Rich Second-Gen's Twenty-Seventh Day

The red glow of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Power Amplification also shone over Ming Sui. 01 gritted his teeth. That delicate little girl already had a purple Second Spirit Ring, and she was wielding a staff like a club, swinging it around with loud thuds. Worse still, she was incredibly strong—his Ghost Vine was about to be torn apart!

While Ming Sui's side was still locked in a stalemate, the outcome between 03 and Dai Mubai had already become clear. Dai Mubai's ferocious Evil-Eyed White Tiger proved superior after all. 03 fell into a disadvantage in the clash between tough men. Dai Mubai's dazzling White Tiger Meteor Shower descended, turning 03's armband red and marking his elimination.

The city defense reserve squad had not expected Assault System Soul Master 03 to be the first eliminated, and they immediately found the situation troublesome. 02's Second Spirit Ring lit up, and Wind Blades shot rapidly toward Ma Hongjun, who was firing Phoenix Fire Lines. Under the cover of the Wind Blades, he retreated to 01's side. "Boss, they're tough. We underestimated them."

01 clenched his teeth. "That Blue Silver Grass on the other side is strange. It can suppress my Ghost Vine, and I can barely control it. Can your Wind Blades shred it?"

02 spoke quickly. "No. They've got a Phoenix Spirit, and he'll target me first. I can't reach that Blue Silver Grass Soul Master. Damn Spirit Hall, where did they find this bunch of young masters and ladies? Their Spirits are all high quality, and there's even a little ancestor from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. That White Tiger has 03 so suppressed that he can't exert any strength."

"We can't keep this up. If this continues, they'll wear us down. Go to their back line and switch 05 out. 08 can hold on a little longer." After thinking for a moment, 01 rapidly arranged their strategy.

Ming Sui felt the force pulling against the Ghost Vine weaken considerably and knew they were about to withdraw it. Sure enough, the Ghost Vine wrapped around 05 retreated the next second. Ming Sui hurriedly took the chance to hit 05 twice more. Just as she tried to strike again, 02's Wind Blades flew toward her. Ming Sui narrowed her eyes, aimed at the incoming Wind Blades, and judged 08's position. With the Staff of Life, she knocked the Wind Blades back in the opposite direction—straight toward 08. Not bad. She had not completely forgotten the baseball class she had taken in her first year.

Seeing Ming Sui's movement, Tang San activated the Blue Silver Grass parasitizing Zhu Zhuqing and shifted Zhu Zhuqing to the right, allowing her to dodge the incoming Wind Blades. Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line and Dai Mubai's White Tiger Blazing Light Wave, mixed with wind and thunder, also struck toward 08. Already worn down somewhat by Zhu Zhuqing, 08's defenses instantly collapsed under the triple attack. His armband turned red as well, and he was honorably eliminated.

"This is called striking the ox from across the mountain." Ming Sui twirled her staff, but by then 05 had already fled.

With their disadvantage worsening, 01 chose to have everyone tighten their formation. 06 chanted a soul incantation and produced a pile of lettuce leaves to restore his teammates' condition.

Tang San analyzed calmly. "The Wind Wolf is very strong in combat. He may attack Little Ao and Rongrong. Sui Sui, you can knock away both of his skills, Wind Bullet and Wind Blade. I'll control everyone's positions according to the direction you send them flying. The Ghost Vine fears fire, so Little Ma, hold him back. Be flexible with your Fire Line and conserve your Soul Power. Xiao Wu and Zhuqing, eliminate the antelope. Dai Laoda, push deeper."

Ming Sui added, "Give Dai Laoda an Exploding Sausage Root. That greatsword is basically done for. The Food System Soul Master looks nimble on his feet, so don't let him run. 07 still hasn't used her gemstone's Third Spirit Skill. It might be a negative-effect skill."

