Chapter 178: The Changes in Ning Rongrong

"Who's worried? Who doesn't know that our Moon Emperor Team is invincible?" Oslo said quite confidently, "This twenty-game winning streak won't be the end of our victories; even a future thirty-game winning streak won't be our end. Even if that champion team from the Spirit Hall in the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament came over, they couldn't possibly be our opponents!"

His words revealed absolute confidence, and this confidence naturally came from Ning Feiliu.

Ning Feiliu's personal battle record under the alias "Yafei" had already reached a terrifying forty-four-game winning streak, and the "Ling Yue" duo formed with Ye Lingling had also completed thirty-six consecutive wins.

In fact, seven of those personal Spirit Fighting Battles were victories won by challenging Soul Ancestors above his rank; although his cultivation had not yet reached the Soul Ancestor level, there was no doubt that he was currently equivalent to a Soul Ancestor!

A team possessing the combat power of a Soul Ancestor while the individual's own level was only that of a Soul Elder was clearly an overpowered existence among Soul Elder-level Spirit Fighting teams.

Of course, the strength and talent of the others in their team were not weak either. With the Blue Dragon Twin Walls, the Basalt Shi Family Brothers, the contemporary successor of the Nine Heart Begonia, and other members, the Moon Emperor Team's strength and talent were truly excessively strong.

So, Oslo was naturally very confident.

He even felt that if they could pull Yafei into their Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, the championship of the next Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament would absolutely belong to them.

Having spent this time with "Yafei," although "Yafei" had always appeared lukewarm, but...

How should one put it?

Compared to Ye Lingling, that truly cold goddess, "Yafei" actually seemed easier to approach.

After all, Ning Feiliu was not truly cold or socially anxious; he just did not want to get too close to people who did not know his true identity, to prevent unnecessary socializing.

So this gave Oslo, Yufeng, and even Yu Tianheng and the others some expectations.

"Yafei" was not hard to talk to either; what if they could persuade him to join the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy? However, Yafei had never given any indication.

This left Oslo and the others feeling somewhat helpless.

"You seem a bit too arrogant," Ning Feiliu said. "If the Spirit Hall's champion team came over, with our current lineup that doesn't even have a single Soul Ancestor, we would definitely be defeated miserably."

Although the Spirit Hall's champion team for this session might not necessarily have members at the Soul King level like the Golden Generation in the original plot, they definitely had high-level Soul Ancestors with soul power levels of at least forty-six or higher.

Added to other members who were all at the Soul Ancestor cultivation level, even if Ning Feiliu had a burst of potential and used both 【Summoning of the Casting God】 and 【Summoning of the Ice and Snow God】, they might not necessarily be opponents.

Anyone who has seen the original plot of the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament knows that these genius Spirit Masters from all over the Douluo Continent can often erupt with strength far greater than their own cultivation.

The Spirit Fusion Skill performed by Tianshui Academy team captain Shui Bing'er and vice-captain Xue Wu together—Ice and Snow Fluttering—had a peak power that even the original work stated could not be broken by Spirit Masters under level sixty to escape the attack range.

The power of a Spirit Fusion Skill performed by two Soul Ancestors above level forty was even comparable to the power of a Soul King.

The self-created spirit skill of Feng Xiaotian from Shenfeng Academy, the Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes of the Gale Demon Wolf, could also reach power comparable to a Soul King.

Not to mention Tang San and the Golden Generation's Hu Liena and Xie Yue, who were even more unconventional Spirit Masters.

Although that session of the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament in the original plot was definitely the strongest in history, the truly overpowered ones were Tang San, Feng Xiaotian, and the Golden Generation trio; the strength of these six people was absolutely far beyond the strongest competitors of other tournament sessions.

However, Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu of Tianshui Academy should just be considered "ordinary" top-tier competitors of past Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournaments.

They might not even be able to defeat the three seeded teams of past sessions: the Spirit Hall Team, the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team, and the Xingluo Royal Academy Team.

This is enough to prove that the top competitors of the seeded teams participating in the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament can often erupt with strength far greater than their own cultivation.

A Soul Elder can display Soul Ancestor-level combat power, a Soul Ancestor can display Soul King-level combat power...

After all, they are the top genius Spirit Masters of the Douluo Continent within five or even ten years; this is understandable.

The Spirit Hall's champion team for this session, even without the Golden Generation, those seven Soul Ancestor-level genius Spirit Masters of the Spirit Hall could definitely erupt with combat power comparable to the Soul King level.

