The news spread faster than Shen Yi had expected.
She had barely returned to the competitors' area when her communicator began ringing.
One call after another came from the teachers leading teams from various academies.
She did not answer. She switched her communicator to silent mode and slipped it into her pocket.
The announcement board above the arena lit up.
A new schedule appeared on the giant screen, with an extra line of small text at the bottom—Shrek Academy (exhibition matches, not included in rankings).
The stands fell silent for a moment.
Then discussions surged up like a tide.
"Shrek is competing? Wasn't it supposed to be an exhibition match?"
"Look carefully. They're not included in the rankings. They're just here to fight."
"Then aren't the other academies doomed? Fighting Shrek gets you nothing if you win, and humiliation if you lose."
"They aren't part of the rankings. What does winning or losing have to do with anything?"
"How does it not matter? Losing isn't embarrassing, but if you win, you beat Shrek!"
The discussions grew louder and louder.
In the competitors' area, the team leaders and students from the various academies stared at the announcement board, each wearing a different expression.
Skysea Academy's resting area.
The captain had just put away the fragment of his shield. When he looked up and saw the announcement board, another fragment slipped from his hand.
"Shrek... is fighting too?" His voice trembled slightly.
A teammate beside him patted his shoulder. "They aren't participating in the rankings. It has nothing to do with us."
The captain let out a breath, but stopped halfway through. "What if we end up facing them?"
No one answered.
The entire resting area was so quiet that they could hear the sound of waves.
Several girls gathered together, looking at the announcement board.
"Shrek..."
A girl with twin ponytails whispered, "I really want to fight them."
The teammate beside her tugged at her. "Are you crazy? That's Shrek." The twin-tailed girl said nothing, but her eyes shone brightly.
Haidong Academy's team leader was a middle-aged man with glasses. He pushed them up his nose and stared at the small words on the announcement board for a long time.
Then he turned to look at the tallest boy on his team.
"If we run into Shrek, don't be afraid." The boy nodded.
The team leader added, "Losing isn't shameful. But if you can hold on for one minute, that will be a victory."
The boy nodded again, though his hands were trembling.
Behind them, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi exchanged a glance.
In the farthest corner was Eastsea Academy's resting area.
Long Hengxu stood before the announcement board, and the expression on his face changed several times.
When he first saw the words "Shrek," his face went pale, and his first instinct was to protest to the organizers.
Then he saw the line beneath it—"exhibition matches, not included in rankings."
He froze.
He looked again.
Shrek was not participating in the rankings. In other words, they were not here to seize resources or spots. They were simply here to fight.
His face went from pale to red, then from red to green, before finally settling into an indescribable expression.
"Teacher Long?"
Tang Wulin stood beside him and asked carefully, "Is Shrek going to compete?"
Long Hengxu did not answer.
He stared at the announcement board, his thoughts racing.
Shrek not participating in the rankings meant Eastsea Academy's placement would not be affected.
But if Eastsea Academy could fight Shrek even once—even if they lost—the training value for the students would be greater than winning ten championships.
He took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at his students.
Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan.
The four children stood before him, each wearing a different expression.
"You've seen it."
Long Hengxu said, "Shrek is competing. Although they won't be included in the rankings, they will hold exhibition matches with different academies."
He paused. "We might face them."
Tang Wulin's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Xie Xie took a step back. "Teacher Long, you can't be serious, right?"
Xu Xiaoyan clutched the hem of her clothes, looking a little nervous.
Gu Yue stood at the back, her expression faint.
Her gaze passed over Long Hengxu and landed on the small words on the announcement board.
Long Hengxu looked at the team members' reactions and took a deep breath.
"Whoever faces Shrek, none of you are allowed to chicken out."
Tang Wulin was the first to nod. "Yes!"
Xie Xie pulled a long face. "Yes..."
Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue said nothing, but both nodded.
"This is a very good opportunity. It will let you see the gap in strength clearly."
Wu Zhangkong strolled over slowly, holding a small stack of papers.
His expression was the same as always, cold as ice, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
He distributed the information to the four children, one copy each.
Tang Wulin took the papers and lowered his head for a look.
