"Fierce, so damn fierce..."
Wang Yan nearly jumped up in the stands, punching his palm in excitement, his tone full of emotion.
His eyes were locked on the youth who walked off the stage with a calm expression. Behind him, the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers and applause as flower petals rained down from above. He walked slowly toward the team.
Unbelievable.
After all, just last night he'd been racking his brains over tactics. They'd only held one trial match before Xuan Zi stopped it. Everyone had been confident in their own strength—even he felt it would be an easy victory that didn't even require finesse. As a result, he knew very little about the reserve members.
They hadn't even run any coordination training—his focus had been entirely on the main roster.
But today, Su Wen used a sweeping, crushing victory to show him it was all unnecessary—so long as he was there.
…
"Want breakfast?" Wang Dong'er pattered over, handing him a few steaming buns, her pink-blue eyes brimming with joy.
"Spirit Rhinoceros meat filling, fresh and delicious."
"Okay."
Su Wen smiled, took the buns the girl offered, and bit into one. Most likely, the moment he left the stage, she'd run to buy them.
After all, none of them had eaten breakfast yet.
"Tsk~"
Mu Qiu'er pouted and poked Gu Yuena.
Gu Yuena cast her a cool, suspicious glance. Mu Qiu'er sighed helplessly. "My lord, that guy is truly a great enemy."
"What does it have to do with me?" Gu Yuena's tone was utterly flat.
"Uh, fine." Mu Qiu'er lost interest.
But she failed to notice Gu Yuena's silver eyes narrowing slightly as she stared at Wang Dong'er...
…
Atop the city wall.
The monarch and his minister clicked their tongues in amazement.
"So that's the White Ape Sage Elder Huang mentioned? Without using any technique, that white ape indeed has twenty to thirty thousand years of cultivation. Its strength is truly formidable." Dai Hao nodded slightly, shock flickering in his eyes.
No matter how monstrous the legends said Su Wen was,
It couldn't compare to seeing it with his own eyes.
"What level is he now?" After a moment of silence, Dai Hao asked.
"I don't know either..." Xu Jiawei shook his head. "Even the day he broke into the Cheng family, he never revealed his soul rings."
"Then perhaps he's above Soul King." Dai Hao sighed.
"No wonder he's the Sea God Pavilion's heir-apparent. With this level of talent, Shrek Academy has to protect him with everything they've got."
But as his words fell,
Silence descended.
Because Xuan Zi was on his way...
The corner of Xu Jiawei's mouth twitched.
"My dear minister, let's speak of border affairs. Has the Sun Moon Empire recently left their lines to provoke our army?"
"Your Majesty, in report..."
As the ruler and minister discussed state matters, Xu Jiujui, waiting beside them, stared dazedly at that much-watched back. Her beautiful eyes flickered. If it were her—or Ma Rulong of the Sun Moon Empire, Jiang Peng of Imperial Mystical Academy, or Guzu Jian of Dou Ling Academy—could they do the same?
Hmm... it seems they could.
But this indescribable, elusive... she called it a feeling.
She blinked. That person seemed to notice her gaze, looked past the countless people toward her, and grinned. The girl's heart jolted violently in an instant.
…
On the other side.
"Is the princess pretty?"
"Pretty."
"Prettier than me?" Wang Dong'er asked impassively.
"No..." Su Wen ruffled the girl's pink-blue hair, smiling with squinted eyes.
After shedding her disguise, Wang Dong'er's original sea-blue hair had returned to its pink-blue hue along with her eye color, adding a touch of soft allure. But alas, she was still a little milk bun—tying it or not made little difference.
But the girl's looks were tier T0. Even the princess Xu Jiujui, famed in the original story for her beauty, could hardly measure up. Of course, the latter shone more with the regal grace of a princess...
Her face was as exquisite as a porcelain doll.
"Hmph~"
Wang Dong'er pouted and grumbled.
But while Shrek's group bantered, the distant academy teams felt anything but cheerful.
Especially the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Academy.
They viewed Shrek Academy as their primary rival and thus treated them as a grave threat.
If the intelligence returned by the Sun Moon Empire's military yesterday—that the youth had gone head-to-head with three peak Soul Douluo, killed one, and heavily wounded another—had left everyone present dumbstruck, then today... it almost served to confirm part of that report.
