Ma Xiaotao looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, "Yuhao, what do you think is going on with them?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "I don't know. Let's tell Teacher Zhou and Elder Xuan about this and let them judge."
"That's all we can do."
The players paid no attention to what Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao were saying. After dealing with the quest target, they searched the place again and only returned after confirming there was nothing of value.
After rejoining the others from Shrek Academy, Ma Xiaotao and Huo Yuhao faithfully recounted what had happened to Zhou Yi and Xuan Zi.
"They all only have three-ring strength, yet they eliminated a four-ring Evil Soul Master at the Soul Ancestor level without taking any damage. These people work together very well.
"As for the strange soul ring configurations you mentioned, well... even I have no idea."
"Elder Xuan, these people are behaving so strangely. Are we still letting them travel with us?"
"It's fine. Their tournament credentials can't be faked, and they really are eliminating those Evil Soul Masters. Judging by those two points, they're friends, not enemies."
Ma Xiaotao gave a cold snort. "If I run into them at the Soul Master Tournament, I won't hold back."
"Ahem, Xiaotao, you don't need to hold back, but don't go too far either."
"Yes, Elder Xuan."
Ma Xiaotao was now a six-ring Soul Emperor, so she really didn't think much of the players, who only had three-ring strength.
However, by the time the Soul Master Tournament came around, the story might be rather different.
For the rest of the journey to Star Luo City, the players kept grinding reputation quests.
Xuan Zi wondered why the players could pinpoint the Evil Soul Masters' locations so accurately. Qian Xixi could only tell him it was sect intelligence.
She couldn't exactly say they were following the quest map's guidance. Even if she did, Xuan Zi wouldn't understand.
Moreover, grinding reputation quests over the past few days had raised the players' soul power levels rapidly. Qian Xixi and Ten-Year Veteran had both reached level 38, I Am an Angel was level 37, and the others were around levels 36 and 35.
They had Ma Xiaotao to thank for this.
The higher a reputation quest's difficulty level, the greater its rewards.
The players had encountered a six-ring Soul Emperor-level Evil Soul Master who had gathered a group of followers, forming a force no smaller than Death's Hand.
They had expected a bitter battle, but Ma Xiaotao unexpectedly took over as the main damage dealer, greatly reducing the pressure on the players.
After completing that highest-difficulty reputation quest, every player received a massive share of experience, directly pushing their soul power levels higher.
If the Soul Master Tournament could be postponed for a while, the players could raise their soul power levels even higher. Having everyone reach four-ring Soul Ancestor would be no problem.
However, there weren't that many ifs. They had now arrived at Star Luo City, and the Soul Master Tournament would officially open in two days.
After reaching Star Luo City, the players parted ways with the people from Shrek Academy.
Once the two groups separated, the story quest's rewards also began to be calculated.
[Calculating story quest rewards. Interaction with Shrek Academy: excellent player performance. All players gain 1 soul power level, all soul rings gain 500 years of age, and 10,000 gold soul coins awarded.]
Wang Zhongwang: "Our gamble paid off. We got an excellent rating for this quest, and the rewards were much better too."
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "Exactly. Does this mean the game encourages us to get more involved in the story?"
Primordial One: "Isn't that obvious? We can only earn more rewards by getting more involved in the story."
Wang Zhongwang: "And earning more rewards lets us take part in the story better. After all, if our strength can't keep up, we won't be able to participate in the later story."
Ten-Year Veteran: "Then tell me, how should we get involved in the story coming up?"
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "The next part of the story is the Soul Master Tournament, and we've already registered. As long as we can win, we're already taking part in the story."
I Am an Angel: "Winning won't be that easy. We're still only at three rings. If we're matched against a powerful opponent in the first round, we'll be going home after one match."
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "Yeah, there are no respawn points in the arena."
Qian Xixi: "We're players. What are players least afraid of?"
Spirit Hall Eternal: "Death, of course. We can respawn anyway."
Qian Xixi: "Exactly. We're not even afraid of dying, so let's go into the arena and fight with our lives on the line. As the saying goes, the poor fear the bullies, the bullies fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who don't care whether they live."
Qian Xixi: "There aren't many people in the arena who actually dare to put their lives on the line."
Wang Zhongwang: "But don't forget, Shrek Academy really does dare to kill people in the arena. A continent-wide tournament for young soul masters doesn't even prohibit killing. What a bizarre setup."
Spirit Hall Eternal: "This is the Douluo Continent. Even the most bizarre things count as normal here."
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "Aren't soul tools allowed? Does that mean we can use C4?"
Wang Zhongwang: "Using C4 in the arena? Isn't that going a bit far? We're here to compete, not carry out demolition work."
Ten-Year Veteran: "Even without C4, there are other soul tools in the sect shop. We could equip those."
Wang Zhongwang: "And health and mana potions. Stock up on as many as we can. Taking potions isn't banned in the arena anyway."
While they discussed how to prepare for the Soul Master Tournament, Ten-Year Veteran discovered that reputation quests were still available, and this newly updated set of reputation quests was once again highly dangerous.
But the players didn't care about how dangerous the quests were. The greater the danger, the richer the rewards.
So the players all headed out to grind quests again. Meanwhile, back at Shrek Academy's side, Xuan Zi had been keeping an eye on their movements.
"What are they going to do now? Are they going to eliminate more Evil Soul Masters? Are there Evil Soul Masters hiding inside Star Luo City too?"
Xuan Zi took a sip of wine and followed them.
After twisting and turning through the streets, the players found a large residence in a secluded part of the city. Its gates were securely locked, and there seemed to be no one inside.
The players took a simple, brutal approach, bringing out C4 and blasting the gates open.
Xuan Zi choked on his wine at the sight.
"Cough, cough! Blasting open gates with soul-tool bombs! Are these people out of their minds?"
In a game, no player was in their right mind. After they stormed into the residence, the quest target appeared right after.
"Anyone who trespasses here dies!"
This Evil Soul Master held a black banner, his flesh withered like a dried corpse's. Wronged souls swirled around him, their resentment soaring to the sky.
Wang Zhongwang: "@I Am an Angel, looks like it's your time to shine again."
Ten-Year Veteran: "Same as always. Go!"
Seeing the players charging toward him, the Evil Soul Master revealed six soul rings, displaying his strength as a six-ring Soul Emperor.
At the same time, he waved his black banner, and the resentful spirits imprisoned within it surged toward the players.
However, the resentful spirits had very limited effects on the players. At most, they inflicted a damage-over-time debuff.
Before you continue