Zhao Wuji was not the only one who felt that way.
Shao Xin and the others were equally disappointed with Shrek Academy.
Although they held important positions within the academy, and Flender was the dean, the academy's affairs were ultimately decided by Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong.
The only real change they had seen was the academy's name being changed to Shrek Academy.
"We'll leave with Big Brother. Since Heaven Dou City has no place for us, there's no point in staying here and humiliating ourselves."
However, Shao Xin and the others had no intention of retiring just yet.
They were not even sixty years old and were still in their prime. Retirement was far too early.
Considering Flender's current state of mind, they chose not to say anything more. They would wait until the time was right before discussing future plans with him.
Through events outside the arena, Shrek Academy had attracted an enormous amount of attention.
The Seven Treasure Team, on the other hand, had drawn the crowd's admiration through their overwhelming strength and undefeated record.
As the controversy surrounding Shrek Academy gradually faded, the preliminary tournament also entered its final stage.
Today was the last day of the preliminaries.
For the first time since the opening ceremony, Emperor Xue Ye returned to the tournament venue.
The reason was simple. After today's matches concluded, he would personally present qualification certificates to the advancing teams.
The opening match of the day was between the Seven Treasure Team and the Thunder Team.
Up to this point, the Thunder Team had suffered only one defeat, against the Skywater Team. If they managed to defeat the Seven Treasure Team today, all three teams would advance with identical records of one loss each, tying for first place.
For the Seven Treasure Team, however, victory would mean advancing with a perfect undefeated record, setting a new tournament record.
Supporters from both sides placed great importance on this match.
On paper, the Seven Treasure Team held an overwhelming advantage. Even so, the Thunder Team's resilience could not be underestimated. They were not without a chance.
In the Seven Treasure Team's waiting area,
Wu Qi made the lineup changes at the last moment.
"We'll stick to the strategy we discussed last night. Xiaotian will compete in this match, along with four substitutes, Changkong, and Chen Ping."
Yu Tianxin simply wasn't strong enough to interest him. Once on the stage, Yu Tianxin would inevitably try to challenge him directly.
Rather than waste time with that, Wu Qi preferred to let Feng Xiaotian take the field.
Feng Xiaotian had no reason to refuse.
In the past, he and Yu Tianxin had been evenly matched rivals.
After obtaining the immortal herbs, his strength had increased considerably, but he still did not underestimate Yu Tianxin.
However, Yu Tianxin had always been focused on challenging Wu Qi, leaving the two of them without an opportunity to cross paths.
Ning Rongrong smiled brightly.
"Come on, everyone. Win this match, and we'll advance with a perfect record."
"Let's do it!" Sun Buyu encouraged the team.
Coaching a team to an undefeated preliminary campaign would naturally enhance his own reputation.
Besides, everyone knew the Seven Treasure Team had yet to reveal its full strength.
As the announcer finished speaking, both teams entered the arena from opposite tunnels.
On the stage, Yu Tianxin saw that Wu Qi was not competing and could only sigh helplessly.
"It seems the gap between us has only grown larger. He doesn't even think I'm worth fighting anymore."
Feng Xiaotian smiled.
"Don't sell yourself short."
"The promotion tournament begins after the preliminaries. Our captain has other matters to attend to, so he can't participate today because of unavoidable circumstances. Otherwise, why would he willingly miss this match?"
Unlike Yu Tianheng, Yu Tianxin was calm and level-headed, and there was no hostility between them. Feng Xiaotian had no desire to discourage him.
As soon as the referee announced the start of the match, both teams released their martial spirits simultaneously.
Since both teams had already secured qualification, there was no need for an all-out battle or to reveal their hidden cards.
Their formations remained conventional, and neither side showed much desire to launch an aggressive offensive.
In Shrek Academy's waiting area.
Yu Xiaogang snorted.
"What is Tianxin doing? They had such a great opportunity to defeat the Seven Treasure Team, yet they're fighting so conservatively."
After Ma Hongjun's incident, Flender had completely lost the motivation to manage the academy and did not come to watch today's matches.
As a result, Yu Xiaogang now had complete control here.
Hearing this, Yu Tianheng immediately agreed.
"Hmph. Tianxin is probably already on the Seven Treasure Team's side."
Since they were direct rivals, Yu Tianheng believed Yu Tianxin was deliberately hiding his true strength.
With the Seven Treasure Team being so powerful, shouldn't everyone be working together to force them to reveal their hidden abilities?
Wouldn't that make defeating them in the finals much easier?
Tang San sneered.
"They're completely lacking in the bigger picture."
"Hmph. Even without seeing the Seven Treasure Team's hidden cards, we still have nothing to fear."
As he spoke, he turned toward Yu Xiaogang.
After many days of thought, Yu Xiaogang had finally devised a cultivation plan for Tang San's twin martial spirits.
He had also made progress in developing a multiple-person martial spirit fusion technique.
With so many trump cards in hand, Tang San refused to believe they would be unable to defeat the Seven Treasure Team on the finals stage.
In the Seven Treasure Team's waiting area,
Wu Qi and the others had already stopped paying attention to the outcome of the match.
Instead, they focused on the qualification results from the other tournament regions.
The number of Advanced Spirit Master Academies in the kingdoms and principalities was far smaller than in the Heaven Dou and Star Luo tournament regions.
More than half a month ago, the qualifying teams from those kingdoms and principalities had already been decided.
After such a long period of gathering information, detailed reports on every one of those teams had already reached Wu Qi.
Although no teams would be eliminated during the Promotion Tournament, the final rankings there would determine the bracket placements and byes in the Finals.
Finishing in first place would grant a chance to receive a bye in the second round of the Finals.
It was not an opportunity to be underestimated. Being able to observe future opponents without having to fight them could have a major impact on the matches that followed.
"Little Wu, we've traveled through the northern regions of the empire, so you should know what it's like there."
"So during the Promotion Tournament, we need to pay close attention to the teams from the north."
People from the northern regions valued martial strength, and among Spirit Masters of the same Level, northerners generally possessed much richer combat experience.
Moreover, many northern Spirit Masters were even more physically imposing than the disciples of the Elephant Armored School.
Unfortunately, the Elephant Armored Team had already lost any chance of advancing in this tournament. No matter how strong they were in one-on-one combat, it no longer mattered.
Wu Qi nodded seriously.
"At the lower Levels, having a powerful physique is naturally a great advantage."
"That said, our team has two Spirit Kings. Overall, we shouldn't face too much trouble. Holding on to first place shouldn't be difficult."
"Teacher Sun, keep gathering information on these teams' group battle performances."
After all, the Finals would be fought as team battles.
The Promotion Tournament, on the other hand, consisted only of one-on-one matches, leaving very little room for tactical planning.
At most, both sides could only predict the order in which their opponents would send out competitors and adjust their own lineup accordingly.
There was little suspense in the match.
The Seven Treasure Team secured the final victory at the cost of having four members eliminated.
With that, a new record was set in the Spirit Master Tournament.
Advancing through the preliminary rounds with a perfect undefeated record was an achievement that would be remembered in the tournament's history.
---
If you like story please donate some power stones and leave a review
For additional chapters
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu