Elephant Armor Academy!

"Don't get complacent just because you easily defeated the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team."

Yu Xiaogang said in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping across everyone.

"I've just received word that your opponent in the second preliminary match is very strong."

He deliberately paused, emphasizing his next words. "Extremely strong."

He looked around the room and laid out three cold, realistic choices.

"Right now, you only have three paths.

"First, forfeit this match, conserve your strength, and focus entirely on the opponents ahead."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was stunned. Forfeit? That was not Shrek's style.

"Second,"

Yu Xiaogang's gaze fell upon Tang San.

"Xiao San, you will still compete in this match, and... you may very well need to reveal more of your strength and hidden cards in order to win."

"Third,"

He looked toward Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others.

"All the main members compete. Fight head-on without exposing more of Xiao San's hidden cards.

"But even if you win, most of the others' strength will inevitably be exposed early, which will be detrimental to your later tactical arrangements."

The Shrek Seven Devils looked at one another, their faces filled with confusion.

Only during the discussion that followed did they learn that their next opponent was Elephant Armor Academy, founded by the Elephant Armored Sect, one of the Lower Four Sects!

All seven competitors were direct descendants of the Elephant Armored Sect. Not only did they all possess the Diamond Mammoth, a top-tier defensive Martial Soul, but three of them had already reached level forty in Soul Power, while the other four were close to level forty as well!

This was a formidable team of Soul Ancestors or Quasi Soul Ancestors, renowned for their extreme defense and strength!

Once they realized the weight of their opponents, the atmosphere in the rest area immediately grew grave.

Forfeit? No one was willing to accept that. Fight with everything they had and expose it all? The price was too great.

After a brief silence and an exchange of looks, Tang San took a deep breath, stepped forward, and looked steadily at Yu Xiaogang.

"Teacher, we can't forfeit this match. Since we can't avoid it, then we fight!"

His voice was calm and powerful, instantly dispelling the last trace of hesitation within the team.

Dai Mubai and the others were stirred as well, fighting spirit reigniting in their eyes.

Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San. A fleeting, complicated emotion flashed through his eyes, but he still pressed on.

"What do you plan to do? The Elephant Armored Sect's defense is no mere showpiece like Heaven Dou Second Team's."

Tang San seemed to have long since formed a plan. He answered calmly.

"Teacher, no one needs to reveal too much strength in this match. Leave it to me."

With that, he smiled faintly at Yu Xiaogang. His smile carried a reassuring confidence, even a hint of mystery.

"And, Teacher, how do you know... I only have one hidden card?"

Seeing Tang San's expression, Yu Xiaogang swallowed the words that had reached his lips. He merely gave him a deep look before finally nodding.

After everyone quickly settled on a simple battle plan centered around Tang San, the third day of the Elite Spirit Master Tournament officially began.

In the passage leading to the arena, they also saw Elephant Armor Academy's leader, the Elephant Armored Sect's sect master—Huyan Zhen, an enormously burly man over two and a half meters tall!

Simply standing there, he exuded an oppressive presence like a mountain.

When Shrek Academy's opponents, Elephant Armor Academy's seven members, officially stepped onto the arena, the Shrek Seven Devils could not help but suck in cold breaths after seeing them clearly!

The seven figures standing opposite them looked less like people and more like seven mountains of flesh piled from muscle!

Even the shortest among them stood over two meters tall. The tallest was even more outrageous than their sect master, Huyan Zhen, and was definitely over two and a half meters! Their knotted muscles nearly burst through their specially tailored uniforms. Conservatively speaking, the tallest one had to weigh at least five hundred jin!

With the referee's introduction, everyone learned that Elephant Armor Academy's team captain was precisely that giant over two and a half meters tall: Huyan Li, a level forty-three defense-type battle Soul Ancestor!

As the Shrek Team's captain, Dai Mubai naturally refused to be outdone. He stepped forward and responded in a deep voice.

"Shrek Academy Team, Captain Dai Mubai, level forty-four assault-type battle Soul Ancestor!"

Although his Soul Power Level was slightly higher, he held no obvious advantage in presence when facing their terrifying physiques and the oppression brought by the Diamond Mammoth Martial Souls.

Once both sides had finished saluting, the referee gave the order, and the match officially began!

Yet, to the surprise of every spectator, including the seven members of Elephant Armor Academy, Shrek Academy did not have Tang San immediately issue commands and arrange sophisticated tactics as they had in the previous match.

Instead, Tang San remained alone at the very center of the team. The other six, including Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu, wore inexplicable smiles as though they were watching a show. Together, they took a step back, completely yielding the front half of the arena to Tang San alone!

"What are they trying to do?"

"One person against all seven from Elephant Armor Academy? Have they gone mad?!"

Uncertain murmurs immediately erupted from the audience stands.

Elephant Armor Academy's seven members were also baffled by Shrek's bizarre move, and their formation hesitated slightly.

At the instant Huyan Li furrowed his brow and tried to guess their intentions, Tang San, standing in the center of the arena, moved!

He clasped his fingers tightly before his chest. Blue light flashed in his eyes as the immense inner force of the Mysterious Heaven Skill within him mixed with Soul Power and burst forth like a river breaking through a dam!

Boom—!

Blue Soul Power radiance flowed ceaselessly from him like ripples, pouring into the arena floor beneath his feet!

"Careful! It's that Blue Silver Grass that trapped Heaven Dou Second Team last time!"

The sight immediately reminded Huyan Li of Tang San's strange group-control ability from the previous match. He hurriedly shouted an order.

"Everyone, gather around me! Concentrate your defenses!"

The Elephant Armored Sect's descendants were highly skilled at combining defense and strength. Upon hearing their captain's command, the other six immediately moved their heavy steps and quickly closed in around Huyan Li. The seven gathered together in an instant, their Spirit Rings lighting up as thick Diamond Mammoth phantoms emerged, ready to rely on their collective strength and defense to withstand Tang San's control.

Yet when Tang San saw their response, not only did he show no panic, the corner of his mouth instead curled into a smile of success.

What he had used this time was not the Blue Silver Prison, nor the group restraint from last time!

It was—

"Blue Silver, Four-Pillar Prison!"

As Tang San shouted, the fluctuations of Soul Power around him abruptly changed!

The next moment, around the edges of the spot where Huyan Li and the other seven had gathered, four enormous Blue Silver Grass vines—each more than half a meter thick and dark blue throughout—burst from four designated points outside their formation rather than beneath their feet, erupting through the hard arena floor like giant pythons and soaring into the sky!

The four massive Blue Silver pillars appeared with extreme suddenness. In an instant, countless branching vines sprouted wildly from them, intertwining and Entangling one another!

"Not good! We've fallen into a trap! Spread out!"

Huyan Li's pupils contracted sharply. He realized this was not merely control from beneath their feet, but a fully formed cage!

He hurriedly tried to change tactics, ordering his teammates to scatter and break out, interrupting the formation of the skill.

But it was already too late!

Just as Elephant Armor Academy's members frantically tried to use brute force to smash through the vines before they had fully closed, the countless sturdier Blue Silver Vines had already woven and sealed themselves shut like living creatures. In the blink of an eye, they formed a massive, airtight wooden prison, completely trapping Elephant Armor Academy's seven members inside!

From the outside, it looked like an impregnable fortress formed from enormous blue trees!

"Fatty! Open fire!"