Douro Continent

Chapter 327 Distraction Control: The Three Apertures of the Heart (Part 2)

As the first match of the first round of the preliminaries, Shrek Academy left a deep impression on the audience. Although the battle was brief, the insane explosive power and somewhat brutal attack methods displayed by the seven Shrek Academy fighters left the audience reeling.

Their display of strength made the audience no longer dare to underestimate this oddly dressed team. The appearance of two level 40 Soul Masters has made them a favorite to advance from the preliminaries.

Instead of starting today, Flander changed into the same team uniform as the trainees and walked at the front, head held high, looking quite pleased with himself.

Although the audience's laughter had subsided, the Shrek Academy team members still kept their heads down. Yes, they had shown the audience with their strength that they were no pushovers. But now, the words on their backs had changed.

Thanks to Shrek Academy's perfect performance in the first round, coupled with Flander's silver tongue, they successfully secured sponsorship from GG Merchant, a company that sells top-quality floral dew. It's said that they handle half of the floral dew business in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

Floral dew is made by extracting juices from fresh flowers, mixing them in a specific ratio, and then adding it to bathwater. It leaves the skin with a pleasant fragrance after bathing and is highly favored by women. Whether noblewomen or commoners, none are immune to its allure. Of course, the quality of the floral dew they purchase varies.

At this moment, the words on the backs of the Shrek Academy team members changed to: "Charming and alluring, fragrant floral dew, wash for better health."

Upon seeing their new uniforms, the Shrek Seven Devils all felt like banging their heads against a wall. Ma Hongjun, however, leaned towards Flander, comforting the others, saying that at least their teacher hadn't found them a toilet vendor yet. Otherwise, they wouldn't need to leave the house.

The price offered by the fragrant flower dew was quite tempting: 1,000 gold soul coins per match until all matches were completed. After passing the preliminary rounds and advancing to the knockout stage, the sponsorship prize increased to 2,000 gold soul coins per match. If they could reach the top three in the finals, they would receive an additional 50,000 gold soul coins. In total, if Shrek Academy could win the final championship, they would earn over 100,000 gold soul coins. For just a few extra words on their backs to earn such an income, Flander was quite satisfied. He had deliberately set an example today so that the Shrek Seven Devils would wear these clothes.

If it weren't for Flander, the Shrek Seven Devils probably wouldn't have worn it under any circumstances. However, they could never forget Flander's expression when Shrek Academy closed down due to financial problems. So, despite their reluctance, they ultimately put on this even more bizarre team uniform.

As they entered the Grand Arena amidst the farewells of the audience, two staff members immediately greeted them and led them to the participating teams' rest area.

Starting yesterday, fourteen matches will be played every day.

Upon seeing Shrek Academy's arrival, the other academy's members cast many glances, with Tang San undoubtedly drawing the most attention as he displayed his ten-thousand-year spirit ring. Demonstrating strength is indeed the best way to prove oneself. Although the words on the back of Shrek Academy's uniforms had been changed, the academies that would soon become their opponents paid no attention to this. They were more concerned with how to defeat Shrek Academy.

"Dean, who are our opponents today?" Dai Mubai asked Flander.

Flander paused for a moment, then said, "How would I know? Am I participating in the competition or are you guys participating?" These past few days he'd been busy finding partners. Not only this Flower Dew partner, but several others were also negotiating prices; he had no time to pay attention to the competition.

Dai Mubai was speechless for a moment. "Dean, you can't just think about making money. You should also care about us."

Flanders chuckled and said, "You little brat, you got a problem with that?"

Seeing the strange look in Flander's eyes, Dai Mubai shivered and quickly shook his head, saying, "No, nothing."

Flander smiled and said, "Although I am the dean, my responsibilities are different. Don't worry. Erlong has been observing your opponents these past few days. She will tell you the details of your next opponent later. I must remind you, if you don't win the championship this time, I won't allow you to graduate."

As they were talking, the master and Liu Erlong walked over together. They didn't have the same obligation as Flander to set an example, and they were both wearing their own clothes.

The expressions on Grandmaster and Liu Erlong's faces seemed strange, and the Shrek Seven Devils sensed a heavy mood from them. Could it be that they would encounter trouble in the preliminaries as well?

