Chapter 151 I Embarrassed the Capitalists
"The odds for the Tianshui Team are only 1 to 1.06?"
At the betting exchange, Ye Chen's eyes widened as he spoke to the Miss at the counter, a look of disbelief on his face.
He had thought before that if the Tianshui Team won, the odds would be very low, but he never expected them to be this low.
"Yes, sir."
The Miss, wearing a professional smile, nodded at Ye Chen.
"Damn it, give me the money!"
Ye Chen, looking annoyed, slapped the five betting slips, each for one million gold coins, onto the counter.
With odds of 1 to 1.06, it meant that Ye Chen, having bet five million gold coins, would receive five million three hundred thousand gold coins.
It seemed like Ye Chen earned three hundred thousand gold coins, but one must remember this was 'pre-tax income'; the Great Spirit Arena would take a five percent commission!
This five percent commission was not taken from the extra three hundred thousand gold coins earned, but from the five million three hundred thousand gold coins.
Five percent of five million three hundred thousand gold coins was two hundred sixty-five thousand gold coins.
In other words, Ye Chen's bet this time, with a principal of five million gold coins, only earned him thirty-five thousand gold coins in profit. Any capitalist would vomit blood upon seeing this!
Ye Chen: 'I've shamed the capitalists!'
"Welcome back next time, distinguished guest!"
The Miss smiled as she handed Ye Chen a large stack of gold coin cards.
Walking out of the betting exchange, looking at the three ten-thousand-value and one five-thousand-value gold coin cards he had earned, Ye Chen silently shed tears of bitterness.
It was only because the odds this time reached 1 to 1.06; if it had been 1 to 1.05, he, Ye Chen, would have bet and won, but ended up losing money. That would be outrageous!
'Damn the Huangdou Deputy Team, can't their strength be a bit higher?!'
Ye Chen cursed to himself.
If the Huangdou Deputy Team's strength had been a bit higher, and the gap with the Tianshui Team not so obvious, then the odds would probably have increased a bit, right?
After all, the Huangdou Deputy Team was still a team from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, so there must have been some die-hard fans.
Just then, Ye Chen saw Ma Hongjun and Oscar.
"Little Ao, we only earned three gold coins and five silver coins this time?"
Weighing the three gold coins and five silver coins in his hand, Ma Hongjun complained to Oscar.
"Who would have thought the odds would be so low? It's good enough that we didn't lose money."
Oscar was also a bit speechless, never expecting to earn so little money.
High costs, low returns, tough times!
Listening to Ma Hongjun and Oscar only earning 3.5 gold coins, and comparing it to his own thirty-five thousand gold coins, Ye Chen nodded in satisfaction.
Comparison highlights the difference; although he didn't earn much, compared to Ma Hongjun and Oscar, he undoubtedly made a fortune.
However, this round of betting also made Ye Chen realize that making money at the Great Spirit Arena wasn't that easy.
Even if one accurately predicted which team would win, there was still a possibility of losing money.
The reason he could make money this time was still due to the Huangdou Deputy Team's reputation as being from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Without that reputation bonus, and without the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's die-hard fans, Ye Chen would likely have lost money.
...
Returning to the academy, Ye Chen gathered everyone from the Shrek Team.
"Our opponent tomorrow is the Canghui Academy Team. In this battle, we need to hide our strength, ideally making it a evenly matched fight, and finally winning by a narrow margin against Canghui Academy."
Ye Chen instructed everyone.
If they exposed their strength too early, the odds for Shrek in the Great Spirit Arena's betting would definitely drop significantly in the future.
Only by hiding their strength and making it an evenly matched fight against weaker teams could the odds for Shrek increase.
In the eyes of outsiders, the Shrek Team's strength was unremarkable. When they faced a seeded team, wouldn't the odds skyrocket?
To make big money, they had to pull off an upset.
"Why?"
Xiao Wu immediately asked, puzzled.
Not only Xiao Wu, but everyone else also looked at Ye Chen with confusion.
"You should know that there are betting odds available at the Great Spirit Arena, right?"
Ye Chen said with a smile.
"Hiss~, Chen Ge, are you planning to pull off an upset to make money?"
Ma Hongjun, who was more sensitive to gold coins, immediately understood Ye Chen's plan.
"Yes, today, the Huangdou Deputy Team fought the Tianshui Team, and the odds for the Tianshui Team were ridiculously low. If our displayed strength also surpasses the Tianshui Team's, then we won't be able to make money."
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. Who could refuse the shining little darlings?
Even Ning Rongrong, the rich loli, was no exception.
"Chen Ge, do you think we should throw the match?
