Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 197 Tang Ya: Let's rebuild the championship team and wreak havoc! (3.9k views)

At Shrek Academy, on Seagod Island, in the Seagod Pavilion Hall, all the elders, except for Yan Shaozhe who was in seclusion and the injured Xuanzi, gathered to discuss the sudden accident and the Holy Spirit Cult that had suddenly appeared.

"...That's how it is!" Old Lin recounted the whole story to the others, and everyone fell silent upon hearing it.

After a long silence, Cai Meier finally spoke, "An organization with two Limit Douluos and more than a dozen Title Douluos! How is that possible? Why have I never heard of this Holy Spirit Cult before?"

"Before the Body Sect caused that beast tide, how many people in the world even knew about the Body Sect?" Xian Lin'er said, her expression grave. However, her focus wasn't on the Holy Spirit Sect. "Elder Lin, was Elder Xuan's injury really caused by an eighth-level soul-guided cannonball?"

"Hmm!" Old Lin nodded and said.

"This..." The other elders couldn't help but show expressions of horror. A soul tool that could injure a Super Douluo was simply too shocking. Every one of them was a seasoned and experienced Title Douluo-level expert. They had never imagined that the soul tool they had ignored could have such power.

"Hehe, surprised, aren't you!" Elder Mu finally spoke, saying, "We've closed ourselves off for too long; it's time for a change. Not long ago, I personally visited the Sun Moon Empire, and I saw many things that shocked me. The Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology has exceeded our imagination."

I even saw a colossal soul tool requiring multiple operators, something powerful enough to threaten my life, even to change the course of a war. If we remain complacent in our past glory and fail to make changes, then Shrek Academy will be on the verge of destruction.

Everyone's expression changed, from shock to fear. A soul tool that could threaten the life of a Limit Douluo—if they encountered it, wouldn't they only have one path: death? The elders had already realized Elder Mu's thoughts, but they no longer had any intention of stopping him.

That's just how people are; they'll only back down when it comes to their own interests.

Xianlin'er and Qian Duoduo looked at Mu En with surprise and anticipation.

Mu En slowly spoke, saying, "Xuanzi's injury this time has served as a major wake-up call for us. Therefore, I announce that for the next five to ten years, we will fully support the development of the Soul Guidance Department. Even if we cannot catch up with the Sun Moon Empire, we must at least narrow the gap with them!"

"Yes!" Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo were thrilled and were the first to agree. The other elders also nodded, recognizing the necessity of developing technology.

After the first decision was made, Cai Meier asked, "Teacher, what about the Holy Spirit Cult?"

Upon hearing Cai Meier's question, the elders suddenly remembered that there was also the Holy Spirit Cult, a terrifying organization whose top combat power was no less than, and even stronger than, Shrek Academy!

The sudden appearance of this evil spirit master organization cast a shadow over the hearts of the elders. Although the previous emergence of the Body Sect had caused some trouble for Shrek Academy, there was no fundamental conflict of interest between Shrek Academy and the Body Sect. However, this Holy Spirit Cult was different. Even without formal contact, all the elders knew that the Holy Spirit Cult was targeting Shrek Academy!

"Don't worry about the Holy Spirit Cult!" A strange look flashed across Moon's face as he said, "First of all, I'm still alive! Secondly, Ziyang is about to grow up, you must believe in him!"

Hearing Moon's words, the gloom in everyone's hearts finally dissipated, and they said, "Understood!"

"Elder Mu, what about the Soul Master Competition? Should we select another student from the Inner Academy to go with Gongyang Mo and Ling Luochen to support Ziyang Xiaotao and the others?" Xian Lin'er asked.

"No need," Moon said decisively. "We must trust Ziyang and give him the opportunity to train!"

"Okay!" Xianlin'er nodded and said nothing more.

"Elder Zhuang, I'm entrusting the care of those three children to you," Mu En said to Elder Zhuang beside him.

"Leave it to me!" Old Zhuang replied with a smile.

After the meeting ended and the elders left, Mu En lay in his rocking chair, a hint of nostalgia flashing across his face, and murmured, "Xi Shui, is that you...?"

