Shrek Seven Devils Selection Tournament

The three of them eventually returned to the dormitory. There was none of the questioning from academy teachers Ling Mo had imagined. After briefly explaining things to Beibei and the others who had rushed over, Ling Mo was smoothly released.

Ling Mo figured that perhaps the academy higher-ups had anticipated this, or perhaps it was because Bella had ultimately protected the three of them. Either way, the outcome was favorable for him.

After returning to his dormitory, Ling Mo suddenly remembered that he had promised to show Huo Yuhao his spirit rings. But after having just gone through an escape, Huo Yuhao probably was not in the mood for that right now.

The following evening, while feeding Bella, Ling Mo received the soul bone and Whale Rubber from the appraisal auction. "The assessment is tomorrow afternoon. I should absorb the soul bone as quickly as possible tonight." With the soul bone in hand, Ling Mo eagerly began trying to absorb it. A soul skill-enhancing soul bone—just thinking about it made him incredibly excited. However...

"Damn it, why can't I absorb it?!" Ling Mo stared at the soul bone glowing with golden light, utterly unable to understand.

"That's not right. Is something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with the soul bone? How can it be impossible to absorb? There's not even the slightest reaction." To be honest, Ling Mo was a little angry. He could feel the world's boundless malice toward him.

He let out a long breath to calm himself and began considering the reason. In Ling Mo's view, if he could not absorb it, then there had to be something wrong with the soul bone itself. After all, this soul bone had originally been meant for Wang Dong. Ling Mo had experienced the world's corrective force firsthand. Even now, he still did not know what had happened with the Snow Empress. It was entirely possible that this was another case of the same thing.

"Damn it, doesn't that mean I got ripped off worse than Wang Dong? Nearly ten million Gold Soul Coins for a decoration?!" Ling Mo felt miserable at that moment. He had thought he had seized the initiative, only for things to turn out like this.

"Sigh, Bella, do you think I should give the soul bone to Wang Dong and buy his favor?" Now that he understood the Golden Radiance soul bone was useless to him, Ling Mo considered using it to gain a favor. Otherwise, it really would be nothing more than an ornament.

Bella, whose soul consciousness had yet to fully awaken, naturally could not understand what Ling Mo was saying. She could only rub her head against his face in an attempt to comfort him.

"Ring—"

Another day of classes had ended, and Ling Mo lay sprawled over his desk, lost in thought.

"All core disciples, stay behind. You'll come with me to the Soul Dueling Arena shortly." Wang Yan sorted through the documents in his hands as he addressed Class One below the podium.

Is it here? Every core disciple thought the same thing.

Several days earlier, after the promotion assessment had ended, Wang Yan had informed all the core disciples of Class One that there would be a selection tournament today, one involving only core disciples. Everyone had been looking forward to it. Who would not want to demonstrate their strength to the academy during the selection? It would surely benefit their future studies at the academy.

Before long, all thirteen second-year core disciples arrived at the Soul Dueling Arena under Wang Yan's lead. During the brief wait, Ling Mo spotted several familiar faces: Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan. Arriving shortly after the three of them was He Caitou, a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. Ling Mo had seen him once in the Soul Tool Department's testing area and vaguely remembered him.

Not long after He Caitou arrived, a swaying figure slowly approached from the distance. Everyone quickly noticed him. Looking at the figure who seemed ready to collapse at any moment, Ling Mo could not help covering his face with a hand. Old man, can't you be serious for once?

Once he confirmed that everyone had arrived, Xuan Zi quickly announced the contents of this selection: a free-for-all. The last seven disciples remaining would be the winners. Then, while everyone was still stunned by the rules, Xuan Zi slyly raised the wine gourd in his hand and shouted, "Begin!" announcing the start of the selection tournament.

