Chapter 181: Shrek vs. Elephant Armor Academy

Before the start of the second day of the preliminaries, the referee announced to all participating teams:

"Due to severe injuries sustained by all members of the second team of the Tiandou Imperial Academy, and their inability to recover in a short period of time, they have chosen to withdraw from this tournament. For the remainder of the schedule, any team scheduled to compete against them will automatically be awarded a victory." 

This announcement caused an uproar. 

The audience buzzed with discussions, and the participants were equally astonished. 

In the two previous editions of the Soul Masters Tournament, no team had ever withdrawn mid-tournament. 

Just how severe were their injuries that forced the Imperial Second Team to make such a decision? 

For the teams present, this was somewhat of a relief. With no victories under their belt, the Imperial Second Team was destined to finish at the bottom of the rankings. 

However, for weaker teams, if they didn't want to meet the same fate, they would have no choice but to fight tooth and nail against the Shrek team. 

"Hmph, this is what happens when you offend our Shrek Academy," Dai Mubai sneered, giving a thumbs-down gesture toward the former rest area of the Imperial Battle Team, signaling "loser." 

Ma Hongjun crossed his legs and laughed loudly, "The Imperial Battle Team is nothing but a bunch of trash!" 

Inside the Seven Treasures team's rest area.

Ke Jie remarked, "Although we sympathize with the plight of the Imperial Second Team, for us, this means an extra day of rest." 

The preliminaries not only had a tight schedule but also placed considerable pressure on the competitors. An additional day of rest was crucial. 

All the participating teams might even have to thank the Shrek team for this unexpected contribution. 

---

"Today's match is unfavorable for us. Our opponent is the Elephant Armor Academy, and like us, they are strong contenders for one of the qualifying spots," Yu Xiaogang said gravely. 

If the competition pressure were lighter, he might have allowed the Shrek team to avoid this match to conserve their strength. 

After analyzing the results of the first day of matches, Yu Xiaogang estimated that eight teams had the potential to qualify.

For the Shrek Academy to stand out, they needed to defeat three of these teams while ensuring they didn't lose any other matches. 

Yu Tianheng had some knowledge of the Elephant Armor team. He explained, "During the Soul Masters Tournament, everyone must have seen the people from the Elephant Armor Sect. The Diamond Mammoth is a defensive-type martial soul, and Huyan Zhen has publicly claimed that their martial soul is the strongest defensive one on the continent." 

"Whether it's true or not, Huyan Zhen wouldn't dare say this unless he was extremely confident in the defensive capabilities of the Diamond Mammoth martial soul. Uncle Xiaogang, let me participate in this match—I'm worried that the others' attacks won't be enough to break through the Elephant Armor team's defenses." 

Fielding two substitutes in this match would indeed be risky. Jing Ling and Huang Yuan didn't have strong offensive capabilities and would struggle to pose a threat to the Elephant Armor team. 

But while they were observing the strength of other teams, the opponents were also studying them. Revealing their trump cards now would cost them tactical flexibility in future matches. 

After much thought, Tang San finally spoke, "Tianheng, you can't play in this match. Everyone else will go on, and Huang Yuan will replace you as the substitute." 

Yu Tianheng was puzzled. He had already clearly explained the strength of the Elephant Armor team. Without the offensive power of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, how could they possibly break through the opponent's defenses? 

Tang San explained, "Boss Dai's attack power isn't weak either. The soul power levels of the Elephant Armor team aren't particularly high—four Soul Ancestors and three Soul Elders. We can handle them."

Yu Xiaogang agreed, "Tianheng, follow Xiao San's arrangements." 

Yu Tianheng didn't argue further and quietly accepted. 

---

As the match against the Elephant Armor team approached, Huyan Zhen appeared beside Bishop Salas on the high platform. 

"Fengzhi, why is that old man Huyan Zhen here?" Gu Rong transmitted a voice message to Ning Fengzhi. 

The latter flipped through today's schedule and immediately understood the reason. 

After the opening match, no one dared to underestimate the Shrek team. Huyan Zhen's presence proved how seriously he was taking this match. 

It was easy to understand—if they defeated the Shrek team, they only needed to win one match among the four elemental academies to secure a spot in the preliminaries. 

Ning Fengzhi responded with a faint smile, "It doesn't matter." 

He held no particular affection for either side and didn't care who won or lost. 

Notably, Xue Ye, the emperor of the Tiandou Empire, did not attend the tournament today. As the emperor, he couldn't neglect his official duties to watch the matches. 

Xue Qinghe, representing the imperial family, was seated half a position behind Xue Ye's seat, next to Ning Fengzhi. 

"Patriarch Huyan seems to be in good spirits," Xue Qinghe remarked casually. 

Huyan Zhen, unaware of his identity, didn't show him any respect. "Where I go doesn't need to be reported to the Crown Prince," he retorted. 

"There's no need, of course. But I wonder if the Elephant Armor team can win this match," Xue Qinghe replied nonchalantly. 

Salas didn't dare let Huyan Zhen continue and quickly shot him a glare. 

Huyan Zhen reluctantly stopped and turned his gaze toward the Elephant Armor team, transmitting a voice message to Huyan Li. 

---

"There are only five qualifying spots, and this match is crucial for us," Huyan Li said solemnly to his teammates. 

For them, this match was essentially the final—they couldn't afford to make any mistakes. 

"The third match of the second round of the preliminaries—Elephant Armor Team versus Shrek Team. Both teams, please take the stage!" 

At the referee's command, both teams entered the arena from their respective player tunnels.

"Boss, who do you think will win?" Chen Huayu asked. 

In the original timeline, Tang San used Oscar's flight soul skill to gain a tactical advantage and ultimately won the match. 

Now, without Oscar, they couldn't fly into the air, rendering their Cosmic Sky strategy unusable. 

The Shrek team's lineup wasn't much different from the original timeline, and their overall strength had improved. Who would win was something even Ning Tianchen couldn't predict.

As for the increase in the Shrek Seven Devils' soul power levels, Ning Tianchen wasn't surprised. 

Though they had lost the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Tang San's luck might have led him to acquire immortal herbs from other sources. 

"Since Big Brother doesn't know, why don't we place a bet?" Chen Huayu suggested. 

Ke Jie didn't object.

There weren't many opportunities for the team to relax, and since their afternoon opponent wasn't particularly strong, he tacitly approved.

"One hundred golden soul coins, betting on Shrek Academy," Ning Tianchen took out the money from his soul-guided device.

Chen Huayu frowned, "Damn it, Boss, I suspect you're scamming me." 

Feng Xiaotian patted his shoulder, "A little gambling is fun. I'll bet one hundred golden soul coins on the Elephant Armor team winning." 

With someone leading the way, others quickly followed suit.

Ning Rongrong trusted Ning Tianchen's judgment and bet on the Shrek team winning. 

Everyone else didn't favor the Shrek team and bet on the Elephant Armor team. 

"If the two teams find out that we're secretly placing bets on the outcome, they'll probably curse us out," Sun Buyu laughed and placed one hundred golden soul coins on Shrek winning. 

"Old Sun, are you joining in on this nonsense too?" Ke Jie couldn't help but ask. 

Sun Buyu shrugged, "Principal, it's just for fun." 

After thinking for a moment, Ke Jie also took out one hundred golden soul coins, "I'll bet on the Elephant Armor team winning."

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