-

Star City.

Zhu Ziyang and his group finally arrived in Xingluo City the day before the start of the competition.

They went directly to the hotel responsible for receiving the participating teams, a luxurious hotel located next to Xingluo Square, the venue of the conference, the Xinghuang Hotel.

As the defending champions and the number one soul master academy on the continent, Shrek Academy's team members were arranged in luxurious rooms on the top floor, with each person having their own bedroom and a dedicated conference room for their use.

At this moment, all ten team members, along with their coach Wang Yan, were sitting in the conference room for a pre-competition mobilization meeting. They had arrived at the hotel that morning and, without even having time to rest, were immediately summoned by Wang Yan for the meeting.

In the conference room, Wang Yan sat at the head of the table, with Ma Xiaotao, who looked unwell, to her left. Due to the rapid journey, she hadn't had proper rest, and her injuries were worsening. What would have taken two or three days to heal now would require about five. Beside Ma Xiaotao were Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan. Opposite them, naturally, were the members of the preliminary team, led by Bei Bei.

"Teacher Wang, today is the last day for registration. What should we do? Will Senior Dai Yueheng and Elder Lin make it in time?" Bei Bei asked, her face pale and her voice filled with worry. The glory of Shrek Academy was simply too heavy a burden for the seven preliminary team members, whose strongest members were only at the Soul Master level, to bear.

"Registration is normal!" Wang Yan said with a wave of his hand, "I've already received news from the academy that Gongyang Mo and Ling Luochen are recovering well and should be able to join us by the start of the second phase at the latest. As for Dai Yueheng, well, let's not talk about him."

"But doesn't registration require the person to be present?" Tang Ya asked, still having doubts.

"Xiaoya, we're Shrek Academy, we have special privileges!" Jiang Nannan answered Tang Ya's question, her face beaming with pride. "Because Shrek Academy is the champion every time, we have the privilege of adding teammates during the competition!"

"Adding new members during the competition!" Upon hearing this, the members of the preliminary team couldn't help but show surprised expressions, because this rule was clearly unfair to the other participating colleges. Didn't they object?

"That's right!" Ma Xiaotao said, "But there's only one chance, and we can only add three team members, otherwise it would be too unfair to the other participants."

"Alright, we can proceed with the registration this afternoon as usual," Wang Yan said. "Now, I'll explain the competition rules for you. There are a total of 133 participating colleges in this competition, which is divided into three stages."

The first stage, the preliminary round, also known as the qualifiers, adopts a seven-on-seven team battle format. Opponents are selected by drawing lots, and the winners advance to the second stage of the main competition, while the losers are eliminated directly! There is only one match in the preliminary round. In this match, your qualifier team needs to have at least four players on the field. Please be mentally prepared.

The second stage of the main competition will use a round-robin points system, with the format randomly selected from single-elimination, 2-2-3 cooperative battles, and 7-on-7 team battles. Specific rules will be explained later. The third stage is the finals, which will also be discussed later.

Tomorrow is the opening day of the competition, and as the defending champions, our first match is the opening game. I hope you all get a good rest tonight and are in top form for tomorrow's match!

"Get a good rest tonight? Ha!" Tang Ya couldn't help but smile wryly. "Teacher Wang, you make it sound so easy, but with so much pressure, how could I possibly sleep well?"

Hearing Wang Yan's words, the members of the preliminary team felt immense pressure. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were alright, since Wang Yan had said there would be at least four people, and no matter how they were arranged, it was impossible for them to be included; at most, Wang Dong had a slightly higher chance. The ones under the most pressure, unsurprisingly, were Bei Bei and his three companions. No matter what, the four of them were destined to be in the mess.

"Xiaoya, cheer up! Your brother and I are here, what are you afraid of?" Jiang Nannan encouraged Tang Ya with a smile, looking at her expression.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget you two will be playing too!" Tang Ya exclaimed, perking up immediately. "Great! The three of us can fight side-by-side again! Let's recreate the glory of our Freshman Tournament championship team!"

