After successfully persuading Tang San not to participate, Grandmaster returned to Shrek Academy's rest room. Seeing everyone's gazes upon him, he said in a deep voice, "I'm giving you two choices for today's match. First, you can forfeit the match to conserve your strength. Second, you can form your own teams and fight, but the chances of winning are probably less than one percent."
"Tang San has encountered some problems in his cultivation and cannot participate. For us, reaching the top five in the preliminaries is enough. After all, our goal is the finals, not the preliminaries."
Grandmaster had a premonition that Shrek Academy would suffer a defeat today, a stark contrast to his initial expectations.
After all, who could have imagined that Ning Rongrong, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, would drop out of Shrek at its most crucial moment and join another academy? This was something Grandmaster had never anticipated.
Now, Shrek Academy only has two paths: either keep winning or temporarily avoid the limelight to conserve their strength and secure a top-five finish in the preliminaries.
Shrek Academy has only lost to Seven Star Academy and Canghui Academy since the start of the competition. Grandmaster knows why they lost to Canghui Academy, but despite this, he still considers Seven Star Academy and Spirit Hall Academy as the core. As for the other academies, they are nothing but a bunch of worthless fish.
Besides, if Shrek Academy loses to other academies, wouldn't that indirectly prove that their theory is flawed?
"Xiao Gang, if we concede this match, won't my advertisements be ruined?" Flander cried out in despair.
"Brother Flander, I think you're obsessed with money now!" Liu Erlong glared at Flander, complaining, "You need to think long-term. If the little monsters get seriously injured in the upcoming matches, they'll be even harder to deal with."
"You can't let your own selfish desires cause the little monsters to lose, can you?"
Flander, speechless, smiled wryly, "Fine then, since Erlong has said so, how can I, as the dean, only think of myself?"
"Mu Bai, since Tang San isn't participating, you guys decide."
With that, Flander left the lounge looking dejected. Ma Hongjun quickly followed, worried that his dean might do something rash.
A moment later, after a brief discussion, Shrek Academy announced their withdrawal from the upcoming matches. They even decided to preserve their strength, as per Master's advice, by retreating against strong opponents and attacking weaker ones in the future. A week later, the preliminary rounds were in full swing, and soon, the twenty-seventh round was nearing its end.
Currently , Seven Star Academy was in first place on the preliminary round leaderboard, followed by Divine Wind Academy, then Heavenly Water Academy, Blazing Fire Academy, Shrek Academy, Thunder Academy, and Elephant Armor Academy. Shrek Academy's withdrawal put them in an extremely awkward position: 21 wins out of 24 matches, while Thunder Academy and Elephant Armor Academy were neck and neck. The top five teams in the Heavenly Dou region's preliminary rounds advanced to the knockout stage. Although there were still three rounds left, the teams that would advance were already determined: Seven Star Academy, Divine Wind Academy, Heavenly Water Academy, and Blazing Fire Academy. As for Shrek Academy, their next three opponents included Thunder Academy, who was considered the strongest. Thunder Academy's next opponents were Seven Star Academy, Shrek Academy, and an unknown academy. They were guaranteed at least one point, and if they defeated Shrek Academy, they would get two points. In other words, Shrek Academy currently has 21 points. They need to win at least two more games to reach 23 points. Thunder Academy currently has 20 points. Even if they win against Shrek Academy, they will only have 22 points, which is not enough to qualify for the promotion tournament.
However, nothing is absolute. If Seven Star Academy loses to Thunder Academy, Thunder Academy will directly gain two points, bringing their total to twenty-two, putting them in direct competition with Shrek Academy.
This makes the qualification spots uncertain, as no one knows whether Thunder Academy or Shrek Academy will win.
(Shrek Academy's rest area.)
Looking at the list in his hand, Grandmaster said to the Shrek Academy members with a solemn expression, "The list for the final three rounds of matches has been released. It looks like Shrek Academy can qualify, but if Seven Star Academy pulls a stunt, we might have to compete with Thunder Academy for the final qualifying spot."
