The series of defeats also led to Tang San's authority at Shrek and his fame in the tournament not being as great as in the original novel.
The most eye-catching were Zhu Zhuqing and Oscar.
Zhu Zhuqing repeatedly relied on her unpredictable speed and sharp claws to eliminate key control and support abilities of her opponents, and even suppressed all Agility Attack System opponents. This earned her the title of the strongest Agility Attack System Soul Master in this competition, and this was all without her revealing the strength of her Soul Bone.
Oscar also excelled, with his Sausage being the most helpful in team battles. Whether it was the Recovery Sausage, the Detoxification Sausage, or the flight skill, they were all very practical.
Moreover, Oscar won't be a burden to his teammates. Relying on his physical resilience and agility, he can also outmaneuver other Soul Master, buying time for his teammates while drawing fire and reducing their burden, achieving a surprise effect.
The least favored member is Ma Hongjun. His Soul Power is the lowest in the team, and he rarely appears. It can be said that he has been squeezed out of the main position of the Power Attack System by Tai Long. He only has the opportunity to appear when his fire attribute is needed.
Ning Rongrong hasn't even appeared in the preliminaries yet. But all of this is Grandmaster Yu's arrangement, since she's fearless and usually at odds with Grandmaster Yu.
Before the preliminary rounds began, Grandmaster Yu wanted Ning Rongrong to pass on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's " Heart Separation Control Secret Method " to Tang San.
In this timeline, Ning Rongrong did not feel grateful to Tang San for the ' Aromatic Silk Beauty '. At most, her relationship with Tang San was that of classmates and friends, with some business dealings related to Hidden Weapon.
Therefore, Ning Rongrong decisively rejected Grandmaster Yu's request on the grounds that "secret techniques of the sect cannot be passed on to outsiders," which made the relationship between Ning Rongrong and Grandmaster Yu even more strained, and it is not surprising that she was sidelined.
Of course, Grandmaster Yu's reason was to hide their strength and preserve the team's last trump card. They would never reveal their full core strength until the finals. Therefore, Ning Rongrong, the ace support player, was thus sidelined throughout the entire qualifiers.
Ning Rongrong herself didn't care. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was recognized as the number one Auxiliary System Martial Soul in the world. She didn't need to prove anything through the Soul Master Tournament. She could just focus on cultivating.
Thunder Academy ultimately won the preliminary championship. Behind the Thunder Academy is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, whose overall strength is extremely powerful. Although its captain, Yu Tianxin, is slightly inferior to his cousin Yu Tianheng, he has a deeper Soul Power Level due to his advantage of being three years older.
Thunder Academy achieved an outstanding record of 25 wins in 26 matches, losing only once to the Godwind Academy.
Godwind Academy finished as runner-up with a record of 24 wins out of 26 matches.
Of the two matches they lost, one was against the Blazing Fire Academy. Feng Xiaotian didn't want to see Huo Wu lose and be heartbroken, so with the entire team deliberately throwing the game, Godwind Academy simply lost. He really showed his sycophantic side to the fullest.
The other match was the final battle against Shrek Academy.
The third place is Skywater Academy, with a record of 24 wins out of 26 matches. However, Skywater Academy lost one match to the Godwind Academy Skywater Academy, so its ranking is lower.
Fourth place went to the Blazing Fire Academy, with a record of 23 wins out of 26 battles. Although they won against the Godwind Academy and Shrek Academy, they suffered consecutive defeats against Thunder, Skywater, and Elephant Armor Academy. The defeat to the Elephant Armor Academy was particularly surprising.
Shrek Academy came in fifth with a record of 22 wins out of 26 matches, narrowly qualifying for the finals.
Meanwhile, Elephant Armor Academy, also one of the Five Elements Academy, only achieved a record of 21 wins out of 26 matches, ranking sixth and failing to qualify for the finals.
After the preliminary rounds, there is a one-month rest period before the qualifying rounds. Each college can use this month to rest, adjust their condition, and prepare for the qualifying rounds a month later.
The intense competition over the past month has benefited everyone to varying degrees, providing a good opportunity to break through bottlenecks.
At this moment, in Heaven Dou City, the magnificent Platinum Bishop's office, spanning over two hundred square meters, is filled with various treasures.
