On the other side, He Caitou had been planning to come find Huo Yuhao, but when he saw that this group was already full, he awkwardly stopped in his tracks.
He scratched his head, wearing a helpless, wry smile, but could only accept reality and start looking for other possible teammates.
Ji Jing's gaze swept over He Caitou, but he made no move to recruit him.
He had his calculations all worked out:
He wanted to become Little Scumbag's son-in-law, so getting into the Shrek Seven Devils was a must.
But when it came to teammates, he still wanted to choose according to his own standards.
Wang Dong was Little Scumbag's daughter, so she had to be on the team. No question.
Xu Sanshi was strong enough on his own.
Beibei was Mu En's great-grandson, so he was something of a legacy pick. Besides, the strength of his Radiant Sacred Dragon bloodline was on par with Xu Sanshi's Black Tortoise Bloodline, making him the team's main attacker.
Xiao Xiao had the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and the Nine-Phoenix Flute as her Twin Martial Souls. She had enormous potential and, with the right training, would become a powerful controller and support.
As for Jiang Nannan...
Though her individual ability wasn't among the very best of the core disciples, she did have the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul, didn't she?
It was the same as his future mother-in-law's. That alone meant he had to save her a spot.
This lineup was perfect.
Whether the teammates were perfect was anyone's guess, but with Ji Jing on the team, it was perfect.
Seeing that the teams below had more or less assembled, Xuan Zi stopped stalling. He took a hearty swig from the wine gourd in his hand, and his voice rang through the entire Soul Fighting Zone like a great bell:
"Begin!"
At his command, fighting spirit erupted in an instant!
Dozens of powerful Soul Power auras shot into the sky, and Soul Rings of every color shone together. An unprecedented all-out battle among the Inner Court elites was about to begin.
Yet just as the tension reached its peak, Ji Jing stepped forward and calmly said to the six people behind him:
"Get behind me."
Though puzzled, they trusted Ji Jing completely and immediately did as he asked, quickly forming a line behind him.
Ji Jing slowly raised his left fist. In an instant, blazing golden flames roared to life, enveloping his entire arm.
Next, three purple Soul Rings and one black Soul Ring suddenly rose from beneath his feet. Their deep colors and surging auras made every student about to attack nearby feel a chill of dread.
And that wasn't all!
The next moment, his first and second Thousand-Year Soul Rings flashed three times in rapid succession, defying all reason!
First Soul Skill, Blazing Sun Ascent! Stacked three times!
Second Soul Skill, Solar Impact! Stacked three times!
A terrifying amount of energy instantly gathered in his flaming left fist.
"BOOM—!!!"
Without rushing at a single student, Ji Jing's fist plunged into the impossibly hard granite floor of the Soul Fighting Arena at a speed the naked eye couldn't follow.
For a second, the whole world seemed to freeze.
Then, before anyone could react, Ji Jing's Soul Rings flashed three more times in the same way. Another surge of energy, boosted to its absolute limit, erupted into the arm already buried in the ground!
"Up!"
With a low shout, the entire Soul Fighting Arena shattered and burst apart, as if an ancient beast had flipped it over from beneath the earth.
A super-earthquake seemed to erupt before him!
Terrifying shock waves fanned out in every direction. Countless tons of boulders and rubble were hurled into the air by the raging force, like an apocalyptic meteor shower, sweeping toward the horrified core disciples!
"Kid, watch where you're swinging that thing!"
Xuan Zi's usually half-lidded eyes were now wide open!
He hadn't expected the kid to start by tearing down the entire Soul Fighting Zone!
He flashed forward, appearing in front of all the students in an instant. His formidable Soul Power formed an invisible barrier, blocking the cataclysmic shock wave and boulders.
"Rumble..."
The rubble pelted the barrier like raindrops, each impact producing a muffled boom.
The dust settled.
Aside from the area where Ji Jing and the other six stood, the entire Soul Fighting Zone was in ruins, battered and broken as far as the eye could see.
Every core disciple stared in shock at the youth who had withdrawn his fist as if he'd done nothing more than swat a fly. Their eyes were full of fear and disbelief.
Xuan Zi drew a deep breath, suppressing his own shock, then announced in a low voice:
"You seven, stay. Everyone else can leave."
The students who had escaped unharmed felt as if a great burden had been lifted. Their faces pale, they no longer dared even glance at Ji Jing and fled from the place that had nearly scared them out of their wits.
Only after everyone had left did Xuan Zi land in front of Ji Jing, glaring and stroking his beard as he said irritably:
"What were you trying to do, kid? Tear down the Soul Fighting Zone?"
Ji Jing shrugged indifferently and spread his hands.
"I didn't think an all-out brawl was necessary. We could just get it over with quickly. Would the result have changed no matter how we fought?"
His words left Xuan Zi speechless.
He was right. Judging by the strength the kid had just shown, these students—or even twice as many—would have been crushed all the same.
No matter how complicated the process, the result wouldn't have changed.
Xuan Zi was at a loss for words for a long moment. In the end, he could only wave a hand in resignation.
"All right. Same time tomorrow. You seven, meet here. Go back and rest for today!"
After everyone left, Xuan Zi muttered to himself helplessly:
"Sigh... Those little ones are probably going to be traumatized now. I'll have to send people to talk each of them through it, or we might scare the talent right out of them..."
The seven walked shoulder to shoulder along the tree-lined paths of Shrek Academy. Behind them, the Soul Fighting Zone had been sealed off pending repairs. The scene of utter devastation from earlier still had Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, and the others' hearts pounding. They couldn't calm down even after all this time.
"Gulp."
Xu Sanshi swallowed with difficulty, breaking the silence first.
He hurried a few steps to Ji Jing's side and said:
"Ji Jing—no, big bro! From today on, you're my own big brother, Xu Sanshi!"
"That move just now was insanely awesome! I'd bet that even the current official Shrek Seven Devils team couldn't pull off a punch like that!"
His tone was full of certainty, as if he were stating an indisputable fact.
Before Ji Jing could answer, Wang Dong, walking on the other side, lifted her chin. Her beautiful azure eyes gleamed.
"Of course! Even if the official team had been standing opposite us today, with Ji Jing on our side, we'd still have won!"
Her words brimmed with absolute trust in Ji Jing, and this time no one thought she was exaggerating.
The power of that punch had already surpassed their understanding of Soul Ancestors, and even Soul Kings or Soul Emperors.
Beibei smiled warmly and suggested at just the right moment:
"We finished early today, which is a good thing in its own way. How about the seven of us go grab a meal together to celebrate? I know a nice place, and Xiao Ya happens to work there."
Everyone immediately agreed.
After such an unusual selection, they really needed somewhere to unwind and, while they were at it, process the shock of what they'd just witnessed.
As they chatted about the scene from earlier, the mood gradually lightened.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the little shop Beibei had mentioned.
The shop wasn't large, but it was clean and tastefully decorated. The air was filled with the aroma of food and the fragrance of desserts, making it popular with students from Shrek Academy.
The seven found a large table by the window and sat down. Each of them ordered something to eat according to their own tastes.
Before you continue