NOVEL NEXT Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Liu Erlong
Watching Xun Yu's mysterious smile, Nan Feihuang felt it wasn't worth pressing him further. Recently, Xun Yu had taken a liking to Kongming-style cryptic talk, which meant any answer would just be another riddle. "Fine, I'll wait and see what kind of show the famed strategist of Lord Cao's court has in store for me."
"Hey, you two—what are you whispering about all of a sudden?" Xue Ke asked, puzzled.
From her perspective, Nan Feihuang and Xun Yu had been standing in silence, seemingly having a staring contest. Xue Ke's skills were still too rudimentary to recognize the use of secret voice transmission.
"Nothing much, Princess. Look, our opponents have been decided," Nan Feihuang said, nodding toward the screen.
On the large display, two team names flashed, showing both sides ready for battle.
Both were Silver-ranked teams, though not every member was Silver-ranked. In the Grand Spirit Arena, team ranking didn't consider average levels but instead based its ranking on the strongest member. And as long as a team had even one member at the Spirit Elder level (over rank thirty), it would qualify as a Spirit Elder team and could potentially face full Spirit Elder opponents.
Though the arena prided itself on fairness, certain matchups still depended heavily on luck.
"Blue Tyrant Team?" Yu Tianheng's gaze lingered on their opponent's name. Blue Tyrant… why does that sound so familiar?
"Tianheng, did someone from your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan come here to fight?" Dugu Yan asked.
"Not likely. But those words… oh, right! It must be my aunt!" A sudden realization hit Yu Tianheng as he recalled something his grandfather had told him. He had an aunt who'd established a spirit academy right here in Heaven Dou City under the name "Blue Tyrant."
This academy was unique for its strict policy of accepting only commoners and rejecting all nobility.
Yu Tianheng didn't know this aunt very well—she was his second granduncle's illegitimate child, didn't share the Yu surname, and wasn't even listed in the family registry. Back when he was a child, she'd been brought home after a rather shameful incident, one that ended with his granduncle Yu Luomian forcibly bringing her back to the clan. After that, she had little interaction with the family and eventually left the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan altogether.
If he was running into a Blue Tyrant Team here, there was a high chance it was connected to her.
Sure enough, when the two teams crossed paths in the corridor, leading the opposing team was a middle-aged woman. Yu Tianheng stepped forward to greet her, "Aunt!"
"Hm? Tianheng?" The woman looked at him with slight surprise. It had been so long since she'd last seen him that she hadn't recognized him at first.
"Yes, Aunt, it's me, Yu Tianheng. It's been a long time."
She nodded. "I never expected to run into you here. Let's have a good match."
With that, she led her team away. From the interaction, it was clear that their relationship wasn't particularly close.
Dugu Yan glanced at Yu Tianheng curiously. "Tianheng, do you know their leader?"
"Yes, that's my aunt, Liu Erlong. She spends most of her time away from the family, so I barely know her. She doesn't have many ties within the clan—only my grandfather is close to her," Yu Tianheng explained.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was known for its pride. To the family elders, Liu Erlong, as an illegitimate daughter with an outside surname, was treated with cold distance. While it wasn't so severe as outright rejection, she was more or less regarded as an extended relative rather than family.
Yu Yuanzhen, however, was different. As the clan's Thunder Douluo, he highly valued kinship. He had opposed the expulsion of Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, though it was ultimately a unanimous decision by the family elders and beyond his power to prevent. No matter what, Liu Erlong was his brother's daughter, his niece, and he treated her with the same kindness as any close family member.
This was why, despite her reservations about the clan, Liu Erlong still cared about it deeply. To her, the two people she held most dear—Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Xiaogang—both belonged to that family.
"Alright, everyone, let's go. The match is about to begin," Qin Ming interrupted. He wasn't particularly interested in the Blue Lightning Clan's family affairs. Whether this was a family meetup didn't matter; it was just a friendly battle, not a life-or-death duel.
Once they entered the preparation room, Qin Ming addressed the group. "I observed our opponents earlier. They have three Spirit Elders and four Spirit Grandmasters, which places them a notch above us. We only have Tianheng and Yan at the Spirit Elder level."
Today, Liu Erlong had brought a team that included four teenagers about their age and three older members in their twenties.
Nan Feihuang instantly recognized the four younger ones. There was a brawny guy, a dark and moody boy, a sharp-eyed one with a wolf-like demeanor, and a pretty girl. Without a doubt, they were the future Shrek Academy's B Team—Tai Long, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Jiang Zhu.
These four were Liu Erlong's chosen protégés, whom she trained rigorously for the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament. Personally overseeing their training, she had brought them to the Grand Spirit Arena to build experience.
But for now, these four weren't yet at the level they would be in the original story as top students of their academy.
As for the three older members, they were likely upperclassmen close to graduation from the Blue Tyrant Academy. Today's match was simply a learning exercise, with senior students guiding juniors through practical combat.
"We're not necessarily at a disadvantage," Ye Lingling chimed in. "Even though we're one Spirit Elder short, Feihuang's strength is as good as any Spirit Elder."
Qin Ming nodded. "Lingling is right. Feihuang, I'll need you to take on the extra Spirit Elder."
"Leave it to me, Teacher," Nan Feihuang replied confidently. Sparring with a Spirit Elder was exactly the challenge he wanted.
"Also, their support member has a top-tier auxiliary spirit—the Healing Scepter. I remember seeing records of it in the Heaven Dou Academy library. Its healing abilities are second only to the Nine Heart Begonia," Qin Ming reminded them. "If possible, prioritize taking her out first; otherwise, it'll turn into a drawn-out battle, which will only drain your stamina."
Though Qin Ming aimed for a swift, decisive victory, he felt confident in his team even if it came to a battle of endurance. After all, the Nine Heart Begonia had never backed down from a challenge.
"Yes, Teacher!" the group responded. There was no need to test healing skills when a quick win would do.
After strategizing, the match time arrived. At the announcer's call, the seven members of Heaven Dou Team walked onto the stage together for their first official team battle.
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