After arriving in Shrek City, Wang Zhi first went to the Spirit Transmitter Tower Headquarters to register.
The Spirit Transmitter Tower Headquarters stood towering above the city, several times larger than the Spirit Transmitter Tower in Hailu City.
Following the staff's instructions, Wang Zhi filled out the registration form, paid the fee, and received his competition number.
Number 127.
He put the number plate away and planned to go home first.
He had been away from Shrek City for more than four years. He wondered how surprised his parents would be to see him suddenly return.
At the thought, Wang Zhi felt a little excited.
Just then...
A voice tinged with surprise rang out.
"You're the one who defeated Senior Student Ye?"
Wang Zhi paused slightly and looked in the direction of the voice.
A young man was staring at him, his face lit up.
The young man looked about fifteen or sixteen. He wore Shrek's school uniform, and there was a hint of arrogance between his brows.
"Is something the matter?" Wang Zhi asked, surprised.
To him, his battle with Ye Xinglan had just been a competition.
A win was a win. There was nothing complicated about it.
At that, the young man crossed his arms, raised his chin, and said smugly,
"Kid, you beat someone from Shrek, and you still dare to come to Shrek City? You're pretty arrogant!"
Wang Zhi looked at his attitude and felt speechless.
He sized the young man up, then said with disdain,
"I'm here to take part in the Spirit Transmitter Tower's Youth Ranking Competition."
"If you've got so much free time, why not spend it training?"
"Is it really so fun to keep putting on airs?"
The young man's face immediately flushed, and he snapped,
"What do you mean, kid?!"
"This is Shrek City!"
"Do you understand?!"
"This is Shrek Academy's territory!"
Wang Zhi nodded expressionlessly.
"Oh, and then?"
"And then..." The young man froze, clearly not expecting that sort of response.
By his reckoning, the boy should have been afraid, should have been frightened, and should have shown him, a student of Shrek Academy, the utmost respect.
But this guy...
A sly grin appeared on his face.
"I challenge you to a duel!"
"The loser has to leave Shrek City!"
"Do you dare to duel me?"
Wang Zhi looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"First..."
He raised one finger.
"This is the Spirit Transmitter Tower Headquarters, and it's outside Shrek City, not inside it."
He raised a second finger.
"Second, I don't duel idiots."
"But if there's something at stake, I can give you a little guidance."
"You!"
The young man was furious, his face turning bright red.
"Fine! Fine! Fine!"
He said it three times through gritted teeth, then took a Spirit Plant from his Storage Soul Tool.
It was a green plant with long, slender leaves and a faint golden sheen along their edges. The moment he took it out, it gave off a slight spiritual fluctuation.
"This is a Hundred Year Spirit Grass. It can increase the user's Spiritual Power."
"I was going to use it to increase my Spiritual Power so I could fuse with a Thousand Year Soul Spirit, but I happened to break through, so I don't need it anymore."
He held up the Essence Grass, looking smug.
"I'll bet this against you!"
"What can you put up?"
Wang Zhi looked at the Essence Grass in the young man's hand, and a flash of delight crossed his eyes.
To him, Spirit Plants that could increase Spiritual Power were exactly the kind of thing he needed.
After all, whether he was summoning Ghost Shadow Soldiers or fusing with stronger Soul Spirits, he needed sufficient Spiritual Power.
And in this era, items that increased Spiritual Power were practically priceless and hard to find.
Whenever one appeared, someone bought it almost immediately.
"I don't have anything like that."
Wang Zhi looked away, his tone calm.
"But I can put up thirty million Federal Currency."
"If that works for you, then let's duel."
"If it doesn't, I'll be on my way."
Thirty million.
The young man was taken aback, then nodded.
"That works."
In his eyes, there was no chance he could lose.
For starters, he called Ye Xinglan Senior Student Ye because she was a student in the Inner Court, while he was in the Outer Court.
Even though he was much older than Ye Xinglan, he still had to address her respectfully as his senior.
But he was no weakling.
He was a sixth-year student in Shrek Academy's Outer Court, sixteen years old, and a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
He had only completed half of his One-Word Battle Armor, so under normal circumstances, he might not make it into the Inner Court before graduation.
But things were different now.
As long as he could defeat the boy in front of him, who had made Shrek Academy lose face...
He would surely earn the approval of the academy's teachers. Maybe he could even be admitted to the Inner Court ahead of schedule!
At the thought, his heart burned with excitement.
Wang Zhi nodded slightly.
The two found a Soul Master and rented a battle platform.
The Soul Master asked whether they wanted the match to be open to the public.
The young man hurriedly agreed.
Of course it should be public!
The more people watching, the better!
That way, everyone could see him defeat Wang Zhi in all his glory.
And when word got back to the academy, it would reflect well on him.
Wang Zhi nodded casually.
Either way was fine.
He didn't mind.
Before long, the people who had come to the Spirit Transmitter Tower that day heard the announcement and began making their way over to watch.
The Spirit Transmitter Tower seized the opportunity to charge admission. Tickets cost a thousand Federal Currency each, and quite a few people were willing to pay.
Everyone wanted to see what would happen when the boy who had defeated Ye Xinglan faced off against someone from Shrek Academy.
Soon, the stands were packed.
The audience chatted excitedly, debating which of the two would win.
"Isn't that boy only a Two-Ring Soul Master? The one from Shrek has four rings!"
"He's two Great Realms behind. How's he supposed to fight?"
"You can't say that. That boy defeated Ye Xinglan, and she may be young, but she's no weakling."
"That's different! Ye Xinglan only had two rings. She still can't compare to someone with four!"
"Exactly. He's two Great Realms behind, and the gap in Soul Power is right there!"
Most people still thought the young man would win.
After all, the difference between a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor and a Two-Ring Soul Grand Master was enormous.
Soon, the two sides took their places on the battle platform.
The Spirit Transmitter Tower had arranged for a referee, a middle-aged Soul Master who looked experienced.
"Both sides, get ready."
The young man took his position and stared at Wang Zhi, utterly confident of victory.
Wang Zhi looked calm, even a little bored.
"Three, two, one. Begin!"
At the referee's command, the young man roared, and a bright yellow light flared around him.
His Martial Soul was an Earth Bear, a Power Attack System Beast Martial Soul.
Four Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet—
two yellow and two purple.
Two hundred-year Soul Rings and two thousand-year Soul Rings.
That was a standard configuration at Shrek.
The young man powered forward, charging straight at Wang Zhi.
He intended to win in a single strike!
Wang Zhi looked at the charging young man, his expression bored.
Too weak.
So weak he couldn't even work up the energy.
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