Spirit Hall's Hidden Agenda
"If it weren't for the locked-room incident, Qian Xunji could be considered a perfect man. He had a high status, great strength, and was very dedicated to training his disciples. He also enjoyed high prestige among the common people, after all, the Spirit Hall gave commoners free Martial Soul awakening. The fact that Qian Xunji didn't absorb this head-shaped intelligence Soul Bone, which was over 50,000 years old, was clearly meant for Bibi Dong. I'm afraid that arresting Ah Yin was also for Bibi Dong's sake."
"The culprit of the entire Douluo Continent should be Tang Hao. He's powerful, has a powerful background, and is surrounded by young and beautiful female Soul Master, yet he insists on falling for a Soul Beast. It was one thing to not know Ah Yin's Clear Sky Sect at first, but even after finding out, he remained obstinate. Normally, liking someone is a personal freedom. But to cause the death of his own father and implicate the entire sect is going too far. His selfishness has harmed so many people, even affecting the four loyal affiliated clans of the Clear Sky Sect. Even Tang San's birth directly changed the entire landscape of the Douluo Continent. Countless Soul Master and commoners have died because of Tang Hao; his crimes are unforgivable."
Bibi Dong said calmly, "There can only be one winner, and the same goes for the champion. Therefore, these three Soul Bones will belong to the final champion team. I hope your three academies will give their all and win this honor."
After the three Soul Bone appeared, the fighting spirit of the twenty-one young Soul Master on the field burst forth, and their eyes shone brightly.
Bibi Dong continued, "This morning, each of your three teams will compete in Individual Elimination Round with seven players. The team that remains will have an advantage. Tomorrow, the championship match will begin directly. The two losing teams will compete for the other spot in the afternoon. Now, you can send out your first player."
The Individual Elimination Round and Promotion Round are the same, but three teams participate together. Although this is not the final championship match, it is equally important.
A row of gilded chairs was placed in front of the Papal Hall. Pope Bibi Dong sat in the center, gesturing for the other four people beside her to take their seats. Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin sat to Bibi Dong's left, while Yue Guan and Gui Mei sat to her right.
Each of the three schools sent out its first player. Blazing Fire Academy sent out its captain, Huo Wushuang. Spirit Hall sent out a Soul Master in the forties. Shrek Academy, because two of its members were support Soul Master, added two substitutes, and Jing Ling, as one of the substitutes, was sent out first.
The draw was conducted by participants from the three academies to determine which two academies would face off in the first match, with the winners continuing the battle, and so on.
Jing Ling from the Shrek Academy was very lucky; she got a bye.
The fact that they received a bye in the first round means that the Shrek Academy team members can go out later, allowing them to better observe the strength of their opponents. Moreover, they will be facing opponents who have already exhausted their Soul Power, which will greatly increase their chances of winning.
After the draw, something unexpected happened. Just as Huo Wushuang and the members of the Spirit Hall Team stepped onto the competition field, the Spirit Hall member suddenly bowed deeply towards Pope Bibi Dong and said, "Your His Holiness the Pope, I forfeit this match."
Everyone present was shocked; no one had expected that the members of the Spirit Hall Team would forfeit.
The students of the Blazing Fire Academy were all overjoyed.
This incident stemmed from a message sent by the Spirit Hall the previous night, proposing a collaboration with the Blazing Fire Academy to set a trap for Shrek Academy Team. Blazing Fire Academy naturally agreed with delight, as it seemed to be entirely beneficial.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the Red-Clothed Cardinal in charge of the referee immediately declared Huo Wushuang the winner of the first match.
In the second match, Huo Wushuang from the Blazing Fire Academy Team faced off against Jing Ling from the Shrek Academy Team.
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang of the Shrek Academy frowned, as if he was thinking about something.
Just as Jing Ling entered the arena and was about to fight Huo Wushuang, Yu Xiaogang's voice suddenly rang out.
"Please wait a moment."
Just as the referee was about to speak to Yu Xiaogang, Pope Bibi Dong raised her hand to stop him.
Pope Bibi Dong said calmly, "Please state your reasons."
Yu Xiaogang sneered, "My reason is that Shrek Academy forfeited the first half of the Grand Finals and voluntarily entered the Losers' Group Final this afternoon."
Yu Xiaogang's decision shocked everyone present; none of the students from the Blazing Fire Academy had expected it.
Bibi Dong asked, "Why?"
Yu Xiaogang put his hands behind his back, looked at Bibi Dong, and said, "For no reason other than admitting defeat is our right."
Bibi Dong slowly stood up, nodded, and said, "You're right, it is indeed your right. I apologize for asking. Elder Yu Xiaogang."
Bibi Dong's words surprised everyone present, including Yu Xiaogang himself.
"Bibi Dong publicly addressed Yu Xiaogang as Elder in front of the Spirit Hall members and numerous Soul Masters, clearly to protect him. In this way, even if Yu Xiaogang offended Pope Bibi Dong, it wouldn't be a big deal. At the same time, the others in the Spirit Hall wouldn't retaliate against Yu Xiaogang in private. Bibi Dong really went to great lengths. It seems that Yu Xiaogang cannot be killed until his strength is sufficient to contend with Bibi Dong," Huo Lei secretly calculated to himself.
At this moment, Liu Erlong put her arm around Yu Xiaogang's arm and looked up at Bibi Dong, seemingly in a show of defiance.
Huo Lei looked specifically at Bibi Dong, wanting to see her reaction. He noticed that Bibi Dong's eyes flickered for a moment, but returned to normal in an instant.
Bibi Dong said, "Since Shrek Academy has forfeited the competition, then the Spirit Hall Academy and Blazing Fire Academy will have an individual competition."
Just then, Xie Chong, the teacher leading the Blazing Fire Academy, stood up from his seat, bowed to Bibi Dong, and smiled, saying, "Rather than lowering our strength in a fight, it would be better to compete with the Shrek Academy for another spot in the finals this afternoon. Therefore, we also forfeit. We're giving up on this individual competition."
The first half of the Grand Finals was over before any games were played.
The Blazing Fire Academy team didn't linger and quickly left under Xie Chong's leadership. That afternoon, they would compete against the Shrek Academy for a spot in the final round.
Back at their lodgings, Xie Chong led everyone to his room.
Xie Chong smiled at everyone and said, "Although Yu Xiaogang from the Shrek Academy isn't very strong, he has a sharp eye. I didn't expect him to spot the problem so early in the Individual Elimination Round. But so far, this result isn't bad. At least we didn't suffer any losses, and we can unleash our strongest fighting power this afternoon. The Shrek Academy Team is definitely much stronger than it was in the Preliminary Round, so we need to revise our battle plan. Huo Lei, why don't you share your thoughts first?"
Huo Lei's gaze swept over the crowd. "I already used my Mental Control ability on Tang San during the Promotion Round, so they must be on guard. Therefore, I devised a new combat method to deal with the seven from the Shrek Academy."
"As everyone knows, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing can use Martial Soul Fusion Skill, so we need to separate them from the start. We also need to take out the two support characters from the Shrek Academy as soon as possible."
"My strategy is this: Huo Yun and Huo Yu will take care of the enemy's two support characters, with Huo Jun supporting the two brothers immediately. Huo Wushuang will distract Xiao Wu. Feng Xiaotian will deal with Ma Hongjun; Feng Xiaotian can not only fly but is also a wind-attribute character, giving him an advantage over our fire-attribute characters. Huo Wu will hold off Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing to buy time. I will deal with Tang San."