Chapter 32: 32. Commencement Ceremony

Back at Shrek Academy, Zhao Wuji, Flender, and Liu Erlong immediately went to seek out Yu Xiaogang. They met up in Flender's office and closed the door.

"Erlong, who did you see using such a skill?" Yu Xiaogang asked.

"Xiaogang, you'll never believe this. I think perhaps your hypothesis was right."

"What do you mean?"

"If the Nine Stars really is a divine power from a God seat, then Ru Zuanshi must've broken through to the God rank."

Yu Xiaogang's face changed in an instant. "It was Xiao Shen?"

Three heads bobbed up and down. Yu Xiaogang sighed. "Even though that child trusts us, she still didn't reveal her divine power to us."

"What if she doesn't know it's divine power from a God seat?" Flender asked.

"That could be. By the way, what spirit beast did Xiao Shen get for her sixth ring?"

Zhao Wuji answered, "A Century Millennium White Wolf Emperor. Her left leg bone grants her the speed of light."

"What's her sixth spirit skill?"

Liu Erlong shook her head. "She didn't tell us."

"All she said was that it drained a lot of spirit power," Flender added.

Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes. "She's hiding more and more from us. Does she think we're going to sell her out to Spirit Empire or something?"

"Whatever it is," Zhao Wuji began. "We just have to be here for her."

"She's a sixty fourth ranked Spirit Emperor at twelve years old. Xiao Shen will be fought over in the years to come," Liu Erlong murmured.

"That's why I'm going to send her to Tang Sect after the Advanced Spirit Master Grand Competition," Yu Xiaogang decided. "Only under the protection of five Shrek Seven Devils can she be safe."

<><><>

The next day, schools that would compete in the Heaven Dou City area all made their way to the Grand Spirit Arena, where the Advanced Spirit Master Grand Competition's Preliminary Round would be held.

On the way, Yu Xiaogang explained, "In this preliminary round, it will be battles you all are used to: seven member teams battles. It's a round robin competition where the five teams with the most victories will proceed to the ranking round. For the preliminary round, only four of the Shrek Seven Tyrants will appear."

"Eh what?"

"Gong Xi will fill in for Gu Xingyun. His spirit bone and Death God Domain cannot be revealed so early on. Same with his spirit ring configuration. So far in Douluo Continent's history, only Tang San before has managed to get a decade millennium year spirit ring for his fourth ring. Xu Tian will fill in for Xiao Shen. I believe everyone understands why?"

Ten heads nodded.

"Good. Han Niansui will also be part of our main force in the preliminaries. Though we're showing a complete team of Spirit Ancestors, that's still not our full power so it's alright."

"Grandmaster, who am I replacing?" Han Niansui asked.

"You will take over for Yong. Since he's a Spirit System Spirit Master, we don't want to show that early on either. Especially his spirit skills."

Han Niansui nodded.

"Though the others and I debated, Yong will appear in the rankings. We had originally chosen for Xingyun to compete in the ranking round, but finally decided against it. Our two most powerful spirit masters will appear in the finals," Yu Xiaogang said.

"Wait... if both our Captain and Vice Captain are out, then who's going to lead this team?" Shu Jiaxiang asked.

"Xu Tian will be your soul, as the Control System Spirit Master. As for your Captain... Xiao Shen, who do you think?"

"Out of the ones to appear in this round, I think Bai Shanxin is the best. She's the only one who can get an aerial view to be able to lead better."

"Xiao Shen, I'll try my best," Bai Shanxin promised.

Ru Shenqi smiled at her. "You'll do great, I know it."

<><><>

As the group entered the Grand Spirit Arena, they stared at the changes that had been made. Over the previous month, remodeling had been done so all of the stages had been merged into one huge stage.

On their way to the stage, they came upon upon the School of Four Elements. It appeared their team consisted of two Chi Huo Branch students, two Tian Shui Branch students, two Lei Ting Branch students, and one Shen Feng Branch student. Two adults walked in front of them, one man and one woman.

The woman was very tall and had blazing red hair hanging down to her waist. Her olive complexion offset against the pale man next to her. His silver hair stuck up, and he was only slightly taller than her.

Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong suddenly came to a halt upon seeing them.

