Chapter 123: Yu Xiaogang Gets Anxious
Su Mo wasn't sure if Zhu Zhuqing had taken his suggestion to heart. Regardless, the next day, when Su Mo looked at the Shrek team in the audience seats, he didn't see Zhu Zhuqing anywhere.
The first match of the day was between the Tianshui team and the Blazing Fire team.
"Let's welcome the members of the Tianshui and Blazing Fire teams onto the stage!"
Under the host's introduction, the members of both teams quickly entered the arena.
"What's going on?"
"Isn't that Kamikaze Team's Feng Xiaotian?"
"…"
When the Blazing Fire team members stepped onto the stage, the audience was shocked.
They saw Feng Xiaotian from the Kamikaze team among the Blazing Fire team members. Even though he was wearing the Blazing Fire team uniform, it was clear at first glance that it was him.
Upon closer inspection, the audience noticed three more members from the Kamikaze team had joined the Blazing Fire team, all now donning the Blazing Fire uniforms.
"So, these two teams really joined forces!"
Seeing this scene, Su Mo was slightly surprised.
In the original story, these two teams joined forces to defeat the Shrek team. But now, even though Shrek was already eliminated, the Blazing Fire and Kamikaze teams still merged.
Unlike the original story, where they kept their own uniforms and formed a new team called the New Kamikaze Team, here, the Kamikaze members directly joined the Blazing Fire team and wore their uniforms.
After a brief moment of thought, Su Mo understood the difference.
This time, the Kamikaze members, led by Feng Xiaotian, joined the Blazing Fire team. Feng Xiaotian, being Fire Dance's admirer, didn't care about the team name or uniforms.
"What's going on?"
"Host, why are Kamikaze team members appearing in the Blazing Fire team?"
"…"
The audience began questioning the host.
The host raised his hand to calm everyone and then explained, "The situation is straightforward. The Blazing Fire team applied to replace some members."
"The rules of the tournament allow for member replacements. Feng Xiaotian and the others joined the Blazing Fire Academy after leaving the Kamikaze team."
"That's what they claimed."
"Since they're officially Blazing Fire team members now, they're eligible to compete."
"The rules allow it, and the Spirit Hall has no objections."
"This is clearly a loophole in the tournament rules. It's likely this loophole will be closed in the next tournament, but for now, the Blazing Fire team you see remains valid."
The host calmly explained.
"Unbelievable!"
"The Blazing Fire and Kamikaze teams exploited a loophole!"
"How shameless…"
"But the rules are the rules…"
"…"
Despite their indignation, the audience couldn't refute the host's explanation.
Since the Spirit Hall, the tournament's host and the provider of three spirit bone prizes, didn't object, the audience could only accept the outcome.
With that, the newly formed Blazing Fire team faced off against the Tianshui team.
As expected, the new Blazing Fire team emerged victorious.
The restructured team, composed entirely of Spirit Ancestors, had significantly stronger overall strength than the Tianshui team.
The attributes of the two teams inherently countered each other—water beat fire, and fire could counter water.
But with the Kamikaze members added, the combination of wind and fire greatly enhanced the Blazing Fire team's power.
In the end, the Tianshui team was defeated.
"This is troublesome. The restructured Blazing Fire team is very strong. Defeating them won't be easy!"
After watching the match, the Heaven Dou Royal team's leader voiced his concern to Su Mo and the others.
He had confidence in Su Mo's ability to defeat the Long Kui team but was already worried about the upcoming matches.
"Indeed, the new Blazing Fire team has become significantly stronger."
"We'll likely face them next."
"…"
Hearing this, the Shi Mo brothers chimed in agreement.
"It's not a big deal. It'll just take a bit more effort."
"If we can't even beat them, how can we hope to face the Spirit Hall team?"
Su Mo interjected.
Su Mo couldn't help but feel exasperated with their team leader, who often said demoralizing things that undermined the team's confidence.
He even began suspecting if the leader was a mole sent by the Spirit Hall.
Thinking back to the original story, where Yu Tianheng and the others lacked the will to fight the Spirit Hall team, Su Mo figured their leader had a lot to do with it.
"Right, Su Mo is absolutely correct!"
"If we're scared of the Blazing Fire team, how can we face the Spirit Hall team?"
"…"
Upon hearing Su Mo's words, Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan quickly chimed in agreement.
After the Tianshui team lost to the Blazing Fire team, it was the Spirit Hall team's turn to compete.
This time, the Spirit Hall team easily defeated their opponent, a team that had secured second place in the Star Luo Empire's ranking tournament.
Fortunately, Su Mo's team didn't fall behind either, effortlessly defeating the Long Kui team to advance to the next round.
With their victory, the top three teams were officially determined: the Spirit Hall team, the Heaven Dou Royal team, and the restructured Blazing Fire team.
"The top three teams have been decided. Rest well, as the next round will begin tomorrow!"
"The next round will include individual matches and team matches. The winner of the individual matches will advance directly to the finals."
