"That's true!"Elder Shemou nodded. "This kind of thing is best handled by pretending not to know—play deaf, play dumb, act crazy. That solves everything."
Thinking of this, Elder Shemou felt that Young Master Zhang Fan was really clever.
"So, Qian Renxue, you're showing me your real form because you want to be my wife?"
Zhang Fan teased as he looked at Qian Renxue.
"Dream on!"Qian Renxue snapped, though her heart was secretly pleased. "Alright, I have to go now!"
"Mm."Zhang Fan nodded, a bit reluctant as he watched her turn back into Xue Qinghe. Then, he turned and walked out the door.
Ning Fengzhi brought Ning Rongrong over to Liu Erlong and the others.
"Thanks to the care and guidance from the headmaster and all the teachers, Rongrong has made tremendous progress. She's much stronger than she was during the clan competition. It seems our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan has serious issues with internal training. So, for next semester, I'd like to send some disciples to study at your Shrek Academy. Would that be alright with you, Headmaster Liu?"
"Of course, no problem!"Liu Erlong replied cheerfully. "But honestly, it's all thanks to Zhang Fan teaching Rongrong. The rest of us barely did anything."
"Oh, that's fine. As long as you agree."Ning Fengzhi smiled.
"Deal!"Liu Erlong nodded.
Xue Qinghe then approached Ning Fengzhi.
"Teacher, we're leaving now,"Xue Qinghe said politely.
"Alright,"Ning Fengzhi nodded, leaving with Xue Qinghe.
Unlike the qualifiers, the Advancement Tournament did not have multiple matches happening simultaneously.
There was only one main battlefield—the grand training field of the Royal Knights.
A total of 15 teams made it to this round.
They would compete in a round-robin format—14 matches per team, one round per day. Each day, one team would have a bye, and 7 matches would be played.
All matches were held at the same location.
On the north side of the training field were the VIP and Judges' seats. Fewer VIPs attended this time.
Looking around, only the front row was occupied by people like Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and Platinum Bishop Salas, while the remaining seats were filled with military generals and Spirit Hall officials.
Every student in the advancement round would showcase their full strength in front of the crowd. This was also the best time to judge a Spirit Master's real abilities.
Outside, ten thousand Royal Knights stood guard.
All 15 teams were already present.
Match rules: Each side sends seven players. Every player fights until they're defeated. The winner continues to face the next opponent.
This continues until all seven members of one team are defeated.
The draw was completed last night.
Shrek Academy's opponent was a high-level Spirit Master academy from the Balak Kingdom.
They would be the third match of the day.
Teams from different regions, who qualified through preliminaries, were now together. The Four Element Academies all turned their attention to Zhang Fan.
Especially Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er—there was a new look in their eyes as they watched him.
Meanwhile, Feng Xiaotian looked jealous and sour-faced.
"We'll let Zhang Fan decide today's lineup again,"Liu Erlong said.
"I'll go alone,"Zhang Fan replied confidently.
"Mm, I trust you, Fan-ge!"Xiao Wu nodded. Though advancement opponents were stronger than the preliminary ones, Fan-ge could still dominate easily.
And since this wasn't a team battle, he didn't even need his Martial Spirit or Spirit Rings—just his secret techniques were enough to win.
No one could beat him, no matter who they were.
The other girls all nodded in agreement.
"We want to fight too!"Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun grumbled unhappily.
"You two have no right to speak!"Liu Erlong glared at them, and the two instantly shrank back, not daring to say another word.
Everyone else just silently agreed.
"The Advancement Tournament officially begins today. Over the next fourteen days, I hope each academy shows their true strength and demonstrates the elegance of a Spirit Master. Begin!"
As Emperor Xue Ye gave his rousing speech, the Royal Knights echoed with booming cheers:
"Long live! Long live! Long, long live!"
The raised spears and thunderous roars startled many students.
The first match was Blazing Academy vs. Fabea Academy.
Huo Wushuang defeated three opponents before falling.
Then, Huo Wu took the stage—brave, stunning, and utterly dominant—she crushed four enemies with ease and claimed victory for her team.
After the match, Huo Wu turned and looked at Zhang Fan.
"Not bad,"Zhang Fan nodded at her.
Huo Wu looked like she'd just downed a can of energy drink—suddenly full of life and completely recovered from her earlier exertion.
She had grown significantly stronger over the past month.
The second match featured a familiar face—Meng Yiran, wielding her Snake Staff, quickly secured victory.
Then it was Shrek Academy's turn.
Zhang Fan blinked onto the battlefield. His opponent, from Balak Academy, was a tall, muscular man in his twenties wearing a black uniform with gold trim.
"Little boy, how old are you? Is Shrek out of people to send? What's with sending such a puny runt? Aren't you afraid I'll kick your bones into powder? This isn't a place for weaklings like you." the musclehead said arrogantly.
"Begin the match!" the referee announced.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura of murderous intent exploded from Zhang Fan.
"Ugh…" The strong man's face twisted in fear, cold sweat pouring down. To him, the skinny youth now looked like a towering god.
"Whoosh—"Zhang Fan flashed forward. "BANG—" One kick.
"AHHH—" The musclehead screamed as he was blasted out of the arena and knocked unconscious.
Silence. The whole arena went dead quiet. No one expected such a quick KO.
What was that murderous aura from Zhang Fan? It stunned the guy in an instant—like he'd been terrified into helplessness.
Then one strike, clean and decisive—done.
"Waaah! Fan-ge is so cool!"Xiao Wu screamed.
"Total one-hit kill—didn't even use Spirit Rings or Martial Spirit!"Ning Rongrong smiled.
Even Shui Yue'er was dazed. She hadn't expected Zhang Fan to end it so quickly. He was just… dreamily cool.
Xue Qinghe's lips curled into a slight smile.
Huo Wu also shouted, "Zhang Fan is ridiculously handsome!"
"…"Feng Xiaotian, hearing this, almost exploded from jealousy.
"Next!" the referee called.
"Whoosh whoosh—" Suddenly, seven or eight people charged toward Zhang Fan in anger.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the referee barked coldly.
"Want a gang fight?"Shrek's team stepped forward. "Even all of you together couldn't beat our captain."
"You looking to die?!"Liu Erlong's fiery temper ignited instantly.
"Stand down! Continue the match!" came Salas's icy voice.
"Please calm down, Platinum Bishop. We meant no harm—we just wanted to carry off our teammate," the Balak team coach said quickly.
"Proceed. Next time, you'll be disqualified from the tournament,"Salas replied flatly.
"Whoosh!" The next challenger appeared—a level 40 Spirit Elder with a Sunflower Martial Spirit: red center, orange petals, a plant-type spirit known for strong control abilities.
Wild sunflowers could release a strange scent that crippled an opponent's fighting power—a kind of spiritual toxin.
"You'll pay for knocking out our teammate!"
The muscular youth held his flower, speaking with a twisted, angry expression.
"Begin!" the referee said sternly.
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