The cardinal had just announced the start of the first round of elimination matches when Huo Wushuang turned to the Pope and spoke.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yan naturally won the first round.
Seeing Huo Wushuang, Tang San and Flender frowned immediately.
Huo Wushuang was the original captain of the Blazing Fire Academy, and his strength was basically only below Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu.
Now, they don't even have the desire to fight and have simply given up, which is clearly problematic.
Tang San's gaze met Xiao Yan's again on the stage, then he looked towards the location of the Godwind Academy. He noticed that Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu, and the others didn't dare to look him in the eye. He immediately understood what was happening and his face showed anger.
Just as Jing Ling was about to go on stage, Tang San suddenly spoke up, "Wait a minute!"
Jing Ling turned around in surprise, Tang San looked up in the direction of Pope Bibi Dong and also spoke:
Shrek Academy concedes defeat in this round.
Tang San's words stunned everyone. However, due to the prestige of Tang San and Grandmaster, no one made a move despite their confusion.
As Shrek Academy conceded defeat, the people at the Godwind Academy looked at Xiao Yan on the stage with puzzled expressions, as this did not align with their "cooperation" with the Spirit Hall.
Soon, Godwind Academy sent a second person, who was also a student from the Blazing Fire Academy.
However, just like in the first round, the students from the Godwind Academy immediately forfeited as soon as they entered the arena, and Xiao Yan won another match.
This time, Tang San was completely certain of his thoughts.
A deep anger flashed in his eyes.
In the Shrek Academy, the second person originally scheduled to perform was none other than Tai Long from the Strength Clan!
"What are Spirit Hall Academy and Godwind Academy up to?"
Inside the Shrek Academy, Ma Hongjun scratched his head in confusion and asked, somewhat puzzled.
"They want to unite against us!"
Tang San suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention, and they looked at him with surprise.
"What do you mean by this, Little San?"
Dai Mubai asked in confusion, expressing the same question that everyone was asking.
"If I'm not mistaken, Godwind Academy has probably already secretly reached a cooperation agreement with the Spirit Hall!"
"What!?"
Tang San's words immediately widened the eyes of the Shrek Academy students, their faces filled with disbelief. Their gazes turned towards Xiao Yan on the stage, and then towards the location of the Godwind Academy.
At this moment, the others realized that the people from the Godwind Academy didn't dare to look them in the eye.
This is clearly a sign that the other party is feeling guilty!
"What... what does this mean?"
Ma Hongjun looked puzzled, and Tang San immediately explained to everyone:
"The current situation is probably due to my senior brother's... deliberate alteration."
Otherwise, if Godwind Academy and Spirit Hall Academy were to face off, they would likely concede defeat to each other until... a stronger opponent comes to challenge us.
Upon hearing Tang San's explanation, the Shrek members immediately understood.
However, Dai Mubai's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly amidst the crowd.
After all, wasn't Tang San's statement essentially whitewashing Xiao Yan?
"That's not necessarily true."
Dai Mubai suddenly retorted:
"There might be some cooperation between them, but how can you be sure Xiao Yan would be so kind? Maybe he just wants to gain victory in front of the Pope's Palace in a show of dominance?"
As Dai Mubai finished speaking, the Shrek members paused in surprise.
Tang San didn't offer an explanation, since he couldn't explain or rule out Dai Mubai's claim.
However, Tang San couldn't help but recall their childhood conversations, but alas...
Therefore, there's no point in continuing the competition.
Tang San's gaze swept over everyone, and he spoke:
"Continuing the competition would simply be repeating the same process. Even if we could defeat Xiao Yan using a series of challenges, there would still be other contestants from the Spirit Hall Academy and Godwind Academy after him."
Moreover, after the defeat, the energy we've expended is such that half a day isn't enough to restore us to our peak condition for the qualifying match this afternoon.
" Little San, you mean...?"
Flender's gaze sharpened, and he spoke.
"We're forfeiting the individual elimination rounds to conserve our strength and fight our way through the qualifying matches this afternoon!"
Anger flashed in Tang San's eyes as he spoke:
"If my analysis is correct, after we concede, Godwind Academy will probably concede as well, and the afternoon's match will still be a competition between our two academies!"
"Okay, we'll listen to the Little San. I have no objection."
As Flender finished speaking, the rest of Shrek agreed with Tang San's plan.
Immediately, Tang San faced Pope Bibi Dong and spoke:
" Your His Holiness the Pope, Shrek Academy has voluntarily conceded defeat in this morning's individual elimination rounds and has chosen to participate in this afternoon's elimination tournament."
As Tang San finished speaking, the arena fell silent, and then everyone's eyes fell on him.
The bizarre scene in the elimination round had already sparked much discussion, and some, like Tang San, realized that it was a collaboration between the Godwind Academy and the Spirit Hall.
However, no one expected that Shrek Academy would choose to concede defeat directly, flipping the table and denying either side a chance to retaliate.
"Granted."
Bibi Dong paused for a moment before speaking.
As expected, following Shrek Academy's concesion, Godwind Academy immediately spoke up as well:
"The Spirit Hall Academy team is incredibly strong, and the Godwind Academy knows they are no match. Rather than wasting energy and weakening their strength in a direct confrontation, they'd rather compete against the Shrek Academy this afternoon for the other final spot. Therefore, we're also forfeiting the individual competition!"
His impeccable explanation subtly clarified why Godwind Academy conceded defeat, seemingly indicating that it wasn't directed at the Shrek Academy at all.
However, it's obvious to anyone with eyes to see that this is just an excuse from the Godwind Academy.
The dramatic turn of events caught everyone off guard.
However, the result was that Spirit Hall Academy won without a fight and advanced to the finals on the second day, securing one of the spots in the championship race.
Having abstained, the Shrek Academy students did not linger any longer.
Led by Flender, the group turned and left the Spirit Hall, remaining silent throughout the journey.
After all, what they are facing now is the combined forces of the Spirit Hall Academy and Godwind Academy.
However, when they returned to the Shrek Academy, Flender's expression immediately changed.
" Sister Erlong, what's wrong?"
Everyone looked over at the sound and saw Liu Erlong sitting on the threshold of Shrek's camp, her face ashen, hugging her legs, with Sisi tears on her face.
" Boss Fu... Xiao Gang... Xiao Gang is gone..."
Upon hearing Liu Erlong's words, everyone was shocked, and Tang San's heart clenched, a look of disbelief appearing on his face.