According to the news from Spirit Hall, the finals would officially begin three days later. After the long journey, these three days of rest were more than enough for the academies to recover and make final adjustments.
The academies representing the Star Luo Empire were assigned to rest on the other side of Spirit City. Unknowingly, Spirit Hall had already divided the two empires' teams into separate camps.
Inside Shrek Academy's rest area, Oscar sat in the main seat with the mature and charming Dugu Yan beside him.
He glanced over everyone in the room, feeling quite satisfied.
After more than two months of preparation, the finals were finally here. Shrek Academy's overall strength had grown even further. Even if Oscar and Dugu Yan did not take action, the current Shrek team was already so strong that even Spirit Hall's main team could not be compared to them.
Setting himself and Dugu Yan aside, the rest of the team had made remarkable progress. Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai had both broken through to the fifty-fifth rank, each of them now powerful attack-type Soul Kings. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong had reached the forty-sixth rank, one as an agile attack-type Soul Ancestor and the other as a support-type Soul Ancestor. Tang San was at the forty-fifth rank as a control-type Soul Ancestor, while Xiao Wu had just reached rank forty-four. Tai Long had broken through to Soul Ancestor as well, and even the substitutes,Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Jiangzhu,were all Soul Elders around rank thirty-six to thirty-seven.
With a lineup like this, even without Oscar, Dugu Yan, or the three substitutes, Dai Mubai and the others could already form an exceptionally powerful main force. Now that Tai Long had reached Soul Ancestor, the team could field two Soul Kings and four Soul Ancestors at the same time. This kind of strength was practically unheard of.
Even Spirit Hall might not have a formation this terrifying. Two attack-type Soul Kings at rank fifty-five, paired with Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul fusion skill , they truly could not think of a single team that could match them.
Everyone soon dispersed back to their rooms to cultivate. They wanted to be in their absolute peak state three days later and win the finals in one go, keeping their perfect record from the qualifiers and promotion matches intact.
At that moment, Oscar and Dugu Yan were resting in their room when Oscar's expression suddenly turned a little strange.
…
Inside Spirit Hall, Ailan walked alone into the inner sanctum. No one stopped him, since he held the token of Saintess Hu Liena , and whoever held it was treated as if she were personally present.
Having been away for three months, Ailan immediately noticed that something felt different upon returning.
Hu Liena wasn't there. From her servant, he learned that she hadn't been back for over a month and was likely staying at Spirit Hall Academy preparing for the finals.
With this news, Ailan headed straight for Spirit Hall Academy.
Of course, he wasn't going to see Hu Liena because he missed her. Their relationship had always been little more than a game. The only woman in his heart was Dugu Yan.
The reason he came to find Hu Liena as soon as he returned to Spirit City was because Oscar wanted to know who had leaked information about Tang San , and who had tried to assassinate him.
As Saintess of Spirit Hall, even if she didn't know the details, Hu Liena could at least pass along what she heard. After all, Oscar was Ailan's younger brother, and in Ailan's mind, this assassination attempt was no different from targeting his own family.
Ailan presented Hu Liena's token at the academy entrance and was allowed in without question. After casually asking around, he quickly learned where she was and went straight there.
Hu Liena was in the training hall with the Spirit Hall Academy team making their final preparations. When she suddenly saw Ailan enter, she froze for a second , then her entire face lit up with joy. She immediately stopped training and ran straight toward him.
Given Ailan's personality, there was no way he would come see her the very moment he returned to Spirit City, so his appearance now completely took her by surprise.
"You're back?" Hu Liena said happily, brushing a lock of hair from her face.
Ailan nodded slightly. "Yeah."
Already used to his quiet nature, Hu Liena grabbed his hand with a smile. "Have you eaten yet?"
Ailan shook his head. "Not yet."
Her smile grew brighter. "So you just got here and came straight to me without even eating? Does that mean you missed me?"
Looking at the beautiful girl in front of him, Ailan swallowed subconsciously. If he hadn't already been exhausted by Dugu Yan, how could he resist this kind of temptation?
He turned his head away. "Not that much."
He didn't reject her, but he didn't play along either , that was simply how their relationship worked, and Hu Liena seemed to like this calm, proper side of him.
"You never admit it." Hu Liena giggled and pulled him along. "Come on, I'll take you to get something delicious."
As they left, Ailan asked casually, "Won't this affect your training?"
Hu Liena waved her hand. "We've already worked out our teamwork. These two days are just for getting used to our ultimate technique."
"Ultimate technique?" Ailan looked at her curiously. "What technique?"
Hu Liena gave him a mischievous smile. "Want to know? Kiss me first."
Ailan ignored the bait and kept walking toward the cafeteria, while Hu Liena simply followed with a smile, not at all discouraged.
Ailan was familiar with Spirit Hall Academy and moved through it as though he'd been there countless times. To outsiders, it already looked as though the two of them were a couple.
Back in the training hall, Yan frowned at Hu Liena's departing figure and sighed without saying anything.
Xie Yue clapped him on the shoulder. "Brother, there are plenty of girls in the world. She's always seen you as an older brother, and now the real deal is back. Let it go."
Yan glared at him. "Mind your own business."
