"Semifinal elimination round, first match: Peach Garden Academy versus Spirit Hall Academy."
"Please, the teams from both academies, take your positions for the match."
"Peach Garden Academy team, please enter the arena on time!"
"Peach Garden Academy team members, please take your positions within five minutes, otherwise you will be considered to have forfeited the match."
On the Great Spirit Arena in Spirit City, only the knight order of the Supreme Pontiff Palace maintained order, and only a few successful qualifying teams were present to watch.
Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong held her Supreme Pontiff Scepter, standing at the highest point of the Douhun Arena's VIP section, her gaze fixed calmly on the arena.
Next to Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong was a frail man without a lower body, whose state could not be accurately described as either standing or sitting; in short, his body was in a wheelchair.
His injuries had not fully recovered; his lips were pale, his face weak, but his eyes were fierce, and his hands gripped the armrests of the wheelchair tightly. Seeing that the Peach Garden Academy team members had not yet appeared in the arena, a nearly morbid, ferocious smile appeared on his face.
Yu Xiaogang tried to speak, but the sounds that came out were like the grunts of a pig or the barks of a dog:
"Ooh ooh~ woof woof~"
At this moment, no one's hatred for Su Ran was deeper than his!
He had gambled his legs and tongue, but he hadn't expected that 'legs' would include…
Bibi Dong glanced at Yu Xiaogang, her eyes showing pity, sympathy, and a hint of confusion.
After the full efforts of the Supreme Pontiff Palace's healing Spirit Masters, Yu Xiaogang's life was barely saved, but he would be unable to speak or walk in the future, destined to spend his entire life in a wheelchair.
When Yu Xiaogang woke up, he did only one thing.
He wrote a blood letter to Bibi Dong from his sickbed, the content of the letter roughly as follows:
"The Peach Garden Team is already invincible in the competition; Tianshui Academy is second. If the Spirit Hall Team faces them directly, there will be no chance of a comeback.
I have become a cripple and regret that I cannot personally seek revenge. If you truly loved me once, out of consideration for our past, even if you cannot personally eliminate Su Ran on the spot, I do not wish to see the Peach Garden Team win the championship.
Currently, I have only one plan that can allow the Spirit Hall Team to win the championship.
Peach Garden students can only be defeated by Peach Garden students. To my knowledge, there are currently three teams with Su Ran's students: Peach Garden Academy, Tianshui Academy, and Plant Academy. We can arrange a rigged draw for the quarterfinals—have Peach Garden Academy eliminate Tianshui Academy. Plant Academy is the weakest and nothing to fear. For the latter semifinals, temporarily change the venue. Five teams will be present, but Taoyuan teachers and students will not be notified. This way, we can win without fighting, eliminating them. After that, the Spirit Hall Team will have no obstacles.
During the match, outsiders are forbidden from watching; only qualifying teams may be present. Among the other four teams, none would be willing to face the Peach Garden Team, so even if this plan might cause some academies to become suspicious, they will not stand up to object.
—Yu Xiaogang, personally written, to my former beloved, Bibi Dong."
Although Bibi Dong was angered by Yu Xiaogang's earlier deception regarding the twin spirits cultivation method, his concealment of the Clear Sky Sect disciple's existence, and his affair with Liu Erlong, seeing Yu Xiaogang's tragic state still softened her heart slightly, and she agreed to Grandmaster's plan.
The morning glow spilled over the dome of the Spirit Hall Great Spirit Arena, where the Spirit Hall Team members were waiting for their opponents.
They were unaware of the Supreme Pontiff's plan, but Hu Liena and Xie Yue, among others, showed some confusion in their eyes:
Why hadn't the Peach Garden Team members arrived yet?
Were they going to forfeit their match?
That shouldn't be; this was the Soul Master Competition semifinal, and winning this match meant contending for the championship, runner-up, or third place, which was an honor for all Spirit Masters on the continent.
The teachers and students of Star Luo Royal Academy and the other two teams were also somewhat puzzled by the current situation.
Time passed bit by bit.
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