Anyway, qualification for the preliminaries uses a point system. Towards the end of the preliminaries, our strength will surely be exposed. At that time, if we encounter a weak team and deliberately lose, wouldn't we make a huge profit?"
Ma Hongjun started thinking and immediately came up with an idea.
"Hmm? Fatty, good insight!"
After a moment of thought, Ye Chen's eyes lit up, and he immediately gave Ma Hongjun a thumbs-up.
Ma Hongjun's suggestion was very good. As long as they ranked in the top five in the preliminaries, they could enter the promotion rounds; they didn't need to win every match.
While ensuring qualification, throwing a few matches didn't seem impossible, did it? A perfect winning record in the preliminaries, how could that be more important than the shining little darlings?
Most importantly, after the preliminaries, the promotion rounds and the finals would not be held at the Great Spirit Arena, so it was very likely that no one would open bets.
"Alright, I'll arrange tomorrow's tactics.
Canghui Academy's apparent strength isn't strong; they don't even have a single four-ring Spirit Ancestor, all of them are three-ring Spirit Elders. However, what's little known is that Canghui Academy has the Seven-in-One Soul Skill Fusion Technique as their trump card."
"What? A Seven-in-One Fusion Skill?"
Ye Chen's words were like a bombshell, and everyone's eyes widened.
"Don't worry, it's not a Spirit Fusion Skill, just a Spirit Ability Fusion Skill. The power difference is huge, and I will also be participating tomorrow."
"Phew, that's good, I thought it was a seven-person Spirit Fusion Skill!"
Ning Rongrong patted her not-so-developed chest, saying with a look of lingering fear.
She had heard of the power of a Spirit Fusion Skill.
On the continent, the Spirit Fusion Skill with the most participants was only a three-person fusion skill. If a seven-person Spirit Fusion Skill really appeared, wouldn't that be incredibly cool and awesome?
"Tomorrow's match against Canghui Academy will feature Tai Long, Jiang Zhu, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, me, Zhuqing, and Rongrong. Zhuqing, Rongrong, both of you need to display your spirit power level as a three-ring Spirit Elder, just like me, and you cannot use your Domain or Spirit Abilities above three rings."
Ye Chen decided on tomorrow's participants.
Before the opening ceremony entry, the Shrek Team had registered, but they only registered the participants and their Spirits. For spirit power levels, they could choose to hide or register, as there was no mandatory requirement.
However, generally speaking, in order for the academy to better recruit talented students, or to receive better treatment after joining a power, almost no participants chose to hide their spirit power levels.
Among the Shrek Team, Ye Chen, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong had not registered their spirit power levels, while everyone else had registered their levels.
So, on the surface, Shrek had Ma Hongjun and Oscar, two Level 42 Spirit Ancestors, four students with spirit power levels at Spirit Elder, and four others with unknown spirit power levels.
"Chen Ge, you're so naughty~"
Listening to Ye Chen's tactical arrangements, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but tease him.
"Nonsense, we're just being low-key!"
Ye Chen glared at Ning Rongrong. Was he very naughty?
Hmm, he was quite naughty at night.
Chapter 152: Ning Rongrong Wants to Become a 'Queen'
Early the next morning, as the sun began to rise, Flender started urging everyone to head to the Tiandou Great Spirit Arena.
Although Shrek Academy's match against Canghui Academy was scheduled for closer to noon, Flender wanted everyone to have a clearer understanding of the various academies' teams' strengths, so they set off early in the morning.
As for Ye Chen, it goes without saying that even if everyone else went, he would have to go early for his 'money-making scheme'.
Besides, there was nothing to do at the Academy, and given that the entertainment industry on the Douluo Continent wasn't great, attending a grand event like the Soul Master Competition was naturally a priority.
In fact, during the Soul Master Competition, most academies were basically on hiatus.
Academies located elsewhere were fine, but for those near Heaven Dou City, nine out of ten teachers and students would come to watch the matches and cheer for their own academies.
When they arrived at the Great Spirit Arena, it was still early, about half an hour before the first match, but the schedule had been set yesterday, and betting was already open.
"Xiao Wu, Zhuqing, Rongrong, follow me!"
After thinking for a moment, Ye Chen brought his three female companions along.
Each person could bet a maximum of one million gold coins per match. With his original capital plus the filial piety from his 'dear son' yesterday, Ye Chen had a little over seven million gold coins in his pocket. Even using the disguise necklace to change his appearance, he would need to place seven bets.
Since many people were placing bets and required queuing, and his three female companions also had disguise necklaces, bringing them along would save a lot of time.
Soon, when Ye Chen and the three women reappeared, they had transformed into four ordinary middle-aged men and women.
"Fatty, Oscar, let's go~"
Ye Chen greeted his two money-obsessed younger brothers and prepared to take them to the betting counter.
"Uh, who are you?"
Ma Hongjun looked at the familiar middle-aged man in front of him, utterly confused and a little clueless.
"It's me!"
Ye Chen said to Ma Hongjun with a dark expression, using his original voice.
"Haha~, Brother Chen, I'm sorry, your spirit tool's effect is too good, I didn't recognize you."
Ma Hongjun was a bit embarrassed.
"Let's go~"
Ye Chen glanced at Ma Hongjun and headed directly to the betting counter.
Actually, there was a rule in the Soul Master Competition: participants were not allowed to bet on matches involving their own team to prevent match-fixing.
Therefore, Ma Hongjun and Oscar could not bet on the Shrek Academy versus Canghui Academy match.
However, this restriction was easily circumvented, for example, by entrusting someone else to place the bet, or simply by disguising oneself like Ye Chen.
Anyway, when placing bets, there was no need to provide one's identity to the Great Spirit Arena.
It was still early before his team's match, and Ye Chen estimated that he could first bet on other teams, make some money, and then bet on his own; it should still be enough time.
"Brother Chen, our match is still a while away, which team should we bet on first?"
Ma Hongjun asked Ye Chen, looking at the dozen or so matches being offered at the betting counter.
Ye Chen remembered that in the original novel, the top five in the preliminaries of this Soul Master Competition, ranked from lowest to highest, seemed to be Tianshui, Blazing Fire Academy, Shrek, Shenfeng, and Leiting. As for the rankings of other teams, he really didn't know.
Besides his own Shrek Team, Ye Chen couldn't say for sure who would win or lose if these four teams faced each other, because strong teams might hide their true strength.
So, Ye Chen would not bet on these four teams when they faced each other, as he was going all-in with his entire fortune, and if he was tricked, he would lose everything.
"Among the first five matches, Blazing Fire Academy is playing against Elephant Armor Academy. Bet on Blazing Fire Academy to win."
After yesterday's setup, the Great Spirit Arena had five competition stages, so five matches would be held simultaneously at the start today. Seeing that two Elemental Academies were facing each other, Ye Chen said to everyone.
Even though Elephant Armor Academy was backed by the Elephant Armored Academy and was one of the Five Element Academy, its strength was undoubtedly at the bottom among the Five Element Academy.
The captain of this year's Elephant Armor Academy team, Hu Yeli, although he had a Spirit Bone as a trump card, he was still more than a notch inferior to Miss Huo Wu, who could perform spirit ring fusion.
Moreover, the Elephant Armored Academy was close to Spirit Hall and had become a subordinate of Bibi Dong. The Elephant Armor Academy, under the Elephant Armored Academy, was naturally ostracized by the other four Elemental Academy, so Blazing Fire Academy would likely not hold back.
In addition, Elephant Armor Academy had the title of Elemental Academy, and just looking at the spirit power levels of both teams, Elephant Armor Team's strength was similar to Chi Huo Battle Team's.
For such a seemingly evenly matched game, coupled with the prominence of both sides, the number of people participating in the betting would definitely not be small.
Although betting on Blazing Fire Academy to win would not earn as much as an upset, it would definitely earn more than betting on Tianshui to win yesterday.
"Brother Chen, Elephant Armor Academy is still one of the Elemental Academy. Can Blazing Fire Academy really win?"
Ma Hongjun asked with some uncertainty.
"Bet or don't bet!"
Ye Chen rolled his eyes. This Ma Hongjun really had no foresight.
I dare to bet seven million gold coins, and you're still reluctant to part with a few hundred gold coins in your pocket? You deserve to be poor!
"No, no, no, I'll listen to you!"
Hearing Ye Chen say that, Ma Hongjun immediately became anxious. He was still hoping Ye Chen would show him a way to get rich!
"Let's make this clear first, don't blame me if we lose~"
Although this possibility was very low, Ye Chen still had to be cautious, so as not to cause resentment if they happened to lose money.
"Brother Chen, you can rest assured! Am I that kind of person?"
Ma Hongjun patted his chest and said.
Subsequently, Ye Chen cashed out the gold coins from the System Shop, along with a large stack of gold coin cards of various denominations, and exchanged them for seven gold coin cards worth one million each at the Great Spirit Arena.
"Xiao Wu, Zhuqing, Rongrong, let's go, follow me to queue up for betting."
Ye Chen distributed five of the gold coin cards in his hand to the three women. Uh, Ye Chen, who was short on cash, only gave one to Ning Rongrong.
