The Tournament Begins, A Battle Against Shrek?!

"As long as you aren't hurt..."

Shui Bing'er bit her lower lip, a shy flush of red spreading directly down to her slender, swan-like neck.

Just as the atmosphere in the hall began to heat up, the air thick with burgeoning romantic tension, a sudden, light chuckle emerged from the empty space beside them.

The Ice Emperor manifested without warning, leaning lazily against a nearby pillar.

She crossed her arms over her chest, observing the blushing Shui Bing'er with keen interest.

"Little Bing'er, waiting for our Tianyu in the middle of the night dressed so lightly—do you have some extraordinary intentions in mind?"

The Ice Emperor's playful tone echoed through the quiet hall.

Like a startled rabbit, Shui Bing'er finally found the resolve to pull her hand from Xue Tianyu's palm.

"Ice, Ice Emperor Senior!"

She twisted the hem of Xue Tianyu's coat in her hands, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

"I was just... just waiting for the Captain to return safely, I have no other intentions."

The more she tried to explain, the more guilty she felt; Shui Bing'er's head was practically buried in her collar.

Shui Bing'er panicked and tried to push herself up, but Xue Tianyu caught her slender waist with one hand.

The warm sensation of his touch traveled through the thin fabric.

Shui Bing'er felt her entire body go soft, her heart beating so fast it felt like it might leap out of her throat.

"What are you hiding from?"

Xue Tianyu's tone was calm.

"Didn't you say you were going to wipe me down?"

Shui Bing'er bit her lower lip tightly, the flush on her cheeks spreading to the tips of her ears.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to endure her racing heart, and picked up the warm towel once more.

She knelt on the edge of the bed, leaning forward slightly to press the towel against Xue Tianyu's solid chest.

The steam, mixed with a faint masculine scent, constantly assaulted her reason.

Her movements were stiff and trembling at first, but gradually, she became focused.

She meticulously wiped away the bloodstains clinging to the contours of his muscles.

Xue Tianyu did not speak, simply watching the shy yet incredibly gentle young girl before him.

A strand of damp hair slid down Shui Bing'er's cheek, brushing against his arm.

It brought a faint, tingling itch.

Only after she had completely wiped his upper body clean did Shui Bing'er let out a sigh of relief.

She picked up the washbasin and took two hurried steps backward.

"Captain, get some rest. I'll head back now."

Not daring to look at Xue Tianyu again, she turned and fled the room like a startled young deer.

Xue Tianyu watched her retreating figure, a faint glimmer passing through his eyes.

He pulled the quilt over himself, closed his eyes, and entered a state of meditation.

The night was deep, and the cold wind howled wantonly through the streets of Heaven Dou City.

On the other side of the city.

In the lobby of the inn where Shrek Academy was staying, the lights were bright, but the atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme.

Tang San sat cross-legged on a cushion in the center of the hall.

His eyes were tightly shut, the veins on his forehead bulging, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his cheeks.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill within his body was running at an overload.

The scenes from the day played over and over in his mind like an inescapable nightmare.

His pride and joy, the Blue Silver Grass, had been torn to shreds with ease.

His poisoned hidden weapons had all been reflected back at him.

He had even been forced to kneel in the street and kowtow to cure his poison.

This kind of humiliation made Tang San feel as if thousands of ants were gnawing at his heart.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of black blood sprayed from his mouth, splattering onto the stone floor in front of him.

Yu Xiaogang, who had been keeping watch nearby, changed expression drastically and rushed forward.

"San!"

Yu Xiaogang reached out to steady the swaying Tang San, his voice filled with anxiety and heartache.

"Your state of mind is completely shattered!"

"If you continue to force your cultivation like this, you will inevitably suffer a qi deviation and damage your foundation!"

Tang San raised the back of his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a fierce motion.

He snapped his eyes open; his pupils, once clear and distinct, were now filled with hideous bloodshot veins.

"Teacher, I cannot swallow this insult!"

Tang San clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, and blood dripped down between his fingers.

"Xue Tianyu has gone too far!"

"This humiliation today, I, Tang San, will repay it a hundredfold!"

Yu Xiaogang let out a long sigh and patted Tang San's shoulder firmly.

"This teacher understands your feelings."

"But that Xue Tianyu's strength is extremely bizarre; he is definitely not someone you can contend with right now."

Speaking of this, Yu Xiaogang's eyes darkened a few shades.

"However, rest assured, Flender has already arranged for Zhao Wuji to intercept and kill him outside the Sunset Forest."

"Zhao Wuji is a level 76 Soul Saint, and his Vajra Bear martial soul possesses astonishing defense."

"No matter how high that brat's talent is, it is absolutely impossible for him to survive at the hands of a Soul Saint."

