Dai Mubai's Rebellious Streak, Lin Chuan: I'll Step In!

The Shrek Seven Devils stood on the training grounds, staring at the seven bamboo baskets filled with stones before them, exchanging bewildered looks.

"Carry them on your backs. Run from the academy to Suotuo City, then run back."

Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands behind his back, his expression stern.

"This is to train your physical fitness and willpower. Soul Power is forbidden."

Everyone looked at one another, their expressions quite colorful.

Flender had organized this sort of weighted run before.

Back then, they had thought it was manageable, though exhausting.

Only Ning Rongrong had failed to complete it.

But ever since experiencing Lin Chuan's "Gravity Special Training"...

Training with stones on their backs was practically child's play.

The Gravity Field had crushed them from every direction.

Every inch of muscle, every bone, even their Soul Power, had to struggle beneath extreme pressure.

It was simply incomparable to this straightforward weighted run.

Oscar muttered quietly, "Isn't this a little too childish?"

Ma Hongjun waggled his eyebrows. "Shh. Leave Grandmaster some dignity. He's Third Brother's teacher, after all."

Though everyone grumbled inwardly and felt this was a waste of time...

Out of respect for Tang San, they still silently hoisted the bamboo baskets onto their backs.

However, one person did not move.

Dai Mubai.

He stared coldly at the basket on the ground, then kicked it over. Stones rolled everywhere.

"I'm not participating."

His icy voice landed heavily across the training grounds.

Yu Xiaogang's brow twitched sharply. "Dai Mubai, are you trying to defy your teacher's orders?"

"I respect you as Tang San's teacher, but that doesn't mean I have to play this childish game with you."

Dai Mubai looked Yu Xiaogang straight in the eye.

"This inefficient training is nothing but a waste of my life."

Ever since being slapped away by Lin Chuan...

And then witnessing firsthand Lin Chuan's unfathomable strength among those of the same rank...

The pride in Dai Mubai's heart had long since been shattered.

In its place was a profound sense of crisis.

If he did not risk his life, if he did not undergo that kind of hellish training that remade him from the ground up...

Forget catching up to Lin Chuan—he would not even be qualified to look up at Lin Chuan's back!

"I want to become stronger. What I want is extreme pressure, not running around with a few lousy stones on my back!"

Dai Mubai's voice was low and suppressed.

"If this is the extent of your teaching ability, then I request to train alone."

Those words were like a resounding slap, viciously striking the authority Yu Xiaogang had only just established.

The entire field fell silent.

Tang San was caught in the middle, awkward beyond words.

He wanted to defend his teacher. He opened his mouth, only to realize he had nothing to say.

Because Dai Mubai was telling the truth.

For someone like him, already accustomed to the Gravity Field...

This sort of training truly was as simple and bland as drinking water.

Could his teacher's theories really have become outdated?

A rebellious thought flashed through Tang San's mind, and he immediately talked himself out of it.

No, Teacher must have his reasons!

Just as the stalemate grew increasingly tense, Lin Chuan, who had been leaning against a tree and yawning, frowned.

Watching this chaotic scene, he felt somewhat displeased.

Yu Xiaogang was handling this far too inefficiently.

If Xiao San trained slowly, the system would give him fewer rewards.

Cutting off someone's income was like murdering their parents.

"Enough."

Lin Chuan spoke lazily.

His voice was not loud, yet everyone fell silent.

He slowly walked over.

He glanced at the stones on the ground, then at Yu Xiaogang's livid face, and said evenly,

"Grandmaster, your theoretical foundation is solid, but when it comes to practical training, you really can't keep up with the pace of these Little Monsters."

Yu Xiaogang was just about to retort.

What did a brat like Lin Chuan know?

But Lin Chuan did not give him the chance.

He turned directly to Dai Mubai. "Little Bai, you want to fight, right? Easy."

His gaze swept across the group.

"Starting today, no more carrying stones."

"Everyone, go to Suotuo City's Great Soul Arena."

"There is only one goal: obtain Silver Soul Fighting Badges in the shortest possible time."

"And you must win every team battle!"

