Chapter 168: Ice and Fire Tempering, Sprinting to Soul King

Yu Xiaogang responded, "If it's just as a substitute, I can allow him to join the team. Furthermore, let him take over Ma Hongjun's position and become a key force in protecting the back row."

Currently, among the Shrek Seven Devils, there are two powerful front-liners, so Tailong's role is not as significant as it was in the original timeline.

But with his ability to both take hits and deal damage, he would also be quite good as a meat shield to protect the back row.

At the very least, in terms of utility, he is far superior to the laggard Ma Hongjun.

In any case, he is not replacing Ma Hongjun's position as a starting player; nominally, Tailong is just a substitute.

If Tailong plays in key matches and Flender asks, just say it is a tactical necessity and a matter of rotation.

Yu Xiaogang has a very poor impression of Ma Hongjun; were it not for his connection to Flender, the latter would have long since been kicked out of the Shrek Seven Devils.

One must know that in daily training, Ma Hongjun is the one who contradicts him the most.

Not long ago, Ma Hongjun even publicly questioned him. How could he possibly like such a fellow?

By letting Tailong join the team, he also essentially wants to use this to dampen Ma Hongjun's arrogant spirit.

If the latter's attitude is sincere and he apologizes to him, he can still remain.

Conversely, if Tailong gradually replaces his position, even if he is a main player, he will have to sit obediently on the bench once the finals arrive.

During the next day's training, seeing Tailong appear, Xiao Wu was instinctively on guard.

After hearing Tang San's explanation, many people had strange expressions on their faces.

A conflict had just broken out in the last few days, and yet he could still reuse Tailong; how broad-minded must Tang San be?

Of course, most people held a positive view; Tang San's actions truly corresponded to the saying, "A prime minister's stomach can hold a boat."

Ma Hongjun was completely indifferent to this.

It was not until later, when Tailong did everything better than him, that he realized it too late.

Of course, by that time, his fate as a fringe member of the team was already inevitable.

Yu Xiaogang also realized the importance of substitute members, and from that day on, he kept looking for suitable substitutes in the academy.

It is worth mentioning that the substitute members of the Shrek Team from the original timeline, Jing Ling and Huang Yuan, have now transferred to Seven Treasure Academy.

Jiang Zhu was still there, but she had a poor impression of the Shrek Team and was not very willing to become a team substitute.

Having had the experience of being rejected by Wu Qi, Yu Xiaogang lost his patience with her and directly declared that he would not use her.

As for Jiang Zhu herself, she was completely indifferent to this, and after the current school year ended, she directly applied for graduation.

Time passed day by day, and the Spirit Master Tournament arrived at the day of registration.

The registration process does not require each academy to send people to participate; as long as it is an academy registered with the Ministry of Education, it automatically possesses the qualification to compete. Unless there are special circumstances that need to be explained to the tournament organizing committee, there is no need to send anyone.

Among them, the matter of Chihuo Academy Academy Academy and Shenfeng Academy Academy Academy jointly forming a team requires sending someone to explain it to the organizers.

Impacted by Seven Treasure Academy, one Advanced Spirit Master Academy lost its source of excellent students this year and decided to withdraw from the competition.

For an Advanced Spirit Master Academy that does not participate in the Spirit Master Tournament, its outcome is already sealed.

Either it will be downgraded to an intermediate Spirit Master Academy, or it will directly close down.

As the start of the tournament drew closer, Wu Qi's strength had only just reached the fourty-eighth level and a half; at this rate of cultivation, it would take even longer to break through to Soul King.

Simply put, while Feng Xiaotian and Ning Rongrong were hunting for spirits, he returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well under the guidance of Dugu Bo.

As for the time he was away, the team's training direction had already been set in advance.

Everyone had practiced the tactics centered on him countless times and knew them by heart.

Then, for the next step, they could just practice formations centered on Feng Xiaotian or others.

Inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Looking at the spring water rising with two types of energy—ice and fire—a smile appeared on the corner of Wu Qi's mouth.

Previously, he had not excessively relied on the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well for cultivation, precisely because he was waiting for this day.

Staying in the spring water for a long time is certainly of great help to cultivation, and one could even break through several levels in a short period.

But do not forget, the human body has tolerance.

After contacting the two springs for too long, the impact of ice and fire will be greatly reduced, and one would only be able to go deeper into them later on.

But the further one goes, the pressure of the two springs will rise exponentially.

By then, Wu Qi would likely only have his skin able to withstand the power of the spring water, while his internal organs would be torn to shreds.

Dugu Bo looked at the spring water, the look of apprehension on his face undisguised.

It was not that the surface spring water could hurt him; as his poison arts continued to strengthen, the yin energy in his body became increasingly dense, while the ice and fire colored spring water could neutralize his poison arts, making the two sides "enemies" by nature.

"Little guy, have you really thought this through? Once your body enters the spring water, if you cannot withstand it, you won't even have the chance to call for help."

Wu Qi laughed heartily, "Old man, I never fight a battle I'm not prepared for. Don't forget, I once absorbed two types of Immortal Herbs, and I have a natural resistance to these two attributes."

Dugu Bo said no more and let the other party cultivate on his own.

And for the next period of time, he stayed by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, tending to his medicinal field.

After learning the value of high-grade medicinal materials from the auction, his idea of opening a pharmacy became even stronger.

The medicinal materials he bought at the auction were replanted by him in the medicinal field.

There were ten days left until the Spirit Master Tournament.

The members of the Seven Treasure Team were extremely anxious as they did not see Wu Qi return.

Even Feng Xiaotian had asked Dugu Yan several times to inquire about Wu Qi's seclusion status.

But Dugu Bo had not returned recently, and Dugu Yan also needed to cultivate, so the final result was that there was no news.

Although there was no Wu Qi, under Feng Xiaotian's leadership, it had no impact on participating in the competition.

But without seeing Wu Qi, everyone always felt that something was missing in their hearts, and there was always a sense of panic.

Indeed, most of the dangers they had encountered in the past were resolved by relying on Wu Qi's insight.

If they were to encounter opponents with bizarre tactics in the tournament, they were truly afraid of becoming headless flies.

Seeing this situation, Sun Buyu scolded with a laugh: "Are you all incapable of competing without your captain?"

Huo Wu had a straightforward temperament and stated their problem: "We are worried that we won't be able to handle the battle situation and will make the captain disappointed in us."

Such a mindset was built on the foundation that their opponents were extremely powerful.

However, the reality was that during the Preliminary Tournament stage, their strength was leading by a wide margin, and almost no team was their match.

This kind of worry, in the final analysis, was everyone's refusal to underestimate the enemy.

This mentality was understandable, but everyone was just being too pedantic and too extreme.

As a teacher, Sun Buyu naturally understood and spoke to guide them: "You are just under too much pressure, worrying that without the captain, it will affect the competition results."

"Starting from today, everyone does not need to cultivate; you may as well go into the city to relax. Adjusting your mindset is the greatest help to the competition."

"As for Wu Qi's side, I will have the Dean go and inquire about the situation, so everyone should stop worrying blindly."

(End of this chapter)