As Salas stepped into Shrek Academy, his gaze swept across the surroundings, silently committing the scene to memory. Under normal circumsta
As Salas stepped into Shrek Academy, his gaze swept across the surroundings, silently committing the scene to memory. Under normal circumstances, a high-ranking figure like him would hardly bother paying attention to a lowly spirit master academy. But Shrek Academy… was different.
To have cultivated so many talented students—students who had performed so exceptionally in this year's All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament—proved that this so-called "Shrek Academy" truly had the ability to produce elite Spirit Masters.
Ning Fengzhi had visited once or twice before, so the surroundings were somewhat familiar to him.
Soon, under Flender's guidance, the entire group entered Shrek Academy's primary meeting room. Once inside, Flender courteously invited Ning Fengzhi and Salas to the seats of honor, while he and Liu Erlong sat to the side as hosts.
After everyone was seated, Flender gave a subtle signal to someone outside. Moments later, a student slowly entered carrying a tray with several cups of tea.
However, Salas soon realized the person he came to interrogate had not appeared. He turned to Flender, his expression darkening.
"Headmaster Flender, surely you're aware of the reason for our visit."
He picked up the cup of tea that had been served and took a sip. His already sour expression worsened significantly.
Lowering his eyes to the teacup, Salas couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth—what kind of tea was this? Starlight grass?
As the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall, he lived a life of luxury. When had he ever tasted such poor-quality tea?
This so-called "Starlight Grass" tea was essentially a few random leaves thrown into boiling water.
Even Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but frown after tasting it. No wonder Salas was grimacing. Setting down the cup, he glanced at the floating tea bits and lightly cleared his throat.
"Headmaster Flender, this tea… leaves much to be desired."
Flender had been waiting for that. With a dramatic sigh, he responded,
"Ah… you two may not know this, but we did used to have some decent tea. Unfortunately, Shrek Academy is simply too poor. Every copper coin goes toward nurturing these students. I even sold off my last box of aged Panroot tea to raise funds. What little tea remains is something I've kept for years, too reluctant to drink."
Salas nearly spat the tea back out. Poor? He wasn't blind. The academy grounds he'd just passed through didn't look the least bit impoverished.
His expression darkening further, Salas glared at Flender.
"Headmaster Flender, I didn't come here to watch you perform theatrics. You know full well why we're here."
Flender feigned confusion.
"Oh? Right, I forgot to ask. What brings the Platinum Bishop and Sect Master Ning to our humble academy?"
Ning Fengzhi nearly chuckled. Even he had to admit—Flender's acting was outstanding. Had he not already known Flender's temperament, even he might've been fooled.
Salas's frown deepened.
"In today's match, your Shrek team grievously injured all seven members of Canghui Academy, leaving them in a vegetative state. Canghui has lodged a formal protest, and the tournament committee has launched a full investigation."
"What?! The seven from Canghui turned into vegetables?" Flender exclaimed, eyes wide in shock.
Salas could no longer hold his temper.
"Flender, you've certainly trained an excellent batch of students! To strike so ruthlessly in a tournament match—this is a gross violation of the rules! Such behavior will not be tolerated!"
Flender stood up, eyes red with supposed grief.
"Injustice, Lord Bishop! We haven't even filed a protest yet, and Canghui dares to accuse us? Don't you know six of our own students are seriously injured? Three of them are in critical condition and still being treated! I was just about to lodge our complaint with the committee!"
Salas snorted coldly.
"We'll find out who's at fault once we've completed our investigation. Now bring out your competing students—we need to question them one by one."
"That's out of the question! They're still undergoing treatment. What if something goes wrong? As their instructors, how could we face their families?!"
Salas's eyes flashed with cold light.
"So you're resisting the committee? Very well. As the appointed authority, I hereby declare Shrek Academy disqualified from the tournament!"
"Hold on, Lord Salas." Ning Fengzhi calmly interjected. "Isn't that a bit premature? Headmaster Flender, if I recall, you mentioned one of your students was not severely injured. Perhaps we could start by questioning him?"