The sales Miss looked at the four ordinary-looking middle-aged men and women in front of her, all of whom had each bet one million, and was a little surprised.
However, despite her surprise, her service quality was quite good. She smiled throughout and issued tickets to the four of them.
After all, the Great Spirit Arena's betting counter operated by taking a commission, and with this profit model, the Great Spirit Arena was eager for more wealthy individuals to place bets.
After all, the more money bet, the more they could take as commission.
However, although that was the case, if Ye Chen hadn't changed his appearance and the people at the Great Spirit Arena knew that someone was making a huge amount of gold coins there, there might be a risk of foul play. Wealth moving people's hearts was not just an empty saying.
When they changed their appearances again and placed their second round of bets, Ye Chen noticed that Ning Rongrong had also come along.
"Hehe, I also have some private money!"
Noticing Ye Chen's gaze, Ning Rongrong took out a million-denomination gold coin card and waved it at Ye Chen.
Indeed, Ning Rongrong was the eldest Miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, so it was normal for her to have a million gold coins in private savings.
"Rongrong, please support me!"
Ye Chen said to Ning Rongrong.
"Hmph hmph~, it's not impossible, but I want to play with little leather whips and little candles."
Ning Rongrong said proudly.
Ye Chen: "..."
Where did this flat-chested loli get the confidence to act like a queen? Da Mao Mi on the side was more like it~.
Chapter 153 Soul Bone Grandpa
The match hadn't started yet. While waiting, in the resting area for the participating academies, Ye Chen was chatting with his three girls.
Just then, a participating team walked through the door of the lounge.
Looking at the emblem on their chests, Ye Chen realized that this team was their opponent for today, the Canghui Team.
Behind the Canghui Team, there was also an old man, about sixty years old, with a sinister face.
'Is this the villainous mini-BOSS, and Spirit Bone old man, Shi Nian?'
Seeing the old man, Ye Chen raised his eyebrows.
Shi Nian still had a Spirit Bone on him, and it was a relatively rare head Spirit Bone.
In the original work, Shrek and Canghui had many grievances. Shi Nian, taking advantage of Little San being alone, prepared to launch a sneak attack, but was counter-killed by Little San using Hidden Weapons, and even 'gifted' him an Illusion Wisdom Skull.
However, perhaps because the age of this Spirit Bone was too low, Little San didn't think much of it and later gave it to Ning Rongrong.
Ye Chen was naturally tempted by Shi Nian's Illusion Wisdom Skull, but if Shi Nian didn't try to ambush him, Ye Chen wouldn't actively kill Shi Nian just for a Spirit Bone.
After all, Ye Chen was a good young man who had received compulsory education and would not actively commit murder and plunder.
Of course, if Shi Nian didn't know what was good for him, then Ye Chen certainly wouldn't be polite.
"Hehe~, isn't this Flender?"
As soon as he saw Flender, Shi Nian let out a sinister laugh and stepped forward to greet him.
After Shi Nian learned that his Canghui Academy was going up against Shrek Academy, he immediately looked up Shrek Academy's information.
Shi Nian was very happy when he discovered that the Canghui Team's opponent was Flender's students.
Because Shi Nian and Flender had a past grudge, but at that time he was only a Spirit Emperor (6 Rings), while Flender had already become a Spirit Saint (7 Rings), so he was naturally no match.
Now that his Canghui Academy team was facing the Shrek Team, it was exactly what Shi Nian wanted.
If the Canghui Team could severely defeat the Shrek Team, it would be considered settling the old score.
As for losing? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
With the Seven-in-One Soul Skill Fusion Technique as their trump card, let alone the small Shrek Academy, even the famous Five Element Academy, Shi Nian felt that his Canghui Academy was not necessarily inferior.
Don't look at the low spirit power level of his Canghui Academy team, without even a single Spirit Ancestor (4 Rings), but the Seven-in-One Soul Skill Fusion Technique made challenging higher ranks not a problem.
What's more, this Spirit Ability Fusion Technique was a mental type, and most Spirit Masters on the continent did not have strong mental force, which made challenging higher ranks even easier.
"What are you doing here?"
Flender said with a frown. He naturally knew Shi Nian and understood that this old guy was definitely up to no good.
"Hehe, Flender, it seems you still remember me. I hope your Shrek doesn't lose too badly later."
Thinking that the Canghui Team would soon severely defeat the Shrek Team and deflate Flender's arrogance, Shi Nian was in a very good mood and smiled again.
"Tsk~, Shi Nian, do you really think your Canghui Team can defeat my Shrek? Go to bed early tonight, and you'll have everything in your dreams!
