The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

Xu Zihuang smiled but remained silent, offering no response.

Then everyone asked what had just happened.

Xu Zihuang explained everything in detail to everyone, not even hiding the conditions offered by the Body Sect. The only thing he concealed was the matter of his Body Martial Soul's second awakening.

After listening to Xu Zihuang's story, Chen Zifeng clicked his tongue in amazement and exclaimed, "Tianhuang, those are 100,000-year-old soul rings and soul bones! You just refused them like that?"

"Senior Chen, I only said I don't want to join a sect for the time being. Who can say for sure what will happen in the future?" Xu Zihuang chuckled, not giving a definitive answer.

Hanging on both sides like this is actually the approach that best serves his interests.

Chapter 171 Meeting

The round-robin tournament consists of one match every other day. After a day, nearly half of the teams that entered the round-robin tournament have completed the first round of matches.

The Shrek Academy team was one of them.

Compared to the knockout stage, the round-robin stage is much more peaceful.

Each team adjusted their tactics, making each match more technically demanding than before, but without the do-or-die intensity of the knockout stage.

However, it's clear to anyone with a discerning eye that the intensity of the competition will increase dramatically once the later rounds of the tournament begin. This is because many teams simply cannot afford to lose.

That night, after dinner, all the reserve team members were summoned by Wang Yan, who had returned to the Star Emperor Hotel.

In the large conference room, Wang Yan, sitting in the main seat, listened to Bei Bei recount the events of their encounter with the Body Sect that day, and his expression changed drastically.

"I didn't expect the Body Sect to send someone specifically to watch this year's All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament. This is a bit troublesome."

As he spoke, Wang Yan subconsciously glanced at Xu Zihuang, who was sitting calmly to his left, and smiled wryly.

"Despite the intervention of the Star Luo Empire's royal family, given the domineering and tyrannical style of the Body Sect, they probably won't let this go so easily."

"Tianhuang, if those two from the Body Sect come looking for you again, don't resist. Just go with them. They're just appreciating your talent; they won't do anything to you."

Personally, he naturally hoped that Yu Tianhuang could stay at Shrek Academy. But as a teacher, his primary concern was the safety of his student.

“Teacher Wang, I don’t plan to join a sect for the time being. I don’t really like that kind of life where I’m constantly restricted.” Xu Zihuang shook his head.

"Rather than joining a sect, I feel that the environment of Shrek Academy is more suitable for me."

Seeing that Yu Tianhuang clearly had a favorable impression of Shrek Academy, Wang Yan nodded slightly with satisfaction.

"Tianhuang, I'm glad you have this idea. But I have to admit, the Body Sect truly understands the Body Spirit the best. If you can receive guidance from the Body Sect, the potential of your Golden Eye Spirit can definitely be developed to the maximum extent. This concerns your future, and none of us are qualified to make this decision for you. Moreover, Shrek Academy is just an academy and there are no binding restrictions. However, if you are determined to stay, the academy will do everything in its power to protect you. Think it over carefully. Whatever choice you make, we will respect your decision."

Xu Zihuang smiled nonchalantly.

"Teacher Wang, there's no need to think about it anymore. I still want to stay in our college."

"Okay!" Wang Yan pondered for a long time, then revealed a genuine smile, and then said seriously.

"In that case, I will send a message to Elder Xuan through our Shrek Academy's special liaison point in Star Luo City. As long as Elder Xuan is here in person, I believe the Body Sect will not dare to do anything out of line."

Hearing the fear Wang Yan expressed towards the Body Sect, Wang Dong asked doubtfully, "Teacher Wang, is the Body Sect really that scary?"

Among the seven members of the reserve team, only Wang Dong and Jiang Nannan didn't know much about the Body Sect.

The difference lies in the fact that Jiang Nannan comes from a commoner background and has no access to information about the Body Sect. Wang Dong, on the other hand, has never cared about such things since childhood.

Wang Yan clasped his hands together, fingers interlaced, and supported his chin, nodding earnestly.

"You are all core disciples of the outer academy now, and also members of the reserve team. Entering the inner academy in the future shouldn't be too much of a problem. I might as well tell you. On Seagod Island in our Shrek Academy, there is a place called the Seagod Pavilion. The elders of our Shrek Academy live there, and Elder Xuan is one of them. The Seagod Pavilion is also the highest authority in our Shrek Academy. All important decisions are discussed and made in the Seagod Pavilion. Even the four deans and vice deans of the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Guidance Department can only sit at the bottom of the table in the Seagod Pavilion."