"Dean Flender, why have we stopped?" Gu Xingyun asked.

The people from the School of Four Elements turned around. When the adult woman's eyes landed on Ru Shenqi's, Her big eyes suddenly grew even wider. Silvery light faintly flickered in her irises.

"Zhi-jie?" she murmured.

The man turned his head slightly to look at her. "Huo Wu, what is it?"

Upon hearing his words, Ru Shenqi felt her stomach curl. She looked to her teachers, golden eyes pleading. They glanced at each other.

Finally, Flender sighed, "Go on."

Ru Shenqi ran forward. The Shen Feng student turned out to be Feng Changzhi. He stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going? Mom, this is that little spirit master I told you about!"

Huo Wu stared at her. "D- did you drain Changzhi's spirit power?"

Ru Shenqi raised her chin defiantly. "So what if I did? He had it coming!"

"You!" Huo Wu made to move, but the man held her back. "Feng Xiaotian, let me go!"

He shook his head. "Calm down first. Child, why have you come here?"

Ru Shenqi turned to Huo Wu and saluted. "Xiao Shen greets Aunt."

Silence.

"A- Aunt? Did you just call me Aunt?"

A nod. "My father was your ge ge, Huo Wushuang."

Horror filled Huo Wu's eyes. "You look just like her."

Ru Shenqi's eyebrows furrowed. "Who?"

"Your mother."

The Golden Iron Triangle immediately stepped forward.

Liu Erlong said, "Huo Wu, this is Shenqi. For her safety, when we submitted our roster, we put her name down as Huo Shenqi. Is that alright?"

"Isn't that her name?" Huo Wu snapped.

Yu Xiaogang stepped forward, shaking his head. "It's Ru."

Huo Wu's face paled even further. "So she really is..."

Flender nodded. "Yes."

"No wonder you drained Changzhi's spirit power. But how do you have your mother's God skill?"

The Golden Iron Triangle choked. "Perhaps, this may be a conversation for a different place?"

"Aunt, what's a God skill?"

Huo Wu exploded. "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW?! WHERE IS YOUR MOTHER?! I'M GOING TO LET HER HAVE IT!"

Ru Shenqi looked down. "All I have left is Aunt. Mom and Dad are dead."

Feng Xiaotian's eyes widened. He caught Huo Wu as she stumbled backwards. "W- what?"

Yu Xiaogang quickly explained what happened. Afterwards, Huo Wu snarled.

"That blasted Storm Douluo. He must've done it! Damn Zhi-jie, she caused my ge ge's death!" Huo Wu howled.

Flender said, "Xiaogang, the ceremony's about to begin."

Yu Xiaogang looked at Huo Wu and Feng Xiaotian. "After the first preselection match, come find us at Shrek Academy. We can talk more there."

They nodded, and the two groups continued on into the arena. The two groups found their places in the stands and sat down.

Not too long after, the officiant standing near the VIP box declared, "Please welcome His Majesty, Heaven Dou Empire's Emperor, to declare this Competition open!"

Xue Beng, seated in between Ning Fengzhi and Tong Ai, stood up. He waved at everyone before speaking up.

"I, Emperor of Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Beng, represent Heaven Dou Empire and also now declare this Advanced Spirit Master Grand Competition begun! Good luck to all spirit masters and all academies in these preliminary rounds."

Cheers and applause rang out from spirit masters and spectators alike. The officiant turned towards the VIP box.

"I wonder... does His Majesty and Clan Leader Ning have any favorite teams?"

"Besides the first seeded Imperial Team, we each see another team rising to the top."

"It couldn't be this Shrek Academy team, can it? Their spirit masters won the last Advanced Spirit Master Grand Competition, against all odds, and shocked the continent."

Both men smiled mysteriously. "We won't say just yet."

The officiant shook his head. "Alright, alright. Up next is the Preliminary Phrase's First Round."

Everyone was silent, waiting for the next of who was up against who.

"Flushing Academy versus Purple Star Academy."

"School of Four Elements versus Heaven Dou Imperial Second Team."

"Shrek Academy versus Four Halls Academy."

The Golden Iron Triangle's jaws dropped. Just in the first round, and they were already up against Tang Sect's team. The Shrek Seven Tyrants and their three substitutes looked to their dumbfounded teachers.

