Shrek lounge.
"Damn it, they're targeting us, it's blatant targeting."
It was Flender who spoke this time. As for why Flender was so angry, it was, of course, because the compensation Canghui Academy demanded had been delivered.
A full fifty million gold coins. Isn't this asking for Shrek Academy's life? Even if Shrek Academy were sold, it wouldn't be worth fifty million gold coins.
Twenty million gold coins could build an Advanced Spirit Master Academy. Back then, the most luxurious Heaven Dou Royal Academy was only budgeted for one hundred million.
Now, Shrek Academy's reputation was declining; selling for twenty-five million would be a bargain. Facing the enormous compensation of fifty million, they truly couldn't come up with it.
"If only Ning Rongrong were still here, we could still make her cough up some gold coins."
Now that they were short on money, everyone thought of the naive and sweet Ning Rongrong again. To put it plainly, they were still coveting her gold coins.
As everyone was dejected about the compensation, at this moment, Tang San spoke up, saying in a matter-of-fact tone, "Dean Flender, why do we have to pay this money back?"
The minds on Douluo Continent aren't sharp; Tang San didn't understand. Wouldn't it be fine if they just didn't pay the money?
"If we don't pay it back, our competition qualification will be canceled. Otherwise, I wouldn't want to pay it either."
Flender rolled his eyes at Tang San. Did he really think someone as stingy as him would willingly pay? It's just that if they didn't, their competition qualification would be canceled.
"So that's how it is."
Upon hearing Flender's explanation, Tang San's expression darkened. The organizers of this Soul Master Competition truly had a Dao to death, to actually target their Shrek Academy like this.
And Canghui Academy, they only lost two good-for-nothings, yet they were so aggressive towards them; they, too, had a Dao to death.
To retain their competition spot, participate in the final match, win the championship and obtain seven hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bones, Tang San and the others would not let this opportunity slip by.
After all, fifty million gold coins were insignificant in front of seven hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bones.
After pondering for a long time, Tang San suddenly said, "How about we temporarily mortgage Shrek Academy, but we can only hand it over after the competition ends. After all, we still need to compete."
"Furthermore, when the competition ends, why would we need to hand over Shrek Academy then? By then, canceling our competition spot would be ineffective against us."
After Tang San finished speaking, he chuckled lightly, secretly marveling at his astonishing wisdom.
"Alright, let's do that."
Flender also listened to Tang San's plan and finally agreed. A small Canghui Academy, how dare they demand Shrek Academy from them?
He then walked out the door, preparing to discuss with Canghui Academy's team leader in charge.
Because Shrek had undergone asset verification, their account income was almost zero. The reason was surprisingly that their training was too outdated, and all the students had run off.
This truly astounded the people from Canghui Academy.
In the end, they reluctantly agreed to mortgage Shrek Academy. Subsequently, under the joint witness of the Heaven Dou event organizers of the Soul Master Competition and the Spirit Hall organizers, they signed the document to mortgage Shrek Academy.
...
Three days passed in a row. Because there were no matches, and they had been feeling frustrated for the past few days, Tang San and the others were all suppressing a trace of anger.
They wished they could cripple their next opponent on the spot, without giving the referee a chance to announce anything.
At this time, the referee still didn't know what the Shrek Seven Devils were thinking. Even if he did, he wouldn't care. They were just clowns.
Then, the captains of the sixteen teams drew lots, and the results were finally announced by the referee.
"The list for the fourth round of matches is announced."
"Shenfeng Academy versus Thunder Academy."
"Tianshui Academy versus Purple Star Academy."
"Heaven Dou Royal Team One versus Shrek Academy."
...
As the list was announced, the Shrek Seven Devils immediately exploded. What a coincidence, right? The first match of the preliminary round was Heaven Dou Royal Team One, and the first match of the promotion round was still Heaven Dou Royal Team One.
"A fix, it's definitely a fix."
Ma Hongjun said indignantly, indirectly forgetting that Tang San had drawn the lot.