Among the twenty-eight core disciples, Huo Yuhao reacted the fastest. After a brief moment of stunned silence, he swiftly grabbed Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao beside him and charged toward Beibei with the aid of a propulsion Soul Tool. He did not forget to call Ling Mo along, shouting, "Ling Mo, hurry up and follow us!"

Huo Yuhao's shout quickly snapped everyone else out of it, and they began forming groups with familiar people nearby. Dai Huabin pulled in Zhu Lu and Xie Huanyue, joining with Wu Feng from their class and Ning Tian, who was close at hand, to form a five-person team. Students from the other grades also formed their own groups. Worth mentioning was that Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan, both from Class One, tried to follow Huo Yuhao, only to be blasted away by several of He Caitou's cannon shots and eliminated from the selection.

Watching the groups form in the arena, Ling Mo did nothing. Even though he had heard Huo Yuhao call out to him earlier, he had not chosen to follow. He knew that Huo Yuhao's side would definitely have the full seven people, and Ling Mo had no intention of becoming one of the Shrek Seven Devils. If Xuan Zi had not given him a strict order, Ling Mo might already have gone searching for his fourth spirit ring.

After considering it again and again, Ling Mo decided to wait until Huo Yuhao's seven eliminated everyone else before taking down those seven himself. That way, as a lone wolf, he would surely be eliminated by Xuan Zi for lacking teamwork. He could both fulfill Xuan Zi's task and avoid getting tangled up in this Shrek Seven Devils business.

Things proceeded as smoothly as Ling Mo had expected. With a golden Golden Road bringing things to a close, only the original Shrek Seven Devils and Ling Mo remained in the arena—eight people in total.

"Sorry, Ling Mo. The situation is pretty clear now. I called for you earlier." Huo Yuhao looked at Ling Mo, the only one left, and spoke in a low voice.

"Ah, you're right. The situation is indeed clear. But after thinking about it, I still don't want to break up your team. After all, only seven people can be winners." Ling Mo spoke calmly after hearing Huo Yuhao's words.

"But I won't surrender just like that. Everyone, are you ready? I might get a little serious this time."

Ling Mo wore a faint smile, with not a trace of gravity on his face. Huo Yuhao could not understand why Ling Mo remained so calm when facing their group of seven, which included four Soul Ancestors. Had he prepared for this long ago?

Looking at the seven people standing ready, Ling Mo smiled faintly once more. "Then, here I come."

As soon as the words fell, six spirit rings instantly appeared behind Ling Mo—one yellow, two purple, two black, and one blue.

The sudden appearance of those rings startled the seven. Not only were they shocked by the number of Ling Mo's spirit rings, but the blue ring also left the five besides Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong utterly baffled. Yet while the seven were shocked, one person and one beast were even more excited.

"Snow Empress! It's the Snow Empress! I can sense the Snow Empress's aura!" the Ice Empress shouted excitedly within Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness.

Snow Empress? Here?! Just as the deeply puzzled Huo Yuhao was about to question the Ice Empress, Ling Mo's actions pulled him back to reality.

Ling Mo took a long breath. His Yellow Spirit Ring lit up, and a golden tachi appeared in his hand as he charged straight at the seven.

Before Beibei and Jiang Nannan could make a move, He Caitou hoisted the two enormous cannon barrels on his shoulders and launched an attack at Ling Mo.

This is exactly what I was waiting for. Seeing the shells flying toward him, Ling Mo's lips curved upward. Just as the shells were about to strike him, his body slid eerily to the left, evading the blow. At the same time, large amounts of sword energy appeared out of nowhere around He Caitou, ravaging his body and leaving several sword marks on his defensive Soul Tool. Only then did Ling Mo finally enter the range of Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection.

Beibei and Jiang Nannan rushed toward Ling Mo, intending to intercept him. At the same time, Xiao Xiao acted to assist them. The sound of a flute rose, attempting to halt Ling Mo's advance.

Very quickly, Jiang Nannan, an agility attack-type soul master, was the first to reach Ling Mo. Yet to her surprise, she heard him murmur, "The distance is enough."

