Why are you singling us out!

The advancement certificates were quickly distributed to the Shrek Academy.

Because of Tang San and his companions' actions, the Imperial Family suffered a great loss of face; how could Xue Ye possibly have a pleasant expression?

Xue Ye simply handed the certificate to Tang San and turned to leave without saying a word, a stark contrast to the treatment given to the Seven Treasures Team.

The Shrek Academy members frowned slightly, until Ning Fengzhi walked past them without distributing the expected bonuses, at which point Tang San finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Ignoring the occasion, he questioned, "Sovereign Ning, have you forgotten about our academy's prize money?"

The prize money is rightfully Battle Team; why shouldn't they be awarded it?

Before Ning Fengzhi speak, Salas interjected, "If I remember correctly, Shrek Academy has yet to pay the medical expenses to the Royal Fight Team Three, nor has it compensated Flame Radiance Academy for its losses."

"This 10,000 Gold Soul Coin will be paid by the Organizing Committee to the two Battle Team mentioned above. This is a decision made by the entire Organizing Committee; do you understand?"

Tang San's face was gloomy, but he dared not openly offend the Organizing Committee.

Next, Salas, representing the Spirit Hall, distributed extra rewards to the top three teams that advanced.

They weren't anything particularly valuable, including Cultivation resources and tokens for entering the Soul Hunting Forest.

After the awards were presented, the host briefly enlivened the atmosphere before handing the floor to Xue Ye.

Xue Ye did not speak immediately, but his gaze swept over the five teams, lingering on Wu Qi and Feng Xiaotian for a few more seconds.

Both of them are Soul King, and the Empire's chances of winning the championship depend entirely on them.

About a minute later, he smiled and said, "First of all, I congratulate you on successfully standing out on the Preliminary Round stage after passing through layers of selection."

"As the supreme leader of the empire, I am proud of you."

After a few bureaucratic remarks, Xue Ye immediately made a promise, "The Vice-Captain of each Battle Team will play a crucial role in the competition."

"Therefore, I have decided to confer the Noble Rank of Viscount upon the Vice-Captain of each Battle Team, and the Noble Rank Baron upon the remaining participating team members."

"This decision shall take effect immediately upon your graduation and reporting to the Empire. Your fiefdoms will be allocated uniformly after your reporting."

It's impossible for Xue Ye to bestow Noble Rank for nothing.

Reporting to the Empire is tantamount to joining the Imperial Family and becoming a member of the bureaucratic system.

For those with powerful backgrounds, this is of no concern whatsoever.

Those who could possibly be interested are probably only commoner Soul Master like Oscar and Chen Ping.

According to the rules of the Heaven Dou Empire, only military merit can earn one a noble title.

The mainland today can barely be considered a peaceful and prosperous era, and it is basically impossible to be ennobled based on military merit.

Especially when consolidating power on Xue Ye, they would not easily bestow Noble Rank.

It can be said that in the past ten years or so, no new nobles have emerged. At most, there are those like Wu Qinan, who have been promoted in Noble Rank due to military achievements.

The fact that the Heaven Dou Empire promised so many Noble Rank at once demonstrates its determination to attract talent.

Moreover, these are all Noble Rank with real power and fiefdoms, not just honorary Noble Rank.

Bishop Salas's face darkened as he gazed at the Xue Ye and coldly snorted, "Your His Majesty, isn't this somewhat inappropriate?"

"There has never been a precedent for bestowing titles upon someone through the Spirit Master Competition, but this time..."

Xue Ye casually replied, "When did the Spirit Hall get to interfere in the Empire's decisions?"

Although Salas was dissatisfied, he couldn't show it in public.

Most of the audience members understood that the atmosphere between the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire was extremely tense.

In recent years, Bibi Dong's behavior has become increasingly domineering, causing great harm to many forces, including the Heaven Dou Royal Family. Her efforts to recruit talent are undoubtedly aimed at getting revenge.

This move on Xue Ye was clearly a signal to the outside world, indicating that the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Royal Family were choosing between them.

Soon, Xue Ye suppressed the anger in her eyes and said with a smile, "The next Qualifying Round will be held in the Royal Hunting Grounds. Each Battle Team has one month to prepare."

"During this month, I hope you will not slack off. Necessary training is essential. Of course, cultivation requires a balance between work and rest, so you should not be too hard on yourselves."

"The Qualifying Round are a stage to showcase your individual abilities, and I hope you can achieve even better results."

The Preliminary Round were held separately, while the Qualifying Round were held together by the Empire and the Five Great Kingdoms.

Each Kingdom and duchy was secretly vying with the Empire, and Xue Ye certainly didn't want the Empire's forces to be outdone.

Next, he promised the benefits of helping the Soul Hunting.

For Wu Qi, a 30,000-year-old Soul Beast was not worthy of becoming his Sixth Soul Ring, so this promise was meaningless to him.

The Preliminary Round have concluded, and all Battle Team have exited the competition in an orderly manner.

As the Seven Treasures Team Members walked out of the arena, they were greeted by many other Battle Team.

During the Preliminary Round, the Seven Treasures Team rarely went all out, earning them a good reputation among the other teams.

Now that they have set a new record in the Preliminary Round, they may well break history again in the Qualifying Round stage.

Teams that win all their Qualifying Round have existed before, so the records that everyone is most interested in are those that demonstrate individual skill, such as One Through Six or One Through Seven in a row.

It's important to understand that as the competition progresses, Soul Master's Soul Power and Physical Strength will decline significantly. To date, the best record is One Through Five victory achieved in the Star Luo Division.

If Heaven Dou Division manages to defeat One Through Six or even One Through Seven in a row, it would, to some extent, put the Star Luo Empire at a disadvantage.

Of course, no one would falsify such a record.

Teams that are defeated by One Through Five- one battle or more will be forever branded with Pillar of Shame in the tournament.

Unless the academy decides to shut down, it's impossible for them to cooperate with others to achieve such an absurd record.

Before long, Wu Qi saw the Wind Fire Team and the Skywater Team waiting for them not far away.

The three Battle Team have a very close relationship. They met to discuss their plans for the Qualifying Round and avoid revealing too many of their trump cards, which could allow other Battle Team to take advantage of them.

After some conversation, Shui Bing'er spoke first, "Our Skywater Team isn't very strong in one-on-one situations, and the Qualifying Round aren't the stage for us to shine."

Her meaning was clear: she would continue to forfeit the match against the Seven Treasures Team in the Qualifying Round rounds.

Wind Fire Team, however, refused to give up.

Their individual strength is also quite good, and many people regard Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wushuang and others as role models, so they naturally want to spar with them and find out the gap in strength.

Since both schools are sister schools, Wu Qi had no reason to refuse such a request.

"In that case, we won't stay any longer. A month of Preliminary Round is exhausting enough; let's go back and rest."

"If there's anything else we need to discuss, let's talk about it in a couple of days?"

The Seven Treasures Team Members were eager to return to their sect to receive their rewards, and naturally did not want to stay here any longer.

The Tianshui Team and Wind Fire Team were also very tired and wanted to rush back to rest.