In the third individual elimination match between Tang Sect and the Sun Moon Team, Tang Sect's He Caitou faced off against Xiao Ping from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. The match ended quickly — as a Soul Emperor and a sixth-level Soul Engineer, He Caitou easily defeated and killed Xiao Ping.
That's right — the Sun Moon Team's third member also died, and right in front of Chief Referee Zheng Zhan. Zheng Zhan's face turned terribly grim, and Sun Moon Team's captain, Xiao Hongchen, was livid. Furious beyond restraint, he immediately jumped up and declared that he would personally enter the next round.
However, Tang Sect didn't follow the expected pattern. Their team captain, Beibei, suddenly announced that Tang Sect would forfeit the remaining individual matches and go straight to the team battle.
This move was like punching into cotton for the already enraged Xiao Hongchen — it left his expression even darker. Given the current situation, the Sun Moon Team only had four members left, while the Tang Sect Team remained at full strength. That meant they were about to face a 4v7 in the team battle, a massive disadvantage.
Whether it was the audience or the other participating teams, everyone began buzzing. Without a doubt, Tang Sect was the biggest dark horse of this tournament — they had pushed the continent's number one soul engineering academy to such a state. The upcoming team battle now seemed to hold little suspense. Judging by the strength Tang Sect had revealed — one Soul Sage, three Soul Emperors, and even if the remaining three were only Soul Kings — it was still enough to crush the four remaining from the Sun Moon Team.
At this point, what everyone was more curious about was how the Sun Moon Team would respond. As one of the most powerful academies on the continent, and with their captain Xiao Hongchen heralded as the greatest prodigy of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, what would he do?
Xiao Hongchen soon gave his answer. His expression was sullen, his eyes flickering with complicated emotion. After a long struggle, he finally spoke through clenched teeth: "We forfeit the team battle."
The moment the words fell, the entire stadium erupted in shock. Referee Zheng Zhan looked at him in disbelief and asked, "You… what did you say? Are you sure you want to forfeit?"
"I'm sure," Xiao Hongchen replied, his expression suddenly calming. The storm on his face faded, and he nodded with determination.
"…Very well." Zheng Zhan paused briefly, gave Xiao Hongchen a long, meaningful look, and then loudly declared, "The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy forfeits the team battle. This round, Tang Sect wins!"
The crowd exploded. No one could believe what they had just heard. Many in the Sun Moon Empire's section erupted into curses and jeers. But in the rest areas, many of the other teams felt a sense of admiration for Xiao Hongchen's decision.
For the Sun Moon Team, surrendering was undoubtedly the wisest move. Not only were they down to four members, facing a full team, but the chances of defeating opponents of equal strength in such a lopsided scenario were near zero. And this was just a group-stage match — there were still six rounds left. If they won those, they could still advance.
After weighing the pros and cons, Xiao Hongchen made a decision that might ruin his reputation — but it was one that showed he had matured.
"Tut tut tut! Looks like Xiao Hongchen's grown a lot these past few years," Zhu Ziyang smirked. "That proud kid actually gave up voluntarily. That's rare."
"This means Tang Sect should have a clear path to qualifying," Ma Xiaotao chimed in, pointing out another angle. "I've looked into it — aside from the Sun Moon Team, the other six teams in Group Two don't pose much of a threat to Tang Sect. Their chances of making the top eight are very high. That means we'll have two teams in the top eight! Heh heh!"
"Not bad," Zhu Ziyang nodded.
After the morning match ended, the members of the Shrek Team returned to the hotel. They had a day and a half of free time ahead of them, but Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao didn't allow them to wander freely. Instead, they instructed them to stay in the hotel to train or rest.
Meanwhile, Zhu Ziyang himself wasn't idle during this time. Riding the wave of Tang Sect's stunning victory over the Sun Moon Academy, he started promoting Tang Sect's business. Naturally, the clients he approached were the two major empires — the Heaven Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Both nations were under intense military pressure from the Sun Moon Empire and had a pressing need for soul tools. Tang Sect's Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons offered a timely solution.
