Three days later.
Heaven Dou City, Great Spirit Arena.
After a series of contests in the bustling qualifiers,
the curtain finally fell.
In these qualifiers, a total of eight teams stood out,
earning the right to enter the next round of the promotion matches.
According to the points ranking, from highest to lowest, they were the Hall of Worship Team, Divine Wind Team, Blazing Fire Team, Thunder Team, Huang Dou Team, Heaven Water Team, Elephant Armored Team, and Shrek Team.
Among them, the Hall of Worship Team, under Jin Mian's formidable strength,
crushed everyone in their path!
With a record of twenty-seven wins, zero draws, and zero losses, they ranked first!
In stark contrast was the Shrek Team.
They did not achieve the brilliant record of twenty-four wins, one draw, and two losses to rank third as they did in the original story.
Instead, they ranked eighth with a record of eight wins, nine draws, and ten losses.
Barely making the cut... After the qualifiers ended,
the organizers gave the participating academy teams seven days to adjust, as well as to relax and release the pressure brought by the high-intensity matches.
Jin Mian spent three days being intimate with Qian Renxue and Ye Lingling in the Secret Chamber.
However, since Qian Renxue was now the Emperor,
she couldn't disappear from the public eye for long.
Therefore, her time spent being intimate with Jin Mian was very limited.
But even so,
the two still found time to have a fight.
Of course,
this fight wasn't the improper kind.
It was a literal fight between Jin Mian and Qian Renxue.
As for the reason,
it was purely because Qian Renxue wanted to see how strong her current power was.
So she dragged Jin Mian along as a sparring partner.
The final result was beyond doubt.
Jin Mian won a complete victory.
Inside the room.
Qian Renxue leaned into Jin Mian's embrace.
With a flushed face, she said, "Xiao Mian, wasn't your performance in the qualifiers a bit too high-profile?"
"How so?" Jin Mian asked, puzzled.
Qian Renxue raised her head and spoke about the matters in court today.
"Because you achieved an undefeated record by your own strength alone in the qualifiers."
"It led many ministers during this morning's court session to propose that the strongest members from each of the Tiandou Empire's academy teams form a new team to eliminate you."
"They even want to hire some assassins to move against you in the shadows."
"They claim that even if they can't kill you, they will wound you so severely that you can't participate in the subsequent matches."
"That way, the Tiandou Empire can monopolize the three spots for the finals."
"Should I take care of them in advance?"
Hearing this,
Jin Mian patted Qian Renxue's smooth little hand, signaling her not to worry.
"You don't need to worry about this."
"They're just a few assassins; I don't care about them at all."
"Besides, don't you know me? I'm invincible among my peers, and I can take on three at once above my generation."
"I really can't keep a low profile."
"Furthermore, even if they could hire a Titled Douluo to move against me, I have the confidence to win."
These weren't just boastful words from Jin Mian.
He truly possessed such strength.
Back when he was only a Spirit Saint, facing Tang Hao's peak Rank 96 cultivation in the Ring Explosion state,
he had managed to kill him.
Moreover,
now that he had the cultivation of a Spirit Douluo, fighting an ordinary Titled Douluo was a piece of cake.
"Look at how capable you think you are," Qian Renxue said, poking Jin Mian playfully but with some annoyance.
But she didn't refute him.
Because she had personal experience with Jin Mian's strength.
After a while.
Qian Renxue sat up and stretched comfortably. "Alright, I should head out. If I stay any longer, the people in the palace will be searching high and low for me."
"See you tonight."
Having finished,
Qian Renxue tidied her clothes, transformed into Xue Qinghe, and left the Secret Chamber.
Without Qian Renxue, Jin Mian couldn't bear to stay in the Secret Chamber.
So he assumed the identity of Xing Daorong and took Ye Lingling out for a stroll... At the Shrek Advanced Soul Master Academy.
Three days had passed since the Shrek Team finished their last match in the qualifiers.
Regarding the final results,
the teachers and students of Shrek were extremely happy.
Because this was the best result the new Shrek Academy had achieved since its founding.
After the results came out, countless endorsement offers came knocking.
This made Flender incredibly happy.
He accepted every single one without exception.
The other members of the Shrek Team were also very excited.
Because before participating in the competition,
they only thought about getting a decent rank, never expecting that they would actually advance.
So they were all overjoyed.
But while some were happy, others were troubled.
In a dark room.
Tang San sat at a wooden table, looking haggard and listless.
Since the qualifiers ended, he hadn't eaten or cultivated.
He had just sat there for three days.
Muttering to himself.
"No, it's impossible."
"I, Tang San, a once-in-a-century peerless genius, how could I rank last in the qualifiers?"
"It's fake, all of it is fake."
"There must be something wrong with this ranking."
Although they successfully advanced,
Tang San was very dissatisfied with the qualifier results.
Because before the competition began, he had set an ambitious goal to lead Shrek Academy to take first place in the qualifiers.
Looking at it from another perspective,
his goal had indeed been achieved.
Last place is still a kind of 'first,' after all.
But that wasn't what caused his breakdown.
The most critical factor was the ten matches they lost because of him.
In each of those ten matches, he was the last one standing,
engaging in a one-on-one duel with the opponent.
But he lost due to factors such as level and Martial Soul quality.
Because of this, he fell into deep self-reproach.
At the same time, he was frustrated.
Why was he so weak?
If it weren't for the fact that their opponent in the last match hadn't recovered from injuries sustained in a previous fight with Jin Mian,
it was uncertain whether they would have advanced at all.
Thinking of this,
Tang San opened his right hand and summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Looking at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand with two yellow and one purple ring, its body covered in yellow patterns,
he couldn't help but recall the words the opponent had said during his battle with Jin Mian.
"I really don't understand what you're thinking."
"Instead of cultivating the incredibly powerful Clear Sky Hammer, you choose to cultivate a piece of trash grass?"
"Look at your teammates; they all have single Martial Souls."
"Yet several of them are already Spirit Ancestors."
"In contrast, you, a genius with twin spirits, are still only a Spirit Elder."
"Don't you feel ashamed?"
These words echoed in his mind like a haunting melody.
"Trash grass... trash grass..."
"Is the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul really a trash Martial Soul? Does it have absolutely no cultivation value?"
"Have I been cultivating the wrong thing all along?"
Tang San developed deep doubts about cultivating Blue Silver Grass.
The last time he was able to recover,
it was entirely thanks to Yu Xiaogang's coaxing, which restored his confidence.
After a long time,
he withdrew his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
He opened his left hand and summoned the Clear Sky Hammer.
Gazing at the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, which everyone hailed as the world's number one Tool Spirit,
a thought involuntarily surfaced in Tang San's mind...
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