The Shrek Team's rest area at the Soto Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City.
The dim glow of the kerosene lamp stretched the shadows of Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Zhao Wuji across the mottled wall, making them look like three statues frozen in place.
The three sat around a wooden table. The record sheet on it had grown creased from handling, and every line of consecutive victories seemed to hold a sharp edge.
"Eleven wins in a row..."
Flender tapped the paper with his fingertip, a proud glint in his eyes.
"These little monsters have made Shrek proud! They've already earned enough points to meet the threshold for advancing from Silver Soul to Gold Soul."
Zhao Wuji slapped the table. The cups rattled as he burst into hearty laughter.
"Now that's something! The monsters from Shrek really live up to their reputation!"
Yu Xiaogang pushed up his glasses and spoke evenly.
"By the rules, to advance from Silver Soul to Gold Soul, you have to challenge a team of the same or a higher rank. Win, and you advance. Lose, and your points are reset to zero.
"We can't rush this step. We have to choose our opponent carefully."
Flender shot to his feet and slapped the table, brimming with confidence.
"Shrek has never been afraid of a challenge! If we're going to fight, we'll take on the strongest. We'll challenge the top team on Suotuo City's Silver Soul rankings—the Imperial Fighting Team!"
Yu Xiaogang's lips curved slightly as he pointed at the information sheet marked "Imperial Fighting Team."
"Good. This battle will be both a challenge and the best whetstone for the kids.
The moment Flender made his decision, the rest area erupted with excitement. The young fighters' desire to battle blazed to life.
Dai Mubai clenched his fists, fighting spirit burning in his mismatched eyes.
"The Imperial Fighting Team?
"The team made up entirely of noble scions, the one hailed as Suotuo City's top Silver Soul team?
"Good! I've wanted to take them on for ages!"
Ma Hongjun patted his belly, full of confidence.
"We earned our eleven straight wins with our own fists! Who cares if they're the Imperial Fighting Team or Xingdou?
"Let Fatty here burn them till they're scattered to the winds!"
Oscar looked grave. "Their average level is six levels higher than ours. We can't fight them head-on; we need to plan our tactics carefully."
Ning Rongrong furrowed her brow and bit her lip, silently hoping.
"I hope the two Soul Ancestors on the Imperial Fighting Team won't be allowed to compete. Otherwise, we have no chance of winning."
Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly, her expression calm. To her, as long as she could grow stronger, it didn't matter who her opponent was.
Xiao Wu hooked her arm around Tang San's and tilted her head.
"Third Brother, we're definitely going to win!"
"Mm,"
Tang San replied softly, his voice firm, calm resolve in his eyes.
"We'll win."
Yu Xiaogang pushed up his glasses and walked over to the Shrek Seven Monsters, his voice solemn.
"The Imperial Fighting Team's core is Yu Tianheng's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Dai Mubai will hold him off in a direct assault.
"Their two Black Tortoises have a tight defense, but there'll be gaps whenever they rotate their formation. Xiao San, it'll be up to you to seize the right moment.
"Their Azure Vine control-system fighter is for Xiao Wu and Ma Hongjun to break through together, and quickly. Don't let them form a control chain, and don't let them drag you into their rhythm and wear you down.
"Remember, each of them is stronger than you individually, but your teamwork is better.
"Fight as a team. Don't take them on one-on-one!"
The seven nodded, their fighting spirit growing ever more resolute.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Fighting Team's rest area,
Qin Ming held the information sheet and repeated in a low voice,
"The Shrek Seven Monsters? Challenging us?"
His expression grew complicated, as if something had come to mind. He sighed.
"A team with eleven straight wins. Dean Flender is still as daring as ever, but he shouldn't have picked the Imperial Fighting Team."
He turned to Yu Tianheng.
"Xiao Qi and Yanzi are Soul Ancestors. If they compete, the team's rating will shoot up and they'll be matched against Soul Ancestor teams, so they'll have to sit this battle out.
"I've arranged for a substitute control-system Soul Master to compete: Tian Xuan, a level 33 Soul Elder with the Azure Vine Martial Soul. Are you confident you can win?"
Dugu Yan leaned against the doorway, looking languid, as if none of this had anything to do with her.
Yu Feng wore an expression of disdain.
"A bunch of amateurs dare challenge us? Even without Captain Chen and Big Sis,
"we can send them packing back to Bronze Soul in no time!"
Osler and the Shi Mo brothers, however, remained composed, showing no sign of underestimating their opponents.
Tian Heng looked grave, his brows drawn together. Ever since Chen Jieqi and Dugu Yan had stopped handling the team's everyday affairs, he, as vice-captain, had been left to shoulder all the responsibility on his own.
He knew full well that the Shrek Seven Monsters across from them were not to be underestimated. Dai Mubai, the level 37 White Tiger Soul Elder, was formidable, and the other Soul Elders each had their own special skills.
But what worried him most was Zhu Zhuqing, the level 28 Hell Spirit Cat. His family knew what it meant when a White Tiger and a Hell Spirit Cat appeared together.
He simply couldn't tell yet whether she and Dai Mubai could perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
That was the biggest variable in this showdown.
Ye Lingling stood quietly beside Dugu Yan, like a Nine-Heart Begonia blooming apart from the world, unmoved by the commotion around her.