"In the Soul Master world of Douluo Continent, there's a saying that the top forces are divided into three factions. One of them is naturally the Sea God Pavilion of Shrek Academy. As for the other two, one is the Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. The Mingde Hall is like the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy; only the most outstanding students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy can enter the Mingde Hall to cultivate and study. At the same time, it is also the highest authority in the Sun Moon Empire in the production of soul tools. It's no exaggeration to say that the Mingde Hall is at the forefront of soul tool technology development on Douluo Continent. And the last one, I think you should already know. That's right, it's the Body Sect."

"If I say this, you might not have a direct sense of the power of the Body Sect. So let me tell you about something that actually happened. About two thousand years ago, more than forty people from the Body Sect infiltrated the Star Dou Great Forest and hunted down a total of seven 100,000-year-old soul beasts. So, the promise that the two people from the Body Sect made to Tianhuang was not an exaggeration at all, because they really did have the ability to hunt down 100,000-year-old soul beasts."

“I’ve also heard about this from the elders in my family,” Ning Tian, ​​who was sitting next to Xu Zihuang, took over the conversation.

"Back then, it seems that the Body Sect hunted down seven 100,000-year-old soul beasts in a row, which triggered that beast tide that lasted for a whole year. That beast tide was also the largest counterattack by soul beasts since the history of soul masters existed. Countless villages near Shrek City were slaughtered."

Wang Yan sighed solemnly.

"Ning Tian is right. The Body Sect's ambiguous nature, straddling good and evil, is truly a headache. Although the Body Sect instigated that beast tide, considering that they later spontaneously participated in resisting it, our Shrek Academy didn't choose to fight them to the death. The Sea God Pavilion was also established around that time. Because during the resistance against the beast tide, the higher-ups at Shrek Academy discovered that the Body Sect's overall strength was still above our academy's. Moreover, at that time, the clash with the Sun Moon Continent had only been a thousand years, and the situation on the continent was not very stable. It was due to a combination of factors that the academy made that compromise."

Jiang Nannan said indignantly, "Did all those civilians die in vain?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present began to look at Jiang Nannan with strange expressions.

Jiang Nannan asked the question out of kindness, but given the situation at the time, there was no better solution. Should they choose to confront the Body Sect head-on instead of compromising?

That would only lead to unnecessary sacrifices.

Countless predecessors of Shrek Academy died fighting to resist the beast tide.

For Jiang Nannan to utter such accusatory words is somewhat inappropriate. To put it nicely, it's called being kind-hearted; to put it bluntly, it's easy to talk when you're not the one suffering. This kind of behavior—standing on a moral high ground and pointing fingers—is rather...

Her strong reaction was perhaps because she actively put herself in the shoes of the civilians being slaughtered by soul beasts.

There is some truth to the saying that a person's background determines their perspective.

Everyone present, except for Jiang Nannan who came from a common background, remained silent. Even Wang Dong was silent. Because unlike Jiang Nannan, they didn't only see the most superficial layer.

Xu Sanshi reached out to put his hand on Jiang Nannan's shoulder to comfort her, but Jiang Nannan slapped his hand away without any appreciation.

Sensing the somewhat subdued atmosphere, Wang Yan did not answer Jiang Nannan's question but instead changed the subject.

"Alright, enough of that. Now I have some good news to share. Our opponent in the next round of the round-robin tournament has chosen to concede defeat."

As the captain of the reserve team, Bei Bei immediately followed up on Wang Yan's topic to liven up the atmosphere.

"This is indeed good news. Teacher Wang, this means that we only need to get through the third round of the round-robin tournament before we can welcome back senior Chen Zifeng and senior Gongyang Mo."

"Not bad," Wang Yan replied with a smile.

"Actually, there is another matter I want to discuss with everyone today."

Wang Yan looked around at everyone.

"Although what you've seen in the matches between Tianhuang, Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy, and Silves Academy is that these two academies still use the traditional Soul Master combat style, I want to tell you that among all the participating teams in this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, more than 80% of the Soul Master academies are no longer simply Soul Master academies; their development direction is the fusion of Soul Masters and Soul Master Instructors."

"Fusion? How do you mean by fusion?" Xu Sanshi asked in surprise.

As Wang Yan explained, his gaze fell on Xu Zihuang.

“There are many ways to fuse. The simplest is like Tianhuang. You all saw the match between Tianhuang and Gu Fengli from Silves Academy. In that match, Tianhuang didn’t use any soul skills from beginning to end. This was certainly because his martial soul was powerful and his combat experience was excellent. But that close-combat soul tool also played a significant role. After that battle between Tianhuang and Gu Fengli, I thought about it carefully.”

