The tournament begins

Outside the cave, everyone sat in a dazed row. No one spoke.

Such a devastating tragedy had undoubtedly cast a pall over all their hearts.

Wang Yan struggled to compose himself. He stood and faced everyone, then said slowly, "Children, we may have only ourselves to rely on for this Soul Fighting Tournament."

Everyone froze at his words, but Wang Yan continued, "What's happened has happened. Dwelling on it won't help. What we need to think about now is how to face the upcoming Soul Fighting Tournament."

Wang Dong sighed. "But Teacher Wang, Senior Gongyang has the highest cultivation among us, and he's a support-type. How are we supposed to..."

Wang Yan smiled bitterly. "There's nothing we can do about that. Are we supposed to give up on this year's Soul Fighting Tournament?"

"Past tournaments have all lasted about a month, so until the academy sends reinforcements, you reserves will have to represent the academy in battle."

Bei Bei stood up then, smiling as he did his utmost not to show any negative emotion. "Teacher Wang is right. As reserves, our job was always to draw attention away from the main team. Besides, we were supposed to take the stage anyway. Let's treat it as a chance to hone ourselves."

"At a Titled Douluo's traveling speed, getting from Shrek City to Star Luo City would only take three or four days. We'd have to fight two or three matches at most. It might even keep outsiders from figuring out Shrek Academy's actual situation."

Xu Sanshi punched the air, looking full of fighting spirit. "Exactly! And I heard the contestants from other academies only have three or four rings. We've got nothing to fear. They might even withdraw in fright when they hear Shrek Academy's name."

Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes at that. "Idiot. The main teams of any decent academy have Soul Kings or higher, and more than one at that. You're just a Soul Ancestor. Get ready to be whipped around like a spinning top."

Chen Tianyuan sat to one side without saying a word. He truly had no idea what to say.

Shrek Academy.

Xuan Zi sprawled listlessly on the steps outside the Sea God Pavilion, drowning his sorrows in wine.

An elderly man in white approached. It was Zhuang Yusen, a fellow Sea God Pavilion Elder.

"How are the children doing?"

Zhuang Yusen sighed. "Their conditions have stabilized. Fortunately, they were only infected with a single kind of corpse poison. Their lives have been saved, at least."

"The Soul Tool Department has examined them too. They can make custom soul-tool prosthetics for Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng, but only for their right legs, and their mobility will still be affected."

"Ling Luochеn's internal organs suffered severe damage from the shock. She must refrain from speaking for six months."

"As for Xixi and Ma Xiaotao, their legs were severed at the very top. There's nothing the Soul Tool Department can do for them..."

Xuan Zi gave a bitter laugh, then raised his wine gourd and gulped down another mouthful.

Seeing him like this, Zhuang Yusen had no idea what to say to him either. This was already the second time...

Qian Duoduo approached then. He looked at Xuan Zi and said, "Xuan Zi, Elder Zhuang, the Sea God Pavilion Meeting has convened. Mu En is already there."

Inside the Sea God Pavilion.

Mu En lay quietly in his chair, his eyes closed. No one knew what he was thinking.

Four Senior Elders sat along one side of the long table, while the deans and vice-deans of the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department sat along the other.

Xuan Zi rose unsteadily and said in a low voice, "I believe everyone knows what happened. This is the second time disaster has struck a team under my command. As the teacher leading them, I bear the primary responsibility. Therefore, I have decided to resign as deputy commander of the Shrek Inspection Corps and leave the Sea God Pavilion. From now on, I will live as an idle man."

Everyone was stunned by his words. After all, Xuan Zi's cultivation was second only to Mu En's within Shrek Academy. To put it plainly, Mu En normally kept a low profile, so Xuan Zi was the public face of Shrek Academy.

Moreover, once Mu En died, Xuan Zi was first in line to succeed him as Sea God Pavilion Master, ahead even of Chen Tianyuan.

No one spoke. Instead, they all turned their eyes toward the old man lying in his chair.

Mu En snorted coldly. "You leave a heap of wreckage behind, then expect to take it easy?"

As he spoke, Mu En slowly opened his eyes. The disappointment in them was impossible to hide.

"You want to leave? Fine. Once Tianyuan becomes a Titled Douluo and succeeds as Sea God Pavilion Master, you can go wherever you like. No one will stop you."

"But what sort of time is this? You've practically left the academy with its old crop spent and its new crop not yet ripe, and now you want to dust off your backside and walk away?"

Xuan Zi lowered his head and said nothing.

Yan Shaozhe looked at Xuan Zi, his mind in turmoil. He and Cai Mei'er had no children. Ever since taking Ma Xiaotao as his disciple, he had treated her as his own daughter, and all these years, he had kept searching for a way to resolve her evil fire.

Someone with ultimate ice had finally appeared, only for Ma Xiaotao to be left disabled. How could he accept that?

Beside him, Xian Lin'er urged, "That's right, Xuan Zi. You're a pillar holding up the academy, and right now, the academy needs every capable person it has. You can't leave. You can't bear all the blame for the accident on this mission either. Who could have known that Evil Soul Master possessed such methods..."

The other Senior Elders then took turns persuading him, until Xuan Zi finally abandoned the idea of leaving.

He sat back down, but did not dare meet Mu En's eyes.

Cai Mei'er spoke then. "Mu En, we've lost six members of the main team all at once. This Soul Fighting Tournament may..."

Yan Shaozhe sighed. "Mu En, there are still a few people in the Inner Court who meet the age requirement. Should we send them over?"

Mu En considered it for a moment. "No need. It's only one tournament. If we lose, we lose."

"Would losing one tournament mean Shrek Academy was no longer the continent's number one academy?"

Qian Duoduo said, "Mu En, this concerns the academy's ten thousand years of glory. For ten thousand years, Shrek Academy has always been the champion. This time..."

"Enough." Mu En waved his hand impatiently.

"Rather than agonizing over this, you should think about how to help those children come to terms with what happened."

"Also, starting today, equip every member of the Inspection Corps with a Flying Soul Tool and a Soul Tool Shield of Class 5 or higher."

"I'll leave this to your Soul Tool Department. If you lack the funds, apply to the academy's finance office for approval..."

As the capital of the Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City was already bustling. With the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament being held there, the crowds had grown even larger, congesting traffic throughout the city.

This was Chen Tianyuan's second visit to Star Luo City. The last time, he had come for the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife. Thinking of that reminded him of the middle-aged man who had repaired his Flying Soul Tool...

The Soul Master Tournament was held once every five years. The last time Star Luo City had hosted it was twenty years ago.

This year's tournament was to be held in Star Luo Plaza. A short distance to its east stood a grand seven-story hotel called the Star Emperor Hotel. Owned by the imperial family, it had been set aside specifically to accommodate the competing academies from across the continent.

As the champion of every previous tournament, Shrek Academy was naturally assigned the top floor, with a luxurious private room for each person.