Tang San wasted no time. He nodded and said, "Those taking the field will be Dai Mubai, me, Xiao Wu, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, Jiang Zhu, and Tai Long. We follow Plan One. Back then, we were humiliated at the Tian Dou Royal Academy. True, it was Prince Xue Xing who brought that upon us. But the Tian Dou Royal Academy represents the imperial family. Dean Flandre and the teachers didn't come, but I know exactly what they're thinking. If we ever want to live good lives from now on, then today we need to utterly crush our opponents. I think one minute should be more than enough for us."
Dai Mubai slapped his tiger palms together, his four-pupiled Evil Eyes glinting with a fierce light. "Exactly. We only need one minute."
An invisible aura of killing intent spread outward from Tang San and Dai Mubai. That memory—their powerless retreat from the Tian Dou Royal Academy in front of Dugu Bo—would never be wiped from their minds. Though Tang San hadn't said it outright, everyone understood: they didn't just intend to defeat this second-string team of the Tian Dou Royal Academy. They were going to make sure the team failed to pass the preliminary round entirely.
Before long, a dedicated staff member arrived to urge them onto the field. The organizers clearly didn't think highly of them—the person sent to guide them was the sole escort. The moment they reached the arena exit, the Shrek Academy group could already hear the announcer outside loudly calling out the name and Martial Soul of each member of the Tian Dou Royal Academy's second team. A special golden beam of light shone down from a raised platform on one side of the Grand Arena, spotlighting each Tian Dou Royal Academy team member as they made their entrance.
Setting their strength aside, the Tian Dou Royal Academy members already cut an impressive figure. Their light-gold team uniforms bore the embroidered characters "Tian Dou" on the left chest, with a seven-pointed silver star pattern on the back—the emblem of the Tian Dou Empire. Each one looked sharp and dashing, appearing to be in their twenties. Under the glow of the Soul Guides, even in broad daylight they seemed to radiate a dazzling brilliance, like a row of golden suns drawing every eye in the audience.
"Damn it, they're obviously using us as the green leaves to set off the red flowers," Huang Yuan muttered angrily. Though this Lone Wolf Soul Master wasn't as imposingly built as Tai Long, he was still quite sturdy. Like Dai Mubai, he was a powerful assault-type Soul Master. Because of his straightforward personality, the other Shrek Seven Devils had taken to him quickly.
Beside him, Jing Ling spoke in a sly, gloomy tone. "I don't think that's right. We're not the green leaves—we're being treated as cow dung. Fresh flowers stuck in cow dung look all the more dazzling, don't they?" In contrast to Lone Wolf, this lean and lanky agility-attack Soul Master, with his somewhat sleazy appearance, gave off almost feminine vibes. Being around him made everyone uncomfortable. That cold, sinister feeling of his was like a viper watching its prey. Even during friendly sparring matches, he never let himself end up in a disadvantageous position. Whenever there was a coordinated attack, he was there; but when it came time to weather the blows, you'd never find him. The muscular men of the group—Dai Mubai, Huang Yuan, Tai Long—called him a coward. Fortunately, the guy was only a bit odd in personality; his actual strength was nothing to scoff at.
"We'll show them who the real cow dung is," Tai Long growled, slamming his fist into his palm.
Dai Mubai said coldly, "Let's go. It's our turn."
The arena lights died, and the Shrek Academy contestants slowly walked out to a wave of boos from the crowd.
The arena had already been transformed. In that short half-shichen, the pre-built platform had been fully assembled. The arena stage towered ten meters high, circular, with a diameter of well over thirty meters—spacious and grand. Of course, this was only one stage. When the preliminary round truly got underway tomorrow, five stages would be set up simultaneously. Twenty-eight teams would compete across twenty-seven rounds of preliminaries. Each team would face every other team once. A win earned one point; a loss earned none. After all twenty-eight rounds, the top five teams in points would advance to the elimination round. And advancing to the elimination round was essentially making it to the finals. This month-long preliminary gauntlet was a test for every academy's team. Twenty-eight consecutive days of competition was more than enough to exhaust any team lacking stamina.
In the entire schedule of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, the preliminary round alone consumed roughly half the time. The elimination round and finals would both be held at the Grand Plaza in front of the Papal Hall, at the border between the Tian Dou Empire and the Xing Luo Empire. The final champion would receive their award personally from the Pope. What an extraordinary honor that was.
