"The registration fee is ten gold coins. If you're participating in the duo match, you'll also need to come up with a name for your team," the staff member said routinely as he collected the payment from Cheng Xiao and Ye Lingling, also reminding them that they needed a name.
"We need to come up with a name?" Cheng Xiao scratched his head and looked to Ye Lingling for help.
Ye Lingling also had no idea what name to use. Normally, names were based on the characteristics of the two participants' spirits, but her Nine Heart Begonia and Cheng Xiao's Shadow Monarch didn't seem to combine into anything that sounded nice.
At a loss, she also turned to look at Cheng Xiao.
As their gazes met in the air, Ye Lingling spoke calmly, "You pick the name. I'm not good at it."
Hearing this, Cheng Xiao paused for a moment, then thought briefly before saying to Ye Lingling, "How about we take the first two characters from our spirits?"
"Nine Heart Shadow? Shadow Nine Heart?" Ye Lingling furrowed her brows. What kind of names were these? They sounded strange.
"Uh... maybe we should just use your Nine Heart Begonia as the basis. The name doesn't matter that much, after all," Cheng Xiao coughed awkwardly.
"Forget it, let's go with Shadow Begonia," Ye Lingling shook her head slightly. "This is a duo match, not a solo one."
"Alright, then we'll go with Shadow Begonia," Cheng Xiao agreed. The staff member handed him a metal duo match badge and said, "Please wait in the resting or spectator area. When your match comes up, the announcer will call your team's name."
"Thank you," Cheng Xiao nodded slightly, then he and Ye Lingling returned to the resting room, waiting for the duo match to begin.
Meanwhile, outside the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, two large carriages slowly came to a stop at the entrance. Seven burly men stepped out of the carriages, and with each step they took, the ground seemed to tremble.
As they entered the arena, people nearby couldn't help but take notice and exclaimed, "Look, it's the Elephant Armor Academy students!"
"I didn't expect them to come again. With their strength, they'll probably dominate the team match tonight."
"Tsk, tsk, only the Elephant Armor Academy students could build bodies that big. Look at those muscles!"
"Yeah, their arms are bigger than my thighs. Are they even human?"
The murmurs of the crowd reached the ears of the Elephant Armor Academy students, and they seemed to enjoy the attention. The man leading them was especially huge, and every step he took caused the ground to shake with a loud rumble.
This man was Hu Yanli, captain of the Elephant Armor Academy team. His grandfather, Hu Yanzhen, was known as the Heavenly Elephant, and his spirit, the Diamond Mammoth, had incredible defensive power. "Now that we're at the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, show them your strength. Don't let these people underestimate us Elephant Armor Academy students," Hu Yanli said.
"We understand," the rest of the team responded in unison.
"Alright, let's go and register," Hu Yanli, satisfied with their attitude, beckoned for the team to follow him. A group of towering men, each over two meters tall and weighing nearly four hundred pounds, headed toward the registration area.
...
The duo matches seemed to take a while. By the time the announcer called out Shadow Begonia, the rest of the Royal Battle Team had already finished their matches. Now, only Cheng Xiao and Ye Lingling remained.
As they headed toward the contestant tunnel, Qin Ming, their teacher, pulled Cheng Xiao aside and whispered quietly so only the two of them could hear, "Cheng Xiao, I just glanced at your opponents' list. They're from Elephant Armor Academy. When you're up there, make sure to protect Ye Lingling."
"I'm worried they'll target her since her abilities are mainly for healing."
Cheng Xiao nodded, glancing briefly at Ye Lingling, who had already entered the contestant tunnel. He then turned back to Qin Ming and said, "Got it," before hurrying to catch up.
When Cheng Xiao caught up with Ye Lingling, they had already arrived at the arena. He looked around at the nearly packed spectator stands, surprised to see so many people. It seemed that the audience preferred team battles over one-on-one duels.
The duo match arena was significantly larger than the solo arena, allowing the participants more space to perform and strategize.
At this moment, the announcer began to introduce the competitors.
"For match twelve in division eleven, we have Shadow Begonia versus Iron Wall! Let's welcome the contestants!"
As Qin Ming had mentioned, the Iron Wall team was made up of Elephant Armor Academy students, specifically their captain Hu Yanli and Hu Yanshan. Both men towered over the others, standing more than two and a half meters tall and weighing over four hundred pounds.
In comparison, Cheng Xiao, at around 1.8 meters tall, looked like a small figurine to them, and Ye Lingling was practically ignored. To them, she was just a support-type spirit master with only healing abilities, not someone worth taking seriously.
Having visited the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena before, the Elephant Armor Academy students recognized Ye Lingling as the sole support spirit master of the Royal Battle Team, renowned for her powerful healing abilities with her Nine Heart Begonia spirit.
But since this was a duel and not a life-and-death battle, they had no need to go all out against a support spirit master. Offending the Royal Battle Team could have serious consequences, and that wasn't worth it.
So Hu Yanli and Hu Yanshan had only one goal: defeat the seemingly weak boy in front of them, and victory would naturally be theirs.
What they didn't know, however, was that the seemingly frail youth before them harbored incredible strength. Sometimes, judging someone by appearance alone could be as misleading as the story of the blind men and the elephant—they could only feel the surface, never grasping the true reality.
After both teams entered the arena, the referee signaled for them to bow to each other, a customary show of respect in the arena. Regardless of the outcome, the participants were expected to show respect before the match.
However, respect wasn't always mutual. At times, one side might respect their opponent, but the other might not reciprocate. In those moments, it all came down to strength—the stronger side commanded respect.
Cheng Xiao faced off against Hu Yanli, and Ye Lingling against Hu Yanshan. The true balance of power between the teams was still unclear, but the spectators had already made up their minds.
"I'll bet Iron Wall wins. Look at those massive guys. They're unstoppable!"
"Hahaha, you're right. Iron Wall is a sure bet! Don't let us down!"
"Iron Wall, victory! Victory!"