You couldn't beat me back then, and now your Canghui Team is still no match for my Shrek Team."
Flender was full of confidence in his Shrek Team.
With Ye Chen and Xiao Wu, two Spirit Emperors (6 Rings), he really couldn't imagine his Shrek Academy losing, unless they threw the match.
"Hmph~, Flender, just you wait and see!"
Shi Nian put away his smile, snorted coldly, left a harsh remark, and led the Canghui Team to sit on the other side of the lounge.
"Dean Flender, do you know that old man?"
After Shi Nian left, Ma Hongjun asked Flender curiously.
"Hmm, that old guy is named Shi Nian. His Remnant Dream Spirit is very special; it's a unique Spirit with form but no substance, capable of creating various illusions that make people lose themselves in them and die by self-harm.
Oh, and this old guy has a sinister personality, holds grudges, and his spirit power level is as high as a Soul Sage (7 Rings). All of you pay attention to him."
Flender cautioned everyone.
As for himself, he wasn't afraid of Shi Nian. Although the Remnant Dream Spirit was special, belonging to a rare mental control system Spirit.
But Flender was now an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, while Shi Nian was only a Soul Sage (7 Rings). A difference of one major rank was not so easy to bridge.
There were indeed many talented Spirit Masters on the continent who could challenge higher ranks, but Shi Nian was clearly not one of them.
"Dean Flender, you have a feud with him, so will this old man try to harm your lovely students?"
Shameless Ma Hongjun said with a worried expression.
"Uh~, I don't know about that either.
Alright, for this period, none of you run around carelessly. When you leave the Great Spirit Arena, all of you come with me, Erlong, and Old Zhao.
As for inside the Great Spirit Arena, there's no need to worry. Shi Nian definitely doesn't have the guts to make a move inside the Great Spirit Arena."
Flender didn't rule out the possibility of Shi Nian making a sneak attack. For safety's sake, when leaving the Great Spirit Arena, he decided to have everyone from the Shrek Team leave with the three of them.
...
The match was about to begin. Leaving the lounge, everyone came to the viewing platform of the Great Spirit Arena.
Today was the first day of the official competition. As for yesterday, it could only be considered a warm-up.
In the VIP section of the Great Spirit Arena, the first row of seats, unlike yesterday, had two more added.
Emperor Xue Ye was still sitting in the center. On his right side were Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong, whom Ye Chen had met. On his left side, besides Platinum Bishop Salas, there was also a very burly old man.
According to Ye Chen's estimation, this exceptionally burly, dark-skinned, muscular old man was at least two and a half meters tall, sitting there like a mountain of flesh.
Needless to say, this old man was Hu Yan Zhen, the Sect Master of the Elephant Armored Academy.
Hmm, that's Hu Yan Zhen, who in the original work was very confident in his own defense and used his head to withstand Little San's Sea God Trident.
If fighting was only about muscles, it's estimated that Hu Yan Zhen could probably beat Qian Daoliu.
After the VIPs were seated and the announcer introduced the information of the participating teams, today's matches officially began.
Of the five matches starting on the five arenas, except for the Elephant Armor Academy versus Blazing Fire Academy, the others were all matches involving minor academies, basically just weaklings pecking at each other, which wasn't very interesting.
Ye Chen then turned his gaze to the arena of the Elephant Armor Academy team and the Blazing Fire Academy team, as this concerned his money bag, so he naturally had to pay close attention.
Hmm, Ye Chen would absolutely not admit that among the ten teams at the start, there were few girls.
Moreover, Miss Huo Wu of Blazing Academy, with her good looks, hot figure, and slightly'scantily clad' attire, naturally attracted the audience's attention more.
Presumably, more than half of the 80,000-plus spectators present were like Ye Chen, right?
Chapter 154: The Domineering Fire Dance Sister
"Tsk tsk~, a real-life beauty and the beast!"
Compared to Miss Huo Wu's slender, well-proportioned figure, the Elephant Armor Academy's team, all muscular men over two meters tall, truly looked like beauty and the beast.
"Brother, why are all the members of the Elephant Armor Team such big guys? What kind of feed did they eat to grow up like that?"
Xiao Wu looked at the muscular brutes on the stage and asked Ye Chen, somewhat confused.
"How would I know? Maybe the food at Elephant Armor Academy is too good?"
Ye Chen guessed that the Hu Yan family themselves had gigantism, and since the Diamond Mammoth was a large, muscular Beast Spirit, it led to the Elephant Armor Team members all becoming muscular brutes.
