As Bibi Dong finished speaking, everyone's attention turned to the three Soul Master teams that had made it to the finals.
Meanwhile, in Spirit City, within the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire.
As Liu Erlong was pushing the Grandmaster around the courtyard, suddenly, an unfamiliar aura rose up in the Shrek Academy's compound.
Who goes there!?
Liu Erlong was the first to react, his eyes flashing like lightning, and the seven Soul Ring on his body suddenly lit up.
" Erlong, quick, go check if anything has happened!"
The Grandmaster, who had been sitting in the wheelchair, suddenly spoke excitedly to Liu Erlong, saying, "Perhaps someone is deliberately trying to create an accident to prevent us from participating in the finals!"
"But here you are..."
Liu Erlong looked at the Grandmaster with some unease.
The Grandmaster spoke anxiously:
"With such a commotion, the Spirit Hall's patrol team must have arrived. I'm sure everything will be alright here. Go and check it out first!"
"Good!"
After only a slight hesitation, Liu Erlong nodded and headed towards the Shrek Academy's headquarters.
As soon as Liu Erlong's figure disappeared, the Grandmaster's excited expression suddenly subsided, turning into a calm one.
" Erlong, I'm sorry, please wait for me. I promise, I will definitely succeed..."
Elder.
A Soul Master dressed in the Spirit Hall's uniform suddenly appeared in the courtyard. After bowing to the Grandmaster, his shadow suddenly expanded outwards, enveloping the Grandmaster.
Then, the two figures seemed to sink into the water, slowly merging into the shadows.
In just two breaths, the Grandmaster had vanished from the courtyard.
With the Grandmaster absent from the Pope's Palace, the task of arranging the Shrek Devils' preparations for the battle naturally fell to Flender.
Although the area in the Pope's Palace is a very solemn place, apart from the fact that no spectators are allowed, the leaders of each team and academy personnel still need to be present.
After all, it's impossible to really let a bunch of greenhorns fight alone in front of the Pope's Palace.
Flender's gaze swept over Tang San and the others, then shifted from Dai Mubai to Tang San, and he asked:
" Little San, since the Grandmaster is not here, you will have full authority to make the decision."
"Good!"
Tang San nodded, his gaze fixed on the location of the Spirit Hall Academy, a hint of fighting spirit flashing in his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the Spirit Hall Academy's group, Xiao Yan, listening to Xie Yue's words, revealed a hint of disdain and slowly spoke:
"So, this so-called Godwind Academy has agreed to fix the match?"
"It wasn't a fixed match," Xie Yue said earnestly.
"It's just a matter of joining forces to kick Shrek Academy out of the game first."
"When Godwind Academy and Blazing Fire Academy initially planned to merge, it was because they agreed to the Hall's request to unite and prioritize sending Shrek Academy to the loser's bracket during the finals."
Faced with Xie Yue's explanation, Xiao Yan sat in his chair, his brows furrowed slightly, and glanced at Xie Yue:
"I'm the captain, but I don't seem to be clear about this tactic?"
"That's not important." Xie Yue shrugged and said to Xiao Yan:
"This isn't something we can decide; it's a decision made by the hall. Besides, it only guarantees our direct qualification for the winners' bracket, to save us time."
Upon hearing this, a hint of mockery flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. He looked towards the Shrek Academy team and his gaze met Tang San's.
"Since you've made your decision, then so be it. However, I'll decide the order of appearance."
"Okay." Xie Yue was taken aback for a moment, but finally nodded gently.
"In that case, I'll be the first from the Spirit Hall Academy."
Xie Yue was taken aback when she saw Xiao Yan's dark eyes.
"Since you want to play dirty tricks, then defeat me first." Xiao Yan tilted his head slightly, looked at Xie Yue, and said:
"As the captain, you should have this much power, right?"
"Why are you doing this..." Xie Yue sighed and said to Xiao Yan:
Whether you play or not, it won't change the outcome; it will only waste your Soul Power in vain.
"Yeah, right." Xiao Yan nodded, grinning, "But I think since it's the finals for Soul Master, it's better to keep it simple."
Xie Yue fell silent, and a strange look flashed in the eyes of Hu Liena, Han Yueyue, and the others standing to the side.
The way they looked at Xiao Yan now carried a hint of envy, a contrast to their previous astonishment at his talent.
Behind each of them are various forces within the Spirit Hall. They have enjoyed resources since childhood, which destined them to surpass others, but also destined them to be unable to be pure.
"Okay, it's decided then!"
Within the Shrek team, everyone's gaze followed Tang San's eyes to a girl in the corner, a substitute girl selected from among the Shrek Academy students, Jing Ling, who was not yet level 40.
After all, Ning Rongrong and Oscar, all members of the Shrek Seven Devils, are Auxiliary System Soul Master, so it's impossible for them to participate in the individual elimination rounds.
This is an elimination tournament. Each time, one person from each of the three sides will be drawn to compete in a 1-to-1 match. The loser will be replaced, and the winner can continue to fight until the last student in the arena becomes the winners' group and directly participates in tomorrow's championship competition.
The remaining two teams will compete again in the afternoon, with the winner qualifying for tomorrow's championship match.
As each of the three teams selected its first-place participant, a commotion erupted around them.
At the entrance of the Pope's Palace, a row of gilded chairs were placed in front of the Pope's Palace. Bibi Dong sat in the center, with Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin on her left, and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan her right.
The first representative sent by the three academies was none other than Huo Wushuang, the former captain of the Godwind Academy Blazing Fire Academy.
Xiao Yan, Huo Wushuang, Jing Ling!
Of the three, the Shrek team undoubtedly sent the weakest force.
Soon after, the order in which the three players would play was also brought back by Flender' draw.
"We were lucky in the first round, we got a bye, so we can watch Xiao Yan and Huo Wushuang's battle first. And after the battle, no matter who wins, they will both suffer losses, which is good for us."
Although Flender said this, he knew in his heart that Xiao Yan would definitely win between Xiao Yan and Huo Wushuang.
However, Tang San's gaze fell on Xiao Yan, and recalling the glance they had just exchanged, his brows furrowed.
In this kind of individual elimination tournament, Xiao Yan, as the captain of the Spirit Hall Academy, shouldn't be the first to go on stage. After all, as Flender just said, the earlier he goes on stage, the more energy he will expend, even if he wins.
However, as the battle began, the scene of Xiao Yan fighting Huo Wushuang that everyone had imagined did not occur.
" Blazing Fire Academy forfeits this battle!"