the edge of the arena and completely losing their combat ability.
A storm of exclamations erupted from the audience.
This girl... seemed even more terrifying than that Shrek girl yesterday. And she was actually a student within their own Tianhai Alliance?
And it seemed she wasn't even the leader of Eastsea Academy. Then...
For a moment, many spectators became excited.
Perhaps they would be destined to face defeat, but in the match between Eastsea Academy and Shrek Academy, there would probably be quite a few surprises along the way.
"She is... a three-ring Spirit Elder?"
In the audience stands, Ye Xinglan's gaze suddenly condensed. The usual indifferent curve of her lips froze, replaced by full-blown shock and disbelief.
Gu Yuena was about her age. How could her cultivation be higher than hers? Then what did her pride amount to?
"So that's it — being with Huo Yuhao, she's naturally not simple either. This ability to control elements... she must be the thirteenth-ranked Gu Yuena on the Junior Genius Rankings, right? A ten-year-old Spirit Elder, able to control so many elements — worth paying attention to."
Yu Longheng, who had previously paid little attention to this girl, also frowned.
"The Junior Genius Rankings — what kind of rubbish list is that? Never even heard of it!"
Ye Xinglan snapped back to reality, her eyes reddening as she shouted. She angrily left the audience stands.
Yu Longheng glanced at the direction she disappeared, then looked away. He didn't mind being included in her insult. He furrowed his brow, looking at Huo Yuhao, who was still off the stage.
He had wanted to use this match to see Huo Yuhao's strength. Now it seemed that wouldn't be possible.
"However..." The corner of Yu Longheng's mouth lifted in a cold smile. "There was no need to be this cautious in the first place."
Apart from Gu Yuena, the others were all Great Spirit Masters — even one one-ring Spirit Master. Although having a thousand-year Spirit Soul was surprising, compared to them, the gap was too large. They wouldn't affect the battle.
Down in the arena passage, Xie Xie, walking off the stage, clicked his tongue. "Sister Na went all out this time."
"After all, the match against Shrek Academy is tonight. If Sister Na didn't act, who knows how people would look at us."
Zhang Yangzi said helplessly. "It felt like the audience was looking at us a bit... off."
But after Gu Yuena acted, it seemed even worse.
On the other side, Gu Yuena walked over to Huo Yuhao, thought for a moment, and said softly: "Yuhao — tonight, you take the lead."
"..."
Huo Yuhao met Gu Yuena's dark eyes, was silent for a moment, then smiled. "Alright."
The Tianhai Alliance heavily promoted the match between Shrek Academy and Eastsea Academy. Coupled with the fact that a seven-person battle was already attention-grabbing, it generated widespread interest.
As the last rays of the setting sun dipped below the horizon, the 80,000 seats of the Tianhai Sports Stadium were already filled to capacity. Night did not diminish the audience's enthusiasm; instead, it cast the entire arena in a fervent atmosphere.
VIP Box No. 1 at the Tianhai Sports Stadium.
This area was always reserved for Tianhai City officials. Whenever major events occurred, the heavyweight figures of Tianhai City and the Tianhai Alliance would gather here to watch.
But today was different. Shen Yi and Luo Yanglu sat in the front row of the box, with other Tianhai Alliance senior executives behind them.
Long Huantian, the dean of Tianhai Academy in Tianhai City, noticed something unusual.
At the front seats sat both a teacher from Shrek Academy and a representative from the Spirit Transmission Tower.
A strange look flickered in his eyes.
He hadn't thought much of it before, but now, seeing those two figures side by side, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Could this be… another kind of clash between the two great powers?
No wonder it had raised such a commotion.
Hopefully, this match will help conceal our Tianhai Academy's previous loss.
Turning to more important matters, Long Huantian sighed inwardly.
In the front row, Shen Yi's gaze flickered. She looked at Luo Yanglu. "Huo Yuhao is indeed extraordinarily talented. At only ten years old, he has already become a Spirit Elder, and his spiritual power is unfathomable. But this is a team battle — aren't you afraid he might fail?"
Luo Yanglu said: "There are always people better than you. You'll understand, Teacher Shen."
If he remembered correctly, after Yuhao's recent breakthrough, he had gone to the Spirit Elevation Platform. So by now, he should already...
The corner of Luo Yanglu's mouth lifted in a smile.
***
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