The First Match

The man had long purple hair and looked to be no more than thirty or forty years old, but the depth in his eyes was far older than his appearance. He stood at the top of the steps, a smile on his lips, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

Flender, you're still alive?

Flender laughed too, adjusting his glasses so the lenses reflected the light. "Haha, Shi Nian, I haven't made enough money yet. You're not dead, how could I bear to die? But since you care about me so much, when you die, I'll definitely burn lots of paper money at your grave."

"Heh." Shi Nian's smile remained unchanged. "With your pathetic appearance, I'd rather burn paper money for you."

He turned and walked back, his voice drifting back slowly, "You'd better pray your students don't run into Canghui. Otherwise, you'll have to burn paper money for your students. Hahaha."

Flender remained expressionless, but raised his voice slightly. "Alright, I'd love to see you there. Hopefully, your students won't be scared to tears."

After the people from the Canghui Academy had walked away, Ma Hongjun approached and asked, "Teacher, do you know him?"

Flender's smile faded, "This guy's name is Shi Nian, his Martial Soul Remnant Dream."

Tang San frowned slightly. "Remnant Dream... an illusion?"

Wang Xingyu quickly went through the original plot in his mind. In the Remnant Dream, it seemed that Canmeng Shi Nian had become a deliveryman for equipment. A piece of Soul Bone had fallen from his body.

Flender nodded. "That's right, illusion-type Martial Soul are extremely insidious. Although it's only level 72, it's very difficult to deal with. If you encounter it, you must be careful."

Everyone nodded and noted it down, then entered the waiting area.

The interior of the Great Soul Arena was even more magnificent than usual. The circular stands were packed, and the Soul Guidance Lamp on the dome intertwined to form colorful pillars of light, while the air was filled with the roar of the audience. The host introduced each participating academy in turn, and each time a name was called, deafening cheers erupted from the stands.

Ning Rongrong suddenly grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's sleeve and pointed to the first row of the stands. "Look, that's my dad!"

Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing. Ning Fengzhi was sitting in the first row of VIP seats, still wearing that white suit and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

Ning Fengzhi seemed to sense his daughter's gaze, raised his head slightly, and smiled in their direction.

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at him twice, then unusually spoke up, "Rongrong, your dad is really handsome."

Oscar gazed in that direction, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I feel a little nervous myself..."

Ma Hongjun nudged him with his elbow in a lewd manner and winked at him.

What followed was a standard opening ceremony. The host read a long list of opening remarks, and then a representative of the organizers gave a speech, which was nothing more than inspirational platitudes like "friendship first, competition second" and "the glory and dreams of Soul Master." Finally, fireworks exploded in the sky, filling the entire venue with dazzling light.

Wang Xingyu stood in the waiting area, watching the fireworks, his feelings complicated. Why does another world do this too?

The draw was presided over by Salas, the Platinum Bishop of the Spirit Hall. As expected, Shrek Academy was matched against the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team.

In the lounge, everyone gathered to discuss the lineup for the match. The preliminary round was seven against seven, and Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, and Tai Long were required to play, so the others had to hold back their strength.

Dai Mubai shouldn't reveal his Five Rings strength too early, so he can't participate. With the remaining four spots, everyone unanimously decided to flip a coin.

Several Copper Soul Coin clattered to the ground. The final result was that Tang San, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Zhu Zhuqing would fight.

Seven people stepped onto the field. The opposing Heaven Dou Second Team also entered at the same time, all dressed in magnificent battle robes. The leader was a young man with a handsome face and a confident smile. He also held a fan in his hand, which he unfolded with a whoosh and waved.

In the stands, Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she tugged at Wang Xingyu's sleeve. "Xingyu, look, he's holding a fan too!"

Wang Xingyu glanced at it, then took out his autographed fan from his Storage Soul Tool, unfolded it, and the character "sword" on the fan was powerful and vigorous. He didn't shake it, but simply held the fan high, purely showing off. "Colliding with elemental forces isn't scary, whoever is weaker is the one who's embarrassed."

The referee raised his right arm and swung it down sharply. "Start!"

The seven members of Shrek simultaneously released their Martial Soul, Soul Ring lit up.

Tang San's four Soul Ring appeared—one yellow, two purple, and one black. The black Fourth Soul Ring was particularly eye-catching on the field.

A collective gasp of surprise erupted from the surrounding crowd, even the opponents were astonished.

Unfortunately, the Soul Master Tournament doesn't allow you to hide your Soul Ring.

Before the audience could even settle in, Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing, with the Phoenix Flame and the shadowy figure of the Hell Spirit Cat on the left and right, respectively, pierced straight into the center of the opponent's formation like two sharp blades.

Before the front row of the Heaven Dou Second Team could even recover from the shock of what had just happened, they had already been sent flying.

Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, Tai Long followed closely behind.

Tang San stood at the back, using only the first two Soul Skill. Blue Silver Grass spread out along the ground, and more than a dozen vines spread across the entire arena. Each one had the metallic toughness of Iron Thorn Vine, and once it wrapped around an opponent's ankle, they could never break free.

Under the cover of the Blue Silver Grass, Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing moved in as if they were in an empty place.

Phoenix Fire Line shot out continuously from Ma Hongjun's mouth, followed by Phoenix Roaring Sky Strike to smash his opponent.

Zhu Zhuqing's three clones used Hell Stab to precisely finish off their opponents the moment they lost their balance.

With Tang San's crowd control and harassment, and the restraint from Tai Long and the other two, the members of the Heaven Dou Second Team didn't even have time to unleash a few complete Soul Skill before they were all lying on the ground in disarray.

The referee glanced down at the timer, then looked up at the field. His voice, Amplifying Soul Tool, carried obvious shock.

"It's... it's over?! That's it?! Unbelievable—the winner is Shrek Academy!"

The audience cheered in unison; there was no scene from the original story where the characters disliked the Shrek students.

The seven men stepped off the stage and high-fived each other. Oscar was a little disappointed; it was over already, and he hadn't even used his Big Sausage yet.

"I haven't used my Soul Skill yet..." he muttered. Ma Hongjun put his arm around his neck from the side, offering a rather perfunctory reassurance. "It's okay, it's okay, I'll definitely do it next time."

The eleven people left the Great Soul Arena and walked back the way they came. Just as they turned the corner, they saw a figure in a white suit standing by the roadside.

Ning Rongrong paused, then flew away like a swallow. "Daddy!" She buried her face in Ning Fengzhi's arms, and Ning Fengzhi patted her back with a smile.

Ma Hongjun nudged Oscar with his elbow again.

Ning Rongrong walked over arm in arm with Ning Fengzhi, her face still showing excitement from earlier. Ning Fengzhi's gaze swept over everyone, and he smiled, "Hello, Shrek Academy kids. Congratulations, the match just now was very exciting."

Oscar quickly stood up straight, scratching his head. "Sect Master Ning, you're too kind. We just performed as expected."

Ning Fengzhi waved his hand. "I am Rongrong's father now, so I'm your elder. You don't need to call me Sect Master—just call me Uncle Ning, like Xingyu and the others."

The group turned to look at Wang Xingyu, then at Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Wang Xingyu explained with a smile, "I happened to run into Uncle Ning at the Heaven Dou City auction house before, and that's how we met."

Ning Fengzhi laughed too, looking at Wang Xingyu: "You told me back then that it was a pity there was only one serving, and if Rongrong ate it, I wouldn't get any. I even said at the time that it was okay if I didn't eat it."

He shook his head, his tone tinged with genuine regret, "I later learned that you were referring to the one that could evolve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. It's truly a pity."