thefictionvixens Chapter 682 Forfeit
Chapter 682 Forfeit
Chapter 682 Forfeit
Time flies, and two days have passed in the blink of an eye.
The forest affiliated with the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy remained as tranquil, serene, and elegant as ever. On the open forest meadows, lush blue silver grass grew, swaying violently with the whistling wind.
The whistling sound came from a completely black hammer; it was the sound of the air being torn apart by the friction of the black hammer as it was swung at high speed.
The owner of the jet-black hammer, with his body hunched over like a bow and a solemn expression, was meticulously wielding the hammer, practicing a unique technique for generating power.
After recuperating, Tang San's injuries had healed. While the other six monsters went to participate in the preliminary rounds of the Elite Soul Master Competition, he was the only one who chose to stay at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy to continue cultivating the Clear Sky Sect's ultimate techniques taught by Tang Hao.
To be fair, Tang San's comprehension is quite good.
In just two days, he grasped and initially mastered the power exertion method of the second of Haotian's Nine Absolutes, and was already able to release the complete move with difficulty.
The second of the Nine Absolute Techniques of Haotian is the Seal, which is like a drawn bow, sealing and solidifying power.
Unlike the First Absolute Void, which emphasizes the harmony of power and momentum to sweep away everything in its path, the Second Absolute Seal is more subtle. It is not aimed at killing the opponent, but rather at sealing and consolidating power for control.
Of course, the ultimate goal remains the same: to defeat the opponent.
Not far away.
Tang Hao, dressed in a tattered black robe, was still leaning against the huge tree that took three people to encircle. He held a half-wilted blue silver grass in his left hand and a dirty wine gourd in his right, chugging down cheap ale.
He quietly watched Tang San not far away, a satisfied light shining in his slightly cloudy eyes.
The talent and comprehension of this adopted son in front of me are indeed quite good. In just half a month, I taught him the Nine Techniques of Haotian, and he has already mastered the second technique.
This is much faster than he was back then.
Back then, it took him three or four months to finally grasp the basics of the second technique, and that was only under the personal guidance of his grandfather, Tang Chen.
Tang San, on the other hand, comprehended it entirely on his own.
It's easy to imagine how quick his comprehension is.
Watching Tang San's tireless efforts and sweat pouring down his face, Tang Hao felt a mix of emotions, yet also immense satisfaction.
Although Tang San may be the reincarnation of some old monster, he is still his own son, and his blood flows in his veins. This is an indisputable fact.
Tang Hao had already accepted this in his heart.
Tang San is his only hope if he wants to destroy the Spirit Hall and avenge his family.
Therefore, the higher Tang San's talent, the stronger his comprehension, and the faster he grows, the better.
Tang Hao was filled with anticipation, looking forward to the day when Tang San would grow strong enough to destroy the Spirit Hall.
I hope that day comes soon.
Tang San continued to swing the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand. He didn't know what Tang Hao was thinking, but he could feel his father's expectations for him.
Moreover, with his father by his side, Tang San felt incredibly happy and full of energy, so he swung the Clear Sky Hammer even more vigorously.
…………
Time quickly passed and it was afternoon.
As evening approached, the Shrek Seven Devils, who had gone to the Heaven Dou Arena in Heaven Dou City to participate in the preliminary rounds, finally returned to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Instead of returning directly to the accommodations provided for them, the group went to the wilderness forest where Tang San often cultivated.
"The mistress, the mistress."
Before she arrived, her voice preceded her. Xiao Wu's loud and boisterous voice came from afar, interrupting Tang San's punching motion.
Tang Hao, who was leaning against a big tree drinking alone, had already sensed it. He turned into a black wind and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Tang San put down the Clear Sky Hammer and looked towards the sound.
At a glance, he spotted Xiao Wu's slender and delicate figure not far away.
At this moment, Xiao Wu was skipping and hopping towards him with her two long, straight legs. She was wearing a pair of rabbit ear hair accessories on her head, which made her look exceptionally cute and gave one the urge to tug at them.
"Xiao Wu, you're back."
Looking at Xiao Wu's tall figure, Tang San's expression immediately softened, and a faint smile appeared on his face. At the same time, a different kind of emotion filled his heart.