Xie Yue laughed. "You can't beat him in a fight, and you're not as talented as he is. Why torture yourself?"
Yan turned away, refusing to look at him. His muffled voice sounded stubborn. "Who says I can't beat him? Just watch , in the finals I'll show Nana what I can really do."
Meanwhile, Ailan and Hu Liena were eating together, sharing stories from the past few months. Ailan told her about the talents of Star Luo Empire and warned her to be careful of certain dark horse academies.
By the end of the meal, Ailan still hadn't given in to Hu Liena's teasing, but she told him about their trump card anyway.
"Some time ago," she said, picking a piece of fish for him, "our teacher arranged for someone new to guide us. He may not be strong, but he's very knowledgeable. What we've been training recently is a Seven-in-One Fusion Technique , something that can fully unleash the power of my martial soul fusion skill with my brother."
Ailan was thoughtful, though his face remained calm. "You're just going to tell me your secret like that?"
Hu Liena rolled her eyes. "I wanted you to kiss me, but you didn't, so I couldn't help it."
"And so what if you know? This is a team competition. No matter how strong you are, you can't beat all of us by yourself."
Ailan smiled faintly. "We'll see."
Hu Liena smiled back. "Of course, if we run into your little brother first, we can take him out for you."
Ailan's expression turned a little strange. "Are you sure? I heard that during the qualifiers and promotion matches he never even fought. And Shrek Academy has at least one Soul King at rank fifty-five. That means they now have at least two Soul Kings and five Soul Ancestors. Do you really think you can beat them?"
Hu Liena nodded confidently. "Once you see our trump card, you'll understand. When have I ever lied to you?"
Ailan chuckled. "Fine. But I'd rather settle things between me and Oscar personally. If you do it for me, it feels… off."
Hu Liena pouted. "You sound just like my brother. Aren't we supposed to be on the same side? If we meet him first, I'll just take care of him."
Ailan reached out and patted her head. "Alright, just don't underestimate him. He's not as simple as you think."
Hu Liena smiled sweetly. "Got it."
After the meal, Ailan sent her back to the training hall. The others were still practicing, and when Ailan saw the man leading the training , a man in plain black clothes with a short-cropped haircut , his suspicions were confirmed.
It was Yu Xiaogang.
Oscar hadn't expected Yu Xiaogang to appear in Spirit Hall. Perhaps something had happened that he didn't know about. But one thing was certain , the assassination attempt on Tang San was definitely connected to Yu Xiaogang.
After all, aside from Oscar and Ma Hongjun, the only person who truly knew Tang San's identity and talent was Yu Xiaogang.
Now Yu Xiaogang was in Spirit Hall, and according to Hu Liena, he had already been here for several months.
There was only one conclusion: Tang San had been betrayed by the teacher he once respected the most.
Oscar couldn't say whether Yu Xiaogang was right or wrong. In the end, everything had started because of his own choices.
But he was still shocked that Yu Xiaogang had become Spirit Hall Academy's instructor , and that he had even taught them the Seven-in-One Fusion Technique.
Then again, Yu Xiaogang was a true theory master. His books and research weren't fake, and he clearly did have some real talent to be able to pull this off.
What Oscar didn't know was that Yu Xiaogang's success in developing the Seven-in-One Fusion Technique was not just due to his own studies but also thanks to a Spirit Hall student with a special soul skill that made it possible.
Hu Liena, of course, didn't tell Ailan this. She was determined to defeat him and would never reveal her team's most important secret.
With everything he had learned, Ailan said goodbye to Hu Liena and returned to his hotel to rest and plan strategy , after all, Oscar wanted to win the championship in style.
Back at Shrek Academy's hotel, Oscar gave everyone one final pep talk and explained the rules again.
"There are thirty-three teams in the finals," he said calmly. "Three of them are seeded , the ones sent by the two empires and Spirit Hall. Our biggest obstacle is Spirit Hall Academy's team , they're the greatest threat to us winning it all.
"The finals have five rounds, shorter than the qualifiers or promotion matches, but each one will be more intense. After every round, we'll have a day to rest. Before the fifth round, we'll get three full days to recover.
"In the first round, the three seeded teams will sit out. The remaining thirty teams will fight for fifteen spots. Lose once and you're out , so don't underestimate anyone.
"In the second round, the first-place teams from the two empire divisions will sit out, leaving sixteen teams to battle for eight spots. That's when we'll finally take the field.
"After that, those eight teams plus the two who sat out will make ten teams total. The second-place team from the promotion matches will sit out the third round, and the other eight will fight for four slots to advance with them.
"From the fourth round onward, there are no byes. The six teams that remain will fight for the top three spots.
"In the final round, only those three teams will remain. We'll each send seven members into a round-robin fight to decide the strongest team. The two losing teams will then face off in a full team battle. The winner will challenge the winner of the individual fights for the final championship.
"Everyone clear?"
"Crystal clear!" Ma Hongjun answered excitedly.
The rules weren't complicated, but they left plenty of room for clever strategy.
Oscar then gathered the team to discuss battle plans. As much as he wanted to show off, he preferred to play things smart , surviving and securing the win was more important than acting flashy.
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