The Moon Emperor Team only has one Ning Feiliu; how could they possibly be opponents of the current champion team of the Spirit Hall? However, he also knew that Oslo was naturally joking, and also... giving him hints to let him join the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and participate in the next Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament with them.

Sure enough.

"Only for now; as for the future, that's hard to say," Oslo said with a loud laugh.

Ning Feiliu felt somewhat helpless; he really admired Oslo, feeling that this person was also quite thick-skinned.

According to the original plot where the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team's participation was generally divided into a first team and a second team, the second team was basically the substitute members for the first team, filling in for first-team members if they were unable to compete.

So... the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy first team actually had no substitutes; the substitutes were all thrown into the second team to wait.

And in this way, the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team could only have seven members.

Ning Feiliu joining would inevitably squeeze out one person from the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team in the original plot; after all, although Dugu Yan was participating in the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament early this session, it did not mean she could not participate in the next one.

The rules in the original text were that Spirit Masters over twenty-five could participate in the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament; it did not say they could only participate in one Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

After Ning Feiliu transmigrated to the Douluo Continent and got to know Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan, and others, he also heard them talk about the rules of the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, and there was no regulation that one could only participate in one Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

However, it was actually about the same, because the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is held every five years, and the members of the weakest teams participating in the tournament must at least have cultivation at the Soul Elder level or above, while competing with students of different age groups within the academy to ensure they are the strongest one.

Perhaps in a very weak Soul Academy, the Soul Elder level could always dominate the title of the strongest in the academy.

But those who can participate in the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament are basically not that weak; at the very least, one needs soul power above level thirty-five to compete to become a team member representing the academy in the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Added to the aforementioned age limit, Spirit Masters over twenty-five cannot participate in the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

That would require reaching at least level thirty-five soul power by age nineteen; although this is already considered a first-class genius Spirit Master on the Douluo Continent—one must know that in the Four Elements Academies, besides top genius Spirit Masters like Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, Huo Wu, Huo Wushuang, Yu Tianxin, Lei Tian, and Feng Xiaotian, most of the other Soul Elder members were over twenty years old.

But this is still not difficult.

However, this is the standard for weak teams.

If you have this kind of talent, it is impossible to stay in an obscure, weak academy as a school bully.

And coming to a powerful academy, one must face greater competition.

Like a first-class academy such as the Four Elements Academies, to participate in two Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournaments, one would need to reach at least level thirty-seven soul power cultivation before age nineteen to occupy a position as an official team member.

This is like an age-unrestricted school-level sports meet, where you, a seventh-grade student, are not only required to be 1.8 meters tall, but also required to race against those high school seniors who are much older than you, and at least be among the top ten fastest people in the school—including the quota for substitute members.

This is a great disadvantage in terms of age.

Like Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing of the Shrek Seven Devils in the original plot, if they hadn't eaten Immortal Herbs, it is estimated that it would have been very difficult for them to reach this standard. But fortunately, they met Tang San who collectively gave them a cheat, each of them increasing their soul power by at least five or six levels, directly and easily meeting the standard.

The key is that the Immortal Herb not only brought them a direct increase in soul power, but the improvement in talent was also indispensable.

So when Dugu Yan took the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, and with the Moonlight Breathing Method and the soul power feedback from the early treatment of toxins, she also easily reached the standard.

And without the restriction of not being able to participate multiple times, Dugu Yan could still participate in the next Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Then if Ning Feiliu joins, he will definitely squeeze out someone's position.

Then whose position to squeeze out? Needless to say, in terms of strength and cultivation, the only candidates who could definitely be squeezed out are the five people: Ye Lingling, the Shi Family Brothers, Yufeng, and Oslo.

But in terms of functionality, Ye Lingling, as an Auxiliary System Soul Master, definitely cannot be replaced; the Shi Family Brothers, as Defense-type Soul Masters, are of course also irreplaceable.

Then among the two Agility Attack System Battle Soul Masters, Yufeng and Oslo, who will be the one squeezed out of their position?

The answer is naturally self-evident.

Therefore, Ning Feiliu was somewhat speechless; this Oslo still could not see the situation clearly, and even took the initiative to invite him to join the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team.

However, he did not want to concern himself too much with these meaningless trivialities; he was just about to signal to Yu Tianheng and the others to enter the Great Spirit Arena to prepare for the Spirit Fighting Battle.