After so many years of getting along, Tang San's gaze towards Xiao Wu was no longer pure. He no longer regarded her as a simple younger sister, but as his own possession, his Achilles' heel, whom he would not allow others to violate or harm.
"I just got back and was passing by, so I thought I'd drop in and see you. Hehe, are you happy?"
Xiao Wu skipped and hopped over to Tang San, sticking out her tongue and grinning mischievously.
"Mmm, I'm happy."
Seeing Xiao Wu's adorable appearance, Tang San was completely captivated, his heart melting away. It took him a long time to recover.
"By the way, how did the competition go? Did it go smoothly?"
Xiao Wu immediately waved her little fist, raised her little face with pride and confidence, and said:
"They're just a bunch of little karaomis. With Sister Wu in charge, it's a piece of cake."
After Tang San and Feng Xiaotian's duel ended in a draw, the Shrek Seven Devils faced only two unremarkable weak teams, and even with Tang San absent, they easily won.
This also signifies that they have firmly secured their fourth-place ranking in the qualifiers.
The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, Tiandou City Regional Preliminary Round, had a total of 29 teams participating. The tournament adopted a round-robin format with seven-person team matches, for a total of 29 rounds.
In other words, each team must compete against the other 28 teams to determine the winner.
With today's round of matches concluded, the qualifiers have now completed twenty-eight rounds, leaving only one final round before they come to a complete end.
The Shrek Seven Devils team has already participated in 27 matches, with a total record of 24 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses. Only one match remains to be played.
In this final match, the Shrek Seven Devils will face the strongest team in this Elite Soul Master Tournament, namely the undisputed champion, the Spirit Hall Second Team, who ranked first in the preliminaries.
Xiao Wu wasn't the only one who came to the forest; the Shrek Seven Devils and their teachers and students followed behind her.
Yu Xiaogang, Qin Ming, Dai Mubai, Yu Tianheng, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, Ma Hongjun and others were prominently featured, and even Flander, who was not very reliable and was often nowhere to be seen, was also there.
As for the four substitute players who were just there to make up the numbers, they were nowhere to be seen.
The matter to be discussed next is an internal secret of Shrek Academy and should not be overheard by anyone outside of Shrek.
So Yu Xiaogang sent the four substitute players back to the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy.
Before long, Zhao Wuji, who had stayed behind at the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, arrived here with Shao Xin, Lu Qibin, and Li Yusong.
The original members of Shrek Academy gathered together in the wilderness forest belonging to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy for a unique "closed-door" meeting.
After exchanging pleasantries, the Shrek members sat cross-legged in a circle on the wide meadow in the woods.
"Tomorrow will be the last round of the qualifiers, and also the last match for the Shrek Seven Devils. Next, let's talk about how to deal with this match."
Yu Xiaogang looked around at everyone with a solemn expression, briefly explained the topic of the meeting, and hoped that everyone would give some opinions.
However, after the words were spoken, the room fell silent. No one answered, and everyone seemed to be lost in thought.
Yu Xiaogang looked slightly embarrassed, frowned slightly, and could only turn his gaze to his good apprentice:
"Mistress, you should know who our opponent will be tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, I know."
Upon hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Tang San nodded slightly, though his voice sounded somewhat low.
He certainly knew which team would be their opponent tomorrow.
Apart from the team sent by the Spirit Hall Academy, no other team could attract his attention.
Although Tang San didn't participate in the competition these past two days, he knew that the Shrek Seven Devils were lucky enough to avoid the Spirit Hall's second team in the draw.
You can avoid it for a while, but you can't avoid it forever.
As the preliminary rounds draw to a close, the Shrek Seven Devils and the Spirit Hall's second team will finally meet.
But unexpectedly, this match didn't come until the final round of the qualifiers.
It has to be said that this was quite unexpected.
As for whether there was anything fishy going on, Tang San couldn't tell.
If the Spirit Hall wanted to rig the Elite Soul Master Tournament, it would be very easy; they could do it during the draw ceremony.
But if the Spirit Hall really wanted to take action against the Shrek Seven Devils, there was absolutely no need to wait until the last round of the preliminaries to make arrangements.
After all, the Shrek Seven Devils had already secured a spot in the top five of the preliminary rounds, so the outcome of the final match was irrelevant; they could simply give up.
Tang San couldn't understand it at all.
In fact, what Tang San was thinking was just his own imagination.
