"Huh? Soul Fighting?"
A day had passed since Shangguan Hong and the others' hellish training. The Shrek students, their vitality depleted, awoke from their deep slumber to find themselves in medicinal baths filled with precious natural treasures. Even Shangguan Hong clicked his tongue at the medicinal ingredients in those baths. He had scoured Nuoya City for plenty of good things back then and could be considered an expert on natural treasures. By his rough estimate, those ingredients were worth no less than 500 Gold Soul Coins in total.
Flender had truly spared no expense. This expenditure piled snow atop the frost for the already impoverished Shrek Academy. Now, it was understandable that they were being asked to hone themselves at the Great Soul Arena and earn Gold Soul Coins to keep the academy afloat.
Clearly, however, everyone was surprised that they would be going to the Great Soul Arena for Soul Fighting. After all, this would be the entirety of their training from now on. There would be no fancy theoretical instruction, only one actual battle after another! Admittedly, this would be a great help in improving their strength, but what invited criticism was that this so-called Grandmaster seemed to have arranged nothing more than a single run carrying rocks on their backs...
Normally, no one would have minded. Unfortunately, Shangguan Hong voiced a complaint in front of everyone, and in an instant, those who had just received the title of the Shrek Seven Devils began grumbling inwardly.
Still, grumbling was one thing, and the matches they needed to fight could not be skipped. In the lounge, Yu Xiaogang brought out the team uniforms he had custom-made for them, along with brand-new masks. Since the Shrek Seven Devils were too young, Yu Xiaogang required every one of them to fight under a code name.
Tang San and the others quickly came up with their respective code names, but when it came to Shangguan Hong...
He hesitated for a long time.
"Brother Shangguan, still haven't decided? It's just a code name. How about Shovel Maniac, if you ask me?"
Sitting beside Shangguan Hong, Tang San teased him with a face full of amusement. Everyone else rushed to offer their own suggestions, each more ridiculous than the last.
Finally, looking at his unreliable companions around him, Shangguan Hong grinned and said softly:
"Let's go with 'Purple Dead Sea'!"
Even though he was now a Soul Elder with three Soul Skills, what Shangguan Hong had always taken pride in was his First Soul Ring, his First Soul Skill! Baron Nashor (already evolved into Voracious Baron, but for ease of use, he would continue to be called Baron Nashor from now on) had evolved into the most powerful of his three summons. At the same time, the Void would undoubtedly play the greatest role in Shangguan Hong's future. Neither Noxus nor Shurima could stand alongside the Void when it came to devouring power.
Besides, this code name did not seem out of place. To the others, "purple" referred to Shangguan Hong's hair and eyes, while "dead sea" might refer to his Soul Skill. It sounded pretty good, too.
Now that they had their code names, naturally, they first needed a few matches to make a name for themselves!
Yu Xiaogang quickly arranged a team match for them, but it would not take place for another three hours. Before then, everyone decided to warm up with a match, entering either a one-on-one or a two-on-two.
At first, Shangguan Hong planned to do a one-on-one just to go through the motions. However, as one of the team's only two Support System members without any offensive ability, Ning Rongrong had something else in mind.
Watching Tang San and Xiao Wu leave laughing, and Dai Mubai and Oscar head toward the Soul Fighting Arena while teasing each other, Ning Rongrong's eyes darted, and she walked toward Shangguan Hong somewhat bashfully.
"Shangguan, what are your plans next? Want to enter a two-on-two match with me?"
Shangguan Hong could not have wished for anything better. He had long had designs on Ning Rongrong-not romantic designs, of course, but designs on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect behind her! Besides, entering a two-on-two match was hardly anything to him.
"Since Young Lady Ning is in the mood, I can only oblige!"
With a polite, gentlemanly smile on his face, Shangguan Hong accompanied her to the registration desk, leaving Zhu Zhuqing alone in the room. The voluptuous cat girl's expression remained calm, but no one knew what she was thinking.
"What should we call ourselves?"
Facing the Great Soul Arena's attendant, Shangguan Hong, who was hopeless at naming things, and the mischievous Ning Rongrong fell into thought. Still, it was only a name, so Ning Rongrong simply took two characters from each of their code names.
Purple Glazed Tile!
When a Soul Elder and a Soul Grandmaster teamed up for Soul Fighting, they would only face Soul Elder teams. After waiting a short while, Shangguan Hong and Ning Rongrong found themselves facing their first match.
Their opponents were two level-34 Soul Elders, both with the same Soul Ring configuration of one white and two yellow. Their strength was quite ordinary, and their team was called Blade and Sword Dance Together.
"Two rookies, and you've even brought a little Soul Grandmaster girl? Kid, you must not know how to write the word 'death'!"
A vicious-looking, burly man who appeared to be in his thirties held a large cleaver and stared hostilely at Shangguan Hong and Ning Rongrong a short distance away. The man beside him was much thinner and held an ordinary iron sword. These were two Power Attack System Tool Soul Masters who enjoyed a modest reputation in a place like Suotuo City.
"And you're wearing masks, too? What's this? Planning to become night-roaming heroes and keep Suotuo City safe? What a load of hocus-pocus!"
Opening with trash talk was standard practice in Soul Fighting among commoner Soul Masters. Behind his mask, Shangguan Hong's face was full of disdain. The sharp-tongued Ning Rongrong could not stomach this insult, and she soon displayed her astonishing verbal prowess, leaving the two hulking men so furious that smoke practically poured from their seven orifices after just a few remarks.
"Chop them to pieces!"
"Two rookies dare to be this arrogant? A Dao, A Jian, you two had better not go easy on them!"
"What bullshit Purple Glazed Tile? Afraid there's someone in Suotuo City flashier than you?"
"What's the point of trading insults? Boring! I want to see rivers of blood!"
The spectators in the stands roared, brimming with viciousness. Young Master Bai's arrival had whipped up a storm of bloody wind and rain in Suotuo City. His methods, every punch striking flesh and every move lethal, chilled the heart! Even more astonishingly, Young Master Bai had never used his Martial Soul. With nothing but his two fists, he had beaten countless enemies to death. Such blood-stirring scenes had already drawn out the darkest side of ordinary people's hearts, so much so that even during ordinary Soul Fighting matches now, the audience shouted not for the fighters to defeat their opponents, but to tear them apart!
"Let the match begin!"
Seeing the crowd's excitement reach its peak, the referee declared the start without hesitation! In an instant, the blade-and-sword brothers roared together. The Ten-Year Soul Rings beneath their feet lit up simultaneously, and a wash of blood-red light shrouded their blades!
A large part of these brothers' popularity came from their Martial Souls! Weapons like blades and swords left their victims injured or maimed whenever they struck, perfectly catering to these spectators' bloodthirsty desires!
Yet, facing the two Battle Soul Masters bearing down on him, Shangguan Hong's lips curled into a cold smile.
Soul Fighting-he simply loved Soul Fighting!
After all, every drop of blood spilled in Suotuo City's Soul Fighting Arena was nourishment for him to grow stronger!