But just at this moment...

"Yafei." A gentle, warm laugh that made one feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze even before the person arrived, came from behind him.

Ning Feiliu was stunned for a moment, then turned around with a calm expression to look at Ning Fengzhi and the Sword Douluo, who were slowly walking toward him with Ning Rongrong and Ning Mingrui by their sides.

"Sect Master Ning, Senior Sword Douluo." He bowed to Ning Fengzhi and the Sword Douluo quite politely, yet with a clear sense of distance.

"Sect Master Ning, Senior Sword Douluo." Dugu Yan also bowed to Ning Fengzhi and the Sword Douluo.

The others immediately hurried to bow as well.

"Oh! Yafei, Miss Dugu, especially you, Yafei, why be so formal? Mr. Dugu and we are on quite close terms, and you are Mingrui's friend; there is no need to be so distant." Ning Fengzhi said with a smile.

"I dare not; with elders present, it is only right to be a bit more formal." Ning Feiliu still said, appearing very distant.

It seemed as if he were just being polite and knowing his place, but in reality, he was intentionally distancing himself from them.

During this period, Ning Fengzhi had indeed shown him quite a bit of favor, and it appeared that Ning Feiliu had accepted it.

In reality, he had only accepted those ancient books, and after transcribing some of the rarer medicinal formulas and herbs, he had returned them.

Then he gave some Gold Soul Coins and had Ning Mingrui return them.

However, giving money to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect... the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect certainly did not need it.

But Ning Feiliu did not care whether the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wanted it or not; he just gave it back as payment, and that was that.

Thinking he could win him over with small favors... he was not willing to accept that.

"Alright, Sect Master Ning, Senior Sword Douluo, we are about to begin participating in today's Spirit Fighting Battle; I will pay my respects to you seniors afterward." Ning Feiliu quickly changed the subject and said.

Ning Fengzhi, who had originally wanted to get closer to Ning Feiliu, could only give up at this point.

"Very well then... I wish you success in this battle, Yafei!" Ning Fengzhi said with a smile.

"Many thanks for your blessing, Senior." Ning Feiliu replied in a lukewarm tone.

Then he turned to Yu Tianheng, Yu Tianxin, and the others and said, "Let's go."

Yu Tianheng, Yu Tianxin, and the others nodded, and then walked into the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena together with Ning Feiliu.

Ning Fengzhi watched Ning Feiliu's retreating back, feeling somewhat helpless; he did not know why... but he always felt that Yafei was distancing himself from them.

Could it be that Yafei had seen through his intentions, but did not want to let Dugu Bo down, and thus was intentionally keeping his distance? "Mingrui... you must continue to get closer to Yafei after this." Ning Fengzhi immediately said to Ning Mingrui beside him.

"Yes... Father." Ning Mingrui was also very helpless; he knew that Yafei's true identity was Ning Feiliu, and he also knew the reason why Ning Feiliu had such an attitude, but there was nothing he could do.

So he could only agree on the surface; in reality... he could not do anything either.

Meanwhile, Ning Rongrong suddenly felt a sense of irritation in her heart.

For some time now, ever since Yafei appeared, Father had been paying less and less attention to her.

It was as if "Yafei" were his own biological son.

Not only that, Ning Rongrong felt that her level of being doted on within the sect had dropped significantly over the past year.

Although Jian Yeye and Gu Yeye still doted on her as much as ever, Ning Fengzhi's attitude toward her had clearly declined.

Aside from the reason of this "Yafei," there was naturally also the reason of that useless San Ge of hers—Ning Feiliu.

Because of Ning Feiliu, even her brothers, including the usually gentle and steady Ning Mingrui, had seen their attitudes toward her plummet.

So... it was all because of that useless San Ge, Ning Feiliu...

And this "Yafei," who was just as annoying as her San Ge!

However, Ning Rongrong suddenly remembered the kindness Ning Feiliu had once shown her, and then thought of her current situation where she was increasingly unwelcome, combining this with the things Ning Feiliu had once said.

She could not help but feel a bit suspicious...

Could it be... that she was wrong?

Ning Rongrong fell into a state of conflict, but... Ning Feiliu was just a useless person; his talent was so poor that he would soon be left behind by her cultivation...

Was there any need to take what a useless person said to heart? Ning Rongrong shook her head, suppressing the guilt and self-reflection that had finally managed to surface in her heart once again.

(End of chapter)