Su Ming thought it over and decided that it was enough. He wasn't bloodthirsty by nature, and the punishment he had given Ma Hongjun and Oscar was already severe. These two were unfortunate enough to follow someone like Tang San.
Oscar, especially, had a glimmer of hope for achieving the God of Food's position, but now, with his depleted life force and potential, reaching the Spirit Saint level before old age would be surprising.
Look at Dai Mubai: he was only a Spirit King, even with a head full of white hair, thanks to the side effects of his decisions. Had he trained gradually, he could've reached Spirit Douluo and perhaps even a Titled Douluo, but now… tsk tsk—only a Spirit King? Embarrassing.
Su Ming glanced at the host. "Please announce the results."
The red-robed bishop nodded and shouted, "The match is over! Heaven Dou Academy team is victorious!"
Su Ming and the others returned to Heaven Dou Academy's rest area, awaiting Bibi Dong's closing words.
"That was a truly exciting match. Let's congratulate Heaven Dou Academy on advancing to the championship!" Bibi Dong said. "Since Heaven Dou just finished their match, let's schedule the final showdown for this afternoon."
"Your Majesty, please wait!" Su Ming spoke up.
Bibi Dong looked at him, puzzled. "What is it?"
His teammates were also surprised. The match was over, so what was Su Ming planning?
"Your Majesty, there's no need to delay the match until the afternoon. As you saw, aside from myself and three others who used some spirit power, our team's condition is still very good."
"Give us half an hour to restore our spirit power and adjust, and we can proceed directly to the championship match."
Bibi Dong: …
Everyone: …
Was Su Ming seriously confident they could all recover in half an hour?
On the other side, the Thunder Academy team endured another round of humiliation.
Yu Tianxin wanted to protest. It wasn't our fault! They'd tried their best; Su Ming's power was just overwhelming!
Bibi Dong turned to the Spirit Hall team. "What do you think?"
Yan scoffed. "Your Majesty, Heaven Dou's attitude is outright contempt for Spirit Hall. Let's show them Spirit Hall's strength!"
Hu Liena rubbed her forehead, sighing. What is wrong with Yan's head? Why such hostility toward Heaven Dou? She wasn't aware Yan had noticed her occasional glances at Su Ming, sparking his jealousy.
Idiot! Hu Liena and Qian Renxue cursed Yan in their hearts. Hu Liena was a bit of a romantic, and since her teacher had said it was fine as long as her interest wasn't an enemy, what harm was there in admiring Su Ming's appearance? He'd soon be joining Spirit Hall anyway.
Su Ming caught Yan's expression and immediately knew what was going on. Yan was the ultimate sycophant for Hu Liena, another fool doomed to end up empty-handed, like Flender, Oscar, and Feng Xiaotian before him.
Bibi Dong frowned at Yan. She knew his feelings for Hu Liena, but now was hardly the time to speak out so foolishly. Did he think he could flaunt his Titled Douluo teacher?
Even Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo felt like hitting Yan. His arrogance would only make Spirit Hall seem oppressive, leaving a bad impression on the audience—and, worse, it would likely irritate Su Ming. If Yan caused Su Ming to reconsider joining Spirit Hall, they'd have no one but themselves to blame.
Qian Renxue coldly ordered, "Silence! Who allowed you to speak? You're neither the captain nor the strongest on the team. Know your place!"
Yan's face turned sullen. As a member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, he never expected Qian Renxue to dismiss him so harshly. But I'm a Golden Generation member! Qian Renxue mentally dismissed him further, thinking, Su Ming is my sworn brother—don't you dare disrespect him.
Humiliated, Yan could only bow reluctantly. "Apologies, Your Highness."
Following Qian Renxue's cue, Hu Liena placed her right hand over her chest and bowed slightly. "Your Majesty, if Heaven Dou Academy is so confident, let's start the final match in half an hour."
Bibi Dong nodded with a smile; this was exactly what she wanted. With the Spirit Master tournament over, she could announce some important decisions and take action. Delaying until the afternoon could invite complications.
"In that case, let's rest briefly. I'll have someone bring food shortly, and the match will begin in half an hour!" Bibi Dong announced.
Upon her signal, twelve red-robed bishops left to prepare food for the crowd. The audience was surprised by Bibi Dong's thoughtfulness—no wonder she was the Pope. After watching all morning, they were indeed getting hungry.
In the Heaven Dou rest area, Dugu Bo hugged Su Ming and patted his shoulder. "Thank you, little monster, for avenging my Yanyan. You've lifted a weight off my shoulders."
"Ew, Dugu, that's sentimental. Don't forget Yu Tianheng was after me from the start. Yanyan and the others just got caught in the crossfire. I did this for myself, really."
"Besides, sending Yu Tianheng down to reunite with Yu Yuanzhen is fitting. We're just waiting for Yu Xiaogang's turn; he won't be left unchecked for long."
Su Ming whispered this last part to Dugu Bo, not wanting too many people to know yet about Yu Yuanzhen's demise.
"Alright, alright. In any case, I'm grateful," Dugu Bo insisted. "Yanyan, say thank you!"