Hearing this, Flander frowned and said, "Xiao Gang, according to you, doesn't that mean our final qualification depends on others' results? I just checked the preliminary rankings, and Seven Star Academy and three of the four elemental academies are practically guaranteed to qualify."
"Theoretically speaking, even if Thunder Academy wins these last three matches, we'll only get two points. They'll be 22 and we'll be 23, which is impossible for us to qualify."
"But have you considered that if Seven Star Academy doesn't want us to qualify and deliberately loses to Thunder Academy, giving them the same points as us, then we'll have to go into a tiebreaker?"
"In a tiebreaker, the final outcome is uncertain."
"That's true," Flander glanced at Tang San and said, "Then the rest of the competition will depend on Tang San's performance."
"Yes, that's what I'm planning too." Grandmaster stroked his chin, his gaze falling on Tang San, and said earnestly, "Tang San, if Seven Star Academy is really as we suspect, then the final tiebreaker will depend on you."
"If we can successfully defeat Thunder Academy, we can secure a spot in the advancement competition; otherwise, we'll have to play a tiebreaker with Thunder Academy."
"A tiebreaker would be extremely disadvantageous for Shrek Academy, since the match between Thunder Academy and Seven Star Academy is on the last day. If Seven Star Academy forfeits, we'll be completely at a disadvantage."
"Teacher, don't worry, leave the rest of the competition to me." Tang San nodded, full of confidence.
From the start of the competition until now, the strength of each academy has been largely revealed. In Tang San's mind, apart from Cheng Xiao, he was confident he wouldn't lose to anyone.
Moreover, the eight spider spears on his back had regrown, and after absorbing the soul power of the ten-thousand-year-old human-faced demon spider, his soul power level had also increased. He was now much stronger than when he first competed.
In previous matches, when Shrek Academy drew the Four Elemental Academies, they chose to forfeit and bide their time, concealing their strength so they could secure a spot in the qualifying rounds on the last day.
"Master, what if we really lose to Thunder Academy next? Is there any possibility of not having a tiebreaker?"
Dai Mubai asked at this moment. Because of the internal struggle within his family, if he couldn't advance in this qualifying round, it would mean he would directly lose his qualification to compete for the throne.
Defeat meant death, and his brother would definitely abolish his soul power, leaving him imprisoned for life.
Dai Mubai was a person who cherished his life very much; otherwise, he wouldn't have been afraid of Davis and abandoned Zhu Zhuqing to come to Shrek Academy alone.
...
You can now download the complete English PDF of the story you're currently reading at my Patreon shop. I also have a wide variety of other books available there for you to explore!
What's up, everyone! I've just uploaded several new Adult (18+) Douluo & BTTH fanfics. Feel free to head over and check them out. Most Of Them Include R@pe and L0li so beware before you check them.
Here are titles of uploaded BTTH & Douluo adult fanfics on Patreon:
" BTTH: Harem Chronicles (18+) "
" Douluo: My Martial Soul Is The Mysterious Heavy Ruler "
" Douluo: I Am Feng Xiaotian (18+) "
" Douluo: The Peerless Ice God "
" BTTH: Dark Slave Auction (18+) "
" Douluo: My Martial Soul Is Godzilla "
" BTTH: A Male Succubus Appeared (18+) "
" Douluo: The White Tiger Dominates the World "
" BTTH: Stealing the Beauty of the Six Realms (18+) "
" Douluo: Self-Struggle "
" BTTH: The Legend of the Alluring Empress (18+) "
" Douluo: Tianshui Academy Teacher, After-Class Tutoring (18+) "
" Douluo: The Heavenly Rankings Descend—My Identity Can't Stay Hidden! (18+) "
many more up to 270+ are available.
Your support means a lot—thanks in advance, legends!
Patreon.com/UIGOD
(End of Chapter)