Shrek Seven Monsters Challenge Tournament

After Na'er and Gu Yue left, Tang Wulin returned to the house where Gu Yue lived and, sure enough, found Yun Ming with a gloomy expression.

Yun Ming had clearly already spoken with Na'er. Though furious inside, he did not lash out, merely asking in a deep voice, "You went to the outskirts?"

Tang Wulin nodded. "Ling Zichen was there. There won't be any problem."

Yun Ming seemed to want to say something, but ultimately kept silent. He only tossed out one sentence: "Tomorrow, you will attend the challenge tournament as the leader of the Shrek Seven Monsters."

With that, he left.

Tang Wulin was somewhat puzzled. He had never heard of any challenge tournament in his previous life.

Only after asking Xie Xie did he learn that this had been introduced after Shrek Academy's reforms in recent years.

The Sea God Pavilion directly selected the Shrek Seven Monsters, but during the five years after their selection, a challenge tournament was held once every year. Any confident student from the Inner or Outer Court under the age of twenty-five could challenge the Shrek Seven Monsters.

If they succeeded, they could replace them and become a new generation of Shrek Seven Monsters, then accept challenges from others as the new generation for the next five years.

This was meant to raise the students' enthusiasm for cultivation and pressure the Shrek Seven Monsters, preventing them from enjoying the Academy's preferential resources without striving to improve.

Two years ago, Elder Cai had brought the seven of them back to Shrek. The Sea God Pavilion directly announced that Gu Yue and the others were the Shrek Seven Monsters, while also making this rule and tournament format public.

The challenge tournament had two formats: individual battles and team battles.

Challengers could choose to face one of the Shrek Seven Monsters in a one-on-one duel. If successful, they could replace that person and become one of the new Seven Monsters.

Alternatively, challengers could form a seven-person team and face the Shrek Seven Monsters together. If they won, the challengers' team would directly replace the original seven and become the new generation of Shrek Seven Monsters.

Previously, Gu Yue had led the others into battle. Every one of them had given it their all, withstood the pressure, and defended their positions as the Shrek Seven Monsters.

After ending the call, a faint smile crossed Tang Wulin's face.

Interesting.

The next day.

The Academy attached great importance to the challenge tournament and specially arranged a venue every year.

Seven tall platforms rose from the vast plaza—those were the positions of the Seven Monsters.

Early in the morning, many students had already gathered around them.

No grades held classes on the day of the challenge tournament.

At the same time, whether celebrating the original Seven Monsters defending their titles or congratulating the new generation of Seven Monsters, all public facilities in the Academy were free on that day.

Even setting those things aside, merely being able to watch the most outstanding people of their generation spar with one another and display their full strength was already a rare opportunity for Shrek's other students.

"The Seven Monsters are here!" someone shouted.

A dragon's roar sounded first. Amid interweaving light and shadows, a slender figure landed on a platform and sat cross-legged, one arm resting on his knee as he lazily propped up his face.

"The Space-Time Dragon is so handsome!" some girls screamed.

Then the sky darkened as dense dark Elements and demonic energy spread through the air. Yuanen had none of those flashy tricks. She simply appeared on her platform and glanced down at the crowd below.

Someone stared at her in a daze, indignantly saying, "...Who the hell gave such a beauty a Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul?"

Light flared, dispelling the darkness. Powerful Sacred Light washed over the dark energy as a pair of pure white wings beat. Yue Zhengyu landed elegantly on his platform.

Beside him, a round and plump person bounced onto the neighboring platform. Yue Zhengyu's perfect expression stiffened. The corner of his mouth twitched as he whispered, "Didn't I tell you to come up later?"

Xu Lizhi scratched his head. "Oh, I forgot."

Yue Zhengyu rolled his eyes. Too lazy to keep up the act, he simply sat down.

Then two brilliant starlights suddenly lit up. One was filled with vast, razor-sharp force, while the other carried a mysterious aura.

Amid flickering starlight, Xu Xiaoyan and Ye Xinglan took their places.

Everyone's gaze focused on the vacant central position.

