The kids wanted to stir things up, and there was nothing he could do about it. He'd let them have their way. He could always bail them out, so there was no need to worry.
"Let's welcome the hottest rising stars in the arena lately, the Phantom Star Elite Team!"
The host's impassioned voice stirred the crowd's excitement.
"Now making their long-awaited return are the avengers, the Shrek Five Monsters!"
The crowd's cheers were even louder than before. From the audience's perspective, who didn't love a story full of conflict? And who didn't love a tale of revenge?
"Third Brother, how should we fight this?"
Facing Phantom Star, all five Shrek members except Ma Hongjun and Tang San were a little apprehensive.
"Wow, is the other team really all girls? They're so beautiful. I'd love to get with them."
Some things didn't need much elaboration to be understood. Facing a team of two men and five women—a team with beauties gathered together—Ma Hongjun felt his Evil Fire flare up.
"Let's stick to our usual plan, but take out the ones who look weaker first..."
Tang San was at a loss, too. He didn't know how they should fight this match. Zhu Zhuqing and the others gave him the answer.
"Wow! ⊙∀⊙!"
"What's happening up there? Members of the Phantom Star Team are jumping off the stage of their own accord?"
Except for one boy, the other two girls jumped off the stage without hesitation. It looked like a provocation—and, of course, that was part of the point.
"What do you mean by this? Are you provoking us?" Tang San stepped in front of the furious Dai Mubai and spoke first.
Dai Mubai was already seeing red. If Tang San hadn't been holding him back, he would have charged straight into their formation without thinking and gotten eliminated in a group beating.
As the Elite Team's captain, Zhu Zhuqing was the obvious choice to speak. Hearing Tang San's question, she replied calmly, "You only have five people. We don't want anyone saying we won unfairly."
There was confidence—and arrogance—in Zhu Zhuqing's tone.
She and the Shrek members looked like they came from two entirely different worlds.
"You!"
Dai Mubai was furious, while Ma Hongjun had already started hurling obscenities.
Tang San's face darkened. He was one step away from declaring that they had earned a death sentence.
"Unleash your Martial Souls."
Zhu Zhuqing ignored the commotion across from her. She paid no mind to their stares, remaining as cool and indifferent as if she were facing any ordinary opponent.
"Whoosh."
Compared to one-on-one fights, team battles were even more in Phantom Star's comfort zone.
Those remaining on the stage were the core disciples and a single turtle—someone whose job was to soak up damage.
So when Shrek saw the opposing lineup, their faces darkened even further.
They hadn't gotten this information. They had assumed they would mainly be facing the four core disciples. They hadn't expected such a well-rounded lineup.
And Phantom Star had even let two people sit out.
"Brothers, let's show our Martial Souls too!" Dai Mubai shouted through gritted teeth.
On paper, Shrek's Martial Soul lineup was pretty good, too.
"The match is officially underway! As you can see, the Phantom Star Elite Team still hasn't made a move. It seems they're waiting for their opponents to attack first."
The host began commentating on the match.
Given the immense attention this fight had attracted, the arena had brought in a top-tier host to call it.
"Looking at the other side, the Shrek Five Monsters haven't moved either. It seems they're also waiting to counter their opponents."
The host's skill was impressive enough to provide commentary even in a situation like this.
More importantly, he delivered it with a straight face, and the audience loved it.
"Wait, Shrek is making the first move!"
The host's voice suddenly rose, brimming with excitement.
On the stage, Tang San made the first move. He was the only control-type Soul Master present. Though Blue Silver Grass had been messed with until its control abilities were pretty weak, it still counted as a control skill.
"Blue Silver Cage!"
"White Tiger Intense Light Wave!" "Phoenix Fire Line!"
The moment the Blue Silver Grass sprang up, two ranged attacks came hurtling toward them.
"Thick black smoke has filled the arena, and we can't see what's happening inside!
But what a great opening attack! It seems Shrek came prepared."
Whether they had really come prepared was debatable.
