Just then, an announcement rang out across the stadium.
"Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, welcome!"
The booming voice echoed over the stadium, instantly drowning out all the noise.
"Today marks the beginning of the Skysea Alliance Competition. We've invited a team from Shrek Academy to exchange skills with last year's champions."
"Given Shrek Academy's formidable strength, this exhibition match will pit teams from different age groups against each other."
"The Tianhai Alliance Youth Group Seven Champions will challenge the Shrek Academy Youth Seven Group."
"Now, let's welcome both teams to the stage!"
As soon as the announcement ended, the crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause and cheers.
The seven representing the Tianhai Alliance were last year's Youth Group champions, all students from Tianhai Academy.
They were all over twenty this year, so they could only compete in the Adult Group.
The seven emerged from the Contestant Passage, each wearing a silver uniform. They looked dashing and full of spirit.
Five men and two women moved in perfect unison. Each one was brimming with energy, and their eyes held a hint of excitement.
As Adult Group competitors facing a team of younger students, they figured victory would be theirs for the taking.
So what if their opponents were from Shrek Academy?
The age gap was clear: they were five or six years older. They had an overwhelming advantage in both Soul Power and combat experience.
At the thought of the reward for winning, several of them were already buzzing with anticipation.
At that moment, the Shrek Academy students came up from the opposite side of the arena.
There were seven of them, and they looked to be about fourteen or fifteen on average. They wore green tracksuits emblazoned with the Shrek Academy insignia.
They walked steadily, their expressions calm, without a trace of nervousness.
The two teams exchanged greetings onstage.
The Tianhai Alliance team stood noticeably taller than their opponents, making the age difference unmistakable.
At the front of the Shrek Academy team was a boy of about fifteen.
He wasn't particularly striking in appearance, but there was something about him that was hard to describe.
Though young, he stood with the imposing calm of a mountain and the depth of an abyss.
He only had to take a few steps forward to become the focus of the entire stadium.
The two sides briefly introduced themselves.
Then the referee walked to the edge of the stage and raised his right hand high.
"Let the match begin!"
The instant the words rang out...
In a flash, a brilliant blue light burst across the arena.
It was dazzling, like a blue sun exploding onstage.
A moment later, enormous bolts of lightning surged from the light, engulfing the entire arena.
"Rumble!!"
The thunder was deafening.
Everyone instinctively narrowed their eyes.
About a minute later, the lightning faded.
The light on the arena slowly dimmed.
The entire stadium fell silent.
All seven representatives of the Tianhai Alliance were sprawled across the competition stage, motionless.
Meanwhile, the seven Shrek Academy representatives still stood in their original formation. Not one of them had even moved a step.
The entire stadium fell silent.
For a moment, the stadium, which held a full eighty thousand people, was utterly quiet.
You could hear a pin drop.
The boy at the head of the Shrek Academy team bowed slightly, then led his teammates off the stage.
Their steps remained steady, their expressions calm, as though they had just done something utterly trivial.
Only after they disappeared into the Contestant Passage did the stadium erupt into an uproar.
"T-That was way too fast, wasn't it?"
"A minute? No, was it even a minute?"
"I didn't even see what happened!"
"So this is Shrek Academy?!"
They were fighting across age groups, and the match hadn't even lasted a minute?
It was practically a massacre.
The Tianhai Alliance team hadn't even gotten a chance to show what they could do. They hadn't fully released their Martial Souls before they were knocked down.
Shrek Academy's attack had been far too fast, like a storm crashing over them.
That instant burst of power was like a giant dragon suddenly awakening on the competition stage, devouring its opponents in a matter of moments.
In the stands, Zhou Tian'er furrowed her brows.
"Shrek's students beat the champions of last year's Tianhai Competition Youth Group in a single strike."
"But for some reason, I feel like it was just... okay."
She tilted her head, thinking it over, then turned to Wang Zhi with a teasing tone.
"It's all your fault, Xiao Zhi. You're too strong, so my standards have gotten higher."
Wang Zhi could only smile helplessly.
"Tian'er Jie, how can you blame me for that?"
"It's your fault!" Zhou Tian'er insisted.
Zhou Hanyou reached out and tapped Zhou Tian'er on the head.
"Be quiet."
"This is the stands."
Zhou Tian'er covered the spot she'd been tapped and drew out a plaintive, "Okaaay~"
Just then, Zhang Zhenpeng squeezed back through the crowd.
He had several slips of paper in his hand and a smile on his face.
"The draw results are out."
He handed the slips to the four of them.
"These are your numbers and match times."
"The schedules for the Individual Match and Three-Person Team Match are both listed. Don't mix them up."
Wang Zhi took the slip and glanced at it.
In the Individual Match, he was scheduled for...
Never mind. He couldn't remember.
He'd just wait for instructions when the time came.
Over the next few days, the competition got underway in full swing.
The stadium was packed every day, filled with cheers, shouts, and cries of encouragement.
Wang Zhi went back and forth between the Individual Match and the Three-Person Team Match.
But the opponents were simply too ordinary.
After all, this was only the preliminary round. Many competitors were One-Ring Soul Masters, and even Two-Ring Soul Masters were rare.
Against opponents at that level, Wang Zhi didn't need to take them seriously.
Each time, he summoned just one Ghost Shadow Ninja.
Then...
One strike was enough.
No matter what Martial Soul or Soul Skill his opponent had, they couldn't last a single round against the Ghost Shadow Ninja.
At first, the audience gasped. Then they grew numb. Finally, they began to look forward to his matches.
They just wanted to see whether this boy could keep winning all the way through.
Wang Zhi didn't disappoint them.
He advanced round after round, defeating each opponent in an instant.
It was so easy that it felt less like competing and more like taking a stroll.
The Three-Person Team Match was even simpler.
Zhou Hanyou and her younger sister Zhou Tian'er could easily defeat their opponents without Wang Zhi lifting a finger.
Three matches, three victories.
Not one lasted longer than three minutes.
Of course, that was only what it looked like on the surface.
Wang Zhi knew perfectly well that if he joined the fight, the matches would end even faster.
His strength went far beyond what he had shown.
His Spiritual Power had already reached the Spirit Sea Realm.
It was a qualitative leap.
The Spirit Sea Realm gave him enough Spiritual Power to summon a full Thirty Ghost Shadow Soldiers.
Each Ghost Shadow Soldier had now reached the Three Rings Soul Elder level.
But their true strength...
He had tested it.
When all thirty Ghost Shadow Soldiers attacked together, even a Five Ring Soul King could be taken down in half a minute.
They could even defeat a Six Rings Soul Emperor.
Before you continue