Chapter 267: Opponent for the Fourth Round!
In the third round of the finals, Shui Bing'er's spirit suffered a slight injury after Dai Weisi's sneak attack with his fourth Spirit Skill. Fortunately, Dai Weisi was only half-baked when it came to spiritual power, so the injury was relatively minor. With treatment from the Tianshui Academy teachers and the help of the dragon ganoderma leaf, Shui Bing'er had mostly recovered after just one night of rest. Aside from her complexion being a little pale, there were no other problems.
The next day, because of Shui Bing'er's condition, Yu Tianlin did something uncharacteristic and did not cultivate. Instead, at Shui Bing'er's request, he accompanied her on a walk across the lawn around the hotel.
"I misjudged the situation yesterday." As they walked side by side, Yu Tianlin scratched his head and apologized. "I underestimated Dai Weisi's methods. I should have dealt with him first. If I had, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. It's my fault."
"Tianlin, as our captain, you can't doubt yourself. You have to trust your own judgment." Shui Bing'er smiled faintly as she replied. "Your decision at the time was correct. Li Yang's Mirror of Reflection Spirit was obviously more troublesome, so taking him out first was the right choice."
"As for Dai Weisi, although I had already considered the possibility that he was pretending to be unconscious, I didn't expect him to be able to resist my Resist Ice Ring. In the end, it was my own misjudgment as a Control type Spirit Master."
Shui Bing'er was always like this. She never wanted Yu Tianlin to blame himself, so whenever something went wrong, she would always take part of the responsibility onto herself. It had been the same before, and it was the same now.
Hearing her say that, Yu Tianlin felt a warmth rise in his chest, silently engraving it in his heart. He did not continue talking about it and instead changed the subject.
"The fourth round of the finals is tomorrow. Vice Dean Lei Bao has already gone to draw lots. Who do you think our next opponent will be?"
Normally, the draw for each round of the finals should take place on the day of the match. But for the fourth round, Spirit Hall had conducted the draw a day in advance.
The reason was simple. The six remaining teams were Thunder Academy, Divine Wind Academy, Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One, Spirit Hall Academy Team, Blue Tyrant Academy, and the team that placed second in the Star Luo Empire's qualifying rounds. That lineup made Spirit Hall uneasy.
For Spirit Hall Academy Team, the other teams were manageable, but Thunder Academy and Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One both posed real threats. That was why Spirit Hall had advanced the draw by one day. If they happened to draw either of those two teams, they would have time to prepare a battle plan.
Shui Bing'er naturally understood all of this, so she smiled and said, "Actually, as long as we don't draw Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One, it's fine. The best result would naturally be drawing that team from the Star Luo Empire."
Actually, drawing Blue Tyrant Academy would have been about the same, but Yu Tianxin from Blue Tyrant Academy was Yu Tianlin's older cousin. In a familiar situation like that, it would be hard to go all out. That was why Shui Bing'er specifically mentioned the Star Luo Empire team.
Draw the Star Luo Empire team?
The moment he heard that, Yu Tianlin's expression became a little strange.
Since the start of the finals, Thunder Academy had only fought twice, but both times they had eliminated teams from the Star Luo Empire, including the seeded team and the team that ranked first in the promotion round. Some people had even started calling them the "Star Luo Nemesis." If they ended up drawing the team that ranked second in the Star Luo Empire's promotion round as well, then that title would become completely justified.
Even though that Star Luo team had made it into the fourth round, their strength was still a little weaker than the other remaining teams. They were probably on the same level as Blue Tyrant Academy. If Thunder Academy really drew them, this round would be very easy.
Unfortunately, things did not go as Yu Tianlin and Shui Bing'er had hoped.
Vice Dean Lei Bao returned not long after the draw, and his expression was unusually solemn. He immediately gathered everyone together.
"Dad, what's with that look?" Lei Tian spoke first, since Lei Bao was his father. "Is the opponent really strong? Which team did we draw? With the captain and vice captain leading us, we're not afraid of anyone."
Judging from Lei Bao's face, everyone could already tell that the draw had not gone well. However, as captain and vice captain, Yu Tianlin and Shui Bing'er said nothing. They simply waited quietly for Lei Bao to explain.
"The results of the six into three draw for the fourth round are out." Lei Bao's gaze swept over everyone. After taking a deep breath, he said in a deep voice, "I'll announce them now."
"Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One versus Divine Wind Academy."
"Blue Tyrant Academy versus Zi Fei Academy, the team ranked second in the Star Luo Empire's qualifying rounds."
"Thunder Academy versus Spirit Hall Academy Team."
The moment those words fell, everyone except Yu Tianlin and Shui Bing'er revealed signs of tension. Even Lei Tian, who had just said he feared no one, stiffened on the spot.
There was no helping it. Although they had mentally prepared themselves for the possibility, actually being matched against Spirit Hall Academy Team still made it impossible not to feel pressured.
After all, Spirit Hall's reputation had long been established, and Spirit Hall Academy Team truly was terrifyingly strong.
"Don't panic." Yu Tianlin suddenly gave a low shout, startling everyone back to attention. "Even if we hadn't drawn Spirit Hall Academy Team now, we would still have run into them in the final round anyway. This only means the battle is happening earlier."
"Have confidence. We will defeat Spirit Hall Academy Team."
In Yu Tianlin's view, none of the other teams, including his cousin's team, could stop Spirit Hall Academy Team. Sooner or later, they would have to clash. Since that battle was unavoidable, it made no difference whether it came earlier or later.
In fact, compared to facing Spirit Hall Academy Team in the fifth and final round, drawing them now in the fourth round was actually better. If they could stop Spirit Hall Academy Team from even reaching the top three, that would truly be something.
Yu Tianlin's voice snapped everyone out of their nervousness and made them recall all of his achievements along the way.
A one against seven victory in the preliminaries.
Fighting Ice and Snow Drifting Down head on by himself.
Another one against seven in the promotion round.
Defeating the Netherworld White Tiger in the finals.
Every one of those feats had already proven just how terrifying Yu Tianlin's strength was. On top of that, they still had the Martial Soul Fusion Skill Ice and Snow Drifting Down as their trump card.
Spirit Hall Academy Team had three Spirit Kings, and their strength was indeed monstrous.
But Thunder Academy was not weak either.
So what if they had to fight?
Who was afraid of whom?
As these thoughts rose in their minds, the fire
.....
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