Salas sat behind that extravagantly large desk, with a file in front of him—files transferred from Nuoding City.
It must be said that the Spirit Hall was very efficient. In just one month, like finding a needle in a haystack, they found the required file from the Spirit Hall registration files in various cities.
Salas had already looked at this file seven times, but he still couldn't quite believe what he was seeing was real.
The file placed in front of Salas was the information of a Soul Master Soul Master named Tang San.
When the preliminary rounds began, Salas started collecting information on all the participating team members. It wasn't until Tang San revealed his Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, yesterday that Salas truly began to pay attention to Tang San.
The information is very detailed, from Tang San's first registration at the Spirit Hall to confirm his identity Soul Master, to every time Tang San received Soul Master subsidy and every time he added Soul Ring, every detail is included.
What kind of Soul Ring he obtained, or what level of Soul Power he possessed, were not the reasons why Salas looked at the information seven times. The reason Salas read it so many times was simply because he was looking at that one number—the number representing his age.
Fourteen years old, only fourteen years old. There are still a few months until he turns fifteen. Soul Ancestor of level forty or above. A fourteen-year-old Soul Ancestor. Moreover, he has Twin Martial Souls, and his Second Martial Soul is the Clear Sky Hammer.
Salas slapped his forehead; he really didn't want to believe it was real.
Salas picked up a pen and quickly wrote a letter. The envelope bore five words: Top Secret, To the Pope.
In the Far North, halfway up a mountain surrounded by cedar trees, inside the cave where Tang Feng is located.
The pine branches in the clay stove crackled and popped as they burned, and the white steam spouting from the copper kettle condensed into tiny ice beads in the cool air, tinkling and falling onto the stone table.
Beside them, Tang Lie and his grandson Tang Feng were still playing chess as usual.
"Checkmate! Hahaha! Feng'er, are you convinced now?" Tang Lie immediately threw away the chess piece in his hand, laughed loudly, leaned back, and almost fell backward.
Tang Lie's weathered face was filled with smugness in every wrinkle, making him look like an old rascal who had finally won a game against his grandson.
Tang Feng pursed his lips, tossed the remaining red pieces onto the chessboard, and made a gesture of conceding defeat. "Grandpa is indeed exceptionally talented. You won five out of nine games today, so you win!"
But in his heart, Tang Feng was cursing. "This old man, he takes back his moves seven or eight times in one game. He's practically memorized the phrase 'no take-backs after a move'. I'm too embarrassed to call him out on it."
Tang Lie didn't care what his grandson was thinking. He straightened up, stroked his beard, and laughed until his eyes narrowed into slits, "Hahaha, I won anyway. Chess is all about adapting to changing circumstances, and you're still too green, kid."
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right." Tang Feng stood up, stretched his shoulders which had gone numb from sitting for so long, and glanced at the cave where he had lived for almost four months.
The stone wall was covered with chessboard marks, the wind chimes at the cave entrance jingled, and there stood a dozen or so snowmen of various shapes. "Now that Grandpa has won, we should pack up and get ready to leave."
"Leave?" Tang Lie was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant, and a hint of reluctance flashed across his face.
Tang Lie patted the stone table, then looked at the snowmen that had kept him company through more than a hundred long nights, and said, "You're leaving already? I've only just begun to grasp the basics of chess, and I still have several new moves in mind. I haven't won enough yet."
"If you stay any longer, you might just master the 'Eighteen Styles of Reversing a Move'," Tang Feng muttered to himself. He walked to the cave entrance, the wind whipping snowflakes against his face. "We've completely controlled our killing intent, and our cultivation levels are stable. It's time to leave!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Lie nodded in agreement, stood up, stretched, and his bones cracked as he said, "Alright, alright, considering your commendable filial piety, I'll reluctantly... lose a few less games to you!"
"Yes, yes, you're invincible." Tang Feng shook his head helplessly, but a smile appeared on his lips. "However, before going back, I'd like to make one more trip to the Slaughter City."
"Oh?" Tang Lie, who was tidying up the chessboard, paused upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashing in his bronze eyes. "Why go to that hellish place again? We've already traversed Hell Road, do you still miss Bloody Mary from there?"