The three Yaoyang Academy contestants, aiming to execute their 'self-detonation' tactic, actively closed the distance between themselves and Wang Nan's trio. By this point, they were also affected by the explosion's damage, making it impossible for them to resist.
Wang Nan's trio employed their own methods, and in a short while, the three contestants who had actively charged forward were sent off the competition stage by the referee.
After the first wave of spirit tool attacks ended, Ling Luochen, positioned at the rear of the Shrek Academy formation, finally exerted her power. Her first and fifth spirit rings lit up as she wielded her Ice Staff, unleashing a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ability. With the aid of spiritual detection, she precisely controlled the opponent's remaining four individuals within an ice prison.
Even if some of the opposing contestants were Spirit Kings, it would still take time to break free from the ice prison under the control of a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ability. This amount of time was enough for Wang Nan's trio to send them off the stage one by one.
The audience erupted once again, their cheers soaring to the sky. However, the other academies in the resting area wore varied expressions.
Ever since the Sun Moon Empire launched a continental war and aggressively invaded four thousand years ago with their spirit tools, the original Three Great Empires, while resisting the Sun Moon Empire, also unanimously boycotted spirit tools.
This situation only began to ease after the victory in the continental war. However, the damage caused by spirit tools to the original Douluo Continent had not subsided. Therefore, even though some areas had started experimenting with using spirit tools, they had not been fully implemented.
In recent years, Xu Jiawei had realized the advantages of spirit tools, and as Star Luo City was the capital of the Star Luo Empire, various spirit tools could be seen there.
But in some more traditional places, ordinary commoners had never even seen spirit tools for daily life, still living a relatively 'simple' life.
It was precisely for this reason that, after the Sun Moon Empire occupied the cities of the Tianhun Empire, they only needed to promote some simple and easy-to-use spirit tools to win over a large portion of the populace.
The members of Sun Moon Royal Academy below the stage all looked thoughtfully at Shrek.
After this battle, they also realized that spirit tools were Shrek's hidden method. Although they were still used simply, it was clear they were exploring ways to combine Spirit Masters and Soul Masters.
As for Dio Academy from the Tianhun Empire, their expressions were quite interesting.
Even now, Dio Academy still firmly believed that Spirit was the foundation of a Spirit Master, and they were the only ones still training pure Spirit Masters. In terms of training Spirit Masters, besides Shrek Academy, Dio Academy was the most outstanding.
Because of this, they had always wanted to defeat Shrek to prove they were the strongest Spirit Master academy.
But they hadn't expected that Shrek was no longer what it used to be. In their eyes, Shrek was no longer the opponent they had in mind.
When Wang Nan walked off the stage, he passed by the area where Dio Academy was located. Their captain had been staring in that direction, and when he saw Wang Nan and his companions, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
Team matches and individual matches were not held consecutively. The quarterfinals lasted four days. The first two days featured four team matches each day, while the latter two days were for individual elimination matches.
After Shrek Academy, it was naturally Sun Moon Royal Academy's turn. They easily defeated their opponents with six main players and one reserve member.
Until now, their captain Ma Rulong and the Xiao Hongchen siblings had not yet made a move.
But they might not know that, in terms of understanding the three of them, Wang Nan even surpassed their own understanding. For them, Wang Nan's primary concern had been what kind of spirit tools Mingde Hall would prepare for them.
Perhaps this was another advantage of Soul Masters.
For a Spirit Master, Spirit Abilities are determined the moment a spirit ring is acquired. Their abilities and tactics are fixed from the beginning. But a Soul Master can use different spirit tools to achieve various effects.
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Yaoyang Academy's team battle tactics were ineffective, and in the individual elimination matches, which emphasized a Spirit Master's individual ability, they had even less of a chance. Shrek sent out Dai Yueheng alone to defeat the three opponents, securing the final victory.
After four days of competition, the top eight spots in the Soul Duel Tournament were finally determined. After the last individual elimination match on the fourth day, the top eight teams did not leave but quietly waited for the draw ceremony for the quarterfinals.
The format of the quarterfinals was the same as before, with the combined results of the team and individual matches determining the final victory.
However, the eight participating teams had to draw lots again to determine their opponents. Unlike before, the quarterfinals would avoid the first-place teams from each group in the round-robin stage meeting early. Now, everything depended on luck.
Under the expectant gaze of everyone, an elder walked onto the center of the stage.
"Now, I invite the captains of each academy's representative team to come onto the stage."
Wang Nan stood up and walked up with the other captains.
"Next, I will throw out balls with the draw numbers written on them. You will all grab them at the same time. Are you ready?"
Seeing everyone nod, the elder exerted a slight force, and eight small balls flew into the air.
Most of the surrounding audience's attention was focused on Wang Nan.
Among the captains, only Wang Nan, Ma Rulong, and Jiang Peng from Dio Academy were Spirit Emperors. Since Wang Nan was from Shrek Academy, naturally many people paid attention to him.
At such a close distance, activating one's Spirit would waste time. Everyone leaped high based on their physical strength, and Wang Nan was naturally the first to grasp a small ball.
"I am number one."
After landing, Wang Nan looked down at the small ball in his hand and said.
"I am also number one."
The voice of Ma Rulong, the captain of Sun Moon Royal Academy, rang out, and Wang Nan's expression immediately darkened.
Hearing the voices on the stage, there was a moment of silence, followed by intense discussions.
The two teams, widely recognized as the strongest, actually met early in the quarterfinals, the eight-to-four stage. To a certain extent, this was equivalent to the finals being played in advance.
Also discussing were the resting areas of the other teams. The elimination of one of these two teams meant that they could achieve better results. If Shrek and the Sun Moon Empire Royal Team both suffered heavy losses, they even had a chance to win the championship.
After the gacha pulls, Wang Nan walked towards the resting area.
The others from Shrek Academy had obviously heard the previous words. After glancing at Wang Nan, they all turned their attention to Sun Moon Royal Academy.
"It's alright. Since our goal is to win the championship, we must be prepared to defeat any team." Wang Yan stood up and patted Wang Nan's shoulder. "It might even be a good thing. Meeting them earlier can prevent us from revealing more."