"Are you Shrek going down on your own, or should I toss you down myself?"
Shui Wuhen's calm voice reached Tang San's ears, making his face turn extremely grim.
Even the Nether White Tiger had been defeated. Out of Shrek's seven members, three were already gone, and among the remaining four, Ning Rongrong and Oscar were both support Soul Masters, leaving only him and Xiao Wu with combat strength.
And on the other side, Tian Shui Academy? Not a single person had been eliminated, and there was Shui Wuhen—a monster whose strength no one knew.
Under these circumstances, even if he revealed his trump card, the chance of winning was still minimal. To risk exposing himself for an almost certain, useless battle just to fight for a tiny chance of victory—was it really worth it?
At this moment, Xiao Wu came up to Tang San, assumed a defensive stance, and whispered, "San Ge, what should we do now?"
Tang San looked at Xiao Wu beside him, then at the exhausted Ning Rongrong and Oscar, and finally raised his gaze to Shui Wuhen standing atop the Articuno. His expression was conflicted, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and said, "We, Shrek, concede!"
Hearing this, the referee immediately announced, "Since Shrek Academy concedes, Tian Shui Academy is declared the victor!"
"Player Wuhen is simply too strong. Shrek actually conceded. Congratulations to Tian Shui Academy for achieving a full victory in all twenty-seven preliminary matches. It seems in this clash between the dark horse and the old powerhouse, the experienced academy still triumphs!"
The host's voice carried a hint of surprise, clearly taken aback by today's result.
Cheers erupted from the audience the moment the host finished speaking.
"Tian Shui Academy really is stronger."
"Damn, Shrek's so disappointing. And I actually bet on them to win."
"Ah~ you can't really blame Shrek—it's just that Shui Wuhen is too strong. If I'd known, I wouldn't have chased the odds and would have bet directly on Tian Shui Academy. Five Gold Spirit Coins gone!"
"Hahaha~ looks like everyone else lost. Luckily, I bet on Tian Shui Academy."
...
Unlike the audience, whose excitement was mixed with gambling wins and losses, the VIP section watched the scene with a more contemplative gaze.
"This kid's strength seems to exceed the level of a Spirit King. Could he be a Spirit Emperor?"
Bone Douluo looked at Shui Wuhen atop Articuno, frowning slightly as he thought. But he quickly shook his head. "Impossible, impossible. He's only sixteen. Even if he had been cultivating in the womb, breaking through to Spirit Emperor is unthinkable!"
Rejecting this absurd thought, Bone Douluo's gaze toward Shui Wuhen grew serious. If it wasn't his level, then it must be due to the Spirit Soul itself. Only a Spirit Soul of exceptional quality could allow someone to exhibit such power at the Spirit King level.
At this moment, Bone Douluo glanced to the side and noticed Ning Fengzhi bowing his head in deep thought. This overwhelming presence made Ning Fengzhi think of someone.
Salas' face darkened slightly. Such strength exceeded his prior expectations. How could someone like this exist outside Spirit Hall?
In the audience, Feng Xiaotian watched Shui Wuhen effortlessly defeat the Nether White Tiger using Articuno. A gleam appeared in his eyes as he exclaimed, "Good! Truly worthy of being the opponent I selected."
He had initially worried that Shui Wuhen might be too young to stand up to his current strength, that age-level suppression would prevent him from being a worthy opponent. But seeing Shui Wuhen dispatch the Nether White Tiger with Articuno, Feng Xiaotian was reassured. Shui Wuhen's strength exceeded his expectations.
"Luckily, if the Elite Tournament had been held a few months earlier, I might not have been your match."
Feng Xiaotian's gaze blazed. Shui Wuhen's rate of progress was terrifying; given a bit more time, he likely wouldn't be a match for him.
But for now—
Feng Xiaotian was invincible!!!
On the stage, after Shrek conceded, Shui Wuhen lightly leapt to the ground, while Articuno shrank rapidly and perched on his shoulder.
Shui Wuhen patted Articuno's head and, without glancing at Tang San or the others, walked toward Shui Bing'er. "Bing'er, let's go."
"Mm!"
Shui Bing'er nodded and linked her arm with his, following him down.
Seeing their captain and vice-captain leave, the rest of Tian Shui Academy naturally did not linger, returning to their academy's area along with them.
On Shrek's side, Tang San descended the stage in a daze after conceding.
Upon reaching Shrek's area, Yu Xiaogang frowned at Tang San's state. "Failure is the mother of success. If you keep acting like this, you'll lose future matches too. There's still a month before the preliminaries. We need to come up with a plan to deal with Shui Wuhen."
"But teacher, can Shui Wuhen really be defeated in just a month? And Shui Bing'er—although I hate to admit it, as a control-type Soul Master, she's far stronger than me!" Tang San said, feeling dejected.
Shui Wuhen's overwhelming strength, Shui Bing'er's exquisite control, and the ability to strike first with her Soul Skills all caused him to doubt himself. With his Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul, could he really stand against opponents like that?
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang sighed and patted Tang San's shoulder. "This time the tactical arrangement was my mistake. I didn't anticipate Shui Wuhen being so strong. If I had known, I wouldn't have had you do it this way."
Shui Wuhen had already proven Yu Xiaogang wrong twice. Previously, he claimed that a spirit master's disembodied Beast Soul was weak, but Shui Wuhen instantly defeated the Lightning Academy.
Yu Xiaogang had originally assumed that if Shui Wuhen's main body was so strong, Articuno's power might be mediocre. So, based on the strength Shui Wuhen had shown, he devised a plan to use the Nether White Tiger along with Oscar and Ning Rongrong's support to knock him off the stage.
But unexpectedly, Articuno's strength seemed even greater than Shui Wuhen's. With just a single Blue Freeze Beam and a flap of its wings, it defeated the Nether White Tiger.
Such strength completely exceeded Yu Xiaogang's expectations, rendering his plan useless.
"Teacher, don't say that. It's just that Shui Wuhen is too cunning," Tang San quickly comforted him.
Shortly after the battle between Tian Shui Academy and Shrek Academy, the preliminaries concluded.
The captains and vice-captains of the top five academies—Tian Shui, Shen Feng, Chi Huo, Lei Ting, and Shrek—ascended the podium to receive their awards.
Presenting the awards was the Snow Night Emperor.