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The others also noticed Ning Tian and his group of five. Seeing them return, the Shrek team all showed rather complicated expressions. Tang San, in particular, immediately stepped in front of Xiao Wu, fearing that Ning Tian might get tangled up with her again.
On the other hand, the Heaven Dou team reacted more naturally. Especially the Shi brothers, Yu Feng, and Osloer when they saw Ning Tian and his group, it was like spotting a long-lost family. Without a second thought, the four of them rushed over.
"Ning Tian, Zhuqing, Rongrong, it's really you! Where's Lingling? Didn't she come with you?" Yu Feng, the liveliest of the group, asked with excitement. As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at Zhuqing and the golden-haired beauty who was Ye Lingling, thinking to himself, 'Nice one, Ning Tian. You didn't just take Lingling away, you brought back two more beauties this time.'
"I'm right here," Ye Lingling said, stepping up beside Ning Tian. Her face, now strikingly beautiful, lit up with a sweet smile she'd never shown before. That smile could steal hearts with a single look.
Everyone froze. After a brief moment, shock took over.
"You're Lingling?" Yu Feng, Osler, and the Shi brothers all stared, their mouths open in disbelief. Even Yu Tianheng, Qin Ming, and the Shrek team, who had followed them over, looked stunned.
Yu Tianheng and Qin Ming knew Ye Lingling well and the Shrek team had faced her in combat. But now, after this trip, she's turned into a breathtaking beauty. If not for the faint familiarity in her features, they might have thought she was a different person.
"Of course," Ye Lingling nodded lightly.
Still, they couldn't quite believe it. Yu Tianheng stepped forward. "But how did you change so much?"
Everyone else watched, curious.
Ye Lingling glanced at Ning Tian, a slight blush crossing her gorgeous face. "It's nothing. I just got some improvements during our training, and this is how I ended up."
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang stepped up, ready to show off his theories. "A Spirit Master's appearance is tied to their martial soul. Yours must have mutated during your training, right?"
Ning Tian, Ning Rongrong, and Zhuqing had no patience for Yu Xiaogang, and neither did Ye Lingling. Especially after learning that Tang San's martial soul side effects; constant stomach issues came from Yu Xiaogang's teachings. In her eyes he was nothing but a pompous fake.
If Ning Tian hadn't called him out back then, and if Qin Ming hadn't smoothed things over, the Shi brothers, Osler, and Yu Feng wouldn't have tolerated him either.
Qin Ming chimed in, "Good to see you all. The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Competition in ten days. Tianheng has joined the Shrek team for the competition. Lingling, Ning Tian, Rongrong, Zhuqing, do you have any plans moving forward?"
Instead of answering Qin Ming, the four of them turned to the Shi brothers, Yu Feng, and Osler. "Did you all join the Shrek team too?"
"No way," the four said at once. "If they were competing as the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team, maybe. But they're using the academy as a cover while calling themselves Shrek Academy."
Truth be told, they'd been tired of Qin Ming's favoritism for a while. With their captain, Yu Tianheng, joining Shrek, they'd been left directionless. Now that Ning Tian, the strongest in Heaven Dou team, was back, they had no interest in competing under Shrek's name.
"Good," Ning Tian said. "I'm planning to rebuild the Heaven Dou team for the competition. This is my teacher, Zhu Qing. I've asked her to be our team leader. Come with me to see the education committee."
He introduced Zhu Qing to the four.
"Alright!" The Shi brothers agreed without hesitation.
As they started to leave with Ning Tian, Yu Xiaogang grew anxious. "Wait, Shi Mo, Shi Mo! Aren't you going to get your fourth soul rings?"
Yu Feng and Osler were one thing, but the Shi brothers were key to Shrek's chances of winning. They were the team's foundation. Without them, Shrek's strength would drop sharply.
"We can get our soul rings anytime," Ning Tian replied calmly. "Grandmaster, you should focus on finding a poison-type soul ring for your prized student."
With that, Ning Tian led the four girls, the Shi brothers, Yu Feng, and Osler toward the academy's education committee.
Watching them go, the Shrek team's faces fell. Yu Xiaogang glared at Flender. "Flender, look at this. Look at the fine student you've raised."
Flender, assuming Ning Tian's refusal stemmed from Tang Hao's old threats, sighed. "Can't blame him for that. Let's go."
Zhao Wuji and the other Shrek teachers nodded, understanding. Qin Ming, though, looked regretful. 'Such a pity. If Ning Tian and the others had joined, winning the competition would've been easy.'
Yu Xiaogang turned to his nephew, Yu Tianheng. "Tianheng, maybe you could—"
Before he could finish, Yu Tianheng shook his head. "Uncle, they have their own goals. Honestly, I only joined Shrek out of respect for you, and it already feels wrong to me."
He then looked at Qin Ming. "And Teacher Qin Ming, you've been favoring the Shrek team too much lately. That's partly why Yu Feng and the others left."
Qin Ming, who'd been feeling sorry about it all, suddenly looked lost. He glanced at Ning Tian's departing group, then at the Shrek team, and started to doubt himself. 'I just wanted them to win the competition. Did I really mess up?'