Spirit Masters on the Douluo Continent were generally taller than ordinary people in Ye Chen's previous life, but even those with muscular Beast Spirits were basically not as large as the Hu Yan family.
And this was not an isolated case; as far as Ye Chen knew, any member of the Hu Yan family of the Elephant Armored Academy who awakened the Diamond Mammoth Spirit would be at least two meters tall after adulthood.
A mere Diamond Mammoth Spirit made them so huge; if they awakened a whale Spirit, wouldn't their height exceed three meters?
Of course, Ye Chen would not envy the Hu Yan family's height.
After all, being so big, finding a girlfriend in the future would probably mean finding a heavyweight contestant, right?
"Both teams activate their Spirits. The competition will officially begin in one minute!"
On the Soul Master Competition stage, the referee spoke to the Elephant Armor Team and the Blazing Fire Battle Team.
Instantly, yellow and purple spirit rings flashed on the stage.
Presumably, since both sides belonged to Elemental Academy, neither the Elephant Armor Team nor the Blazing Fire Battle Team had any intention of hiding their strength.
The Elephant Armor Team had three Spirit Ancestors and four Spirit Elders, and the Blazing Fire Academy was the same, also with three Spirit Ancestors and four Spirit Elders.
However, the Elephant Armor Team's uniform Diamond Mammoths had very strong defense, but their weakness was very obvious: as a defense-type Spirit, they lacked explosive power.
In contrast, the Blazing Fire Battle Team's member composition was much more reasonable, with strong attack, control, agility attack, and support. Besides not having very high spirit power and a single attribute, there were no other obvious weaknesses.
Of course, as long as individual strength was strong enough, whether there was a good team composition or not wasn't actually important; one person fighting seven was not impossible.
"First Spirit Ability, Copper Wall and Iron Rampart!"
The Elephant Armor Team's tactics were very interesting: seven people stood in a row, activated their First Spirit Ability, and took steady steps towards the Blazing Fire Battle Team.
Under the effect of the First Spirit Ability, the dark yellow keratinized skin on their bodies, which had appeared after the Diamond Mammoth Spirit possession, gained a layer of crystalline color, and each person's body seemed to be covered with a layer of glaze.
It was clear that the seven people's first spirit rings must have been hunted from the same Spirit Beast, and the Spirit Ability effects were all the same.
In Ye Chen's opinion, these were seven walking mountains of flesh, quite imposing. If a weak team faced them, their morale would probably collapse.
But if they faced opponents of similar or stronger levels, the Elephant Armor Team's tactics would not work.
"First Spirit Ability, Blazing Fireball."
As the captain of the Blazing Fire Battle Team, Fire Wushuang immediately launched an attack.
Fire Wushuang clasped his hands in front of his chest, and as spirit power surged, a dark red light burst from his palms, instantly condensing into a palm-sized dark red fireball that shot towards Hu Yeli of the Elephant Armor Team.
"Hmph~, Fourth Spirit Ability, Mammoth Guard!"
Facing the fireball thrown by Fire Wushuang, Hu Yeli did not dare to be negligent, immediately shouted loudly, and activated his strongest defensive Spirit Ability.
"Boom--"
The Blazing Fireball, radiating scorching heat, smashed into Hu Yeli's body, directly erupting with a roar.
However, Fire Wushuang's First Spirit Ability was ultimately much lower in age, and Hu Yeli's level was one higher than his. Coupled with Mammoth Guard being a Fourth Spirit Ability of considerable age, it naturally failed to break through his defense.
The flames dissipated, and Hu Yeli was unharmed. However, before Hu Yeli could rejoice, the Blazing Fire Academy's ace player, Miss Huo Wu, began to unleash her power.
"Third Spirit Ability, Repulsive Fire Ring."
Instantly, a dazzling ring of flames, centered on Huo Wu, rapidly burst outwards.
Miss Huo Wu's Repulsive Fire Ring, while lacking significant offensive power, was similar to Shui Binger's Repulsive Ice Ring in that it was a control-type Spirit Ability, and its effective range was quite large, reaching dozens of meters.
Of course, the repulsive force of the Repulsive Fire Ring was not constant; the closer it was to Huo Wu, the stronger the effect, and vice versa.
Even so, under the powerful repulsive force of Huo Wu's Third Spirit Ability, Repulsive Fire Ring, the three Spirit Ancestors of the Elephant Armor Team, including Hu Yeli, were all knocked to the ground, and the four big guys whose levels were at the three-ring Spirit Elder realm were directly blasted out of the Soul Master Competition stage.
There were rules in the Soul Master Competition: besides not being allowed to intentionally kill, if a participant left the stage area and touched the ground, they were considered eliminated.