Sure enough, they were getting the special treatment. Tang San's eyes narrowed slightly, though his expression remained perfectly calm. He and Dai Mubai led the eleven Shrek Academy members into a line at the center of the arena, standing face-to-face with the Tian Dou Royal Academy's second team.
The Tian Dou Royal Academy's second team had sixteen members in total. Shrek Academy had spent very little time at the Tian Dou Royal Academy back then, so the people in front of them naturally had no idea who Tang San and the others were. These noble-born children certainly looked down on the Shrek Academy team's attire. If this weren't on a competition stage, quite a few of them would probably have burst out laughing.
"A bunch of toads. And they're here to compete in a Soul Master tournament like this?" Standing at the very front of the Tian Dou Royal Academy second team was a small, dainty-looking boy. His skin was fair and smooth, his features rather pretty—he looked almost like a girl. Even his voice was eerily feminine.
"Captain, how did we get drawn against opponents like this? They're like toads that landed on your foot—won't bite, but sure are disgusting. Look at their academy emblem, it's hilarious." A flamboyant girl next to the dainty captain covered her nose and mouth as she spoke, as if she were afraid of catching a whiff of the Shrek Academy students.
The captain nodded in deep agreement, his gaze drifting with a lecherous glint toward Xiao Wu. "What a pity, though. Such a pretty little thing."
Xiao Wu snorted coldly. "One hermaphrodite and one floozy. How did we end up drawn against this lot?"
"You little tramp, who are you calling a floozy?" The voluptuous female student immediately erupted. The male student who'd been called a hermaphrodite turned an iron-green shade of fury.
Dai Mubai burst out laughing. "Xiao Wu, you're brilliant! How did I never think of such perfect words? A hermaphrodite paired with a floozy—what a match made in heaven!"
The Tian Dou Royal Academy's dainty captain said icily, "Good. Very good. The rules prohibit killing your opponent, true—but injuries and disabilities are inevitable. If you're so eager to throw your lives away, don't blame us."
Before the match had even begun, both sides were already at daggers drawn, and the smell of gunpowder was thick in the air.
Having been robbed of his own line by the other side, Dai Mubai was clearly not pleased. At that moment, the referee walked over.
"Both sides bow. Non-participants, leave the stage."
Whether it was the Tian Dou Royal Academy or Shrek Academy, both sides reluctantly bent toward each other with half-hearted bows. The extra members withdrew from the stage, leaving only the seven from each team who would fight in this first preliminary match.
For Shrek Academy, standing in the front row were Dai Mubai, Tai Long, and Huang Yuan. Tang San was in the center, flanked by Xiao Wu and Jing Ling. Jiang Zhu stood at the very back.
On the Tian Dou Royal Academy side, aside from the boy and girl who had spoken earlier, the remaining five were all burly and solid. They stood in a row in front like a wall, shielding the two behind them. The one standing in the center was the dainty captain—no question, he had to be their Control Type Soul Master. The voluptuous girl stood at the very rear.
The VIP Box.
Emperor Snowy Night gazed at the arena with a smile and said to Ning Fengzhi beside him, "Sect Master Ning, it seems this first match will be entirely one-sided!"
Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly and nodded in agreement.
From the other side, White Gold Bishop Salas suddenly spoke up. "Sect Master Ning, might you tell me—which of the twenty-eight Soul Master teams you were watching is the championship contender you mentioned before?"
Ning Fengzhi replied with a smile, "Lord Salas, wouldn't a little mystery make things more interesting? I'm sure you have a team you're backing as well."
Salas gave a thin, mirthless smile. "So Sect Master Ning is unwilling to share?"
Ning Fengzhi said lightly, "This is our sect's own secret. It hardly seems to concern Lord Salas."
"You—" Salas's expression darkened noticeably. His gaze collided with Ning Fengzhi's in front of Emperor Snowy Night, neither willing to yield an inch.
Seated between them, Emperor Snowy Night furrowed his brow slightly and smoothed things over. "There's no need for haste, gentlemen. Once this tournament concludes, the results will speak for themselves. Bishop Salas, Sect Master Ning has a point—whom he favors is his own business. Look, even I can't very well ask that question. Though I am rather curious myself."
White Gold Bishop Salas glanced at Emperor Snowy Night and said flatly, "Your Majesty is right. Then let us watch the match."
Seated in the second row, Prince Xue Xing turned to those beside him with a smug grin. "See? His Majesty and Sect Master Ning both recognize that this match is a foregone conclusion. Our Tian Dou Royal Academy students are the true elite—and this is only the second team. Our main team has one goal and one goal only: the championship."
(End of chapter)