The peaceful days of cultivation were broken by a sudden commotion.
That day, several figures bearing unmistakable hostility and resolve arrived at the gates of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
They were the Golden Iron Triangle—Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong—leading Shrek Seven Devils (Dai Mubai, Tang San, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong), along with their substitute, Tailong. They had come to issue a challenge!
Their goal was clear: win Xiao Wu back!
The news quickly reached Lin Yi, who was training on the field. He wasn't surprised. Given Tang San's personality and how much he cared about Xiao Wu, he would never let this go. Lin Yi just hadn't expected them to come knocking before the Soul Master Tournament.
He led the members of Imperial Fighting Team, along with Xiao Wu, who was always at his side, to the plaza in front of the academy gates. The two groups faced off, and the air instantly grew tense.
The first place Shrek's group looked was behind Lin Yi, where Xiao Wu stood with her head lowered, too afraid to meet their eyes. Tang San clenched his fists so tightly his nails nearly dug into his flesh, his eyes filled with pain and fury. Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong, and the others also looked indignant.
"Lin Yi! Give us back Xiao Wu, a member of our academy!" Liu Erlong had the hottest temper. She stepped forward and shouted angrily.
The fiery aura of a fire dragon churned around her, betraying her turbulent emotions.
Flender pushed up his glasses. His tone was fairly restrained, but his gaze was sharp. "Teacher Lin Yi, we accept our defeat in what happened at Sunset Forest.
"But Xiao Wu is an indispensable member of Shrek. We've come today hoping to decide who she belongs with through a fair team Soul Fighting match.
"If we win, please let her come back with us."
Yu Xiaogang said nothing, but his tightly pressed lips and solemn gaze showed that he was the true mastermind behind this visit.
Lin Yi calmly swept his gaze over the Shrek group, pausing for a moment on Tang San, whose face was cold as he stared intently at Xiao Wu. A faintly amused smile tugged at Lin Yi's lips.
"You want a team Soul Fighting match? Fine." He agreed readily, leaving the Shrek group momentarily stunned. But then he changed tack. "However, the stakes have to be equal. If you win, you can take Xiao Wu. But if you lose..."
His gaze slowly passed over Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong. His voice rang clearly across the plaza. "I want those two—Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong—to leave Shrek and join Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
"What?!"
The Shrek group erupted in an uproar!
He wasn't just trying to take Xiao Wu; now he had his eyes on Zhuqing and Rongrong too?
Lin Yi was insatiably greedy!
A flash of anger crossed Zhu Zhuqing's icy face. Ning Rongrong's cheeks flushed red with fury. "In your dreams! I'd never want to be on your team."
Dai Mubai and Oscar were so enraged they nearly charged at him.
Yu Xiaogang's face turned terribly grim.
He glared at Lin Yi, his thoughts racing.
Those stakes were too harsh! Xiao Wu's importance was beyond question, but Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were just as essential to the team!
Zhu Zhuqing was their only agility-type attacker and could potentially form a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Dai Mubai. Ning Rongrong was the heir to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the world's foremost support-type martial soul! Losing either one would deal a fatal blow to Shrek Team!
If they agreed and then lost... Shrek Seven Devils would fall apart on the spot. How could they even talk about entering the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?
They might not even make it through the qualifiers!
But if they refused, they would have no chance of getting Xiao Wu back...
Immense pressure weighed on the Shrek group. They had thought that after their recent painstaking training and Tang San's new hidden weapons, they had at least a fifty percent chance of winning Xiao Wu back. They hadn't expected Lin Yi to be so ruthless, going straight for the foundation of their team!
Flender and Liu Erlong also turned to Yu Xiaogang, waiting for him to decide.
Yu Xiaogang stayed silent for a long time, a vein twitching at his temple.
He weighed the pros and cons. In the end, the reason of a theoretical master and his concern for the team's overall interests won out.
He couldn't gamble the team's future on an uncertain outcome, especially against the unfathomable Lin Yi and his rapidly strengthening Imperial Fighting Team.
Though he believed in Tang San, he couldn't put the team's core members on the line. His goal was to win the Soul Master Tournament...
He took a deep breath, as if summoning every ounce of his strength, and forced out a few words. "...We won't accept those stakes."
"Grandmaster!"
"Teacher!"
The Shrek group all turned to Yu Xiaogang, their eyes filled with disbelief and reluctance. But when they saw the weighty resolve in his gaze, they understood that Grandmaster had made the most rational decision—and the one that hurt the most.
Tang San's body shuddered violently. He looked at Xiao Wu, so close yet impossible to bring back, then at his teacher, who had decided to give up. A stabbing pain and helplessness nearly swallowed him whole.
Lin Yi wasn't surprised by the outcome. He'd known Yu Xiaogang wouldn't dare take that risk.
He smiled faintly, his tone tinged with mockery. "Since you don't dare to wager, then go home! Heaven Dou Royal Academy isn't a place where you can run wild."
"Lin Yi! Just you wait! At the Soul Master Tournament, I'll defeat your team!" Tang San snapped his head up, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Lin Yi and made his vow.
"I'll be waiting." Lin Yi didn't care in the slightest.
The Golden Iron Triangle led the Shrek group, brimming with humiliation and resentment, away from Heaven Dou Royal Academy beneath a heavy, oppressive mood.
They hadn't managed to bring Xiao Wu back. Instead, Lin Yi had turned the tables on them, dealing their morale a considerable blow.
Watching them leave, Xiao Wu's eyes flickered with complicated, hard-to-read emotions: disappointment, guilt toward her companions, and also a trace of bewilderment about the fate ahead—a feeling she hadn't even noticed herself.
After this incident, Lin Yi knew that his conflict with Shrek had escalated beyond repair. A clash at the Soul Master Tournament was now inevitable.
The Shrek group would surely do everything they could to grow stronger over these final seven months.
He wouldn't just sit back and wait, either.
"Seven months remain until the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament." Lin Yi turned to the members of Imperial Fighting Team beside him. "I'll take Xiao Wu to a secret realm for special training during these seven months. We'll try to get her past level forty and add a Soul Ancestor to the team.
"Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan will oversee the team's regular training and follow the plan I gave them. Don't slack off."
The others were curious about where Lin Yi was going, but no one dared ask. They answered in unison, "Yes, Captain!"
Lin Yi's gaze finally settled on Xiao Wu. "Pack your things. We're leaving right away."
Xiao Wu quietly nodded, offering no resistance.
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