With Ma Hongjun executed on the spot, the farce finally came to an end.
That very afternoon, the tournament committee officially announced that Shrek Academy's eligibility to compete had been restored.
Ma Hongjun's case was different from Shi Nian's.
Shi Nian had targeted contestants from other teams in order to improve Canghui Academy's chances of winning future matches. Since the entire team benefited from his actions, disqualifying them from the tournament was considered justified.
Ma Hongjun's situation, however, was different.
First, Shrek Academy already possessed the strength to defeat Blaze Radiance Academy.
From that perspective, Shrek Academy itself had become the victim of the incident.
Second, Ma Hongjun had deliberately sought revenge against his opponent without informing anyone in advance, nor had anyone on the team assisted him.
One rotten apple shouldn't spoil the whole barrel. Punishing the entire academy would have been unfair, so the committee decided to restore Shrek Academy's tournament berth.
As for the matches they had missed, they would not be replayed. The existing results would stand.
Since the strength gap between Shrek Academy and Blaze Radiance Academy had been overwhelming, the committee ruled that Shrek Academy would be awarded the victory.
At present, Shrek Academy had missed three matches and had one loss against the Seven Treasure Team, giving them a total of only four losses. They still retained a chance to qualify.
With Ma Hongjun gone, the Shrek Team now had only seven members. If anyone became unable to compete due to unforeseen circumstances, they would have no room for error. As a result, the committee granted them special permission to recruit one new substitute.
The announcement was issued under the name of the Spirit Hall first, with the Heaven Dou Empire listed afterward.
To the outside world, it appeared that Spirit Hall had taken the lead in making the decision.
As for Blaze Radiance Academy, they accepted the committee's ruling without objection.
After all, they did not have a Spirit Hall Elder backing them. Challenging the committee would only bring them trouble.
For the teams still competing for qualification, the announcement came like a bolt from the blue.
Among the strongest teams, only the Tianshui Team had yet to face Shrek Academy.
Even so, even if Shrek Academy ended up with five losses, they would still have a chance to qualify.
Inside Shrek Academy.
The moment Tang San returned, Yu Tianheng and the others welcomed him back.
"Little San, welcome back." Dai Mubai stepped forward and gave him a firm hug.
As for Ma Hongjun's death, everyone silently avoided mentioning it.
Over the past few days, after hearing the tournament committee's findings and Yu Xiaogang's explanations, they had all come to believe that Ma Hongjun had intentionally murdered Wang Teng.
The evidence presented by the committee also matched Ma Hongjun's usual behavior.
He had nearly caused the entire team to lose their tournament eligibility and almost gotten them arrested for the sake of personal revenge. None of them had any reason to think kindly of him.
Tang San raised a hand.
"Everyone, get yourselves back into top condition. We can't afford to miss tomorrow's match, and we absolutely cannot make any major mistakes."
"As for our substitute, think about whether anyone suitable comes to mind."
If there had been a suitable substitute within Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang would have recruited them long ago instead of bringing in only Tai Long.
Finding one within the academy was no longer possible, so Tang San could only place his hopes elsewhere.
In particular, if Yu Tianheng could bring in another disciple from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, it would greatly strengthen the team.
However, the clan's disciples were famously proud. If they couldn't integrate with the team, bringing them in would be pointless.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing both smiled bitterly and shook their heads. Their families were in the Star Luo Empire, and given their positions, there was no way they could persuade clan members to come serve as substitutes.
Besides, Star Luo City was far too far from Heaven Dou City. Even if someone agreed, they wouldn't arrive in time.
Oscar was in an even worse position. As a commoner Spirit Master who had spent nearly his entire life at Shrek Academy, he had virtually no connections outside the academy.
After a long silence, Tai Long scratched his head and spoke up.
"Third Brother, do you think my cousin would qualify?"
"His Spirit Power Level is about the same as mine, but he's two years older."
Tai Long himself was only in his teens. His cousin, being just two years older, was still well within the tournament's age limit.
Tang San nodded.
"Bring him here tomorrow. We'll have Teacher evaluate him."
Tang San did not blame the Strength Clan for failing to step in during Shrek Academy's crisis.
Just as Tang Hao had said, he could not appear too close to Tai Tan in public, or his identity might be exposed.
By staying out of the matter, the Strength Clan had actually protected him.
After returning to the academy, Flender wandered around like an empty shell.
Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong said nothing to him and walked straight toward the Shrek Seven Devils' lounge.
Although Zhao Wuji and the other teachers were not involved in managing the team, there was no way they could have remained unaware of such a major incident.
After Yu Xiaogang left, Zhao Wuji and several of the other veteran teachers approached Flender.
"Dean, what exactly happened? Didn't Yu Xiaogang save Hongjun?"
Flender nodded blankly, looking completely lost.
Zhao Wuji let out a long sigh and helped him back to the dean's office, intending to hear the full story.
After repeated persuasion from his old companions, Flender gradually calmed down. With a broken expression, he recounted everything that had happened.
When they heard the truth, Zhao Wuji slammed his fist into the doorframe in fury.
"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
"Who does Yu Xiaogang think he is? What gives him the right to sacrifice Hongjun's life in exchange for Tang San being declared innocent?"
They had watched Ma Hongjun grow up from a child. Now that such a tragedy had befallen him, how could they simply stand by?
Besides, Qin Ming had also died because of Prince Xue Xing. Did the Heaven Dou Imperial Family really think they were easy targets?
"Old Zhao, calm down." Shao Xin grabbed Zhao Wuji's arm, stopping him from doing anything rash.
As unwilling as he was to admit it, anyone with clear eyes could see that both Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire wanted to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Sacrificing Ma Hongjun while ensuring Shrek Academy remained unaffected was already the best outcome they were willing to offer.
They had already offended the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. If they caused another incident, they doubted a scapegoat alone would be enough to protect them.
Zhao Wuji's breathing grew heavier, his anger impossible to hide.
"I told you long ago that Yu Xiaogang was no good. A mere Level 29 Spirit Grandmaster, yet he acts with more arrogance than a group of Spirit Saints. Who does he think he is?"
"If he keeps leading the Shrek Team, they'll eventually destroy themselves. Dean, after everything that's happened, don't you understand? He never treated you like a brother. To him, you've always just been someone he could call on whenever he needed."
At this point, how could Flender still fail to see Yu Xiaogang's true nature?
Yu Xiaogang always claimed they were brothers, yet when it came time to sacrifice Ma Hongjun, he didn't hesitate in the slightest. He had even joined Tang San in fabricating testimony against him.
Flender spoke weakly.
"Old Zhao... I'm tired. I've accepted it."
"After some time passes, I'll resign as dean and go back to live out the rest of my life in peace."
For a moment, Zhao Wuji and the others fell silent, their hearts heavy.
They had devoted so much to Shrek Academy, only for everything to end in ruin.
Worse still, both Qin Ming and Ma Hongjun had lost their lives along the way.
If they continued down this path, there was no telling how many more people would die.
Zhao Wuji was the first to speak.
"Boss Flender, I'll leave with you. This damned academy can go to whoever wants it!"
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