"What's there to be afraid of? Now Tang San is also a Spirit Saint, it's still uncertain who will win or lose."
Dai Mubai put his arm around Ma Hongjun's neck, leaning on Ma Hongjun's shoulder, and said proudly.
Now their Shrek Seven Devils also had a Spirit Saint among them. A mere Heaven Dou Royal Team One, today would be the day they wiped away their shame.
"That's right, Fatty, with Third Brother here, what's there to panic about?"
Feng Xiaotian also chuckled lightly and said. He was clearly quite confident, after all, in his mind, Tang San was someone who would become a God in the future, how could he lose?
Dai Mubai looked at Tang San, who was the center of attention, feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart. There was a time when he himself was someone Fatty and Oscar would grovel before, but now he had been reduced to Tang San's background.
"Asura God, I, Dai Mubai, might not be unable to become one!"
Thinking of this, Dai Mubai said through gritted teeth, "In this life, I, Dai Mubai, will also be the big brother."
Because the match was in the afternoon, the Shrek Seven Devils didn't want to observe the strength of other academies. It couldn't be helped; they had a Spirit Saint and simply didn't put other academies in their eyes.
In the VIP section, when Ning Fengzhi learned that the Shrek Seven Devils' opponent was Heaven Dou Royal Team One, his eyes suddenly looked towards Xue Xing.
He didn't believe things could be such a coincidence, that the Shrek Seven Devils would again encounter the strongest team at the start.
Noticing Ning Fengzhi's gaze, Xue Xing said half-jokingly, "I wonder what Sect Master Ning is looking at me for? Could it be that you still want to predict who will stand till the end between Shrek Academy and Heaven Dou Royal Team One?"
"Hehe, it's nothing. I'm just sighing at such a coincidence, that two strong teams would encounter each other again. Fate truly plays tricks on people."
Ning Fengzhi sneered a few times. No emotion could be seen on his face, but the subtle sarcasm in his tone still betrayed Ning Fengzhi's emotions.
He was clearly suspicious that they were manipulating things, secretly controlling the match pairings to make the Shrek Seven Devils encounter Heaven Dou Royal Team One right at the start.
Xue Xing, however, was somewhat surprised by this. Pretending to be ignorant, he asked, "Sect Master Ning must be mistaken, right? How can the Shrek Seven Devils be considered a strong team? Have you ever seen a strong team that barely qualified in the preliminaries, ranking in the teens?"
Although he knew the Shrek Seven Devils' strength was considerable, in the face of Heaven Dou Royal Team One's formidable strength, any team was a weak team.
Xue Xing said this outwardly, but secretly sneered in his heart. Tang San himself drew the lot, and no one touched the box midway. It was clearly just your bad luck, yet you blame heaven, earth, and air. Who spoiled you so much?
But on second thought, this was also good. If Ning Fengzhi was this foolish, his threat to him in the future would be smaller.
Ning Fengzhi also heard Xue Xing's disdain for the Shrek Seven Devils between the lines, but still said quite calmly:
"Although Heaven Dou Royal Team One is powerful, they are too arrogant. When I watched their matches, they had no strategy at all, simply relying on brute force to crush their opponents."
"However, the Shrek Seven Devils are led by Tang San, and they always have corresponding tactics, which is what those young talents should learn. After all, even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit."
This analysis amused Xue Xing, who couldn't help but chuckle lightly, making Ning Fengzhi feel a hint of shame and anger. He asked, "Your Majesty, why are you laughing?"
"It's nothing. However, Sect Master Ning, Heaven Dou Royal Team One only uses one member each time, do you know why?"
"They follow the elite path; each person is a team on their own. When they are separated, each has their own initiative and won't rely on others. In the future, when they each Breakthrough to titled Douluo, the seven of them combined can rival an army of one hundred thousand. No, they will even far surpass an army of one hundred thousand."
"Furthermore, while the Shrek Seven Devils seem to have their own arrangements, in reality, it still depends on Tang San, their leader. If Tang San were gone, the Shrek Seven Devils would be like a gathering of useless people, unable to make any waves."