But no matter how disheartened the Zheng Tian team was, the fight still had to be fought. This was the top sixteen elimination round; having come this far, it was clearly unlikely for them to surrender voluntarily.
However, Lin Yun didn't participate in this battle. Since he had vowed to embrace the art of slacking off, he wouldn't be even a tiny bit ambiguous about it.
If they could lose to the Zheng Tian team, then there was no need to continue the tournament. Stopping at the top sixteen wouldn't be bad at all.
What did Shrek Academy losing have to do with Lin Yun? As long as he didn't play, he didn't lose.
Fortunately, Ma Xiaotao and the others were quite capable.
In the first team battle, Ma Xiaotao was followed by Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan, and behind them were Beibei, Xu Sanshi, Ning Tian, and Huo Yuhao, acting as four accessories.
With Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection sharing as support, Ma Xiaotao descended like a god, single-handedly smashing the seven 'melon heads' of the Zheng Tian team into self-doubt. Ye Wuqing's Golden Leaves were no match for Ma Xiaotao's Ultimate Fire, and the team battle was easily won.
In the individual battles after the team match, Ma Xiaotao dominated, defeating three opponents consecutively for a direct victory.
Without Lin Yun stealing the limelight, Ma Xiaotao truly stole the show in the top sixteen match against the Zheng Tian team, shining brightly throughout.
But the more this happened, the stronger and deeper the adoration and reverence for Lin Yun grew among the spectators who had previously watched his matches.
One must remember that even the incredibly powerful Ma Xiaotao had to obey Lin Yun's commands.
He wasn't on the field, yet his legend still spread among all participating teams and spectators.
Everyone was anticipating, longing to once again witness those awe-inspiring five terrifying soul rings.
Another three days passed, and the top eight teams had already been decided.
They were:
Shrek Academy.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Star Luo Royal Academy.
Di'ao Academy.
Dou Ling Academy.
Mingdou Advanced Soul Engineer Academy (Sun Moon).
Elemental Advanced Soul Master Academy.
Nebula Advanced Soul Master Academy.
Originally, Zheng Tian Academy should have been among the top eight. Their strength was more than enough to reach the quarterfinals, but they had the extreme misfortune of encountering Shrek Academy in the round of sixteen, so they could only stop there.
After the draw, the bracket for the top eight matches was also released.
Shrek Team VS Dou Ling Team.
Sun Moon Team VS Elemental Team.
Star Luo Team VS Nebula Team.
Di'ao Team VS Sun Team.
In the top eight matches, the game between Shrek Team and Dou Ling Team was placed last, with the teams from the other three royal academies competing first.
When he saw this match schedule, Lin Yun didn't know what expression to make.
Dou Ling: Good, good, so you're not including me again?
Who would believe that this match schedule wasn't rigged? Four royal academy teams were randomly drawn against one team each from the other seven, yet none of the four royal academy teams ended up facing each other.
The royal academy teams of the other three empires each picked a soft target to bully, while the Dou Ling team ran headfirst into the iron wall that was Shrek Academy.
If you say Xu Jiawei didn't rig the draw against the Dou Ling team, Lin Yun wouldn't believe it.
This was almost laid bare on the table.
One could only imagine how aggrieved the Dou Ling team members felt when they saw this match schedule.
The other three royal academy teams, each having picked a soft target, easily secured their tickets to the top four, and then it was time for the match between Shrek and Dou Ling.
Unlike before, the person walking at the very front of the Shrek team was no longer the graceful Ma Xiaotao, but instead the golden-haired, tall and mighty true man of this tournament.
Lin Yun!
The competition had reached the quarterfinals, meaning it was nearing its end. After slacking off for half a month, Lin Yun felt it was necessary to boost his KDA. If he didn't pad his KDA enough, how could he go back and extort good stuff from those old folks at Shrek?
He let them slowly grind through the trash time before, but after the quarterfinals came the semifinals, and then the finals.
He only needed to fight three matches in total to go back and extort a huge sum from Shrek, and they'd even be happy for him to do it. So why not go up and show off a bit?
And so, this scene unfolded.
Lin Yun was flanked by Xiao Xiao and Ma Xiaotao, while behind him followed Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Ling Luochen, and Jiang Nannan—an all-female team, guarding Lin Yun as if he were the moon surrounded by stars.
In this tournament, there was no other contestant who could show off more than Lin Yun, nor any other contestant whose entrance was more dazzling and ostentatious.
The surprising thing was that these beautiful girls around Lin Yun were all very willing to serve as flowers adorning his excellence. This made many gentlemen watching the match gnash their teeth, their admiration and worship for Lin Yun transforming into intense jealousy.
He truly deserved to die!
"Lin Yun truly deserves to die!" Below the arena, Xu Sanshi sat beside Beibei, his teeth grinding audibly, his eyes almost turning green.
Damn it, I, Xu Sanshi, want to be that cool too! I want beautiful girls surrounding me too!
More importantly.
My Nannan!!!
Xu Sanshi felt his stomach churning with bitterness, and his mouth was so sour it almost brought tears to his eyes.
Pain, so much pain!
The people from the Dou Ling team on the opposite side were even more exaggerated than Xu Sanshi. Originally, they didn't have much fighting spirit, given how ridiculously over-the-top Lin Yun's performance was.
But even if you're amazing, you can't look down on us like this, right?
This is a competition, not a picnic!
You're supposed to fight on the stage, not flirt with girls while using us as a backdrop!
"Captain, I can't hold back anymore. Should we use that trump card?" a male student from Dou Ling Academy gasped, his eyes bloodshot. "Anyway, we're probably not going to win, but we absolutely can't let that show-off have an easy time!"
"I was thinking the same thing!" The team captain, Solitary Bamboo Sword, had murder in his eyes, his heart similarly aching.
Before the match even began, the tension on the arena was already at its peak.
However, this tension was merely the Dou Ling team's unilateral impotent rage towards Lin Yun. Lin Yun, at this moment, was still surrounded by six girls, looking completely at ease.
Even the referee couldn't stand it anymore.
This guy was too much of a show-off!
He truly deserved to die!
"The final match of the quarterfinals, Shrek Academy versus Dou Ling Academy, begin!" The referee quickly darted away after uttering the command.
Fight! Start fighting quickly! We absolutely cannot let that kid be so comfortable on the field!
The seven members of the Dou Ling team did not disappoint the referee. They quickly formed their battle array, and the other six spread out suddenly, encircling their captain, Solitary Bamboo Sword, forming a formation that also resembled stars surrounding the moon.
"Come on, taste the big guy!"
(End of Chapter)
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