Hearing this, the blood-red hue in Tang San's eyes finally receded slightly.

He gritted his teeth and let out a cold laugh.

"It would be best if he could be captured alive."

"I want to personally sever his tendons and hamstrings and let him taste what it is like to wish for death!"

Just as the master and disciple were plotting their revenge:

"Bang!" A loud crash erupted!

The heavy wooden door of the hall was violently smashed open from the outside.

The door hinges snapped, and wood splinters flew everywhere.

Dai Mubai stumbled in.

His face was as pale as paper, and his entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

The arrogance and domineering air that usually belonged to the Evil Eye White Tiger had completely vanished.

He gasped for air, his chest heaving violently, unable to even utter a complete sentence.

"Boss Dai!"

Oscar, who was in the corner, immediately rushed forward and reached out to support Dai Mubai, who looked ready to collapse at any moment.

"What happened? Why are you in such a panic?"

Dai Mubai shoved Oscar aside, his gaze locked firmly onto Tang San in the center of the hall.

His lips trembled violently, and his voice carried a hysterical, sharp edge.

"He... he's dead..."

Yu Xiaogang's brow furrowed sharply, and a sense of extreme foreboding surged in his heart.

"Who is dead? Speak clearly!"

Tang San also stood up from his meditation cushion, staring fixedly at Dai Mubai.

"Fatty... Fatty is dead!"

Dai Mubai finally shouted these words, his shrill voice exploding through the hall.

The entire hall instantly fell into a deathly silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

Even the breathing of everyone present seemed to have come to a complete halt at this moment.

"Boss Dai, stop joking."

Oscar managed to force a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Didn't Fatty go to Spring Breeze Alley to enjoy himself tonight?"

"With his 'scoundrel lives for a thousand years' luck, how could he possibly die?"

Dai Mubai grabbed Oscar by the collar, his eyes wide enough to split.

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

"I was at the entrance of Spring Breeze Alley, and I saw the City Patrol Guard cleaning up the scene with my own eyes!"

"That couldn't even be called a corpse!"

"It was just a pile of bloody ice shards!"

BOOM!

Tang San felt as if a thunderclap had detonated within his mind, his body staggering back two steps.

He shoved Oscar aside and gripped Dai Mubai's arm with a death-like hold.

"Who did this!"

Tang San's voice was completely distorted, sounding like a wild beast driven into a corner.

Dai Mubai closed his eyes in agony; recalling the horrific scene he had witnessed not long ago made his stomach churn violently.

"It was Xue Tianyu..."

Upon hearing that name, both Tang San and Yu Xiaogang gasped in unison.

"The City Patrol Guard said there were witnesses who saw Xue Tianyu intercept Fatty on the street."

Dai Mubai's voice trembled more and more, permeated with deep terror.

"Fatty used his Phoenix Fire Line, but Xue Tianyu shattered it with a single sword strike."

"Then... Xue Tianyu summoned a massive phantom of an Ice Phoenix."

"That extreme cold instantly froze Fatty into an ice sculpture."

"He didn't even have time to let out a single scream!"

Tang San's eyes widened, his sockets splitting from the strain.

"And then what!" he roared.

Dai Mubai's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, clutching his head tightly with both hands.

"Then that Ice Phoenix phantom simply crushed over him!"

"Fatty was ground into shards of ice!"

"Not even a single complete bone was left!"

"He was ground alive into a pulp of flesh and ice!"

Hearing this gruesome description, Oscar's legs went weak, and he slumped to the floor.

Yu Xiaogang retreated repeatedly until he fell into his armchair, his eyes filled with shock.

"How could this happen..."

Yu Xiaogang's lips turned pale as he muttered to himself.

"How dare he kill someone in broad daylight within Heaven Dou City!"

"He intends to wipe us all out!"

Tang San stood rooted to the spot, his body trembling violently like a sieve.

An unprecedented fury churned wildly within his chest, threatening to incinerate his sanity entirely.

Ma Hongjun was his brother, a member of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Yet now, he had been brutally slaughtered by Xue Tianyu, not even leaving a corpse behind.

"Xue! Tian! Yu!"

Tang San squeezed these three words through his teeth, one by one.

Blood trickled down the corner of his mouth, yet he remained completely unaware.

Substantial killing intent permeated the hall like a madness.

He ripped open his outer robe, revealing the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist.

His hands moved like phantoms, and over a dozen hidden weapons coated in lethal poison appeared between his fingertips in an instant.

"I am going to kill him!"

"I will take his head to offer as a sacrifice to Fatty's spirit!"

Tang San turned to charge out the door.

"You stand still!"

Yu Xiaogang slammed his hand on the table and shouted sternly.

"What can you do by going now? Are you going to throw your life away!"