The first page was an overall introduction to Shrek's representative team, with the names of eight people listed on it.
He skimmed it, and his gaze stopped on the third line.
"Yun Jingheng, ten years old, three-ringed Soul Elder. Martial Soul: Moonlight Sword (specific grade unknown). Soul Rings: two purple, one black."
Tang Wulin froze.
He rubbed his eyes and read it again.
A three-ringed Soul Elder... at ten years old?
He instinctively looked up at Gu Yue. She was reading the information with her head lowered, her expression faint and completely unreactive.
He then looked at Xie Xie, whose mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.
"Th-three rings?"
Even Xie Xie's voice had changed pitch. "A ten-year-old Soul Elder? Is he even human?"
Tang Wulin lowered his head and read the information again.
Two purple rings, one black ring—two thousand-year soul rings and one ten-thousand-year soul ring.
His hand trembled slightly.
He thought of how hard he had trained to reach this point, only having just broken through to two rings.
That boy, about the same age as him, was already at three rings—and even possessed a ten-thousand-year soul ring.
Xu Xiaoyan stood nearby, her grip on her clothes tightening further.
"Yun Jingheng... I think I've heard that name somewhere before." She spoke softly.
Xie Xie turned to her. "You've heard it? Where?"
Xu Xiaoyan thought for a moment, and her face suddenly changed.
"The Spirit Ascension Platform! A year ago, he was the one who cleaved that Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear in half with a single sword strike!" She sucked in a cold breath after saying it.
Xie Xie's expression changed as well.
He remembered the riot in the Spirit Ascension Platform a year ago, when the members of Zero Class had been wiped out by a hundred-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
Gu Yue had been sent flying, and Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi had been sent flying too.
Later, he had heard that the bear had been cut apart by a boy with one sword strike, but he had never known who it was.
Now he knew.
"Cleaving a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear apart with one sword strike..."
Xie Xie's voice was dry. "He only had two rings back then, right?"
No one answered him.
Tang Wulin gripped the information so tightly that his fingers turned white. He remembered that day at the Spirit Ascension Platform—the boy who had rushed out of the woods, chased by the bear and looking utterly bedraggled.
He had thought that boy was about the same as him, perhaps even weaker.
But now he knew that boy had cleaved apart the bear that had wiped out their entire group.
He took a deep breath and continued reading.
Ye Xinglan, ten years old, two rings, Soul Grandmaster. Martial Soul: Stargod Sword. Soul Rings: two purple.
He skimmed the information on the others. They all had two rings, and most of their soul rings were yellow.
But that boy's profile was simply too eye-catching, like a blaze that made his eyes hurt.
"You've all seen it?" Wu Zhangkong's icy voice came from above them.
The four children raised their heads, each with a different expression.
Tang Wulin looked shocked but slightly unconvinced. Xie Xie's entire face said, "I don't want to fight." Xu Xiaoyan was too nervous to speak.
Gu Yue stood at the back, her expression still faint, but her gaze lingered briefly on Yun Jingheng's name.
"A ten-year-old Soul Elder."
Wu Zhangkong said, "How many years has it been since the entire continent last produced one?"
He glanced at Tang Wulin. "Do you know what that means?"
Tang Wulin said nothing.
Of course he knew.
It meant that person was a true genius—not the kind of genius who was merely a little stronger than others, but the kind that others could never catch up to.
Yet he still wanted to try.
"I'm not afraid," Tang Wulin said. His voice was not loud, but it was firm.
Xie Xie muttered quietly beside him, "You may not be scared, but I am..."
Wu Zhangkong glanced at Xie Xie, and Xie Xie immediately shut his mouth.
"In these exhibition matches, you may face Shrek."
Wu Zhangkong said, "I'm not asking you to win. I'm asking you to see the gap clearly."
Tang Wulin gripped the information without speaking.
Xie Xie lowered his head, Xu Xiaoyan clutched her clothes, and Gu Yue stood at the back with a faint expression.
Long Hengxu listened from the side without saying anything.
He looked at Wu Zhangkong, then at the children.
He suddenly felt that this Sky Sea Grand Competition was far more important than he had imagined.
"Do your best."
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