One Person Fights a Team

"Shrek Academy only sent four main team members?"

Inside the conference room, the team members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy exchanged glances, followed by a burst of hushed discussion.

The team leader of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, who sat in the center, had white hair and a beard. He was tall and broad-shouldered, yet his eyes were as sharp as a falcon's. He pressed his hand down, and the room immediately fell silent.

"This is the confirmed information from the Star Luo Empire's official registry," Elder Ma's voice deepened. "Shrek Academy only registered eleven contestants this time. Seven of them are under fifteen years old, which means they only brought four main team members; the rest are all from the reserve team."

"Only eleven people? Who does Shrek think they are looking down on?"

"They dare to enter the competition with only four main members? Do they think they can win relying solely on the reserves?"

"Even if they have held the championship for ten thousand years, this is far too arrogant."

Elder Ma did not stop his team members' discussion; instead, he sneered, "You are right. Shrek Academy is completely disregarding our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. In their eyes, they don't even need to use their full strength to defeat us."

His voice rose sharply, "Tell me, can you tolerate this?"

"No!" several members shouted indignantly.

"Then use your strength to make them shut up. Let Shrek Academy know that there is a price to pay for looking down on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy."

"Elder Ma is right." A youth sitting at the head of the reserve team suddenly spoke lazily, "However, I personally think that Shrek might not be looking down on us this time."

The speaker was a youth who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. His short, silver-white hair shimmered with a metallic luster under the lights, and his face was delicate, with a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

The person speaking was none other than Xiao Hongchen, the captain of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's reserve team.

Elder Ma frowned, "Xiao Hongchen, what do you mean?"

"Elder Ma, think about it," Xiao Hongchen leaned back in his chair, carelessly crossing his legs. "Shrek Academy may be arrogant, but they have never been fools. They haven't suppressed us for ten thousand years by relying on hubris. Sending only eleven people to compete this time, with only four main members—this doesn't look like arrogance; it looks more like something went wrong."

The conference room fell silent for a moment. Compared to arrogance, they found Xiao Hongchen's reasoning more plausible.

He continued, "Either there was a personnel issue, or something happened on the way. Regardless, it certainly isn't because they look down on us. Shrek wouldn't gamble their ten-thousand-year winning streak just to be arrogant. After all—they are Shrek. Arrogance aside, they still have the strength."

Elder Ma's face flushed slightly. He had thought the same, but he had only wanted to boost his team's morale. "You make a fair point. But that is not important. Regardless of why Shrek only has eleven people left, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. They only have four main members; for us, who have been suppressed for a thousand years, this is a rare chance."

"Next, I will assign our lineup."

The next morning, as the sunlight just crested the walls of Star Luo City, the entire city was already boiling with excitement.

The vast Soul Fighting Platform square in front of the Star Luo Empire's imperial palace was large enough to accommodate over two hundred thousand spectators.

All the surrounding streets were sealed off by soldiers in bright armor; only academy teams with entry credentials and spectators with tickets were allowed to pass.

At this moment, His Majesty the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire was watching the battle from the palace walls alongside his civil and military officials.

Early in the morning, the team leaders of the various academies arrived at the imperial palace to draw lots.

By the time the audience was admitted, the Shrek group had already arrived in the contestant area.

After the Star Luo Emperor announced the start of the competition as he did every year, the echoes of the ceremonial cannons had not yet faded before the roar of two hundred thousand spectators crashed against the walls of the Soul Fighting Platform like a tidal wave.

"There are a total of one hundred and thirty-three advanced soul master and soul engineer academies registered for this competition. After the draw, one academy has received a bye in the first round. Now, the first match is about to begin. The two sides are the representative team from the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy of the Dou Ling Empire, and the representative team from the continent's number one academy, Shrek Academy."

When the host made the announcement, the entire square erupted in thunderous cheers.

"Shrek—Shrek—!"

The waves of sound grew higher and higher. From the highest seats to the front row, countless spectators waved their flags, shouting in unison the name that was carved into their very bones. The glory of a ten-thousand-year winning streak had long since branded the name "Shrek" into the heart of everyone following the tournament.

However, not everyone was immersed in the cheering.

In the Shrek Academy contestant lounge, the atmosphere was completely at odds with the fanaticism in the square.

The members of the reserve team were encountering such a situation for the first time, and everyone's face was somewhat pale. Even though they knew they had Lin Shuo, Ling Luochen, and Gongyang Mo as a safety net, they were still nervous.

Just as Wang Yan was about to announce the lineup, a calm voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Teacher Wang."

Everyone's gaze turned toward the source of the voice.

Lin Shuo looked around at each member of the reserve team and then spoke, "For this match, I will go up alone."

The lounge fell silent for a moment.

"Lin Shuo, what did you say?" Wang Yan thought he had misheard.

"I said, I will go up alone for this match." Lin Shuo's tone was as flat as if he were stating something perfectly ordinary. "The strength of the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy doesn't require us to expend much manpower. Rather than having everyone go up just to walk through the motions, I might as well finish it myself. The faster, the better. You all can just stand by the side of the platform and watch."

"Let me show you that they aren't such a big deal."

The lounge was quiet for a moment. If these words had come from anyone else, they would have sounded like empty boasting. But coming from Lin Shuo, they carried a sense of self-evident certainty, as if the outcome had been decided before the battle even began.

"But—" Wang Yan wanted to say more; after all, if they lost this match, Shrek Academy would be eliminated immediately!

"Teacher Wang," Ma Xiaotao said from the side, a playful smile on her lips, "let him go."

Wang Yan was silent for a moment before finally nodding, "Fine. You go."

Lin Shuo nodded, turned, and walked toward the competition platform.

The moment Lin Shuo stepped onto the platform, the cheers in the square reached their peak. The spectators in the stands waved their flags, shouting Shrek's name in unison, the sound sweeping across the square like a tsunami.

However, soon, confusion and discussion began to mingle with the cheers.

"What's going on? Why did only one person come out from Shrek?"

"Where are the others? Are they really going to send just one person?"

"Are they kidding! This is an elimination tournament, a one-match-decides-all elimination tournament!"

Under the gaze of over two hundred thousand eyes, Lin Shuo walked onto the Soul Fighting Platform alone. Sunlight spilled down from above, plating the edges of his silver-white robes with a pale gold light. He walked to the center of the platform and stood still, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his expression as calm as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.