The Great Master patted Flandre on the shoulder, his usually languid gaze suddenly turning sharp. "Let's move out."
With heads held high and strides long, the Shrek Seven Devils walked out of their lodgings. On the street, quite a few Soul Masters stood silently along both sides, watching them. Although to these onlookers the children's Soul Power might not amount to much, their youth, their courage in challenging Spirit Hall's academy team—all of it secretly won the admiration of the waiting crowd.
The Papal Hall loomed before them. Tang San suddenly found that with every stone step he climbed beneath his feet, his resolve grew unshakable. He had never craved victory as fiercely as he did now. He knew that if he lost this match today, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Sunlight bathed the Papal Hall in a golden glow. Every gaze grew solemn as the Shrek Seven Devils ascended the stone steps one by one, and the air itself seemed to grow heavy with anticipation.
The Pope, along with Ning Fengzhi and the three Titled Douluo who had watched the previous day's bout, were already seated. The three pieces of Soul Bone serving as prizes lay quietly on a red silk tray nearby, radiating a faint, ethereal halo.
The Spirit Hall academy team stood in silence, a fierce and frigid killing intent pressing toward the Shrek Seven Devils like the edge of a blade. Under that enormous pressure, the pace of the Shrek Seven Devils' ascent noticeably slowed. The match had not yet begun, but the clash between the two sides had already started.
"The finals of the All-Continent High-Level Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament are about to begin. Both teams, prepare yourselves. The match will start in one quarter of an hour."
The two teams took their respective positions. The Shrek Seven Devils gathered around the Great Master in the center. Tang San reached into his Mysterious Treasure Bag and withdrew seven rolls of jade-green leaves. He ate one roll himself and handed the remaining six to the other six Devils—one leaf each.
Dragon Zhi Leaves of Solid Foundation. After consumption, they not only accelerated healing and stimulated rapid Soul Power recovery, but also sharpened mental focus. Taking them before the match now meant they could maintain peak condition for a longer stretch during the fight.
"Xiao San." Dai Mubai looked toward Tang San.
Tang San gave him a firm nod. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. The rest is up to you."
The Great Master raised his right hand first. Every one of the Shrek Seven Devils raised theirs in turn. Eight hands stacked together, and a thunderous shout erupted as one: "Victory!"
Yes—victory. That was their one and only conviction.
On the other side, the Spirit Hall academy team suddenly heard the Shrek Academy side's battle cry. The captain, Xie Ye, curled his lip and let out a cold laugh. "Victory, is it? Today we'll show them what real power looks like. The gap in Soul Power is an uncrossable chasm. Even the weakest among us is roughly on par with their captain. I'd like to see what grounds they have to win."
A cold, sinister gaze swept across his teammates. Xie Ye spoke in an icy tone: "Her Holiness the Pope is watching. The elders are watching. In this match we must not merely win—we must win flawlessly, giving them not a single chance. That Tang San—I'll handle him myself. What are we?"
"Cham—pi—ons!" An even more ferocious roar erupted from the Spirit Hall academy team.
The unyielding standoff between the two sides sent a surge of boiling blood through the Soul Masters watching from the base of the mountain. Who hadn't been young once? Who hadn't burned with passion? To them, the outcome of this match didn't matter—what mattered was witnessing a spectacular team battle.
A quarter of an hour passed quickly, and soon both teams walked onto the arena floor at the referee's prompting. Perhaps to rival Shrek Academy head-on, the Spirit Hall academy team had changed into a fiery red uniform today, embroidered with gold thread. The material was clearly of superior quality.
Compared to them, Shrek Academy's dung-green uniforms plastered with countless sponsor logos looked almost comical.
But no one dared laugh at them. To have made it this far, to have reached the finals of the All-Continent High-Level Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament—no one had the right to mock them.
"Match preparations—both teams may release your Martial Souls."
The cardinal serving as referee made the announcement the moment both sides had taken their stand.
The fourteen combatants stared one another down. Not a single word was spoken, but the violent collision of their auras drove the tension to its absolute peak in an instant. At this moment, even a powerhouse as exalted as the Pope, Bibi Dong, had fixed her gaze entirely on this match.
The seven members of the Spirit Hall academy team moved almost simultaneously. Surging Soul Power exploded from within their bodies.