The tournament rules only prohibited killing an opponent. What the Shrek Seven Devils had done technically stayed just within those boundaries.
However, they had deliberately inflicted severe injuries on their opponents. If such behavior went unchecked, the remaining matches could easily become far more brutal.
As the head of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Prince Xue Xing stepped forward.
"What a sharp tongue you have!"
"The tournament rules clearly state that friendship comes first and competition second. The conduct of Shrek Academy's team is a blatant disregard for the spirit of this tournament!"
Xue Xing knew very well that the Shrek Seven Devils' actions were aimed at humiliating him.
Angry as he was, he still had no legitimate reason to punish them outright.
After all, the phrase "friendship first, competition second" was far too vague to serve as a concrete standard.
Furthermore, every member of Heaven Dou Academy's Third Team was still alive. If he arrested the Shrek Seven Devils in front of everyone, the outside world would undoubtedly accuse the imperial family of abusing its authority.
The audience immediately began discussing the matter among themselves.
Some supported punishing the Shrek Team on the spot, while others opposed it.
Ultimately, since no one had died, Shrek Academy had not technically broken the tournament rules.
At the same time, however, no one dared underestimate the Shrek Seven Devils anymore.
Defeating an entire team of Spirit Elders in less than a minute was enough to prove their strength.
Seeing that the moment was right, Grandmaster walked from the waiting area to the edge of the arena.
"Your Highness, I believe those words are rather inappropriate."
"Oh? Isn't this Yu Xiaogang, son of the patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?" Xue Xing sneered.
This time, however, Grandmaster remained unusually calm.
"There's no need for Your Highness to concern yourself with my identity."
"Since our Shrek Team did not kill any members of Heaven Dou Academy's team, on what grounds can you declare us guilty?"
"Or are you intending to abuse your authority and deliberately target Shrek Academy?"
Since the matter involved the dignity of the imperial family, Prince Xue Xing did not dare answer casually.
Moreover, Grandmaster's question was particularly difficult to refute.
With just a few words, he had shifted the Shrek Seven Devils from the role of aggressors to that of victims.
In the Seven Treasure Team's resting area.
Changkong let out a cold laugh.
"As expected of the famous Grandmaster. His ability to twist the issue is second to none."
Sun Buyu rubbed his temples.
"If it were me, I wouldn't know how to answer either. In a situation like this, the referees should really be the ones making the decision."
"But every one of those referees is far too cautious. None of them wants to get involved."
After a brief pause, he looked toward Wu Qi.
"Little Wu, how would you handle a situation like this?"
Wu Qi shrugged.
"There's no perfect solution."
"The imperial family should never have spoken in the first place. They're the tournament organizers, not the referees."
"Prince Xue Xing acted too impulsively. Not only did he lose the initiative, but he also dragged the imperial family into the controversy. If the tournament organizers pressure the referees into making a ruling, they're bound to face criticism."
"It's easy to spread rumors, but much harder to clear them."
"In a debate like this, anyone with decent speaking skills could easily come out ahead, let alone someone like Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang."
As long as one referee dared to make a ruling, the deadlock would be broken.
But that referee would almost certainly become the target of public criticism.
On the other hand, by helping the imperial family out of such an awkward situation, that referee's future career would likely be exceptionally bright.
Then again, would the tournament organizers ever choose someone so politically savvy to serve as a referee?
To ensure fairness, referees were supposed to be impartial and incorruptible.
The problem now was that, according to the written rules, everything the Shrek Seven Devils had done was technically allowed.
Yet if the referees declared that they had committed no violation, the imperial family would have no way to justify the outcome.
Wu Qi sighed.
"He really managed to steal the spotlight. After today, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's name will probably spread throughout Heaven Dou City."
"Not exactly for a good reason," everyone replied with visible disdain.
On the VIP platform.
The three education committee members who had come to watch the opening ceremony silently counted themselves fortunate.
The people from Shrek Academy were reckless and violent. Thankfully, they had never been allowed to join Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
Otherwise, there was no telling what kind of disaster they might have caused.
The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament was the greatest achievement accomplished after Bibi Dong became Pope.
Of course, it had not been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
She had planned it in detail many years earlier.
Coincidentally, the person she had originally discussed the tournament with was Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
Many of the tournament's rules had been established after those discussions.
As one of the tournament's original planners, Grandmaster understood its rules better than almost anyone else.
He spoke at length, leaving Prince Xue Xing completely speechless.
Even many members of the audience began siding with Shrek Academy, calling for the imperial family to uphold a fair judgment.
Emperor Xue Ye suppressed the anger welling up inside him.
But at this moment, he absolutely could not speak.
He quietly signaled Ning Fengzhi.
Understanding the gesture, Ning Fengzhi immediately stood up and said,
"Everyone, although I am not one of the tournament organizers and am merely an observer, would you be willing to let me offer my judgment on this matter?"
Grandmaster, however, gave him no opportunity.
"Heh, Sect Master Ning, there's no need to delay things any longer. I think it would be better to send the members of Heaven Dou Academy's Third Team away for treatment before their injuries become fatal and Shrek Academy ends up being blamed for it."
Ning Fengzhi wasn't offended in the slightest and simply smiled.
"Grandmaster Yu makes a fair point."
As he spoke, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared in his hand.
Seven streams of multicolored light descended upon the members of Heaven Dou Academy's Third Team, healing part of their injuries.
Immediately afterward, at Ning Fengzhi's instruction, tournament staff carried stretchers onto the arena and carefully transported the seven injured competitors away for medical treatment.
Tang San cupped his fists toward Ning Fengzhi.
"Since Sect Master Ning is willing to judge this matter fairly for us, I offer my sincere thanks."
Bone Douluo let out a quiet sneer.
Judge fairly?
Prince Xue Xing had simply handled the situation so poorly that Ning Fengzhi had no choice but to clean up the mess.
At this point, all Emperor Xue Ye wanted was to resolve the situation.
Besides, as long as Shrek Academy remained in the tournament, there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with them later.
Ning Fengzhi then spoke a few formal words.
According to the tournament rules, Shrek Academy had committed no official violation during this match, so the victory rightfully belonged to them.
However, on humanitarian grounds, he ruled that Shrek Academy should provide compensation to cover the medical expenses of the members of Heaven Dou Academy's Third Team.
As for whether Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang would actually pay afterward, that was no longer his concern.
On this day, the imperial family's reputation suffered a significant blow.
After Ning Fengzhi resolved the situation, Emperor Xue Ye immediately declared the opening match concluded and hurriedly left under the escort of the imperial guards.
Having won their first battle, every member of the Shrek Seven Devils was in high spirits.
"It's a good thing Teacher stepped in," Tang San said admiringly.
"Otherwise, I really wouldn't have known how to deal with that situation."
For the first time, he truly experienced the depth of his teacher's wisdom.
Grandmaster unconsciously clasped his hands behind his back and smiled faintly.
"Heh, it was only a minor matter. Everything unfolded exactly as I expected."
Today's match had served as a warning to every other team in the tournament.
Shrek Academy had revealed itself to be like a vicious wolf, mercilessly hunting down the ordinary academy teams.
If they didn't want to end up like Heaven Dou Academy's Third Team, every team that faced Shrek would have to fight with everything they had.
And if defeat became inevitable, they would have to surrender immediately without the slightest hesitation.
In short, Shrek Academy's actions had been so overbearing that, on the very first day of the tournament, they had managed to offend almost every participating team.
Prince Xue Xing was not someone who let grudges go easily, either.
Shrek Academy had publicly humiliated him and left him unable to save face. That score was now firmly etched into his memory.
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