The episode of the Mingluo Sect's disappearance quickly passed, and the semi-finals between the Clear Sky Sect and the Tianlong Gate officially began.
As the semi-finals started, the audience soon forgot the previous events, pouring all their attention into the matches.
The format for the semi-finals and finals was different from before.
The semi-final and final matches required completing the one-on-one mode, the two-two-three mode, and the team battle.
The final outcome was decided by a best-of-three series.
Unfortunately, although the Tianlong Gate was not weak, they were only led by a single Spirit Emperor.
The Clear Sky Sect's lineup of three Spirit Emperors and four Spirit Kings was powerful; the Tianlong Gate was simply no match.
The Clear Sky Sect won both the one-on-one and two-two-three modes against the Tianlong Gate, advancing directly to the grand finals without even needing to fight the team battle.
After the semi-finals ended, there was another three-day rest period. During this time, news arrived from the outside world.
While Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the Spirit Department at Shrek Academy, was leading his team back to Shrek Academy, they were intercepted and attacked by Evil Soul Masters on the Lima Plains.
In that battle, Dai Huabin was killed, Xu Sanshi was crippled, and Gongyang Mo, Xiao Xiao, and Ma Xiaotao were kidnapped.
Even Yan Shaozhe, a Super Douluo, was heavily injured in the fight.
If the Sea Gods Pavilion elders Song Yunzhi and Lin Huiqun hadn't arrived in time, they might have been completely wiped out.
In fact, Yan Shaozhe had already sent a message to the academy when he left Star Luo City, fearing that the Evil Soul Masters of the Mingluo Sect might secretly send people to target them.
After all, the Shrek Inspection Team's crackdown on Evil Soul Masters was so intense that it was only natural for the Evil Soul Masters to hold a grudge.
However, Ma Xiaotao had completely turned to the dark side, and Yan Shaozhe didn't dare to delay.
Yet, the thing he had been worrying about happened anyway.
Had Song Yunzhi and Lin Huiqun not arrived in time, Yan Shaozhe might have met his end right then and there.
But even so, Yan Shaozhe was to blame for Dai Huabin's death, Xu Sanshi being crippled, and the kidnapping of Gongyang Mo, Xiao Xiao, and Ma Xiaotao.
If he had waited a few more days in Star Luo City, the worst outcome would have only been a crippled Ma Xiaotao.
Now, not only was Ma Xiaotao lost, but several geniuses were also lost along with her.
Especially Dai Huabin: he was the second son of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
Dai Yueheng's right arm had been crippled, so he hadn't returned to Shrek Academy this time and instead stayed in Star Luo City.
It was precisely because of this that Dai Yueheng was fortunate enough to escape the disaster.
But Dai Yueheng had fought for the glory of Shrek Academy, only to have an arm crippled by Ma Xiaotao; his future achievements would be severely limited.
Fortunately, there was still the second son, Dai Huabin; his talent was even a notch higher than Dai Yueheng's.
However, Yan Shaozhe's strength alone was limited, and he simply couldn't protect so many people.
Now that Dai Huabin was dead, one of the two geniuses of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion was crippled and the other dead; the blow was truly significant.
Yan Shaozhe didn't even know how to explain this to the White Tiger Duke.
Furthermore, Xu Sanshi was the Young Sect Master of the Xuanming Sect; his status was significant.
Now that Xu Sanshi was crippled, how was he supposed to explain it to the Xuanming Sect?
Although the families of Xiao Xiao and Gongyang Mo didn't have Titled Douluos, they were still not to be underestimated.
With the two of them kidnapped, they might not fear the pressure from their families, but it was still a massive loss for Shrek Academy.
Because Xiao Xiao possessed twin spirits and her Family's influence was average, she was a candidate the academy intended to pour resources into cultivating.
Gongyang Mo went without saying; the Rainbow Dragon was no worse than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and he was also one of the future candidates for the Sea Gods Pavilion.
The kidnapping of these two meant that Shrek Academy's plan to compensate for Zhang Lexuan's disappearance had completely fallen through.
As for Ma Xiaotao, who had completely turned to the dark side and been taken by the Evil Soul Masters, the outcome was obvious.
