On the other side, Tang San had come up with a plan. "Teacher, I have a way to neutralize Dugu Yan's poison. We just need to use realgar wine and ignite it. Ideally, we'd use Fatty's phoenix flames, but since his level isn't high enough, we'll have to rely on Boss Dai's White Tiger Light Wave."
Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Give it a try when the time comes. If it works, that will solve a big problem. Otherwise, deal with her as soon as possible in the fight; leaving her till later will be troublesome."
"Understood!" the team responded in unison.
Meanwhile, in the Emperor Team's rest area, Qin Ming was silent as he reviewed the Shrek team's information. He was excited to face his old academy, especially with Yu Xiaogang leading. What surprised him most was that Shrek had recruited such a group of young monsters this year.
Although the information didn't specify their ages, having been a part of Shrek Academy himself, Qin Ming could estimate their ages. These Shrek students were definitely younger than Yu Tianheng and his team. However, Qin Ming thought that this was a good opportunity to give his students some real pressure.
"So, what do you all think of the Shrek team? Do you think you can win?" Qin Ming asked, looking at his students.
Everyone turned to Yu Tianheng. After a brief pause, Yu Tianheng responded, "The Shrek team is indeed strong, and their lineup is very balanced. Winning will be challenging, but not impossible."
"Our first focus should be their captain, Su Ming. According to the information, his control over plant-based attacks is strange. He can control, defend, and even assist. He's a versatile spirit master. I'll take on the responsibility of holding him off at the start, using the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique."
"In the meantime, Yan can use her Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's mutated spirit abilities to control Su Ming and Xiao Wu. The others should fall easily to Yan's third spirit skill, the poison mist."
"The key to our victory lies in Yan's poison. If she can control them effectively, we can win."
Yu Tianheng then turned to Qin Ming. "Teacher, you won't forbid Yan from using her poison, right? The Shrek team is strong, and we'll need it to win."
Qin Ming didn't disagree with the plan. Without Dugu Yan's martial spirit evolution, their chances would indeed be slim against Shrek. But now, with her newly enhanced abilities, she had become the linchpin of their strategy. He nodded in agreement with Yu Tianheng's analysis.
"Tianheng is right. He'll hold off Su Ming at the start with the Dragon Transformation, while Yan's first target should be Xiao Wu. We can't let that teleporting, charming spirit master have the chance to act."
"Oslo, you'll deal with Zhu Zhuqing. You're both agility-type spirit masters. Work with Yu Feng to pressure their backline. Focus on taking out their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spirit master first."
"Shi Mo and Shi Mo, your task is to protect Lingling. If the fight drags out, it could turn into a battle of endurance."
Su Ming smiled to himself. Underestimating me, are they?
The Emperor Team all nodded in agreement. They were determined to win. As the first team of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, they carried the pride of the academy on their shoulders.
Though Dugu Yan agreed with the plan, she had her doubts. Could Yu Tianheng really hold off Su Ming? She knew that Su Ming wasn't as simple as he appeared. But she couldn't voice her concerns.
Sigh, let's take it one step at a time, she thought. For her, winning wasn't the most important thing. Finding a way for Su Ming to cure her and her grandfather's poison was far more critical.
As the time for the final team battle approached, the arena was filled with anticipation.
Standing on the stage, Director Ao announced loudly, "And now, for the final match of the night: Shrek Team versus Emperor Team!"
The crowd erupted in cheers, their excitement at its peak. Shrek had become the crowd favorite. Their battles were fast, clean, and always exciting. Not to mention, many of the spectators had been betting on them and winning money.
"Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!" the audience chanted.
The members of the Emperor Team felt the pressure. They were used to being the stars of the arena, but tonight, they were being overshadowed by Shrek.
Moments later, both teams took their positions on opposite sides of the stage, forming their respective formations.
Su Ming's eyes immediately locked onto Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, their distinctive purple and silver-white hair standing out.
To Su Ming, Ye Lingling was much more beautiful than Dugu Yan, possessing a cold, goddess-like demeanor. Despite her stunning looks, Su Ming found it strange that in the original story, she had little presence. If one didn't pay attention, they might not even notice her.
What puzzled Su Ming even more was the strange feeling he had when looking at Ye Lingling. No, to be precise, it felt like his martial spirit was resonating with hers.
Su Ming wasn't the only one who felt it. Ye Lingling, too, sensed something when their eyes met. Though she didn't know why, she found Su Ming's presence oddly familiar, almost comforting.
Ye Lingling hadn't yet connected this feeling to what the system had mentioned before. The system's cryptic words hadn't given her any clues.
Su Ming, on the other hand, had more knowledge. Generally speaking, when two people felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and their martial spirits resonated with each other, it often meant they had a high chance of being able to use a spirit fusion technique together.
But he couldn't quite figure out how his wood-elemental martial spirit could fuse with her Nine Heart Begonia. Was it because both were related to healing and support?