Time flew by, and in just over half a month, the final round of the qualifiers arrived.
At Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, the last match of the last round was about to take place.
On the competition stage, the referee scanned both teams before announcing loudly, "Round 27 of the qualifiers: Shrek Academy versus Canghui Academy! Both teams, salute, release your martial souls, and the match will begin in one minute."
After both teams finished saluting, in an instant, beast souls possessed their users, tool souls manifested, and yellow, purple, and black soul rings shone brightly across the stage.
"Xiao Wu, follow the plan," Tang San whispered to Xiao Wu, who stood at the front of their formation.
Xiao Wu didn't reply but simply nodded, making an 'OK' hand gesture.
This match was crucial for both Shrek Academy and Canghui Academy.
Both teams had forfeited their matches against Blazing Academy, Skywater Academy, and Divine Wind Academy.
After all, these three teams had five-ring Soul Kings, and all their main members were above level 40, making victory impossible.
Rather than getting beaten up on stage, it was better to concede and face the next battle in top condition.
Against the remaining two teams of the Five Elemental Academies—Thunderclap Academy and Elephant Armored Academy—Shrek Academy had secured victory against Elephant Armored Academy through their Nether White Tiger fusion ability and seamless teamwork. Similarly, Canghui Academy had defeated Elephant Armored Academy with their Seven-in-One Soul Fusion Technique. However, both teams had lost to Thunderclap Academy.
Before Mu Yang's unexpected rise, Thunderclap Academy was either the strongest or the second-strongest among the Five Elemental Academies.
In past Soul Master Tournaments, Thunderclap Academy had an even higher chance of becoming the top-ranked elemental academy than Divine Wind Academy. Although their current Thunderclap team had no five-ring competitors, their strength remained formidable.
Even Shrek Academy's Nether White Tiger, which could rival a level-50 Battle Soul Master, was completely held back by Yu Tianxin, who had activated the 'Dragon Transformation' secret technique. Ultimately, Shrek Academy lost due to their overall weaker team strength.
As for Canghui Academy, while their Seven-in-One Soul Fusion Technique was indeed powerful, its flaw was too obvious. The moment the match began, Thunderclap Academy disrupted their formation before they could execute the technique, easily securing victory.
After 26 rounds of matches, both Shrek Academy and Canghui Academy had identical records: 26 matches, 22 wins, and 4 losses.
Thus, the outcome of this 27th and final round was critical for both teams.
Victory would secure them one of the five qualifying spots for the next stage—the ranking tournament and finals—while defeat would mark the end of their Soul Master Tournament journey.
"Mu Yang, who do you think will win?"
From the stands, Shui Bing'er asked Mu Yang.
"Shrek. Canghui's weakness is too obvious."
Mu Yang answered without hesitation.
Because of the large number of participants, Canghui Academy's Seven-in-One Soul Fusion Technique required a fixed formation to activate, making it inflexible. At the start of the match, any quick-cast ranged attack or control ability could easily disrupt their formation, preventing them from executing their fusion technique.
More importantly, even if they managed to activate the technique, Tang San could still break it.
Although compared to the original story, Tang San's spiritual power was significantly weaker due to not consuming the Autumn Water Dew, he had trained in Purple Demon Eye since childhood. Even without the Autumn Water Dew, his spiritual power was at least on par with elite five-ring Soul Kings. Breaking Canghui Academy's spiritual-type Soul Fusion Technique wouldn't be a problem for him.
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er nodded in agreement.
For her, dealing with Canghui Academy was ridiculously easy.
She could just unleash an ice-sealing soul skill at the start, restricting any one of their members, instantly disrupting their Soul Fusion Technique. Without it, Canghui's lineup of one Soul Ancestor and six Soul Elders was barely stronger than some random no-name academy team.
"By the way, Mu Yang, in the ranking tournament, you won't go easy on us again, right?"
Suddenly, Shui Bing'er looked at Mu Yang seriously.
A few days ago, after the day's matches concluded and the lottery results were announced, Mu Yang had directly forfeited on behalf of Blazing Academy as their team captain.
With Blazing Academy's forfeit, Skywater Academy advanced without a fight. After today's first match, Skywater Academy finished the qualifiers with a perfect record of 27 wins and 0 losses, taking first place.
Blazing Academy, with 26 wins and 1 loss, ranked second. Third place went to Divine Wind Academy, with 25 wins and 2 losses, followed by Thunderclap Academy in fourth with 24 wins and 3 losses.
Now, Shrek Academy and Canghui Academy, both with 22 wins and 4 losses, were competing for the fifth and final qualifying spot.
As for Elephant Armored Academy...?
Despite being one of the Five Elemental Academies, Elephant Armored Academy had suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of Canghui and Shrek, ultimately finishing seventh with a record of 27 matches, 21 wins, and 6 losses.
In terms of team strength, this year's Elephant Armored team was among the weakest in the academy's history.
However, judging by their results alone, this year's Elephant Armored team was also one of the worst in the academy's history.
The reason it was one of the worst and not the worst was that Elephant Armored Academy had placed seventh in the Heaven Dou division's qualifiers before. But seventh was the lowest they had ever ranked—they had never fallen to eighth place.
"No, as the saying goes, once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but thrice is unacceptable. When we meet in the finals, let's have a proper battle," Mu Yang said, shaking his head.
Since Skywater Academy's team was composed entirely of girls, no one in Blazing Academy had objected when he, as their captain, decided to forfeit.
After all, Blazing Academy and Skywater Academy had a good relationship. Moreover, since their opponents were all girls, as long as this concession didn't affect their chances of winning the championship, there was no issue with letting them have the top spot in the qualifiers.
Seeing Mu Yang's firm stance and his continued intent to concede matches in the ranking tournament, Shui Bing'er made a decision.
If it were a 7v7 team battle, Skywater Academy still had a chance to win. However, in the ranking tournament, there was absolutely no way for them to win.
In a team battle, she and Xue Wu could activate their Martial Soul Fusion Technique: Snow Dance in Ice.
With their soul power levels, the fusion technique could unleash power rivaling a seven-ring Soul Sage. If Mu Yang refrained from using his spiritual abilities, Blazing Academy would likely struggle to withstand it.
But the ranking tournament followed an individual battle format. This meant that Snow Dance in Ice would be completely useless. Without their fusion technique, even Shui Bing'er herself couldn't defeat Mu Yang. If they actually fought, Mu Yang alone could single-handedly defeat the entire Skywater team.
Since Skywater Academy had a chance of winning a team battle, Shui Bing'er could accept Blazing Academy forfeiting.
However, since they had absolutely no chance of winning the individual battles, she couldn't accept Blazing Academy conceding again.
The ones who should be surrendering in the ranking tournament were Skywater Academy, not Blazing Academy.
Moreover, repeatedly making Mu Yang's team forfeit wasn't a good thing.
Once was enough—there shouldn't be a second time. After all, Blazing Academy wasn't just about Mu Yang alone.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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