"He was able to kill Ma Hongjun in one move; his strength is definitely far above yours!"

Tang San abruptly halted his steps and turned to stare fixedly at Yu Xiaogang.

His bloodshot eyes revealed an obsession bordering on insanity.

"Teacher, Fatty is dead!"

"He died so thoroughly that not even a scrap remains!"

"How do you expect me to endure this?"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes were bloodshot, his voice trembling violently.

"Do you think I don't feel the pain!"

"But if you go now, you'll only be throwing your life away for nothing!"

"Don't forget, there is still Zhao Wuji!"

Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, attempting to stabilize the situation.

"Zhao Wuji went to intercept him; we only need to wait for Zhao Wuji to return..."

However, Yu Xiaogang had not even finished his sentence.

Outside the main hall, a set of extremely heavy and dragging footsteps suddenly rang out.

It sounded as if something heavy was being laboriously dragged across the ground.

Everyone turned their heads in unison to look.

They saw Flender appearing outside the main gate, swaying unsteadily.

His hair, which had been meticulously groomed, was now a chaotic mess, and one lens of his gold-rimmed glasses was shattered.

He looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

Flender's eyes were hollow and vacant, and he clutched a tattered piece of clothing stained with dark red blood tightly to his chest.

"Dean!"

Oscar scrambled over, stumbling as he rushed forward, just about to ask a question.

His gaze, however, became locked onto the garment in Flender's arms.

That was the jacket Zhao Wuji often wore.

On it remained a few shattered fragments of his Vajra Bear martial soul.

Flender's legs gave way, and he collapsed onto his knees at the threshold with a dull thud.

He stared blankly at the people in the hall, tears instantly streaming from his eyes.

"Old Zhao... Old Zhao isn't coming back."

Flender's voice was as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing against stone, permeated with endless sorrow and despair.

"When I arrived outside the Sunset Forest, I only found this pile of clothes and fragments."

"The scene was covered everywhere in the traces of terrifying Frost Sword Qi."

"Old Zhao was heavily wounded..."

Flender swallowed a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva with great difficulty, his entire body convulsing.

"He was beheaded."

Boom!

This news struck like a ten-thousand-pound thunderbolt, crashing down directly onto the crowns of the Shrek members' heads.

Yu Xiaogang rolled his eyes back, blood surging in his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before fainting on the spot.

"Grandmaster!"

The hall instantly descended into chaos.

Dai Mubai gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked, his back pressed tightly against the wall, his eyes filled with bone-chilling fear.

Even a level 76 Soul Saint like Zhao Wuji, known for his defense, had been beheaded by Xue Tianyu!

What kind of monster was this Xue Tianyu!

Compared to him, they, the Shrek students, were not even worth as much as ants.

Tang San stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.

The poisoned hidden weapon in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter, shattering into pieces.

Extreme despair and fear, like an invisible giant hand, gripped his throat tightly.

Within a single day.

Shrek Academy had lost two major generals.

Both had died without a complete corpse!

All of it was thanks to Xue Tianyu alone!

Tang San raised his head, his eyes fixed intently on the boundless night outside the door.

Violent rage and endless hatred exploded completely within his chest.

He threw his head back and let out a hysterical, shrill howl.

"Xue Tianyu!"

"I, Tang San, swear to the heavens today!"

"In this life, I will surely strip your tendons, pull your bones, and hack you into ten thousand pieces!"

"If I break this oath, may the heavens destroy me!"

A shrill, mournful roar echoed long through the night sky, heavy with the weight of an irreconcilable blood feud.

Several days had passed since that bloody ambush.

The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament kicked off in Heaven Dou City with a thunderous roar.

The magnificent Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena had been renovated to look brand new, and every seat in the surrounding stands was filled.

The cheers and the surging waves of the crowd ignited the entire venue.

The banners of the Five Elemental Academies fluttered in the wind above the main arena.

Inside the private lounge of Skywater Academy, however, the atmosphere was unusually quiet.

Xue Tianyu leaned lazily against the soft sofa in the center seat.

His figure was slender, his eyes deep, and a faint, chilling aura lingered around him.

Several beautiful female students from Skywater Academy clustered around him.

Shui Bing'er kept her head lowered, standing quietly in the position closest to him.

Ever since that night she had wiped his body clean, her heart would uncontrollably race every time she drew near.

A faint blush often flitted across her fair cheeks.

The team's lead teacher walked in quickly from outside, holding a gold-embossed roster in her hand.

She respectfully placed the roster on the coffee table in front of Xue Tianyu.

"Captain, the opening ceremony is about to end, and the matchups for the first round of the preliminaries have been released."

"According to the tournament rules, we need to submit the list of the seven starting members immediately."