At that moment, a deep dragon's roar echoed between heaven and earth. The terrifying pressure and inviolable majesty made every person present with a beast Martial Soul lower their head involuntarily.

Golden light burst forth, piercing the heavens and tearing through space. A figure stepped across the void and leisurely stood atop the central platform. He lowered his eyes to overlook the crowd, like a king gazing down upon the world.

When he came to a stop, the other six all rose to their feet, surprise flashing through their eyes.

They knew Tang Wulin was strong, but they had never expected that over these three years, the gap between them would only grow wider.

"Is he... a Title Dououluo?" someone below asked weakly.

"How old is he? That's impossible!" someone instinctively retorted.

Others noticed something was off. "This person is... Gu Yue's boyfriend? Then where is Gu Yue, the original leader of the Seven Monsters?"

Xie Xie said unhappily, "Boss, you stole all the spotlight by yourself."

Tang Wulin smiled faintly. "If you can beat me, you can show off like this too."

Xie Xie shuddered. "Then forget it."

Just then, an intent that reached up to the cosmos and down into The Abyss abruptly emerged. Yun Ming, the master of the Sea God Pavilion, had actually come in person!

Tang Wulin met his gaze.

Yun Ming snorted coldly and suddenly appeared behind the platforms.

Gentle white light swirled around him as the Holy Spirit Douluo, Ya Li, stood at his side, tempering his sharpness.

Her voice carried throughout the arena. "The Pavilion Master and I will serve as referees for this tournament. The challenge tournament begins now!"

Yun Ming and Ya Li floated in the air, surveying the entire arena.

Ya Li said, "The first year, those little ones were frightened by the coordination among the Seven Monsters. The second year, no one dared challenge them in a team battle. I wonder whether anyone will have that courage this year."

Yun Ming said, "Only by recognizing the gap will they have the drive to improve."

Ya Li looked at Tang Wulin helplessly. "This isn't just a gap anymore."

Yun Ming found Tang Wulin extremely displeasing now, but he was not someone who would speak nonsense with his eyes open, so he chose to close them and say nothing.

The first challenger walked to the center of the plaza and shouted, "I challenge—Xu Lizhi!"

Yue Zhengyu laughed. "It's you again."

Xu Lizhi patted his round belly and sighed. "I'm just easy to bully."

Challengers generally chose the easiest target. Xu Lizhi was also a food-type Soul Master, so naturally he was the most suitable choice.

Of course, how could the Academy possibly turn a blind eye to such an obvious loophole? The rules specifically stated that pure Control System Soul Masters and food-type Soul Masters did not need to defeat those who were not pure Control System or food-type Soul Masters. They only needed to hold out for twenty minutes under the attacks of an attack-type Soul Master to be considered victorious.

Xu Lizhi jumped down from the platform and landed in the plaza with a bang. "Come on!"

The first challenger immediately attacked.

Xu Lizhi used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track beneath his feet, weaving across the spacious plaza. The more the first challenger pursued him, the more alarmed he became—how could such a fat food-type Soul Master be so agile?!

In the end, twenty minutes passed. The first challenger had not even touched Xu Lizhi and had already lost.

Xu Lizhi smiled cheerfully. "You let me win, you let me win."

The first challenger gave a bitter smile. "I've learned my lesson." Then he turned and returned to the crowd.

The second challenger stepped forward. Xu Lizhi asked, "Are you challenging me?"

He shook his head.

Xu Lizhi said, "Oh," then jumped back onto his platform.

The second challenger said, "I challenge Xu Xiaoyan!"

Yue Zhengyu's eyelashes trembled slightly as he looked toward the girl drifting gracefully to the ground.

She seemed to have lost some of her liveliness and gained a hint of melancholy.

Whenever he thought of what he had said back then, guilt and regret spread through Yue Zhengyu's heart. He wished he could rush back and slap that smug, carried-away version of himself twice, then shove him into Sea God Lake to drink a few mouthfuls of water and properly wake up.

But the mistake had already been made. Regret was useless. He had to make amends.

"The match begins."