In the second Spirit Master Tournament, the previous tournament, Canghui Academy had transferred to the Heaven Dou Empire division. They finished sixth in the qualifiers, just one place short of advancing, and were eliminated with great regret.
For any team, the qualifiers only have two outcomes: advance or be eliminated. Finishing sixth is especially frustrating. In a sense, they were the tournament's biggest losers.
That meant that in this year's tournament, whether to qualify or to erase the humiliation of last time, they would undoubtedly use every trick they had when facing the stronger teams.
Chen Ping didn't see it that way. It wasn't because he underestimated them, but because he had confidence in their own strength.
"If Canghui Academy tries to fight us head-on, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"
After all, only the top five teams would qualify. Canghui Academy could simply secure victories against the weaker teams and make sure they lost only to the four strongest teams.
Before the tournament, the Grand Spirit Arena's betting odds had the Seven Treasure Team as the overwhelming favorite. Storytellers in teahouses throughout the city were also analyzing the strength of every participating team.
Taking the Seven Treasure Team head-on was clearly an unwise decision. At the very least, every team should avoid facing them until the finals.
As they discussed the situation, Wu Qi quietly entered the room and suddenly spoke.
"Canghui Academy's headmaster has never been an honest man. Someone like him will stop at nothing to qualify. Just wait patiently for him to expose himself."
Hearing the familiar voice, everyone immediately turned around.
When they saw Wu Qi, smiles spread across their faces.
"Captain, welcome back!"
After exchanging greetings, Changkong asked.
"Brother Wu, are you certain Shi Nian will make a move during the tournament?"
During the tournament, every team member, lead teacher, and academy headmaster represented their academy.
If anyone committed misconduct, the entire academy would suffer the consequences and could even be blacklisted by the tournament organizers.
Wu Qi didn't elaborate.
"Just watch the show. But be careful yourselves as well. During the tournament, don't go out alone. Either travel in groups or have one of the teachers accompany you."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had invested heavily in this Seven Treasure Team.
Besides their lead teacher, Sun Buyu, there were numerous staff members handling logistics, as well as Spirit Douluo and Spirit Sage experts secretly protecting the team.
If Dugu Bo hadn't casually mentioned it, even Wu Qi wouldn't have known so many people were guarding them from the shadows.
"By the way, has anything changed over at Shrek Academy during the past few days?"
His original plan had been disrupted by Tai Tan, so he had already expected Tang San to recover from his setback. Combined with Grandmaster's constant encouragement, the master and disciple working together could easily restore Dai Mubai and the others' confidence.
Wu Qi asked because he wanted to confirm whether Shrek's lineup or substitute roster had changed.
Before the tournament began, every academy had already investigated the other participating teams.
The identities of some substitute players remained unknown, but the main lineups had all been thoroughly investigated.
Shrek Academy, in particular, had been investigated in great detail because of their conflict with the Seven Treasure Team.
Aside from the original Shrek Seven Devils, they had only added one substitute, Tailong.
There was little choice.
Jiangzhu had chosen to graduate, and Shrek Academy's talented recruits had already left. Apart from Tailong, none of the remaining students were particularly capable. Some were even weaker than Ma Hongjun.
Even if Grandmaster wanted to recruit someone else, there simply wasn't a suitable candidate.
There were a few older students with respectable strength.
Unfortunately, they had already exceeded the tournament's age limit and were ineligible to compete.
Today Sun Buyu officially submitted the team's roster to the tournament organizers.
After a long period of training, the Seven Treasure Team's substitute players had greatly improved their individual combat abilities.
That afternoon, the main team and the substitutes gathered for some simple coordination training.
Although it was called coordination training, its main purpose was to determine the rotation between the main lineup and the substitutes before the finals.
Among Ning Tianyu, Wang Lang, Zhu Guangzhi, and Zhou Yun were two assault-type Spirit Masters, one control-type Spirit Master, and one support-type Spirit Master.
Before the finals, Wu Qi decided that Ning Tianyu would replace Ning Rongrong in the lineup.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit looked almost identical unless examined very carefully.
However, there were always observant people capable of recognizing Ning Rongrong's Spirit.
Therefore, keeping her off the field until the finals would conceal her true Spirit.
At the same time, Ning Fengzhi had also instructed that Ning Rongrong should rotate in and out of the lineup to reduce the pressure on her.
Ning Tianyu was a direct descendant of one of the clan's elders and one of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's key talents. Giving him more tournament experience was especially important.
This arrangement also matched Ning Fengzhi's wishes perfectly.
Zhou Yun was a Control System Spirit Master and could rotate with Huo Wu.
Wang Lang and Zhu Guangzhi served as substitutes for Changkong and Huo Wushuang respectively.
For everyone, having substitute members take the field during the tightly packed preliminary rounds would greatly help preserve the main team's stamina and strength.
Strictly speaking, the Spirit Master Tournament was an extremely exhausting competition.
Wu Qi said, "As long as we're not facing a strong opponent, all the substitutes will take the field. Before the finals, Xiaotian and I will never appear together. Even against strong teams, only one of us will compete."
This arrangement not only gave the substitutes valuable opportunities to gain experience but also allowed the main members enough time to rest, accomplishing multiple goals at once.
After finalizing the lineup, everyone followed Sun Buyu to the accommodations the academy had rented near the tournament venue.
Seven Treasure Academy was located within Heaven Dou City, and it only took about thirty minutes to walk back and forth.
However, to conserve everyone's stamina and avoid unexpected incidents during travel, establishing a temporary base near the arena was considered essential.
Besides, Seven Treasure Academy certainly wasn't lacking in funds.
The academy uniforms were primarily glazed crystal blue, with the academy emblem crafted from precious blue-green gemstones displayed on the chest.
The overall design was understated yet elegant.
Taking wear and tear into account, the academy had also prepared multiple spare sets of uniforms.
The Five Element Academies had come to the same conclusion, and several of them were staying at the Heaven Dou Grand Hotel.
As Wu Qi and the others stepped outside, they happened to run into the Elephant Armored Academy Team, which had just arrived to check in.
After Dugu Bo stepped in to support the Skywater, Godwind, and Blazing Academies, the Elephant Armored Clan had been forced to withdraw a large number of its members from Element City.
As a result, the previous situation, where Elephant Armored Academy constantly bullied the three academies, had completely reversed, and they had become the ones on the receiving end.
The moment Elephant Armored Academy's captain, Huyan Li, saw Feng Xiaotian and the Huo siblings, his expression darkened. He immediately led his teammates forward and blocked Wu Qi and the others' path.
In terms of physique, the members of the Elephant Armored Academy Team, all possessing the Diamond Mammoth Spirit, were far larger and more imposing than Wu Qi's group.
If this had been an ordinary world rather than one of Spirit Masters, Seven Treasure Team would have been at a clear disadvantage based on size alone.
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