The two teams collided once more. Dai Mubai drove straight into the enemy's back line. The White Tiger Vajra Transformation granted by his thousand-year Spirit Ring transformed him into a humanoid White Tiger, and he charged forward with unstoppable ferocity. Seeing Dai Mubai plow through them, while 02's attacks were all knocked away by Ming Sui and turned back on their own side, and with 04 and 05 already at the end of their strength, 01 looked at 07 and nodded.

07's Third Spirit Ring finally lit up. The gemstone she held in her hands emitted black-and-white light, while a formation diagram appeared beneath 02's feet. Tang San's gaze sharpened, and he pulled Dai Mubai back, but the formation diagram quickly spread beneath the feet of everyone from Shrek. "A Spirit Skill combined with a domain. Everyone, focus your Spiritual Power," Ming Sui hurriedly warned.

The space occupied by the formation diagram was instantly filled with fog. 07's voice drifted through it, faint and ethereal. "You were right. This is my Third Spirit Skill. Combined with my Talent Domain, Mist, it can place enemies within the fog. In my domain, you can hear each other's voices, but you can't find your teammates or your opponents. You can only passively take hits. Surrender. This is just a match, isn't it?"

The instant the domain unfolded, all Soul Power effects were cut off. The Blue Silver Grass around everyone's waists was severed, and the seeds on their bodies were suppressed and destroyed by the domain. Unable to accurately determine one another's positions, they truly understood that for low-level Soul Masters, attacks on Spiritual Power were nearly impossible to counter.

The divine power released by the Asura Judgment Skull made Tang San's mind clearer than ever before. His Purple Demon Eye activated, and the scene before him formed inside his mind. He saw everyone's positions.

"Sui Sui, I'll call out the coordinates. Prepare your Second Spirit Skill." As Tang San reported everyone's locations, Ming Sui's rare purple Second Spirit Ring finally lit up. With her body as the center, vines shot out one after another, wrapping around everyone again.

Tang San, who had always been the one wrapping others up and had never been wrapped up himself, felt a slight numbness around his waist.

But that was unimportant. They had regained contact with one another. 07 had not expected the other side to establish communication so quickly. Before they could even attack, more than half their advantage had vanished. The others no longer hesitated, throwing Spirit Skills at the Shrek group as though they cost nothing.

They were not afraid of the enemy moving; they were afraid of the enemy not moving. Dai Mubai met incoming attacks with his tiger fists, sensing the direction the Spirit Skills came from. He randomly picked an unlucky target and charged straight in. The others rushed forward as well. Tang San precisely located 07. As long as they eliminated 07, the domain would collapse on its own.

"Little Ma, I'll call out the coordinates. Prepare Phoenix Fire Line. Sui Sui, throw Little Ma up there," Tang San shouted.

The red glow of Power Amplification enveloped Ming Sui again. She grabbed the vine connected to Ma Hongjun and flung it upward with all her strength. 07, who had been completely shielded by her teammates, was exposed before the airborne Ma Hongjun.

"Second Spirit Skill, Phoenix Bathed in Fire! First Spirit Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

Two Spirit Rings lit up in succession, and Phoenix Flame struck 07 like heavenly fire.

The dense fog dispersed, and 07 exited the field.

The city defense reserve squad had not expected their trump card to be broken so quickly. The domain did indeed have a fatal weakness: its owner had to remain within it as well. But this had been far too fast.

From finding their teammates, to launching a counterattack, to breaking the situation outright.

It had been the same with today's match. They had clearly reached the token before their opponents, but they had thought the other side was merely a group of children with nothing to fear. They had wanted to win beautifully by wiping out the other team.

What if they had simply taken the token and left?

What if they had used the domain from the start instead of underestimating their opponents? If 03 and 08 had still been there, along with the domain, would things have been different?

01 remembered what their instructor had said: between Soul Masters, what looked like a small difference was actually a vast gap.

None of those assumptions mattered anymore. Looking at his opponents, 01 said bitterly, "You win."

