The preliminary rounds were halfway through, and the gap between the teams was becoming increasingly apparent.
Among them, Seven Treasures Academy and Shrek Academy were leading far ahead of the rest with undefeated records.
The Four Elements Academies each had wins and losses against one another.
After two defeats, the Elephant Armor Team's performance in subsequent matches had been lackluster, resulting in several consecutive losses and completely losing their chance to advance.
Currently, the Seven Treasures Academy, the Four Elements Academies, and the Shrek Academy—six teams in total—were competing for five spots in the finals.
After losing Feng Xiaotian, the Godwind Team's strength became the weakest among the Four Elements Academies. They weren't even a match for the Shrek Academy.
Feng Changlin was at his wit's end and even approached Feng Xiaotian to ask him to return and help stabilize their chances of advancing.
In the Seven Treasures Academy's rest area, Feng Xiaotian informed everyone of the situation.
Ning Tianchen didn't seem concerned and said casually, "This is something you should decide on your own. However, looking at the schedule, after our match with the Thunderclap Academy, the very next day is the Godwind Team's match against the Thunderclap Team."
"If we can force the Thunderclap Academy to withdraw or miss their match the following day, it would increase the Godwind Academy's chances of advancing."
"Isn't that a bit too extreme?" Everyone was stunned.
They knew he had bad blood with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, but did he really have to be this ruthless?
Chen Huayu tried to smooth things over. "Boss, what you're talking about is the ideal scenario. Vice Captain, the rosters for all teams were submitted before the tournament began. If you go back to help the Godwind Team now, wouldn't that violate the rules?"
Feng Xiaotian awkwardly replied, "Actually, when Grandpa registered me, he put my name as a substitute for the Godwind Team, and it passed the organizing committee's review. So, I am allowed to return and play for them."
"They allow that!?" Everyone was astonished.
Ke Jie cleared his throat and explained, "The tournament rules don't explicitly state that a person can't serve two teams. However, I think Tianchen's idea is more reliable. If you really go help the Godwind Team, people will definitely criticize you."
Feng Xiaotian understood the gravity of the situation and responded, "Then I'll follow Tianchen's advice and go hard on the Thunderclap Team during our match."
"You can reveal the martial soul fusion technique," Ning Tianchen added. "Our trump card tactics aren't just limited to the martial soul fusion technique. Revealing it now won't affect our strategy in the finals."
---
In the afternoon, the match between Shrek Academy and Blazing Academy was about to begin.
"All the strong teams are scheduled in the latter half of Shrek Academy's matches. Watch this match carefully," Ke Jie reminded everyone.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass martial soul didn't have fire immunity, so facing the Blaze Team wouldn't be as smooth as it was in the original timeline.
Ning Tianchen also wanted to see what kind of tactics the Shrek Academy would use.
In the stands, many spectators were rooting for the Shrek Academy.
For the audience, they rarely cared about the conduct issues of the participating teams.
In this world where the strong prey on the weak, admiring the powerful was human nature.
"The Shrek Academy hasn't lost a single match, while the Blaze Academy lost to the Skywater and Seven Treasures teams a few days ago. Clearly, they're no match for them."
"The Shrek Academy is the biggest dark horse of this tournament."
While some praised the Shrek Academy, others criticized them.
"Hmph, the Shrek Academy hasn't faced any strong teams in the first half of the tournament. They struggled against the Elephant Armor Team—a bunch of pushovers. When they face a real powerhouse, they'll probably crumble."
"Pfft, the Elephant Armor Team is nothing but garbage. I thought they had a shot at advancing, but after two losses, they've become utterly useless."
Yu Xiaogang led the Shrek Academy team past the stands and couldn't resist firing back. "The Shrek Academy only fights weak teams? Hmph, whether they're horses or donkeys will be clear after this match. Don't bite your tongues off, everyone."
"The Blazing Academy is nothing but trash," Ma Hongjun arrogantly laughed.
"Shrek Academy, don't get too cocky. First place in the preliminaries isn't yours to take," an audience member angrily remarked.
Tang San coldly replied, "Whether we deserve it or not isn't up to you to decide."
If he could cultivate his Hao Tian Hammer martial soul, he was confident he could go toe-to-toe with the Seven Treasures Team.
But Yu Xiaogang and Tang Hao likely wouldn't let him train the Hao Tian Hammer. Besides, this was just the preliminaries—even if he trained it, he couldn't reveal it yet.
"Why bother arguing with these clowns?" Dai Mubai sneered.
"Xiao San, this match will show everyone the true strength of our Shrek Academy," Yu Xiaogang said confidently, patting Tang San on the shoulder.
Before the match, Tang San had discussed the tactics with him, and Yu Xiaogang was extremely satisfied, which boosted his confidence.
As soon as both teams took the stage, the match began.
In the rest area
Yu Xiaogang was in a great mood. "If the kids can win this match, we can take advantage of the momentum to sell our commemorative uniforms."
"Flender, according to our agreement with the textile workshop, shouldn't they deliver today?"
Flender awkwardly shook his head. "Xiaogang, here's the thing—we ordered regular-priced uniforms, and the order was placed as a low-priority job. The proposed delivery date isn't reliable."
A low-priority order meant that the workshop would only produce their goods if they had no other orders.
The proposed delivery time was the most ideal scenario—meaning no new orders came in while they were producing their batch.
The smile on Yu Xiaogang's face disappeared, and he gradually furrowed his brow. "Flender, what nonsense are you pulling? The preliminaries are already halfway done, and the uniforms still haven't been produced. Are you planning to sell them during the finals?!"
The Shrek Academy had already gained quite a reputation, and after winning this match, their fame would reach new heights.
This was undoubtedly the best time to sell commemorative uniforms.
Flender shrugged. "The academy doesn't have money. If we change it to a rush order, the cost would increase by at least forty percent."
"However, you don't need to worry. The workshop assured me they'd deliver the uniforms a few days before the preliminaries end."
Yu Xiaogang breathed a slight sigh of relief. "After the match ends, go and push them. If it comes to it, pay a little extra to speed up production."
---
This match was evenly matched.
Huo Wushuang's strength was on par with Dai Mubai's, and their battle went back and forth fiercely.
Meanwhile, Tang San completely abandoned using his Blue Silver Grass martial soul and instead relied on hand-to-hand combat to face the Blazing Academy.
During the match, the Blazing Academy assumed that Tang San knew the Blue Silver Grass was vulnerable to fire and chose not to use his martial soul.
However, when there was a flaw in their coordination, Tang San used the Blue Silver Grass to divide the battlefield.
He unleashed countless strands of Blue Silver Grass, preventing the flames from burning through immediately.
Isolated, Huo Wushuang was quickly overwhelmed by Tang San and the others, becoming the first to be eliminated.
With the numerical disadvantage, the Blazing Academy gradually lost the initiative.
Even though they knew they were going to lose, the Blazing Academy still inflicted heavy damage on the Shrek Academy.
In the end, the match ended in a narrow victory for the Shrek Academy.
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