"Begin!"
Once both sides had entered the Soul Fighting Platform, a shout of "Begin!" rang out from above, and their opponents made the first move.
The man handled the attacks, while the woman provided support.
To avoid revealing his strength too early, Zhao Su did not immediately defeat the pair.
Instead, he revealed his Devouring-Heaven Dragon Cat martial soul.
His second soul ring lit up, and the Dragon Cat perched on Zhao Su's shoulder leaped into the air. The instant it jumped, its body suddenly swelled to the size of a tiger.
Opening its enormous maw, it let out a furious roar and pounced at the female support Soul Master hiding behind the man.
"Yaoyao, watch out!"
The man, Zhang Yuren, hurriedly shouted a warning.
He hurled the curved blade that was his martial soul, intercepting the Devouring-Heaven Dragon Cat as it lunged toward Yaoyao.
Zhu Zhuqing moved at that very moment. With astonishing speed, her hands transformed into sharp claws as she slashed at Zhang Yuren, who had just thrown his curved blade martial soul.
Zhu Zhuqing struck with extreme ruthlessness, showing not the slightest mercy.
It was as though she wanted to vent every last bit of frustration in her heart through battle.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuren acted decisively. Without any hesitation, he immediately chose to surrender.
But Zhu Zhuqing's attack had already reached him, aimed straight at Zhang Yuren's throat.
It was already too late for her to pull back.
Just as Zhang Yuren closed his eyes, believing he was about to die beneath Zhu Zhuqing's claws-
Zhu Zhuqing felt someone wrap an arm around her waist, stopping her in her tracks.
It was Zhao Su who had intervened.
"Your heart is in too much turmoil. It's easy for things to go wrong like this!"
Zhao Su held Zhu Zhuqing's slender waist tightly, and a warm current, like the revival of all living things, flowed into her body.
It gradually calmed her down.
Feeling the warmth of Zhao Su's embrace, she could no longer hold back the frustration and grievances in her heart. She leaned against his shoulder and began to cry, heedless of the eyes around them.
She cried bitterly.
"There, don't cry. You have me. Whatever it is, I can help you resolve it!"
Zhao Su gently wiped away Zhu Zhuqing's tears and whispered into her ear.
That finally made Zhu Zhuqing fall completely, unable to extricate herself any longer.
"Thank you for saving me, brother. We lost!"
Zhang Yuren naturally understood that Zhao Su had just saved his life. If not for Zhao Su, he might have been nothing more than a corpse by now.
So he cupped his fist respectfully in thanks to Zhao Su.
"This is only a match. We aren't enemies. There's no need to take anyone's life."
"Thank you!"
Zhang Yuren thanked him again, then turned and left the Soul Fighting Platform with Yaoyao, the female support Soul Master.
"Let's go too. Stop crying. If you keep crying, you won't look pretty anymore!"
Zhao Su took Zhu Zhuqing's soft, smooth hand and led her off the Soul Fighting Platform.
Sitting in the spectator stands, Dai Mubai watched it all, a vicious glint flashing through his sinister eyes.
"Boss Dai, I don't think you have a chance anymore!"
Beside Dai Mubai, Oscar was eating a Big Sausage to recover his soul power. Watching Zhao Su and Zhu Zhuqing leave the Soul Fighting Platform hand in hand, he spoke with a hint of regret.
"Boss Dai, I don't think you have a chance anymore. You should just give up."
Ning Rongrong also spoke to Dai Mubai at that moment.
But Dai Mubai said nothing from beginning to end. His gaze only grew colder.
When Zhao Su and Zhu Zhuqing returned to the Shrek Academy group, everyone except Dai Mubai gathered around them.
Soon, Tang San and the others had finished all their individual and pair matches.
They had won every match, giving everyone from Shrek an enormous boost in confidence.
Next came the team battle.
This time, Zhao Su did not take part. Instead, the Shrek Seven Devils formed a team.
During the battle, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing originally intended to use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. But whether it was because of Zhu Zhuqing's personal feelings or because her Nether Civet Martial Soul had evolved into the Yin-Yang Spirit Cat, their fusion failed.
After the fusion failed, Dai Mubai looked at Zhu Zhuqing, a trace of acceptance appearing in his wickedly alluring eyes.
Then he focused on fighting their opponents.
"Brother Zhao, you already knew about Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai's identities and backgrounds, didn't you?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Just a guess."
Zhao Wuji looked at Zhao Su with a meaningful smile, then patted his shoulder. "Grandmaster is in a bad mood. Flender and I are going to have a drink with him. I'll leave things here to you."
"Sure, no problem!"
After Zhao Wuji left, Zhao Su was alone, leaning back against his seat in the spectator stands and watching Tang San and the others on the Soul Fighting Platform.
The smile gradually faded from his face.
He was weighing what he should do next.
Over the following days, the Shrek Academy group achieved a truly brilliant record.
The name of the Shrek Seven Devils gradually grew more and more renowned in the Great Soul Arena.
Everyone was asking around, trying to discover which faction the masked Shrek Seven Devils belonged to.
When people saw Ning Rongrong's Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, some guessed that they belonged to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
In their minds, only a super sect like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could nurture these seven monsters.
That day, Zhao Su and the Shrek Seven Devils were waiting in the spectator stands for the final team battle of this phase.
After this team battle, they would have a month-long break from fighting.
"Little lady, are you wearing a mask because you're too ugly to let anyone see your face?"
Just then, an arrogant voice rang out. As he spoke, the man reached out to pull the mask off Zhu Zhuqing's face.
Although Zhu Zhuqing was still young, she unquestionably had the best figure of the three girls.
Her figure was far more mature than her actual age would suggest.
"If you don't want to die, take your filthy hand away and leave right now!"
Just as the man's hand was about to touch Zhu Zhuqing's mask, Zhao Su, sitting beside her, caught his wrist.
"Brat, are you tired of living?"
Mad Rhino forcefully shook Zhao Su off and glared at him viciously as he spoke.
"It's so hard to make someone understand a simple truth!"
The instant Zhao Su finished speaking, Mad Rhino went flying backward and slammed heavily into the railing of the nearby spectator stands.
After steadying himself, Mad Rhino was startled at first, then flew into a rage and prepared to charge at Zhao Su.
"Stop!"
Just then, a voice rang out, and a man who looked to be in his forties walked over. He stopped Mad Rhino and told them to settle whatever grievances they had on the Soul Fighting Platform.
"Be careful. His name is Mad Rhino, and he's your next opponent!"
After giving Zhao Su and the others that warning, Manager Ao turned and left.
"Rongrong, sit this one out. I'll take your place!"
Zhao Su had already decided to teach this so-called Mad Battle Team a lesson, so he spoke to Ning Rongrong.
Points earned in team battles counted toward the entire team. Whether she fought or not would not affect the points Ning Rongrong received, so she naturally agreed readily.
"Leave Mad Rhino to me. You handle the others. Let's finish this quickly and go out for drinks tonight to celebrate!"
Zhao Su spoke to Tang San and the others.
"If we don't go back, won't the dean punish us?"
"I'm leading the team today. What I say goes!" Zhao Su said.
Before you continue