svetikya Chapter 123, Phase 1, End
Chapter 123, Phase 1, End
With a packed schedule of matches, Wang Yan first sent the players who had just finished a battle and needed to maintain their form back to rest.
"Caitou, you should go back and recover your soul power," Wang Yan said to He Caitou, who was still writing furiously.
"Teacher, I'm not tired, I can still remember!" He Caitou didn't even look up, but his wrists were already a little sore.
"Go back." Brigitte's voice was gentle but carried an undeniable authority. "You need to maintain your best condition for the upcoming matches. Leave things here to us."
Wang Yan took He Caitou's notebook, and the three teachers made a simple division of labor: Zi Ji was responsible for recording the characteristics of each team's offensive and agile attack-type Soul Masters; Wang Yan focused on defense and control types; and Bi Ji observed support and food types.
They must absorb all available information during these three days of intensive elimination matches, like sponges.
Looking at the still energetic and tireless profiles of Biji and Ziji, Wang Yan rubbed his throbbing temples and smiled bitterly to himself.
This intelligence work is no less intense or important than fighting on the battlefield.
The knockout stage has only just begun.
In the past few days, the three teachers have practically lived at the competition venue, leaving early and returning late, maintaining their energy on the simplest dry food and water.
Among them, Wang Yan reached his limit.
Compared to Biji and Ziji, who were still full of energy and seemed tireless, Wang Yan was in a state of near exhaustion.
The intense observation, analysis, and memorization over the past few days have drained him of almost all his human energy.
The dazzling and unpredictable soul skills on the field now only bring him dizziness and stinging pain. Every time he takes in and processes information, it feels like a blunt instrument is hitting his taut nerves.
"Teacher Wang Yan," Bi Ji's voice pulled him back from his daze, "Leave these last few matches to us."
Go back and get some rest. Shrek Academy has a match tomorrow, and you need to be clear-headed to handle it.
Wang Yan did not insist any further. He had indeed reached the point where he had to stop.
"Thank you both, I'll head back now." His voice was hoarse and weary.
Back in his room on the top floor, Wang Yan had lost all the energy to even think.
Exhaustion overwhelmed his last shred of consciousness, and he almost instinctively reached for the bedside. Then, as if all support had been removed, he collapsed, falling into a dreamless slumber before he could even take off his coat.
In the past few days, the Shrek team has spent most of their time resting and training at the hotel, occasionally going to the stadium to watch the games.
Whenever Huo Yutong focused intently on watching the match, her mental sea would become bustling with activity, like a private VIP viewing box.
Tianmeng was most comfortable, and a soft sofa appeared out of nowhere. She lazily sank into it, with a constantly bubbling drink and a mountain of snacks beside her.
"This competition is quite interesting, it's very exciting." She commented while munching on potato chips, looking every bit like a spectator.
Hyotei, on the other hand, was much more elegant, sitting upright on a chair made of ice crystals, sipping the spirit-simulated ice cream, his eyes focused, as if assessing the power of the soul skills on the field.
Crescent Moon stood to the side, assessing the situation.
Electrolux stood before a steaming cup of tea, exuding the composed demeanor of a reclusive sage.
This "mind cinema" that belongs exclusively to Huo Yutong is always exceptionally noisy when watching matches, giving her a unique sense of "liveliness".
Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, located on the floor below the Star Emperor Hotel, was much more serious.
Their meeting room was brightly lit, and a tactical analysis meeting about their number one adversary was in full swing.
Captain Ma Rulong spoke first, his tone grave: "The victory in the first battle was expected, but their easy win with only the reserve team is something we should be wary of."
That bald guy is a fairly solid level four Soul Master.
The teacher in charge of intelligence then added, his voice filled with disbelief: "Latest confirmation: Shrek Academy's main team members Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng have reached level 70 and 68 in soul power respectively, surpassing all others in this competition! The other five main team members also have soul power levels above 55."
"That's not all," another teacher pushed up his glasses, "their reserve team is also quite impressive, with five Soul Masters and two Soul Venerables."
The oldest is only 15 years old, and the youngest... is said to be named Huo Yutong, who is only 12 years old and has already become a Soul Master.
And then there's Ning Tian, who hasn't appeared yet. He's the 13-year-old young sect master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, and also a Soul Sect member.
A series of data points filled the conference room with an invisible pressure.
Shrek's monstrous strength has once again made this "perennial runner-up" feel a real threat.
"Hmph, who cares about geniuses? In the end, they will all become stepping stones for me, Xiao Hongchen."
The white-haired boy sitting at the end of the table had a proud smile on his lips, and his blue-green heterochromatic eyes flashed with intense fighting spirit and confidence.
"Laughing at the world!" Ma Rulong frowned and said sternly, "Put away your arrogance. The reserve team will be a formidable opponent in the next competition; we must take them seriously!"
Chief Ma tapped the table, bringing the discussion back to the main point: "Arguing is pointless. Starting from the next game, all Shrek games must be observed and recorded with double the detail."
Especially Huo Yutong, the 12-year-old Soul Master whose martial spirit is unknown, she is the biggest variable.
We need to understand the characteristics of each of their martial souls, the effects of their soul skills, and their possible soul tools.
After the meeting, intelligence work was elevated to the highest priority.
As Xiao Hongchen left, the name "Huo Yutong" kept replaying in his mind.
A 12-year-old Soul Master... This aroused his intense curiosity and the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent.
Shrek, let's see who comes out on the field.
The three-day knockout stage has come to an end. Of the 133 teams, only one team received a bye and advanced directly, while the other half were eliminated.
The round-robin tournament has officially begun, with a total of 67 teams participating.
The first match of the round-robin tournament was Shrek Academy versus Yunluo Academy.
This match is a one-on-one elimination tournament, with each side sending seven players to fight in turn until one side loses all their players.
After a day of rest, Wang Yan had regained his former vigor. He analyzed, "Yunluo Academy is mainly focused on the Soul Guidance Department, and all seven members are four-ring Soul Masters."
Unfortunately, we didn't bring any defensive-type Soul Masters who are most effective against Soul Tools on this trip.
"From what I've observed," Zi Ji said, "after they enter the arena, they immediately deploy 'Soul Guidance Fortresses' for all-around protection, and then launch ranged attacks with Soul Guidance Cannons."
Its defensive soul tool takes 0.5 seconds to activate and must be restarted every three minutes, with a restart interval of 0.5 seconds.
The Soul Cannon has a charging time of 1 second. After firing 100 times in a row, it will overheat and needs to cool down for 1 second to recover.
With their total soul power, they could only sustain combat for a maximum of one hour before it was exhausted.
As soon as he said this, the surroundings fell silent.
The team members looked at each other in astonishment—such precise data analysis down to the second, even clearly predicting the opponent's soul power endurance, Zi Ji's observation and tactical deduction abilities were simply terrifying.