Welcoming the Imperial Fighting Team

As the group arrived at the Suotuo Great Soul Arena and stepped through the registration area, Manager Ao came out from behind the counter to greet them.

His attitude today was different from usual, carrying a mixture of politeness and eagerness.

He walked up to Yu Xiaogang and bowed slightly. "Grandmaster, you are the leader of the Shrek Academy, right? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Yu Xiaogang glanced at him, his expression calm.

But the thought had already changed in his mind.

Imperial Fighting Team.

He nodded. "Okay, where should we talk?"

Manager Ao gestured towards the end of the corridor, indicating, "VIP lounge."

Flender followed behind, his brow furrowing slightly as he caught up.

Upon entering the VIP lounge, Manager Ao closed the door, poured each of them a cup of tea, and then sat down, his tone noticeably more serious than before.

"To be honest, the reason I invited you all here is for today's team competition."

He paused for a moment,

"There's a team of Silver Soul Fighter- level Soul Elder, hired by several nobles who have placed heavy bets on them. The Suotuo Great Soul Arena is out of options."

"We've already lost too many times in the Great Soul Arena, we simply can't afford to lose anymore,"

"Right now, the only ones who can compete with that team are you Shrek Seven Devils."

Flender placed his teacup on the coffee table, raising an eyebrow.

"They're using me as a pawn. No way, I refuse."

Instead of responding immediately, Manager Ao pulled a card from his sleeve and pushed it over.

"The opposing team leader said that regardless of whether you agree to the match, they want to meet with you. They're already waiting next door."

Flender paused for a moment. "See us? What do you want with us?"

Manager Ao stood up, without answering the question, but simply gestured for him to proceed.

"They said you'll find out when you get here."

Flender and Yu Xiaogang exchanged a glance.

Yu Xiaogang nodded, and Flender stood up as well.

The two left the lounge, turned into a short corridor, and Manager Ao stopped in front of a door, knocked twice, then pushed the door open and stepped aside to let the two in.

The lounge was small; a tall, slender man stood by the window, dressed in a dark long robe.

He heard the door open and turned around, his gaze first falling on Flender's face. A smile appeared on that composed face as he quickly stepped forward and gave a slight bow.

"Student Qin Ming greets Dean Flender."

Flender seemed frozen in place.

He adjusted his glasses and stared at the person in front of him for several moments.

The mouth slowly opened and then closed.

"Qin Ming? It's you, kid!"

Qin Ming straightened up, his smile unchanged.

"Dean, I am now the team leader of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. I brought seven students to the Suotuo Great Soul Arena for practical training, and also to meet the teachers."

When Flender and Yu Xiaogang came out of the VIP lounge, the two sides had already reached an agreement.

Flender walked ahead, his expression now serious.

He glanced at Yu Xiaogang, lowering his voice.

"Xiaogang, are you trying to push Ye Lin to his limits? The Imperial Fighting Team members all have Soul Power levels above Level 35, Yu Tianheng's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is even more troublesome. Are you sure you want to send them out?"

"Didn't this destroy Ye Lin and the others' confidence?"

Yu Xiaogang put his hands behind his back.

"We won, which means our teaching was pretty good."

"Even if they lose, it will make them realize the gap between themselves and true powerhouses."

"Isn't it normal to lose to someone who is better than you in every aspect?"

"If you lose to a Soul Douluo, will you lose your self-confidence?"

Flender nodded. "That's true."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Besides, I never intended for them to lose."

Flender adjusted his glasses. "I'm not going to do anything about it. Whatever you say, that's what we'll do."

The two walked down the corridor back to the door of the lounge. When they pushed the door open, the Shrek Academy students were already waiting inside.

"Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, you two come out with me for a moment."

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance, neither of them spoke, and got up to follow Yu Xiaogang out of the lounge.

The hallway was much quieter than the room, and the lighting was bright and even.

Yu Xiaogang stopped in the middle of the corridor, turned around, and looked at the two people in front of him.

"I just went to see the leader of the Imperial Fighting Team."

He spoke, his tone more direct than when he was inside the house.

"They are very strong, all of them are above Level 35, with the best Spirit Ring configuration, and Captain Yu Tianheng's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is a top-tier Beast Martial Soul."

He paused for a moment, then said, "If we confront each other head-on, your chances of winning are almost zero."

Dai Mubai frowned even more deeply. "So, Grandmaster, you refused?"

Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "I agree."

"It was the two of you who gave me the confidence to challenge the Power Attack Type Beast Martial Soul in the world."

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were both stunned for a moment.

The two looked at each other again, this time with obvious doubt in their eyes.

Dai Mubai asked, "Why?"

Yu Xiaogang looked at the two of them, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

He took out two small jade pieces from his sleeve, one jet black with white spots, and the other snow-white with black spots.

Shaped like two swimming fish, their heads and tails touching, it forms a Tai Chi Diagram.

He handed the white one to Dai Mubai and the black one to Zhu Zhuqing.

The two men took the jade piece, glanced at it, and

Dai Mubai looked at Zhu Zhuqing, but Zhu Zhuqing only looked at the black jade piece in her hand.

"As for why,"

Yu Xiaogang said,

"I don't think anyone knows this better than the two of you."

He didn't explain further, handed over the jade piece, turned around, and walked towards the lounge.

The two suddenly understood.

Zhu Zhuqing gently bit her lip and followed Yu Xiaogang back to the lounge.

Everyone regrouped in the lounge.

Yu Xiaogang walked in, glanced at everyone, and took out the information given to him by Manager Ao from his Storage Soul Tool.

"Today's team match is against the Imperial Fighting Team."

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"All of them have Soul Power level of Level 35 or above, and their Soul Ring Configuration all two yellow and one purple. Their strength is greater than any opponent you have encountered before."

"Yu Tianheng, captain of the Imperial Fighting Team, possesses the Martial Soul Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, level 39."

"He is a genius that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect sees only once in a century, and he is very likely to be the next patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect."

"You all know who I am, so I understand him much better than you do."

He drew a circle on the paper with his finger. "With this kind of opponent, you won't gain any advantage in a head-on confrontation."

He turned the page. "Vice Captain Dugu Yan, Martial Soul: Jade Phosphorous Serpent, Level 38."

"Her Jade Phosphorous Purple Poison, is her most effective fighting method. Once it touches the skin, it seeps into the meridians, causing paralysis in mild cases and death in severe cases."

"In the entire Suotuo Great Soul Arena's records, no one who has ever fought her has survived for more than three minutes after being poisoned."

He paused, his gaze lingering on everyone's faces for a moment.

"And,"

"The surname Dugu is very rare. Combined with her Martial Soul and age, I speculate that she is very likely the successor of that Titled Douluo."