"I might be special — I need to fight alone." Gu You said faintly.
Alone?
The middle-aged man laughed heartily, nodding several times in approval.
"What kind of opponent do you want?"
Gu You looked him straight in the eyes. "A Soul Douluo-level soul master."
Immediately, the entire Sun and Moon Royal Soul Master Academy began to move. Within just one hour, promotions for this upcoming match had already spread like wildfire across Mingdu and even the entire Federation.
The Sun and Moon Television Network, which broadcast across every city of the Federation, announced a live broadcast just half an hour after Shrek Academy's arrival. They even gave the match a name: "The Peak Battle of Youths in the Soul Master World."
On a street corner, Wu Zhangkong stood watching a giant screen on a building, the same voice booming repeatedly through the streets. His eyes narrowed slightly.
At that moment, his soul communicator buzzed.
"What's going on?" Shen Yi's surprised voice came through.
Wu Zhangkong's expression didn't change. "Nothing. They came to the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Master Academy to challenge us, and I added fuel to the fire."
"This could get huge!" Shen Yi said gravely. "Senior brother, why didn't you say anything beforehand? The Academy could be put in a very passive position. The Sun and Moon Royal Academy is pushing the publicity very hard — now the entire Mingdu, surrounding cities, and even the Federation have heard. If we lose, the damage to Shrek's reputation will be enormous. Have you thought this through?"
"Do you think we'll lose?"
Shen Yi paused. "… Let them win beautifully then." She hung up.
Five minutes later, the communicator rang again.
"The Academy's high council already knows. Do what you must — the Academy stands behind you."
"Good."
Inside Sun and Moon Royal Soul Master Academy's conference room.
Gu You opened his eyes, glanced at the clock on the wall. Two hours had passed. The Sun and Moon Academy still hadn't notified them about the match.
Through meditation, his state had reached its peak. His opponent this time was no ordinary foe.
The others also finished meditating one after another.
"Still nothing? Should we go check?" Xie Xie asked Gu You.
"Wait. Since they called us here, they won't just leave us sitting. If they did, it would become a scandal too big to contain."
Just then, the door opened and the same middle-aged man walked in.
"The match is ready. It will be held in our Academy's Grand Duel Arena. Do you need more time to prepare?"
"We're ready." Gu Yue stood up and replied.
"Then may victory be yours!" Gu You smiled. He would appear in the decisive second match.
"Follow me," the man said, never once offering his name.
They followed him back into the elevator, but this time it went straight to the 36th floor, then switched into another lift. This one seemed to move horizontally before descending. Two minutes later, it finally stopped.
The doors opened — gone was the metallic sheen of the building. Instead, they stepped into a vast stone space. The entire area was built of carved stone, ancient and solemn. Strange energy fluctuations seemed to flow within the stone itself. As they entered, all six of them felt their soul power stirring restlessly.
The middle-aged man led them onward without explanation. Soon, they arrived at a massive hall of about 500 square meters. The ceiling was painted with magnificent murals.
Looking up, they saw a story: a young boy sitting in a plaza, surrounded by people. The people all wore Sun and Moon Academy uniforms — but far more archaic than today's version. Yet the boy at the center unmistakably wore a Shrek Academy uniform.
What was this?
Who was that youth? For some reason, just seeing the figure painted there, all six of them felt a strange sense of familiarity.
On one side of the hall stood two enormous gates, towering over 15 meters high and nearly 30 meters wide — wide enough for even mechas to pass through easily.
"This is the waiting area for the Grand Duel Arena. You will be notified when it's time to enter." The middle-aged man gestured to stone benches.
Just the waiting area was already this large?
From outside, muffled noise echoed.
The man left through a side door, but just then, the muffled noise suddenly swelled into a roar.
A fiery voice boomed through the air:"Shrek Academy comes to provoke us — can we endure that? Students of the Sun and Moon Royal Academy, let us unite as one! Cheer for our fighters! We will send Shrek crawling back in disgrace. Let the entire continent know: we are the strongest Academy in the land!"
That voice…
The sound of the competition itself?
With such inflammatory words, the crowd's roar intensified, waves of cheers and curses crashing like a storm.
"Looks like they've given us every reason to win." Gu Yue said coldly.
Who could endure such provocation?
Raising her hands, an icy-blue halo spread beneath her feet, transforming into a dome of ice that enveloped all six of them. It sealed off everything from the outside — including the noise. A completely isolated space.
Ten minutes later.
"The match is about to begin. Prepare to enter." A cold voice came through.
The ice dome didn't shatter, but instead melted silently from the top, the water vapor vanishing into the air.
The middle-aged man noticed and his eyes flickered. Such fine control…
Ahead, the massive stone gates rumbled open. The once-loud noise outside now surged like thunder, a wave of heated frenzy crashing into them.
Outside the gates was a brilliance so dazzling it was hard to see clearly. The man walked ahead toward the light.
Stepping through, they finally entered the Grand Duel Arena — and only then could they grasp its sheer scale. Even Shrek Academy had nothing like this.
The place was modeled after an ancient coliseum, its central arena over 1,500 meters across. The surrounding stands could seat more than 150,000 people.
It was likely the largest stadium in the entire continent. Located at the very heart of Mingdu, surrounded by Sun and Moon Academy's skyscrapers.
At this moment, while not packed full, the seats were at least 60–70% filled. There was no way they were all students of the Sun and Moon Royal Academy — even a major academy would barely have ten thousand. Where so many spectators came from was anyone's guess.
(End of Chapter)