Chapter 69: Chapter -69 The Jealous Master
Chapter -69.
"Hey, Zhang Ming! Have you seen the teacher? We've got a few questions for her!"
Not long after, in the bustling square of the Imperial Academy, the other six students joined in, with Li Jing leading the charge.
"Shh!"
Zhang Ming put a finger to his lips and pointed toward the dean's office, his expression full of mystery.
"What's with the secrecy? Just tell us if you've seen her or not!" Li Jing rolled her eyes at Zhang Ming's antics and pressed on, "Where did the teacher go? When will the captain be back?"
Just as Zhang Ming was about to answer, a series of loud banging noises erupted from the dean's office nearby, chaotic and prolonged.
Hearing the strange sounds, Li Jing and the others exchanged curious glances, eager to investigate, but Zhang Ming quickly stepped in front of them, gulping nervously. "The captain and the teacher are in there. Trust me, you don't want to go in and get caught up in whatever's happening."
At his words, Li Jing's face turned bright red. Zhang Ming's hint was pretty clear; even a child would get it. Everyone fell silent, staring at the dean's office in astonishment, thinking, 'Wow, that noise is really something!'
Time flew by, and soon it was dark, but the seven friends still stood in the wide square of the Morning Snow Imperial Academy. Zhang Ming's expression was a mix of shock and confusion; his mouth was open, but no words came out. The sounds from earlier still echoed in his ears, as if they had never stopped.
The next morning, a lively Ye Chen gathered the seven students to discuss some important matters. However, he quickly noticed that they all had dark circles under their eyes, yawning and looking like they hadn't slept a wink.
"Come on, guys! Nighttime is for resting! What were you all up to? You look like zombies! If the competition starts tomorrow, can we really count on you like this?"
Feeling a bit frustrated, Ye Chen couldn't believe this group was enjoying the comforts of the Imperial Academy without putting in the effort. They needed to understand that leveling up was key!
"Captain, we didn't do anything last night; it was just you and the teacher..."
"Shut it!"
Looking at Zhang Ming, who looked utterly exhausted, Ye Chen felt like giving him a little nudge to wake him up.
"Teacher Liu isn't feeling well today and is taking a day off, so I'm here to hand out the training tasks."
Seeing everyone in the same sleepy state, Ye Chen declared, "Alright, everyone, go run! Do 100 laps around the academy. No food until you finish!"
"Ah!"
"Why are you still standing there?"
Under Ye Chen's stern gaze, the group finally started jogging slowly. But it wasn't long before Li Jing started to complain, "I'm so tired! The captain is too tough; he didn't let us rest at all last night, and I barely got any sleep."
Zhang Ming yawned and replied, "Just keep running. If you make the captain mad, he might keep you up all night again. Do you really want that?"
With that, he weakly led the way, and the others followed suit.
Watching the group struggle, Ye Chen took out the gravity bone pendant given to him by Master Gu Rong, found a shady spot, and lay down on the grass, feeling the weight of the increased gravity.
He knew he needed to work harder; only then could his soul power grow stronger and help him perform well in the competition. So, Ye Chen decided that for the next year or so, he would stay in the gravity circle and catch up on sleep!
Time flew by, and the day of the elite competition for advanced soul master academies across the continent finally arrived. Since the Morning Snow Imperial Academy was established, they still had only nine teachers.
However, to ensure victory, Ye Chen even dipped into half of the 'national treasury' to fully support Zhang Ming and the others in their training. Now that the competition was here, it was time to see how well they had prepared.
"Let's go! We need to draw our opponents for the preliminary round."
In the square of the Morning Snow Imperial Academy, Ye Chen stood with Liu Erlong, looking at the seven confident and spirited students, feeling a bit more at ease.
With Ye Chen, cloaked in black, leading the way, they quickly made their way to Tiandou City.
As the competition kicked off, Tiandou City was buzzing with excitement. The streets were packed with people, and students from various academies rushed to this historic imperial capital.
This advanced soul master academy competition was being held in both the Tiandou Empire and the Xingluo Empire. First, the preliminary rounds would determine 33 teams that would move on to the finals.
Among those 33 teams, three spots were guaranteed: the Wuhun Hall Academy battle team, the Tiandou Royal battle team, and the Xingluo Royal battle team. Other advanced academies had to fight through the preliminaries to reach the finals.
