116: Chapter 116 The Finals

Today is the final of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament.

The competition venue is located in the center of Spirit City. The arena, one hundred meters in diameter, is built of granite and reinforced by numerous spirit tools, originally capable of withstanding all attacks below the Spirit Emperor level.

However, because the strength of the participating students this year far exceeds previous years, Spirit Hall had to reinforce the arena again, and it can now withstand attacks below the Spirit Saint level.

Early in the morning, all participating academies had arrived at the venue.

There were three teams that received a bye in the first round: the Spirit Hall Team and the seeded teams of the two great Empires.

At this moment, the team leaders of the remaining thirty teams were drawing lots.

The results of the draw were quickly revealed.

This time, Shrek Academy did not draw Blazing Fire Academy; their opponent was a lower-ranked team from the Star Luo Empire.

And Blazing Fire Academy did not merge with Shenfeng Academy to form a team.

Unexpectedly, Shenfeng Academy met Blazing Fire Academy in the first round.

In the Spirit Hall Team spectator area, Ji Xuan pondered to himself that this draw result was mostly likely Bibi Dong manipulating things behind the scenes.

Perhaps it was because Blazing Fire Academy was strong; if Shrek Academy were eliminated early, how would she be able to see her long-awaited old flame when the finals arrived?

After a long while, the first round of matches had ended.

Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang, knowing they were no match for Feng Xiaotian, chose to stop at the point of contact to avoid affecting their subsequent schedule.

With this, only eighteen teams remained in the final tournament.

And of the top five teams from the Heaven Dou Race District qualifying matches, only four remained.

...

The proceedings of the final tournament advanced quickly.

Entering the second round, the top-ranked Shenfeng Academy from the Heaven Dou Race District and the top-ranked team from the Star Luo Empire received byes.

The Spirit Hall Team's opponent was a team from the Star Luo Empire with mid-range strength.

Ji Xuan and Hu Liena did not play in this battle; Xie Yue led the remaining team members to compete.

Xie Yue's Soul Power was now more refined than before, thanks to the extra energy accumulated when he absorbed a spirit ring above his level; he was currently a level 53 Spirit King.

Shrek Academy drew a weak team from the Heaven Dou Empire.

Except for two people, the other team members felt their luck was good, and those two were Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.

They longed to face the Star Luo Royal Academy as soon as possible. With Tang San sitting in command, now was the best time to defeat Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun.

If they missed this, they might never have such an opportunity again...

In another match of this round, Tianshui Academy faced a team from the Star Luo Empire.

The opponent's strongest was only at the Spirit Ancestor level, and the level 54 Shui Binger won easily.

The second round of matches concluded, and the top ten of this year's Elite Tournament were all born.

...

The third round of matches began. The team that received a bye this round was the second-ranked Shrek Academy and the second-ranked team from the Star Luo Empire.

In the Shrek Academy rest area, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing looked slightly grave.

This round, the Star Luo Royal Academy was clashing with Tianshui Academy... this meant they likely had no chance.

The result was indeed as they thought. Shui Binger, relying on her fifth Spirit Ability, Ice Explosion, eliminated five of the opponent's members except for Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun in one fell swoop.

Subsequently, Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun unleashed their Spirit Fusion, Hell White Tiger, and Tianshui Academy responded with Ice Snow Fluttering.

In the end, Shui Binger was still a notch stronger, leading her team to victory.

The Spirit Hall Team's opponent this round was the Heaven Dou Royal Advanced Spirit Master Academy.

The match also ended quickly. Ji Xuan still did not appear, and Hu Liena and Xie Yue led the team to victory.

Hu Liena, because she had absorbed a head Spirit Bone in advance, plus absorbing a spirit ring above her level, her Soul Power had increased to level 53, on par with her brother Xie Yue.

With this, the top six of this year's tournament were all born: Shrek Academy, Tianshui Academy, the Spirit Hall Team, Shenfeng Academy, and two teams from the Star Luo Empire.

The latter two were already showing signs of being mere foils at this stage.

...

The final tournament was nearing its end, and the battle situation had entered a white-hot stage.

After resting for a day, the fourth round officially began.

After the third round ended, the tournament format no longer set byes.

The matchups for this round were as follows:

Spirit Hall Team vs. a team from the Star Luo Empire.

Shrek Academy vs. another team from the Star Luo Empire.

Tianshui Academy vs. Shenfeng Academy.

The matches ended quickly, and the results were without suspense.

Finally, the top three were born: Shenfeng Academy, Shrek Academy, and the Spirit Hall Team.

With the conclusion of the fourth round, the finals were about to arrive.

And the venue for the finals was not here; it would be held in front of the Supreme Pontiff Palace.

...

Today was the day of the finals.

Sunlight spilled onto the magnificent Supreme Pontiff Palace, shining brilliantly.

On both sides of the plaza in front of the palace, palace guards lined up from the foot of the mountain to the palace gate, highlighting the majesty of the Supreme Pontiff Mountain.

The eliminated teams had already left; only the truly strong were qualified to stand on this plaza.

At this moment, the three teams were waiting here quietly.

Tang San looked toward Ji Xuan in the Spirit Hall Team, his eyes filled with hatred: "Just you wait, I will let you witness the power of the number one Tool Spirit under heaven!"

Ji Xuan glanced over, his expression calm, and did not pay any attention.

A moment later, twelve Cardinals walked out of the Supreme Pontiff Palace and stood on both sides of the palace gate.

The leader said loudly: "Her Holiness the Pope has arrived!"

Shouts of "Long live!" like a mountain erupted immediately.

The palace gate opened, and everyone's gaze turned toward the entrance.

Except for Ji Xuan, Feng Xiaotian, and the Shrek group, everyone else's heart rate accelerated, showing respect.

Bibi Dong was seen wearing a purple-gold crown, holding a scepter, with a solemn expression, walking out of the palace first.

Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School followed closely behind.

The moment she appeared, everyone belonging to Spirit Hall, except for Ji Xuan, knelt on one knee: "Greetings, Her Holiness the Pope!"

When Bibi Dong stood still, the only ones left standing on the plaza were the Shrek Seven, Ji Xuan, and Feng Xiaotian.

Feng Xiaotian had long known that Spirit Hall was divided into two factions. Since he had chosen to follow Ji Xuan, he naturally would not kneel to Bibi Dong.

The other members of Shenfeng Academy saw their captain did not kneel, and they looked at each other in dismay.

But ultimately, they did not dare to be too presumptuous in front of the Pope, so they continued to kneel.

Among the Shrek group, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong did not kneel because of their backgrounds.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun had never cared about Spirit Hall; they only remembered the benefits of Spirit Hall when they collected their Spirit Master subsidies.

The latter was even more resentful because he had once been crippled by Ji Xuan.

As for Tang San, Spirit Hall not only seized his external Spirit Bone but also kidnapped his Xiao Wu; this hatred had long been deep in his marrow.

And as Tang San's servant, Tai Long naturally would not kneel either.

On the high platform, Bibi Dong's gaze first swept over Ji Xuan. She knew that it was absolutely impossible to make him kneel, and now within Spirit Hall, it was not convenient for her to make things difficult for him publicly.

Ji Xuan met her gaze calmly, his expression composed.

Ning Fengzhi, behind Bibi Dong, seemed to perceive something. Ji Xuan seemed to be at odds with Bibi Dong... This was good news for him.