The Fish Seller, How Did He Join the Martial Soul Department?

Elder Ma stood where he was, not knowing what he was thinking.

He swallowed against his dry throat and said to the group, "In that case, the team arrangements need to be replanned."

Mika and Xiao Xiafeng exchanged a glance and did not interrupt.

Strength was king. That held true anywhere.

Everyone left the first floor of the Fighting Arena and headed up the stairs to the meeting room on the second floor.

A long oval table stood in the middle of the meeting room.

The twelve of them gathered around it.

After eating the steamed bun provided by a teammate, Ma Rulong had slowly regained consciousness.

He sat alone at the end of the round table, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling unevenly. He looked somewhat haggard.

There was nothing left of his earlier high spirits.

He had actually lost to a lower-year junior five years younger than himself.

Thinking of what he had said before, it now sounded like the ravings of a madman.

Elder Ma's small eyes swept across the faces of the other eleven. He was somewhat hesitant.

In his view, although Xu Tinglan's strength had indeed surpassed all expectations,

that did not necessarily mean he possessed leadership ability.

Elder Ma took a deep breath.

"Let's do this. Xu Tinglan will be the captain of the Sun Moon Team, and Ma Rulong will be the vice-captain."

"As for who commands during team matches, that will depend on how well you work together over this period."

No one spoke.

The meeting room held only the sounds of everyone's breathing and the calls of blue birds outside the window.

Xu Tinglan looked at the others.

After a brief moment of consideration, he nodded. "All right."

Elder Ma secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then the roster is confirmed today.

"The Sun Moon Team's main members are Xu Tinglan, Ma Rulong, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, Mika, Xiao Xiafeng, and Chen Fei."

"The reserve members are Chen An, Lin Xi, Li Yan, and Jiang Nannan."

"Based on your combat styles,"

"Xu Tinglan and Mika will serve as heavy assault specialists. Ma Rulong, Xiao Hongchen, and Chen Fei will be responsible for long-range fire suppression..."

Based on the different Soul Tool paths each person had chosen, Elder Ma assigned them different roles within the team.

Xu Tinglan looked over every member of the team.

He still vaguely remembered

that several months from now,

during the clash with the Shrek Team, the Chen brothers, Chen An and Chen Fei, along with Lin Xi—a total of three people—would die on the competition stage.

Li Yan would also lose an arm.

Those lunatics from Shrek shouted about glory while showing no restraint in their attacks.

Especially their team leader, who had even issued a battle plan to injure their opponents and considered it largely flawless.

Elder Ma went on about the match arrangements and objectives.

The Sun Moon Team's members still regarded the Continental Youth Soul Master Tournament as nothing more than a competition, a chance to display themselves and their academy's style.

They had never realized what kind of attitude their opponents truly held.

Shrek City was flourishing and prosperous.

Shops lined both sides of the streets, their banners fluttering in the wind. The bluestone roads had been worn smooth as mirrors by passing pedestrians, while carriages and horses flowed endlessly by. Restaurants and teahouses bustled with noise.

As the central region of the three kingdoms, it lay close to Star Dou Forest.

It was undeniably a core trade hub.

The city's tax revenue was likewise an astronomical figure.

Shrek Academy had stood independently for ten thousand years. Even though it lay within the Heaven Dou Empire, it did not need to pay taxes to the empire.

Within this thriving giant city,

the Shrek Outer Court's facilities were somewhat unworthy of its reputation.

Xu Sanshi rushed out of the rust-covered dormitory and hurried to the entrance of the Soul Fighting Arena.

He patted the shoulder of the refined-looking youth. "How many are here?"

Beibei shook his head with a smile.

"You're the only one missing. Twenty-five from the Martial Soul Department and one from the Soul Tool Department are all waiting for you."

Xu Sanshi rubbed his chin, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I don't know about the Soul Tool Department."

"But among the Shrek Outer Court students, only the two of us have Soul Ancestor cultivation. What does it matter if they wait for me a little longer?"

Beibei raised his hand and punched Xu Sanshi.

"Stay away from me."

He lowered his voice. "If people find out we're close, how are we supposed to make money throwing matches in the Fighting Arena?"

Xu Sanshi looked suddenly enlightened and chuckled. "Beibei, you really are devious."

Beibei rolled his shoulders.

"A penny can stump a hero. You know I don't have money."

There were twenty-six Outer Court students in Shrek's current class, twelve of whom were second-years.

That was enough to show that the students of previous years had not been particularly outstanding.

Xu Sanshi looked around curiously and sent a voice transmission to Beibei in a low voice.

"Which one's from the Soul Tool Department? Why is there only one?"

Beibei gestured with his eyes.

The person stood at the far left, looking somewhat out of place. He was a burly man built like an iron tower.

Xu Sanshi asked again,

"What's going on? I remember your little junior, that fish seller, was also a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department."

"Why didn't he come?"

He vaguely remembered

that little fellow being quite strong.

Beibei scratched his hair and yawned.

"He came. He's with his roommates. But he joined the Martial Soul Department now, so He Caitou is the only one from the Soul Tool Department."

"Did the Soul Tool Department treat the fish seller badly?" Xu Sanshi pressed.

Beibei was getting annoyed by his close friend's endless questions, and his tone turned impatient. "How would I know? It probably wasn't great."

Their leading teacher stood before the many core disciples.

Wang Yan checked his watch.

His brows furrowed slightly as anxiety rose in his heart. Half an hour had already passed. Why had Elder Xuan not arrived yet?

Could he have remembered the date wrong?

In the distance,

a swaying figure approached, a wine gourd in his left hand and a chicken leg in his right.

He staggered up to the students, his drunken eyes hazy.

"Little Wang, I'm not late, am I?"

Wang Yan hurried forward, lowered his head, and answered respectfully, "You arrived at just the right time, Elder. I only just arrived myself."

Elder Xuan took a bite of the chicken leg.

He mumbled indistinctly, "Is everyone here?"

"They're all here."

Elder Xuan led the way into the Soul Fighting Zone and stopped only after reaching the center.

"Your assessment is simple. I call it a Battle Royale. Inside this circle, fight however you like. The last seven standing are the winners."

The old man took a large swig of wine.

He muttered to himself, Yan Shaozhe hands everything over to me. What a pain. I'll just deal with it however I want.

It's not even certain whether these people can enter the Inner Court. Why waste so much effort?

Xu Sanshi's eyes widened as he muttered aloud.

"Holy hell, what kind of battle format is this? What if some unlucky strong guy has poor relationships and gets focused out of the match?"

"This is way too careless!"

The old man gave them no chance to question him.

The moment Elder Xuan finished speaking, he flashed outside the arena.

"The match begins!"

The Battle Royale among the twenty-six began, with the goal of fighting for spots on the Shrek Seven Devils Reserve Team.

The younger students were fired up.

At the thought of that title, the younger students' eyes faintly glowed red.

After a grueling battle, only seven people emerged victorious.

Xu Sanshi's chest heaved, excitement written across his face.

Xuan Zi glanced at them.

Once he confirmed that Beibei, Wang Dong, and Huo Yuhao were among the seven, a smile appeared on his face.

This kind of match was not particularly important anyway.

Whether the Selection Tournament counted was merely a matter of his word.

Without those three preselected candidates, they would simply change the format and fight again.