After Ji Juechen was carried off the field, Minghuang Academy did not send out another contestant. They decisively forfeited the remaining individual matches.
With both sides having won several rounds, the balance of victory now rested entirely on the upcoming seven-versus-seven team battle.
According to the tournament rules, both teams were granted one hour to rest and recover.
Originally, everyone had believed that after Ji Juechen took Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul Avatar head-on and half his body was burned to charcoal, even if he survived, he would surely lose all ability to fight again.
Yet within Minghuang Academy's rest area, the Nine-Hearted Begonia in Ye Xifei's hand bloomed with countless pale pink-and-white petals.
The Nine-Hearted Begonia was considered the pinnacle of healing Martial Souls on the continent. As long as someone had not drawn their last breath, its tyrannical life essence could forcibly drag them back from death's door.
After only an hour, the charred wounds on Ji Juechen's body had completely scabbed over and fallen away. Dressed in fresh hemp robes, he had returned at full health.
Aside from his Soul Power not yet being fully restored, he looked almost no different from before the battle.
Quite a few high-ranking Soul Masters in the stands watched with twitching eyelids, silently cursing the Nine-Hearted Begonia for being as unreasonable as ever.
At the same time, the tournament organizers were swamped.
The Extreme Fire Ma Xiaotao had unleashed earlier had turned the entire obsidian arena into a boiling pool of molten lava, making cleanup exceptionally difficult.
Dozens of earth- and water-element Soul Masters worked together, spending a full hour before they finally cleared away the blackened ruins and remaining magma.
To prevent the arena from being destroyed again, the Star Luo Empire's royal family specially brought in a custom Black Foundation