As the host excitedly announced Heaven Dou Team One's victory, deafening cheers and applause instantly erupted from the stands.
For most spectators from Suotuo City, this was not merely a thrilling match, but a chance to witness firsthand the Martial Souls and strength of the empire's finest young talents.
Yet in Shrek Academy's waiting area, the atmosphere had fallen to freezing point.
Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Yu Xiaogang stood at the edge of the field, watching the injured Shrek Seven Monsters struggle to rise from the arena. Their expressions were so dark they seemed ready to drip water.
Dai Mubai's chest was stained with blood, Tang San's left arm was frozen, Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder was torn open, and the others were all injured and bedraggled as well.
Flender's heart ached. These little monsters were the future hope of his academy, nurtured bit by bit with the resources he had painstakingly scraped together. Watching them lose while injured hurt worse than having flesh carved from his own body.
Though he rationally knew that he and Yu Xiaogang had agreed to this match, and that the considerable appearance fee had even been their original motivation, the stifled anguish and heartache he had nowhere to vent were difficult to suppress. They turned into a trace of displaced resentment, and his gaze involuntarily slid toward Qin Ming, who stood nearby with a similarly complicated expression.
At this moment, Qin Ming's feelings were a hundred times more complicated than anyone else's.
Standing in the shadows of the waiting area, his gaze first settled on the spirited young figures on the arena, who were accepting the crowd's cheers.
Snow White remained as cool and aloof as ever, Yu Tianheng stood proudly, Dugu Yan wore a cold smile at the corner of her lips, and Ning Rongrong's