Seven vs. Seven? Make it Five vs. Five!

If the children wanted to stir up trouble, there was nothing he could do but let them be; he could clean up the mess anyway, so he wasn't worried.

"Let us welcome the hottest sensation in the arena, the absolute rising stars: the Phantom Star Elite Team!"

The host's impassioned voice whipped the audience into a frenzy.

"And now, walking toward us, the long-awaited avengers: the Shrek Five Monsters!"

The cheers from the crowd were even louder than before. From the audience's perspective, who didn't love a dramatic conflict, and who didn't love a story of revenge?

"Third Brother, how do we play this?"

Facing the Phantom Star team, the five members of Shrek—save for Ma Hongjun and Tang San—felt a sense of trepidation.

"Wow, is the opposing team really all women? They're so beautiful, I really want to..."

Some words didn't need to be described to be understood; facing a team of two men and five women—a group of beauties gathered together—Ma Hongjun's evil fire was already rising.

"The usual, but take out the ones that look weaker first..."

Tang San was at a loss himself, unsure how to approach this match. But Zhu Zhuqing and her team provided the answer.

"Whoa ⊙∀⊙!"

"What is happening on stage? The members of the Phantom Star Team are jumping off the ring voluntarily?"

Excluding one male, the remaining two females jumped off the stage quite decisively. It looked exactly like a provocation, and of course, that was exactly the intent behind it.

"What is the meaning of this? A provocation?" Tang San stopped the furious Dai Mubai and spoke first.

Dai Mubai was seeing red; if Tang San hadn't been holding him back, he would have mindlessly charged into the fray, only to be swarmed and eliminated.

As the captain of the Elite Team, Zhu Zhuqing took the lead, so when she heard Tang San's words, she merely said indifferently:

"You only have five people; we wouldn't want to be accused of winning unfairly."

Zhu Zhuqing's tone was full of confidence and arrogance.

It was a stark contrast to the demeanor of the Shrek members.

"You!!"

Dai Mubai was infuriated, while Ma Hongjun had already started spewing lewd remarks.

Tang San's face darkened, and he was one step away from declaring that they had already invited their own deaths.

"Summon Martial Souls."

Zhu Zhuqing ignored the commotion and the gazes from across the stage, remaining as indifferent as if she were looking at any ordinary opponent.

"Swish."

Compared to individual duels, team battles were even more of a comfort zone for Phantom Star.

Aside from the direct disciples, the one remaining on the field was a tortoise-type soul master, a specialist in soaking up damage.

Seeing the opponent's configuration, the faces of the Shrek members darkened further.

They had no data on this; they had assumed they would primarily be dealing with the four direct disciples, never imagining the setup would be this balanced.

And they had even handicapped themselves by two people.

"Brothers, let's show them what we've got!" Dai Mubai gritted his teeth and shouted.

Judging by the specifications, Shrek's Martial Soul configuration was quite decent as well.

"The match has officially begun! We can see that the Phantom Star Elite Team is still motionless, seemingly waiting for the opposition to strike first."

The host provided commentary for the match.

Because this was a high-profile event, the arena had brought in a high-caliber host to call the play-by-play.

"Look at the other side, the Shrek Five Monsters are also holding their ground; it seems they also intend to counter-attack."

The fact that the host could forcefully narrate such a stalemate showed his deep professional skill.

More importantly, he spoke with such solemnity that the audience loved to listen.

"Wait, Shrek is making the first move!"

The host's voice suddenly spiked, becoming filled with excitement.

On the ring, Tang San struck first. Among everyone present, he was the only Control-type Soul Master; although his Blue Silver Grass control effects had been rendered quite pathetic through recent ordeals, it was still, at the very least, a control skill.

"Blue Silver Cage!"

"White Tiger Intense Light Wave!" "Phoenix Fire Line!"

Just as the Blue Silver Grass rose, two long-range attacks came hurtling toward them.

"Thick black smoke has filled the arena, making it impossible to see the situation inside for a moment!

But this preemptive strike is excellent; it seems Shrek came prepared."

