Political Games
Thirteen, fifteen, twenty-five, thirty.
Zhou Qing had learned about these four teams over the past two days. Each team had two or more Soul Grandmaster. Team Thirty, in particular, was led by a Soul Elder of level 33. Of the other six team members, three had Soul Power around level 28 or 29, while the remaining three had only one Soul Ring, but their Soul Power was between level 18 and 20, which was very close to that of Soul Grandmaster.
Moreover, this seven-person team works together extremely well, suggesting they've been together for three to five years or more, making them quite formidable.
"By the way, Qing Ge, Third Brother, Sister Xiao Wu, and Teacher Romantina, should we talk to Teacher Mo Hen again about tactics?"
Wang Sheng knew how powerful Zhou Qing and the others were. They were able to defeat two teams without even using their Martial Soul or Soul Skill. Moreover, their Team 18 was lucky enough to get a bye, allowing them to rest and wait for the enemy to finish.
However, Wang Sheng also saw the strength of Team Thirty. In his opinion, in the end, they would still need Teacher Mo Hen as the main force to defeat that Soul Elder.
"No need to trouble Teacher Mo Hen, just adapt to the situation."
Zhou Qing had three reasons for saying this.
Firstly, although Mo Hen possesses the combat strength of Soul Grandmaster, he lacks combat experience and doesn't regularly participate in Soul Fight Battles. Furthermore, a small city like Nuoding City doesn't have Soul Fighting Arena...
For the reasons mentioned above, taking students to the Nuoding Soul Hunting Forest to hunt Soul Beast was the limit for Teacher Mo Hen.
If he were to go toe-to-toe with the Soul Elder, Zhou Qing felt he wouldn't last more than ten rounds.
Secondly, the main force of Team Eighteen has always been him, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Romantina. As long as the four of them don't fail, everything is fine.
Thirdly, as I said before, the team was formed temporarily. No matter how clever the tactics were discussed, if the cooperation between the members was not smooth, it would all be in vain. It would be better to stick to the previous method, assign tasks according to each person's strengths, and let everyone complete their assigned combat tasks. That would be the best option.
However, to protect Wang Sheng's pride, Zhou Qing did not say these three points aloud. He simply said, "We don't necessarily have to win. Participation is the most important thing. If we can learn some of the essence of combat or gain some spiritual insights, that would be even better."
"Like you, Brother Wang, haven't you already gained the most?"
"Don't give up on becoming Soul Master! Those adorable work-study students behind you are all looking forward to you setting an example!"
Wang Sheng turned around and looked at the work-study students who were eating while dreaming about their future careers as Soul Master, and he was touched.
At the same time, Wang Sheng was very grateful to Zhou Qing, because it was he who made him firm in his decision. "Qing Ge ~"
However, Zhou Qing pressed down on Wang Sheng's face, who was about to hug him, and said with some disgust, "Don't get too close. I'm a little sensitive, especially after being in close contact with Tang San before."
"Ah?"
Wang Sheng was stunned and didn't react.
"What do you mean by close contact?" Tang San was speechless. "People will misunderstand, won't they? Besides, I don't really want to hold hands with a guy."
Wang Sheng's expression gradually became strange...
···
Early the next morning.
Qingzhu Zhu returned with her Mother Zhu and joined Zhou Qing and the others.
Outside Nuoding Plaza, the teams that won the Third Round yesterday—teams number 13, 15, 25, and 30—competed in the fourth round.
Team Thirty and Team Twenty-Five advanced to the next round.
The final fifth round will take place in the afternoon, with Team Thirty, Team Twenty-Five, and No. 18, who was lucky enough to receive a bye, competing against each other to determine the champion, runner-up, and third-place winner.
The champion of the Friendly Tournament will receive Storage Soul Tool, which Tang San has already named "The Moon Shines Brightly in the Twelve Towers".
In addition, there is the opportunity to challenge members of the Star Luo Royal Academy Team. If you are recognized, you may have the possibility of joining the Star Luo Royal Academy.
"Since only the champion has this opportunity, why are there champions, runners-up, and third-place winners?" Xiao Wu suddenly thought of this question.
"Um... I hadn't even realized it until you said it." Romantina was also puzzled, wondering why it was necessary to divide them into the top three.
Tang San had a fairly thorough understanding of human nature, so he said, "People are always competitive. If you can get a top-three finish, even if you don't get the attention of the Star Luo Royal Academy Team, the fact that this Friendly Tournament was hosted by the leader of the Star Luo Royal Academy Team will probably attract the attention of some nobles in small cities."
"I think it's just a matter of transplanting the Finals rules of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament," Zhou Qing said.
The Finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament follow an Knockout Tournament format, but this "Friendly Tournament" between Nuoding City and Falling Star City is inevitably a simplified version.
The Finals of the Elite Competition consist of six rounds. The fifth round is an individual competition to determine the first place winner, while the remaining two teams compete for the second place. Then, the sixth round is a team competition, with the second place winner from the fifth round competing against the first place winner for the final championship.
This Friendly Tournament was kept simple, with the venue made from local materials, utilizing the square in Notting Center. The final was naturally a three-team match, with each team playing two against each other to determine the winner.
"This format is very unfriendly to Soul Master whose Soul Power recovers slowly." Tang San was certain that Zhong Dingxiu would not give Soul Master much rest time after the battle in order to end this Friendly Tournament as soon as possible. Perhaps the next battle would start before the previous one had ended for more than thirty minutes.
"It can also be considered a test of Soul Master's endurance and spirit."
Zhou Qing sighed.
Who made Zhong Dingxiu a Soul Saint?
He had always maintained control of the Friendly Tournament, so naturally everything was up to him!
"Isn't this good for us?" Xiao Wu thought the rules were pretty good. After all, in their Team 18, Zhou Qing, Tang San, Romantina, and herself all had good recovery abilities. Zhou Qing, in particular, had the best stamina and could fight for a long time.
That's true.
That's what they said, but Zhou Qing just couldn't be happy.
Whether it's this ill-timed "Friendly Tournament" or other Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament across the continent, aren't they all essentially "political games" played by the high-ranking officials of various forces who have already divided up the spoils?
The latter, in particular, refers to the fact that the top leaders of various forces compete to select so-called "elite Soul Master" in order to obtain a larger share of the pie from the top leaders of other forces.
After all, most Commoner Soul Master cannot participate in this kind of game. And if a talented Commoner Soul Master has participated in this kind of game, without extraordinary trump cards or confidence, he can only choose one of the three: Heaven Dou, Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall. Even if he does not explicitly join a certain faction, he must show his inclination towards that faction.
That is, you can choose not to join directly, but your attitude must be ambiguous.
Just like the Upper Three Sects and the Lower Four Sects, they are ostensibly independent sects that do not obey any empire or the Spirit Hall. However, they all express affinity towards one of the Heaven Dou, Star Luo Empire, or Spirit Hall factions, and even directly support a particular faction.
For example, the Clear Sky Sect supported the Star Luo Empire before it closed its gates; the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan still supports the Heaven Dou Empire to this day.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect the only one that hasn't publicly stated its support for any major power. However, the school's Sect Leader is personally close to the Heaven Dou Empire and is the current Crown Prince's teacher. Ning Fengzhi, on the other hand, is an honorary elder of the Spirit Hall, making his stance quite ambiguous...
Happy National Day!