On the training ground, the two sides fought fiercely, leaving the teachers and students watching in shock.
Neither side held back. Almost every attack was aimed at vital points.
One of the students watching couldn't help asking, "Teacher, what's going on? Are they fighting among themselves?"
How could their teacher possibly know what had happened within the Shrek Seven Devils?
"I don't know. Let's keep watching."
At that moment, a student who had just passed by the meeting room spoke quietly.
"I walked past the meeting room earlier and heard them having a huge argument. I don't know what it was about, but something must have gone wrong inside the team."
The only thing Shrek Academy could still truly be proud of was the Shrek Team.
Now that the team had descended into internal conflict, quite a few teachers were beginning to lose confidence in the academy.
The academy wasn't very large to begin with, so news of such a major incident spread throughout the campus in just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Flender had gone to find Zhao Wuji, hoping he could step in and settle the dispute.
Zhao Wuji had just rushed out of his office when he suddenly stopped and turned back.
"Dean, where are the Grandmaster and the others?"
Logically speaking, Yu Xiaogang was fully responsible for everything concerning the team. With something this serious happening, wasn't he going to deal with it personally?
Flender sighed heavily.
"Xiao Gang isn't in a good state of mind either. Don't disturb him. Old Zhao, hurry over."
After leaving the office, Zhao Wuji sneered inwardly.
He had long known Yu Xiaogang was unreliable. For all he knew, this internal conflict might have started because of him.
He simply couldn't understand why Flender was always so accommodating toward him.
If it were him, he would have kicked Yu Xiaogang out long ago.
Regardless of his personal feelings, the Shrek Seven Devils were the academy's only hope of restoring its reputation.
He had no choice but to step in.
On the training ground, the last trace of Tang San's conscience kept him from using hidden weapons.
Dai Mubai was already a mid-level Spirit Ancestor, and his strength was formidable. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass simply couldn't restrain him.
With Ma Hongjun providing support from the side, every strand of Blue Silver Grass Tang San summoned was immediately burned away by flames.
After all, the immortal herb Tang San had absorbed wasn't the same pair he had obtained in the original timeline, so it had done almost nothing to strengthen his Blue Silver Grass.
Ma Hongjun might not be especially effective against other opponents, but he knew Tang San extremely well and naturally understood his weaknesses.
Realizing he couldn't win through brute force, Tang San immediately changed tactics.
Using her teleportation Spirit Skill, Xiao Wu instantly closed the distance to Ma Hongjun, and the two became locked in close combat.
Tang San, meanwhile, relied on the techniques of the Tang Sect to engage Dai Mubai in hand-to-hand combat.
The battle quickly became intense, and both sides soon accumulated injuries.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Zhao Wuji immediately charged onto the arena.
He forcibly separated both sides, released his martial soul, and the overwhelming pressure instantly forced everyone to calm down.
"What are you all staring at? Get back to your classes!"
At his command, the gathered students and teachers quickly dispersed and returned to their classrooms.
Once everyone else had left, Zhao Wuji swept his gaze across both sides and scolded them.
"So you've all grown capable, have you? What, in another few years are you planning to tear the academy apart too?"
Since he had no idea what had caused the fight, Zhao Wuji could only reprimand both sides equally to stabilize the situation.
Xiao Wu said angrily, "Teacher Zhao, Fatty was the one who deliberately started all this. This isn't our fault!"
Ma Hongjun might not fear Flender, but he definitely feared Zhao Wuji.
After all, Flender usually relied on lectures when disciplining students, whereas Zhao Wuji preferred using his fists.
Too intimidated to speak, Ma Hongjun's silence only made it seem as though Xiao Wu was the one being unreasonable.
Before Zhao Wuji could respond, Tang San quickly added.
"Teacher Zhao, no one here is completely innocent, but Fatty never should have insulted my teacher."
Knowing he couldn't show favoritism toward either side, Zhao Wuji barked.
"Enough! Everyone go back and rest. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it tomorrow."
"If I find out any of you start fighting again, don't blame me for being merciless!"
Although both sides were dissatisfied with the outcome, the last remnants of their friendship as classmates kept them from escalating things any further.
At Seven Treasure Academy, the team's training wasn't centered solely around Wu Qi.
They also practiced strategies built around other members.
After all, having multiple tactical lineups was always beneficial, especially since it prevented them from revealing all their trump cards before the finals.
Today's training focused on making Changkong the centerpiece of the team's strategy as they participated in a team spirit battle against three instructors.
In terms of command ability, Changkong naturally couldn't compare to Wu Qi, so Wu Qi still handled all battlefield coordination.
However, every tactic executed revolved around Changkong, and even Ning Rongrong's support Spirit Skills were prioritized on him.
Although Changkong was only a low-level Spirit Ancestor, with the support of his teammates he was able to fight a Spirit King-level instructor with remarkable ease, charging through the battlefield again and again.
Of course, the instructors had held back to some extent.
Even so, there was no denying how exceptional the Seven Treasure Team's coordination had become.
After the match ended, Changkong threw a few punches into the air and burst into laughter.
"That was awesome! Absolutely awesome!"
"Wu Ge, how about letting me be the team's core during the first half of the preliminary rounds?"
Ning Rongrong smiled teasingly.
"My dad said that if we make it through the preliminaries undefeated, we'll break the tournament's all-time record. If we do, he'll personally reward us."
"And the Heaven Dou Empire will reward us as well."
"So, Changkong, don't you dare lead us to a loss."
Changkong scratched his head awkwardly.
The others on the team might not be short on money, but Chen Ping certainly was.
If a mistake on his part caused the team to lose and the prize money slipped away, he would never forgive himself.
Wu Qi smiled.
"That's not a problem. Unless we're facing a particularly strong opponent, we'll use a dual-core strategy during the preliminaries. Changkong and Huo Wushuang will both serve as the team's core. Feng Xiaotian and I will always have at least one of us on the field as insurance."
Sun Buyu nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. That way, while ensuring victory, everyone gets a chance to showcase their abilities."
"If the situation is unclear, then winning always comes first."
Afterward, they reviewed the day's training, and the session came to an end.
Now that Wu Qi had money, he was no longer stingy. Every evening, he treated the team to dinner at one of the city's high-end restaurants.
It wasn't because he liked wasting money. Those restaurants served meat from high-year Spirit Beasts, which greatly benefited a Spirit Master's cultivation.
Just as they were about to head out that evening, Ning Tianyu stopped them.
"Have you guys heard?"
"Heard what?" Changkong asked.
The others looked over curiously as well.
Ning Tianyu grinned.
"The Shrek Academy team had a huge internal fight this afternoon."
Quite a few students at Seven Treasure Academy had originally come from Shrek Academy.
Although they had transferred, many of them still had friends there.
An incident as serious as the team's internal conflict couldn't possibly stay hidden. Before long, word had spread to Seven Treasure Academy.
Ning Rongrong snorted coldly.
"Fighting among yourselves right before the tournament? That's just asking to lose."
Wu Qi didn't know what had caused their conflict.
From a strategic standpoint, they could afford to underestimate the Shrek Seven Devils.
But from a tactical standpoint, they had to take them seriously.
After all, in the original course of events, no one had believed the Shrek Seven Devils stood a chance, yet they had still gone on to win the championship.
He didn't know exactly what had happened to them, but given Tang San's and Grandmaster's abilities, there was every chance they could resolve the conflict.
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