As the team members arrived at their assigned venues, their mentors led them to draw lots to determine the order and opponents for the competition.
The Shrek Academy group sat in their designated spots, and Oscar and his companions couldn't help but look around. Soon, they spotted several participating teams from the Star Luo Empire.
"Strange, apart from the Soul Master teams of the two great empires, I don't seem to see any teams from the Spirit Hall here."
Ma Hongjun's small eyes scanned the entire scene, but he couldn't find any trace of Xiao Yan in their intelligence reports, so he asked with some confusion.
Upon hearing Ma Hongjun's words, Dai Mubai was sitting in front of Ma Hongjun, stiffened slightly, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes.
In the past few days, he has tried his best to avoid mentioning Xiao Yan's name.
But ever since they learned about Xiao Yan, the others have been talking about him every day, which makes Dai Mubai increasingly angry.
"Since they're a seeded team from the Spirit Hall, they should have a designated rest area, right? After all, that's their home-field advantage."
Tang San chimed in from the side:
"We'll meet again someday..."
The order of the matches is out.
Just then, Flender returned to the Shrek Academy, a strange smile on his face, and said to the group:
"Good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?"
Hearing Flender's words, the Shrek Seven Devils exchanged glances, Dai Mubai spoke first:
"Dean, could you please tell me the bad news first?"
"The bad news is, your team is from the Blazing Fire Academy."
"Hiss~"
Upon hearing that their first-round opponent was Blazing Fire Academy, the rest of the Shrek members showed a hint of shock on their faces.
Blazing Fire Academy is one of the strongest teams in the Heaven Dou Empire region, and since the previous qualifying rounds, the people of the Blazing Fire Academy have specifically researched ways to deal with Tang San's "fire immunity".
Moreover, after the other two members of the Blazing Fire Academy broke through to level 40, their strength increased dramatically, making them almost on par with the Godwind Academy and a top-tier team in the Heaven Dou Empire!
"I didn't expect to run into such a tough opponent in the first round..."
Zhou Yi, a newcomer to the Shrek Seven Devils, couldn't help but sigh. Xiao Wu, standing beside him, pumped her fist, encouraging everyone:
"What are you afraid of? No matter what kind of bones they have, smash them all to pieces!"
Tang San, noticing the strange smile on Flender's face, continued to ask:
"Dean, stop keeping us in suspense and tell us what the other good news is?"
"Hahaha, you rascal."
Flender smiled and pointed at Tang San before explaining to everyone:
"The good news is that Blazing Fire Academy has forfeited, so we advance directly."
"Ah!?"
"Abstain directly?"
Hearing Flender's words, the Shrek members were shocked. Ma Hongjun even leaned close to Flender and asked in an exaggerated manner:
"Dean, you must be mistaken."
"Yes." Dai Mubai also looked puzzled and said:
" Blazing Fire Academy isn't weak, and they expended so much effort in the qualifying rounds to make it to the finals, why would they forfeit now?"
Seeing everyone's expressions, Flender helplessly shrugged, indicating he didn't understand, but still addressed the crowd:
"I have verified it carefully. Although I don't know why Blazing Fire Academy chose to forfeit, we advanced directly."
That's good. You guys can conserve some of your strength. The later the finals go, the tougher the opponents will be.
Shrek's opponent, Blazing Fire Academy, forfeited, so Shrek Academy naturally advanced with a bye, watching the match like spectators.
The teams that have now entered the finals are those that advanced from the qualifying rounds between the two great powers.
However, the skill levels were also uneven, with many teams even having members who were Soul Grandmaster, making the whole competition quite boring.
"So this is the finals? It's nothing special."
Ma Hongjun spoke arrogantly, Dai Mubai, standing to the side, stepped forward to explain:
"After all, these are teams from different regions of the two great empires, so it's normal for their strengths to differ."
While the Shrek group was chatting, on the towering platform in front of the Pope's Palace directly in front of the venue...
Xiao Yan and Zhu Zhuqing stood at the edge of the platform. Even though they were far apart, Xiao Yan's gaze remained firmly fixed on the location of the Shrek members.
However, at this moment, the Shrek team only consisted of Flender and the Shrek members who were participating in the competition.
Neither the Grandmaster nor Liu Erlong were present.
Zhu Zhuqing stood beside Xiao Yan, her gaze also falling on Dai Mubai, her eyes revealing a hint of coldness.
"Hey, Captain, it's time to go."
Not far behind Xiao Yan and Zhu Zhuqing, Han Yueyue's voice rang out. Xie Yue and the others stood not far away, watching the two of them and waiting for them.
"Although we were ranked quite late in the competition, watching from here is still not as interesting as watching live."
Although the six months spent in the Supreme Secret Realm were not enough to integrate the entire team into a cohesive unit.
However, even Xie Yue and Hu Liena realized how terrifying Xiao Yan's strength was.
Therefore, no one has any objection to Xiao Yan's position as "captain," as it was earned through the opponent's hard-won victory.
When Han Yueyue spoke from behind, Xiao Yan keenly noticed that the Shrek students suddenly became very excited. Xiao Yan's gaze swept over the two teams on the field:
" Heaven Dou Empire's Godwind Academy versus Star Luo Empire's Nightshade Academy."
Xiao Yan didn't pay much attention, turned around and led the Spirit Hall team slowly towards the competition venue.
What's going on?
Ning Rongrong tilted her head, looking puzzled. The same expression on her face was shared by the teams from the Heaven Dou Empire, all from the Shrek Academy.
All eyes turned to the several figures within the Godwind Academy.
The people from the Heaven Dou Empire region knew that these four figures were the top experts from the Blazing Fire Academy who had previously forfeited!
And now, the other party has appeared in the Godwind Academy's team.
"I'll go ask the organizing committee right away."
Flender made a quick decision and walked towards the back.
The uproar below had no effect on those who went on stage. The seven members of the newly reorganized Godwind Academy who went to fight had all reached the Soul Ancestor realm or above.
The entire match was a complete one-sided massacre!
Many academies protested against the Blazing Fire Academy and Godwind Academy for exploiting loopholes in the rules, but the changes were made before the list was submitted.
Moreover, the participants were not changed, only the college was changed, which is essentially a loophole in the rules, so the organizing committee firmly rejected everyone's protest.
As for the Heaven Dou Empire, the combined Godwind Academy might even achieve better rankings, so they were naturally happy to see it happen and wouldn't risk a falling out with the Spirit Hall over such a trivial matter.
As the matches progressed, the final ten teams were quickly determined, and the Shrek Team faced their second opponent.
In the next match, Shrek Academy will face off against the Star Luo Empire Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy, the seeded team selected by the Star Luo Empire.
Meanwhile, another match announced on the list also caused a stir:
" Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy versus Heaven Dou Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy!"
The early clash between the two seeded teams seemed to indirectly prove to everyone that the finals were absolutely fair!