"The finals will consist of thirty-three participating teams. These teams will undergo a brutal elimination round through drawing lots to determine who advances," Flender announced, his voice echoing in the quiet meeting room.
"Dean, wait a moment," Oscar suddenly spoke up, raising his hand with a puzzled expression on his face. He quickly did the mental math again. "Dean, you just said that there would be one seed team from each of the two great Empires. There are also fifteen teams advancing from the preliminaries and promotion rounds. By that calculation, there should only be thirty-two teams in the finals. Where does the thirty-three team come from?"
Flender smiled slightly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I forgot to mention, there aren't just two seed teams for the finals, but three. The third one is a team directly promoted by Spirit Hall. One could also say it is the most competitive team in the entire tournament".
He looked at the students seriously. "Although Spirit Hall is not technically an advanced Spirit Master academy, they have their own specialized institutions for cultivating young Spirit Masters. In the previous three Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournaments, except for the Star Luo Empire which once won a championship, the other two championships were won by teams sent by Spirit Hall".
Flender paused to let the weight of that history sink in. "They will be your strongest opponents in the future. Based on my experience, the Spirit Master team sent by Spirit Hall will definitely be even stronger than the Royal Fight Team you have seen before".
Upon hearing this, the members of the Shrek Group looked at each other. However, what was revealed in their eyes was not worry or fear. Instead, it was strong curiosity and excitement. After so many Spirit fights in the arena, they had become an unprecedented Level 30 Gold Spirit Fighting Team. What they longed for were powerful opponents. Without powerful opponents to push them, how could they better hone themselves?
Seeing their morale was high, Flender continued explaining the rules. "The rankings of the promotion rounds will be conducted separately in the two great Empires, establishing positions from one to fifteen. The advantages of this ranking will become apparent in the finals".
"The finals will adopt an elimination system. In each round, several teams will have a bye, meaning they skip a fight. In the first round, the three seed teams will have a bye. The other thirty teams will compete in pairs, and the fifteen winning teams will participate in the next round".
Flender began to pace as he broke down the complex structure. "In the second round, including the three seed teams, there will be eighteen teams in total. At this point, among the remaining teams, the two teams ranked highest in the promotion round will have a bye. The remaining sixteen teams will compete to determine eight teams to enter the third round".
"Only ten teams will remain in the third round. Again, the two teams ranked highest in the ranking competition will have a bye. However, teams that have already had a bye will not have a second bye. After the third round, six teams will remain. This determines the final top six of the tournament".
"At this point, there will be no more bye teams," Flender emphasized. "In the fourth round, the six teams will draw lots and compete in pairs to determine the final top three".
"To ensure fairness, the final ranking of the top three will be determined through two competition methods: team battles and individual elimination battles. First, individual elimination battles will be conducted, similar to the format of the promotion rounds. The three teams will compete in a Ring Match format".
"Each side sends seven members, who take turns entering the arena. The loser is eliminated, and the winner continues to face the next opponent. This goes on until all members of the other two academies are eliminated. The winning academy will directly advance to the final match".
"The other two academies will then have a team battle to determine the other advancing spot. Finally, they will compete in a team battle against the team that advanced through the individual elimination round to decide the champion".
After listening to Flender's long and detailed explanation, Ma Hongjun held his head. He couldn't help but complain, "Dean, why is this competition so complicated? I'm a little dizzy just from listening to it".
Dai Mubai frowned and looked at the fat Spirit Master unhappily. "What is there to be dizzy about? No matter the competition format, as long as we don't lose a single match, then won't the final championship be ours?"
Flender nodded slightly at Dai Mubai's confidence. "Mubai is right; it is important to be familiar with the competition format, but in the face of absolute strength, these are not the most important things. During the competition, I will remind you of the rules again. At the same time, I will analyze the opponents you are about to face".
He then shifted the topic to their immediate schedule. "In these last few days, what you need to do is tactical drills. Oh, and there is one more thing I must remind you of. In the Heaven Dou City division preliminaries, only five of you seven can be on the field at the same time".
He pointed specifically at the support Spirit Master. "Among them, Ning Rongrong will definitely not be on the field during the preliminaries. I will be giving her special training during this period".
"Ah? Only five can be on?" Everyone couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Flender's expression turned stern. "What? Do you have an opinion? The members who will definitely be on the field in the preliminaries include the two Sparta Brothers. They are the two substitute members Heaven Dou Royal Academy arranged for our Shrek Team".
Flender gestured to the side, introducing the strategy. "Their spirit power has both reached Level 38. The Spirits of these two brothers are extremely peculiar. One possesses the Spear of Sparta, and the other possesses the Shield of Sparta. More importantly, they can also unleash a powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skill — Great Wilderness Starfall! Therefore, in the preliminaries, these two brothers will be stable starters".
"You yourselves can discuss the other five spots, excluding Ning Rongrong," Flender concluded.
Just then, Dai Mubai tentatively asked, "Dean, is this to conserve strength? But what if we lose because we aren't using our full power?"
Flender smiled calmly, looking at his students with a knowing gaze. "What? Don't you even have that much confidence? Your true opponents are in the promotion rounds and in the finals. They will never be in these preliminaries".
He leaned forward slightly. "If you expose all your strength to your opponents at this time, then how difficult will the path ahead become? You need to keep your trump cards hidden".
After hearing Flender's words, everyone pondered for a moment. It made sense; if their enemies knew all their abilities before the finals, they would be easily countered. They nodded in agreement.
Immediately after, Flender stepped forward and patted Huo Feng on the shoulder. "You are responsible for the tactical arrangements on the field, and you will also decide the participating members. What I can remind you is that in the preliminaries, the fewer Shrek Seven Devils members that appear, the better".
"In the finals, the opponents you will face will be stronger than you imagine. And your goal is only one. That is, the final championship!"
In the following days, the Shrek Academy's participating members, led by Flender, began intense tactical drills. They focused especially on the two newly joined individuals, the Sparta Brothers, who spent every day integrating with the main team.
It is not easy to integrate a Spirit Master team quickly. Teamwork requires trust and understanding. But if there is an exceptionally outstanding commander within that team, then everything becomes much simpler.
Huo Feng was undoubtedly capable of filling this role. Under his coordination, the two new members gradually became familiar with the Shrek Team's combat methods and rhythm.
At the same time, Huo Feng had already decided on the participating members for the preliminaries. His plan was simple: five of the Shrek Seven Devils would rotate in and out to support the substitutes.
Although the preliminaries were not as critical as the finals, they at least had to ensure qualification. Therefore, the five rotating members Huo Feng determined included Dai Mubai, who had to be on the field to ensure victory with his raw power.
The rotation also included Ma Hongjun, whose spirit power was explosive and destructive; the food system Spirit Master Oscar, for stamina; and the close-combat assault Spirit Master Xiao Wu. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were temporarily kept hidden completely to preserve the team's agility and support secrets.
Everything was ready. The strategy was set, the team was trained, and their spirits were high. They just needed to wait for the Spirit Master Tournament to begin.
------------------------
For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Mythic_Muse