The Spirit Hall did not do anything underhanded in the Elite Soul Master Competition, because there was no need for it.
If they wanted to torment them, there were plenty of ways; Ye Qifeng had already prepared everything for them.
"Cough cough—"
Seeing that Tang San seemed to be deep in thought as well, Yu Xiaogang felt a little helpless, so he coughed twice to attract everyone's attention, and then continued:
"As you all probably already know, in the final round of the qualifiers, our Shrek Seven Devils faced an opponent who was an extremely powerful team, one could even say terrifying."
"Yes, it's the team you all know, the Spirit Hall's second team that hasn't lost a single match in the preliminary rounds of this Elite Soul Master Tournament."
Yu Xiaogang glanced at the solemn expressions on everyone's faces, and continued speaking:
There's something I need to tell you.
"In this final round of the preliminary rounds, only the match between the Shrek Seven Devils and the Spirit Hall's second team is a clash of titans; the rest are all between strong teams and weak teams, so the outcome is not in doubt."
"In order to bring the audience the most exciting viewing experience, the official organizing committee of the event has decided to make the match between the Shrek Seven Devils and the Spirit Hall Second Team the symbol of the end of the preliminaries, and put it as the last show."
Upon hearing this, the Shrek members all showed expressions of surprise.
Flander's eyes even turned into the shape of gold soul coins. Is there really such a good thing? If he gets a few GGs in this match, wouldn't he make a fortune?
However, seeing the surprised faces of the crowd, Yu Xiaogang felt no joy whatsoever. He simply snorted coldly, pouring cold water on their enthusiasm.
"Hmph, don't think that the tournament organizing committee's arrangement is a good thing. Although it is beneficial to promote the reputation of Shrek Academy, it may also put the Shrek Seven Devils in a very difficult position."
"The Spirit Hall's second team is not a weak team. If the Shrek Seven Devils lose this match, the reputation we have built up will be greatly diminished."
He swept his stern gaze across the crowd, giving a particularly fierce glare to Flander, who was completely obsessed with money, until he abandoned that ridiculous idea before continuing:
"Regarding tomorrow's match, the three teaching committee members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and even the Heaven Dou Royal Family strongly demand that the Shrek Seven Devils must participate."
"However, we still have the right to refuse."
"Although we are participating under the name of the second team of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, we should, in principle, follow the instructions of the three teaching committees of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the Heaven Dou Royal Family."
"But as agreed beforehand, the Shrek Seven Devils have already made it into the top five of the preliminaries, securing their spots in the qualifying rounds and the finals. This can be considered as exceeding the agreed-upon task and winning honor for them."
"Even if we refuse to participate in this final match, we have a valid reason. Neither the Three Education Committees nor the Heavenly Dou Royal Family can criticize us for this, nor can they take back our spot in the competition because of it."
"After all, the Shrek Seven Devils will need to participate in the subsequent qualifying rounds and the finals."
At this point, Yu Xiaogang paused briefly before finally revealing his true thoughts to everyone:
"Moreover, our purpose in settling in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was to use this opportunity to gain a spot in the Continental Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies."
"Now that we have the spot in the competition, it's too late for them to back out. Since that's the case, we don't necessarily have to follow their orders. We might as well do what Shrek Academy wants."
Finally, Yu Xiaogang brought the topic back to the competition:
"Getting back to the main topic, regarding the final round of the preliminaries, should we participate in the match between the Shrek Seven Devils and the Spirit Hall's second team?"
"Taking all factors into consideration, my suggestion is to voluntarily forfeit and abandon this match."
"What?" The moment Yu Xiaogang uttered those words, Flander, sitting opposite him, immediately stood up in surprise: "Withdraw from the match? Why?"
Everyone else looked at Yu Xiaogang in surprise, wanting to hear his explanation, but Yu Xiaogang didn't say anything more.
"But, teacher," Tang San said at this moment:
"Giving up the match may avoid facing our opponents, but it also means we won't be able to figure out their strengths and weaknesses."
"If we meet them again in the finals, we'll probably still be at a disadvantage."
"What you said makes sense." Yu Xiaogang pondered for a moment:
"Then we'll find out more about them during the qualifying rounds."
"The qualifying rounds are individual competitions, and in one-on-one situations, a person's strength and hidden strengths can be better revealed."
(End of this chapter)