Upon hearing the referee's announcement, everyone in the stands turned ashen-faced, including Qian Chen. He truly hadn't expected Qian Guyi to be so blunt.
To fly out unscathed—wasn't that a slap in the face to the entire Shrek Academy leadership?
Just as Qian Chen was wondering what to do, Yan Shaozhe suddenly spoke up. He shouted from the stands, " Qian Guyi, the match isn't over yet, why are you leaving already? Hurry back!"
Xuan Zi understood; Qian Guyi had done it on purpose. But he couldn't let Qian Guyi go; she was the cornerstone of the next Shrek Team, the one who would guarantee Shrek Academy's victory.
Xuan Zi's mind raced, and he said, "Considering that the last Shrek Seven Devils only had seven members, an unexpected event could shake Shrek Academy's undefeated reputation. I think each Shrek Team shouldn't just have the Shrek Seven Devils; there must be substitutes."
Hearing Xuan Zi's words, Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei'er, Qian Duoduo, and the others all nodded in agreement. Qian Duoduo added, " Xuan Zi is right. Our Soul Tool Department can field one regular member of the Shrek Seven Devils and one reserve member."
After Qian Duoduo finished speaking, he was still a little worried, afraid that Zhang Lexuan and Qian Chen would also take away the positions of the Shrek Seven Devils' reserve members. However, when he looked over, Zhang Lexuan and Qian Chen completely ignored him.
Xuan Zi stepped down and said directly, "I've decided. This time, the Shrek Seven Devils will be the seven who persevere to the end. They are the elite of the Shrek Academy, the hope for upholding Shrek's honor in the next generation."
Then Xuan Zi looked at Qian Guyi, then at Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu who looked disappointed, and said, "This year, the Shrek Team team will add three more candidates: Qian Guyi, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu."
"No! My niece, Qian Guyi, has the Holy Angel Martial Soul. Participating in the Soul Master Tournament would expose her to Evil Soul Master and put her in danger," Qian Chen immediately explained for Qian Guyi.
Xuan Zi couldn't ignore Qian Chen's opinion, so after thinking for a moment, he said, " Qian Chen, I understand your concerns. How about this? In this Soul Master Tournament, Qian Guyi will just come with us to watch; she won't have to participate. By the next Soul Master Tournament, she'll be nineteen years old and might have reached the Soul Douluo level, just like you did back then. That way, we won't let her take the initiative; we can let her be the ballast of our Shrek Team. What do you think?"
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo thought Xuan Zi's method was good. Yan Shaozhe quickly added, " Xuan Zi's method is excellent; it solves many problems at once."
Qian Duoduo hurriedly added, "That's right, that's the best way! It satisfies the need to uphold Shrek Academy's honor without hindering Qian Guyi's growth—it's a win-win situation!"
"This is non-negotiable. Qian Guyi is different from me. I have the Seven Kill Sword as cover, and all the Evil Soul Master who have seen my Second Martial Soul are dead. But Qian Guyi only has one Martial Soul, and participating will expose her."
Seeing Qian Chen's determination, Xuan Zi was unwilling to give up. Zhang Lexuan also chimed in, " Xuan Zi, we are the academy; we cannot risk the safety of our students."
Seeing that Qian Chen and Zhang Lexuan both objected, Xuan Zi had no choice but to back down again, saying, " Soul Douluo's physical attributes and strength are enough to easily defeat Soul Saint or Soul Emperor even without releasing their Martial Soul. If we equip Qian Guyi with Soul Tool, she will be able to unleash tremendous combat power. Also, we still need to listen to the opinions of those involved."
Xuan Zi immediately ordered, "Please invite Qian Guyi over."
"Yes," a teacher replied.
A few minutes later, Qian Guyi was invited onto the stage. Facing a group of high-ranking officials from the academy, Qian Guyi showed no fear and bowed to them, saying, "Student Guyi greets all the teachers."
Xuan Zi didn't waste any time and immediately stepped forward to briefly recount his conversation with Qian Chen before asking, " Qian Guyi, would you be willing to Shrek Academy Team?"
Qian Guyi glanced at Qian Chen. Qian Chen stopped objecting and clearly gave the decision-making power to herself.
Qian Guyi thought for a moment and said, "Okay. But I still risk being exposed. Since I'm taking the risk, shouldn't the academy give me appropriate compensation?"
Hearing Qian Guyi say something similar to what Qian Chen had said back then, Xuan Zi's lips twitched, and he asked, "What kind of compensation do you want?"
"First, I'll take on all the missions of the Academy's Inspection Corps to eliminate Evil Soul Master, except for those I can't defeat right now." Qian Guyi thought for a moment and then voiced her first idea.
Upon hearing Qian Guyi's words, Xuan Zi asked, "Do you have any other requests? Tell me them all."
"Secondly, I don't need the academy to find me Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, but the academy must give me a 100,000-year-old Soul Bone with the attributes of light, holiness, or fire."
Xuan Zi thought for a moment, and realized this wasn't so difficult. Mu En had already passed away, leaving behind three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone with the attribute of light. However, he still felt a pang of regret, so he said, "Alright, I agree."
Seeing this, Qian Chen nodded to Qian Guyi. His niece had truly inherited his excellent traditions!
"Alright, the Shrek Seven Devils of the Shrek Academy are now finalized: Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, Wang Qiu'er, Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao. Plus substitutes Qian Guyi, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu," Xuan Zi concluded.
With Huo Yuhao, a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, finally joining the Shrek Seven Devils, Qian Chen's main plan was successfully completed.
In the future, Huo Yuhao will be able to reveal his Body Martial Soul in the Soul Master Tournament and perform exceptionally well. At that time, Huo Yuhao will definitely be forcibly taken away by the Body Sect.
This way, he could avoid further entanglement with Wang Dong'er, and also utilize the Body Sect's Martial Soul Evolution Method to Martial Soul Evolution Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul, which might allow him to break the Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Wang Dong'er.
Moreover, none of this reveals that Qian Chen is plotting behind the scenes. If Tang San wants to deal with someone, it won't be him. It's just the poor Body Sect that might suffer a blow from Tang San.
Just as Qian Chen was pondering these things, Xuan Zi had already sent Qian Guyi back to the student team. He then went to the competition field and, looking at the seven students remaining, Xuan Zi announced loudly, "Congratulations to the seven of you for successfully winning this Shrek Seven Devils reserve member selection competition."
The cheers Xuan Zi had anticipated did not materialize. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er, Wang Qiu'er, Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan all remained remarkably calm, showing neither joy nor sorrow, which puzzled Xuan Zi.
They were all quite close to Qian Chen Qian Chen, and naturally learned from him how to have clear goals and pursue tangible benefits, rather than risking their lives for the vague glory of Shrek Academy. Furthermore, Shrek Academy didn't seem to offer them any significant assistance.
Xuan Zi didn't care about what the others thought. Xuan Zi then looked at the dozen or so people who had already been eliminated and said, "In this selection competition, Qian Guyi, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu performed exceptionally well and were promoted to reserve members of the Shrek Seven Shrek Team. If the Shrek Seven Monsters don't perform well, you still have a chance to be promoted to one of the Shrek Seven Devils again."
Qian Guyi remained calm. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, on the other hand, were incredibly excited, as if they had been reborn.
Those close to Qian Chen couldn't help but look down on him, thinking to themselves: What's there to get excited about?
At this moment, Xuan Zi announced again, "Starting tomorrow, you will not be going back to your previous classes for the time being. You will instead train with me and the current Shrek Seven Devils."