Shrek's campaign had begun disastrously-a great victory, as far as Xuan Zi was concerned. Gloom clouded everyone's faces, and a pall hung over the entire scene.
Apart from the Holy Spirit Cult's Grand Elder, no one was happier than Dai Huabin.
As Shrek's greatest undercover agent, he had been tasked with muddying the waters and splitting the Shrek Seven Devils apart. Now that he had exceeded his objective, how could he not rejoice?
Had the timing not been wrong, and had he not feared being beaten up by everyone, he would already have set off firecrackers to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the Grand Elder came back to his senses. Realizing that he had caused a catastrophe, he dropped his wine gourd to the ground, and even the chicken drumstick in his hand had lost its appeal.
Not a trace of Yao Haoxuan's remains was left, sparing them the trouble of collecting his corpse, so he was automatically overlooked.
Though Gongyang Mo and Chen Zifeng's bodies were mangled and incomplete, they could at least still be identified. With everyone searching together, their remains were barely pieced back together, then covered with white cloths to conceal the gruesome mess.
Xixi lay sprawled on the ground, her teammates taking turns feeding her Soul Power to keep her alive. Otherwise, she would already have died and followed those three into the grave.
Ma Xiaotao's hair was disheveled. She swallowed the blood rising in her throat and calmly directed everyone, keeping everything in orderly motion.
Her injuries were not serious, and Ling Luochеn had set aside their past grievances to help her. Standing tall and straight, she became everyone's pillar of support, filling the vacancy left by a certain Grand Elder.
Compared with the main team members, the remaining substitutes were still reeling, shocked by the Death Messenger's power and full of doubts about their supervising teacher, Xuan Zi. Though they said nothing, the seeds of suspicion had already taken deep root and would be difficult to dispel.
Dead memories assailed him one after another, reminding Xuan Zi of the teams he had led in the past, which had also suffered frequent disasters. Anyone unaware of the truth might have wondered who the real Evil Soul Master was!
Their attempt to surround and eliminate the enemy had instead gotten them killed. With even heavier losses in this battle than in the original story, how was he supposed to answer to Shrek and the students' parents?
Setting his world-shaking wisdom to work, Xuan Zi came up with what he considered a brilliant plan. He spoke in a deep voice: "Zhou Yi, this difficult task falls to you. Take everyone back to the military camp for a brief rest, then head straight to Star Luo City to compete in the tournament. I'll take the gravely injured Xixi and the remains of Gongyang Mo and Chen Zifeng back to the academy. There's no time to lose. Move out immediately!"
Ignoring everyone's angry or peculiar looks, Xuan Zi beckoned toward the ground with his large hand. Dense white Soul Power formed a great cocoon around the one living person and two corpses he had mentioned.
Poor Xixi had been fortunate enough to survive, only to face a journey sharing the same space with two corpses. Who knew whether it would leave her scarred?
Perhaps his conscience had stirred. Before leaving, Xuan Zi looked at the seven from the Outer Court, along with Zhu Lu and Xu Sanshi, the two substitutes for the substitutes. "This sudden catastrophe was entirely my responsibility. There's no longer enough time to send new team members to compete. You'll have to step in first and hold out until Xiaotao recovers and Li Lezi returns from his leave. Children, for Shrek's ten thousand years of glory, give it your all!"
With that, he shot out of the cave like lightning and used his Flying Soul Tool to race toward Shrek Academy, intending to lay Gongyang Mo and Chen Zifeng to rest and, along the way, treat the poisoned and unconscious Xixi.
As for Yao Haoxuan, he had come from a distinguished background and a powerful family. Xuan Zi had already decided to visit them personally and persuade the Yao Family to forgive him.
Inspired by Shrek's glory and subjected to Zhou Yi's relentless brainwashing, everyone except Ling Luochеn and a few others who felt something was wrong gradually set aside their hatred and turned their attention to the Soul Master Tournament.
After one day of rest at the military camp, Zhou Yi urged everyone to set out for Star Luo Imperial City to participate in the soul fighting tournament held once every five years.
