The moment the Great Master finished speaking, Oscar immediately put on a pitiful expression and looked at Dai Mubai. "Boss Dai, why don't we pair up for the two-on-two? What do you think? I just hit rank thirty, but my support ability should still help you out. Otherwise, who knows when I'll ever accumulate enough points to reach the Silver Battle Arena Badge."
Dai Mubai paused for a moment. His original intention had been to team up with Zhu Zhuqing for the two-on-two, or to enter a one-on-one by himself. Looking at Oscar's pleading gaze, he thought it over and then nodded. "Fine."
Among the seven of them, Dai Mubai and Tang San were clearly the strongest in terms of combat power. Since Oscar had chosen Dai Mubai right away, Ning Rongrong's gaze immediately turned to Tang San.
She spoke in a sweet voice. "Third Brother, would you help me?"
Tang San was taken aback. "But I've already formed the Three-Five Combination with Xiao Wu."
Ma Hongjun hurried over from the side. "Rongrong, what about me? I'd love to team up with you for the two-on-two."
"You? Forget it." Ning Rongrong shot the fatty an annoyed glare. "You can barely manage yourself, let alone help me."
The Great Master suddenly spoke up. "No, I actually think you should team up with Ma Hongjun for a two-on-two pair."
Ning Rongrong asked, confused. "Why?"
The Great Master said calmly. "Because you and Tang San are at different ranks. In a two-on-two, if one Soul Master has reached a higher rank, then the pair must enter a higher-tier match. Tang San has already broken through rank thirty, while you're still at rank twenty. If you team up for a two-on-two, you'd be forced into the rank-thirty bracket. Generally speaking, when Soul Masters go to the Grand Battle Arena to compete, unless they're supremely confident or their Martial Soul gives them an overwhelming advantage, they wait until they're at the upper end of their own tier before entering. At minimum, they should be more than halfway through the bracket. For example, in the rank-twenty bracket, most participants are rank twenty-five or above. The rank-thirty bracket is the same way. Tang San's Martial Soul is somewhat special, so a one-on-one might be just barely manageable for him. But if you join him, even though your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is the strongest support Martial Soul, the boost it gives him right now isn't enough to close the gap against two opponents at rank thirty-five or above. If you team up with Ma Hongjun, it's a different story. He's already rank twenty-eight, his Martial Soul has a significant advantage of its own, and with your support, your chances of winning can reach over seventy percent."
Although Ning Rongrong was reluctant, she had to admit the Great Master was right. Still, she ultimately chose not to go with Ma Hongjun and instead looked at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Seventh Sister, let's team up. What do you say?"
"Sure." Zhu Zhuqing's answer was simple.
In Ning Rongrong's eyes, even though Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power was one rank lower than Ma Hongjun's, teaming up with her was clearly far better than being stuck with someone who couldn't control his own inner fire. She had no intention of letting a certain person grope her during a two-on-two battle.
Ma Hongjun said in an exaggerated, wounded tone. "Rongrong, that's discrimination! I protest!"
Ning Rongrong giggled and deployed her gentle approach. "Fourth Brother, you're so strong. It'd be a waste for you to pair up with me. Besides, you'll definitely win a one-on-one anyway. Right?"
Ma Hongjun's immunity to beautiful women had always been rock-bottom. Seeing Ning Rongrong's gentle smile, he simply couldn't bring himself to refuse. He could only grudgingly accept the reality.
"How you participate in the battles is up to each of you. Here—take one of these each, and wear them during the arena fights. Also, while you're in the ring, talk as little as possible. Try not to let your opponents figure out your ages."
As he spoke, the Great Master took seven pre-prepared masks from his Soul Guide bracelet.
Everyone was familiar with the design—the green, monstrous Shrek形象. Dai Mubai took one and put it on his face. The craftsmanship was fairly crude, but once it was fitted to his face, the cutouts for the eyes, mouth, and nose didn't get in the way.
"For team battles, you'll fight under the Shrek Seven Devils name. For individual events, you can choose your own two-on-two titles. For one-on-one, I've come up with a nickname for each of you. Use those nicknames in the arena. As long as you specify them during registration, your real names won't appear on the Battle Arena scoreboard."
Everyone understood the Great Master's reasoning. They were simply too young, especially people like Tang San and Xiao Wu, who had already reached the rank-thirty Soul Venerable level at just twelve years old. Any one of them would cause a sensation in the Soul Master world. Once they became known at the Grand Battle Arena, Spirit Hall would almost certainly come knocking first.
Oscar asked curiously. "So what are our nicknames going to be?"
The Great Master said. "Mubai will keep his original Evil-Eyed White Tiger. You'll stick with your Sausage Specialist. As for Little San, he'll be called Thousand Hand Silver Grass. What do you all think?"
"That's no good. Pick something else." Xiao Wu spoke up first. "It's not cool at all. Silver Grass sounds awful."
The Great Master looked at Tang San and saw that he didn't object. A faint smile appeared on his face—he had always been extremely satisfied with this disciple of his. "Then tell me, what do you think would be a good name?"