Ma Rulong's expression was grim. Yesterday he'd shouted it was impossible, but the arrival of Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen corroborated the report's authenticity.
Two pet beasts.
A several-thousand-year Darkgolden Dreadclaw Bear, and a twenty to thirty thousand-year White Ape—confirmed!
They were much better informed than Imperial Mystical Academy. They also knew Su Wen's truly terrifying aspect: this White Ape absolutely wasn't his trump card—merely a summoned-beast-like existence.
His trump card was enough to crush Soul Emperors and stand alongside Soul Sages!
"Just him alone is enough to elevate Shrek Academy to a new height. As expected of Shrek—monstrous geniuses emerge one after another." The white-haired elder at the head sighed.
"If Shrek's main team were present, then we..." Xiao Hongchen's face twitched.
Everyone fell quiet.
"Hongchen?" Elder Ma looked at him.
"Mm?" Xiao Hongchen froze.
"Say fewer demoralizing things."
Everyone: "..."
Meaning, it's just the truth.
No one denied it. If the facts are right in front of you and you still avoid them, deny them, and lie to yourself, you'll only lose even more miserably in the arena.
"But there's no 'if' in this world." Elder Ma narrowed his eyes. "He's still only one person. The rest of the reserves are rabble. We just need to devise an airtight plan targeting him. No matter how strong... he's only a fledgling dragon. His true rise is five years away."
"Elder Ma, five years from now, let me lead the team."
Xiao Hongchen's face twitched.
Everyone felt a jolt in their hearts. Yes—this year Shrek is understaffed; they can bully this fledgling dragon. But five years later, in the tournament where its wings will be full, what terror will they face?
The main roster members looked at the reserves with pity.
Their mission would be accomplished.
Then it would be the youngsters' headache.
"We'll talk about the future in the future..." Elder Ma said coolly.
"Just forfeit next time."
"Next time it's hosted in Mingdu," Meng Hongchen said faintly.
Mingdu—the Sun Moon Empire's imperial capital.
Hosting on their home turf—maybe not guaranteed champions, but at least they should reach the finals, right? At least have a hearty battle with Shrek, right?
Judging by this, Shrek might have a hearty time—but they might be finished.
"Mm... then good luck to you." Elder Ma's old face twitched. He closed his eyes to rest.
"Little Xiao, you're the Sun Moon Empire's number-one genius. How can you be afraid of him?" Ma Rulong egged him on with a smile.
"I'm a soul tool genius," Xiao Hongchen hummed, picking at his fingers.
"Besides, how many of this caliber has the continent produced in all history? With the times changing, things like ambergris and spirit herbs have been dug up and their usage mastered. Our era has far more geniuses than ten thousand years ago. Physical conditioning has overturned Yu Xiaogang's optimal soul ring theory—and even so, none are his match for a single exchange."
"Flip the annals back ten thousand years—was there such a freak?"
"..."
"Anyway, not my problem," Ma Rulong said with a grin.
"Tch, how do you know it won't be?" Xiao Hongchen curled his lip. "Let's get this tournament's championship first. Based on what he's shown so far, are we really sure we're a shoo-in? Or do you have Soul Sage-level combat power?"
"I'm confident." Speaking of business, Ma Rulong finally got serious. After a moment's thought, his tone was firm.
"...Hope so," Xiao Hongchen waved weakly.
"Let's hit the cafeteria. Hopefully we don't run into them."
…
In the dorm.
Su Wen lounged on the top-floor lobby sofa, head resting on Ling Luochen's soft, long lap, occasionally enjoying a grape being popped into his mouth by her slender jade hand.
His soul power had reached the peak of level forty-nine.
Just a step away from level fifty.
That fifth soul beast would very likely be ten-thousand-year—or even a hundred-thousand-year—and the number of viable choices on the continent suddenly became vast.
With more control comes a better mood.
After all, he had quite a few tasks on this trip.
The Ice Jade Scorpion soul bone at the auction, the Living Engraving Knife, and... perhaps the Snow Empress embryo that might not appear.
He had to get them all.
When Shrek Academy went abroad, all they had was their name.
Xu Jiawei might even gift him the soul bone—provided they didn't end up tearing things with the Star Luo Empire. As for the carving knife—dirt cheap—he could buy it himself.
Of course, the most important thing was...