The four Spirit Elders of the Elephant Armored Academy all had the Diamond Mammoth Spirit and could not fly on their own. Since they also lacked special flying Spirit Abilities, they were naturally eliminated.
Hu Yan Zhen, in the VIP section, watched his Elephant Armor Team lose four members so cleanly without achieving any results. His already slightly dark complexion now became even darker.
On the stage, Fire Wushuang saw Huo Wu's successful move and immediately began to press his advantage.
"Third Spirit Ability, Tyrannosaurus's Rage, Fourth Spirit Ability, Tyrannosaurus Blazing Flame Kill."
Claws appeared on Fire Wushuang's hands, his body grew another circle, and golden-red light burst from the spirit power-condensed scales on his body. His whole body was engulfed in scorching flames, and then a dragon-shaped flame shot towards Hu Yeli.
The dragon-shaped flame instantly arrived in front of Hu Yeli, who had just gotten up from the ground. Fortunately, at this time, Hu Yeli's Fourth Spirit Ability, Mammoth Guard, was still active.
Even so, Hu Yeli was not having an easy time.
After all, the age of the Fourth Spirit Ability was far superior to that of the First Spirit Ability. With a roar, Hu Yeli was directly blown away by Fire Wushuang's ultimate move.
Fortunately, perhaps because Hu Yeli was large and heavy, and the Douluo Continent's gravity was strong, he wasn't blown off the stage.
And while the other members of the Blazing Fire Academy contained the other two Spirit Ancestors of the Elephant Armor Team and Fire Wushuang faced Hu Yeli, Miss Huo Wu, who had just made a great contribution with one move, made another move.
"spirit ring fusion! Fourth Spirit Ability, Huo Wu Blazing Sun!"
Miss Huo Wu activated her unique spirit ring fusion ability, then raised her hands, and scorching flames condensed above her head, quickly forming a massive white ball of fire, like a small sun.
Chapter 155 A sense of accomplishment
Poor Hu Yeli, who had just been sent tumbling by Miss Huo Wu's Repulsion Fire Ring, was then blasted away by Fire Wushuang's ultimate move.
Before he could even get up, he saw a 'mini sun' hurtling towards him.
"Boom—"
The scorching flames directly engulfed Hu Yeli, and even the sturdy Great Spirit Arena stage began to melt in the intense heat.
Soon, the firelight dissipated, revealing a completely blackened, bald, and unconscious Hu Yeli.
After taking consecutive ultimate moves from Fire Wushuang and Huo Wu, even with the strong defense of Hu Yeli's Diamond Mammoth Spirit, he couldn't hold on and fainted directly.
After using spirit ring fusion, Huo Wu could simultaneously release all the spirit power from her spirit ring output abilities, instantly and significantly increasing the power of her Spirit Abilities.
Therefore, Miss Huo Wu's Fire Dance Blazing Sun was far more powerful than Fire Wushuang's fourth Spirit Ability, Tyrannical Dragon Blazing Flame Kill; even a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ability couldn't compare to this Fire Dance Blazing Sun.
Due to the Blazing Fire Academy's rapid pace, Hu Yeli didn't even get to display his Spirit Bone abilities before losing the power to fight.
And after losing Hu Yeli, their main player, the remaining two Spirit Ancestors of the Elephant Armor Team were naturally no match for the Chi Huo Battle Team, and under the Blazing Fire Academy's siege, they were quickly knocked off the stage.
It can be said that in this battle, the Blazing Fire Academy perfectly controlled the pace of the fight.
"I announce that in the first round of the preliminaries, Blazing Fire Academy versus Elephant Armor Academy, Blazing Fire Academy wins!"
Amidst the enthusiastic cheers from the audience for Miss Huo Wu, the referee announced the results of the match.
"Hmph ~"
In the VIP section, Hu Yan Zhen watched his highly anticipated Elephant Armor Team get defeated by the Blazing Fire Academy so easily, his face immediately fell, and with a cold snort, he got up and left the VIP section.
After all, the unconscious Hu Yeli was his own grandson!
"Fengzhi, that old fellow Hu Yan Zhen is probably fuming!"
Watching Hu Yan Zhen leave in a hurry, Gu Rong secretly communicated to Ning Fengzhi.
"Haha, I also didn't expect the Elephant Armor Team to be so impressive in appearance but useless in practice!"
Ning Fengzhi was also a bit surprised that the Chi Huo Battle Team could defeat the Elephant Armor Team so decisively.
On the surface, the spirit power levels and spirit ring configurations of both teams were similar, yet the Elephant Armor Team suffered a very miserable defeat.