Qin Ming warned them sternly,
"Don't underestimate them! Even a lion gives its all to catch a rabbit. One careless moment, and we could lose!"
Yu Feng curled his lip, but said no more.
Chen Jieqi had not spoken a word from beginning to end. He simply watched everyone in silence.
As far as he was concerned, letting the Imperial Fighting Team get a proper trial would do them no harm. Besides, their average level was six levels higher than their opponents'.
With the Imperial Fighting Team's strength and the rapport they had built through years of training together, he truly couldn't imagine how they could lose.
Still, when his gaze swept over the list of the Shrek Seven Monsters in Qin Ming's hands,
it lingered for a moment on the name "Tang San."
Eight Spider Lances... Purple Demon Eye... Mysterious Heaven Skill.
He lowered his eyes, concealing the fleeting significance in his gaze.
The main arena of the Soto Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City.
The thirty-meter bluestone platform was pinned beneath dazzling white spotlights, while the red crystals in the dome poured down a warm glow.
The air was a heady mix of sweat, the pungent tang of Soul Power, and feverish excitement. Under the lights, it steamed into a restless haze that clung to the skin, sticky and scorching.
The uproar of twenty thousand spectators slammed against the stone walls and echoed back, making everyone's eardrums ring.
At the front, gamblers shouted themselves hoarse.
In the middle tiers, nobles murmured among themselves.
From time to time, the clear clink of cups came from the private boxes above.
The three layers of noise intertwined into an invisible net, trapping the young fighters on the arena stage.
The host, Doudou, hovered in midair, wings beating. The instant her voice cracked through the crowd, the entire arena went up like a powder keg.
Screams, whistles, and stomping feet erupted all at once, making the dome tremble.
"Welcome to the Soto Great Soul Arena—for tonight's peak team battle!
"The Shrek Team versus the Imperial Fighting Team!"
The passages on either side swung open with a thunderous rumble. The scraping of the stone gates mingled with the crowd's screams, bringing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
The instant the Imperial Fighting Team stepped onto the arena, the whole place fell silent for a beat. It was the moment when all twenty thousand spectators held their breath, the stillness before a storm.
The seven members of the Imperial Fighting Team emerged first. Their deep-blue uniforms accentuated their upright bearing, and their Silver Soul Badges gleamed coldly.
Vice-captain Yu Tianheng led the way, violet lightning coiling around him as the phantom of a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon flickered into view.
The pressure of his level 39 Power Attack System Soul Master rolled over them like a boulder, making the spectators in the front row lean back without thinking.
The red crystals in the dome cast their light over him, but the violet lightning coiling around his body made it seem cold. Even the air felt thinner.
The Shi Mo brothers stood on either side of him. Their Black Tortoise Martial Souls awakened, and heavy, ink-black shells spread across their bodies, like two human-shaped shields bracing the flanks of the team.
Beneath the lights, their dark shells gleamed with the chill of forged weapons.
Yu Feng swept into the air, his Wind Bell Bird Martial Soul taking possession of his body. His glassy wings beat the air into a gust.
Osler stood tense, the aura of his Ghost Leopard Martial Soul spreading around him. Light and shadow flickered, making him hard to distinguish from a ghost.
The substitute control-system Soul Master, Tian Xuan, walked among them, Azure Vine coiling around his fingertips as his Soul Power gathered, ready to strike.
Ye Lingling held a Nine-Heart Begonia. Pink-white petals drifted down as her healing Soul Power quietly spread, shoring up the team's rear guard.
From the passage on the other side, the Shrek Seven Monsters walked onto the stage at an unhurried pace. Their plain, practical clothes and unbridled bearing made a striking contrast with the Imperial Fighting Team.
Dai Mubai led the way. The aura of his White Tiger Martial Soul awakened, gold-and-black fur appearing as his imposing presence took hold.
Xiao Wu's two soft pink rabbit ears stood straight up. Her delicate appearance hid an explosive strength, and her lively eyes swept across the arena.
They stopped instinctively for a moment in one direction.
The boy who made her feel "so comfortable" stood at the back of the Imperial Fighting Team,
calmly watching the arena.
Zhu Zhuqing was cool and aloof, the aura of her Hell Spirit Cat flowing around her like a crouching hunter.
Her figure flickered at the edge of the spotlight, as if ready to vanish into the shadows at any moment.
The most dangerous people were never the ones standing in the light.
Tang San stood in the middle row, his expression composed. The faint image of Blue Silver Grass wavered around him as his Purple Demon Eye quietly activated.
The opposing side's Soul Power fluctuations, along with countless other details, flowed into his mind. He broke them down one by one, sorted them, and filed them away.
This was his battlefield. It had already begun before the fighting started.
Flames shimmered around Ma Hongjun, the scorching aura of his Phoenix Martial Soul leaking out.
Oscar followed close behind, a sausage quietly taking shape in his hand.
At the back of the line, Ning Rongrong held the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Its seven-colored glow flowed around her as she smiled calmly.
Doudou's impassioned voice rang out once more:
"Both sides, release your Martial Souls! One minute to prepare!"
Tang San's Eight Spider Lances gave the faintest tremor beneath his clothes, but he assumed it was just his fighting spirit stirring and paid it no mind.
At the back of the Imperial Fighting Team, the Naaru Brand between Chen Jieqi's brows also grew faintly warm at that exact same moment.