Peerless Tang Sect.
Star Luo City's Soul Fighting Arena.
The venue for the All-Continent Soul Master League.
The entire venue had been deliberately decorated to create an extraordinarily festive atmosphere, and the stands were packed.
Deep inside the Star Luo Imperial Palace.
Somewhere the Sky Screen could not see.
The Star Luo Emperor looked at Xuan Zi before him, a trace of puzzlement in his voice.
"Taotie Douluo, do we really need to go this far?"
"What is the point of holding the All-Continent Soul Master League ahead of schedule to draw the attention of the world of the past?"
Xuan Zi sighed softly.
"This isn't our idea. It's the Sea God's command."
"The Sea God?"
The Star Luo Emperor's pupils contracted, shock filling his face.
He had never imagined that the lofty Sea God would personally issue orders to the lower realm.
"Absolutely."
Xuan Zi nodded firmly. He, too, had found it hard to believe when he first received the message, but it had indeed happened.
Even now, he could not imagine why the Sea God was so determined to bring over the people from ten thousand years ago.
The Star Luo Emperor fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"I understand."
"From now on, the Star Luo Empire will fully cooperate with your arrangements."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xuan Zi's tense shoulders relaxed slightly as he voiced his thanks.
Although Shrek had quite a few high-level fighters, things would still be difficult if the Three Great Empires refused to cooperate.
Xuan Zi turned and left, and the hall fell silent once more.
The Star Luo Emperor's gaze was somber, his mind filled with thought.
What secrets lay hidden behind the Sky Screen?
Why did the Sea God care so much?
He had even gone so far as to personally step in and issue orders.
His brow furrowed tightly, and his respect for the Sea God suddenly diminished a little.
Outside the palace.
Inside the Soul Fighting Arena.
The crowd roared, cheers resounding throughout the venue.
The host's ringing voice rose again and again, echoing into every corner of the arena.
"Next, please welcome this year's favorite to win-the Shrek Academy Team!"
The spotlights converged.
Ma Xiaotao and the other six raised their hands, waving to the spectators as they walked onto the field.
Quite abruptly.
"Brothers, unleash your Martial Souls!" Ma Xiaotao declared boldly.
Every member of the Shrek Team instantly released their Martial Soul, their Soul Rings lighting up in unison.
The spectators in the arena instantly erupted.
"Soul Emperors! They actually have two Soul Emperor powerhouses!"
"Shrek Academy really deserves to be the continent's number one academy. Their talent is incredible!"
"There probably isn't another academy on the whole continent that can compare."
However.
Compared with the excitement of those spectators at the venue.
Beneath the Sky Screen, the viewers from ten thousand years earlier found the sight laughable, their eyes full of mockery.
"That's it? And they deserve to be called the continent's strongest?"
"In the Human Emperor World, they couldn't even get into the First Academy."
"A bunch of children scuffling around, and they have the nerve to compare? I'd rather watch Demigods fight in the Human Emperor World."
"No point watching any more."
Everyone looked away, unwilling to waste any more attention, and refocused on the clashes at the pinnacle in the Human Emperor World.
Just then, the Palm World's match list refreshed once again.
Emperor Xin versus Mu En.
Ye Wuye versus Du Bisou.
The entire audience instantly perked up.
The undefeated powerhouses had finally met. Now they could see who was stronger!
In the Proof of Godhood spectator stands.
Dugu Bo watched Ye Wuye's image, inwardly worried.
Du Bisou's poison arts were more advanced than his own by an unknown margin. In his view, Du Bisou would be very difficult to deal with.
"Go, Pavilion Master Ye!"
Beside him, Dugu Yan shouted excitedly, cheering him on.
In a corner.
Two figures were utterly out of place amid the excited atmosphere around them.
Oscar curled up alone on the ground, his eyes full of desolation.
Beside him, Dai Mubai's eyes were utterly hollow as he lay motionless on the ground.
He was ruined.
Completely ruined.
Before this, he had still clung to a sliver of hope, pinning it on Tang San.
He had hoped Tang San could find a way to cure him.
But now.
Tang San was dead.
Every hope had been utterly shattered.
"Hahaha... dead... all dead..."
Dai Mubai suddenly began to laugh quietly, his hoarse laughter carrying madness and self-mockery.
Oscar turned to look at him and shook his head lightly.
Boss Dai has probably gone completely mad.
Ah!
Where am I supposed to go from here?
Ma Hongjun, where are you?
Oscar's gaze drifted into the distance.
Human Emperor City.
The Heavenly World Club.
The door to an extravagantly furnished room swung open, and Ma Hongjun slowly walked out while straightening his clothes.
His eyes were tired, but the upward curl of his lips betrayed his good mood.
"Why are you coming out so soon, handsome? Your prowess has quite a few of our girls utterly hooked."
A beautiful woman in a short skirt hurried over and clung to his arm like a little bird nestling against him.
"Naturally."
"Just look at who I am. They call me the Evil Fire Phoenix!"
Ma Hongjun raised his chin, smug and proud.
"Yes, yes!"
Here, his Evil Fire had instead become his advantage.
Before.
He had paid to find women.
But now.
Countless women shelled out great sums of money and willingly lined up to get close to him.
Although some were plump and ordinary-looking.
He had not even turned up his nose at village girls, so now he welcomed all comers.
Who said being a gigolo was bad?
This was fantastic!
"Ten thousand years ago, things were just too feudal. Otherwise, if this profession had existed, I could have become the Heaven Dou Empire's number one attraction!"
Ma Hongjun's lips curled upward.
Now that he had enjoyed himself.
It was time to find Boss Dai, Oscar, and the others.
Everything here was great, except that sometimes there were male customers.
Fortunately, his valiant protests had preserved his body.
"Don't rush off."
The woman in the short skirt hurried forward to stop him, raising a hand to summon several stunningly beautiful women.
"I've saved our prettiest girls especially for you. Stay and play a little longer."
Looking at the slender, graceful women before him, Ma Hongjun's eyes instantly went fixed, and his throat bobbed slightly.
With such beauties before him, desire surged in his heart again, and he could barely move his feet.
But just then, an inexplicable awareness arose within him.
He was being livestreamed!
The Sky Screen had strict rules. Any private or indecent footage would automatically be obscured and would not be broadcast.
Everything he had done in the room just now had remained hidden by the Sky Screen.
Only now that he had left the room did the Sky Screen resume livestreaming him.
"No."
"I still have teammates to meet. How could I wallow in women and abandon my true self?"
"I, Ma Hongjun, may be lustful, but I'll never let a nest of tenderness corrupt my mind!"
Ma Hongjun instantly composed his expression, putting on an air of righteous solemnity.
With that.
He held his head high, puffed out his chest, and strode outside, looking every bit a man who valued loyalty and friendship.
"Hey! If you just walk out, I'm marking you absent without leave! Don't expect any wages today!"
Behind him, the woman in the short skirt planted her hands on her hips, visibly displeased.
Ma Hongjun stumbled, then hurried away without looking back.
Damn bitch, why did you have to say it out loud!
Weren't you just inviting people to drag my name through the mud?
Although he was very proud of himself, he did not want everyone on the continent to know he had taken this job.
"Absent without leave? Don't tell me he's the one selling himself?"
"I'm dying of laughter. Why pretend to be respectable?"
"One of the illustrious Shrek Seven Devils, actually coming here to do this kind of work. What a disgrace!"
"Now I finally see what sort of people the Shrek Seven Devils really are."
"Tang San, the cuckoo who stole the magpie's nest; Tang Hao, softhearted and foolish; Yu Xiaogang, a coward desperate to survive; Xiao Wu, with nothing but romance in her head; Dai Mubai, a cripple; and now this gigolo, Ma Hongjun."
"This bunch could actually become gods in Peerless Tang Sect? Then I could do it too!"
"No wonder Peerless Tang Sect falls so far short of the Human Emperor World. Its foundations were crooked from the start!"
Mockery swept across the continent.
Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun, who had walked out of the entertainment venue, knew nothing of it.
"Boss Dai, Tang San, here I come!"
Feeling that he truly valued loyalty and friendship, Ma Hongjun was rather pleased with himself as he hurried toward the Human Emperor Academy.
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