Although puzzled, Shui Wuhen didn't pay much attention to it. He simply nodded slightly to Feng Xiaotian before withdrawing his gaze.
On the side of the Godwind Academy, after Feng Qingcang learned that his academy had passed the first round, he also let out a sigh of relief.
As long as they didn't lose, it was fine. As long as they didn't encounter that Shui Wuhen midway, with Feng Xiaotian's Soul Emperor strength, it was basically impossible for them to lose.
Very quickly, the first round of the finals came to an end.
The defeated teams left dejected, while most of the victorious teams were flushed with excitement, chatting and laughing as they left the grand plaza in front of the Papal Palace and returned to their respective lodgings.
Not long after Shui Wuhen and the others left, the massive block of ice where Yan had been suddenly exploded. Yan was surrounded by a large amount of flames, but his face was still frozen purple-blue, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"Achoo~"
Yan sneezed, hugging himself as he shivered and said, "So cold… damn Shui Wuhen."
Although his body was still covered in dense flame energy, Shui Wuhen's power clung to him like a parasite. No matter how his soul power surged within his body, the effect was extremely limited.
In the next moment, two figures appeared in front of him—it was Hu Liena and Xie Yue.
Seeing Yan in such a miserable state, Xie Yue picked up a scattered piece of ice from the ground. After sensing it for a moment, his expression turned serious as he said, "Such powerful ice-attribute energy."
Yan's martial spirit, the Flame Lord, although not as pure as some fire-attribute martial spirits, still possessed a high level of flame.
Yet even so, it had taken him so long to break free from just a casual burst of ice light from Shui Wuhen. One could imagine how formidable Shui Wuhen's ice-attribute energy was.
"Indeed. It seems we've really encountered a strong opponent this time."
Hu Liena frowned as well. Although she had full confidence in the martial soul fusion skill Demonic Charm with her brother, she also felt immense pressure.
No matter how strong their fusion skill was, it still required time to activate, and the small arena might not even give them the chance to use it before they lost.
"No need to worry!"
At this moment, a stunning figure dressed in a white-gold long dress suddenly appeared before them.
"Saintess!"
Seeing this, Hu Liena and Xie Yue immediately placed their hands over their chests and bowed slightly.
Even Yan, who had just thawed, endured the cold and bowed to the person before him.
Qian Renxue nodded slightly and calmly said, "When we face him next, I will personally take action."
"What? Saintess, you will make a move?"
Upon hearing this, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan all had their pupils contract as they looked at Qian Renxue in shock.
After a moment, Xie Yue hesitated and said, "Isn't that a bit excessive? Although Shui Wuhen is strong, it shouldn't require the Saintess to act. My sister and I's martial soul fusion skill should be enough to deal with him."
"'Should' means it's not certain," Qian Renxue said lightly, glancing at Xie Yue. "This championship is of extraordinary importance. My mother has taken out three top-tier ten-thousand-year Spirit Bones as the reward for the Elite Tournament champion to silence public opinion and award them to you—not for you to gamble with."
"Or are you planning to spend a few more years in Death Canyon?"
Hearing this, the three of them immediately broke into cold sweat. Qian Renxue's words struck exactly at what they feared most. If they lost, the three top-tier ten-thousand-year Spirit Bones that Bibi Dong had taken out would fall into others' hands. That was a responsibility they simply could not bear.
"And besides…"
At this moment, Qian Renxue changed tone slightly. Her gaze turned distant, as if murmuring to herself, "Some things… must ultimately be settled by me personally."
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
Due to the competition system, Tianshui Academy, as the first place in the promotion round, did not need to participate in the second round and directly advanced with a bye.
As for the other teams, after intense battles, the teams advancing to the third round were decided.
After two rounds of competition, the thirty-three teams had now been reduced to ten.
They were: Tianshui Team, Godwind Team, Thunder Team, Heaven Dou Royal Team, Star Luo Royal Team, Spirit Hall Team, Shrek Team, and three unknown teams.
Among them, even the weakest team on paper still had four Soul Ancestors.
As for powerhouse teams like Tianshui, Godwind, and Spirit Hall, which clearly stood above the rest, they even had Soul Emperor-level combat strength within their ranks.
With Shui Wuhen personally taking the field, Godwind once again easily defeated an unknown team and secured victory in the third round of the finals!
At the same time, in this round, teams like Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Star Luo Royal Academy were eliminated.
Only six teams remained to compete for the final championship.
However, after the first matchup was drawn, all the academies erupted in an uproar.
It was because Godwind Academy, one of the favorites to win, had been matched against Spirit Hall Academy, which was also a strong contender.
Everyone had naturally assumed that the final championship battle would be contested among Tianshui, Godwind, and Spirit Hall, as that was the most logical outcome.
But where there were those unhappy, there were also those delighted.
The most delighted were undoubtedly academies like Shrek Academy and Thunder Academy. Under normal circumstances, they would have been eliminated in this round.
But now that Godwind and Spirit Hall were matched against each other, it meant they wouldn't have to face either of them—essentially gaining an extra advancement slot out of thin air.
Immediately, the three teams began praying that they would not draw Tianshui Academy.
"Second match: Tianshui Academy versus Thunder Academy."
Hearing this, Yu Tianxin and the others from Thunder Academy immediately darkened their expressions before shaking their heads with bitter smiles.
In the previous elimination round, they had already lost to Shui Wuhen, and at the time, they had been somewhat unwilling to accept it.
But after witnessing the battle between Shui Wuhen and Feng Xiaotian, they finally understood just how much Shui Wuhen had held back against them.
No—that wasn't holding back at all. That was practically going easy on an oceanic scale!
So now, they had completely given up any thought of fighting Tianshui Academy. There was simply no meaning in doing so.
On Shrek's side, after hearing that they wouldn't have to face Shui Wuhen, Tang San and the others also let out a sigh of relief.
"Looks like our luck is pretty good. That move can be revealed a bit later."
After hearing the result, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang also showed a faint smile.
Although he had already developed a trump card to deal with Shui Wuhen, its limitations were significant. Once used, it would inevitably be targeted by opponents.
That was not something he wanted to see, because in terms of raw strength, Shrek still had a gap compared to Godwind and Spirit Hall.