"There are only five spots for advancement from the preliminaries. So, if you want to successfully pass through the preliminaries, one of those five academies must be eliminated. The Five Elements Academies are closely connected — if I'm not mistaken, they will definitely take action. That means the opponents you face in subsequent matches will only grow stronger. Your fate must be in your own hands. If you want to advance to the finals without any doubt, then the best way is to win every single match in the preliminaries. Enter the next round with an undefeated record."
"Yes!" The Shrek Academy contingent responded in thunderous unison.
As they walked out of the rest area, everyone's gaze couldn't help but drift toward the spectator stands. At this moment, the crowds surrounding the arena were letting out a constant stream of loud boos.
Tang San turned to Great Master with a puzzled expression. "Master, what's going on? Why are the spectators so worked up?"
Great Master smiled bitterly. "It's because of you, of course. Your opponents forfeited, and many of these spectators came specifically to watch you fight. Without you appearing, they're naturally unhappy."
Up in the spectator stands, at least a third of the crowd were wearing green outfits — or rather, a shade of brownish green.
Even Great Master and Liu Erlong had to admit that Flandre had a sharp mind for business. They still couldn't understand how he had managed to run the original Shrek Academy into the ground.
Ever since the Shrek Academy team had caused a sensation, Flandre had immediately found partners and begun mass-producing Shrek Academy team uniforms for sale. Every uniform even had the members' names printed on it.
Among them, Tang San's uniform sold the most, followed by Dai Mubai's and Zhu Zhuqing's. In just one week, Flandre had raked in a handsome profit from the clothing alone.
These past two days, he had started scheming to create team mascots to sell as well. He was busy as could be, leaving all the competition matters entirely to Great Master and Liu Erlong.
Someone must have been the first to spot the Shrek Academy group emerging from the rest area, because in an instant, a massive crowd began chanting "Shrek" at the top of their lungs. The atmosphere in the arena immediately became electric.
If this had been a soul duel tournament, seeing the spectators this enthusiastic, the Heaven Dou Grand Soul Duel Arena would have found some way to invite the Shrek team up to fight, no questions asked.
Unfortunately, this was the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, and they didn't have that authority. They could only watch with regret as Shrek Academy sat out today's matches.
The first round had already begun, and Great Master immediately pointed out that among the ten teams competing below, both Divine Wind and Heavenly Water Academies were among them. What surprised Tang San was that every member of Divine Wind Academy's team had the ability to fly.
This was incredibly troublesome. And Heavenly Water Academy's team was made up entirely of girls — every single one of them a stunning beauty.
Their opponents hadn't even made a move yet, and their bones had already gone half soft. How were they supposed to continue such a match?
In the shortest time, Heavenly Water Academy had secured victory without so much as breaking a sweat.
Divine Wind Academy's attack pattern was simple — their members soared through the air like seven hawks, diving in for continuous strikes. Their rhythm was masterfully controlled.
Every attack was like a thunderous blow. After three rounds of diving assaults, not a single one of their opponents could remain standing.
Through observing these two matches, Tang San leaned over and said to Great Master beside him in a low voice. "Master, why don't the teams from the Five Elements Academies use a mixed composition of different types? Whether it's Elephant Armor Academy or these two, they're all Soul Masters of the same attribute. While this makes them extremely strong in one aspect, their weaknesses become equally obvious. If they can't fully leverage their strengths, won't they have nothing left to fall back on?"
Great Master let out a soft sigh. "This is the difference between the Tian Dou Empire and the Xing Luo Empire. The advanced Soul Master academies in the Tian Dou Empire have always revolved around these Five Elements Academies. The Tian Dou Imperial Academy managed to produce the Imperial Battle Team this generation, which is decent enough. In previous competitions, whichever academy from the Tian Dou Empire made it into the top three was always one of these Five Elements Academies."