"Sister Xiaoya, the three of us are the champion team of the freshman competition!" Wang Dong retorted playfully.

"Go away, I'm talking about our year!" Tang Ya laughed and scolded.

After the two of them made a scene, the pressure in the meeting room was greatly reduced.

At this moment, in another conference room on the same floor as Shrek Academy, was the team from the perennial runner-up, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, who were also having a pre-match meeting.

However, compared to Shrek Academy's small group of two or three students, Sun Moon Academy's group was quite complete, with two teachers in charge sitting at the head and fourteen students sitting on either side, creating a rather solemn atmosphere in the meeting room.

The teacher leading the Sun Moon Academy team looked serious and said, "According to our observation, Shrek Academy only sent ten people this time, and only one of them is around twenty years old, while the others are all quite young."

We have used our infiltrators within the Star Luo Empire and have received accurate information that only one person on their list of participants is nineteen years old, while the others are all under fifteen.

In other words, Shrek Academy did not send any of its seven regular members to participate in this competition. Of the seven members of the reserve team from the previous competition, only one came, and the other nine were all new faces!

Do you know what this means?

Before the students of Sun Moon Academy could react, their other team leader, Elder Ma, slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage and roared, "This means contempt! Contempt for our Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy! They are blatantly mocking us, thinking they can defeat us by sending just a reserve team!"

This is a slap in the face, you know? This is the most direct slap in the face. According to the rules of the competition, registration closed today, and they're going to try and compete with us with this kind of lineup! — Ma Rulong

When Master Ma called out his grandson's name, Ma Rulong, the captain of the Sun Moon Academy's regular team, immediately stood up and loudly replied, "Here!"

"If we lose to a team like Shrek Academy in this competition, you, as the captain, can get out of Mingde Hall."

"Yes!" Ma Rulong's voice was crisp and clear, yet filled with murderous intent.

"Elder Ma, don't be anxious! I don't think things are that simple." Sitting opposite Ma Rulong, the reserve team captain, who was not yet fifteen years old, was a handsome young man. He had a pair of extremely fair and slender hands, with a jade-like luster that even girls would find hard to possess. His name was Xiao Hongchen, the number one genius in the history of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

Old Ma frowned slightly and looked at him, saying, "What do you mean it's not that simple?"

Xiao Hongchen looked at his fingers as if they were rare treasures, and said casually, "Shrek Academy isn't stupid. Don't they know that one regular member is no match for us? I have a lot of confidence in Brother Rulong. I think they might have encountered an accident. Isn't Shrek Academy always very attentive to us? How could they be so careless?"

Old Master Ma blushed slightly at his words. He knew in his heart that this was the most likely explanation, and that his previous remarks were just to encourage the students.

"That would be best, of course. Xiao Hongchen, you'd better focus your energy on the students under fifteen from Shrek Academy. They'll be your real opponents in the next competition."

Xiao Hongchen finally raised his head and revealed a smile, a smile that gave people a sense of unparalleled beauty. "Old Ma, my only opponent is myself."

Ma Rulong's face darkened. "Xiao Hongchen, you better behave yourself."

Xiao Hongchen smiled broadly, "Brother Ma, I'm being honest! You guys have to do your best. Don't let yourselves be defeated by a team like Shrek Academy. Tsk tsk tsk, what a pity! The chance for the Sun Moon Empire to achieve its first victory against Shrek Academy is going to slip into your hands! What a pity, what a real pity!"

"You..." A murderous glint suddenly appeared in Ma Rulong's eyes.

Old Ma glared at him and said in a deep voice, "Sit down. Alright, I'll start arranging the participants for the first round now."

Although Xiao Hongchen was only the captain of the reserve team, his grandfather was the head of the Mingde Hall, holding a very high position in the Sun Moon Empire. Therefore, Elder Ma, Ma Rulong, and another teacher in charge of the team were all somewhat wary of him.

Although Xiao Hongchen always wears a smile on his face, the arrogance deep in his eyes is impossible to hide.

(End of this chapter)