Another Kind of Genius

When their next day to compete arrived, the ten Shrek team members and the Golden Iron Triangle left their tent early in the morning. They made their way to the courtyard and sat down in the stands to watch the match between Botanic Academy and the second team from Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

Zhou Wuting announced, "In Botanic Academy's second round, this time, they're displaying a full Control System Spirit Ancestor team. Let's see how well they do against Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's second team."

Within moments, the Heaven Dou team was completely restricted. Vines, thorns, and roots spread all across the stage. Gasps and wide eyes filled the stadium. Ru Shenqi had watched the battled and studied how the Botanic Academy team worked.

"Kids, let's go. We're up next," Flender said.

The Shrek team headed down to the stage and took their place on the right side of the stage. Yu Xiaogang nodded towards Xu Tian.

"The first ones up will be the Vigorous Orangutans from the Strength Hall. After them, the Needle-Tailed Swifts from the Speed Clan. If those four lose, Tang San will surely send Soul Breaking Spears from the Medicine Hall. Their spirits are not to be underestimated. If for some reason they lose, the Armor Plated Giant Rhinoceros' from the Defense Hall will tire us out until they're the ones left standing."

Liu Erlong added, "Xu Tian will go first. As a Control System spirit master, she can handle the Orangutans well enough. To fight the Soul Breaking Spears, we need an Agility Attack System spirit master: either Gong Xi or Jiaxiang or Shanxin."

"I wish to battle my cousin again, so may I fight him?" Bai Shanxin asked.

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Jiaxiang is slightly faster than Gong Xi. So to fight those from the Medicine Hall, she will go first. Yong will go against the Defense Hall spirit masters. They cannot perfectly defend against spiritual attacks."

Flender said, "Even though you beat them in the Preliminary Rounds, they're team may be stronger this time. Act with caution before attacking. Don't let yourself fall into a trap. Tang San is a master of strategy. They are his students, students of Tang Sect. Don't underestimate any of them."

"Yes, Dean Flender," every voice rose up in unison.

Xu Tian turned around and leapt up onto the stage. She watched as a Strength Hall spirit master did the same.

He was in the Preliminary Rounds. He's a thirty ninth ranked Spirit Elder.

Zhou Wuting announced, "Today, we see Shrek Academy battle the Four Halls Academy! So far, Shrek is undefeated, but will the Four Halls of Tang Sect be able to dethrone them?!"

Xu Tian and the Strength Hall spirit master battled, but she was hiding her true strength. She pretended to be losing, but as a Control System spirit master, she actually wasn't. After a few minutes, she used her fourth spirit skill, Dazzling Chain, to force the forty second ranked Spirit Ancestor off the stage.

The next Vigorous Orangutan ascended the stage as Zhou Wuting cried, "What an interesting battle! Let us see who is up next: Xu Tian, forty eighth ranked Control System Battle spirit master and Tai Zhuwei¹泰祝威 - given name meaning "Wish for Strength and Greatness", forty second ranked Power Attack System Battle spirit master."

Upon his words, both released their spirits. Tai Zhuwei's body buffed up while his strength doubled. Xu Tian's Dazzling Golden Rope appeared in her right hand. She flicked it to the side, getting ready.

He wasn't in the Preliminaries, but he still has the Vigorous Orangutan spirit. I can still guess his spirit skills.

"Begin!"

Tai Zhuwei launched his first and second spirit skills, which enhanced his strength and defensive abilities. Xu Tian's eyes narrowed.

"Dazzling Ribbon!"

She swung her spirit. It transformed from a rope to a ribbon in the air. It flashed a dazzling glint as it passed by his eyes, temporarily blinding him. In that stunned moment, Xu Tian launched her second spirit skill, which she hadn't used in the competition yet.

"Dazzling Lasso!"

The golden ribbon changed into a rope again and circled into a loop at the end. She swung it around, over her head, building up momentum. When her spirit had stretched as far as it could, she sent it flying forward. Tai Zhuwei roared as his sight returned. He lunged forward, aiming to attack. His third spirit ring launched, and his claws lengthened. He swiped out, but her lasso descended around him. It wrapped him up tight. She roared as she used both hands to maneuver the lasso off to the side.

Despite everything, a forty second ranked Spirit Ancestor still could not hold a candle to a forty eighth ranked Spirit Ancestor.

He went flying out of bounds. Xu Tian quickly released her spirit, and he dropped to the ground, gravity pulling him down.

Exclaims of shock rose up from the crowd. "WHAT IS THIS?! ANOTHER ONE WHO CAN CONTROL PEOPLE?!"

In response, Xu Tian shook her head. "My second spirit skill cannot puppet people. If they're strong enough, they can break free. It merely moves them a physical distance."

Xue Beng and Ning Fengzhi both nodded from the VIP box. Xie Yue's fists clenched.

