"So, what? Looking for a fight?" Wu Qi asked coldly.
Huyan Li knew how strong Wu Qi was and had also heard the rumors surrounding him.
He neither had the strength nor the courage to provoke Wu Qi.
Pointing at Feng Xiaotian and the others, he snorted.
"This has nothing to do with you. This is a grudge between us and the Feng and Huo families!"
"What a joke. We're one team. Who are you to spout nonsense?" Wu Qi replied, his gaze turning icy as he fixed his sharp eyes on the members of the Elephant Armored Academy Team.
It was as if the slightest suspicious move from them would prompt him to strike without hesitation.
Feng Xiaotian quietly reminded him,
"Captain, be careful. This could be a trap."
Although the tournament had not officially begun, if two teams got into a private fight and caused a serious disturbance, they could very well be disqualified.
Trading the future of the Seven Treasure Team for the lives of the Elephant Armored Team was obviously not worth it.
But Wu Qi's anger was not without reason.
The Elephant Armored Academy Team was far from popular within the Heaven Dou Empire. Even if they were crippled, so what?
Whether or not the Seven Treasure Team had the backing of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family would undoubtedly support them. Moreover, within the Heaven Dou division, the imperial family had the final say. Even if Bibi Dong tried to intervene, it would accomplish nothing.
Without giving Wu Qi a chance to act, Huyan Li silently stepped aside and cleared the way.
With a cold snort, the Seven Treasure Team walked past them without another glance.
"Captain, they're way too arrogant. Are we really just going to let them go?" Huyan Shan asked through gritted teeth.
Huyan Li shot him a glare.
"What else do you expect us to do?"
Wu Qi had Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo, backing him, and Ning Rongrong was Ning Fengzhi's daughter.
Even the Spirit Hall's Platinum Bishop, Salas, had forbidden them from provoking Wu Qi.
Although Huyan Li didn't know Wu Qi's background, the level of attention he received was enough to convince him not to make an enemy of him.
After leaving the hotel, Huo Wu said angrily.
"One day we'll drive those Elephant Armored Clan bastards out of Element City!"
Huo Wushuang remained much calmer.
"Once the tournament starts, they'll definitely try to make things difficult for us. We'd better stay on our guard."
If the Elephant Armored Clan were truly easy to deal with, they wouldn't have remained in Element City for so many years.
While they were talking, the teams from the Four Element Academies approached from the opposite direction.
Yu Tianxin wasn't particularly close to Wu Qi. The two simply nodded in greeting before going their separate ways.
The Skywater, Divinewind, and Blazing Academies, on the other hand, were as close as family.
That evening, the four academies even held a joint banquet.
The following day was the final rest day before the tournament officially began.
The veteran lead teachers from every academy spent the day explaining the tournament rules to their teams.
At the same time, large numbers of Spirit Masters poured into Heaven Dou City, eager to witness the grand event of the Spirit Master world.
Since the members of the Seven Treasure Team had all participated in numerous matches at the Grand Spirit Arena, Sun Buyu felt it was necessary to emphasize one important point.
"The rules of the Spirit Master Tournament are completely different from those of the Grand Spirit Arena."
The Grand Spirit Arena allowed far fewer restrictions. Both sides could use virtually any method available to them, including ordinary combat techniques and various tactics outside of their Martial Spirit abilities.
For example, Tang San could freely use his hidden weapons during matches at the Grand Spirit Arena.
In contrast, if Tang San used hidden weapons during the Spirit Master Tournament, his team would immediately forfeit the match.
If the consequences were serious enough, he could even be stripped of his qualification to compete.
The purpose of the Spirit Master Tournament was to provide young Spirit Masters with a platform to compete and exchange experience. Outstanding talents would then become targets for recruitment by the major factions.
As a result, the tournament rules were far stricter.
Competitors were forbidden from using any means other than their Martial Spirits.
Sun Buyu reminded them,"Wu Qi, you can't wear that soft armor of yours either. If someone reports it, you'll be in serious trouble."
The restrictions applied not only to weapons unrelated to one's Martial Spirit, but also to armor and other protective equipment.
In the original timeline, Xiao Wu relied on the overwhelming defensive power of the Yearning Heartbroken Red to completely overwhelm the Balak Academy Team.
Wu Qi could only sneer at that.
Were the referees blind?
The opponents' attacks were mysteriously being nullified, and Xiao Wu's situation was far too obvious to withstand any real scrutiny.
The only reason it was ignored was because the matches were being held within the Heaven Dou Empire. Both the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and Crown Prince Xue Qinghe wanted to recruit Shrek Academy, so they simply turned a blind eye instead of pursuing the matter.
Besides, the Barak Kingdom was only a vassal state of the Heaven Dou Empire. Since the ruling empire said nothing, people from a subordinate kingdom naturally had no standing to raise objections.
If no one had been protecting Shrek Academy, they could very well have been stripped of their tournament qualification on the spot.
Furthermore, any food created by Food System Spirit Masters had to be prepared after the match officially began. Food made before the match was not allowed onto the arena.
The reason was simple. A father and son with identical Food System Spirits could produce food that was impossible to distinguish by appearance alone.
Once on the arena, consuming food made by a Spirit Ancestor-level Food System Spirit Master and food made by a Spirit Emperor-level Food System Spirit Master would produce completely different effects.
To ensure fairness, such practices were naturally prohibited.
Sun Buyu continued, "One more thing. The tournament rules strictly forbid killing. Anyone who violates this rule will have all of their results voided, and their entire academy will be permanently blacklisted."
The purpose of the tournament was to provide young Spirit Masters with a platform to demonstrate their abilities, not to create a battlefield.
Moreover, one of the original goals of establishing the tournament was to promote peace.
Killing an opponent on the arena clearly violated that purpose.
Controlling their own team was easy enough, but they had no way of controlling their opponents' intentions.
What if someone deliberately targeted Seven Treasure Academy by sending an injured or terminally ill contestant into the match and intentionally getting themselves killed?
After all, everyone was an individual. No one could truly know what someone else was thinking.
If the team became an innocent victim because of such a scheme, who would bear the responsibility for the loss?
It was clearly a loophole in the tournament rules.
Hearing everyone's concerns, even Sun Buyu felt a headache coming on.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not part of the tournament committee. If something like that really happened, the only solution would probably be for the clan to step in and negotiate."
The scenario was admittedly far-fetched. After all, who would willingly throw away their life?
Still, it was always wise to remain cautious.
Sun Buyu was grateful that the Seven Treasure Team was backed by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
During the tournament, Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo would both be present. If anyone actually attempted such a scheme, the eyesight of a Titled Douluo would easily expose what had happened.
Moreover, the team was officially registered as the Second Heaven Dou Royal Team, so the Heaven Dou Empire would naturally be inclined to support them.
Wu Qi raised a hand to calm everyone.
"We can report this loophole to the tournament committee, but I doubt they'll add a new rule during this year's tournament."
A competition of this scale had to publish its rules clearly before it began.
After all, this wasn't the sort of event where the organizers would change the rules in the middle of the competition and invite endless criticism.
The only unfortunate part was that they had discovered this loophole too late.
Sun Buyu smiled bitterly.
"Just stay alert. If you run into someone trying to pull a stunt like that, keep your distance or immediately report it to the referee."
"In short, stay vigilant and don't fall into anyone else's trap."