The situation quickly escalated. Flender exploded in righteous fury, demanding to know why only Shrek was being investigated and not Canghui. The confrontation nearly turned physical.
Salas was more than happy to see Shrek resist—it played right into his hands. Just as he was about to officially disqualify them, Yu Xiaogang suddenly appeared… and handed him a command token.
Salas froze the moment he saw it.
A Papal Decree.
Despite his lofty status, Salas had no choice but to step back. In the face of the Pope's personal seal, he could only retreat in silence, the investigation quietly swept under the rug.
After Salas had left with his entourage, Ning Fengzhi glanced thoughtfully at Yu Xiaogang.
"I never expected the Grandmaster to be an honorary elder of Spirit Hall. I apologize for any past discourtesy."
Yu Xiaogang replied coolly,
"It's merely enough to scare off the mediocre."
Ning Fengzhi seemed to want to ask more but held back.
"Your students' well-being comes first. If they're unfit to compete, consider forfeiting tomorrow's match. It would offer the committee a convenient excuse to save face."
With that, Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo took their leave.
Watching them go, Yu Xiaogang stole a glance at Liu Erlong. She remained calm, unflinching. In the past, any association between him and Spirit Hall would've instantly enraged her—but now... nothing.
For some reason, Yu Xiaogang felt a twinge of regret.
The Next Day
To maintain the illusion of their injuries, Shrek Academy announced their forfeiture of the next two matches.
Many fans were deeply disappointed. Shrek's winning streak had ended just like that.
Thunderclap Academy, hearing of the forfeit, considered themselves incredibly lucky—advancing without lifting a finger. But Feng Xiaotian of Godwind Academy wore a bitter expression.
He had hoped to face Shrek and defeat them on Huo Wu's behalf. With them forfeiting, his chance was lost.
The preliminary round continued in full swing. Once Shrek returned to competition, they didn't lose a single match. Aside from the two forfeits, their record remained perfect.
With today being the final round of the preliminaries, the teams qualifying for the finals were essentially locked in.
Current Rankings:
Thunderclap Academy – 26 matches, 25 wins. Their sole loss was to Godwind Academy.
Godwind Academy – 26 matches, 25 wins. They lost once to Blazing Academy... due to a certain someone intentionally going easy for a certain someone.
Shrek Academy – 26 matches, 24 wins (2 forfeits).
Blazing Academy – 26 matches, 23 wins.
Skywater Academy – 26 matches, 23 wins.
Elephant Armored Academy, a member of the Five Elemental Academies, had been defeated by every team above them and now sat at sixth. Their chances of qualifying were nil.
Today's Match: Shrek vs. Skywater Academyy
For this last round, Shrek Academy would face Skywater Academy.
Lin Jie actually knew quite a bit about Skywater. He had once considered joining them, and so had done his homework.
Unfortunately, Skywater Academy's requirements were the strictest among the Five Elemental Academies. Not only did applicants have to be female and possess a water-type Martial Soul, they also had to be beautiful.
Men? Completely banned.
Otherwise, Lin Jie might've ended up on the Skywater team—surrounded by beauties on all sides.
Inside the waiting area, the various academies were gathered for the start of the final round. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly Shrek vs. Skywater.
As for Godwind's match, it was a foregone conclusion, not worth watching.
But this one? A veteran powerhouse versus the dark horse of the tournament—fans were excited.
Lin Jie sat quietly, waiting for the match to begin. Beside him, Ning Rongrong swung her slender legs in boredom while the others chatted softly.
Reflecting on the tournament so far, Lin Jie realized that only Elephant Armored Academy, Blazing Academy, and Canghui Academy had posed any real challenge. The rest had been easy victories.
Even though the results of today's match wouldn't impact qualification, Lin Jie still intended to take it seriously.
Every battle against a worthy opponent was a chance to grow.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin