Su Yu shrugged. "Fourth group."
"How about the group's lineup?"
"There's no strong opponents, most of them are teams that were eliminated in the third round of knockouts."
Wang Dong'er immediately got upset, angrily saying, "This is too much, it's blatant manipulation!"
"So what can you do about it?"
Su Yu stretched lazily, "The organizers would never admit to something like this."
"What about the Holy Spirit Sect?"
Xue Di asked again.
Su Yu casually replied, "Holy Spirit Sect is in the third group, also without any strong opponents."
"Heh, they really would do that."
Xue Di sneered.
Just from this grouping, it was clear the Sun Moon Empire didn't care about saving face anymore.
"I don't get it."
Jiang Nannan suddenly looked at Su Yu, puzzled. "Xiao Yu, your relationship with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy is obvious to everyone."
"Why would the Sun Moon Empire target you?"
Su Yu shook his head. "It's not the Sun Moon Empire targeting me, but some rats in the dark."
"But it doesn't matter, I'll settle the score with them sooner or later."
If someone dared plot against him, they would have to pay the price.
"What about the round robin?"
Jiang Nannan looked at Su Yu.
Su Yu said calmly, "Just play normally. Whether it's Shrek or Star Luo Academy, just push through."
"That's the spirit, why worry so much? No matter who the opponent is, just go all out and fight!" Di Mingli cheered.
In her view, these petty schemes amounted to nothing.
Hearing this, Xue Di and the others all shook their heads, smiling.
As expected of Di Mingli, as direct and straightforward as ever.
"Alright, let's leave it at that."
Su Yu clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Tomorrow our opponent is Azure Sword Sect, a not-so-weak sect. Everyone, rest early and save your energy."
Hearing Su Yu's words, the women all left, some to cultivate, some to rest.
Su Yu sat on the sofa, picked up a cup of tea, and took a gentle sip.
Wang Dong'er happily scooted over to Su Yu, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Why aren't you resting?"
Su Yu took another sip and asked.
"I just want to spend a bit more time with you."
Wang Dong'er blinked her big eyes, pouting a bit, acting cute.
Su Yu chuckled and gently ruffled her hair.
...
...
The next day—the group round robin officially began.
Su Yu's team, in the first group, naturally played on the first day.
The third match in the morning was Holy Slayer Palace vs Azure Sword Sect.
Now in the round robin, Su Yu didn't require the girls to go 1v7 like before.
Other than himself, he no longer limited the number of participants per match, letting the girls play freely.
Azure Sword Sect wasn't strong. With Wang Dong'er's strength, she could handle it alone.
Without much effort, the girls won the match.
Shrek Academy and Star Luo Academy, who followed, also won their matches.
The round robin rules: Each day, two groups compete, each with four matches.
After two days, the cycle repeats.
Holy Slayer Palace's second group match would be on the third day.
Coincidentally, their opponent was Star Luo Academy.
Perhaps to conserve strength, or perhaps wary of Holy Slayer Palace's power, Star Luo Academy directly chose to forfeit, giving Holy Slayer Palace the win.
Su Yu was a bit surprised by Xu Jiujiu's decision but understood.
After all, this was a round robin, not a knockout—losing didn't mean elimination.
As long as you finished in the top two of the group, you could advance.
Under such circumstances, saving strength was important.
Especially since Xu Jiujiu knew Su Yu's strength, and saw several Soul Emperors in Holy Slayer Palace.
Going all out against Holy Slayer Palace offered no benefit; it could only result in losses and hurt their future prospects.
After careful consideration, Xu Jiujiu chose to concede.
Shrek Academy thought the same.
Two days later, when Shrek faced Holy Slayer Palace, they also decisively conceded.
Without even fighting, Holy Slayer Palace secured victories over both Star Luo and Shrek.
This trend disappointed those with ulterior motives.
With no Shrek or Star Luo to stop them, Holy Slayer Palace swept to seven straight victories, clinching first in the group and a spot in the top eight.
Shrek and Star Luo, after defeating the other teams, finally faced each other.
Both were old powerhouses, and this promised to be an exciting match.
In the rest area—
Su Yu sat at Holy Slayer Palace's table, watching the arena curiously.
The current match was Shrek vs Star Luo Academy.
To Su Yu's right sat Shrek Academy, but only a few team members remained.
Zhang Lexuan sat at the front, her beautiful eyes focused intently on the stage.
Su Yu turned, and with a light smile said, "Sister Lexuan-, do you have full confidence in today's battle?"
Zhang Lexuan looked at Su Yu and smiled bitterly, "Hard to say. Bei Bei is still injured and can't compete."
"With just Xu Sanshi and He Caitou, it's not clear if we can win."
"This year's Star Luo Academy is pretty strong."
"They are, and their use of soul tools has reached a new level."
"In terms of strength, they're strong enough to make the top 8."
"But your Shrek Academy isn't weak either—not only do you have two Soul Emperors, but also Xiao Xiao with twin martial souls, and Ning Tian with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda."
"I think your odds of winning are greater."
Su Yu chuckled.
"Maybe."
Zhang Lexuan smiled, gazing at the stage.
The match was about to begin.
First up was the individual knockout.
Xu Sanshi was first.
As a defense-type soul master, Xu Sanshi had his strengths.
Though his Black Tortoise bloodline was crippled and potentially hurt, the Xuanming Shield was still a top martial soul.
At this stage, his dominance was still considerable.
Plus, Xu Sanshi had plenty of battle experience.
Against Star Luo, Xu Sanshi used various tactics to wear down four Star Luo students.