Seeing everyone's gazes fixed on him, the master said in a deep voice, "Your opponent in the second match of the qualifiers is very strong. Now you have three choices. First, give up this match and conserve your strength. After all, the top five teams in the qualifiers will all advance to the knockout stage and the finals. Second, field the same lineup as the previous match, but your chances of winning are probably less than one percent. Third, field your full-strength lineup, but even if you win, your true strength will be completely exposed."

The Shrek Seven Devils exchanged bewildered glances, none of them understanding what kind of opponent could have caused Grandmaster to look so grave. Could this opponent be comparable to the Royal Fighting Team from back then?

Liu Erlong, standing nearby, said, "You've heard of the Elephant Armor Sect, right? It's ranked sixth among the seven major sects. Your opponents today come from the Elephant Armor Academy, which was founded by the Elephant Armor Sect. All seven of their participants are direct descendants of the Elephant Armor Sect. Three of them have reached level 40, and the other four are also close to level 40. They can be considered the new generation of elites of the Elephant Armor Sect."

Elephant Armor Sect? Upon hearing these three words, the Shrek Seven Devils' expressions turned serious. They knew very well what the name Elephant Armor Sect represented. Just as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was known as the strongest support sect, the Elephant Armor Sect also had its own title: the strongest defensive sect.

The Elephant Armor Sect's ancestral martial soul is called the Diamond Mammoth, a super martial soul with extremely high defensive capabilities, its main characteristics being strength and defense. Almost no soul master of the same level can break through their defenses. If the Elephant Armor Sect had a Title Douluo, they probably wouldn't be ranked only sixth among the seven major sects.

Despite this, the sect leader of the Elephant Armor Sect, an 87th-level Soul Douluo, was able to withstand some non-attacking Title Douluos with his formidable defense. This demonstrates the power of his Martial Soul.

After listening to the master's words, everyone fell into deep thought.

The master continued, "If it were an open field, your lineup from the last match might have had a chance. The Elephant Armor Sect's weakest point is speed, so using hit-and-run tactics to wear down the opponent's soul power would be a good option. But the arena is only so big. Fighting in this area, you have almost no chance. Although your opponent doesn't have a support soul master, the combined power of the same martial soul is extremely astonishing. Theoretically speaking, for the sake of final victory, I suggest you give up this match. After all, the top five in the preliminaries are enough to advance. There's nothing wrong with hiding your strength in the early stages."

Flanders screamed, "If I avoid battle, I'm done for..."

Liu Erlong glared at him, annoyed. "Brother Fu, I think you're just greedy. You need to think long-term. If the little monsters get seriously injured in this competition, it will be even more difficult for them to cope with the later ones. There are plenty of talented people in the advanced soul master academy. Don't forget, they are facing opponents under the age of twenty-five. If they were also twenty-five, of course there would be no problem, but age limits the development of their strength."

Flander looked at Dai Mubai and Tang San with a bitter expression, "You two decide for yourselves."

Dai Mubai and Tang San exchanged a glance, neither of them saying a word. Ma Hongjun, standing nearby, couldn't help but say, "Why don't we both just go out and show our strength? What's wrong with letting others know our power?"

Oscar replied, "It's certainly not good for others to know our strength in advance. This way, our opponents can adjust their tactics accordingly. The qualifiers may not be a big deal, but don't forget that the opponents we'll face in the finals and qualifying rounds are much stronger. Losing the element of surprise will be very disadvantageous for us."

Dai Mubai asked Tang San, "Xiao San, what do you think? You are the soul and controller of the team. You should make the decision."

A faint glint flashed in Tang San's eyes as he slowly clenched his fists. "Fight."

Although his answer consisted of only one simple word, that single word simultaneously invigorated everyone at Shrek Academy, and a strong fighting spirit emanated from Tang San.

Tang San turned his gaze to his master, "Teacher, I understand the three scenarios you mentioned. But I think there's a compromise. While we certainly want to win the competition, we also want to hone our combat skills and adaptability. If we back down when facing strong opponents, it will greatly impact morale. So I think we should take a middle ground. We can adjust our personnel to ensure that we don't reveal all our hidden strength, but we also have enough power to deal with our opponents."

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Don't underestimate these three acupoints of the Heart of Control; they'll be very useful later. Not just for Ning Rongrong, but also for Tang San. The monthly ticket situation is promising; I'm continuing to ask for more monthly tickets. Working hard on writing. Please support me!

(End of this chapter)