"In the two empires combined, there are nearly a hundred advanced spirit master academies. Each academy has one entry slot, while each empire’s official royal academy is granted two—one for the main team and one for the secondary team."
"For example, in the Heaven Dou Empire, that slot belongs to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. The main team qualifies directly for the finals as a matter of imperial prestige, while the secondary team must still fight through the preliminary rounds. That ans thirty teams will advance from the preliminaries, and all thirty will enter the finals. But before the finals, there will be a ranking competition. The purpose of this round is to determine the order of appearance for the finals."
"The preliminaries are fought in full-team battles, using a round-robin system within each division. The team with the most points advances."
"The ranking competition, however, is very different. Each team still fields seven mbers, but they fight one-on-one in sequence. The winner stays on; the loser is replaced by the next teammate until one side has all seven defeated."
At this point, Flender couldn’t help glancing resentfully at Li Chang’an. With his strength, even in the ranking matches he could probably put on a casual show of wiping out six opponents in a row...
"In other words, the preliminaries emphasize teamwork, while the ranking competition highlights individual prowess. This structure allows the empires and the Spirit Hall to better identify the most outstanding young spirit masters."
"The finals will feature thirty-three teams in total, fighting through a brutal elimination format."
"Wait a mont, Headmaster," Oscar suddenly interrupted. "Didn’t you say each empire has one seeded team, plus fifteen advancing through the preliminaries and ranking rounds? That should only be thirty-two teams. Where does the thirty-third co from?"
Flender smiled faintly. "I forgot to ntion—the seeded teams aren’t just two, but three. The third seed is the team directly sent by Spirit Hall, which will also be the strongest competitor."
"In the past three tournants, only once did the Star Luo Empire take the championship. The other two were won by Spirit Hall’s teams. They are likely to be your most dangerous opponents. From what I’ve seen, Spirit Hall’s academy team will be far stronger than even the Emperor Team you’ve faced before. And don’t forget, they now have a mysterious ’Holy Son.’ Even Teacher Li’s independent team may not be able to match them."
Flender rubbed his temples in frustration. The pressure on Shrek Academy this ti was enormous—besides Li Chang’an’s new team, they also had to face Spirit Hall. He wasn’t sure if even second place was within reach.
Hearing all this, Ma Hongjun couldn’t help grumbling: "Headmaster, why is this tournant so complicated? I’m getting dizzy just listening to it."
Dai Mubai shot him a glare. "What’s so hard to understand? No matter the rules, if we don’t lose a single match, the worst we’ll do is second place. Aside from Teacher Li’s team, who else could possibly stop us?"
Flender nodded. "That’s right. Rules matter, but in the end, strength is what decides everything. Now, the tactical arrangents will be left to Tang San. Except for Teacher Li and the students who will follow him, the rest are dismissed."
With that, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, Yu Xiaogang, and several older students like Jiang Zhu and Huang Yuan all stood up and left. But Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and ng Yiran all remained seated.
Flender looked at Ning Rongrong and ng Yiran in surprise. "Why haven’t you two gone yet? What’s this—after hearing Li Chang’an, you both want to leave with him too?"
His words were half in jest. After all, even if you beat him to death, he wouldn’t believe Li Chang’an actually had four girlfriends. And besides, both Ning Rongrong and ng Yiran were among the finest talents of their generation—Flender was still counting on them to help secure second place.
But to his utter shock, the two girls exchanged a glance, then spoke in unison:
"Headmaster Flender, I’ve decided to go with Teacher Li."
Flender: ...
Xiao Wu: ’Sothing feels very wrong here.’
Zhu Zhuqing: ’...This is...’
"You two—you’re not joking, are you?" Flender’s composure finally broke. His expression sank as an icy dread welled up in his chest.
"We’re not joking," they answered at the sa ti.
"But... but Li Chang’an clearly said he was only taking his girlfriends with him. You two don’t an to tell that you’re..." The old bachelor’s tone grew sour with disbelief.
"Mm. I am his girlfriend."
Both Ning Rongrong and ng Yiran gazed at Li Chang’an with eyes full of affection. ng Yiran even threw him a playful wink.
Li Chang’an felt his stomach twist. This had co far too suddenly, and even he was struggling to keep control of the situation.
"Liar! Liar!" Flender exploded, glaring daggers at Li Chang’an. Muttering curses under his breath, he stord out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Zhao Wuji followed shortly after. Even Liu Erlong left, though not before casting Li Chang’an a long, sharp look that made his heart tighten.
And so, in the vast eting hall, only Li Chang’an and his four girls remained. At first glance, the scene looked less like a private talk and more like a tribunal.
Xiao Wu was the first to break the silence, her round rabbit-eyes misty and red. "... yo
E—you’ve got two more won now, and you didn’t even tell . And Rongrong too? How could you..."
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, her cool gaze silently conveying her displeasure. She was unhappy, yes, but she also knew this wasn’t the ti for pointless argunts. And deep down, she already understood that she could no longer walk away from him.
To everyone’s surprise, Ning Rongrong suddenly stood, bowed low to Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, and said earnestly:
"I’m sorry, Xiao Wu, Zhuqing. I was the one who pursued Teacher Li. The fault isn’t his."
"I’m sorry as well. I liked him first..." ng Yiran added softly.
But before they could say more, Li Chang’an reached out and took both of their hands—left and right—pulling them gently back to his side. He knew he couldn’t avoid this. Better to shoulder it head-on than to let them carry the bla.
"No," he said firmly. "It isn’t about who chased whom. You’re all my precious treasures."
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