When June arrived, Suotuo City fully entered summer.
The old locust trees at Shrek Academy had already grown thick with shade. Cicadas chirped without pause from dawn to dusk, while the sun baked a layer of steaming grass-scented heat from the field's lawn.
The increased training intensity left everyone's school uniforms soaked, dried, then soaked again. Ma Hongjun simply took off his shirt and trained bare-chested, only reluctantly putting it back on after Flender gave him a scolding.
But aside from training, there was something else that Flender had been especially concerned about lately.
"I have some news to share today." Flender stood at the cafeteria entrance, holding a letter. His expression was more serious than usual.
"The review of our Elite Tournament eligibility has arrived. According to the rules, every participating team must submit its official roster one month before the competition. The students listed must pass Spirit Hall's official qualification verification."
"Verification? How will they verify it?" Ning Rongrong put down her chopsticks.
"Spirit Hall will send people to test each academy on-site," Flender said. "They'll confirm everyone's Soul Power Level, the number and quality of their soul rings, and prevent some academies from falsifying information or using impostors. Although this process won't have any real impact on us, I need to let you know in advance so you can prepare yourselves. They'll probably arrive in about half a month."
Zhao Wuji added, "Spirit Hall sends people around to participating academies at this time every year to verify their eligibility. It's standard procedure. There's nothing to worry about."
But Yun Tian caught the faint, almost imperceptible gravity in Flender's tone.
He looked up at the dean. Flender happened to look back at him, and their gazes met for an instant. Flender gave a slight shake of his head,