Li Lezi and Xu Sanshi were eliminated, while Dai Huabin successfully entered the final round. The grand melee grew fiercer by the moment.
Thanks to the intense fighting earlier, most of the participants had been eliminated. Those still on the field huddled together for warmth-Huo Yuhao and his companions, to be precise.
In the original story, these people had joined forces and swept all before them with He Caitou's Soul Tools, ultimately securing victory. Now that Xiao Zi and Xu Sanshi had taken each other out, and the advancing Dai Huabin was only at level thirty-seven and posed little threat, the pressure on them abruptly eased.
Their current lineup was as follows-
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei, and He Caitou.
The six had already formed a team in all but name. With just one more member, they could recreate the Shrek Seven Devils of ten thousand years ago, shine at the Soul Master Tournament, and spread their own legend. Never mind whether they could actually pull it off; at least, that was what Shrek's higher-ups thought.
On the other side, Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, Zhu Lu, Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue, and the others faced Huo Yuhao's group of six with an advantage in numbers.
Enemies saw red the moment they met. Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Detection Sharing to provide precise targeting, and every Soul Guidance Ray He Caitou fired landed squarely in his opponents' path.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Zi unleashed an Interference Ray. Everyone briefly fell into a daze, except Dai Huabin, who was immune thanks to his mental connection with his master. To avoid being exposed, he still pretended to be affected, letting his eyes go blank.
The others were lined up in a row. While they looked around blankly under the mental interference, Huo Yuhao had already prepared his trump card in secret.
A massive vertical eye silently opened at the other end. Brilliant golden light blossomed in the embrace of the Light Goddess Butterfly the instant it fused with that eye!
A dazzling halo of blue, purple, and gold left a Golden Road across the ground. A strange spectacle followed: wherever the golden light passed, the Core Disciples lined up in a row were instantly transformed into golden statues.
Martial Soul Fusion Skill-Withering in Brilliance, Golden Road.
There was a slight difference from the original story. Ever since Xiao Zi had siphoned away some of the fortune power, Wang Dong had stopped cultivating soul power together with Huo Yuhao. As a result, their compatibility had gradually fallen from one hundred, weakening their fusion skill along with it.
This feint eliminated more than half the remaining participants in one stroke. Just as Huo Yuhao thought the outcome was settled, however, his expression suddenly changed. The announcements had not included the one name he wanted to hear!
Dai Huabin had kept Xiao Zi's instructions firmly in mind. With his superior spiritual power, he broke free of the restraints ahead of time and hid before the Golden Road arrived, secretly watching the situation unfold. Only after the others were sealed by the Golden Road did he reappear with Zhu Lu.
Two against six was a match they could never win, even with the Hell White Tiger. Neither of them was a Soul Ancestor, either, so they could not withstand the other side's combined assault.
His master had warned him beforehand, and Dai Huabin had passed the warning on to his fiancée. Thinking of her beloved, Zhu Lu made her decision without hesitation. "I forfeit!"
Without waiting for anyone to fetch her, she stepped down from the grand melee arena herself.
The seven-person roster had finally been decided, but the result was far beyond what Huo Yuhao and Shrek's higher-ups had expected. Neither of their favored candidates, Li Lezi and Xu Sanshi, had made it. Instead, Dai Huabin had swooped in and picked up the prize!
Xuan Zi and the other higher-ups did not particularly care, but Huo Yuhao's homeroom teacher, Zhou Yi, could not stomach it. Seeing Dai Huabin looking so smug, she wished she had not merely expelled him from her class back then, but thrown him straight out of the academy!
Sweeping his gaze over everyone's varied expressions, Yan Shaozhe asked for instructions. "Elder Xuan, what should we do now?"
The grand melee had originally been intended to test the students' practical combat skills and techniques, as well as foster the team spirit needed for the Shrek Seven Devils. Huo Yuhao and his companions had more or less fulfilled that goal, but Dai Huabin had turned out to be an unwanted extra-and Zhu Lu, who could perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with him, had forfeited!
To emulate the first Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago, the academy's higher-ups sought perfection, unwilling to allow even the slightest flaw in the team. Dai Huabin's presence was like... that thing. Not fatal, but irritating enough.
Taking a bite of his chicken drumstick, Xuan Zi snorted. "If you have any grievances, I hope you'll express them through your strength. The grand melee was not simply a competition. It simulated the cruelty of the battlefield, training you through seemingly unfair struggles. I now declare the competition over. The seven of you will be the reserve members for this Soul Master Tournament, and the next generation of Shrek Seven Devils!"
The official roster was announced-Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, and Dai Huabin.
Amid the silence, Huo Yuhao watched his biological older brother, who had bullied him in the past, now brimming with pride and cheering over his place among the Shrek Seven Devils. Anger surged through him.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had also been deeply displeased at first. But after noticing a certain person's gratified expression, their attitudes changed. For once, they took the initiative to congratulate Dai Huabin, then both looked down from the arena, sending a tacit signal.
Xiao Zi had been secretly enjoying himself. Just imagining how the Shrek Seven Devils would get along from now on excited him. With Dai Huabin personally stirring up trouble, what kind of sparks would fly between them?
Unfortunately, he would soon be heading to Swallowed Star and would have no chance to witness this merry show.
"Lezi, are you all right?" Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo had also been eliminated. Feeling a bond through their shared misfortune, they came over to check on him.
With the two girls taking the lead, another group of girls followed, chattering endlessly in his ears.
Xiao Zi looked at the Lan Sisters at the front and shook his head with a smile. He said little, letting the girls protest the unfairness on his behalf.
He had finally managed to escape Shrek's great pit for a while, avoiding plenty of tedious activities, such as the dull preparations before the tournament, the Death Messenger's elbow strike, and the Holy Spirit Cult's supreme elder raising the stakes to a whole new level.
He expected to have several months of free time, perfect for traveling to Swallowed Star, then heading to the Far North to obtain the Snow Empress's Soul Ring, and finally securing the gold of life at the Starlight Auction House in the Star Luo Empire.
Watching Dai Huabin practically floating with pride, Xiao Zi automatically pictured the entire Shrek Seven Devils offering themselves up as sacrifices, blasted sky-high. That hard-to-describe feeling welled up again, and he quickly lowered his head to hide it.
"Li Lezi, are you all right?" Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao approached together, with their teammate Huo Yuhao following behind them.
Every time he dealt with this person, Xiao Zi felt utterly drained. With no other choice, he forced a smile. "It's fine. My injuries aren't serious."
Wang Dong clearly misunderstood and instead offered him comfort. "I understand your difficulties. As Dai Huabin's study companion, you often have no control over what you do. You don't need to blame yourself so much!"
Putting on a touched expression, Xiao Zi clasped her hand. "Thank you for helping me see things more clearly. I feel much better now. I'll be able to move on soon!"
It was a simple gesture, perfectly ordinary between boys, yet Wang Dong blushed. The sensation lingered in her palm, a tingling feeling as though it had been lightly scratched.
"Li Lezi, how are you feeling?" Jiang Nannan walked over with graceful steps and joined them.
Surrounded by a flock of twittering beauties, with Qian Renxue in his Sea of Consciousness on top of that, Xiao Zi felt a mountain of pressure bearing down on him. He had the strange impression that these formidable women had him locked in place.