"Today is the start of the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition. We have specially invited the team from Shrek Academy to engage in friendly sparring with our previous champions. Given the formidable strength of Shrek Academy, this sparring session will be a cross-age exchange. Our Tianhai Alliance Youth Group champions, a team of seven, will challenge Shrek Academy's Junior Group of seven. Now, please welcome both sides to the stage."
As the broadcast echoed throughout the venue, the previous Youth Group champions representing the Tianhai Alliance, seven students from Tianhai Academy who were already over twenty years old, walked onto the stage in neat, uniform silver team uniforms.
What surprised the audience the most was that among the seven contestants from Shrek Academy who walked onto the stage, four looked like teenagers around ten years old.
From the stands, Xu Xiaoyan stared blankly at this scene and said, "Our ages are similar, so why is the gap so big?"
A hint of doubt rose in Tang Wulin's heart. Was Shrek Academy being arrogant by sending more than half of their contestants who were around the same age as them, or were the talents cultivated by Shrek Academy truly that strong?
On the stage, both sides exchanged greetings. The seven from the Tianhai Alliance side were clearly a head taller than the others, highlighting the age difference. After all, on average, they were almost ten years older than the Shrek Academy side!
On the Shrek Academy side, the leader was a young boy around ten years old. His handsome appearance had already caused many female spectators in the stands to have hearts in their eyes. Standing there, despite his young age, his aura was as deep and imposing as a mountain. Dressed in an unfashionable dark green tracksuit, he still couldn't hide the noble and special aura around him. Every movement he made became the focus of everyone's attention.
After a brief self-introduction from both sides, Tang Wulin finally learned that the leading young boy was named Qian Mo, and the silver-haired girl standing beside him was named Gu Yuena.
But for some reason, Tang Wulin found that whenever his gaze fell on Gu Yuena, he would feel a sense of being unable to look away, as if something was attracting him.
Tang Wulin blinked hard, forcing himself to shift his gaze and focus his attention on watching the match.
The referee was an old man with a deep aura, clearly indicating his high cultivation level.
"Now, let the match begin!"
As soon as the referee announced the start of the match, the first to act were the seven from Shrek Academy, but only Qian Mo and Gu Yuena made a move.
Because Gu Yuena had just broken through to the thirtieth level not long ago, three spirit rings rose beneath her feet.
Gu Yuena spread her arms, and suddenly violent fire elements and light wind elements appeared in the air. She clenched her hands, and the fire and wind elements immediately merged together.
The wind fanned the flames, and the fiercely burning fire expanded rapidly. Led by the wind, it finally transformed into a flame storm that swept across the entire stage.
Three purple thousand-year spirit rings rose beneath Qian Mo's feet. His Eight-Winged Seraph Spirit attached to him, and his eight wings spread behind him, floating in the air. His left hand, which was not holding a sword, gently pushed towards the seven individuals representing the Tianhai Alliance on the stage.
The next moment, Tang Wulin felt a faint, prolonged dragon roar that made his blood boil. But when he looked around, he saw that Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan looked normal, as if they hadn't heard anything.
Before Tang Wulin could think further, he saw the seven individuals representing the Tianhai Alliance all grunt in unison, and some even had traces of blood flowing from their orifices.
The flame storm swept across the stage, completely engulfing the seven from the Tianhai Alliance. Qian Mo transformed into a golden Liuguang and crashed into it, and a dazzling light bloomed on the stage.
Tang Wulin activated his Purple Demon Eye with all his might, facing the stage with an outer layer of fire and an inner layer of golden light. Even with his eyes wide open, stimulated to tears by the dazzling golden light, he still couldn't see anything clearly.
He couldn't see this match!
But listening to the screams rising and falling within, Tang Wulin could only imagine the fierce battle inside.
After about half a minute, the match ended.
The seven individuals who represented the Tianhai Alliance were all lying scattered on the match stage, the ground covered in scorch marks from the high temperature. The huge cross-shaped sword mark on the ground seemed to tell the story of this crushing battle.
As for the individuals who represented Shrek Academy, Qian Mo brushed off the dust that had splashed onto the corner of his clothes, and Gu Yuena tossed her waist-length silver hair gracefully. Both of them had an indescribable sense of ease on their faces.
As for the other five, they hadn't even moved their feet and hadn't made a move from beginning to end.
The entire venue was silent. For a moment, the stadium, which could hold a full eighty thousand people, was completely quiet.
Qian Mo, as the leader, bowed slightly in greeting, and then led his team off the stage.
Fighting across a huge age gap, and they couldn't even last half a minute? This was a one-sided slaughter! The team members from the Tianhai Alliance had no ability to fight back whatsoever.
"Gulp!" came the sound of swallowing from beside him.
Tang Wulin turned to look and saw Xie Xie's eyes wide open. "Is, is this Shrek Academy's strength? Are they really human?"
"Two contestants around the same age as us, with one wave of attack, effortlessly defeated opponents with three and four spirit rings. This... this..." Xu Xiaoyan said with a shocked expression, her voice almost lost at the end.
"Now you know what true geniuses look like," a cold voice sounded, attracting the attention of the four of them. Unbeknownst to them, Wu Changkong had already arrived by their side.
"Those four ten-year-old students on the stage are students from Shrek Academy's Inner Courtyard. Their talent is extraordinary. They are the goal you must chase, and also your strongest competitors in the future!" Wu Changkong said coldly.
"A goal to chase?" Xie Xie showed a bitter smile. "Can we really catch up to this chasm-like gap? I feel like if I fought that boy with the Angel Spirit, I might not even last three seconds."
Tang Wulin was thoughtful, while Xu Xiaoyan quietly nodded.
Wu Changkong was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Whether you can catch up or not, you must take him as your goal and chase with all your might to shorten the gap between you."
"Right now, don't be afraid of not catching up. Because you still have a very, very long way to go. The draw is complete, the competition starts tomorrow."
Wu Changkong didn't offer them any analysis or guidance. He just told them to return to the hotel and prepare for the match themselves, and then turned and left.
...
On the other side, Shen Yi looked at Qian Mo and the other seven in front of him and said with a smile, "We will be staying here for a few more days. You are free to do as you please during these days, but you are not allowed to leave Tianhai City. Alright, that's all. Dismiss."
Qian Mo turned to look at Gu Yuena and extended a date invitation, saying, "Want to go stroll around Tianhai City together? I've been cultivating during this time, and it's been a while since we went shopping together."