It was all settled!
The spectators stared at the scene, struggling to wrap their minds around it.
Shrek had lost?
And from the looks of it, they had suffered a crushing defeat!
After a brief pause.
The stadium of a hundred thousand erupted with an unprecedented roar!
"We won! Our Tianhai Academy won!"
"Refunds? What refunds? These tickets were worth every penny!"
"Now I've seen everything! Even Shrek can crash and burn!"
"Holy shit! Whose kid is that? He's an absolute beast!"
The earlier boos and curses all turned into frenzied cheers. On the Douluo Continent, as long as you were strong enough, you were the law!
Xu Xiaoyan peeked out from behind. Seeing that the fight was over, she jogged over to Lu Guan.
"Nice work." Lu Guan gave her a thumbs-up.
"Hehe." Xu Xiaoyan stuck out her tongue, smiling sweetly.
The second-floor spectator area.
Every trace of color drained from Shen Yi's face.
He gripped the railing so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his flesh.
They had lost.
Shrek's representative team had lost to a hastily cobbled-together team in a backwater like the Skysea Alliance. More precisely, they had lost to a boy barely over ten!
"Impossible... how could Shrek lose..." Even Shen Yi's voice trembled.
Wu Changkong straightened up and brushed the dust off his hands. Without a word, he quietly left.
The private suite on the top floor of the Tianhai Grand Hotel.
Long Huan Tian slapped the table in excitement, the residual surge of soul power shattering the teacups.
"We've hit the jackpot! The jackpot!"
Long Huan Tian paced around the suite, his face flushed with excitement.
"They challenged an older age group and defeated Shrek's representative team! Tianhai Academy is going to be famous! Sect Master Mu really sent me two living gods!"
He called over the assistant beside him, spittle flying.
"Contact the media right now! Buy the exclusive rights to all footage of today's match and contact the other city alliances. I want it playing on a loop across the entire continent!"
"I want everyone to see that our Tianhai Academy beat Shrek!"
On the arena stage.
The host was so excited that he could barely string his words together as he ran onto the stage, microphone in hand.
"Absolutely unbelievable! Let's congratulate Tianhai Academy's representative team on winning this exhibition match!"
"This victory will surely go down in the history of the Skysea Alliance!"
The host ran up to Lu Guan, nearly shoving the microphone into his face.
"Our... young hero! You're incredible! The entire audience is cheering for you!"
"May I ask your name? Which great family raised such an extraordinary genius?"
Lu Guan's face instantly filled the giant screen.
Not just the hundred thousand people in the stadium, but countless viewers throughout Skysea City and even in front of broadcast screens in other cities along the East Coast were watching this boy barely over ten.
Shrek's enormous publicity campaign beforehand had drawn an unprecedented level of attention to the match.
Now, all that immense exposure had become Lu Guan's stepping stone.
Lu Guan looked at the microphone thrust in front of him, then glanced at the roaring crowd in the stands.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
Winning the tournament was not the goal. It was the means.
Lu Guan took the microphone.
The cheers gradually subsided as everyone waited for his answer.
"My name is Lu Guan."
His voice traveled clearly through the Amplifying Soul Tool to every corner of the stadium.
"I don't belong to any family."
Lu Guan paused, raised his head, and looked straight into the camera ahead.
"I come from the Body Sect!"
"I am a disciple of the Body Sect!"
Mu Ye stood in the stands, watching Lu Guan and listening to those words: "I am a disciple of the Body Sect."
The eyes of this iron-willed man suddenly reddened.
Then he threw his head back and laughed.
"Good lad! You didn't disgrace me!"
This was not merely a victory in a match. It was the first roar an ancient sect had sent out to the entire continent after years of silence!
This was the first gunshot heralding the Body Sect's revival!
Night fell.
Ten thousand li from Skysea City, Shrek City blazed with lights.
The continent's foremost city always wore the same flourishing, prosperous face.
Outside the city lay a dense black pine forest.
The night breeze rustled through the leaves.
Dressed in a long gown, Gu Yue stood quietly in a clearing.
The air around her suddenly warped, and a brutal force tore space apart.
A tall, imposing figure in black stepped out of the rift.
The newcomer wore black, his long hair falling over his shoulders, and carried a terrifying, suffocating pressure. The instant he saw Gu Yue, however, that pressure vanished completely.
He dropped to one knee and bowed his head in apology. "My lord, with Yun Ming there, I cannot enter Shrek City."
Gu Yue turned around, her long silver hair stirring gently in the night breeze.
Yun Ming.
The Sky-Cleaving Douluo, Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion Master, and the man universally acknowledged as the strongest on the continent.
As the Beast God of the Star Dou Great Forest, Di Tian possessed heaven-reaching strength, yet he still feared Yun Ming's Sky-Cleaving Spear.
If he dared to set even half a foot inside Shrek City, Yun Ming would notice immediately, and trouble would inevitably follow.
Bi Ji had only just joined the Council. This was not the time to stir up trouble.
"Mm." Gu Yue acknowledged him in an even tone. "Soon, you will be able to."
Di Tian froze for a moment. He did not know whether his lord meant gaining certain privileges from the humans through Bi Ji's involvement in politics.
Or the plan to revive the soul beasts and reclaim this world.
Gu Yue raised her hand. A silver ring slipped from her fingertips and floated toward Di Tian.
Di Tian reached out and caught it.
"Go to Eastsea City and put these in place," Gu Yue ordered.
Di Tian tightened his grip on the ring and raised his head.
"Are we making our move, my lord?"
Gu Yue did not answer directly. Her icy voice sent a chill down his spine. "A mere human dares lay claim to my power as the Dragon God? Courting death... go at once."
"As you command!" Di Tian answered solemnly.
Space tore open again, and the black figure melted into the void and disappeared.
Silence returned to the black pine forest.
Gu Yue remained where she was, lifting her hand and looking at her fair palm.
Soon.
Everything would happen soon.
In the center of Shrek City stood the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
This building, a symbol of human soul masters' highest technology and authority, pierced the clouds.
Gu Yue pushed open the door to her room.
The lights were off. Only faint starlight filtered in through the window.
Na'er sat beside the bed.
Gu Yue closed the door behind her, walked over to the table, and poured herself a glass of water.
Na'er sat beside the bed without speaking.
The room was so quiet that the sound of water flowing into the glass was audible.
Gu Yue lifted the glass, took a sip, then turned to look at Na'er.
Na'er also raised her head and met Gu Yue's gaze.
They had originally been one, their minds connected.
"When are you planning to make your move?" Na'er spoke first, breaking the silence.
"In two days."
Before you continue