These Shrek kids are too much!

Xue Beng thought, They will be the pride of Heaven Dou Kingdom again. Good, that's good.

Flender chuckled, "Xu Tian was smart. She had never used her second spirit skill before and employed it now."

Yu Xiaogang agreed, "It was her choice to hide it. As one of the strongest ones right now, we still needed to hide her true strength for a while. But this is good. She didn't show it with the first Strength Hall spirit master."

The next one up was Bai Shanli. Xu Tian withdrew, and Bai Shanxin took her place.

"Next up is Bai Shanli, forty first ranked Agility Attack System Battle spirit master, and Bai Shanxin, forty fourth ranked Agility Attack System Battle spirit master! Let's see how well these siblings do!"

Both released their spirits, and their wings appeared. They took to the air.

"Begin!"

Bai Shanxin immediately launched her second spirit skill, enhancing her maneuverability and speed. Bai Shanli launched his first and second spirit skills, double increasing his speed.

She taunted, "Shanli, Shrek beat you in the Preliminaries. Do you think we won't win again?"

"Shanxin! I'm also a Spirit Ancestor now. We'll see who wins today!"

As he glared at her, she smirked. "Third spirit skill, Swift Charm."

He fell for her trap and while he was stunned, she flew up. Launching her first spirit skill, she twisted and tucked into a dive. Her fingernails lengthened into talons, and she swiped at him. He flew backwards but wasn't knocked out of bounds just yet. He growled and sped towards her.

"Fourth spirit skill, Gilded Wings!"

Bai Shanli's wings doubled in size. Similar to Feng Xiaotian's Stormwind Demon Wolf's Forty Eight Successive Chops, he used his wings to launch an offensive attack. Bai Shanxin launched her second spirit skill again to speed away and out-maneuver him. Once she had dodged his attack, she dove to get close to him. As she neared, her eyes narrowed.

"Fourth spirit skill, Swift Dance."

She sped up even more, and her fourth spirit ring glowed around her brilliantly. Her wings flapped harder, increasing the intensity of the airflow around her. She spun, and launched her Air Strike.

A supremely forceful gale of wind shot straight towards her older brother. His eyes widened, and he began to dodge. But, her fourth skill had a hidden ability.

Lockdown.

The gale-force wind followed him. Jaws dropped. Even the Shrek team was shocked.

"SINCE WHEN DID SHANXIN HAVE A LOCKDOWN ABILITY WITH HER AIR STRIKE?!"

"Truly tyrannical," Liu Erlong murmured.

The wind blew Bai Shanli far out of bounds. Triumphant, Bai Shanxin landed on the stage and looked up at Zhou Wuting.

He stammered, "A- another v- victory for Shrek!"

On the other side of the stage, the Four Hall Masters sighed and shook their head. "Shanxin should've stayed in our Academy. Perhaps this would have been a victory for us."

Bai Shanli crept up into their end and knelt down in front of Bai He. "Grand Uncle, I'm sorry. I failed the Four Halls Academy."

Bai He stepped forward and looked down at him. "Your younger sister is destined to go further. Do not be too discouraged. You are still powerful for your age."

Xiao Wu glanced at her husband. "Ge, who will we send out next?"

"Grandmaster knows me too well. He'll have planned just as well as we have. Let's continued with our pre-arranged lineup. Send out Yang Tianfu²杨天福 - given name meaning "Talented"."

A Soul-Breaking Spear that hadn't appeared in the Preliminary Rounds climbed up on stage to meet Shu Jiaxiang. Their eyes met.

"Let's see. We have Shu Jiaxiang, forty fourth ranked Agility Attack System Battle spirit master, and Yang Tianfu, a forty second ranked Power Attack System Battle spirit master."

Both released their spirits. Shu Jiaxiang's cat ears perked up. Her tailed flicked. Her nails lengthened into claws. Yang Tianfu's terrifying spear appeared in his hand.

"Begin!"

She quickly launched her first spirit skill and disappeared. He whipped his head around, trying to find her. As she neared him, she launched her third spirit skill. Her poisonous fog spread out, and she launched her fourth spirit skill right afterwards. Thanks to her etherealness, Yang Tianfu's spear couldn't injure her as he thrusted it out. She drew back and activated her second spirit skill. Her claws sharpened. Shu Jiaxiang waited.

She waited for the poison to take effect. Once Yang Tianfu had become sluggish, succumbing to her poison, she shot forward and swiped at him while also discreetly removing the poison from his system. She sent him flying off stage.

"Victory for Shrek!"

The next Medicine Hall spirit master had appeared in the Preliminary Round and was visibly shaken. Shu Jiaxiang disappeared and launched her Shadow Cheetah Fog again. As he became sluggish, the Soul Breaking Spear dropped from his hands. He stumbled as he tried to move. She didn't even bother to attack and waited for him to collapse. When he did, Shu Jiaxiang retracted the poison from him.