This was a huge surprise for Star Luo.
They had to send their real ace to finally eliminate Xu Sanshi, who was already exhausted.
Next from Shrek was Xiao Xiao.
With twin martial souls, she was a key force in Shrek.
Combining her Three Lives Soul Calming Cauldron and Nine Phoenixes Flute, she eliminated Star Luo's fifth member.
She then faced the Star Luo captain, and held on for a while, draining the opponent's energy before being defeated.
Next up was Xie Huanyue, whose martial soul Rubber Elephant was like sticky candy, nearly draining 70-80% of the captain's soul power.
After Xie Huanyue left, He Caitou finally entered.
He unleashed high firepower, and the already-exhausted Star Luo captain couldn't withstand it, losing in one burst.
That left Star Luo with only their last member.
Against the powerful He Caitou, the outcome was set.
Star Luo lost the individual round.
Shrek also sent four participants, unable to achieve a 1v7.
They still had to compete in a team battle.
The team battle winner would get five points—whoever won would advance to the top 8.
The team fight was even more intense.
Star Luo, all equipped with soul tools, fought with great teamwork and strength.
Shrek, on the other hand, had an edge in individual strength.
Especially with the support of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, their entire team was boosted.
This battle was a clash of titans, truly exciting.
After a long struggle, Shrek narrowly defeated Star Luo and advanced.
Thus, with a record of six wins and one loss, Shrek entered the top 8 as group second.
After the loss, as captain, Xu Jiujiu was deeply regretful.
Last tournament's top 4, but this time not even making the top 8—it was a real embarrassment.
Xu Jiujiu felt she had lost all face, sighing deeply.
...
In the No.1 sky villa:
Xu Jiujiu appeared in the living room.
She sat on the sofa, holding her tea, looking dejected.
"Sigh!"
Xu Jiujiu let out a long sigh.
Su Yu said softly, "Princess Jiujiu, it's just a match. There's no need to take it so hard."
Xu Jiujiu rolled her eyes at Su Yu, grumbling, "Easy for you to say."
"You guys advanced as smoothly as if you were being escorted in. How could you understand how we feel?"
Su Yu's Holy Slayer Palace had a smooth ride, not a bump in the road.
No one else advanced to the top 8 so easily.
Su Yu chuckled, "I don't understand, but it wasn't what we wanted, right?"
"We were ready for a tough fight."
Yeah, they were ready for a tough fight, but who knew Shrek and Star Luo would just concede.
They had no choice.
Xu Jiujiu rolled her eyes, "You're something, acting so innocent after getting the advantage."
"This loss, not even making the top 8… I don't know how I'll face my royal brother. Our Star Luo Empire has lost all face."
Xu Jiujiu sighed mournfully.
Losing was no big deal—she never expected to win the championship.
But missing the top 8 was just too humiliating.
Su Yu consoled, "It's not your fault, it's all the Sun Moon Empire's dirty tricks."
"If they hadn't put all three of us in the same group, how could this happen?"
"With your strength, Star Luo should have made the top 8."
Xu Jiujiu forced a smile, "There's no point saying that now. A loss is a loss."
"Now we can only watch your performance—I hope you win the championship."
"With the Sun Moon Empire's dirty tricks, at least we can't let them win."
"I think you can do it—your team is so strong."
"Oh, I've always wanted to ask: how many Soul Emperors are on your team?"
Holy Slayer Palace had, at most, four people on stage at once—Di Mingli, Wang Dong'er, Jiang Nannan, and Lan Fozi.
All four were Soul Emperors.
This strength was a key reason she avoided fighting them.
Su Yu smiled, "So curious?"
Xu Jiujiu nodded seriously, "Very. Very curious."
"Those people who never became famous before all turned out to be so strong; who wouldn't be curious?"
Su Yu smiled, "Fine, since you're eliminated, I'll tell you."
"We have five Soul Emperors in our team."
"Five Soul Emperors?"
Xu Jiujiu blinked, "Is the last one you?"
"No… wait, you must be beyond Soul Emperor, you're probably a Soul Sage, right?"
Su Yu just smiled.
Xu Jiujiu continued, "Is it that woman beside you, the one with the ultimate ice?"
"Yes, it must be her."
Su Yu shook his head, "Xue'er isn't a Soul Emperor."
"Not a Soul Emperor—maybe a Soul King?"
"No, when we met before, she was already a Soul Emperor… wait."
Xu Jiujing suddenly jolted, as if realizing something.
Su Yu smiled, "You guessed right. Xue'er isn't a Soul Emperor—she's a Soul Sage."
Soul Sage?
She's a Soul Sage?
"Our last Soul Emperor is Lanlan—the cute, naive-looking little girl."
Su Yu beamed.
Xu Jiujiu: "…"
She was numb. Even that innocent-looking girl was a Soul Emperor?
She gasped, shocked. "So your team has two Soul Sages and five Soul Emperors?"
Su Yu nodded.
Xu Jiujing shivered, then sighed.
"Amazing, really amazing. Looks like conceding was the right call."
"Who could beat your team?"
Two Soul Sages, five Soul Emperors—even if Star Luo doubled in strength, they couldn't win.
The gap was too large.
Not to mention Su Yu himself, whose strength was off the charts.
In this tournament, probably no team could threaten them.
Watching Xu Jiujiu sigh, Su Yu smiled slightly.
The last person this shocked was Nan Qiuqiu.
Taking another sip of tea, Su Yu asked, "Princess Jiujiu, what are your plans next?"