"Actually, Shrek Academy has been going down a wrong path. Soul Masters and Soul Guidance Masters are not actually opposed to each other. Soul Guidance Devices can also be used to enhance the combat power of our traditional Soul Masters. For example, a control-type battle Soul Master like Tianhuang, when equipped with a melee Soul Guidance Device, can gain the ability to fight head-on against power-attack type Soul Masters. Well, Tianhuang is a bit of a special case. Let's take Nan Nan as an example again. If Nan Nan could equip herself with a Soul Guidance Device that increases speed, and at the same time, given her weakness in defense, would she be able to unleash her full potential?"

"For support-type Soul Masters like Ning Tian, ​​equipping her with some defensive Soul Tools will greatly enhance her self-protection capabilities. We can even equip her with some long-range Soul Tools that only require Soul Power to activate, so that she will no longer be a weak link in the team. While she may not have particularly strong combat power, she will at least have some ability to protect herself. This is very important for support-type Soul Masters, whose survival rate on the battlefield has always been low."

Ning Tian nodded slightly in deep agreement.

"I agree with Professor Wang's point of view."

Wang Yan then glanced at Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Wang Dong, who were sitting on the right side of the conference table. He wasn't worried about Yu Tianhuang, Ning Tian, ​​and He Caitou; his main goal this time was to persuade Bei Bei and the other three.

"What I'm trying to say is that soul tools have become weapons for soul masters, which is a result of the evolution of the times. You will be the next generation of Shrek Seven Devils, and I hope to start the change from you. There will be a soul tool auction in Star Luo City tomorrow night. If you are willing to try using soul tools, you can come with me. If you are not willing, I will not force you."

To Wang Yan's surprise, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan did not show any rejection towards the soul tool as he had imagined.

The three of them had a very deep impression of Xu Zihuang's previous battle with Gu Fengli.

Both Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi readily agreed to try using the soul tool.

Jiang Nannan seemed hesitant, while Wang Yan, who could see through her thoughts, smiled knowingly.

"You don't need to worry about funding. You are all core disciples of the outer academy and members of the reserve team. The academy will take care of all the soul tools you need."

Jiang Nannan's eyes lit up immediately. She looked like a little money-grubber.

"I'm willing to try."

When Wang Yan looked at Wang Dong, Wang Dong suddenly stood up.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Wang, I don't want to use a soul tool."

After saying that, Wang Dong, who was in a bad mood, quickly walked out of the conference room.

Wang Dong's sudden outburst left most of the people present bewildered, except for Xu Zihuang, who understood the situation perfectly.

Wang Yan sighed.

"Alright, everyone has their own ambitions. Tianhuang, Ningtian, and Caitou, are all three of you okay with this?"

Xu Zihuang smiled and responded.

“Teacher Wang, I personally am not against soul tools. However, I will not be going to the auction tomorrow night. I have recently felt signs of breaking through the bottleneck in my cultivation, and I think I will stay at the hotel to cultivate for the next two days.”

The Gold of Life was already in his hands, so there was no point in going to that rather small-scale soul tool auction.

Ning Tian smiled faintly.

"Teacher Wang, if Tianhuang isn't going, then I won't go either."

Xu Sanshi, with a lewd look on his face, immediately chuckled and started egging everyone on.

"Oh, so you two are a perfect match, aren't you?"

Despite Xu Sanshi's teasing, Xu Zihuang remained unfazed. Although Ning Tian felt a little embarrassed, he maintained his composed and generous demeanor.

"Alright, then you can stay at the hotel and rest." Wang Yan was still very cheerful.

In fact, in everyone's eyes, the relationship between Yu Tianhuang and Ning Tian was basically out in the open.

Xu Zihuang said to He Caitou, "Senior Brother He, why don't you go with Teacher Wang and the others tomorrow night? With your knowledge of soul tools, you can give Teacher Wang and the others some advice."

"Okay." He Caitou smiled憨厚ly.

Seeing that everything was arranged properly, Wang Yan announced the disbandment.

Overall, he was quite satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.

Yu Tianhuang was willing to stay at Shrek Academy, and the other six people besides Wang Dong were also willing to try using soul tools.

Chapter 172 Rebuilding into Humanity and the Conferred God Platform

The biting wind whipped up the snowflakes, which were as hard as cold iron, and sent them flying like sharp blades into the white expanse of the world.

"Splash—"

Layers of icy jelly swept in with the cold wind, producing a light yet clear friction sound.

Looking around, this is a world completely covered by ice and snow.