Yan Shaozhe even suspected the main reason they were attacked by Evil Soul Masters was that Ma Xiaotao had turned into a Black Phoenix.
Although it wasn't said aloud, with so many Spirit Masters at the tournament, anyone with a bit of discernment could see it.
The corrupted Ma Xiaotao was almost indistinguishable from an Evil Soul Master.
Therefore, Ma Xiaotao's attraction to the Evil Soul Masters was easy to imagine.
At this thought, Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but feel an even deeper hatred for Xu Tianhao.
If not for Xu Tianhao's bizarre methods, how could Ma Xiaotao have turned to the dark side?
If Ma Xiaotao hadn't turned, the subsequent series of events would never have happened.
In short, all of this started because of Xu Tianhao!
After finding a scapegoat, Yan Shaozhe's heart gradually calmed down, and he began to handle the aftermath of the situation.
Meanwhile, Xu Tianhao, who was preparing for the grand finals, almost couldn't hold back a laugh when he heard the news.
He had already guessed that Cult Leader Zhongli Wu and the others left early for Ma Xiaotao, but he hadn't expected them to succeed so easily.
Most importantly, since Cult Leader Zhongli Wu had the power to kill Dai Huabin, it proved he could have killed others as well.
So why was only Dai Huabin gone?
This point was quite intriguing.
Xiao Xiao, Gongyang Mo, and Ma Xiaotao were all kidnapped—could the Holy Spirit Cult have other plans?
Not to mention Gongyang Mo, the prestige of the Rainbow Dragon was known to almost everyone.
It was only because the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was an old Sect with a ten-thousand-year Legacy that most people would show some Face.
They wouldn't openly compare the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to the Rainbow Dragon Spirit.
But Xiao Xiao's situation was a bit different from the original work; the twelve-year-old Xiao Xiao was already a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
Because she cultivated two Spirits simultaneously, the Three Lives Soul-Crushing Cauldron had four spirit rings: two yellow and two purple.
And the Nine Phoenixes Arrival Xiao was also different from the original work; it didn't have any hundred-year spirit rings now, but rather three purple thousand-year spirit rings.
The reason Xiao Xiao was different from the original work was precisely because of Zhang Lexuan's disappearance, which led Shrek to decide to invest more in the younger generation.
As a possessor of twin spirits, although she wasn't of the attack system with the highest potential, she was definitely worth cultivating.
Additionally, the Nine Phoenixes Arrival Xiao was originally a support Spirit, so adding three thousand-year spirit rings in advance to speed up her strength enhancement was acceptable.
However, to continue cultivating both Spirits simultaneously, Xiao Xiao's physical fitness would need to improve further.
In short, Shrek Academy's cultivation of Xiao Xiao was more diligent than in the original work, at least not letting her add hundred-year spirit rings to the Nine Phoenixes Arrival Xiao.
Cult Leader Zhongli Wu had been watching the matches and discovered the potential of Xiao Xiao and Gongyang Mo; kidnapping them to take for his own use was also understandable.
But none of this was what Xu Tianhao cared about; as long as Shrek was the one hurting, he could just gloat in secret.
The only thing Xu Tianhao found regrettable was that He Caitou was actually perfectly fine.
Given Xu Tianhao's identity, He Caitou was definitely on his must-kill list.
Unfortunately, there were no opportunities during the tournament, so he had to let it go.
Now, facing the Holy Spirit Cult's attack where so many people were affected, He Caitou actually had extremely good luck.
One could only say that the kid had some luck on his side.
After learning that Yan Shaozhe's group had been attacked, Xu Jiawei also reacted quickly.
He directly dispatched five Titled Douluos from the Enshrinement Hall to track down the traces of these Evil Soul Masters.
Firstly, it was to do a favor for Shrek Academy, and secondly, he truly wanted to kill those Evil Soul Masters.
Unfortunately, by the time the news reached Star Luo City, Cult Leader Zhongli Wu and the others had already succeeded and fled.
By the time Xu Jiawei sent people to investigate, Cult Leader Zhongli Wu and the others had long since made their getaway; they wouldn't stay behind and wait.