"Victory for Shrek!"

The first of the two Armor Plated Giant Rhinoceros stepped up onto the stage. Shu Jiaxiang withdrew, and Ming Yong took her place. The Defense Hall spirit master looked uneasy as he wavered on his feet.

The Four Halls Academy team had been watching when Ming Yong and his spirit skills were finally revealed in the battle against the School of Four Elements. They couldn't believe such a powerful Spirit System spirit master could emerge. And one that was only sixteen!

"Let's see here: Ming Yong, forty fourth ranked Spirit System Battle spirit master, and Niu Xiaofan³牛小藩 - given name meaning "Little Barrier", forty second ranked Defense System Battle spirit master."

Ming Yong remembered that Niu Xiaofan had appeared in the Preliminary Rounds. He summoned his Seven Stringed Dragon Qin just as a rhino horn grew from his opponent's head. Niu Xiaofan's body grew buffer and tougher.

"Begin!"

Niu Xiaofan launched his first and second spirit skills which enhanced his defense and his offensive attack power. Ming Yong looked down at his qin, resting his fingers lightly over the strings. Just as Niu Xiaofan lunged towards him, preparing to attack, he strummed the first note. His first purple spirit ring glowed as he launched his third spirit skill, Dragon Qin Wailing.

The tune he played caused Niu Xiaofan to stop and drop to his knees. He clutched at his head and screamed.

Ming Yong asked simply, "Do you concede?"

"Yes! Yes! I admit defeat! Just make this stop!"

Ming Yong's fingers halted at once. "Referee Zhou, announce it."

"A- another victory for Shrek!"

Niu Xiaofan exited the stage with slumped shoulders. Niu Gao's eyebrows twitched.

"Shrek already has a tyrannical little God. How can they have such other tyrannical children? They defeated my grandson is under a minute!"

Tang San turned to him and replied, "Are Hongjun, Xiao Wu, Oscar, Rongrong and I not monstrous as well? Shrek Academy is a school for monsters. The Golden Iron Triangle taught us well. It's no wonder this new generation is better."

Xiao Wu added, "No matter how good one's physical defense is, if their mind is not just as well defended, then it will be their loss. Niu Xiaofan was scared to begin with. His mindset was not in the right place. That is why Junior Ming Yong was able to defeat him so quickly."

Tang San said, "Grandmaster was right to send this junior last. It displays Shrek Academy's strength even more."

The last Armor Plated Giant Rhinoceros and the last member of the Four Halls Battle team climbed up on stage. He had also been in the Preliminaries, so Ming Yong was familiar with his spirit skills.

As a forty first ranked Spirit Elder, could he really defeat Ming Yong?

"Begin!" Zhou Wuting declared.

This time, Ming Yong didn't even bother to waste any time. He immediately launched his first and second spirit skills in succession. After wrapping up his opponent, he quickly sent him flying off stage.

"Shrek Academy Battle Team has defeated all members of the Four Halls Academy Battle Team! Victory for Shrek!"

Spectators in the stands cheered. "SHREK! SHREK! SHREK!"

The Four Hall Masters sighed, but they couldn't argue the victory. Over the past rounds, they had seen Shrek display a terrifying group. And they knew about Ru Shenqi as well. But the students didn't understand.

Bai Shanli glared at his little sister and called out, "Shanxin, when you come back to Tang Sect after the Advanced Spirit Master Grand Competition, we'll have a one-on-one rematch!"

She shot back, "I'll look forward to it!"

The Golden Iron Triangle led their students back to their tent. Inside, Yu Xiaogang nodded.

"I'm pleased with your performance today. Good work. We only have two more schools before the end of the ranking rounds. Neither should be a great trouble."

Flender added, "You will go against the Botanic Academy next. Be prepared. Xiao Shen, come up with a good strategy. Seeing as they're all Control System spirit masters, I want you to work with Xu Tian to come up with a counter battle plan."

Two voices replied in unison, "Yes, Grandmaster."

"Good. Go back and get some rest now."

After the children had shuffled out, the Golden Iron Triangle sighed. Just then, the tent flap lifted and five familiar faces entered.

"Dean Flender, Vice Dean Liu, Grandmaster," they all greeted.

"Little monsters," Flender laughed. "It's good to see you."

"Xiao San, what is it?" Yu Xiaogang asked.

"I've heard word from Old Freak. Hu Liena has trained the Spirit Empire's team personally: all seven of them. They're not to be underestimated."

"Why?" Liu Erlong asked. "Just how powerful are they?"

Xiao Wu answered softly, "Spirit Empire's team this time around is a full Spirit King Team."