Was he really the weakest one out of the total fifteen people present?
Tang San stood frozen in place, a storm of indignation brewing in his chest. He was just about to open his mouth to complain and argue his case, but the words died in his throat. A realization struck him cold. If he excluded the three auxiliary Support System Spirit Masters—who weren't built for direct combat anyway—then the harsh reality was undeniable.
It seemed that was indeed the case. In terms of raw power and current standing, he was at the bottom.
However, Tang San's fists clenched at his sides. Everyone knew that a Support System Spirit Master played a crucial role in a team; they were the heart of any formation. To simply brush them aside to justify his own low ranking felt like a hollow victory. Thinking of this, Tang San's expression couldn't help but turn unpleasant, his face darkening with suppressed anger and humiliation.
At the same time, up in the spectator stands, Yu Xiaogang sat in his wheelchair, observing the scene below with growing confusion. He also noticed that something was amiss.
Because Qin Ming hadn't used a spirit power amplifier or a megaphone when he spoke to the students, his voice didn't carry clearly to the stands. Yu Xiaogang, whose spirit power was famously low, couldn't make out the specific words. He only saw the physical actions: Tang San walking out from the crowd of students and standing alone to the side like an outcast.
"What is going on down there?" Yu Xiaogang wondered, full of doubts.
He squinted his eyes, trying to read the situation. Why was his disciple separated from the group? His expression started to mirror Tang San's, becoming ugly and anxious.
Not far away in the stands, Flender noticed his old friend's abnormal expression. The Dean of Shrek Academy smirked slightly, a cold, unfeeling smile playing on his lips.
Unlike Yu Xiaogang, who was stuck at the Spirit Grand Master level, Flender was a genuine Spirit Saint with spirit power at rank seventy-eight. This short distance between the stands and the arena couldn't block his enhanced hearing. He had clearly heard every word of the drawing rules that Qin Ming had just explained to the students.
He also keenly noticed the subtle insult in Qin Ming's arrangement. Qin Ming had deliberately singled out Tang San as the "weakest," planning to stick him onto the weaker team after the draw as a handicap or a filler.
Watching Yu Xiaogang's anxious but comical appearance—straining his neck like a turtle, yet unable to go forward and check due to his crippled state in the wheelchair—Flender couldn't help but find it amusing. A dark satisfaction curled in his gut.
Originally, he only disliked Yu Xiaogang for past grievances. But ever since hearing the rumors that the Grandmaster had an illicit, taboo affair with his own student, Tang San, Flender felt a wave of physiological disgust whenever he looked at the man.
"As a teacher, to do such a thing to his own student..." Flender thought, his eyes narrowing behind his crystal glasses. "Regardless of whether Tang San was willing or forced, this is an unforgivable matter."
Flender had already formed a concrete plan in his mind. Someone like Yu Xiaogang could no longer remain at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. He was a stain on the faculty. After all, his public identity had always been that of a teacher, and teachers were supposed to be moral paragons.
The same went for Tang San. Having such a tainted person continuing to stay in the Shrek Team would only damage the image and reputation of the other innocent students. Flender had made his decision.
In as little as ten days, or perhaps half a month at most, he would definitely find a plausible excuse to kick Yu Xiaogang out of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. And he would send Tang San packing right along with him.
"As long as they are no longer associated with Shrek, no matter where they go or what they do, it has nothing to do with me," Flender mused silently.
Down in the arena, the drawing of lots under the dueling stage had concluded. The fourteen students had picked their numbers, and the teams were formed.
The seven people who drew into the first group—Team One—were a formidable lineup: Huo Feng, the Poison Spirit Master Dugu Yan, the Support Spirit Master Ning Rongrong, the Agility Attacker Xiao Wu, the defensively monstrous Shi Brothers, and the agile Zhu Zhuqing.
Those who drew into the other group—Team Two—were naturally the remaining members: The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Yu Tianheng, the White Tiger Dai Mubai, the Phoenix Ma Hongjun, the Food Spirit Master Oscar, the Agile Leopard Oslo, the Wind Bell Bird Yu Feng, and the Nine Heart Begonia Ye Lingling.
Looking at the finalized members of both teams, Qin Ming nodded to himself. He felt the arrangement was quite suitable.
Not only did it perfectly separate the core members of the original two teams to mix things up, but both sides also had two Spirit Ancestors whose spirit power had reached above rank forty. In addition, each side had a standard formation: a Support System Spirit Master, an Attack System Spirit Master, and an Agility Attack System Spirit Master.
This drawing result was quite satisfactory to Qin Ming. It offered a balanced learning environment.
Furthermore, none of the team members who had drawn lots voiced any objections. Huo Feng, in particular, seemed pleased. He noted that Oscar and Ma Hongjun were both assigned to the opposing side. A glint flashed in his eyes; this meant he could find an opportunity to target both of them simultaneously during the fight to complete a specific system mission he had been working on.