"The remaining two teams will compete in a team match, with the winner moving on to the finals and the loser taking third place in the tournament."
"Give it your best tomorrow and aim for the finals the day after!"
With that announcement, the host dismissed the event.
"Su Mo, I didn't see Zhuqing earlier!"
"Do you think she really took your advice and joined the Spirit Hall?"
As they left the arena, Ning Rongrong whispered to Su Mo after observing the Shrek team.
"I'm not sure. Looking at Tang San and the others' expressions, it doesn't seem like it."
"Still, Zhu Zhuqing didn't show up today. Maybe she really did join the Spirit Hall, and they just don't know yet!"
Su Mo glanced back at Yu Xiaogang and the others before shaking his head.
He truly didn't know if Zhu Zhuqing had defected to the Spirit Hall.
Judging by Yu Xiaogang's expression, there was no clear answer.
Yesterday, Su Mo had made the suggestion offhandedly, but now he was genuinely curious.
If Zhu Zhuqing had really joined the Spirit Hall, it would be a significant blow to the Shrek team.
Not only would they lose another member, but they would also lose someone critical for executing the martial soul fusion technique with Dai Mubai.
Su Mo was eager to see Yu Xiaogang and Dai Mubai's reactions if Zhu Zhuqing had truly left.
However, he wouldn't dwell on it and decided to wait until tomorrow to observe their expressions.
Meanwhile, as everyone left the arena, the Blazing Fire team's coach secretly met with the Spirit Hall team's coach.
"Congratulations on making it to the top three!"
The Spirit Hall coach congratulated the Blazing Fire coach, though his tone carried a hint of disdain.
"Don't worry, we'll cooperate fully with the Spirit Hall team against the Heaven Dou Royal team tomorrow!"
"When we face Heaven Dou, we'll go all out. Against your team, we'll hold back to ensure your easy victory!"
Unbothered by the tone, the Blazing Fire coach confidently outlined their plan.
This arrangement had been pre-decided.
The Spirit Hall had facilitated the inclusion of Feng Xiaotian and others into the Blazing Fire team. In return, the Blazing Fire team would cooperate with the Spirit Hall to target the Heaven Dou team during the individual matches.
As for the finals, it would be every team for themselves.
"No need to go to such lengths. During tomorrow's individual matches, the Blazing Fire team should simply forfeit," the Spirit Hall coach replied with a smile, altering the original plan.
The initial strategy of targeting Heaven Dou during the matches was too blatant and would arouse suspicion.
Instead, the Spirit Hall coach decided the Blazing Fire team should forfeit outright.
In individual matches, the Spirit Hall team's three Spirit Kings were invincible.
This would force the Heaven Dou team to face the Blazing Fire team in a team match, exhausting their resources regardless of the outcome.
Whether Heaven Dou or the Blazing Fire team won, the Spirit Hall would benefit.
"Understood! Let's finalize this plan."
The Blazing Fire coach was initially surprised but soon overjoyed.
This revised plan allowed them to avoid suspicion of collusion with the Spirit Hall.
Thus, a shady deal was struck.
Back at the Shrek Academy's temporary quarters:
"Master!"
"Dai Mubai, bad news!"
"Zhu Zhuqing is gone!"
Upon returning, Jiang Zhu found a letter left by Zhu Zhuqing. After reading the first few lines, her expression changed, and she rushed to inform the others.
"What?"
"Zhu Zhuqing left?"
"…"
Yu Xiaogang, Flender, Dai Mubai, and Tang San were all stunned upon hearing the news.
They had noticed Zhu Zhuqing's absence earlier but assumed she was just upset. None of them expected her to leave without a word.
Dai Mubai, especially, grabbed the letter from Jiang Zhu without regard for the others' presence.
The impact on him was the greatest.
Understanding the relationship between the two, Flender and Yu Xiaogang didn't reprimand him.
"Damn it! She really left!"
Dai Mubai's face darkened after reading the letter.
Zhu Zhuqing hadn't said much in her note, only stating her decision to leave Shrek Academy to find her own path to freedom.
She didn't reveal her destination and asked the team not to look for her.
"Let me see!"
Flender took the letter from Dai Mubai and quickly read it.
"She's gone for good!"
"Sigh…"
After reading, Flender sighed heavily.
Yu Xiaogang and the others, after reading the letter, were equally speechless.
They all understood Zhu Zhuqing's circumstances and couldn't fault her decision.
"She won't find a way to escape her fate alone!"
"Flender, let's search for her. Once we find her, I'm confident I can convince her to return!"
Yu Xiaogang was unwilling to let Zhu Zhuqing leave.
Her departure was a significant blow to the team, especially since her martial soul fusion with Dai Mubai was a key asset.
To him, Zhu Zhuqing's decision seemed shortsighted. Only by staying with Shrek and achieving glory in the next tournament could she and Dai Mubai gain enough leverage to return to the Star Luo Empire.
"I'll start searching for her now!"
Flender was the first to leave in search of Zhu Zhuqing.
The others quickly followed suit.
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