The battles of Gem Academy were truly baffling. Among their seven members, six possessed Gem Spirits.
The versatility of Gem Spirits served as their best disguise. Before executing their Soul Skills, no one could predict what Spirit Rings their Gem Spirits were equipped with.
For other Beast Martial Souls or Weapon Souls, once the Martial Soul was identified, the corresponding Soul Skills could generally be deduced—such as fire, water, or lightning. But with Gem Spirits, it was impossible to guess!
Opponents would see the Spirit Rings of Gem Academy's team flash brightly—and then they'd already lost.
Only Du Gu Mo's Flower Spider Spirit gave their rivals some relief. At least not all seven members were this unpredictable.
Dugu Feng realized that for Gem Academy to reach the finals, they had to maintain an air of mystery.
Take this battle, for example. The six Gem Spirit students simultaneously unleashed their Third Soul Skill—Mental Paralysis, a psychic attack.
Under the overwhelming strength of Zhang Jingyang and Dong Heguang, both Soul Ancestors, their opponents lost consciousness almost instantly from the mental assault.
Then, Du Gu Mo's toxins took effect, leaving them with no chance to resist.
From start to finish, only Du Gu Mo's poison and one enigmatic attack from the Gem Spirit Soul Masters were revealed.
As for their First, Second, and Fourth Soul Skills? No one had a clue.
However, this made the matches rather dull for spectators. Some even booed.
Was there some kind of fix? The opponents lost the moment the Spirit Rings lit up? Too anticlimactic.
But for the instructors of other teams gathering intelligence, the perspective was entirely different. Gem Academy had their full, undivided attention.
Time flew by, and a week passed in the blink of an eye.
Five rounds of the Soul Master Competition had concluded.
Gem Academy achieved five consecutive victories, while the other four great elemental academies also secured five straight wins.
These five elite academies surged forward relentlessly in the competition, becoming the nightmare of every other participating institution.
They monopolized the audience's attention.
The Heaven Dou City division only had five slots for the finals.
Thus, if any other academy wanted to break into the top five, they had to defeat one of these five powerhouses.
Studying their lineups and tactics became mandatory homework for rival teams.
It was at this moment that Old Snake orchestrated a secret meeting among the deans of these five prestigious academies.
Meanwhile, during this period, Dugu Feng had thoroughly investigated Thunder Academy and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family—only to realize things weren't quite as he had imagined.
Thunder Academy was established with the backing of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family.
However, its members consisted of branch family disciples and other students with lightning-based attributes.
Aside from Yu Tianxin, the three Soul Ancestors in Thunder Academy's team were: Lei Dong (Martial Soul: Thunder Spider), Lei Tian (Martial Soul: Thunder Eagle), and Lei Shan (Martial Soul: Lightning Rabbit)—all lightning-affinity students recruited by the academy.
Even the dean of Thunder Academy, Lei Yun, was from a branch family—a subordinate Soul Master affiliated with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family. He didn't bear the surname "Yu" and wasn't part of the main lineage.
This clearly demonstrated that Thunder Academy maintained a degree of independence.
Old Snake also explained to Dugu Feng the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family's motives for supporting Thunder Academy and the other Four Elements Academies:
To cultivate talent for their family.
Every year, a portion of the graduating geniuses join the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family as affiliated Soul Masters.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family boasts over 2,300 Soul Masters in total. Among them, fewer than 800 are core members, including both direct and collateral branches, while the remaining 1,500-plus are all Extreme School Soul Masters.
This number pales in comparison to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School or the Clear Sky Sect in its prime, but it's still substantial.
It's also the foundation that allows the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family to rank among the Upper Three Sects.
"Wait, that doesn't add up!"
Dugu Feng noticed something odd.
"Young Master, what doesn't add up?"
"The Extreme School is more adept at producing powerhouses. Since the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family has recruited so many Extreme School Soul Masters, why is Yu Yuanzhen the only Titled Douluo among them? Even Soul Douluos are rare!"
Dugu Feng had spotted the issue.
The geniuses nurtured by the Five Element Academies emerge in every Soul Master Competition.
At least half of them join the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family.
Yet, few true powerhouses have emerged from their ranks.
"Heh, the Young Master is as sharp as ever. This is exactly what I was about to explain.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family has a major flaw—they funnel all their resources into their direct descendants.
Collateral descendants and affiliated Soul Masters may seem to hold prestigious status, given that it's one of the Upper Three Sects.
But in reality, they receive far fewer benefits!
At its core, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family remains a closed system, still named as a family rather than restructured as a sect.
Unlike the open and fair Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, the direct descendants don't value these affiliated Soul Masters.
The four academies have also noticed this situation. Their semi-dependence on the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family is born of necessity.
After all, without the family's support, they can't secure the benefits from the Great Soul Arena.
But the four deans don't want to keep being exploited by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, watching their geniuses go to waste.
The addition of Gem Academy will strengthen the alliance and give them more leverage."
Old Snake chuckled, revealing the details of their secret discussions.
The four deans had no objections to Gem Academy joining them and reforming the Five Element Alliance.
Dugu Feng hadn't expected it to go so smoothly. "Is Lei Yun also on board with this?"
Lei Yun, the dean of Thunder Academy, was a Soul Saint whom Dugu Feng had never met.
"Lei Yun didn't explicitly agree, but he said he'd defer to the majority. That tells you his stance!" Old Snake said smugly.
From now on, he, Dugu She, would be a prominent figure, maneuvering with influence and prestige.
"We've reached a preliminary agreement: Soul Duels will focus on sparring, minimizing casualties to collectively advance to the finals.
Tomorrow, we'll host a banquet at the hotel to announce the return of the Five Element Alliance. Moving forward, the five academies will exchange knowledge, uphold the Extreme School, and cultivate Ultimate Spirits.
We'll also call on more academies to adopt the Extreme School and nurture powerhouses!"
Dugu She added.
As a faction, the Five Element Alliance is the most powerful union of Soul Master academies in the Heaven Dou Empire. Bringing Gem Academy into the fold is something the entire Spirit Master World must know.
"Old Snake, proceed with confidence and take the lead in the Five Element Alliance as soon as possible!
And the Dugu Family must learn from this lesson. Gem Academy will remain independently operated, separate from the Dugu Family.
This graduation season, we'll recruit teachers from the graduates of the other four academies."
Establish another identity as a guest instructor, recruiting past graduates who are at least Soul Emperors.
Strive to facilitate the merger of the Five Elemental Academies into the Ultimate Academy before the next Soul Master Competition!"
Dugu Feng gave him reassurance and also revealed his own objectives.
The Dugu Family aimed to enhance their influence in the cultivation of Martial Souls.
Poaching talents from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family was just the beginning.
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