"We easily defeated the second team of the Royal Fight Academy!"Zhu Zhuqing walked up to Zhang Fan and said.
"Yeah, I didn't even need to make a move! That was awesome!"Ning Rongrong gave Zhang Fan a big thumbs-up.
The following days saw ten rounds of the preliminary competition.
Shrek Academy won all ten matches, ranking first.
Several other teams shared the same perfect record.
Specifically, four of the Five Element Academies—excluding the Elephant Armor Sect.
Shrek had crushed Elephant Armor Sect in their matchup, while the other element academies hadn't faced Shrek yet.
Elephant Armor Sect, on the other hand, lost to each of the four element academies. Their defense turned out to be useless.
As a result, Shrek Academy and the four elemental academies held the top five spots in the preliminaries—all undefeated.
Next up for Shrek Academy: a match against Blazing Fire Academy.
This was, without a doubt, the most anticipated match.
They were scheduled to compete on the central stage.
Before the match even began, the spectator stands were packed, buzzing with excitement.
Even Zhang Fan's school uniform had started a trend—many spectators had custom-made versions of their flowing green uniforms, looking like diehard fans.
This got Ma Hongjun and the others all fired up.
"Teacher, can I fight in this one?"Tang San, benched for ten matches, asked Flender and Liu Erlong with a look of unwillingness.
"That depends on how Zhang Fan wants to arrange things. Didn't I already say that?"
Flender looked at Tang San sternly and added, "Besides, your current spirit rings aren't all that impressive."
"Flender, can you shut it already?"Yu Xiaogang's face turned a bit sour upon hearing Flender's comment.
"Well, if Tang San wants to go up, I don't see a problem!"Zhang Fan shrugged and looked at Ma Hongjun, "Fatty, let blondie sub in for you. You rest this one out!"
"But…"Ma Hongjun was reluctant, but he had no choice—Zhang Fan had spoken. Refusing meant permanent bench warmer status."Fine."
"Heh, you're one obedient fatty!"Zhang Fan patted Ma Hongjun's shoulder, "Next time's yours. You and Tang San will alternate."
"Got it!"Ma Hongjun nodded.
Tang San beamed after hearing that, looking to Zhang Fan, "Thanks!"
"No need to thank me!"Zhang Fan shrugged again, already plotting something devious in his mind.
"We've already analyzed the Five Element Academies. You've seen what Elephant Armor Sect can do. The other four are all single-element combat specialists."Flender addressed the group:
"Blazing Fire Academy focuses on fire attribute attacks—fire-based offense, fire control, fire agility, and fire support. They haven't shown their full power against weaker opponents. Do you have the confidence to beat them?"
Flender looked curiously at Zhang Fan.
"Of course we do!"Zhang Fan answered confidently.
"With Brother Fan here, all enemies will be trampled!"Xiao Wu expressed her full faith in him.
The rest nodded in agreement.
After all, Zhang Fan was a Level 58 powerhouse—his strength was beyond imagination.
"Round one, Central Stage: Shrek Academy versus Blazing Fire Academy. All participants, enter the arena."
With the host's announcement, the two teams emerged from opposite entrances.
One team wore clean, flowing uniforms—eye-catching and elegant.
The other was decked out in fire-red uniforms—bold and attention-grabbing.
"Waaahhh—" cheers for Blazing Fire Academy rang out.
"Boom boom boom—" but the cheers for Shrek Academy were even louder.
After all, Shrek had taken down both the Royal Fight second team and the Elephant Armor Sect.
Zhang Fan stood at the front, followed by Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, then Dai Mubai and Tang San, and finally Ning Rongrong and Oscar.
Blazing Fire Academy's seven students looked to be around twenty years old.
They arranged themselves in a triangular formation.
At the front was a medium-built, plain-looking young man with blazing eyes. Though not handsome, his aura was intense. His gold-red uniform gave him a powerful presence.
He was Huo Wushuang, the captain of Blazing Fire Academy, a Level 42 power-attack battle soul master. His spirit—similar to Liu Erlong's—was a one-horned fire dragon.
Behind him stood another power-attack soul master at Level 38, spirit: a fire leopard.
Then came two cold-looking twins—Huo Yun and Huo Yu. Their spirits were fire cranes, making them agile fire-attribute battle soul masters, both at Level 39.
The final three were two brawny male support-type fire soul masters with fire spark spirits, and a stunning young woman whose uniform hugged her curves, glowing faintly red like a captivating flame.
Her spirit? The shadow of her own body—Flame Shadow.
Zhang Fan scanned the opposing team calmly, hands behind his back.
"Prepare to salute!"
The referee stepped to the center and coldly instructed.
Both teams saluted, then locked eyes—tension thick in the air.
"Your winning streak ends here today."Huo Wushuang stared at Zhang Fan.
"Oh? Pretty confident, aren't you? I wasn't planning to get involved, but with that attitude, I think I'll have some fun!"
Zhang Fan stood with hands behind his back, exuding confidence.
"Oh really? When you're crying after the fight, don't blame us!"Huo Wu's voice rang out—clear, proud, and confident.
"Hah… We'll see who ends up crying!"Zhang Fan hadn't expected Huo Wu to be so full of herself.
"Ding! Dialogue modification mission triggered."
[Huo Wu: 'Overestimating yourself!'] — You can modify up to four characters.
Zhang Fan grinned wickedly and changed "Overestimating yourself" to "I like you."
"Ding! Dialogue modification successful. Minor plot distortion. Reward: 20 Modification Points."
Huo Wu, wearing an arrogant expression, looked at the opposing team and boldly declared, "I like you!"
"Uh… Huo Wu, what the hell are you doing?"Huo Wushuang was stunned as his teammate suddenly went off-script, leaving the audience baffled.
Everyone, both on and off the stage, froze. No one saw that coming.
All eyes turned to Huo Wu.
Huo Wu was dumbfounded, "What just happened? Did I… just say I like that guy Zhang Fan?"
She clearly remembered meaning to say: "Overestimating yourself."
How did that morph into "I like you"?
This was insane.
She was speechless, her face reddening with embarrassment.
After all, she'd just confessed—in front of thousands—to the enemy captain.
This was going to be trouble. Her dad—also the headmaster of Blazing Fire Academy—would kill her.
"Looks like Brother Fan's charm knows no bounds,"Xiao Wu was stunned for a few seconds after hearing Huo Wu's unexpected line.
(End of Chapter)