On the stage, opposite the seven students from Star Luo Empire's Dragon Sunflower Academy, stood the Godwind Academy team. But among their members, four were unexpectedly from Blazing Academy—Huo Wu, Huo Wushuang, and the twin brothers with the Fire Crane Martial Soul.
The Star Luo Empire's team was unaware of the switch and showed no reaction. But the teams from Heaven Dou Empire were in an uproar. How had four Spirit Ancestors from Blazing Academy suddenly ended up on Godwind Academy's roster?
"What's going on? Why are Blazing Academy's members competing for Godwind Academy?" Oscar asked, utterly confused.
Tang San frowned. "Yeah, isn't this against the rules?"
Flender's brows furrowed. "I'll go ask the organizing committee what's going on." With that, he turned and strode toward the committee.
Dai Mubai muttered, "I thought the rules stated that mid-tournament substitutions weren't allowed."
Lin Jie said, "I suspect they found a loophole. While the rules forbid substitutions mid-match, they don't explicitly prohibit students from changing academies between phases. As long as Spirit Hall approved it, it wouldn't technically be a violation."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up. "Right. That sounds about right—there's no direct clause against it."
Nearby, Xiao Wu, standing next to Liu Erlong, asked, "Then… couldn't we do the same?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Too late. The official rosters have already been submitted. And the tournament's already begun. No switching now. But I can't understand why Blazing Academy would go this far and completely give up their shot at the finals. Every academy fights tooth and nail to make it this far."
At that moment, the Shrek team all turned their eyes toward Lin Jie.
"Uh… Why are you all staring at me like that?" Lin Jie asked uneasily.
Dai Mubai spoke up. "You think maybe they joined Godwind Academy just to beat us? Or maybe Huo Wu specifically wants to beat you."
"I think that's highly likely," Ma Hongjun agreed immediately. Oscar nodded as well.
"…Heh." Lin Jie gave an awkward chuckle.
Despite the buzz from the stands, the match continued without delay.
On the field, Huo Wushuang and Feng Xiaotian stood at the front of the Godwind team while Huo Wu stayed at the rear. When all seven unleashed their Spirit Rings, the Dragon Sunflower Academy team's hearts collectively sank.
Godwind's entire lineup consisted of Spirit Ancestors, while Dragon Sunflower Academy had only two—and barely advanced ones at that. Against a full lineup of Spirit Ancestors, it was like throwing eggs at a boulder.
It was a one-sided massacre.
Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wushuang, and the others didn't even need to use their fourth Spirit Abilities. Huo Wu didn't even need to activate her Ring of Fire. The match ended in moments.
By the time Flender returned from speaking to the organizing committee, his expression was dark.
"The committee's stance is simple," he said. "It's within the rules—they won't interfere. Godwind and Blazing merged, but it didn't technically break any regulations. Blazing Academy voluntarily relinquished their spot. From a certain point of view… we're actually the ones benefiting."
Naturally, Shrek wasn't the only team protesting. Several Heaven Dou Empire academies voiced objections, but all were shut down with the same answer: "No rule violations."
And since Godwind was representing Heaven Dou, the empire itself had no reason to complain—the better Godwind performed, the more prestige the empire gained.
After the new Godwind Academy advanced easily, the third match featured Meng Yiran's Exotic Beast Academy.
Their opponents were a little-known academy from the Star Luo Empire with rather weak capabilities.
Exotic Beast Academy had at least two Spirit Ancestors, while the opposing team had only one. Under Meng Yiran's control-type tactics, her team won decisively and advanced to the top fifteen.
Watching from the spectator stands, Dragon Duke and Serpent Lady—her grandfather and grandmother—smiled in satisfaction. Seeing their granddaughter advance past the first round of the finals, which featured the top academies from across the continent, was already a great honor.
Originally, the fourth match was to be Shrek Academy versus Blazing Academy. But with Blazing giving up their slot and merging with Godwind, Shrek advanced directly to the second round without fighting.
All fifteen matches of the first round were completed in one day. Through observation, Lin Jie noted that many academy teams had become much stronger than they were in the qualifying and promotion stages.
This was especially true for teams like Heaven Dou's Water Spirit Academy. Shui Bing'er's strength had clearly risen, and Xue Wu—the black-haired beauty—had grown as well. Their team now had four powerful Spirit Ancestors and three elite Spirit Elders. With Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu's Martial Soul Fusion Technique, they easily advanced to the second round.
In total, seven teams from the Heaven Dou region advanced. Notably, Thunderclap Academy and Botanical Academy were among them.
After a one-day break, the second round began.
The top-ranked teams from both empire divisions received a bye and entered the third round directly. As such, Shrek Academy still had not fought a single match—but was now in the top eight.
Because three seeded teams were joining in, the thirteen remaining teams would fight to fill the remaining five spots in the top eight.
Naturally, no one wanted to face any of the seeded teams—everyone knew they were far stronger.
Though Shrek had a bye, they still came to watch the matches and gather intel.
Sixteen teams competed to decide the eight who would enter the third round.
As the red-cloaked bishop of Spirit Hall announced the matchups, the second round officially began.
The first match was the new Godwind Academy versus a Star Luo team with three Spirit Ancestors. But against an all-Spirit Ancestor lineup, they were swiftly defeated.
The second match featured Spirit Hall's own seeded team versus Heaven Dou's Thunderclap Academy.
Despite Thunderclap's best efforts, the Spirit Hall team overwhelmed them completely.
What surprised Lin Jie the most was that Hu Liena didn't even participate. None of the "Golden Generation" members took the field, and still, Spirit Hall crushed their opponents with ease.
After witnessing such dominance, every other academy's mood grew grim.
Even Shrek, knowing Spirit Hall was powerful, hadn't expected this. Thunderclap was one of the top five in Heaven Dou's region. They'd finished third in the promotion stage. And yet they were eliminated without Spirit Hall revealing their trump cards.
Shock didn't begin to cover it. A better word might be… dread.
In the next few matches, Water Spirit Academy defeated a strong Star Luo team under Shui Bing'er's command.
Exotic Beast Academy, however, wasn't so lucky. They were eliminated by a powerful Star Luo academy, ending their run in the second round.
Though Meng Yiran and her teammates were disappointed, they weren't upset. Making it to the second round of the finals was already beyond their expectations.
With that, the top ten of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament had been decided.
The third round would begin the very next day.
Under the rules, the second-place teams from the regional tournaments would receive a bye this round. Godwind Academy and one Star Luo team advanced automatically.
That meant only four matches would take place in this round.
And this time, Shrek Academy would finally compete for the first time since the finals began.
Their lucky streak had run its course.
When Flender returned from the drawing lots, his expression turned heavy—and the team felt the weight settle in the air.