As time passed, the massive competition venue had already filled with people.
Han Li, Xue Ye, and a few other high-profile guests didn't enter through the main gate but used a specially reserved passage to the backstage area to rest. They hadn't yet appeared in the stands.
The participants from the academies, however, didn't receive such treatment.
Although they entered through a different passage than the spectators, it was still in the same general direction, drawing scrutinizing gazes from the public. In a way, it was an indirect form of exposure.
"So many people."
Even though they had already experienced the grandeur of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, except for Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai, the other members of Tang San's group still felt uneasy in such a large setting.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar instinctively wanted to avoid the attention.
"Stand up straight, all of you! Right now, you represent Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. Since the first team isn't here, you are the face of the academy. Get your act together!"
At the front of the team, Flender, dressed smartly today in luxurious teacher's robes, exuded a sense of authority—if one ignored the look in his eyes.
Hearing his words, everyone subconsciously straightened up.
Only Ning Rongrong seemed unconcerned, still curiously observing the crowd, while Dai Mubai kept his head down, looking rather gloomy.
Flender noticed this but said nothing, merely shaking his head as he quickly submitted their application and led the group further into the venue.
Inside, there were designated areas for participants, and once inside, they no longer had to endure being scrutinized like animals in a zoo.
In just a short while, Flender overheard several unfriendly comments, most directed at him and Ma Hongjun, but there was nothing he could do to retaliate.
With the opening match coming up, he couldn't let his team's morale be affected, so he quickened his pace.
It wasn't until they entered the competition grounds that the group finally breathed a sigh of relief, returning to their usual selves as they headed toward the resting area prepared for Heaven Dou's second team.
"This is nothing like our usual soul arena fights. Just thinking about performing in front of so many people makes me uncomfortable," Ma Hongjun muttered under his breath, and Oscar nodded in agreement, feeling the same, especially since he didn't have much combat capability.
"It's fine to feel that way now. Once you're on stage, just give it your all," Flender glanced at his disciple, thinking he was being a bit spineless.
"Teacher, I'm just talking. Don't worry, once I'm on stage, I'll show them what a true phoenix is."
Ma Hongjun patted his round belly, speaking with confidence.
"You'd better…"
Halfway through his sentence, Flender stopped.
A group of people had blocked their path.
They were also participants from another academy, led by a teacher, and the students were glaring at them with unfriendly looks.
"Teacher Shi, it's them. They were the ones who caused trouble before and even injured Teacher Ye Zhiqiu. However, they…"
The student's voice trailed off as he seemed to realize something.
"Go on. 'However,' what?"
The teacher leading the group, his expression unchanged, grabbed the student and urged him to continue.
The student hesitated for a moment but eventually gritted his teeth and said, "However, they claimed at the time that they were members of Shrek Academy, not Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's second team."
"What's going on?"
Flender was still a bit confused. He didn't recall seeing these students before.
Before the opposing group could respond, Ma Hongjun's voice sounded from behind Flender:
"Well, well, look who it is! Isn't this the trash from Canghui Academy? Where's your old turtle of a teacher? Why isn't he here?"
"Feeling confident again, huh? Found some new people to back you up and came here for revenge? Didn't expect that I'd be representing Heaven Dou Imperial Academy now, did you? What's the matter? Are you going to chicken out again today? Hahaha."
As Ma Hongjun's words fell, smiles appeared on the faces of Tang San and the others, reminding them of the previous incident. The tension they had felt earlier began to ease.
However, they didn't notice the displeased expression on Ning Rongrong's face.
For the others, it was a memory worth laughing about, but for her, it was a time when she had been alienated by the group. Back then, she hadn't minded, but now that she thought about it, she only felt foolish.
"Very well, Flender, is this your attitude?"
The teacher from Canghui Academy, his face dark and menacing, wore a dry but terrifying expression.
"Shi Nian, don't go throwing accusations at me. You should be able to tell I wasn't aware of this," Flender frowned. He vaguely recalled Zhao Wuji mentioning this incident, but he hadn't paid much attention at the time.
Since when had Shi Nian become a teacher at Canghui Academy? This could be troublesome. Fortunately, they were backed by Heaven Dou Imperial Academy now, so no matter how vengeful Shi Nian was, he wouldn't dare to make a move.
"Teacher, why are we wasting words with him? What's he going to do? With those trashy students of his, they'll be crushed by us in the ring."
Ma Hongjun, brimming with confidence, spoke fearlessly. He could tell that his teacher seemed to know the opposing teacher, but so what? They had backing now—who would dare give them trouble?
He couldn't let his teacher bring up old grievances. After all, the conflict with Canghui Academy had started because of them, but now that they were under the banner of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, his teacher might choose to back down to avoid making things worse.
He didn't want to get on stage for the competition, only to receive another lecture.
"Shut up."
Flender glared at his disciple but gave up on the idea of backing down. He turned to Shi Nian and said:
"I don't know exactly what happened before, but right now you're the ones blocking our way. If you have a problem, how about settling it in the ring later? If you win, I'll apologize on behalf of my students. If you lose, let's just forget this ever happened. How does that sound?"
Noticing that their confrontation had already drawn quite a bit of attention from the crowd, Flender decided to cut the situation short. He couldn't let this escalate and reach the academy board, or he would face punishment, even if it was for something that happened before they joined the academy.
"Hah, Flender, you and your students are just as shameless as each other."
The dark-faced middle-aged man, Shi Nian, gave a dry laugh as if the situation had somehow become his fault. Up until now, he had only spoken two sentences.
"Hey, you, Shi Nian, listen up! This has absolutely nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want afterward."
"If you want to mess with them, go ahead, but if you dare provoke me, I won't hesitate to make you disappear. I, Ning Rongrong, mean what I say. Now, move aside."
Ning Rongrong couldn't hold back any longer. If he wanted to insult them, fine, but why drag her into it? She hadn't even lifted a finger! No matter the reason, she hadn't used a single support ability.
Pushing past the others, she stepped forward, pointing directly at Shi Nian's nose and unleashing her fury.
Her actions stunned everyone into silence.
Shi Nian's face twitched. How in the world had he run into this girl? In the Heaven Dou Empire, anyone even slightly knowledgeable knew that Ning Rongrong was not someone to mess with.
Even the student next to him muttered under his breath, "Teacher Shi Nian, she didn't make a move."
Shi Nian shot him a glance. Did you need to say that? Even if she had made a move, I'd have to pretend she didn't. And what the hell—weren't they supposed to be from some no-name academy? How did they suddenly become part of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy? The difficulty level had just shot up astronomically. Even if they were known as the trashy second team, dealing with them had suddenly become much more complicated.
But still, a loss of face was unacceptable. They were just a bunch of kids, and from the looks of it, they didn't have much backing. As long as things didn't get too extreme, he could still handle them.
Of course, the first thing he had to do was deal with the major problem in front of him. Luckily, she didn't seem to get along too well with the others.
With that thought, Shi Nian forced a stiff smile and looked at Ning Rongrong.
"Of course, Miss Ning, this has nothing to do with you. If my words just now accidentally involved you, I sincerely apologize. Please also pass my regards to Sect Master Ning."
"Whatever, this is boring. Move aside. We need to get through."
Ning Rongrong glanced back at her teammates, who were standing there in a daze, then walked right through the now-cleared path toward the rest area.
What a mess! She had been in a great mood earlier, thinking today's opening match was practically in the bag. She had even planned to ask her dad for a reward after their win. Now, she wasn't in the mood for that anymore.
"For Miss Ning's sake, I'll let this go today. We'll settle things in the ring."
Seeing Ning Rongrong leave, Shi Nian swept his gaze over the remaining members, memorizing their faces. He then gave Flender a sinister smile before turning and leaving with the Canghui Academy team.
"Teacher, he…"
Ma Hongjun sidled up to Flender, only to have Flender quickly cover his mouth.
"You, and all of you—don't run your mouths. Shi Nian is a Soul Sage, and let me tell you clearly, I'm not his match."
Flender gave them a stern look.
"Shi Nian, the Dream Stalker, is notorious in the soul master world. His martial soul is the Brutal Dream, a highly sinister and troublesome martial soul. Many of those who've crossed him have disappeared without a trace. Don't go looking for trouble."
"You're now students of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, so he probably won't dare make a move. Focus on the competition. As for the previous incident, I'll handle it."
"Alright, let's go. If it weren't for Rongrong, we'd have been a laughingstock today."
Flender sighed and started walking ahead. Although Ning Rongrong had distanced herself from them with her words earlier, it was still the quickest and most effective way to resolve the situation.
Now, he even had to thank her for it.
Following behind Flender, the group became much quieter. They had once again truly realized the gap between themselves and Ning Rongrong's status. This also made them take the tournament more seriously.
Though they felt a bit dissatisfied with what Ning Rongrong had said earlier, who wouldn't want to be like her?
Just as they were nearing the rest area, a sudden commotion erupted from behind them, even louder than when they had entered the venue.
"Look, it's the team from Skywater Academy!"
Instinctively, the group turned to look. Upon spotting a familiar figure, their pupils subconsciously contracted, and several of them couldn't help but glance at Dai Mubai out of the corner of their eyes.
Among the Skywater Academy team, Zhu Zhuqing's figure was unmistakable.