Facing Skywater

Xiao Wu looked at herself in the mirror a couple more times, then decided not to redo her hair. Although it looked a little messy, it was, after all, her older and younger brothers who had done it for her.

For the next few days, Shrek went on a winning streak in the preliminaries. His opponents either surrendered outright or were knocked out of the ring after only a few rounds.

Dai Mubai was now completely free. He had already put on his Shrek team uniform and was helping Flender sell soap. He was a living advertisement just by standing on the stall, and Ma Hongjun dubbed him "Shrek's Chief Mascot".

They played until the twenty-seventh game—the last game.

The group chatted idly in the lounge. Dai Mubai leaned against the wall, his expression melancholy, successfully becoming the second "melancholy male god" after Oscar.

As they were talking, the door was suddenly pushed open. Wang Xingyu looked up and chuckled, "Oh, Prince of Lanling, you're here again."

The person who entered was a young man wearing a black mask and a light blue team uniform, with a wolf head emblem embroidered on his right shoulder. Feng Xiaotian.

"My name is Feng Xiaotian, why do you always call me Prince of Lanling?" Feng Xiaotian pulled off his mask and skillfully found an empty seat to sit down.

"There's no way around it, you look just too much like him," Wang Xingyu said without changing his expression. "And he's handsome too."

"That's alright." Feng Xiaotian looked around the lounge, his gaze landing on Dai Mubai, who was gazing at the sky with a melancholy expression in the corner. "Handsome blond guy, it's the last round, aren't you going to participate?"

Dai Mubai shook his head sadly.

Feng Xiaotian exclaimed, "Are you planning to keep this trump card hidden until the finals? Impressive." He turned to Tang San, "This is the last match of the preliminaries, you're up against the Skywater Academy, don't lose."

Tang San nodded. "Thank you for your blessing, Senior Feng. I hope we'll meet in the finals."

"Alright!" Feng Xiaotian slapped his knee, got up, and left.

On the arena, both sides stood ready. The referee announced loudly, "Shrek Academy has once again sent seven Soul Ancestor to this match! It seems they attach great importance to the Skywater Academy! So, who will win this match? Let's wait and see!"

Shui Bing'er stood at the front of the group, her gaze sweeping over the seven opponents. Her tone was calm. "You are indeed strong opponents. But our ice can also counter Blue Silver Grass. Unless you are immune to ice as well—you may not be our match."

As soon as they finished speaking, Tang San and Wang Xingyu turned their heads at the same time, their eyes drifting to the air beside them, and they whistled.

Shui Bing'er was taken aback, her brows furrowing. "Are you looking down on us?"

Ma Hongjun quickly waved his hand. "No, no, I was just being restrained by you guys."

Oscar chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, they're terrified."

Shui Bing'er snorted coldly, clearly not believing a word of it. The referee raised his right arm and swung it down sharply.

"The match begins!"

Ma Hongjun was the first to rush forward, shouting, "Behold my Phoenix—"

Before she could finish speaking, Shui Bing'er's First Soul Ring lit up, and the Ice Seal was activated. A huge ice crystal instantly froze Ma Hongjun in place, followed by two more Ice Seal, freezing Tang San and Xiao Wu as well.

She tried to seal Zhu Zhuqing again, but Zhu Zhuqing was too fast. The black shadow flashed and dodged, but the ice crystal turned in mid-air and kept chasing after her.

"Oh no, it's a lock-on control Soul Skill!" Oscar shouted in mid-air. "Looks like our three-person combination won't work today."

Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spun once, Second: Speed landed on Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing increased her speed again, and her Netherworld Shadow Clone instantly created three figures, carrying the ice crystal that was closely following behind, and rushed straight into the enemy formation, casually shattering the ice block on Ma Hongjun's body with a claw.

At the same time, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass broke through the crack in the ice. The vines spread along the ice surface, found Xiao Wu's ice crystal, and activated his Fourth Soul Skill, Sharpening. The edges of the Blue Silver Grass became sharp, and it cleanly cut the ice in half.

He retracted the vines and looked up at Shui Bing'er: "It seems that ice element isn't so much of a counter to me."

Shui Bing'er gritted her teeth and glared at him, then turned her head and winked at the side. Apart from Xue Wu, the other five team members rushed out at the same time.

"What kind of tactic is this?" Oscar was stunned. Ma Hongjun, who had just broken free of the ice, shivered and cursed, "Whatever the tactic, I'm freezing to death! Watch me Bathing Fire Phoenix!"

Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spun again, its First: Strength landing on Ma Hongjun. Ma Hongjun, engulfed in flames, charged forward like a burning cannonball, shouting, "I'm covered in fire now! Let's see how you cool me now!"

Xiao Wu followed closely behind, using Teleportation and Waist Bow to instantly eliminate two of the opposing team members. The remaining three were blocked by Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San, making it impossible for them to move an inch.

Ma Hongjun laughed loudly, "Haha, you only have five left!" Oscar also laughed and said, "Fatty, let's quickly reunite!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Oscar suddenly rubbed his arms. "Why do I feel so cold?"

A storm of ice slowly formed behind them. Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu stood side by side, unleashing their Martial Soul Fusion Skill – Ice and Snow Drifting.

Countless ice spikes fell from the storm, raining down on the Shrek Academy's formation.

Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing retreated in time, while Ma Hongjun, having taken several blows, scrambled back, yelling, "Third Brother, save me!"

Tang San spread out his Blue Silver Grass, protecting everyone. Ma Hongjun, hiding behind the vines, looked at the dense array of ice spikes above his head and chuckled, "Their Martial Soul Fusion Skill isn't very effective either."

Shui Bing'er stood in the center of the ice storm and coldly said, "It's not over yet." The other team members quickly retreated from the arena.

The ice storm suddenly contracted, and the ice spikes stopped scattering and instead gathered into a giant Ice Phoenix. Its ice wings unfolded, and the temperature on the arena plummeted, sending a chill through the air.

Ma Hongjun stared in disbelief. "How do we do this?"

Tang San did not answer. His Fourth Soul Ring lit up, and the Blue Silver Thrust was activated—six vines intertwined and shot out, then Offshoot into two, and then into four.

Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lit up with Third: Soul, and Wang Xingyu's Blue Silver Grass simultaneously wrapped around Tang San's wrist, transferring his Soul Power without reservation. His Blue Silver Grass then split into two more strands, wrapping around Ma Hongjun and Oscar.

Oscar immediately understood, "Inhale! Inhale to your heart's content!"

Tang San's vines eventually stopped at thirty.

Thirty strands of Blue Silver Grass twisted together to form a giant cone-shaped spike, shooting towards the Ice Phoenix with a sharp Air Break sound. At the same time, Shui Bing'er pushed the Ice Phoenix forward with all her might—the two forces collided violently in mid-air.

Ice shards flew everywhere. The Blue Silver Thrust straight through the Ice Phoenix, its momentum undiminished, and slammed heavily into the protective shield at the edge of the arena, causing the entire shield to tremble.

The Ice Phoenix froze in mid-air for a moment, then shattered into countless ice crystals. Shui Bing'er collapsed to the ground, her face pale.

The referee raised his right arm. "Shrek Academy —wins!"