During the week of rest Master had given them, Zhang Yang went to the Great Soul Arena six times and brought his record to 10 wins and 0 losses.
However, to Zhang Yang's regret, his first four consecutive victories had been achieved three months ago, so they could not be counted together with his later six-win streak.
What was even more infuriating was that the bonus points for consecutive wins were only calculated collectively at the end of the month, while Zhang Yang's tenth match—the first Soul Fight after his five-win streak—had happened to fall on the first day of the month.
Thus, Zhang Yang's current record was 10 wins and 0 losses, with one match above a five-win streak, for a total of 10 accumulated points. The remaining 9 points would be calculated at the end of the month.
For the rest of the time, Zhang Yang devoted most of it to cultivation, leaving only a small portion to spend with Ning Rongrong.
Although school rules stated that male students could not casually harass female students, mutually willing public relationships fell outside the jurisdiction of those rules.
Of course, Zhang Yang was not someone who did nothing but accompany his girlfriend. Throughout the week, he had also gone to Master several times to ask questions, which greatly pleased Master.
To be fair, Master had to admit that compared to Zhang Yang, he had spent more energy and poured more effort into Tang San. But there were reasons for all of it.
After all, Zhang Yang and Tang San did not walk the same path of cultivation.
Zhang Yang's cultivation followed a broad road that had already been verified by countless predecessors. Although Zhang Yang possessed a mutated Martial Soul, although his Martial Soul had granted him a set of Navy Six Styles, and although his Soul Ring skills were so unusual, none of that required Master to worry.
Master only needed to plan suitable Soul Beasts for him according to Zhang Yang's fighting style, in case they were needed.
Tang San, on the other hand, was different.
Tang San possessed Twin Martial Souls and could have eighteen Soul Rings. Yet the possibility of future Martial Soul conflicts had sent him down an unknown road filled with danger. The only one he could rely on was Master, who specialized in theory.
One cultivated step by step and only needed occasional care to grow smoothly along a flower trellis, bloom, and bear fruit.
The other was weak and sickly, frail beyond measure, and needed meticulous care, watering, fertilizing, and someone by his side every step of the way.
Seen that way, Master's investment in Tang San could not really be called favoritism.
When Master learned that Zhang Yang had been spending every day at the Great Soul Arena recently and had already achieved six consecutive victories at the Soto City Great Soul Arena, with an actual score of nineteen points, he nodded in satisfaction.
Zhang Yang's thoughts coincided perfectly with Master's plans.
Even if Zhang Yang had not gone to the Great Soul Arena, Master would have taken them there tomorrow. Their physical training had come to an end, and what Zhang Yang and the others needed most now was to fight Soul Masters of all kinds and accumulate extensive practical combat experience.
On the Soul Fighting Stage, Zhang Yang and the others could encounter all kinds of Martial Souls and Soul Masters with vastly different fighting styles. Battling such opponents was the best way to increase their strength.
The Great Soul Arena truly was a wonderful place.
Of course, the most important point was that Shrek Academy's finances had become extremely tight.
Three months of medicinal baths, along with Master constantly finding new ways to satisfy everyone's appetites, had drained the academy's education funds dry. Looking through the accounts, they probably did not even have ten Gold Soul Coins left.
But Master's second stage of training perfectly avoided this problem.
The school was out of money? Then they simply would not spend any. During the second stage, the students would cover their own food and lodging. The teachers leading them could stay in Flender's Soul Tool shop in Soto City, cook their own meals, and one Gold Soul Coin would be more than enough to last until the second stage ended.
And if they wanted to make money, they could simply place bets at the Great Soul Arena. With Zhang Yang's combat ability, it was not impossible for Flender to earn a small fortune in a day.
The next day, upon hearing the familiar bell, the students arrived at the Training Ground on time.
Master stood with his arms crossed and looked approvingly at the students' upright postures. "After three months of training, your physical fitness has improved significantly. But you still have a long way to go before becoming outstanding Soul Masters."
"I heard from Flender that you have already visited the Soto Great Soul Arena, so I will not say much more. The second stage of training will begin there. There is no time limit for this training. It will end whenever you obtain a Silver Soul Arena Badge."
"During this period, I will arrange for you to stay at the inn closest to the Great Soul Arena. You will handle all food and lodging expenses yourselves. As long as you are capable enough, these costs will not be a problem at all."
Hearing that it would not be devilish training, everyone relaxed.
"Of course, besides the one-on-one Silver Soul Arena Badge I require, all of you must also obtain a team Silver Soul Arena Badge. I have already thought of a team name for you: Shrek Team."
"Furthermore, while fighting at the Great Soul Arena, everyone must wear the masks the academy has prepared for you. No one may use their real name, reveal their appearance, or use Xiao San's Hidden Weapons."
"Also, regardless of victory or defeat, each person must fight two matches every day. Aside from the mandatory team battle, there are no restrictions on the category of the other match."
Seeing that Master had said nearly enough, Oscar asked, "Master, do Support System Soul Masters have to obtain a Silver Soul Arena Badge too?"
Master glanced at Oscar and said flatly, "Or you may choose to continue your previous training until everyone else has completed the second stage."
Oscar's body trembled. "Uh... pretend I never said that."
Ning Rongrong, who had also wanted to speak, could not help secretly laughing at Oscar's comical appearance. Then she looked at the tall Zhang Yang beside her and said, "Zhang Yang, let's team up for two-on-two."
