Grandmaster replied, "If he's only joining as a substitute, I can let him into the team. He can also take over Ma Hongjun's role as the key defender protecting our backline."
With two powerful frontline fighters already on the Shrek Seven Devils, Tailong's value was not as great as it had been in the original timeline.
Even so, with his ability to both withstand damage and fight effectively, he would make an excellent shield for the backline.
At the very least, he was far more useful than Ma Hongjun, who was currently the weakest member of the team.
After all, Grandmaster wasn't removing Ma Hongjun from the starting lineup. Officially, Tailong was only a substitute.
In important matches, Tailong could take the field instead. If Flender questioned the decision, they could simply say it was a tactical substitution.
Grandmaster had long held a poor opinion of Ma Hongjun. If not for Flender's relationship with him, Ma Hongjun would have been removed from the Shrek Seven Devils long ago.
During training, Ma Hongjun was the one who argued with him the most.
Not long ago, he had even openly questioned Grandmaster's authority. There was no way Grandmaster could like someone like that.
In truth, allowing Tailong to join the team was also his way of suppressing Ma Hongjun's arrogance.
If Ma Hongjun sincerely admitted his mistakes and apologized, he could remain on the team.
Otherwise, Tailong would gradually replace him. Even if Ma Hongjun remained an official starting member, by the time they reached the finals, he would be sitting quietly on the bench.
During training the next day, Xiao Wu instinctively became wary when she saw Tailong.
After hearing Tang San's explanation, many people wore strange expressions.
They had only recently been in conflict with Tailong, yet Tang San was already willing to trust him again. Just how broad-minded was he?
Of course, most people viewed the decision positively. Tang San's actions truly embodied the saying, "A true leader has room in his heart for others."
Ma Hongjun, however, paid no attention to it.
It wasn't until later, when Tailong consistently performed better than he did in every aspect, that he finally realized what was happening.
By then, however, his fate as the team's fringe member had already become unavoidable.
Grandmaster also came to appreciate the importance of substitute members. From that day onward, he began searching the academy for suitable backup teammates.
It was worth mentioning that Jing Ling and Huang Yuan, who had originally served as Shrek's substitutes in the original timeline, had already transferred to Seven Treasure Academy.
Jiangzhu was still at the academy, but she had a poor opinion of the Shrek Team and had no interest in becoming a substitute.
After being rejected by Wu Qi before, Grandmaster had already lost patience with her and bluntly declared that he would never use her.
Jiangzhu, however, didn't care in the slightest. At the end of the academic year, she simply applied for graduation.
As the days passed, it was finally time to register for the Spirit Master Tournament.
The registration process did not require representatives from each academy.
As long as an academy was officially registered with the Ministry of Education, it automatically qualified to participate unless there were special circumstances that needed to be reported to the tournament organizers.
For example, Blazing Academy and Godwind Academy, which had merged to form a single team, needed to notify the organizers of the arrangement.
Because of Seven Treasure Academy's rise, one Advanced Spirit Master Academy had lost too many talented students this year and decided to withdraw from the tournament.
The fate of an Advanced Spirit Master Academy that did not participate in the Spirit Master Tournament was already decided.
It would either be downgraded to an Intermediate Spirit Master Academy or shut down entirely.
As the tournament drew closer, Wu Qi's Spirit Power had only reached Level 48 and a half. At this rate, it would still take quite some time for him to break through to Spirit King.
Taking advantage of Feng Xiaotian and Ning Rongrong leaving to hunt Spirit Beasts for their Spirit Rings, Wu Qi returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well under Dugu Bo's guidance.
Before leaving, he had already arranged the team's training schedule.
The team had practiced formations centered around him countless times and knew them by heart.
Now it was time to focus on formations centered around Feng Xiaotian or the other members instead.
Inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Looking at the spring where icy and fiery energies continuously rose into the air, Wu Qi revealed a faint smile.
He had deliberately avoided relying too heavily on the Ice and Fire Springs before because he had been waiting for this very day.
Remaining submerged in the springs for an extended period would indeed greatly accelerate cultivation and could even raise his Spirit Power by several Levels within a short time.
However, the human body had limits.
The longer one remained exposed to the two springs, the more resistant the body became to their effects, forcing the cultivator to venture deeper to maintain the same benefits.
But the deeper one went, the pressure from the two opposing energies increased exponentially.
By then, even if Wu Qi's skin could withstand the springs, his internal organs would likely be torn apart.
Dugu Bo stared at the springs, the caution on his face impossible to hide.
It wasn't because the surface water could injure him.
Rather, as his poison techniques grew stronger, the cold yin energy within his body became increasingly concentrated. The Ice and Fire Springs, however, naturally counteracted his poison arts, making them his natural nemesis.
"Kid, have you really thought this through? Once your body is submerged in those springs, if you can't endure it, you won't even have the chance to call for help."
Wu Qi laughed confidently.
"Old man, I never take a fight I'm not sure I can win. Don't forget, I've already absorbed both the Ice and Fire Immortal Herbs. I naturally have a much higher resistance to these two attributes."
Dugu Bo said nothing more and allowed Wu Qi to cultivate on his own.
During the following days, he remained beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, tending to his medicinal garden.
After learning the value of high-grade medicinal herbs at the auction, he became even more determined to open a medicinal shop.
The herbs he had purchased at the auction were all replanted in his garden.
There were only ten days left before the Spirit Master Tournament.
Yet Wu Qi still hadn't returned, leaving everyone on the Seven Treasure Team increasingly anxious.
Feng Xiaotian even approached Dugu Yan several times, asking her to find out how Wu Qi's secluded cultivation was progressing.
However, Dugu Bo had not returned recently, and Dugu Yan also needed to focus on her own cultivation, so nothing came of it.
Although the team could still compete under Feng Xiaotian's leadership even without Wu Qi, everyone felt that something was missing.
Without him, they couldn't shake the feeling of unease.
In the past, whenever the team encountered difficult situations, it had always been Wu Qi's knowledge and judgment that found the solution.
If they ran into an opponent with an unconventional strategy during the tournament, they genuinely feared they would be left completely at a loss.
Seeing everyone's worried expressions, Sun Buyu scolded them with a smile.
"What, none of you know how to compete without your captain?"
Huo Wu, as straightforward as ever, voiced what everyone was thinking.
"We're worried that we won't be able to handle the situation properly and that we'll disappoint the captain."
That mindset came from assuming they would face overwhelmingly powerful opponents.
In reality, however, the Seven Treasure Team's strength was far ahead of every other team in the preliminary rounds. There were hardly any opponents capable of matching them.
At its core, their concern simply reflected their determination not to underestimate anyone.
There was nothing wrong with that attitude, but they had taken it too far and become overly fixated on it.
As their teacher, Sun Buyu understood exactly how they felt and patiently reassured them.
"You're all carrying too much pressure. You're worried that without the captain, your tournament results will suffer."
"Starting today, no more cultivation. Go into the city and relax for a while. Getting yourselves into the right state of mind will help you more than any training at this point."
"As for Wu Qi, I'll ask the Headmaster to find out how he's doing. So stop worrying yourselves over it."
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