In the end, Su Cheng returned to the academy alone.
Upon entering the school gate, he noticed that Dugu Bo was standing not far from the gate, seemingly waiting for someone.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised, changing direction to approach him.
"I'm waiting for you," Dugu Bo said, seeming relieved to see Su Cheng. "If you hadn't said you'd come back to the academy today, I would've gone looking for you in the Sunset Forest."
"What's the hurry?"
"A lot of people have come to the academy, and since I'm not a teacher here, I didn't pay much attention at first. But then I overheard some discussions, and it seems those people have some thoughts about the second team's spot. I think it's best for you to go over and take a look."
Su Cheng's mind raced, realizing that it was likely the people from Shrek Academy had arrived.
He knew that Shrek Academy had a plan to "borrow a chicken to lay eggs" by leveraging the entry spot from the Tian Dou Royal Academy, but he wasn't sure of the specific timing.
And with many things having changed now, he hadn't paid much attention, unsure if those people would still come.
Unexpectedly, they had arrived today.
With the Fourth Prince Xue Beng currently in the imperial palace being groomed as the Crown Prince by Emperor Xue Ye, and Xue Xing also gaining considerable power and responsibilities, it seemed like no one could stop this.
But that was provided he didn't intervene.
Now, Su Cheng held considerable influence within the Royal Academy. With multiple identities, even the members of the Education Committee couldn't ignore his opinions and act unilaterally.
With a quick thought, he didn't worry too much about it and said to Dugu Bo, "Senior, no need to rush. If they want the spot for the second team, they should at least ask for our opinions, right? Shall we go over together and take a look?"
"You understand, the fate of the second team has nothing to do with me. My granddaughter is in the first team," Dugu Bo snorted coldly, but still followed Su Cheng.
...
Tian Dou Royal Academy, Education Committee.
Three spirit Douluo sat in the main seats, with Qin Ming, the leader of the first team, sitting in the next position.
Opposite them were the group from Shrek Academy, including six teachers such as Flender and Yu Xiaogang.
In addition, there were seven students standing behind them.
Compared to before, in addition to Dai Mubai, Oscar, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing, there was now an auxiliary system soul master among the students.
Although their talent was not as good as the others, it was still quite impressive.
This was a student specially recruited by Flender for the opportunity to participate in this competition.
As a veteran spirit Douluo, he still had some connections within the academy.
But even with the students gathered, it wasn't enough.
Shrek Academy was considered an unrecognized academy, not acknowledged by the two empires and the various kingdoms and principalities on the continent. Therefore, they didn't have the qualifications to participate in the continent-wide advanced soul master academy competition and needed other means to secure a spot.
After coincidentally encountering Qin Ming at the soul arena, these teachers had the idea of using the resources and spots of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy to ensure their students' participation.
According to Qin Ming, the current strength of the Tian Dou Royal Academy was insufficient, and the second team was particularly weak.
Apart from one strong assault system soul master and one auxiliary system soul master, there were almost no combat power to speak of.
Moreover, in Qin Ming's view, those two individuals had never participated in team training with the rest of the team members. Although they were talented, they lacked teamwork and went against the educational philosophy they had received at Shrek, so their overall strength was inevitably inferior to the young students before them.
As long as they were willing to come to the Tian Dou Royal Academy, they would surely be approved by the three members of the Education Committee and obtain a spot in the competition.
At this moment, the three Spirit Douluo in the Education Committee were also hesitant.
The qualifications of these young people before them were indeed impressive, surpassing more than ninety percent of the students in their academy.
But to be honest, even if these people joined the academy, they would only be adding to the already impressive lineup.
They had already conducted some tests.
The two individuals repeatedly praised by Qin Ming, Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San, not only had qualities far superior to their peers, but also managed to advance by one level in their cultivation under the oppressive aura of the Spirit Douluo.
Moreover, Tang San, the control system soul master, even had an external soul bone.
But external soul bones weren't that rare. Su Cheng had one too.
Qin Ming was in charge of the first team, and Su Cheng kept to himself, naturally not knowing much about him, his impression still lingering from over a year ago when he led the first team.
But Qin Ming didn't know that these three members of the Education Committee had some understanding of his strength.
Not to mention Su Cheng.
Even with the strength of the three Spirit Douluo, their status, they couldn't compare to the majesty of a Title Douluo, let alone the fact that the Poison Douluo was the only guest member of the imperial family.
Not to mention that Su Cheng not only had a good relationship with the Poison Douluo but also had the background of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Furthermore, with the current powerful Prince Xue Xing and Fourth Prince, and even the fact that the Xue Xing was the overall director of the Tian Dou Royal Academy.
Su Cheng usually kept to himself, but that was because he didn't want to be distracted by trivial matters, not because he could be easily manipulated by them.
After some thought, Meng Shenji, the chief of the Education Committee, looked at Flender and the others and said tactfully, "It's an honor for you all to come to our academy. But as Qin Teacher may have mentioned to you, the second team actually has two exceptional members. We also need to consider the opinions and feelings of other students, so we can't make a decision too early."
Flender and the others were well aware of the situation Meng Shenji mentioned, but they didn't pay too much attention to it.