"Sure." Zhang Yang nodded and agreed without hesitation.
"Hey... Dai Laoda, let's enter the two-on-two together. What do you think? I've only just reached Level 30, but my support abilities should still be able to help you. Otherwise, who knows when I'll ever save up enough points to reach the Silver Soul Arena Badge level."
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Seeing Oscar's pitiful expression, Dai Mubai, who had originally wanted to team up with Zhu Zhuqing, could only nod and agree.
In the blink of an eye, the group of eight had formed two more combinations. Together with Tang San and Xiao Wu, who had registered for 2v2 long ago, Zhu Zhuqing could only form a team with Ma Hongjun.
Of course, even after forming teams, whether they would participate in 2v2 was still uncertain. After all, they could choose 1v1 instead.
Seeing that everyone had quickly assigned their teams, Master nodded in satisfaction. These combinations were exactly as he had anticipated.
"Since we will be staying at an inn in Soto City for some time, you have two hours to pack your things. All right, dismissed."
The students hurried back to their Dormitories to pack their belongings, then headed for Soto City under the guidance of Flender, Master, and Zhao Wuji.
After entering Soto City, the group first chose an ordinary hotel near the Great Soul Arena and settled in. Because it was adjacent to the Great Soul Arena, the hotel was ordinary, but its prices were twice as high as elsewhere.
Still, a few Silver Soul Coins meant nothing to Soul Masters.
Then Master took out a stack of green masks from his Soul Tool and distributed them to everyone. "Keep them safe. Remember to put them on after entering the Great Soul Arena."
"Also, everyone must come up with a nickname to conceal your real name during 1v1 battles."
Following the original rhythm, everyone quickly came up with their nicknames, and Tang San's Thousand Hands Asura remained unchanged.
According to Master, being bound by Tang San's Blue Silver Grass felt like being tightly gripped by thousands of arms, leaving one unable to move. Thus, he had chosen the name Thousand Hands Silver Grass.
However, everyone felt that the words "Silver Grass" did not sound imposing enough, so Dai Mubai renamed it Asura.
When it came to Zhang Yang, everyone found themselves at a loss. Zhang Yang's Martial Soul was a Wry-Mouthed Man with a lecherous expression, making it truly difficult to come up with an impressive nickname.
Thus, everyone began asking Zhang Yang for his own opinion.
"Uh..." Zhang Yang scratched his head.
A nickname for Borsalino? Wasn't "Borsalino" already a nickname? His real name was Borsalino.
As for a four-character nickname, how about Golden Flash? Or perhaps Wry-Mouthed Flash?
Zhang Yang's mind raced. After discarding the obviously unreliable ideas, there were not many options left.
"I think Yellow Flash will do," Zhang Yang said. "The yellow flashes produced when my Second and Third Soul Rings activate are pretty cool."
Master nodded. "Very good. Yellow Flash it is."
After explaining everything, Master left first. The Soul Fights would take place at night, so Zhang Yang and the others still had an afternoon to cultivate their Soul Power and adjust their condition.
That evening, after dinner, everyone arrived at the Great Soul Arena. They first changed their aliases, registered their two-person combinations and eight-person team, then headed to the waiting room to prepare.
Because all six of them except Ning Rongrong and Oscar had registered for 1v1, 2v2, and team battles, after coordinating with the staff, substantial gaps had been deliberately left between Zhang Yang and the others' Soul Fights so they could recover their Soul Power.
Of course, the Great Soul Arena's scheduling could not possibly be perfect. If the intervals happened to be too short, they could only accept their bad luck. As Master put it, enemies would not care whether they were in good condition.
For example, Zhang Yang's 1v1 and 2v2 matches today were scheduled very close together, leaving him almost no time to adjust.
Because his battles were so tightly packed, Zhang Yang adjusted his combat style, conserving as much Soul Power as possible and using the Navy Six Styles to end his fights.
Spirit Infusion consumed very little Soul Power, so Zhang Yang relied on the physical fitness enhanced by his Martial Soul, combined it with the stamina-consuming Navy Six Styles, and used Finger Gun and Rokuogan as finishing moves to swiftly end the 1v1 match.
After stepping down from the Soul Fighting Stage, Zhang Yang quickly pulled out one of Oscar's Recovery Sausages from his pocket and swallowed it, making the most of the time to recover his strength.
At that moment, Ning Rongrong had already walked up to Zhang Yang. "Let's go. The 2v2 match will begin at the 13th Soul Fighting Platform soon."
"Mm." Zhang Yang nodded.
"First to enter the stage are the newly registered 2v2 rookie combination, the Seven Treasure Flash Combination."
Under the host's introduction, Zhang Yang and Ning Rongrong stepped onto the Soul Fighting Stage together.
The spotlight fell upon Zhang Yang and Ning Rongrong. The combination of a tall man and a graceful woman drew considerable attention, especially the green Shrek masks on their faces, which provoked laughter from the audience.
"Hahaha, look at those masks they're wearing. They're hideous."
"If she wears a mask like that, she probably isn't much to look at either."
Hearing the audience's mockery, Ning Rongrong stamped her feet in anger.
"Next to enter the stage are the Seven Treasure Flash Combination's opponents for this match, the Moon Shadow Combination, who have already achieved seven consecutive victories in 2v2 Soul Fights."
"Please welcome the Moon Shadow Combination!"
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