In this group, there were also some teams Shi Yu was somewhat familiar with, but seeing these familiar teams didn't improve his mood.
Zheng Tian Academy, this was encountered by Shrek Academy in the original story, with a Soul King present, their strength is definitely not weak.
Douling Royal Academy, this is the strongest participating team from the Douling Empire, even harder to deal with than Zheng Tian Academy.
These were the opponents Shrek Academy encountered in the knockout rounds after the group stage in the original story.
At that time, Ma Xiaotao and the others were already able to participate in battles, which made winning relatively easy.
However, with their current lineup facing Douling Royal Academy, the difficulty of winning is considerable.
The hardest to deal with is not Douling Royal Academy, but Di Ao Academy.
This Academy also appeared in the original story, and Shi Yu had a relatively deep impression of it.
If he remembered correctly, there was a Soul Emperor in this Academy, and a Power Attack System Soul Emperor at that.
A Soul Emperor and several Soul Kings, for their team of five, whose strongest is merely a Soul Grandmaster, to face such a lineup, it's somewhat crazy.
After seeing this list, Shi Yu even wanted to just turn around and go home; the difficulty of qualifying is unusually high.
"How could such a big change occur?" A huge question mark popped up in Shi Yu's mind.
This group can definitely be considered a group of death; the difficulty of qualifying is many times greater than in the original story.
In the evening, Shi Yu and the others gathered together. After finishing reading the list, they placed it on the table, and everyone was somewhat silent.
"Xuan Lao, are you sure the Star Luo Empire didn't tamper with the draw?" Ma Xiaotao, who was also listening, couldn't help but ask.
After seeing this group list, it was hard for her not to suspect that someone was deliberately targeting their Shrek Academy.
So many powerful teams could actually be gathered into one group at the same time? Are you kidding?
Xuan Lao awkwardly touched his nose, not knowing what to say.
Everyone also looked at Xuan Lao, with a hint of resentment.
This draw was done by Xuan Lao. Their Shrek Academy team's leading Teacher Wang Yan had already died, so Xuan Lao was responsible for the draw.
This was also Xuan Lao volunteering, thinking that with him there, others wouldn't engage in backroom manipulations to deliberately target their Shrek Academy.
Under his witness, there were indeed no petty tricks played, it was just that the result was somewhat unsatisfactory.
This result was even more like backroom manipulation than actual backroom manipulation; every opponent was difficult to deal with.
"Xuan Lao is indeed a bit of a trap," Shi Yu thought to himself, seeing Xuan Lao's expression.
He felt that Xuan Lao somewhat had the constitution of harming his teammates; with him around, others were bound to be unlucky.
The reason for such a large deviation from the battle situations in the original story this time was definitely greatly related to Xuan Lao being the one to draw the lots.
"I will do my best to help you gather information about the other teams; the rest is up to you," Xuan Lao said sheepishly.
"Every one of these teams looks like we can't handle them," Jiang Nannan whispered.
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao also nodded in agreement.
It's one thing that their overall strength is inferior to the opponents, but the most crucial point is that they only have five people who can participate in battles.
"The truly difficult opponents, Douling Royal Academy and Di Ao Academy, are both in the last two matches."
"I'll strive to recover quickly. As long as I can participate in these two matches, winning shouldn't be a problem."
"However, the earlier matches will depend on you. Try your best to secure victories," Ma Xiaotao said.
"Can your injuries recover in ten days?" Xuan Lao asked worriedly.
In this group stage, there is a one-day interval after each match. Their group has a total of eight teams, they have seven matches, for a total schedule of fourteen days.
If Ma Xiaotao wants to participate in the last two matches, she needs to recover within ten days, which is a tight schedule.
"If I can't recover, there's nothing we can do. If we lose both of these matches, we might not be able to qualify," Ma Xiaotao said.
Xuan Lao nodded and said nothing.
"Let's take it one step at a time. Shi Yu can only say he'll do his best," Shi Yu also sighed.
He didn't show absolute confidence, but he had the determination to qualify.
Yesterday, his Senior Brother Yan Shaozhe came to Star Luo City and conveyed some words from Teacher Mu En to him.
As long as he could lead the Shrek Academy team to win the Soul Master Academy Competition championship, he would be rewarded with a hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone.
This instantly ignited his fighting spirit; not for honor, but for that Soul Bone, he had to give his all.
To win the championship, qualifying is just the first step; no matter what, they cannot be stuck on this first step.
On the fourth day of the competition, after the first round of knockout matches in the first three days concluded, the fourth day was when the first round of group stage matches began.
Shrek Academy's match was still scheduled as the first match of the competition day.
The venue was already packed early in the morning, everyone quite looking forward to today's first match.
This first match was Shrek Academy against Jin Yang Academy from the Sun Moon Empire.
Compared to Shrek Academy facing Academies from the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms, this match had more highlights and attracted the attention of many people.
The audience at the venue had already reached saturation, and the Academy rest areas were also fully occupied.
After the first round of knockout matches concluded, half of the teams were eliminated, and the rest areas also became more spacious.
After renovation, each Academy's rest area became much more spacious.
When the people from Shrek Academy arrived at the venue, it immediately caused a wave of shouts and cheers, showing their popularity.
Shi Yu, as the captain, went up to the stage to draw lots, which would determine how this match would proceed.
There were team battles, individual battles, and the 2-2-3 battle method.
Jin Yang Academy's captain also went up to the stage, and under the witness of the two, the Referee began the draw.
"Team battle," the Referee announced the result of the draw.
Jin Yang Academy's captain revealed a smile, giving Shi Yu a malicious glance, slightly teasing.
Shi Yu showed no expression and calmly walked off the stage. In reality, he didn't particularly like this result.
What he liked most was drawing individual battles, so he could defeat his opponents one by one with his personal strength.
The 2-2-3 battle method was the worst; team battles were relatively better, a result he didn't like but could accept.
"Shrek Academy is going to suffer," the Sun Moon Royal Academy side all had expressions of watching a good show.
The Academies from their Sun Moon Empire liked and were best at team battles, which allowed them to fully utilize the advantage of Soul Guidance Devices.
When opponents faced them, they could often experience what it meant to be bombarded relentlessly; that firepower suppression would make them despair.
Shi Yu returned to the rest area.
"At least it's not the worst 2-2-3 battle method, this result is still acceptable," Jiang Nannan said to Shi Yu, not wanting him to feel pressured because of it.
Shi Yu revealed a smile. There was pressure, but it wasn't to the point of making him uncomfortable.
"Shi Yu will briefly explain his plan..." Shi Yu lowered his voice and began discussing the tactical arrangements with them.