Pushing through the lively crowd, Ye Chen and his nine companions arrived at the towering white imperial city walls. Soon, the Snow Night Emperor, elders from the Wuhun Hall, the master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School, and other notable figures from various sects appeared atop the city walls.
Then, the Snow Night Emperor himself announced the start of the competition.
Members and teachers from various academies stepped through the grand city gates, entering the imperial city to reveal the truth.
Members of the five major elemental academies, like Tianshui Academy and Chihuo Academy, made their appearances, followed by advanced academies from the empire. Finally, it was the turn of the two newly promoted academies, the Morning Snow Imperial Academy and the Shrek Academy, which had recently changed its name from Lan Ba.
Upon entering the imperial city, the prominent figures and personnel from various academies gathered in a vast arena, similar to a soul fighting arena.
In the center was the competition stage, surrounded by walls filled with spectators who were already cheering excitedly before the competition had even begun.
Above the stage, four massive electronic screens displayed everything happening on the stage.
At that moment, a petite female host with white wings flew up from the ground, announcing the specific rules of the competition.
After her announcement, the beautiful host called out, "Now, let's welcome Lord Salas to conduct the draw for the first round of the preliminary match!"
With that, Salas from the Wuhun Hall stood up, and with a grand gesture, the signs held by the attendants scattered into the air, then magically aligned into pairs.
At the same time, the electronic screens above the stage began to scroll with the match information for each academy.
"First match: Canghui Academy vs. Zixing Academy!" "Second match: Auckland Academy vs. Huoyan Guanghui Academy!" "Third match: Shrek Academy vs. Morning Snow Imperial Academy!" "Fourth match..."
The initial clash between the two newly promoted academies immediately drew boos from the audience. Neither Shrek nor the Qianxue battle team, formed from the second team of the royal academy, was well-received, but the Qianxue battle team faced more criticism. Almost everyone in the audience shouted the name of the royal second team, barely acknowledging the Morning Snow Imperial Academy.
"Seriously? Is our imperial academy really that forgettable? Why do they only remember the royal second team?" Zhang Ming's eyes showed a hint of frustration. So much time had passed, and they had transformed, yet some people still saw them as the second team that couldn't stand on its own, just a stepping stone for the royal battle team to gain fame.
"Just keep your cool; reputation is earned. If you want people to remember the name of the imperial academy, you've got to win this competition."
Trying to reassure the members of the Qianxue battle team, Ye Chen's gaze drifted toward the nearby Shrek Academy. He hadn't expected to run into them again; it was quite the coincidence!
Meanwhile, within the Shrek Academy team, Flander was practically buzzing with excitement upon hearing that their first match was against the Morning Snow Imperial Academy.
"Awesome! It's the Qianxue battle team. Since they didn't want us back then, we'll win this match to show them what we're made of and let that shadowy principal see our strength!"
In contrast to Flander's enthusiasm, Master noticed Liu Erlong holding Ye Chen's arm a bit too closely, and he felt a mix of emotions.
Shaking his head, the Master said seriously, "They're just a rebuilding team from the Royal Second Team; there's no need to make a big deal out of it. We should remember that we'll face even stronger teams later on, so my plan is to keep our strength under wraps and use more substitute players."
"Haha, that's true," Flander chuckled, scratching his head. "But no matter what, we need to win this battle convincingly. Dai Mubai, Tang San, are you feeling confident?"
"Absolutely!"
Dai Mubai and the others showed strong confidence in their eyes. Over the past year, they had not only practiced a tough training regimen but also had adventures that boosted their soul power significantly, which is why they felt so sure of themselves.
At that moment, Master Yu Xiaogang noticed Liu Erlong and Ye Chen getting a bit too cozy, and he couldn't help but express his irritation, saying, "I want you to defeat Qianxue within one minute. If you can't meet this requirement, your training volume will triple, no, tenfold."
Tang San hesitantly asked, "Teacher, we need to keep our strength hidden; won't one minute be too short? What if we lose?"
The Master replied calmly, "What? You don't have that little bit of confidence? Your real opponents are in the promotion matches and the finals; they won't be in this preliminary round. If you can't even win against the Second Team of the Royal Academy, just think about how tough the road ahead will be!"
"We'll definitely get it done."
Dai Mubai patted Tang San on the shoulder and laughed; after all, they could handle the Royal Main Team, and as for this Second Team of the Royal Academy, one minute? That was more than enough.
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