After a quiet moment, he turned to Flender. "Dean, after they meet the education committee, Ning Tian and the others will probably go hunt soul rings for the Shi brothers. How about we wait and join them?"
It was his way of making up for things with the Heaven Dou team.
"Sure," Flender agreed, feeling a bit guilty about Ning Tian.
Xiao Wu's heart jumped at the idea, while Tang San, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun's moods grew even more tangled.
..........
Meanwhile, Ning Tian and his group headed straight to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's education committee.
The three committee members were delighted to hear that Ning Tian and his team were back from training and met them in person. When they learned the golden-haired girl was Ye Lingling, they were amazed.
Ning Tian got right to it. "This is my teacher, Zhu Qing. She's a Level 55 Agility Attack System Spirit King, thirty-four years old, with the martial soul Dark Fragrance Sword. I've asked her to reform and lead the Heaven Dou team."
At first, Ning Tian had thought about bringing Jiansheng, but as the head of a hidden family, he carried too much weight to casually deal with the Heaven Dou Empire. So, Ning Tian left him at their hideout and planned to call him over for the competition as a so-called "guide."
Really, he just wanted a temporary bodyguard.
Zhu Qing greeted them calmly but politely. "Zhu Qing greets the three education committee members."
A level 55 at the age of thirty four was alrady impressive, and being Ning Tian's teacher made her stand out even more to them.
The chief committee member, Meng Shenji, smiled and stepped forward. "No need to be formal, Master Zhu Qing. Having a skilled Spirit Master like you guide us is an honor for our academy. I'm Meng Shenji, chief of the education committee, martial soul Black Demon, Level 86 Control System Battle Spirit Douluo."
He then introduced the others. "This is the second seat, Bai Baoshan, martial soul Heaven Star Furnace, Level 85 Defense System Spirit Douluo. And this is the third seat, Zhi Lin, martial soul Heaven Azure Vine, Level 83 Control System Tool Spirit Douluo."
…..
After some small talk, Meng Shenji got to the point. "We agree to your plan to reform the Heaven Dou team."
"Honestly your return has saved us from a tough spot. We weren't sure who'd represent the Heaven Dou team otherwise."
"Since Yu Tianheng is from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Tang San's father is Haotian Douluo, we can't force them into anything."
He smiled at Ning Tian and the others. "Ning Tian, Zhuqing, Rongrong, Lingling, can you show us what you've gained from nearly two years of training?"
At that, not just the committee members but also Yu Feng, Osler, and the Shi brothers turned to look, eyes wide with anticipation.
Ning Tian and his group smiled and released their martial souls at the same time.
"Ning Tian, martial soul Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword, Level 47 Assault System Battle Spirit Ancestor."
"Ye Lingling, martial soul Sacred Heart Begonia, Level 45 Auxiliary System Tool Spirit Ancestor."
"Zhu Zhuqing, martial soul Nether Spirit Cat, Level 42 Agility Attack System Spirit Ancestor."
"Ning Rongrong, martial soul Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Level 41 Auxiliary System Tool Spirit Ancestor."
In Ning Tian's hand appeared an emerald sword, sparking with faint golden lightning. Ye Lingling held a shining golden begonia flower, her body wrapped in golden light like a small sun. Zhuqing took on the traits of the Nether Spirit Cat, while Ning Rongrong held a nine-layered, nine-colored glazed pagoda, giving off a strong tulip scent.
Two yellow and two purple soul rings glowed around Ye Lingling, Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong. Ning Tian, though, showed a yellow, purple, purple, and black setup that stunned them all.
Everyone stood there, shocked, barely noticing the changes in Ning Tian, Ye Lingling, and Ning Rongrong's martial souls. Their eyes were locked on Ning Tian's ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring.
Osler and the Shi brothers stared, unblinking, while Yu Feng blurted out, "A ten-thousand-year fourth ring! A Spirit Ancestor! Wow!"
It took them a while to snap out of it.
"Great, great, great!" Meng Shenji said three times, clearly amazed.
He smiled at the four. "You've all reached Spirit Ancestor level. Your progress is incredible. It seems your training brought bigger results than we ever expected. Especially you, Ning Tian, not only did you hit Level 47 so fast, but you also got a ten-thousand-year fourth ring. And Rongrong and Lingling, your martial souls are now the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and Sacred Heart Begonia, right?"
"Yes," the two girls smiled. Anyway the three education committee members would know sooner or later, so there was no point hiding it.
Meng Shenji, an over-eighty-year-old Spirit Douluo and a committee member, knew of these legendary martial souls. He nodded with a grin. "I never thought I'd see both the Sacred Heart Begonia and Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in my lifetime. If Ye Renxin and Sect Master Ning heard this, they'd be thrilled."
Ning Tian said seriously, "Please keep this quiet for now, even from the Shrek team. In a way, they're our rivals. Rongrong and Lingling are our secret weapons, I want to save them for the finals."
"Of course," the three committee members agreed with a smile.
"Ning Tian, you said you'd save Rongrong and Lingling for the finals?" Bai Baoshan asked.
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