The qualification certificates were soon presented to Shrek Academy.
Because of Tang San and his team's conduct, the imperial family's reputation had suffered greatly. Naturally, Emperor Xue Ye had no reason to show them any favor.
He simply handed the certificate to Tang San before turning around and leaving without saying a single word. The contrast with the treatment the Seven Treasure Team had received could not have been more obvious.
The members of Shrek frowned slightly. When Ning Fengzhi walked past them without presenting their prize money, Tang San could no longer hold back.
Ignoring the occasion, he questioned him.
"Sect Master Ning, did you forget our academy's prize money?"
Every team was supposed to receive the tournament prize. Why were they being excluded?
Before Ning Fengzhi could answer, Salas spoke first.
"If I remember correctly, Shrek Academy has yet to compensate Emperor Team Three for their medical expenses. Nor have you compensated the Blaze Radiance Academy for their losses."
"These 10,000 Gold Soul Coins will be paid to those two teams by the tournament committee on your behalf. This is the unanimous decision of the organizing committee. Do you understand?"
Tang San's face darkened, but he did not dare openly challenge the tournament committee.
Next, Salas, representing Spirit Hall, presented additional rewards to the top three teams.
The rewards were nothing particularly rare, mainly cultivation resources and permits allowing entry into the Spirit Beast Forest.
Once the rewards had been distributed, the host briefly livened up the atmosphere before handing the stage over to Emperor Xue Ye.
Instead of speaking immediately, Xue Ye swept his gaze across the five qualifying teams, lingering for a few extra moments on Wu Qi and Feng Xiaotian.
Both of them were Spirit Kings. Whether the empire could claim the championship depended largely on those two.
After about a minute, he finally smiled and began speaking.
"First of all, I congratulate all of you for overcoming every challenge and earning your place in the Promotion Tournament."
"As the ruler of the empire, I am proud of every one of you."
After the usual formal remarks, Xue Ye continued with an announcement.
"The captains and vice-captains of each team play vital roles throughout the competition."
"Therefore, I have decided to grant the captains and vice-captains the noble title of Viscount, while all other participating members will receive the title of Baron."
"These titles will officially take effect once you graduate and report to the empire. Your territories will be assigned after you report for duty."
Xue Ye was not handing out noble titles for nothing.
Reporting to the empire effectively meant entering imperial service and becoming part of its official hierarchy.
For those backed by major factions, such titles meant very little.
The only people likely to be genuinely interested were commoner Spirit Masters like Oscar and Chen Ping.
According to Heaven Dou Empire law, noble titles could normally only be earned through military merit.
With the continent enjoying relative peace, earning such distinctions through military achievements was practically impossible.
Especially now that Xue Ye was consolidating his authority, he rarely granted new titles.
In fact, no new noble families had emerged over the past decade or so. At most, someone like Wu Qinan had merely received a promotion in rank because of military achievements.
The fact that Xue Ye was granting so many noble titles at once showed just how determined the empire was to recruit talented individuals.
Moreover, these were genuine hereditary titles with fiefs attached, not merely honorary ranks.
Bishop Salas frowned and looked toward Emperor Xue Ye.
"Your Majesty, isn't this somewhat inappropriate?"
"There has never been a precedent for granting noble titles because of the Spirit Master Tournament. This time."
Xue Ye replied casually, "Since when does Spirit Hall have the authority to interfere in decisions made by the empire?"
Although Salas was displeased, he could hardly lose his temper in front of everyone.
Most of the spectators understood that relations between Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire had become increasingly strained.
In recent years, Bibi Dong had acted ever more aggressively, causing many factions to suffer. Even the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had taken significant losses because of her actions.
By openly recruiting talented Spirit Masters, Xue Ye was clearly trying to strengthen the empire's position.
His actions also sent a clear message to everyone present, they would eventually have to choose between Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
Soon afterward, Xue Ye concealed the anger in his eyes and continued with a smile.
"The Promotion Tournament will be held at the Royal Hunting Grounds. All qualifying teams have one month to prepare."
"During this month, I hope none of you become complacent. Proper training is essential, but remember that cultivation requires a balance between work and rest. Do not push yourselves too hard."
"The Promotion Tournament is a stage for demonstrating individual strength. I hope every one of you achieves even greater success."
Unlike the Preliminary Tournament, which was held separately in each region, the Promotion Tournament would combine the empire's teams with those from the five kingdoms.
The kingdoms and principalities had always competed against the empire behind the scenes, so Xue Ye naturally did not want the imperial teams to be outperformed.
He also promised assistance with hunting Spirit Beasts.
For Wu Qi, however, any Spirit Beast around thirty thousand years old was unworthy of becoming his sixth Spirit Ring, making that promise meaningless to him.
With that, the Preliminary Tournament officially came to an end, and the participating teams left the venue in an orderly manner.
As soon as the Seven Treasure Team stepped out of the arena, they were greeted by members of many other teams.
Throughout the Preliminary Tournament, the Seven Treasure Team had rarely fought with excessive force, earning them a good reputation among the competing academies.
Now that they had set a new tournament record, many believed they could make history once again in the Promotion Tournament.
An undefeated Promotion Tournament run was not unprecedented. What truly drew everyone's attention were records like defeating six or even seven opponents in succession, feats that showcased extraordinary individual strength.
After all, as a match dragged on, a Spirit Master's Spirit Power and stamina would steadily decline. So far, the best record had been one competitor defeating five opponents consecutively, a feat achieved in the Star Luo Division.
If someone from the Heaven Dou Division could defeat six or even seven opponents in a row, it would, in a sense, overshadow Star Luo Empire's record.
Of course, no one would ever fake such an achievement.
Any team that allowed itself to be defeated by a single opponent five or more times in succession would forever be remembered as a disgrace in tournament history.
Unless an academy wanted to ruin its own reputation, there was no way it would deliberately cooperate to produce such an absurd result.
Before long, Wu Qi noticed the members of the Windfire Team and the Skywater Team waiting for them nearby.
[T/N: Godwind and Blazing Team has been merged]
The three teams shared an unusually close relationship. They had gathered to discuss their plans for the Promotion Tournament and avoid exposing too many of their trump cards, which might otherwise benefit rival teams.
After some discussion, Shui Bing'er spoke first.
"Our Skywater Team isn't particularly strong in one-on-one combat. The Promotion Tournament isn't where our strengths lie."
Her meaning was obvious.
Skywater intended to forfeit their match against the Seven Treasure Team once again.
The Windfire Team, however, had no intention of giving up.
Their individual members were also quite capable, and many of them regarded Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wushuang, and the others as role models. Naturally, they wanted the opportunity to spar with them and see firsthand how large the gap in strength really was.
Since both academies were allied, Wu Qi had no reason to refuse.
"In that case, we won't keep you any longer. The month-long Preliminary Tournament has been exhausting. We'll head back and get some rest."
"If there's anything else we need to discuss, let's meet again in a couple of days."
The members of the Seven Treasure Team were eager to return and receive the sect's rewards, so they had no desire to linger.
The members of both Skywater Team and Windfire Team were equally exhausted and were also looking forward to going back to rest.
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