"Windblown sand buried palace gates and locked away the fading sunset; after a thousand years of slumber, the emperor rose again!"
Faced with the aggressively advancing A Dao and A Jian, Shangguan Hong summoned his Martial Soul outright. His Soul Ring configuration of one yellow and two purple drew gasps from the audience, and his top-tier Soul Elder presence instinctively brought the vicious-looking pair to a halt. Yellow sand churned as the majestic desert emperor joined the battlefield with his faithful soldiers. In an instant, the ferocious expressions on the brothers' faces vanished, replaced by shock and fear.
But that was not all!
Ning Rongrong, whom so many spectators had scorned all along, summoned her Martial Soul as well. The pagoda, shimmering with flowing colors, could not be ignored. Although her two Hundred-Year Soul Rings were slightly inferior, the power of her Martial Soul was enough to make up for everything!
"Seven treasures turn, and glazed tile appears! Seven Treasures Have Names, First: Strength, Second: Speed!"
The powerful support from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda sent Shangguan Hong's presence surging once more. Interestingly, the strength and speed boosts Ning Rongrong provided could pass through Shangguan Hong to the Sand Emperor and soldiers he summoned! The already powerful soldiers moved even faster, their thick arms visibly swelling two sizes larger. At their emperor's command, they roared in unison and charged at A Dao and A Jian.
Anyone who had never witnessed Shangguan Hong's Soul Skills would never understand how terrifying these summons were. A Dao and A Jian were clearly frightened. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they instinctively adopted the most foolish defense, but under the four soldiers' encirclement, the pair soon fell.
The spectators at the sidelines were generous with their cheers, but some harbored other thoughts! Among them were Mad Rhino, captain of the Mad Battle Team, and his vice-captain, Spider Woman. After pulling some strings, their team had discovered that they would be facing the Shrek Seven Devils tonight, and the two had been observing from the sidelines for some time. They had intended to gather intelligence to make the upcoming Soul Fighting match easier, but never expected to witness such a terrifying scene.
"What Martial Soul is that? With only rank 38 Soul Power, he completely suppressed two rank 34 Soul Elders, leaving them without even the slightest ability to resist!"
Mad Rhino sucked in a cold breath, inadvertently making an outstanding contribution to the warming of the Douluo Continent. Beside him, Spider Woman wore a grave expression as well. Clearly, the strength Shangguan Hong had displayed already exceeded what they could handle. Unless they took specific measures against him, their winning streak would come to an end.
Watching Shangguan Hong and Ning Rongrong bask in the audience's cheers in the Soul Fighting Arena, the two felt their minds tangle like hemp. There were still two and a half hours until the Soul Fighting match began. Every member of the Mad Battle Team was gathering intelligence, and presumably, they had made discoveries just as these two had.
The pair left, their steps somewhat hurried. When they returned to the lounge, the other team members were sitting together, exchanging intelligence.
"Captain, you're back!"
Wishful Disc, the team's Support System Soul Master, spoke up, but then his brow furrowed. He had noticed something wrong with Mad Rhino's and Spider Woman's expressions. From what he knew of them, something unexpected had probably happened.
"How's the intelligence gathering going? Have you gotten to the bottom of the Shrek Seven Devils' capabilities?"
Mad Rhino dropped onto the sofa while Spider Woman organized the intelligence their companions provided beside him.
In fact, the Shrek Seven Devils' overall Soul Power was far inferior to that of their Mad Battle Team. They had two Soul Grandmasters and five Soul Elders, and apart from Dai Mubai and Shangguan Hong, the other three Soul Elders were only just above rank 30. The Mad Battle Team had defeated countless opponents like these. Yet the Shrek Seven Devils' Soul Ring configurations and powerful Martial Souls were unsettling. They were by no means comparable to ordinary Soul Master teams.
"Captain, why do you look so weighed down with worries? At the end of the day, the Shrek Seven Devils are just a bunch of reckless greenhorns fresh out of the cottage. Our Mad Battle Team is one of Suotuo City's top Soul Elder teams..."
"Shut up!"
Mad Rhino roared, then shared all the intelligence he had gathered. When they heard about the Soul Ring configuration of one yellow and two purple, these highly conceited Soul Elders paled in shock. After all, four of them had one white and two yellow Soul Rings, while two had one white, one yellow, and one purple. Only their vice-captain, Spider Woman, had the standard two yellow and one purple.
"How is that possible? How could anyone have a Thousand-Year Soul Ring while still a Soul Grandmaster?"
"Exactly! That defies all common sense!"
The Mad Battle Team broke into a flurry of discussion. Although they were unwilling to admit it, the fact remained that there was an extraordinary monster among the Shrek Seven Devils!
Precisely because of this, the Mad Battle Team needed to revise the tactics they had already devised.
At that moment, Shangguan Hong still had no idea what insane actions the Mad Battle Team would take to win a single Soul Fighting match...
Inside the Shrek Seven Devils' lounge.
Three doubles Soul Fighting matches and one singles match-four matches, and the Shrek Seven Devils had won them all! It was quite a good start, and everyone's morale was high. Just then, Yu Xiaogang pushed open the lounge door, a stack of files in his hand. Through his deductions, he had all but confirmed that the Shrek Seven Devils' opponents tonight would be the Mad Battle Team. Before the Soul Fighting match began, he, as their supervising teacher, needed to make some arrangements.
Shangguan Hong sat on the sofa as Yu Xiaogang's voice kept drifting into his ears. Unfortunately, all his attention was on the fruit platter before him, until Yu Xiaogang called his name.
"Shangguan Hong, Shangguan Hong!"
Only after two consecutive calls did Shangguan Hong finally come to his senses. He turned to look and found everyone in the room staring at him, with Yu Xiaogang in particular glaring with wide, furious eyes.
As the team's supervising teacher, Yu Xiaogang considered his position above the rest. He was laying out their tactics, yet Shangguan Hong actually dared to let his mind wander. This was simply treating him, their teacher, as though he did not exist!
Shangguan Hong's previous duel with Tang San had not produced the result he wanted, so Yu Xiaogang intended to employ some tricks in this match. He had originally planned to achieve his goal with lofty, high-sounding words, but Shangguan Hong's inattentiveness made him abandon that idea.
"Shangguan Hong, in the upcoming team Soul Fighting match, you cannot use your Second Soul Skill! You are not allowed to command your summons to act on your own authority. As a Control System Soul Master, Little San is the brain of the team. Everyone must follow his arrangements!"
Too impatient to disguise his intentions, Yu Xiaogang rolled out the map and revealed the dagger outright. He intended to use this team Soul Fighting match to elevate his disciple to the position of the team's leader! Captain Dai Mubai had no objections to this. After all, Tang San's tactical arrangements during their entrance examination had been quite sound, and Dai Mubai considered himself inferior in that regard. What none of them understood, however, was why Yu Xiaogang would not allow Shangguan Hong to use his Second Soul Skill.
Yu Xiaogang had his own plans. He had never witnessed Shangguan Hong's other Soul Skills and only knew of Azir's strength and arrogance. Such a being would absolutely never obey Tang San's commands. Moreover, if Shangguan Hong defeated several opponents single-handedly in full view of everyone, his disciple would no longer be the protagonist.
It could be said that Yu Xiaogang had truly racked his brains for Tang San's sake.
However, if he were to learn how terrifying Mordekaiser was...
Azir, with all his arrogance, could only count as a loli before Mordekaiser!