"Dean Flender, Vice Dean Liu, Grandmaster... isn't Four Halls Academy from Tang Sect?"

Three heads nodded slowly.

Liu Erlong murmured, "Xiaogang... do we need to change the lineup?"

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He shook his head. "My disciple is smart, always has been. He knows not to reveal their full strength just in the preliminaries. Perhaps he might send out a Spirit Ancestor team, but so will we."

<><><>

The first battle was between the School of Four Elements and Heaven Dou Imperial Second Team. The Shrek group settled in to watch. Though they had battled the Heavenly Septet Battle Team, that was the Empire's first seeded team. They knew nothing about the second seeded team or the School of Four Elements' team.

When both sides released their rings, there were only four Spirit Ancestors total. Ru Shenqi smirked. The others turned to look at her.

"Aiya, why does mei mei have such a devious look on her face?"

"Look at them! If they even make it to the ranking rounds, we'll have no problem defeating them. Our spirit masters individually are stronger than theirs."

"Xiao Shen, don't always believe you're going to win. Sometimes... a loss is not bad," Yu Xiaogang reminded.

Her eyes grew cold. "My parents lost, and they died because of it."

Liu Erlong put a hand on her shoulder. "Lost what?"

"The fight with the nearly century millennium ocean spirit beast. Why else would a storm have kicked up? It had to have been a spirit beast that did it."

"Xiao Shen, don't be set in one way," Flender advised. "It will cause problems for you in the future."

Before Ru Shenqi could respond, five people sat down just behind them and clapped the teachers on their backs. Liu Erlong, Flender, and Yu Xiaogang turned around to see five bright and smiling faces.

"Rongrong, Oscar, Hongjun, Xiao Wu, Tang San!"

"Hello!" they cried cheerfully.

Tang San raised an eyebrow and said, "I see our teams are going to be fighting today. Laoshi, Dean Flender, Vice Dean Liu, be prepared."

Flender laughed. "I can say the same to you!"

Yu Xiaogang took this moment to stand up. "Xiao San, Xiao Shen, come with me."

Tang San immediately stood, but Ru Shenqi hesitated. Finally, she stood and followed the two away. They strolled over to an empty room and closed the door behind them.

"Laoshi, who is this?"

"This is Ru Shenqi."

"Is she a student at Shrek?"

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Yes. Xiao Shen, greet your Senior."

She saluted. "Xiao Shen greets Senior."

Tang San smiled gently. "No need. Laoshi, what is this for?"

"After the Advanced Spirit Master Grand Competition, I'd like for Xiao Shen to go to Tang Sect. If you'll accept her, you and the other Devils can protect her more than us old ones can."

"Laoshi, what are you talking about?"

"Xiao Shen, show him everything."

She gaped at him. "Grandmaster?"

"It's okay. Tang San can be trusted."

Nodding, she first released her Fire Dragon Domain. Her red-orange flames flickered around her body.

Tang San guessed, "An innate domain?"

She nodded. "Fire Dragon Domain."

"Her father was Huo Wushuang."

Surprise splashed across Tang San's face. "Does Huo Wu know?"

Yu Xiaogang confirmed. "She just met her before the competition started."

"Xiao Shen, your other domain."

"Other domain?" Tang San exclaimed. "Mei mei, how old are you?"

"Twelve, Senior."

Then, she released her Death God Domain, thoroughly shocking Tang San.

"How? I destroyed Slaughter City."

"It was rebuilt by the next Slaughter King. I passed through the Hell Road. A friend did as well."

Tang San gaped. "The Shrek team has two Death Gods?!"

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Xiao San... this isn't all."

Ru Shenqi revealed her century millennium left leg spirit bone, speeding around the room. Tang San had to use his Purple Demon Light to keep track of her.

"She's faster than Xiao Xiang(1)," he breathed.

"Her spirit bone comes from a White Wolf Emperor. Xiao Shen, reveal your next spirit bone, but don't use it."

She nodded, and her skull bone surfaced. Tang San's pupils contracted.

"How?"

"It comes from her fourth spirit beast, Swift Demon Cougar. Xiao Shen, your last one."