Jiang Nannan immediately realized something and quickly turned around, shouting at the people behind her, "His target is Huo Yuhao and the others!"

"What?" Beibei and the others did not understand what Jiang Nannan meant, but Huo Yuhao and the others who had fought Ling Mo quickly understood. However, Ling Mo would never give them the chance to react. His body instantly transformed into a streak of sword light, passing through Wang Dong, who stood in front of Huo Yuhao. The long blade in his hand had already turned into gauntlets around both fists.

"Thousand Stars!"

Ling Mo vanished again. Just as Huo Yuhao was about to search for Ling Mo's position, he was suddenly struck by a heavy punch and vanished from where he stood, reappearing beside Xuan Zi. Ling Mo's attack was far from over. His body disappeared once again, and another punch sent Xiao Xiao away as well.

The facts proved that without Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection to coordinate them, this newly assembled team was far from cohesive. Ling Mo had used only one move, Flying Star, and only Beibei and Jiang Nannan, who had charged out earlier, remained in the arena.

There was no need to say much about Beibei. Thunder Herrscher mode directly suppressed his Martial Soul and forced him out. As for Jiang Nannan—did she really think she could compete with the Herrscher of the Void in speed?

After knocking Jiang Nannan down, Ling Mo saw that he was the only one left in the arena. Xuan Zi brought the eliminated participants back into the competition grounds.

"Other than the final eight, everyone else can leave." Xuan Zi spoke while gnawing on the chicken leg in his hand.

"Didn't you say the final seven would be the winners? Why can he stay?" Dai Huabin pointed at Huo Yuhao and asked Xuan Zi indignantly.

Xuan Zi did not answer his question. He merely looked at him and said calmly, "Are you questioning my decision?"

Under Xuan Zi's gaze, Dai Huabin immediately broke out in a cold sweat. In the end, with Xuan Zi watching him, he could only suppress the anger in his heart, lower his head, and leave the Soul Dueling Arena with Zhu Lu and Xie Huanyue.

After everyone left, Xuan Zi turned to the eight remaining people. "You've all heard of the title Shrek Seven Devils, right?"

No one spoke. They quietly listened as Xuan Zi continued explaining the origins of the Shrek Seven Devils title.

"The original purpose of this core disciple selection tournament was to choose this generation's Shrek Seven Devils Reserve Team. But what I never expected was for a freak like you to show up. What are you hiding from? I'm talking about you!" Xuan Zi pointed at the somewhat evasive Ling Mo and roared.

Ling Mo, having been scolded, could only play dumb and scratch his head with a smile. Xuan Zi did not continue paying attention to him and went on to address the others. "You should count yourselves lucky. If the first person Ling Mo had eliminated had not been Huo Yuhao among the seven of you, then there would only be seven people standing here now, not eight."

Perhaps Ling Mo had irritated him, because Xuan Zi let out a sigh. "Huo Yuhao has an ultimate Martial Soul, so he was actually already designated as one of your generation's Shrek Seven Devils. The same applies to Ling Mo, who also possesses an ultimate Martial Soul. I will report this situation to the academy's other higher-ups. The most likely outcome is that seven people will be chosen based on your respective strengths. Among you, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao have the lowest cultivation. Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao can also use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, so if the final decision is to keep only seven people, Xiao Xiao, you are the most likely one to be eliminated. You should prepare yourself mentally."

After hearing Xuan Zi's words, Xiao Xiao said nothing. However, the desolate look on her face revealed the turmoil in her heart.

"Alright, today's assessment ends here. Ling Mo, stay. Everyone else, leave."

After the others left, only Ling Mo and Xuan Zi remained in the Soul Dueling Arena. Seeing the stern expression on Xuan Zi's face, Ling Mo's heart tightened.

P.S. Why does it feel like my writing is getting worse and worse? This sucks.