They had won just like that? Ming Sui, who had been ready to sweep through the battlefield with her staff, was still a little dazed. Little Ma, who had landed, was already going to hug Oscar. Ning Rongrong came over to cuddle against her. Xiao Wu jumped onto Zhu Zhuqing, earning a huge eye roll from Dai Laoda. Tang San smiled at her. Ming Sui snapped back to herself and happily hugged Ning Rongrong in return.

The girls quickly formed a huddle. Meanwhile, the oblivious Oscar and Ma Hongjun were still trying to hug Dai Mubai and Tang San, who were radiating jealousy, until Zhu Zhuqing patted Dai Mubai's waist.

All right, now Tang San was the only one left feeling sour.

The spectators outside had spent most of the day watching them travel and had not expected a fight to break out in the end. The commander of the city defense reserve squad looked so dark his face could hardly get any darker. Even if the other side had higher-quality Spirits that suppressed theirs, couldn't they have simply avoided fighting? Hadn't they only underestimated their opponents because they relied on having trained more? Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit. They would be getting extra training when they returned.

Shrek's teachers restrained themselves somewhat because outsiders were nearby, but they were all delighted nonetheless. They leaned together and whispered among themselves, turning their own students into negative examples for the classroom.

It still took some time for both teams to leave the forest. Since the match was already over, the two teams headed out together. The bitterness of defeat left the city defense reserve squad silent.

The Shrek group was tired as well. All sixteen of them quietly left the forest and returned to their respective homes.

When Flender noticed that the carriage had gone quiet outside, he climbed up to take a look. Oscar and Ma Hongjun were leaning against Dai Mubai on either side, Tang San was resting against the carriage wall, and the four girls on the other side were squeezed together, each leaning against another. In short, they were sleeping in every possible position.

Returning to his own carriage, he laughed and told the other teachers, "They're all asleep, snoring away." Even A'tu was amused.

The children did not wake even when they got off the carriage. The boys were carried back by the teachers, while A'tu brought several aunties from the academy to help carry the girls back. They had not woken despite all that commotion. They were truly exhausted.

The aunties helped settle them in and then left. A'tu looked at the sleeping Xiao Wu. She slept deeply and peacefully, with a victorious smile still on her face because they had won.

This time, she truly had not chosen wrong. At last, A'tu's heart settled.

Calais City's research base.

Ming Zhen had always believed that climbing the technology tree was not something with balanced income and expenditure. It required a massive amount of upfront investment before it could yield returns. The profits brought by unlocking the technology tree were enough to let him support researchers with real money during the early stages.

The same held true on Douluo Continent. After decades of constant support, Calais City's research base had recently entered a harvest period, with all kinds of new inventions emerging in an explosive wave.

For example, tracking cameras, light screens, the armbands used during matches to calculate maximum damage tolerance, energy shields capable of defending against Spirit Skills, and Soul Tools that automatically sounded an alarm when struck by Soul Power attacks above a preset level—there were far too many to list.

In business, one had to swiftly grasp trends and be good at catching current events. The biggest current event lately was naturally the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, held once every five years and about to begin. How to use the Elite Competition's momentum to sell Calais City's new research products in massive quantities was the problem Ming Zhen needed to solve now.

After rejecting countless promotional proposals from his subordinates, the evil boss Ming Zhen sighed. The best hunters appeared in the guise of prey. By the same logic, if he wanted to sell things, he should make people come begging to buy them with money in hand. Those proposals were all far too obvious. Anyone could tell they were advertisements. How could that work?

So irritating. He might as well see how his rival had been doing lately. Sect Master Ning had been doing quite well recently, which only made him more annoyed. Their sect had produced a child with seventh-rank Innate Soul Power, and they had been showing off nonstop. Wait. Ming Zhen's expression turned serious. Heaven Dou Royal Academy was holding qualifying matches to select the team that would participate in the Elite Competition? And Star Luo Empire had heard about it and was getting involved too?