The moment those words came out, the gloom in Dai Mubai's eyes vanished.

It was replaced by feverish excitement. "Good!"

Ma Hongjun and Oscar joined in as well.

"Now this is special training! Fighting is way more fun!"

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly, clearly approving more of this kind of practical tempering.

Even Xiao Wu instinctively looked toward Lin Chuan.

Her eyes were filled with trust.

Ever since they had left the Star Dou Forest, she had truly come to see Lin Chuan as her big brother!

Yu Xiaogang stood where he was.

Watching this group of students instantly switch sides, he trembled with rage.

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!"

He pointed at Lin Chuan, his finger shaking.

"They're still so young! They just went through a life-and-death ordeal. What they need most now is time to settle down!"

"You want them to go to a place as mixed and dangerous as the Soul Fighting Arena? Who will take responsibility if something happens? This is forcing seedlings to grow!"

He turned to Flender, hoping his old friend would step forward to support him.

Flender adjusted his glasses and coughed lightly.

"Ahem, well, Xiao Gang, I actually think Lin Chuan has a point."

"And you know the academy's funds have been a little tight lately."

"If the children go to the Soul Fighting Arena, they can gain practical combat experience and earn some tuition money. It's killing two birds with one stone."

Yu Xiaogang stared at Flender in disbelief.

Even you have betrayed me?

In truth, Flender understood the situation perfectly well.

During this trip to the forest, the judgment and strength Lin Chuan had displayed had long surpassed even him, the academy headmaster.

Following Lin Chuan meant there was meat to eat. That was a merchant's instinct.

Suotuo City, Great Soul Arena.

Though Yu Xiaogang was full of anger, he still came along.

He was worried.

He believed that with the wisdom of the Golden Iron Triangle, he could always offer the children some guidance in terms of overall strategy.

Flender was somewhat helpless.

He did not know why Yu Xiaogang insisted on competing with Lin Chuan.

Weren't Lin Chuan and Tang San on good terms?

Very soon...

When Yu Xiaogang saw the opponent Lin Chuan had chosen for the Shrek Seven Devils, he nearly fainted on the spot.

"The Ferocious God Team?!"

Yu Xiaogang stared at the information in his hand, his voice going shrill.

"Their average Soul Power is close to level forty? And every one of them is a Silver Soul Fighter?"

"This is completely beyond what they can handle right now! This is sending them to their deaths!"

The Ferocious God Team.

They were a team that had only recently arrived at Suotuo City's Soul Fighting Arena.

At first, they had been underestimated, but a single match had made them famous.

Because their opponents had ended horribly.

They had been beaten into bloody pulp!

Some teams refused to believe it and suffered the same fate!

Only in the end did everyone learn that this was a team rejected by other cities!

Not only were they powerful, they were also notorious for their brutality.

Their creed was Mad Dog Tactics, and their opponents were often killed or crippled.

Unable to find anyone willing to fight them, they could only change locations and strike somewhere else!

After learning the Ferocious God Team's true nature, the other teams in Suotuo City refused to fight them as well, leaving them without any matches for some time.

"Lin Chuan! Have you lost your mind?"

Yu Xiaogang shouted at Lin Chuan.

"This team has blood all over their hands, and you want Tang San and the others to face killing machines like them?"

Lin Chuan was chatting and laughing with the arena supervisor.

At those words, he merely glanced at Yu Xiaogang indifferently.

"If they don't see blood, how will they mature? What's the point of always fighting those lukewarm matches?"

"This isn't seeing blood. This is sending them to their deaths!"

Yu Xiaogang was so anxious that his face and neck turned red.

"I absolutely refuse to agree! As their teacher, I have the right to veto this match!"

At that moment, the Shrek Seven Devils also wore grave expressions.

They had read the Ferocious God Team's information. They truly were powerful—powerful enough to suffocate them.

That overwhelming aura of bloodshed left them uncertain as well.

Just as their morale began to waver...

Lin Chuan dusted off his hands and spoke calmly.

"I'll step in for this match."

A simple sentence, just eight words.

The tension that had filled the team moments ago...

Instantly vanished without a trace.