Right when Dai Huabin was completely at a loss, Mu Jin and Elder Ma, who had just finished drawing lots, returned.
Returning along with them was Zhou Yi.
It was evident that Mu Jin was in an exceptionally good mood. The smug curve inadvertently tugging at the corner of her lips was so pronounced that not even an AK could keep it down.
In stark contrast, Zhou Yi's expression was incredibly unsightly.
Especially upon spotting Feng Piaoling and the others completely unscathed, her face turned as dark as if she had swallowed a lump of feces.
"What a coincidence, old lady. We meet again." Staring at Zhou Yi's face—which remained unnatural despite the old woman mask she wore—Feng Piaoling spoke in a tone maddening enough to claim lives without paying for them.
"You bastard! To think you would conspire with Mu Jin, leading a bunch of people to betray Shrek and defect to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy!"
It was unclear whether Zhou Yi was provoked by Feng Piaoling's use of "old lady," or if she was simply exhausted to the bone by the consecutive deaths of Chen Zifeng, Yao Haoxuan, and He Caitou over the past few days, coupled with the permanent crippling of Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Gongyang Mo.
For her to actually utter such delusional nonsense.
Feng Piaoling sneered, "Old lady, have you lost your mind to hysteria? Did you happen to forget that you were the one who expelled us from Shrek?"
"As for betraying Shrek to defect to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, that's even more laughable. Shrek and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy are merely two academies, not distinct nations or sects. Rather than venting your powerless fury here, you'd better think carefully about what you're going to do from now on."
"In this Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament, Shrek will lose its title as the continent's number one academy entirely due to your incompetence and selfishness."
Hearing Feng Piaoling's words, Zhou Yi glared with wide, furious eyes, her lungs practically bursting with rage.
Right at this moment, Huo Yuhao stepped forward, shielding Zhou Yi behind his back. "Then just wait and see. I will prove to the world that my teacher's decision back then was not wrong. A person like you doesn't deserve to remain in Shrek Academy at all."
"Then a coward like you deserves it? Huo Yuhao—no, I should call you Dai Yuhao now. Wait, that's wrong too, since the Dai family hasn't recognized you as their bastard son at all. You ought to be called Huo Zhongxian instead—a loyal and virtuous crossbred dog to the Dai family. Your mother was tortured to death by the Dai family, and when you ran away from home, you swore to take revenge. Yet what happened? The moment the Dai family tossed you a bone, you joyfully ran over to wag your tail. Truly, a dog can't change its habit of eating feces."
Feng Piaoling poked ruthlessly at Huo Yuhao's sore spot with a beaming smile.
Huo Yuhao simply had no idea how to refute it. Facts spoke louder than words. No matter how unwilling he was to admit it deep down, from the exact moment he performed the martial soul fusion with Dai Huabin, he had already acknowledged himself as a member of the Dai family in his heart.
At most, he merely harbored lingering resentment toward the Duchess of the White Tiger.
However, his mother's death remained an indisputable fact.
Now, even if he wanted to maintain a facade, it was no longer possible. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and his breathing grew as heavy as an ox's.
"Yuhao."
At the critical juncture, Dai Huabin gripped Huo Yuhao's hand, allowing Huo Yuhao to barely regain his composure.
Yet seeing them in this state, let alone the onlookers, even the rest of the Shrek team couldn't bear to watch any longer. One by one, they knitted their brows in disapproval.
A moment later, the tournament commenced.
As the continent's number one soul master academy, Shrek Academy was required to take the stage first in accordance with tradition.
"According to the rules of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, the first round will be a knockout phase. A total of one hundred and thirty-three advanced soul master academies have registered for this tournament, making for sixty-six matches. Following the draw, the two sides for the first match are the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Master Academy representative team from the Dou Ling Empire, and the continent's number one academy, the Shrek squad, which has swept almost every single championship over the past millennium. Will the opposing sides please take the stage."
It had to be said that Shrek still held immense prestige within the hearts of the citizens of the three empires of Douluo.
The moment the announcer made this statement, the atmosphere across the entire Star Luo Plaza instantly reached its absolute boiling point.
"Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!..."
The chants cheering for Shrek echoed through every single corner of the plaza.
Faced with such a grand spectacle, Ling Luochen and Xi Xi—the only two inner courtyard members who were uninjured and capable of competing—naturally felt nothing out of the ordinary.
However, the five preparatory team members—Huo Yuhao, Dai Huabin, Bei Bei, Wang Dong'er, and Wu Feng—felt an mountain of pressure.
Among them, Wang Dong'er and Wu Feng fared slightly better. After experiencing the events at the Ming Dou Mountain Range, the pair didn't possess an overwhelming sense of belonging to Shrek. In most situations, they were driven more by the unyielding pride of genius soul masters.
Meanwhile, Bei Bei, Dai Huabin, and Huo Yuhao were under immense strain.
Even Zhou Yi was affected in the same manner.
Every single one of their faces appeared somewhat pale. This was a direct confrontation before an audience of hundreds of thousands. If they lost, Shrek would be eliminated. Such an outcome was completely unimaginable to them.
"Everyone, do not panic. This is precisely the moment to prove yourselves. In the previous tournament, we encountered the exact same situation. But I can tell you for a fact, your opponents are bound to be ten times more nervous than you are."
Ma Xiaotao's voice transmitted into the ears of every single preparatory team member.
Dai Yaoheng chimed in, "Xiaotao is right. These cheers are precisely the glory belonging to our Shrek Academy. Now, all you need to do upon taking the stage is use your own strength to prove Shrek Academy's power to everyone."
Bolstered by the encouragement of the two, the spirits of the seven individuals preparing to take the stage calmed down significantly. They began walking toward the tournament platform.
However, Feng Piaoling let out a chuckle.
Ma Xiaotao had been keeping her eye on Feng Piaoling the entire time. Seeing him actually laugh, an expression of displeasure instantly crossed her face. "Are you looking down on our Shrek Academy?"
"No, I'm just a bit curious, that's all," Feng Piaoling replied.
"Curious about what?" Ma Xiaotao blanked for a moment.
Dai Yaoheng's attention was also drawn over instantly.
"Out of the ten competing members of Shrek right now, I've already witnessed the strength of six. Huo Zhongxian, Dai Huabin, Wang Dong'er, and Wu Feng are all my defeated opponents. As for Bei Bei, back when he was a Soul Elder, he struggled to deal with a mere thousand-year Datura Serpent. Even if he has advanced to a Soul Ancestor, he won't be much stronger. I am actually quite curious whether the remaining four inner courtyard students—your so-called Shrek Seven Monsters—are truly as formidable as the outside world brags."
Feng Piaoling spoke.
"I will make sure you witness it." Ma Xiaotao was currently furious—exceedingly, exceptionally, and utterly furious.
The same went for Dai Yaoheng. Since when, since when had their Shrek Seven Monsters fallen to the point of being looked down upon?
"Feng Piaoling, I don't know what you and your companions have experienced over the past year, but I hope that when we meet on the battlefield later, you all will truly be as capable as you boast."
Dai Yaoheng spoke in a cold voice.
"Then I shall look forward to it." Feng Piaoling smiled faintly.
A moment later, the match between Shrek Academy and Tian Ling Advanced Soul Master Academy began.
The strength of Tian Ling Advanced Soul Master Academy consisted of five Soul Ancestors and two Soul Elders.
While it couldn't be called weak, in this world where people universally relied on consuming medicine to raise their cultivation bases, it was truly not much to look at.
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