Whether they were truly "prepared" was still up for debate.

From the audience's perspective, it certainly looked the part, and Shrek appeared to have the upper hand.

They had a chance to defeat Phantom Star.

Most of the spectators present were not watching a Phantom Star match for the first time; they had seen this kind of situation before, and in the end, nothing ever came of it.

Therefore, they looked upon this offensive with disdain.

"Seven Treasures Famous: First, Power; Second, Speed."

Ning Rongrong's voice rang out crisply from within the black smoke.

Two Soul-Breaking Blades struck from both sides toward the Shrek team, and it was only thanks to Tang San's quick reflexes that he flicked two hidden weapons to deflect their trajectory.

"Nine Yin White Bone Claw!"

Accompanying Zhu Zhuqing in her movements was Meng Yiran's puppet.

The two launched surprise attacks on Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun respectively.

"Damn it."

Compared to Ma Hongjun, who had few self-preservation skills, Dai Mubai was better off, possessing a barrier skill.

But even that thing couldn't hold up against the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, which was enhanced by first and second soul skills.

"Damn it."

Tang San cursed, hurriedly moving to fend off Zhu Zhuqing.

He was barely able to contend with Zhu Zhuqing, which just happened to buy enough time for Dai Mubai to eat a sausage.

After recovering slightly, he was basically ready to fight again.

"Interesting."

Against ordinary opponents without a recovery-type soul master, Zhu Zhuqing had never been able to fight to her heart's content.

Now, facing a "strong" punching bag with recovery abilities, her interest was piqued.

"Wow! Phantom Star Academy has launched a counterattack; they are completely fine!! Now the Master of Shadow Flow is fighting two people alone—how spectacular!"

Compared to Zhu Zhuqing's side, Xiao Wu did not support Ma Hongjun because the puppet's attacks could not reach the sky. After being ambushed, the fatty had soared into the air, leaving Meng Yiran with few options.

As for those Soul-Breaking Blades, they struggled to deal damage amidst the intense flames, so the two effectively neutralized each other.

She chose to launch a direct sneak attack instead.

"Bang."

Xiao Wu arrived at Meng Yiran's side, looked around, and realized she was the weakest in close-quarters combat.

"Trying to sneak attack, eh? Hehe."

The attack, of course, did not catch Meng Yiran off guard.

Meng Yiran retreated three steps, and the Mystic Turtle King soul master—Ruan Feng, who had previously failed to secure a spot—blocked the path beside her.

Originally, those who lost had no chance to come, but they all agreed that the arena needed a defensive soul master as a safety net.

And wasn't that proving useful right now?

"The situation on the field is changing in an instant! We can see that the Heaven-Battling Great Sage and the Mystic Turtle King have blocked a wave of attacks. Now it is the Great Sage and the Shadow Master pressing the opposition! Hey, the Charm Rabbit's sneak attack had no effect!!! The Mystic Turtle King is too tough!"

The host continued to commentate on the match.

"It seems the phoenix cannot hold on after all; the phoenix has turned into a ground-dweller, as its stamina can no longer keep up. Look, the puppet continues to close in, and the Thousand-Change Puppet is even stronger now, using both the puppet and flying knives simultaneously. The overall situation is all but decided."

Both sides had a tacit "understanding" not to attack each other's support members.

In reality, it was just that the Shrek side could not spare anyone to attack; Xiao Wu was blocked by Ruan Feng, and aside from Oscar, no one could find an opening.

"Ugh, why is it this situation again?"

Oscar frowned; he didn't want this at all. The memory of being whipped around like a spinning top last time was still fresh in his mind.

It hadn't been that long, and he certainly didn't want to become a spinning top again.

"Uwah."

Ning Rongrong yawned. She felt there was no point to this; her seniors all had opponents, but she was the only one without one.

"Junior brother, move aside, let me handle this."

Scanning the area, she didn't want to go to Zhu Zhuqing's battlefield—she still remembered the scene of being tossed around last time—and she couldn't steal the limelight from her junior sister on Meng Yiran's side.

So, that left only this rabbit as the easy target.