Early the next morning, after Shrek's second tardiness resulted in a forfeit, the new round of preliminaries began.
Due to severe mental trauma, all seven members of Shrek were now in a state of mental exhaustion.
Their bodies were weak, their strength greatly reduced, able to exert only about ten to twenty percent of their usual power—any more would give them headaches.
Especially Tang San, a Soul Emperor who had risen by absorbing chaotic life energy. His foundation was unstable; without Tang Sect's ultimate techniques, fighting a top-level Martial Soul Soul King would be difficult.
Now, weakened, his strength had sharply dropped, making him the weakest among the group, though he could still manage to tussle with a Soul King.
After a short rest, Yu Xiaogang sat in his wheelchair, pushed outside by Liu Erlong, waiting for the day's match list.
When the announcer appeared, holding the drawn matchups, he proclaimed loudly on stage:
"Canghui Team vs. Black Tiger Academy.""Panlong Team vs. Royal Beast Soul Team.""Tian Dou Royal Team One vs. Zilei Yaoguang Team.""Shrek Team vs. Tianshui Academy."…
Upon hearing this, the Shrek team in their resting room looked displeased—not because of the Tianshui students, but because they were unhappy with the draw.
By sheer coincidence, in their current state of serious injury, they had been matched against a strong team—it felt deliberate.
"Damn it, this is obviously the referee's intention," Ma Hongjun gritted his teeth, furious.
But the announcer had no way of knowing they were injured; the matchups were drawn by the team captains. If anyone was to blame, it should be Shrek's captain, Tang San.
"Who cares if it's deliberate? Even injured, a small team like Tianshui Academy shouldn't be able to mess with us."
Dai Mubai, sitting on the sofa, also frowned at the announcer's decision. Irrational and hot-headed, he placed blame on the wrong target rather than Tang San, who had drawn the lot.
"Mubai, Fatty, even injured, Tianshui Academy is no match for us," Tang San sneered. He was a Soul Emperor; even at twenty percent of his power, he was still a Soul Emperor. Tianshui Academy only had three Soul Masters.
Thinking of Tianshui Academy's Soul Skill Fusion techniques, Tang San's expression turned serious:
"Tianshui Academy's Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu have a fused Martial Soul technique. Its power is equivalent to the sixth soul ring of a Level 60 Soul Emperor. When we step onto the stage, we need to immediately take down one of them."
Even in his prime, Tang San could not endure Tianshui Academy's Fused Martial Soul Technique: Ice and Snow Drifting.
His dual immunity to ice and fire was gone in this life. The Dark Blue Silver Grass, now gradually consuming life energy, had lost its life attribute and became a consuming attribute.
His Blue Silver Grass was now as fragile as paper; previously he was confident because of his Soul Emperor strength.
Now weakened, caution was necessary.
"Don't worry, Third Brother. I heard Shui Bing'er's Martial Soul is Ice Phoenix, but my Martial Soul counters her. I'll make sure she's the first to leave the stage," Ma Hongjun said.
He now looked down on Tianshui Academy. His Evil Fire Phoenix was no weaker than Tianshui's Ice Phoenix.
Even after suffering a downgrade from years of nightmares, he still possessed Level 43 soul power, while Tianshui Academy's strongest was only Level 42.
"Yes, we need a quick victory. Dragging it out would be disadvantageous given our injuries," Tang San agreed.
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang was pushed in by Liu Erlong. Seeing the others discussing strategy, he noticed none had realized he had arrived.
"Ahem, ahem."
He coughed awkwardly twice, drawing the attention of the Shrek Seven Devils.
Seeing Tang San and the others look, Yu Xiaogang was pushed forward in his wheelchair.
"You're discussing strategy, huh?"
He pretended ignorance, clearly wanting to show off.
Tang San was too lazy to care, but for appearances' sake, he maintained respect:
"That's right, teacher. We just finalized our strategy for Tianshui Academy. You just missed it, so please rest."
Yu Xiaogang waved indifferently. Needing to display his wisdom, he said casually:
"Just minor injuries. No major problem now. I've observed Tianshui Academy; their strength is no real obstacle. You just act directly when the time comes."
Tang San looked at him disdainfully. This was basically nonsense, but he still nodded in agreement.
"The teacher is right. Tianshui Academy isn't our opponent."
"Good. But don't be careless; you're all injured. Watch out for being exploited."
"Third Brother, your Blue Silver Grass becomes fragile when exposed to ice. Be careful."
"As for Ma Hongjun, your Martial Soul Evil Fire Phoenix counters ice-type soul users. You need to restrain the opposing captain, Shui Bing'er."
Yu Xiaogang nodded, and with nothing more to say, Liu Erlong pushed him away without looking back.
"This was pointless," Ma Hongjun grumbled as Yu Xiaogang left.
It wasn't what they had agreed upon earlier. Really infuriating.
"Fatty!"
Before Ma Hongjun could finish, Tang San shot him a warning look. He couldn't let Yu Xiaogang be insulted in front of him without defending him.
"Heh, I misspoke, sorry, sorry," Ma Hongjun stammered, realizing his mistake.
He hurriedly excused himself, moving to the doorway:"I'll go check the matches."
He just wanted to leave this troublesome place.
Stepping out of the resting room, he muttered:"Pretending… their cultivation rose so fast. Probably using some shady method."
He then planned to find Frand, the only teacher who might speak up for him.
Dai Mubai continued to ingratiate himself with Tang San, not intending to flip out. He noticed Tang San was cold toward him.
He had no intention to force closeness; after all, Dai Mubai would still become a Soul Douluo.
Eventually, the two empires would likely grant him a general's title. That would be far better than being stuck under Tang San.
With these thoughts, Ma Hongjun's resentment toward Tang San deepened, his negative emotions in the depths of his mental sea stirred, and the dark shadow within him became more active.
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(End of Chapter)