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Chapter 70 - Chapter 70: The End of the Preliminaries

Ever since Lin Fan had claimed to be his uncle, things had quieted down significantly.

Salas no longer dared to target him deliberately, though he remained frustrated and suspicious, wondering how the Pope's Decree had ended up in Lin Fan's possession.

So, after leaving the conference room and returning to the Spirit Hall, Salas immediately wrote a letter to headquarters.

Coincidentally, Qian Renxue also wrote a letter to Bibi Dong on the same day.

Salas's letter reported: "A mere Soul King has entered the tournament carrying the Pope's Decree."

Qian Renxue's letter said: "A Soul King named Lin Xuan is the nephew of Lin Fan. Do not harm him."

When Bibi Dong received both letters at the same time, she quickly concluded:

"So, Lin Fan passed the Pope's Decree I gave him… to his nephew."

"No wonder he told me we'd meet again at the finals. So it's his nephew participating in the tournament. That means once the finals are over, Lin Fan will come for him…"

A chilling, seductive smile curled at Bibi Dong's lips.

"Hmph… Lin Fan. After the finals, I'll take control of your precious nephew—immediately."

With twenty-seven rounds in the preliminary stage, only three rounds remained. While the top teams had already secured advancement, the last matches would determine final rankings.

The remaining opponents were: Tianshui, Thunderclap, and Godwind Academy.

In the third-to-last round, Shrek Academy faced off against Tianshui Academy—a team composed entirely of beautiful young women.

As always, the disguised Lin Fan, playing the role of Lin Xuan, maintained his cold and distant demeanor.

He spoke in a frosty tone:

"You know my strength. Unleash your strongest Spirit Fusion Technique. Don't waste time. Let's settle this in one move."

Throughout the preliminaries, Lin Fan rarely needed to use more than Sword Spirit's Undying Halo or Doomstrike to win matches.

After all, his martial soul, Slaughter Sword, only had those two spirit abilities.

But honestly, even using those was already overkill against student-level opponents.

It's not his fault the system treated him like a peer to these children.

Blame the system for showing up late—he certainly didn't arrive too early.

"You... how do you know about that?" asked Shui Bing'er, the Tianshui captain, surprised.

"If I don't let you use your fusion skill properly, your team won't even have a chance. My speed alone would end this before you're ready."

Lin Fan pointed his sword at Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu.

"So arrogant... Fine then, Bing'er—let's do it." Xue Wu launched her spirit ability.

"Stand down," Shui Bing'er said calmly. "Just like he said—one move to decide it."

"Got it, Captain." The rest of the Tianshui team exited the stage, leaving only Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu.

"That Lin Xuan is incredibly confident," muttered Thunderclap Academy's captain.

"Don't forget—two Soul Ancestors using a fusion technique can unleash a power comparable to a Soul Emperor."

"Yu, if he defeats Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu's fusion, it's your team next. What will you do?" asked Godwind Academy's captain.

"We'll surrender. We've already secured advancement. No point wasting energy," said the Thunderclap captain.

"Hah! Same here," the Godwind captain chuckled. "No need to exhaust ourselves."

Thunderclap and Godwind had already locked in first and second place, respectively.

As for Lin Fan's team—after suffering three early defeats—the highest they could place was third.

Tianshui Academy was also a contender for that third-place spot.

"Spirit Fusion Technique: Ten Thousand Blades of Ice!"

Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu combined their spirits, with Shui Bing'er taking the lead.

A massive sphere of ice formed in the air, launching thousands of frost swords toward Lin Fan.

"Soul skill: Sword Spirit Undying Halo."

Lin Fan calmly released his defensive skill, effortlessly blocking the wave of blades.

"Bing'er, it's that ability again. He's used it in twenty matches—no team has been able to break through it."

Xue Wu frowned.

Truthfully, Lin Fan didn't even need to activate any spirit abilities.

He was immune to poison, fire, and ice.

But he still released a skill to show respect to the persistent and tough-willed girls of Tianshui Academy.

"Is that all? If not, give it everything you've got."

Lin Fan's cold voice echoed across the stage.

"Damn it! Let's use our last move!" Shui Bing'er told Xue Wu.

"Right!" Xue Wu channeled all her spirit power.

"Spirit Fusion Technique: Ice Phoenix!"

The massive ice sphere fused with Shui Bing'er's martial soul, forming a ten-meter ice phoenix.

As it let out a chilling cry, Shui Bing'er warned:

"This phoenix is hard even for me to control. Are you sure you want to continue?"

"An ultimate beast martial soul? Now we're getting somewhere."

Lin Fan's tone remained casual as he gripped his Slaughter Sword.

Shui Bing'er's expression hardened. The ice phoenix dived down toward Lin Fan in a devastating charge.

"First spirit ability—Doomstrike!"

A flash of crimson light surged from the Slaughter Sword's tip, forming a ten-meter arc of bloody sword energy that slashed upward to meet the phoenix.

CRACK!

The red blade beam cut through the Ice Phoenix, slicing it cleanly in half.

Despite being an ultimate ice-type martial soul, it was no match because Slaughter Sword was a god-level martial soul.

SPLURT—!

Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu were knocked out of the fusion, coughing blood as they crashed to the arena floor.

"We… lost," Shui Bing'er admitted, raising her head with acceptance.

"Well fought," Lin Fan nodded coolly.

"Shrek Academy wins this match!" the announcer declared.

"This Lin Xuan is terrifying. His actual strength far surpasses that of an ordinary level-53 Soul King. Even a fusion technique between two Soul Ancestors couldn't stop him!"

"Shrek struck gold with this one! A single Soul King has carried them to the playoffs!"

Once again, the crowd erupted in awe and admiration for Lin Fan.

In the next two days, both Thunderclap and Godwind Academies chose to forfeit.

The five teams advancing to the finals were officially confirmed:

1st – Thunderclap Academy

2nd – Godwind Academy

3rd – Shrek Academy

4th – Tianshui Academy

5th – Blazing Fire Academy

"Damn it! We beat Shrek Academy but didn't make it into the finals!"

The Elephant Armor Team grumbled bitterly.

"No helping it. The elemental teams this year were too strong—Thunderclap even had four Soul Ancestors."

"We did it! We're going to the finals!"

Oscar and Ma Hongjun hugged each other in celebration.

"Lin Xuan, His Majesty Emperor Xue Ye wants to meet us to discuss the advancement. Will you and Dai Mubai go?" Flender asked.

"No. Let Tang San go."

Lin Fan declined indifferently.

"…Alright." Flender gave a helpless smile.

He knew Lin Xuan was strong, but when it came to social interaction, he was practically a brick wall. He seemed to care only about winning.

So Flender didn't push further.

"Mumbai, you're the team captain. Tang San, you go too," Flender instructed.

Soon, the rest of the team exited the arena, leaving the captains behind.

About half an hour later, Dai Mubai and Tang San returned.

Back at Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang gathered everyone for a meeting.

"The finals begin in one month. The format will be individual-based."

"But keep in mind—the finals won't involve eliminations. They only determine seeding and match order."

Over the next month, aside from Lin Xuan, the rest of you will undergo devil-level training. I want each of you to break through your limits.

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