After the match, Ye Chen was about to go to the betting counter to cash out, when suddenly, a burst of triumphant laughter came from not far away.
"Haha ~, as expected of my Huo Wu, she directly took down that big idiot Hu Yeli!"
Ye Chen turned his head and saw a young man in green clothes, wearing a mask to appear mysterious, looking smug.
'Is this the great simp Feng Xiaotian?'
Looking at the smug young man in front of him, Ye Chen thought to himself.
Ye Chen calling Feng Xiaotian a peerless simp was not without reason.
Blazing Fire Academy and Shenfeng Academy were not far apart, and being allies, the two academies often had student exchanges.
It is said that when Feng Xiaotian went to the Blazing Fire Academy as an exchange student, he fell in love with Miss Huo Wu at first sight, and this great genius, with innate full spirit power, directly transformed into a simp.
Moreover, Feng Xiaotian's mind was quite peculiar; although his strength was clearly superior to the siblings Huo Wu and Fire Wushuang, in order to curry favor with the girl he loved, he never won a single spar against them.
Ye Chen felt that for a proud girl like Huo Wu, merely simping wouldn't be enough to win her over.
Huo Wu was the beloved daughter of the Blazing Fire Academy's dean, and with her good talent and strong power, the number of simps behind her was countless; Feng Xiaotian was just one of them.
If Feng Xiaotian could have decisively defeated her a few times, leaving a deep impression on Miss Huo Wu, and his simping skills were also not bad, then perhaps Feng Xiaotian would have even had children by now.
...
At the Great Spirit Arena's betting counter, Ye Chen, with Xiao Wu and the other two, had changed their appearances and were queuing to collect their money.
This time, the match between Elephant Armor and Blazing Fire was different from yesterday; yesterday, the strength gap between the Royal Fight Team and Tianshui Academy was too large, and not many people favored the Royal Fight Team, which led to the low odds for Tianshui's victory.
When Ye Chen placed his bet earlier, the betting was not yet closed, and the odds were not yet determined, but now, in the betting hall, the odds for both sides of the previous five matches were already posted.
Since the match between Elephant Armor and Blazing Fire had already ended, the outcome and odds were displayed: Blazing Fire Academy won, with odds of 1 to 1.65.
Looking at these odds, Ye Chen knew that more people favored the Blazing Fire Academy compared to the Elephant Armor Academy.
Excluding Ning Rongrong's one million gold coin private stash, Ye Chen bet seven million gold coins.
Based on the 1 to 1.65 odds, the pre-tax amount was eleven million five hundred fifty thousand gold coins.
After the Great Spirit Arena took a five percent commission, he would still have nearly eleven million gold coins left.
In other words, from just one match, Ye Chen raked in nearly four million gold coins.
'It seems the plan to make a fortune is feasible after all!'
Ye Chen nodded with satisfaction; only with substantial capital could one make substantial money!
If he had bet seventy million gold coins this time, wouldn't he have earned forty million?
Of course, this was just theoretical data; the betting counter might not have such a large capacity, but it was certain that the more capital one had, the more one would earn.
Additionally, this was the first significant amount of money Ye Chen had earned in his life in a true sense.
Although it was still earning money, it was different from simply lying down and making money as before; Ye Chen felt a strong sense of accomplishment.
Just then, Ye Chen noticed that the great simp Feng Xiaotian had also arrived with several of his subordinates from Shenfeng Academy, and they were queuing right behind him, apparently also there to collect money.
Indeed, for his goddess's match, how could Feng Xiaotian, as a simp, not show his support?
Let alone the high probability of Blazing Fire Academy winning, even if there was no chance of victory, Feng Xiaotian would probably willingly open his wallet to support Miss Huo Wu.
"Boss, how much did you bet on Sister Huo Wu?"
One of the Shenfeng Team's subordinates asked Feng Xiaotian.
"Heh heh ~, to support Huo Wu, I actually spent fifty thousand gold coins betting on Blazing Fire Academy to win!"
Feng Xiaotian said proudly.
"Holy cow ~! Boss, I didn't realize you were so rich? You have to treat us today!"
The subordinate immediately showed an admiring gaze.
"Haha, no problem! I'll treat you guys to a good meal at the Tiandou Great Hotel then!"
The Tiandou Great Hotel was the highest-class hotel within the Heaven Dou Empire; it was said that a simple meal there could cost tens of thousands of gold coins, showing that Feng Xiaotian was truly spending a lot.
"By the way, Boss, when are you going to win over Sister-in-law Huo Wu?"
Another subordinate, inadvertently, hit Feng Xiaotian's sore spot.