Three days later, the final match of the Soul Master Tournament's Grand Finals officially began.
Warm sunlight bathed the earth. Beneath its golden rays, the Pope Palace looked all the more resplendent, radiating grandeur.
Before the Pope Palace, the Palace Guard Knights stood in armor with longswords in hand, lending the entire palace an even more imposing air.
Under the usual rules, teams eliminated from the Grand Finals should already have left. After all, only the top three teams—the young powerhouses selected through the Grand Finals—had the right to stand before the Pope Palace.
However, the Spirit Hall was the only organizer with any real authority over this Soul Master Tournament, and it had deliberately let Shrek into the top three, so that rule had simply been scrapped.
Now, every team that had come to Spirit City for the Grand Finals could gather before the Pope Palace to watch the final match.
At the first light of dawn, the three teams that had advanced—the Super Beast Team, the Golden Team, and the Shrek Team—were already waiting before the Pope Palace.
After all, the Super Beast Team and the Golden Team both belonged to the Spirit Hall, so naturally, they would not arrive too late for an occasion like this. As for the Shrek Team, they had come entirely for the prizes.
Besides, what if the Spirit Hall played dirty and announced the start of the match first thing in the morning?
Wouldn't Shrek lose its right to compete if it arrived late?
The other participating teams—the Skywater Team, the Blazing Fire Team, the Godwind Team, the Evil God Team, the Star Luo Team, and the rest that had been eliminated in earlier matches—waited around the perimeter alongside several of Shrek's teachers.
The top three teams all stood in the square,