Just as Zhu Ziyang expected, once the princesses of the two empires — Xu Jiujiu of Star Luo and Wei Na of Heaven Soul — saw the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, they immediately grew close with Tang Sect's sect master, Tang Ya. In no time, they were calling each other "Sister Tang Ya" and "Little Sister Tang Ya." Tang Ya went with the flow, calling them "Sister Jiujiu" and "Little Sister Wei Na," completely unconcerned with their royal titles.
Watching the three of them laughing and chatting, one might've thought they were lifelong best friends.
Of course, all goodwill without basis is ultimately a matter of interests. That was true for Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na as well. After building this surface-level sisterhood with Tang Ya, they began negotiating the sale of the Zhuge Cannons. Naturally, they wanted to pay the lowest price for the best gain — but while Tang Ya might be naïve, she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't agree that easily.
Besides, she had the clever Beibei by her side, offering shrewd advice. The negotiations dragged on for quite some time, but in the end, both sides reached a mutually beneficial deal. Tang Sect secured its first profitable contract, the two empires obtained a decent amount of equipment, and Shrek Academy earned both nations' gratitude — a win-win for all.
To conclude the matter, Heaven Soul Empire's Princess Wei Na even promised to help Tang Sect reclaim its ancestral grounds in Heaven Dou City. But this wasn't exactly a hidden motive — it was obvious what she wanted. Unfortunately for her, the old Tang Sect compound in Heaven Dou City held little real value for the modern Tang Sect. It was just a sentimental place for Tang Ya. After years of development under Beibei and the others, Tang Sect's base in Shrek City had already grown strong. There was no way they'd abandon it and move back to Heaven Dou.
In contrast, Xu Jiujiu had a much clearer goal. Upon learning that the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were designed by Huo Yuhao, she requested to meet this genius hailing from her own Star Luo Empire. After all, it made sense for a Star Luo princess to meet one of her people. No one could fault her for that.
Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao wasn't available. At that very moment, he was busy "training" Wang Dong'er — and had no time to meet any princess.
Soon, the third day of group stages arrived. That morning, Shrek Academy would face their second opponent — the Star Luo Royal Academy.
This year's Star Luo Team was quite mediocre: seven Soul Kings. In the individual matches, Shrek's team won 2v7 with ease. During the team battle, Zhou Tian and Chu Hua led five substitute members and crushed them in under a minute. It was utterly humiliating.
Shrek Academy now stood at two consecutive wins in the group stage, and six wins overall in the tournament.
On the fourth day of the tournament, Group One's match featured the Tyrant Armour Sect Team versus the Holy Spirit Sect Team. This was Holy Spirit Sect's debut match in the group stage and Tyrant Armour Sect's second.
The battle was nothing short of brutal. The Holy Spirit Sect team, composed entirely of evil soul masters, used twisted and savage methods. The Tyrant Armour Sect was completely outmatched, and five out of their seven members were killed — their bodies torn apart.
Such behavior from the Holy Spirit Sect team triggered a wave of outrage among most of the other teams. They had already been warned during the preliminaries, and now they were warned again — but everyone knew these warnings were meaningless. At this point, it was obvious: the Holy Spirit Sect's open participation already exposed the Sun Moon Empire's true stance.
Everyone could only simmer with anger and pray they wouldn't encounter them in later matches.
Although many spectators from the Sun Moon Empire sensed that something was wrong with the Holy Spirit Sect team, none voiced objections. As long as the team represented the Sun Moon Empire and hadn't dropped the mask, if they could win glory for the nation, the people were willing to turn a blind eye.
Of course, if it ever came to tarnishing the empire's dignity and reputation, those same people would immediately turn on the evil soul masters and condemn them — no hesitation.
(End of Chapter)
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