Elder Xuan's arrogance and domineering behavior were tantamount to trampling the Star Luo Emperor's dignity underfoot.
Of course, Xu Jiawei also disliked Ten-Year Veteran provoking Shrek Academy so brazenly in the arena.
He only wanted to bring this Soul Master Tournament to a perfect conclusion. He didn't want any trouble. To put it plainly, Xu Jiawei was an emperor with little ambition.
Hearing Xu Jiawei's words, Elder Xuan finally withdrew the pressure of his soul power.
He had been blinded by rage, and only after calming down did he realize that he had offended a lot of people.
Although Shrek Academy wasn't afraid of them, this would still damage Shrek Academy's reputation.
What's more, someone was now publicly spreading dirt about Shrek Academy in the arena, whether true or not.
Ten-Year Veteran didn't care about any of that. The Players were still urging him to continue over the team voice chat.
Wang Zhongwang: "Don't stop. Keep going. Give us a vivid account of Yu Xiaogang's history as a scumbag."
Spirit Hall Eternal: "That's too much trouble. Get straight to the point and say Yu Xiaogang is a plagiarist who stitches together other people's theories."
Primordial One: "For the gossip-hungry crowd, scandalous relationship rumors are still more popular."
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "Forget all that. Say as much as you can and see if you can piss off everyone from Shrek Academy."
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "Even if they don't get pissed to death, once the dirt gets out, Shrek Academy will be socially dead."
Qian Xixi: "Being socially dead is useless. Shrek Academy's strength is right there for all to see, and plenty of students will still apply."
I Am an Angel: "That's why, if you want to clean up Shrek Academy, you have to do it physically. They did a good job of it in Legend of the Dragon King, but unfortunately, it was rebuilt in the end."
Wang Zhongwang: "Can't be helped. Shrek Academy is in the protagonist's camp. If you want to take it down, you have to smash the protagonist's halo first."
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "Aren't we smashing Huo Yuhao's protagonist halo right now? Our arrival has taken away all his early-story moments in the spotlight."
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "We're Players. If we don't smash the protagonist's halo, are we supposed to be his dogs?"
Primordial One: "Aren't you already?"
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "Screw you! I'll always be Ayaka's dog, and nothing else!"
The team voice chat was lively, but Ten-Year Veteran looked rather helpless. He scanned the audience in the arena again, paying particular attention to Elder Xuan.
But that extra glance looked like a provocation to Elder Xuan. In the eyes of someone who already disliked you, any movement you made could be read into in the most damning way.
Ten-Year Veteran: "Yu Xiaogang was the son of Yu Yuanzhen, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's patriarch ten thousand years ago. Liu Erlong, meanwhile, was the illegitimate daughter of Yu Luomian, Yu Yuanzhen's younger brother. That's an indisputable fact."
Ten-Year Veteran: "According to the records we know of, they once agreed to become soulmates and not consummate their relationship. But the facts prove that so-called soulmates were nothing but a joke. In the end, they still crossed that line and even passed their bloodline down."
"Impossible! You must be spouting nonsense! I absolutely will not allow you to slander our ancestors."
Despite his injuries, Bei Bei charged at Ten-Year Veteran again.
Ten-Year Veteran: "Believe it or not, what's it to me? As long as someone believes it, that's enough. Besides, it's the truth."
Ten-Year Veteran didn't make a move. The Flame-Treading Black Steed beneath him charged straight into Bei Bei.
Bei Bei was sent flying again like a rolling gourd. This time, he wasn't so lucky-he rolled right off the stage and was eliminated.
The referee immediately announced Bei Bei's elimination, then asked whether Shrek Academy would send out another contestant.
The referee could see that Shrek Academy had no one left to send.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's levels were too low, and they couldn't use their martial soul fusion skill in an individual match. Those two were practically useless here.
Xiao Xiao's level wasn't high either, and she leaned toward support. She was even less suitable.
Ma Xiaotao and the others had only recovered a tiny bit of their soul power. Sending them up by force would just mean handing the opponent a win. There was no point.
Zhou Yi was at a loss, so she could only look to Elder Xuan. Elder Xuan was full of anger and couldn't calm down enough to think things through.
As for conceding, they had never even considered it. Shrek's ten-thousand-year glory had them shackled, leaving them with no such option.
After waiting for quite a while, the referee spoke again. "Shrek Academy, please send out your next contestant as soon as possible. Otherwise, I will rule that Shrek Academy has forfeited the match."
Huo Yuhao stepped forward. "Teacher Zhou, Elder Xuan, let me go."
"Yuhao, what are you talking about?"
Before Zhou Yi or Elder Xuan could speak, Wang Dong stepped forward to object.
Huo Yuhao had indeed performed remarkably at school, but his soul power level was what it was. Without the martial soul fusion skill he used with her, he couldn't handle a tough fight on his own.
Zhou Yi asked, "Yuhao, what are you planning?"
"Once I'm on the stage, I'll try to buy as much time as possible so that Sister Xiao Tao and the others can recover more of their soul power."
"Mm, I think that'll work. Yuhao, you're clever, but don't overdo it."
"Yes, Elder Xuan!"
Then Huo Yuhao stepped onto the arena.
The Players' team voice chat grew even livelier when they saw Huo Yuhao take the stage.
Wang Zhongwang: "Why did Huo Yuhao come up? Is he planning to scare us with simulated Soul Rings?"
I Am an Angel: "Now that you mention it, he really might do something like that."
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "While he was traveling with us, he never told us his soul power level. If we didn't know what he was really like, suddenly showing a few red hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings on the stage would definitely fool people."
Primordial One: "Very likely. He might even make the audience think he's Shrek Academy's real trump card, then put on a big show."
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "As expected, the protagonist's halo isn't easy to smash. The protagonist will always find a way to pop out and show off."
Qian Xixi: "Isn't that easy? Just dox him."
I Am an Angel: "You mean reveal that there's a million-year-old Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress, one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, inside his mind? Then he'd really become everyone's target."
Wang Zhongwang: "That's bad! If you reveal that, Shrek Academy will definitely protect him even more closely and expose his background."
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "Oh, right! Isn't Huo Yuhao's enemy and biological father sitting up there?"
Dai Hao, the White Tiger Duke, seated below Xu Jiawei, the Star Luo Emperor, was indeed watching Huo Yuhao at that moment.
He felt a sense of familiarity from the boy.
Come to think of it, Dai Hao managed an entire army, yet he couldn't even keep track of how many sons he had. It was truly laughable.
The only explanation was that he had never paid any attention to Huo Yuhao and his mother.
Before you continue