Heaven Dou's Viscount

After the final match of the Preliminary Tournament ended, Shrek's seven members could not leave the arena immediately.

An awards platform had been erected in front of the central stage, and the five qualifying teams stepped onto it in turn. Shrek stood at the front, with Divine Wind, Thunderclap, Heavenly Water, and Blazing Fire behind them.

Every team had changed out of the uniforms damaged during their matches. Feng Xiaotian's right Wolf Wing had been injured in the previous battle, and his arm was still wrapped in bandages. Once in position, he tipped his chin at Yuan Yu, reminding him not to forget their promised match in the Promotion Tournament.

Yuan Yu gave him a reassuring gesture.

Huo Wu stood right beside Feng Xiaotian. Seeing their little exchange, she turned her face away outright. Shui Yue'er was much more open, waving at Yuan Yu across another team. She even wanted to ask whether his Myriad Phenomena True Body had recovered, but Shui Bing'er pulled her back into place.

The awards platform looked suitably formal, but with all five teams standing together, the tension left over from the arena still lingered.

While straightening his uniform, Ma Hongjun quietly asked Oscar, "How many Gold Soul Coins does first place get?"

"You've asked three times already."

"I'm afraid they'll shortchange us."

Standing behind them, Flender nodded repeatedly as he listened. Liu Erlong caught his expression and planted her foot on his shoe, lest the Dean go up and audit the accounts in front of everyone.

Xue Ye descended from the VIP stands, with Ning Fengzhi and Salas flanking him.

After the five qualification tokens and the prize money had been handed to each team's representative, Xue Ye did not immediately end the ceremony.

His gaze swept over the ten captains and vice-captains as