Oscar, too, had received his dedicated Silver Soul Rank badge along with his Gold Soul Coin storage card.
Third in line, naturally, was Tang San. Among all of them, Tang San's record was undoubtedly the best. Whether in one-on-one, two-on-two, or team battles, he had won every single match.
"Thousand Hand Asura: As more than three months have passed since your last Soul Duel participation prior to this month, and as no streak of five or more consecutive victories was achieved before that, all Soul Duel victories earned prior to this month will not be counted toward this month's consecutive win tally.
One-on-One Soul Duel: This month's record—twenty-eight consecutive victories, including five streaks of five or more wins and eighteen streaks of ten or more wins. Points earned: one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Two-on-Two Soul Duel: Three Five Combination member—twenty-eight consecutive victories, including five streaks of five or more wins and eighteen streaks of ten or more wins. Points earned: one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Team Soul Duel: Shrek Seven Devils team member—twenty-eight consecutive victories, including five streaks of five or more wins and eighteen streaks of ten or more wins. Points earned: one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Starting points this month: two. Points earned this month: total five thousand five hundred and sixty-five. Current total points: five thousand five hundred and sixty-seven. Soul Duel badge upgraded to Gold Soul Rank."
Let alone Tang San and the Shrek Seven Devils—even Manager Ao, standing off to the side, was stunned when he heard the number five thousand five hundred and sixty-seven. In all his memory, no Iron Soul Rank master had ever earned that many points in a single month. To leap straight from Iron Soul Rank to Gold Soul Rank, which required five thousand points! Such a thing had never happened at the Soto Grand Soul Duel Arena before, and most likely nowhere else among all the Grand Soul Duel Arenas across the entire continent.
Tang San accepted the heavy Gold Soul Rank badge, a faint smile playing across his lips. A month of hard work had not been in vain after all.
"Oh no," Ma Hongjun suddenly blurted out.
Dai Mubai shot him an irritated glare. "What do you mean, 'oh no'?"
Ma Hongjun stared at Tang San. "Third Brother just got himself a Gold Soul Rank badge—doesn't that mean we'll have to face Gold Soul Rank teams in future team battles? How are we supposed to beat them? The Imperial Battle Team was only Silver Soul Rank, and we barely scraped by against them."
The moment the fatty spoke, everyone else caught on. Team Soul Duels were calculated based on the highest Soul Rank and highest Soul Power among team members. In other words, with a Gold Soul Rank member on their side, they would have to compete at the Gold Soul Rank level. The group stood there in stunned silence, casting odd looks at Tang San.
Tang San forced a wry smile. "It seems earning too many points at once isn't necessarily a good thing."
While that was how the team felt, Manager Ao standing nearby saw things very differently. "Well, I really don't think you need to worry about that," he said, his own smile somewhat pained. "Forget Gold Soul Rank teams—you'll be hard-pressed to even encounter Silver Soul Rank teams at your level. Not unless another Imperial Battle Team shows up."
"Why's that?" Tang San asked curiously.
Manager Ao explained. "Normally, points are earned gradually. Winning streaks are extremely difficult to achieve. In all my years, this is the first time I've seen anyone rack up points as quickly as you have. Under normal circumstances, among Soul Masters at the thirty-rank level, you'll only ever see Iron Soul Rank and Bronze Soul Rank. Silver Soul Rank simply doesn't appear. Only after reaching the forty-rank threshold does Soul Power grow enough, and the advantages of one's Martial Soul become pronounced enough against peers, that points start accumulating faster—pushing a master up to Silver Soul Rank, or even Gold Soul Rank if they're strong enough. But a Gold Soul Rank team at the thirty-rank level? I've never even heard of such a thing. I can't speak for the Xing Luo Empire, but in all of our Tian Dou Empire's Grand Soul Duel Arenas, there isn't another thirty-rank Gold Soul Rank team. I doubt there are more than five thirty-rank Silver Soul Rank teams in total. And it's unlikely any of them are stronger than the Imperial Battle Team. So you can rest assured—at your rank, you are the strongest."
No opponents? The Shrek Seven Devils all broke into grins. Apart from Tang San, the oldest among them was only fifteen. As Soul Masters, who wouldn't want to be powerful?
A single, shared thought echoed in all their hearts: We, the Shrek Seven Devils, are a Gold Soul Rank team.
The remaining four calculated their own points as well. With twenty-eight consecutive team victories to guarantee it, they all crossed the thousand-point threshold without exception and received their Silver Soul Rank badges.
Even after leaving the Grand Soul Duel Arena, everyone still felt it was somewhat unreal. By then, they had already found a quiet restroom inside the arena and changed back into their own clothes.
Gazing up at the glittering stars in the night sky, Oscar murmured to himself, "One month—it's really only been one month and I'm already Silver Soul Rank? From now on, every Soul Duel I enter will earn me rich Gold Soul Coins? This is just unbelievable."
A sudden pinch on his arm made Oscar shudder. He turned to the beautiful girl beside him with an aggrieved look. "Rongrong, why did you pinch me?"