Seeing his team members drenched in blood, their bones broken and tendons torn, Yu Xiaogang had already been burning with rage.
Now, provoked by Rui Wen and the others' sneers, disregard, and backtalk, he became even angrier.
It was like pouring oil on a fire. His fury blazed, seemingly overwhelming his mind and stripping away his reason. He turned and roared at the referee beside him:
"Referee, I want to lodge a complaint."
"They aren't competing at all. They're trying to kill people. They've violated the tournament rules. I demand that you declare them the losers."
Yu Xiaogang's roar carried clearly throughout the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena through the Amplification Soul Tool.
The arena, which had just been filled with cries of astonishment, suddenly fell silent.
The referee responsible for hosting and overseeing the match was gathered with two assistant referees, assessing its outcome.
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's complaint, all three referees froze. Then their expressions turned strange. Why did those words sound so familiar? Hadn't they heard them before?
The three referees exchanged puzzled looks, but soon remembered.
They had indeed heard this protest more than once.
They distinctly remembered first hearing it after the first match of the first round of the Preliminary Tournament, when the Shrek Seven Devils fought Auckland Academy.
The Shrek Seven Devils had attacked so viciously and cruelly that every Auckland Academy student had been seriously injured.
As a result, Auckland Academy's supervising teacher had been unable to hold back that very protest.
But Tang San of the Shrek Seven Devils had then offered a string of sophistry, claiming they had not harmed their opponents. Moreover, since the Shrek Seven Devils were representing Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the matter had ultimately been dropped to preserve the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's dignity.
That was how