The next morning, the group continued their journey, and by the afternoon, they had left the Balak Kingdom and entered the Silves Kingdom.
That evening, as night fell, they arrived at the capital of Silvis, the Silves City. Flender, contrary to his stingy nature, actually took everyone to a very expensive hotel.
Just when everyone thought Flender had changed his ways, after dinner, he finally revealed his true colors and led everyone to a certain place.
Looking at the familiar building before him, Oscar frowned and asked, "Isn't this the Great Soul Arena? What are we doing here?"
"Haha, you guys haven't had any real combat for two months, so it's understandable that you're a bit rusty, right?" Flender said. "To keep your skills sharp, I'll take you to a long-awaited Soul Fighting today!"
"Of course, to conserve your energy, you don't need to participate in the individual competitions; you only need to participate in one team battle!"
Everyone immediately understood that Flender wanted to make a fortune by exploiting their Soul Fighting, and the method was obvious: gambling!
Flender had already tasted success at the Soto Great Soul Arena, earning a considerable amount of money by using everyone's matches.
However, this time, Flender's calculations went wrong. When the Shrek team put on their masks and registered for the team battle, they were told that there was no team that could match them, because finding another Gold Soul Fighting Team at the Soul Elder level was harder than climbing to heaven.
"I never imagined we'd become this strong. We're practically Dugu!" Ma Hongjun said smugly.
The Grandmaster nearby added, "That's normal. There are many geniuses in this world, but very few places can gather together children as talented as you!"
"Then, what can we do? Isn't there any other way?" Flender asked unwillingly.
The staff member thought for a moment and said, "There are other ways. If you're willing to fight someone of a higher level and engage in a Soul Ancestor team in a Soul Fighting, I believe there are still people willing to compete with you."
Upon hearing that they would be competing against opponents of a higher level, Flender hesitated. Although he was greedy, he would never gamble with the safety of the Shrek team.
But then the Grandmaster said, "Alright! We agree to compete against teams of higher levels, and please match us with the most ruthless and inhumane teams, preferably the kind that kill people every time!"
" Xiaogang! Are you crazy?" Flender exclaimed in shock. "You should know what the consequences would be if we played against a team like this! This isn't training; it's playing with our lives!"
"I have my own plans, Flender," the Grandmaster said calmly. "In this match, I will teach them something else."
Qi Ling knew perfectly well what the Grandmaster wanted to teach everyone: how to kill!
The Shrek Devils are too naive right now; they can't bring themselves to kill their enemies, which can sometimes be fatal in battle.
Therefore, the Grandmaster planned to let the Shrek students experience the feeling of killing, because some people contribute more to the world when they are dead than when they are alive.
Upon hearing the Grandmaster's words, the staff member immediately replied, "We do indeed have such a team. It's called the Fierce God Team, a Soul Ancestor level team at the Silver Soul Fighter level. They've killed a total of sixty-three opponents in the competition, and there are casualties in almost every battle."
The Grandmaster nodded and said, "Hmm, very good, they are the ones! Please prepare for our match against them!"
Flender asked worriedly, "Hey, Xiaogang, are you sure you can do this? Are you really confident?"
"Don't worry, I'll let them use Xiao San's Hidden Weapon in this match," the Grandmaster said.
After completing the formalities for the match against the Fierce God Team, the Grandmaster called everyone together and said to them, "Aren't you all wondering why I made this decision to have you participate in such a match?"
Everyone nodded, and Ma Hongjun, thinking himself clever, said, "Ah! Grandmaster, I know! You must be planning to have Boss Qi make a move, which is why you picked such an opponent for us, right?"
The Grandmaster shook his head and said, " Qi Ling will not play in this match either."
"Huh? Why is that? It seems like we can't defeat the Soul Ancestor on our own," Ma Hongjun asked, puzzled.
"I'm doing this to teach you something," the Grandmaster said slowly. "I'm going to teach you how to kill!"
"Murder?!" everyone exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right, all of you will be using Xiao San's Hidden Weapon during the competition later. As for how to use them, Xiao San 'll be in charge!" the Grandmaster said.
Tang San hesitated for a moment, then said, "But, teacher, this..."
"I've chosen the most ruthless team; you could say they all deserve to die!" Grandmaster interrupted Tang San. "Remember! Your opponents will grow stronger and stronger. To defeat them, you must not give them any chance to turn the tables!"
After the Grandmaster left, the Shrek students all looked pale. After all, the psychological burden of having to kill someone with their own hands was too great for them.
Seeing this, Qi Ling couldn't help but sigh. This was something they had to go through, and no one could do it for them.
" Qi Ling, have you... have you killed someone before?" Ning Rongrong asked Qi Ling hesitantly.
Since the Grandmaster didn't let Qi Ling participate, it means that Qi Ling doesn't need this kind of training, which also means that killing is nothing to Qi Ling.
"I've killed them, and more than one," Qi Ling said calmly. Although he wasn't bloodthirsty, he was absolutely unafraid to kill.
"Do we really have to take action?" Not only Ning Rongrong, but everyone looked at Qi Ling. Only Qi Ling, whom everyone trusted, could answer their questions.
Qi Ling sighed helplessly. They were too naive. This world was not the peaceful era before she transmigrated, but a truly turbulent era fraught with danger.
Suddenly, Qi Ling grabbed Ning Rongrong, strangled her, and shouted at Dai Mubai, " Dai Mubai! Kill Oscar immediately! Otherwise, I'll kill Ning Rongrong!"
"Huh? I, I..." Dai Mubai was taken aback and looked at Oscar, wondering what Qi Ling's intentions were.
Qi Ling then released Ning Rongrong and said, "Because this is me, you know I won't lay a hand on you. But think about it, what will you do if that day really comes?"
"What we need to do now is prevent this from happening again! Mercy towards the enemy is the greatest cruelty we can show to ourselves."
Hearing Qi Ling's words, the Shrek Academy students fell silent. Although they were struggling internally, the world was inherently cruel; if you couldn't adapt to it, you would be eliminated.
Qi Ling only hoped that none of them would ever be eliminated by this world.