Although the "paper strength" of both sides seemed very balanced to the untrained eye, Qin Ming immediately judged which side was actually stronger.
Because of Huo Feng's existence, the team he was on was naturally superior. Huo Feng was an anomaly whose power defied standard rankings.
To balance this, Tang San was assigned to Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai's team.
"Both sides technically have one Control System Spirit Master," Qin Ming analyzed silently. "Team One has Dugu Yan, and Team Two has Tang San. It's just that the strength gap between Dugu Yan and Tang San is... obvious. But strictly speaking, Team Two has one extra person. It can still be considered relatively balanced."
Having settled the logic in his mind, Qin Ming looked at the students and spoke slowly.
"The drawing results are now out. After a simple evaluation of both sides, it was unanimously decided to let Tang San join Team Two. Next, both teams will have fifteen minutes to understand each other's abilities and formulate tactics. After fifteen minutes, the battle will begin on time!"
The "Team Two" that Qin Ming referred to was precisely the squad led by Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai.
Upon hearing that Tang San was to join their ranks, everyone else's expressions changed in unison. The atmosphere in Team Two instantly dropped below freezing.
There were two main reasons for this cold reception.
First, Tang San's reputation was simply too toxic. To have them be on the same team as such a person was humiliating. More or less, everyone felt a degree of unwillingness. The three Shrek members—Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun—were somewhat resigned to it because they had been accustomed to Tang San's presence for a long time. But the four members of the Royal Fight Team who had been drawn into this group—Yu Tianheng, Oslo, Yu Feng, and Ye Lingling—felt extremely uncomfortable.
They had a perfectly good seven-person team, a lineup of elites, and then suddenly this guy was forced upon them. For proud nobles and geniuses to associate with someone rumored to have an illicit affair with his master was truly hard for them to accept.
The second reason was purely pragmatic: Tang San's addition brought almost no improvement to their combat power. In fact, he might even become a burden.
They had already seen this clearly from his previous battle against the tortoise spirit master, Shi Mo. As a Control System Spirit Master, Tang San couldn't do any of the things other controllers did. He couldn't lock down targets effectively, nor could he disrupt the enemy formation. Instead, he had a bad habit of charging forward into melee range like a suicidal attacker. The result was often him getting knocked down instantly.
Tang San naturally noticed the shift in the atmosphere. He could see that the expressions of the people in Team Two were not very welcoming.
He watched as Yu Tianheng turned his back on him and proactively walked over to talk to Dai Mubai.
"Brother Dai," Yu Tianheng said, completely ignoring the new addition, "tell me, what is Huo Feng's usual fighting style? We need to prepare."
On the other side of the group, Oscar pulled Ma Hongjun along and started chatting animatedly with Oslo, Ye Lingling, and Yu Feng.
"We need a way to counter Dugu Yan's poison," Oscar said seriously. "Any ideas?"
All seven of them, without any prior coordination, unanimously ignored Tang San. It was as if he didn't exist at all, or as if he was a ghost haunting the edge of their vision that they refused to acknowledge.
Tang San's fists clenched tightly at his sides, his fingernails digging into his palms.
"No matter what, I am a Control System Spirit Elder whose spirit power exceeds rank thirty!" he screamed internally. "How dare they underestimate me like this?"
He felt a surge of rage and wanted to muster the courage to walk up and confront these people, to demand their respect. But after thinking for a moment, Tang San realized that he seemed to have no ground to stand on. He was the extra wheel. He was the one who had been benched for being weak.
Defeated, he simply stood aside, minding his own business while the team planned around him.
Tang San fumed in silence, his anger burning hot but impotent.
Up in the stands, Yu Xiaogang finally focused his eyes enough to see Tang San's predicament. Seeing his beloved disciple being ostracized and ignored by the other students, he immediately became furious. He gripped the armrests of his wheelchair.
"These ignorant children!" Yu Xiaogang thought bitterly. "They clearly haven't read my Invincible Theory."
In Yu Xiaogang's mind, the Control System Spirit Master was the core of any team. Especially for someone like Tang San, who might lack powerful offensive Spirit Abilities for a one-on-one duel, a team battle was where he should shine. In a chaotic group fight, the role Tang San could play—controlling the flow, restricting enemies, setting up kills—would definitely be greater than any other type of Spirit Master.
"Short-sighted fools," Yu Xiaogang scoffed. He laughed internally at these students for knowing nothing about true tactics. "I have high hopes for Tang San. When the team battle begins later, Tang San's performance will surely shock these arrogant students into silence."
He sat back, waiting for the vindication of his theory.
However, if others knew what Yu Xiaogang was thinking at that moment, they would probably die of laughter.
Team battle? It wasn't as if Tang San hadn't participated in team battles before. In fact, his track record was well known.
The opponent last time had also been the Royal Fight Team. And what was the result of that "shocking performance"? It seemed to end with Tang San getting beaten so badly he lost control of his bowels and had diarrhea right there in the arena, didn't it?
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