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The preliminaries continued.
In the following days, the Royal Fighting Team did not encounter any strong opponents.
Xuan Ming didn't even need to make a move; as long as the opponent couldn't break through Dugu Yan's overwhelmingly potent poison control, the battle would inevitably be a one-sided affair.
Even though all teams knew that the Royal Fighting Team's tactics were simple and their coordination was rusty, in the face of an absolute power gap, they didn't even have the right to touch the opponent's weaknesses.
"Our next opponent is Shenfeng Academy."
Inside the lounge, Xue Qinghe was synchronizing intelligence.
"Although they previously lost to Blazing Academy, they consecutively defeated Tianshui Academy and Thunder Academy."
Overall, if Xuan Ming hadn't forcibly changed the direct qualification spots, Shenfeng Academy would undoubtedly be the strongest team in this year's preliminaries.
"I'm countered again, it's up to you." Dugu Yan leaned directly to the side, her tone resigned.
It wasn't until this competition that she truly realized the extremity of her Spirit; when not countered, even if her opponent had higher spirit power, they would still be wary of her, after all, winning or losing was a small matter, but losing one's life was a big one.
But once countered, even if the opponent had lower spirit power, she was helpless.
If she could use her fifth Spirit Ability, even if her poison mist was countered, she would still have control over the field, but Xuan Ming forbade her from using it, as that move was too cruel for Spirit Elders and low-tier Spirit Ancestors.
Ultimately, her poison skills were still too far from her grandfather's.
After the competition, she really needed to go into secluded cultivation.
"Shenfeng Academy…" Xuan Ming frowned slightly.
"What is it?" Dugu Yan looked over.
"Last night, their captain, Feng Xiaotian, came to find me." Xuan Ming said calmly, "He said he wanted to have a battle between men."
"A battle between men?" Ning Rongrong's eye twitched, "Did you steal his girlfriend?"
Xuan Ming glanced at her: "Do you want to hear what you're saying?"
"Then why would he say that to you out of nowhere?" Ning Rongrong was puzzled, "When one man suddenly challenges another man he doesn't know to a fight, besides a woman, what else could it be for?"
"…"
The competition quickly began.
Facing a strong team like Shenfeng Academy, even if Dugu Yan wasn't countered, with the Royal Fighting Team's makeshift coordination, the probability of capsizing was still considerable.
Team battles were too chaotic; a team with no chemistry, no matter how strong individual members were, would only hinder each other.
If they encountered a well-coordinated team, being picked off one by one was only normal.
Amidst deafening cheers, both teams ascended the central Douluo Arena.
"Captain, do you really plan to fight him here?"
On the Shenfeng Academy team, several members looked at Feng Xiaotian with some concern.
Before the competition began, they were indeed very skeptical that Xuan Ming's strength was exaggerated, but after Blazing Academy and Tianshui Academy both lost to Xuan Ming in such a manner, they no longer doubted his strength.
Being able to block the Tianshui Academy team's Spirit Fusion Ability, Xuan Ming's strength was undoubtedly above that of a Spirit Emperor!
Feng Xiaotian's plan to directly confront such an opponent was not only without a chance of winning but also extremely dangerous!
If Feng Xiaotian was seriously injured, the Shenfeng Academy team would undoubtedly be greatly affected in the subsequent matches!
"I've already told him, this is a battle between men. When the match starts later, you all can just go down. Even if I get injured, with your strength, you're more than capable of winning the preliminaries," Feng Xiaotian said.
Hearing Feng Xiaotian say this, everyone on the Shenfeng Academy team stopped saying anything more.
"Both teams, prepare!" The hostess Dou Dou's loud voice rang out, echoing through the arena.
However, strangely, the Shenfeng Academy team did not form a formation, and in fact, no one released their Spirit except for their captain, Feng Xiaotian.
"It seems he really intends to duel you?" Ning Rongrong looked strange; it had been a long time since she had encountered such a brave warrior.
She remembered that when Xuan Ming was still a Spirit Elder, no Spirit Ancestor dared to challenge him.
"Then we won't bother you." Dugu Yan also very cooperatively took the remaining team members and turned to leave the stage.
Shenfeng Academy's strength was not weak. Without using her fifth Spirit Ability, she wasn't confident in winning this match. Since Xuan Ming would still have to make a move in the end, they might as well just go down directly; it wouldn't affect the outcome anyway.
"You all go down too." Feng Xiaotian said.
"Captain, you… take care."
Under the puzzled gaze of tens of thousands of spectators, all members of the Royal Fighting Team and Shenfeng Academy team, except for their two captains, left the stage directly during the preparation phase.
"Are they planning a one-on-one duel?"
In the VIP section, everyone was a bit confused watching the strange behavior of the two teams.
Although the Royal Fighting Team had an advantage in spirit power level, their team coordination was very poor.
In this situation, Shenfeng Academy team actually voluntarily gave up their team battle advantage?