They checked into the Star Emperor Hotel, which was directly under the imperial family's authority. Even the Sun Moon Empire's grand welcome could not dispel the gloom in their hearts.
Three senior male students had died horribly at an Evil Soul Master's hands, and one senior female student had been gravely injured and forced out of the tournament, her fate uncertain. Thinking back to the rally before their departure, everyone's absolute confidence in winning the championship had become a bubble, vanishing in an instant.
Of the seven main team members, Yao Haoxuan, Gongyang Mo, Chen Zifeng, and Xixi were either dead or injured. Captain Ma Xiaotao and vice-captain Dai Yueheng were also injured and needed time to recover. Only Ling Luochеn retained her full fighting strength.
Under the Soul Master Tournament's standard rules, a team battle could only begin with seven participants on the field. Otherwise, the team would be deemed to have forfeited and would lose the match.
With too few people available, the reserve team, originally there to cheer everyone on, was called upon in this crisis. These students with Soul Power in the twenties and thirties would take the field in place of several senior teammates.
The first half of the Soul Master Tournament was a knockout competition. There was no middle ground: either win or lose, and a loss meant heading home.
Ten thousand years ago, the First-Generation Shrek Seven Devils had defeated the Spirit Hall Team and seized the crown. From then on, Shrek Academy had held the championship without interruption.
Over time, the pride shared by the academy's leaders and students had gradually soured, becoming a crushing burden. They could no longer afford to lose.
If Shrek Academy suffered defeat in this Soul Master Tournament, losing the competition itself would be secondary. Ending their ten-thousand-year winning streak was what they could least accept. Dai Yueheng and the others dared not imagine the storm they would face upon returning to the academy!
The substitute lineup was soon settled, led by Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. The pressure weighed on the three like a mountain, and at one point they even considered withdrawing from the tournament and leaving.
As for Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin, the latter was utterly relaxed compared with his anxious older brother. Without his master Xiao Zi to restrain him, he reverted to his old ways, claiming he needed to unwind as he lingered among the flowers and spent every day listening to songs in brothels.
The Star Luo Imperial Family soon learned of this. After White Tiger Duke Dai Hao's report and seeing the mournful faces of Shrek's contestants, Emperor Xu Jiawei finally confirmed the situation and summoned his younger sister Xu Jiujiu that very night to discuss it.
Several thousand years ago, the White Tiger Dai Family had suffered devastating losses in a war against the Sun Moon Empire. The Star Crown Xu Family had seized the opportunity to take power, and the Star Luo throne had changed hands.
Though the Xu Family adopted a conciliatory policy and did not wipe out the Dai Family, their apparent entrusting of the Dai Family with the important duty of guarding the border concealed an unrelenting vigilance. They feared the Dai Family might rise again.
Compared with the flourishing Dai Family, the Xu Family's numbers dwindled by the day. This generation had only three imperial relatives: Xu Jiawei, Xu Jiujiu, and Xu Yun. The princesses had yet to marry, let alone bear descendants.
Answering the summons, Xu Jiujiu arrived in an exquisite palace gown, advancing with graceful, swaying steps. Her delicate features were naturally elegant, her bearing noble yet gentle.
After reading Dai Hao's memorial and the intelligence from the empire's spies, Xu Jiujiu knitted her fine brows, an unmistakable trace of worry crossing her face. "Imperial brother, though we have many reasons to be wary of the Dai Family, with the Sun Moon Empire threatening us, we absolutely cannot hand the tournament championship to someone else!"
Xu Jiawei nodded. "Imperial sister, you're right. Fortunately, both of Dai Hao's legitimate sons are safe. His eldest, Dai Yueheng, is a main team member and has reached the Soul Emperor rank. His younger brother, Dai Huabin, has somewhat lower Soul Power, but he is also among the substitutes. Shrek still has a very good chance of winning!"
As the eldest princess, Xu Jiujiu had begun helping her imperial brother handle affairs of state at an early age and knew the intelligence on the world's foremost academy like the back of her hand. Looking over Shrek's roster of contestants, her gaze stopped on one name-
"Li Lezi..."