In Qin Ming's explanation, those two individuals indeed had good talent, and one of them was even the successor of this generation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
But they are just ordinary geniuses at best, definitely not comparable to the monstrous students in Shrek Academy.
Moreover, even the strength of the first team under Qin Ming's training is only so-so, not to mention the second team?
Immediately, he asked, "I wonder what level of strength the two people mentioned by the senior are at now?"
Meng Shenji thought for a moment and simply said, "The auxiliary system soul master of the second team is not yet fourteen years old, but her soul power cultivation has reached level thirty-eight."
He only mentioned Ning Rongrong's situation, but didn't mention Su Cheng.
Mainly because he was afraid that even if he said it, the other party might not believe it and might even feel that he was looking down on them, intentionally exaggerating.
That wasn't the result Meng Shenji hoped for.
Even if the two sides couldn't cooperate in the end, he didn't want to make enemies with them.
However, even if there was only Ning Rongrong, it would probably be enough to impress the other party.
Seeing that the other party only mentioned one person, Flender assumed that the talent of the other person must be inferior.
But even so, it still surprised him greatly.
At the same time, there was also a sense of excitement in his heart. He didn't expect that there would be such extraordinary talents in the Heaven Dou Academy.
If they stayed here in the future, wouldn't there be a chance to recruit them to their own academy, thereby alleviating the current weakness of the auxiliary system soul masters in the Shrek team?
He had great confidence in Yu Xiaogang's teaching abilities and believed that he would have the opportunity to win them over.
Although a year ago, Yu Xiaogang ultimately lost to Zhu Zhuqing in the bet.
But it couldn't be said that he lacked skill, it was just that Zhu Zhuqing's talent was too astonishing.
Today, after breaking through to level thirty-eight in soul power cultivation, she even surpassed Dai Mubai, who originally had the highest level in the team.
This bizarre speed of advancement made her, a spirit Elder, feel suspicious.
On the other hand, Dai Mubai's soul power hadn't increased much in the past two years, still at level thirty-seven.
While Flender was lost in thought, Yu Xiaogang, sitting beside him, suddenly spoke with a calm expression, "Gentlemen of the Education Committee, sometimes level alone cannot fully prove one's strength. Not to boast, but the students in our academy all have the ability to fight beyond their level."
Meng Shenji and the others couldn't help but exchange glances, all thinking of the scene when Su Cheng first entered the academy and became famous in one battle.
"How about this, let my students have a spar with the members of your second team?"
"Spar? With whom?"
Just then, a voice suddenly echoed in the Education Committee meeting room.
Su Cheng walked into the room with a calm expression, not hesitating because of his student status, but simply bowed lightly to the three members of the Education Committee.
The Shrek Academy students who had their backs to the door all turned to look, only to see a young man slowly approaching.
Although the other party didn't look very old, the deep and profound aura emanating from him surprised both Flender and Zhao Wujie, two Spirit Douluo.
In addition, the twisted vertical golden mark on his forehead was particularly eye-catching.
"External soul bone...?"
At the same time, they all had a sense of realization.
Tang San, a student from Shrek Academy, also had an external soul bone, so they naturally had some understanding of it.
In addition to Su Cheng, there was also a middle-aged man silently following behind him like a shadow.
The man wore a gray robe, his figure slender, his hair and beard as black as ink, and his ink-colored eyes cold and emotionless.
Dugu Bo today was different from the past.
Because of the effect of the immortal herb, his poison technique had become even more condensed, and from his appearance alone, there was no trace of "poison."
His strength had also advanced further, reaching the peak of the ninety-fifth rank of the Title Douluo realm.
With his strength returning to its original state, he appeared even more restrained, even his appearance had become a bit younger.
"Master Dugu Bo."
The three members of the Education Committee stood up and saluted as Dugu Bo also arrived.
After Su Cheng greeted the Education Committee, he turned his head to look at the Shrek group in front of him.
His gaze first fell on Tang San, but he didn't linger, just swept past him, and finally stopped on Zhu Zhuqing.
At the sight of Su Cheng, the hearts of the Shrek group were equally turbulent.
Apart from the academy teachers who were shocked by his strength.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing were the most shocked.
"How is this possible?!" Tang San found it hard to believe that he would encounter Su Cheng again here, and the other party's aura fluctuation was even stronger than his own.
Moreover, the disdainful attitude of the other party towards him at this moment made him extremely unhappy.
"It's him..." Xiao Wu's heart trembled, the childhood fear seemed to envelop her heart again, and she quietly clenched the broad hand of Tang San next to her.
Tang San's heart tingled at the touch of her cold fingers.
Suddenly understanding, Tang San realized that the shadow in Xiao Wu's heart had never been eradicated, but only temporarily concealed with the disappearance of the other party.
"It's you!" Zhu Zhuqing's expression was trance-like.
Looking at Su Cheng's familiar face, familiar voice, familiar expression, and familiar movements.
For a moment, she was stunned.
Su Cheng's gaze swept over the Shrek group.
"Student Su Cheng, as the captain of the second team of the Royal Combat, who just said he wanted to spar with me?"
As he spoke, the Martial Soul Eternal Sword appeared in his right hand, and four soul rings of yellow, purple, purple, and black floated and circled under his feet.
At the same time, a sword intent enveloped the seven Shrek students.