"If they knew there was no chance of winning and wanted to avoid team damage, wouldn't it be better to just forfeit?" Gu Rong said.
"Why go through all this?"
"Uncle Gu, from the beginning of the competition until now, aside from the first match between Shrek and the Royal Fighting Team, have you seen any other team forfeit in a match against the Royal Fighting Team?" Ning Fengzhi said.
Gu Rong was stunned, "It seems not."
Aside from Shrek, no matter how badly they were beaten or how miserably they lost, no other team had forfeited in a match against the Royal Fighting Team.
"Among the Five Element Academy, Elephant Armor Academy, Blazing Academy, and Tianshui Academy have all fought against the Royal Fighting Team, and they all used their full strength. If Shenfeng Academy chooses to forfeit here, how will they stand among the Five Element Academy?" Ning Fengzhi said.
By now, both the participating teams and the audience were actually very clear that, at least among the preliminary teams, no one could defeat Xuan Ming.
Therefore, losing to Xuan Ming was not a shameful thing; in fact, everyone could accept it.
Now, everyone had fought and everyone had lost. If Shenfeng Academy chose to forfeit, how would the other academies view them?
This was no longer a question of winning or losing; it was a matter of the academy's dignity!
Shenfeng Academy could lose, but they absolutely could not run!
"I see." Gu Rong nodded, indicating understanding.
Only sending out the captain avoided damage to the entire team and saved face for Shenfeng Academy. This was indeed the optimal solution for Shenfeng Academy at the moment.
At this moment, only Xuan Ming and Feng Xiaotian remained standing opposite each other in the Douluo Arena. Feng Xiaotian had already completed his Spirit possession; his body became larger than usual, and a wolf head emerged from his left shoulder.
Double Headed Storm Wolf, a variant of the Storm Devil Wolf. This mutation transformed it from a mid-to-high-tier Spirit into a being close to a top-tier Spirit.
"Xuan Ming, are you still not planning to release your Spirit?" Feng Xiaotian frowned tightly.
Xuan Ming looked calmly at Feng Xiaotian and slowly said, "I don't understand why you all have this question. Has my Spirit not always been there?"
Feng Xiaotian was stunned, "Always been there?"
Xuan Ming sighed, and the twin dragons on his back slowly landed on his shoulders, "My mutated Spirit, this doesn't seem to be a secret, does it?"
Feng Xiaotian was surprised, "But aren't you cultivating a Tool Spirit?"
"I just haven't added spirit rings; it's not like I haven't cultivated it," Xuan Ming said.
"As for Spirit Abilities, do they only rely on spirit rings?"
His Black Dragon Martial Soul merely lacked spirit ring Spirit Abilities, but in terms of its power, after absorbing the power of the Dragon King's dragon soul and being nourished by dragon bone energy, it had actually long surpassed Blood Spear.
It was just that everyone seemed to only see his Blood Spear; as long as he didn't bring that thing out, everyone thought he wasn't serious.
Although he indeed wasn't serious.
At least so far, he had only truly fought with all his might twice: once in Soto City against Tang Hao, and once in the Sunset Forest with the strike aimed at Qian Daoliu.
That was truly without reservation.
"Is that so…" After hearing this, many doubts in Feng Xiaotian's heart dissipated at this moment.
They seemed to have been too focused on whether Xuan Ming brought out his iconic Tool Spirit and overlooked his Beast Spirit.
As for Spirit Abilities, he also had self-created Spirit Abilities, and he naturally understood their power. Although they didn't form naturally like Spirit Abilities granted by spirit rings, self-created Spirit Abilities were developed based on one's own circumstances and were the most practical.
The colorless walls that appeared in previous matches were probably derived self-created Spirit Abilities from this Beast Spirit's Domain ability.
"Match — Start!"
The moment Dou Dou's voice fell, Feng Xiaotian's figure shot out, his speed even surpassing Zhu Zhuqing's!
At the same time, his first spirit ring lit up, and his wolf claws unleashed ten sharp wind blades, tearing through the air and sealing off all angles of evasion!
Xuan Ming, however, did not retreat a single step.
The wind blades struck first, but they hit an invisible barrier one meter away from him and suddenly dissipated!
Feng Xiaotian followed closely, wildly swinging his sharp claws, but they were also steadily blocked by that colorless wall.
Failing to hit, he rapidly changed direction, launching a storm-like barrage from different angles. Claw shadows filled the sky, but all were completely neutralized by that flexible and insurmountable barrier.
"Force dissipation?!" Feng Xiaotian sharply retreated, his heart chilling.
He had anticipated the wind blades being ineffective, but only by personally experiencing it did he truly understand the strangeness of this defense. The wall didn't directly resist the impact but rather diffused, buffered, and dissipated the force like deep water!
No wonder even Tianshui Academy's "Ice and Snow Drifting" couldn't shake it in the slightest, even forcing Shui Bing'er to overdraw her essence.
This kind of defensive mechanism consumed far less spirit power than rigid defense, making it almost invincible.