From the audience's point of view, it certainly looked that way. Shrek had the upper hand.
They had a chance to defeat Phantom Star.
But most of the audience had seen Phantom Star fight before. They'd seen situations like this in the past, only for nothing to happen in the end.
So they didn't think much of this attack.
"Seven Treasures Famous: First, strength; second, speed..."
Ning Rongrong's clear voice rang out through the black smoke.
Two Soul-Breaking Blades flew toward the Shrek team from either side. Fortunately, Tang San reacted quickly, flicking two Hidden Weapons to knock them off course.
"Nine Yin White Bone Claw!"
Meng Yiran's puppet moved alongside Zhu Zhuqing.
The two of them each launched a surprise attack on Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun.
"(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻"
Unlike Ma Hongjun, who had no real self-defense skills, Dai Mubai had a barrier skill to protect him.
But even that couldn't withstand the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, which was empowered by the first and second Soul Skills.
"Damn it."
Tang San cursed and hurried to intercept Zhu Zhuqing.
He could just barely hold his own against her, buying Dai Mubai enough time to eat a sausage.
After recovering a little, Dai Mubai was more or less back in fighting shape.
"Interesting."
Against ordinary opponents, who didn't have a recovery-type Soul Master, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't fight to her heart's content.
Now she was facing a huge punching bag with "powerful" recovery abilities, and she was getting excited.
"Wow! The Phantom Star Academy has launched a counterattack, and they're completely unharmed!
Now Master of Shadow Flow is taking on two opponents alone. What a fight!"
Compared to Zhu Zhuqing's battle, Xiao Wu didn't go to Ma Hongjun's aid. The puppet couldn't attack opponents in the air, so after the ambush, the chubby man had taken off into the sky at top speed. There wasn't much Meng Yiran could do about that.
The Soul-Breaking Blades also struggled to deal any damage in the face of Ma Hongjun's raging flames, so the two of them canceled each other out.
That left Xiao Wu to launch a direct attack.
"Bang."
Xiao Wu reached Meng Yiran's side and looked around. Meng Yiran was the weakest in close combat.
"Trying to sneak up on me? Heh."
The attack didn't catch Meng Yiran off guard.
Meng Yiran backed away three paces, while the turtle Soul Master—Ruan Feng, who had earlier failed to win a spot on the team—stepped in beside her.
Normally, losing would have meant he had no chance of joining them, but they had all agreed the arena needed a defensive Soul Master as a safety net.
And now, wasn't he coming in handy?
"The situation is changing by the second! We can see that the Heaven-Battling Great Sage and the Mystic Turtle King have blocked an attack.
Now the Great Sage and Master of Shadow Flow are pressing their opponents!
Oh! Charm Rabbit's sneak attack didn't work! The Mystic Turtle King is too tough!"
The host continued commentating on the match.
"Looks like the phoenix finally can't hold on. He's reverted to running around on foot—he's run out of stamina.
Look! The puppet keeps pressing in close. The Thousand-Change Puppet has gotten even stronger, using the puppet and throwing flying knives at the same time. The outcome is all but decided!"
Both sides showed great "understanding" by not attacking the support members.
In reality, Shrek simply couldn't spare anyone to go after them. Xiao Wu was being held off by Ruan Feng, and aside from Oscar, no one had a free moment.
"Uh, why is it this situation again?"
Oscar frowned. He really didn't want to go through this again. The memory of being spun around like a top last time was still fresh.
It hadn't been long, and he didn't want to suddenly become a top again.
"Waaah."
Ning Rongrong yawned. She thought this was boring. Her senior brothers and sisters all had opponents, while she had none at all.
"Junior, move aside. I'll take this one."
After looking around, she didn't want to join Zhu Zhuqing's fight; she still remembered how she'd been put through the wringer last time. And she couldn't exactly steal the spotlight from her junior sister, Meng Yiran.
That left the rabbit. She should be an easy opponent to deal with.
Before you continue