Chapter 199: Estranged

Ma Hongjun was executed on the spot, and this farce should also come to an end.

That afternoon, the tournament organizing committee announced the restoration of Shrek Academy's eligibility to compete.

Ma Hongjun was different from Shi Nian.

Shi Nian "hunted" contestants from other teams primarily so that the Canghui Academy Team could win in the upcoming matches. The entire team were beneficiaries; kicking them out of the tournament was reasonable.

But Ma Hongjun was different.

First, Shrek Academy already had the strength to defeat the Flame Canghui Academy.

With this incident, Shrek Academy was undoubtedly the victim!

Second, Ma Hongjun acted out of deliberate revenge against his opponent; Shrek Academy had no prior knowledge, and no one assisted him.

One rat dropping ruined the whole pot of porridge, which was clearly unfair to Shrek Academy, so the committee decided to restore their eligibility.

As for the matches missed previously, they would not be replayed and would be recorded according to the existing results.

In the match between Shrek Academy and the Flame Canghui Academy, the two sides were simply not in the same league, so Shrek Academy was judged the winner.

Currently, Shrek Academy had missed three matches, and adding the one loss to the Seven Treasures Team, they had only lost four matches and still had a chance to advance.

Having lost Ma Hongjun, the Shrek Team only had seven people left; if anyone encountered force majeure that prevented them from competing, they would have no margin for error. Therefore, the committee granted them the special privilege of recruiting a substitute.

The announcement was signed first by the Spirit Hall, followed by the Heaven Dou Empire.

To the outside world, this announcement was led by the Spirit Hall.

As for the Flame Canghui Academy, they accepted the committee's decision without protest.

After all, they did not have a Spirit Hall Elder backing them, and offending the committee would bring them no benefits.

For teams hoping to advance, this announcement was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue.

Among the strong teams, only the Tianshui Team had not yet played against Shrek Academy.

But taking a step back, even if Shrek Academy lost five matches, it was not impossible for them to advance.

Inside Shrek Academy.

Seeing Tang San return, Yu Tianheng and the others held a welcome party for him.

"Xiao San, welcome back." Dai Mubai walked up and gave him a bear hug.

As for the death of Ma Hongjun, everyone tacitly kept silent.

Over these past few days, under the "influence" of the committee and Yu Xiaogang, they all believed that Ma Hongjun had committed intentional murder.

One must know that the evidence provided by the committee was quite consistent with Ma Hongjun's usual conduct.

For the sake of his own selfish interests, he almost caused them to lose their eligibility and nearly got them arrested by government soldiers; it would be a miracle if they could give Ma Hongjun a pleasant look.

Tang San pressed his hands down, "Everyone, adjust your state of mind. We must not miss tomorrow's match, and we must not make any major mistakes."

"As for a substitute, everyone think about whether there are any suitable candidates."

Within Shrek Academy, if there were a suitable substitute, Yu Xiaogang would have already selected them, and wouldn't have just brought in Tailong.

He certainly couldn't find one within the academy, so he could only pin his hopes on the outside world.

Especially Yu Tianheng; if they could add a disciple from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, it would undoubtedly be a huge boost to the team.

But as it happened, the disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family were all very arrogant; if they couldn't integrate into the team, it would be all for nothing.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing shook their heads with bitter smiles; their families were in the Star Luo Empire, and given their status, it was impossible for them to invite family disciples to come and serve as substitutes.

Not to mention, Xingluo City was very far from Tiandou City. Even if someone agreed, there wouldn't be enough time.

Oscar was even less likely; he was just a commoner Spirit Master and had always lived in Shrek Academy, having almost no friends from the outside.

After a long while, Tailong scratched his head and took the initiative to say, "Third Young Master, I wonder if my cousin would do?"

"His soul power level is on par with mine, but he is two years older than me."

Tailong was only in his teens, and his cousin being two years older was still within the age range for the tournament.

Tang San nodded, "Bring him tomorrow and let the teacher evaluate him."

When Shrek Academy faced a crisis, the Power Clan did not step forward, and Tang San did not blame them.

Just as Tang Hao said, he could not appear too intimate with Titan in public, lest his identity be exposed.

The Power Clan not stepping forward could also be considered a form of protection for him.

After Flender returned to the academy, he was like a walking corpse.

Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong did not speak to him and walked straight toward the lounge where the Shrek Seven Devils were staying.

Although Zhao Wuji and the others were not involved in team management, how could they not know about such a major event?

After Yu Xiaogang left, Zhao Wuji and several other old brothers walked up to him.

"Dean, what exactly happened? Did Yu Xiaogang not save Hongjun?"

Flender nodded, looking lost.

Zhao Wuji let out a long sigh and helped him back to the Dean's Office, preparing to ask about the sequence of events.

Under the persuasion of his old brothers, Flender's emotions gradually stabilized, and he recounted the events with a broken expression.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji punched the door frame in a rage, "Too much, this is simply too much."

"What kind of thing is Yu Xiaogang, by what right does he decide to use Hongjun's life to trade for Tang San's innocence?"

They had watched Ma Hongjun grow up, and now that he had met with such a misfortune, how could they just stand by and do nothing?

Moreover, Qin Ming had also died at the hands of Prince Xue Xing; did the Heaven Dou Imperial Family really think they were easy to bully?

"Old Zhao, calm down." Shao Xin grabbed Zhao Wuji's arm to prevent him from taking any extreme actions.

Although they didn't want to admit it, anyone with eyes could see that the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire just wanted to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

Sacrificing Ma Hongjun to ensure Shrek Academy remained unaffected was already the best possible outcome.

These people have already offended the Heaven Dou Imperial Family; if they cause any more trouble, I fear simply dragging out a scapegoat won't be enough to absolve them.

Zhao Wuji's breathing was rapid, his anger undisguised, "I said long ago that Yu Xiaogang is no good. A level 29 Great Spirit Master with airs even more outrageous than us Spirit Saints—who does he think he is!"

"With Shrek Team led by him, they'll be finished sooner or later. Dean, we've reached this point, do you still not understand? He never considered you a brother at all, just a lackey to be summoned whenever he pleases."

At this point, how could Flender fail to see Yu Xiaogang's true character?

He kept claiming the two were good brothers, yet in the end, Yu Xiaogang betrayed Ma Hongjun without the slightest hesitation, even colluding with Tang San to provide false testimony!

Flender said listlessly, "Old Zhao, I'm tired, and I've accepted my fate."

"After some time passes, I will resign from the position of Dean and go back to retire."

For a moment, Zhao Wuji and the others felt heavy-hearted.

They had sacrificed so much for Shrek Academy, only to end up with nothing but a mess.

In the process, they even sacrificed Ma Hongjun and Qin Ming in vain.

If they continue to struggle, there is no telling how many more people will die.

Zhao Wuji was the first to state his position, "Big Brother, I'll go with you. Whoever wants this damn academy can have it!"

(End of this chapter)