Xuan Zi naturally caught the underlying implication in Wang Dong'er's words. He nodded, then looked toward Wu Feng and Wang Dong'er, saying:
"Wu Feng, Dong'er, I remember that when you two were still at the academy, your relationship with those young fellows wasn't too bad. Go to them right now and tell them that as long as they are willing to return to the academy, I can take charge regarding the matter of their ambush, as well as Zhou Yi, and provide them with a satisfactory answer."
Wang Dong'er and Wu Feng nodded, rose from their seats, and left the conference room.
The remaining crowd waited in the conference room, each harbored their own distinct thoughts.
Xuan Zi held an attitude that combined fervent anticipation with absolute destruction regarding whether Feng Piaoling and the others would return. If they could return, it would naturally be for the best; it would just happen to help him make up for his past mistakes while simultaneously compensating for the talented students lost this time in the Ming Dou Mountain Range.
If they were unwilling to return, then they could not blame him for resorting to lethal force.
When the time came, he would simply execute them on the spot under the pretext of purging Shrek's traitors.
Although Ling Luochen and Xi Xi did not utter a single word from beginning to end, they undoubtedly hoped to see Feng Piaoling return in their hearts.
After all, their lives had been saved by Feng Piaoling. Moreover, they were well-acquainted with Elder Xuan's temperament; if Feng Piaoling and his group refused to return, they feared Elder Xuan would choose to unleash a lethal assault.
As a seasoned veteran of Shrek Academy, Zhou Yi naturally knew Xuan Zi's temperament as well. She silently prayed in her heart that Feng Piaoling and the others would not return, so that they might perish at Xuan Zi's hands.
Dai Yaoheng's thoughts were largely the same. Although there was no grievance between him and Feng Piaoling, his younger brother had, after all, once sent people to ambush the man. If the other party returned, Elder Xuan would surely inform them about this matter. Rather than acquiring another enemy, it was better for the other party to die early on.
Ma Xiaotao, on the other hand, maintained an completely indifferent attitude from start to finish. She glanced toward the door of the conference room, a cold smile lifting the corner of her lips; regardless of whether they returned or not, the championship of this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament would belong to none other than Shrek Academy.
Only Huo Yuhao looked as aggrieved as a mistreated young bride. He had clearly worked so hard and fought so desperately, yet in the end, he still could not compare to a Feng Piaoling who had left Shrek Academy early on and humiliated him time and again.
This deeply pained Dai Huabin's heart. He held Huo Yuhao's hand, soothing his wounded soul.
In this manner, time slipped away minute by minute.
Half an hour later, Wang Dong'er and Wu Feng returned.
"One piece of good news, and one piece of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
These were the first words Wang Dong'er spoke upon her return.
The crowd froze for a moment, and Zhou Yi hurriedly asked, "Then tell us the bad news first."
A playful arc rose on Wang Dong'er's lips. "The bad news is, returning is fine, but you must be crippled, and the mastermind behind the ambush back then must be found and hacked into ten thousand pieces."
The others frowned. Crippling Zhou Yi was indeed within the realm of reason; even Dai Huabin felt this was quite reasonable, since he hated her as well.
It was only out of consideration for Huo Yuhao's feelings that he did not show it.
But finding the culprit and hacking him into ten thousand pieces—that would not do.
Wasn't this calling him out by name to kill him, Dai Huabin?
Zhou Yi could not help but curse, "Bastards! Back then, they were clearly the ones who violated the class rules..."
Dai Huabin also stepped forward to echo her, "Elder Xuan, Zhou Yi is our leading teacher. We absolutely cannot agree to their terms."
"All of you, shut up." Xuan Zi asked calmly, "Then what is the good news?"
Wang Dong'er said, "The good news is... sigh, Wu Feng, you'd better say it."
Wu Feng said, "We discovered that Feng Piaoling seems to greatly admire the Eldest Senior Sister of the Inner Courtyard, Zhang Lexuan. If Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan is willing to step forward, she might be able to persuade him to return. Feng Piaoling is the Master of the Spirit Hall, and everyone in the Spirit Hall listens to him. As long as Feng Piaoling is willing to return, the others will naturally be willing to follow him back."
As they spoke these words, both Wang Dong'er and Wu Feng felt a somewhat sour sensation in their hearts.
This inexplicable, indescribable feeling was something even they themselves could not define.
Those who also felt a bit sour were Dai Yaoheng and Bei Bei.
The former was because of his secret crush on Zhang Lexuan.
The latter was because Zhang Lexuan was his child bride. Although the one he loved was Tang Ya and not Zhang Lexuan, he still felt an inexplicable displeasure toward someone else coveting his child bride.
Xuan Zi chuckled. "So it's that girl Zhang Lexuan. Fine, I will send a message to that girl right away."
Time quickly arrived at the fourth day of the tournament.
The elimination rounds had already concluded.
Today was the round-robin tournament.
The sixty-seven advancing teams were divided into eight groups, with eight to nine teams in each group.
After the matches, the top two teams from each group would advance to the sweet sixteen.
Lots would be drawn for each round, with the matches conducted in three distinct formats: a one-on-one individual elimination match, a two-two-three format, and a team battle.
To save the most thrilling matches for the very end, Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy were naturally assigned to different groups.
Among them, the format Shrek drew for the first round was the one-on-one individual elimination match.
As if deliberately competing for dominance, Bei Bei was the only one to fight throughout the entire match, completing a clean sweep of seven opponents all by himself, after which he turned around and left without looking back.
The sight caused the people of the Spirit Hall to shake their heads repeatedly. Jiang Nannan frowned and said, "Bei Bei's movements are clearly unusual. It seems as though he can predict his opponents' every move."
Xiao Xiao curled her lips. "Eight times out of ten, it's that Huo Zhongxian using Spiritual Detection Sharing to help him cheat again. A dog really can't stop eating filth."
"Let him be. They are merely facing soul master academies whose highest strength is no more than three or four rings. Even if we expose them, the Star Luo Empire, as the host, will still favor Shrek. We just need to win match after match."
Feng Piaoling maintained an indifferent attitude.
The pressing matter at hand was to let the sisters Lan Susu and Lan Lulu, who possessed Body Martial Souls, display sufficient strength to catch the eye of the Body Sect hidden among the spectating crowd; that was what mattered most.
Soon, the matches for Huo Yuhao's group concluded.
It was the Sun Moon Royal Academy's turn to take the stage.
In his capacity as captain, Feng Piaoling stepped onto the stage to draw lots.
Under his deliberate control, he selected the second match format.
Their opponent was a soul master academy whose heritage dated back ten thousand years—the Beast Academy. Their strength was considerably greater than that of the Tianxing Academy, boasting a total of seven Soul Ancestors. Their captain was a forty-ninth rank high-tier Soul Ancestor with the Dragon Staff Martial Soul, and their vice-captain's soul power had likewise reached the forty-fifth rank with a Snake-Headed Cane Martial Soul. The two possessed a highly formidable Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Clearly, they had chosen to take the stage first.
"There is no need to hold back. Just display your strengths to your heart's content." Feng Piaoling looked toward Lan Susu and Lan Lulu.
The two sisters nodded obediently and stepped onto the stage.
The referee called both competing sides before him and said, "The rules for the two-two-three match format are as follows: once a party loses a match, they must leave the stage immediately. The winning side can choose to continue or withdraw and substitute, but they may not replenish their teammates, until all seven members of one side have lost the match. Is that understood?"
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