The following days of the round-robin went smoothly for Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. They didn't draw another team battle, but none of their matches posed much of a challenge. In one of the one-on-one matches, Lin Xi, a defensive specialist, borrowed one of Ma Rulong's cannons and blasted through four opponents. When the fourth opponent was knocked off the stage, their captain couldn't hold back any longer and called for a forfeit.
Against the supposedly weaker team made up entirely of Soul Masters, they drew the two-two-three format. Wang Dong teamed up with Xiao Xiafeng for the second match, the two-on-two. Facing one Soul Ancestor and one Soul Elder, they won without much difficulty.
They went undefeated in the round-robin, just as expected.
Meanwhile, Shrek also went undefeated. Wang Yan's tactics proved highly effective, and Ling Luochеn was pushed to the point of exhaustion in nearly every match. In their final two-two-three match before Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng entered the competition, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Jiang Nannan took the field for the three-on-three. In the end, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were forced to use the Hell White Tiger just to scrape out a win.
During the match, Dai Huabin kept feeling a sharp, needle-like pain in his head whenever he used the Hell White Tiger.
In the matches that followed, Shrek's situation improved considerably once all three of their main team members were able to compete. With the two Soul Emperors, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, holding the line, the number of gamblers betting on Shrek to win the championship rose again.
Since both teams had finished first in their groups, they couldn't meet in the round of sixteen. For their first team battle, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy fielded six main team members alongside Huo Yuhao. Ma Rulong sat out.
With six main team members on the field, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy won with ease, simply carpet-bombing the opposition with Soul Tools. Under Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, the opposing team's positions were laid bare, even though they had formed a defensive formation.
Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen, two men with a knack for mischief, had deliberately picked the Soul Tools for the bombardment. Ma Rulong might not look it, but he had just as many tricks up his sleeve as Xiao Hongchen.
They'd picked a batch with flashy effects but modest power, along with another batch that could do real damage. The team members mixed and matched the Soul Tools, and even Huo Yuhao had been equipped with two Level 3 Soul Tools.
However, Huo Yuhao's two Soul Tools were practically harmless to the enemy. They made a lot of noise, though, and were only there to serve as firecrackers.
Huo Yuhao still hadn't actually fought in a match. Whenever he appeared in a team battle, he looked like little more than an accessory. But as the tournament went on, the other teams grew increasingly wary of him. After all, if he really were useless, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy wouldn't keep putting him in every team battle as a mere accessory.
So the opposing teams didn't dare take Huo Yuhao's Soul Tools lightly.
Seeing their opponent scramble to defend, only for the blasts to turn out to be firecrackers snapping against their shields, Huo Yuhao couldn't help privately grumbling about the two captains. You're awful—but I should learn from you.
The next individual match featured Li Yan, another main team member who wasn't very familiar with Huo Yuhao. After Li Yan defeated three opponents, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy had won their round-of-sixteen match outright.
The kids' complete victory had been exactly what Yu Rufeng expected. Shrek's match, on the other hand, had him frowning again and again.
In the match against Dou Spirit Royal Academy, Shrek's two Soul Emperors finally took the field together, stunning the audience. Ma Xiaotao in particular seemed to have been itching for a fight. As soon as she entered the match, she unleashed several Soul Skills in succession. Combined with Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Underworld Displacement, her attacks routed the opposing team. In the individual match, Dai Yueheng also displayed astonishing fighting strength.
Yu Rufeng was fairly familiar with Dai Yueheng. The academy had provided him with information about Dai Yueheng's performance in the previous tournament. But this was his first time seeing Ma Xiaotao's abilities. Watching the terrifying flames on the field, he couldn't help feeling wary of her.
As soon as the round-of-sixteen matches ended, the draw for the quarterfinals took place. Only then would the teams get a few days to rest and prepare.
Ma Rulong went to draw again. As he stepped onto the platform, Xiao Hongchen teased his senior from the sidelines. "With his luck, who knows what kind of draw he'll get us this time? I bet it won't be—"
He stopped halfway through his sentence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the slip Ma Rulong had drawn, their faces displaying a range of expressions. Huo Yuhao felt his right eyelid twitch as he watched Ma Rulong hand the slip to the host.
The host glanced at it and announced loudly:
"Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy versus Shrek Academy!"
The entire venue erupted.
"He really drew them!" Xiao Hongchen's voice trembled with excitement.
"And you were saying he wouldn't?" Huo Yuhao said, looking at the excited captain beside him.
"So all those terrible draws Captain Ma got were just him saving up his luck for this moment!"
Over at Shrek, the result cast a heavy pall over the team. Meanwhile, the students from Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy were in high spirits.
Of course this was a good draw. Meeting Shrek in the quarterfinals meant they could face them in peak condition, since their round-of-sixteen match had taken little out of them. If they met another team in the quarterfinals and semifinals, they would inevitably have to expend some of their strength. The teams that had made it this far probably couldn't beat them, but they could certainly put up a fight.
Yu Rufeng walked toward the team with his arms spread wide. "Kids! This is an opportunity you may only get once in your lives. For you main team members in particular, this may be your only chance to beat Shrek in a tournament!"
The six main team members nodded firmly, battle spirit burning in every one of their eyes.
"And as for you reserve team members, if you win this match, you'll earn the honor of becoming the first in ten thousand years to defeat Shrek. I've also come up with a tactic that will put someone else on the field in the team battle alongside Huo Yuhao."
As everyone looked on curiously, Yu Rufeng named two people:
"Chi Qiu, Xiao Hongchen."
At the sound of his name, Xiao Hongchen chuckled, his familiar, arrogant expression appearing as if he'd known all along that this would happen. Chi Qiu, too, nodded calmly, showing that she accepted the assignment.
Meng Hongchen and Wang Dong both looked a little displeased. Wang Dong spoke first. "Teacher Yu, what about Meng-senior and me?"
She was clever enough to see that Meng Hongchen wasn't happy, so she pulled her into it.
"You just finished the round-robin not long ago. Stay back and recover your strength. If we win, you can compete in the semifinals or the final," Yu Rufeng explained patiently. "Besides, their He Caitou is a Level 4 Soul Engineer, and he'll definitely be in the team battle. Are you confident you can face his Soul Tool Turret without anything going wrong?"
Wang Dong fell silent after his scolding. She did remember He Caitou's Soul Tools.
"Meng Hongchen, you'll be competing in the individual matches," Yu Rufeng said, turning to her. "Your fighting style is better suited to one-on-one combat. No matter how the team battle goes, both of their Soul Emperors will probably compete in the individual matches. Neither of our fighters will have an easy time facing them head-on, but your strength can overcome their force with little effort."
The moment she learned she'd be competing too, Meng Hongchen's displeasure vanished.
"For the team battle, the main team will be Ma Rulong, Lin Xi, Mi Jia, and Chen Fei. Any objections?"
The main team members all said they had none. The four of them were indeed the best combination of offense, defense, and mobility.
"Then that's settled," Yu Rufeng said.
Yu Rufeng planned to go over the specific tactics once they returned to the meeting room. But nobody could wait that long. As soon as the draw ceremony ended, everyone hurried back to the hotel's meeting room, eager to hear how they would take on Shrek.
Just as everyone had taken their seats and they were about to start discussing tactics, someone knocked on the meeting room door.
"Who is it?" Yu Rufeng asked irritably. He wanted to get started on their plans at once.
A pleasant female voice came from outside. "Sorry to bother you. I'm from the Starlight Auction House."
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