Ma Xiaotao nodded and said quietly, "That's right. As you know, before competing, we had to carry out a monitoring mission along the way and wipe out a bandit gang. But we never expected their leader to be an evil soul master skilled at controlling corpses. He refined corpses into weapons and detonated them with a soul skill. Caught completely off guard, the Inner Court disciples suffered heavy casualties."
"Everyone except me was seriously injured. Yao Haoxuan died, Chen Zifeng lost a leg, and Xixi can't continue competing either. Ling Luochеn and Dai Yueheng were badly hurt too, so they won't be able to fight anytime soon. Junior Brother, you've come at just the right time! With you here, Shrek Academy's chances will be much better!" Ma Xiaotao said excitedly. Seeing Jiang Hai was perhaps the best thing that had happened to her over the past few days.
Jiang Hai shook his head. "Sister Xiaotao, I'm sorry, but I probably won't be able to fight alongside you. I'm already the vice-captain of the East Cang Academy team. East Cang Academy is competing in the soul fighting tournament too. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
"East Cang Academy? Junior Brother, you..." Only when Ma Xiaotao saw the words "East Cang" on Jiang Hai's uniform did she realize. She sighed, a little deflated. "Right. You're already strong enough to compete. It only makes sense that you'd go to another academy."
Ma Xiaotao forced a smile and patted Jiang Hai on the shoulder. With a stiff smile, she said, "What kind of academy is East Cang Academy? Why haven't I heard of it before? Junior Brother, you're pretty strong. You haven't gone and joined some obscure team, have you? If your teammates aren't up to scratch, I won't stand for it!"
"My teammates are