"She has three spirit bones?!"

Ru Shenqi revealed her Ultimate Darkness Wings. The black scales immediately lit on fire with purplish-black flames.

"An external spirit bone, a skull bone, and a left leg bone. Xiao Shen, what rank are you?"

"Senior, I'm a sixty fourth ranked Spirit Emperor."

Tang San choked. "At twelve years old?!"

She nodded.

Yu Xiaogang added, "Xiao San, this last one is the reason why I need the Shrek Five Devils to protect her. Shrek Academy cannot once the world finds out about her."

"Why?"

"Xiao Shen, activate your spirit."

"Clear Crystal Eyes!"

Her eyes flashed transparent and lucent. Her six spirit rings descended. Four menacing black ones and two oppressive red ones. Tang San stumbled backwards.

"H- how?"

Then, he thought of one person who could match her. Head Flamen of Haishen Island, Bo Saixi. She had eight black rings and one red one. But to have only four black and already moved on to red... that is beyond belief.

"Her left leg bone and her external spirit bone come from century millennium spirit beasts."

Tang San looked at the little girl in front of him. "Are you competing in the Advanced Spirit Master Grand Competition?"

She nodded. "Not until the finals though."

"Four Halls Academy will surely lose to Shrek this year. If your other Death God is powerful too, then Shrek Academy may just win again. Even if Four Halls Academy doesn't win, if Shrek does, I will still be happy."

Yu Xiaogang clapped Tang San on the shoulder. "Good boy. Our other Death God is the Crown Prince of Guang Kingdom in Star Luo Empire. I'm sure Mubai and Zhuqing can protect him and his family."

Tang San nodded. "I'll send Boss Dai a message."

"Grandmaster, Senior, wait..."

Ru Shenqi pulled back her sleeve and revealed her mother's bracelet. She handed it to Tang San.

"Careful, Senior. There's a sharp wire in there."

He gazed at the hidden weapon. "This is spectacularly made. I've never seen anything like it before, and I specialize in hidden weapons."

"My mom left it to me."

"Who was your mother?"

Yu Xiaogang answered for her, "Ru Zuanshi."

Tang San went pale. "That Limit Douluo from Spirit Empire?!"

Ru Shenqi's head shot up. "My mom belonged to Spirit Empire? She always said how she hated that place, how she wished that the whole organization had crumbled to ruins after their Supreme Pontiff was killed. Dad disliked them as well."

Yu Xiaogang took her bracelet from Tang San and gave it back to her. "Xiao Shen, Tang San and I need to have a conversation. Why don't you return to the others and finish watching the match?"

Knowing she was getting booted for a reason, she meekly nodded and left. Once she was gone, Yu Xiaogang drew Tang San over to the sofa. They sat down.

"I talked with Clan Leader Ning. There's reason to believe Ru Zuanshi reached God rank. Huo Wu confirmed it."

Tang San's eyebrows furrowed. "Really?"

"Yes. As to what God seat she took, I still don't know. But... she seems to have passed something on to Xiao Shen."

"What?"

"Divine power. And a skill to go with it."

"What skill?"

"I don't know for sure. She never told us. The only reason why we know is because she revealed the skill in front of Flender, Erlong, and Wuji when they were in Suotuo City. As far as we're aware, she doesn't realize we know about it."

"What does the skill do?"

"Nine nine-pointed stars shoot out from her and perform a crowd control skill. It creates a nonagon array that sucks away a spirit master's spirit power."

Suddenly, the golden trident on Tang San's forehead glowed. They heard the voice of Poseidon, Tang San's God predecessor.

"That would be the God seat of the Goddess of Nine Stars. All God seats are supremely powerful, but the Goddess of Nine Stars is terrifyingly overwhelming. If all of that seat's power and techniques are learned, even the Asura and Rakshasa Gods combined might not be able to defeat the Goddess of Nine Stars. If those God ranks can be considered First Class, then the Goddess of Nine Stars is of a Supreme Class. She can also be considered the greatest assassin spirit master due to her quick stars that can kill without any warning. And the Goddess of Nine Stars' best skill is the Flight of Nine Stars. It can quickly suck spirit power from any spirit master, regardless of spirit power levels and give it to her to use as her own."

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