"Student, I don't care what happened, but please restrain yourself. If a life is lost, it will be a loss for your Shrek Academy as well. You wouldn't want the academy to be disqualified because of this, would you?"
Seeing that the assistant coach from Canghui Academy's persuasion had no effect, the referee in charge of the match quickly stepped onto the stage, looking sternly at Tang San.
"Xiao San, what are you doing?"
Flender also arrived on the stage with a serious expression: "I don't care what happened on the stage, don't act impulsively. After all, you're now representing the entire Shrek team."
Tang San gave Flender a cold glance, thought for a moment, and then retracted his Eight Spider Lances: "I was just helping them detoxify. If not treated in time, their lives would be in danger. But now, you've interrupted me."
"If you don't believe me, you can check for yourselves. But I can tell you, no one else can cure this poison except me."
Upon hearing this, the referee and the assistant coach from Canghui Academy hurriedly came forward to inspect. Soon, they called in others to verify.
At this moment, Liu Erlong also stepped onto the stage. She walked straight to Xiao Wu and the others, looking puzzled at the tearful young men and women: "Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"
"Godmother!! I just saw Third Brother die, and I also saw my mother die..." Xiao Wu wiped her tears and buried her face in Liu Erlong's embrace.
"What happened?" Liu Erlong gently patted Xiao Wu's head and back, softly asking.
Hearing the question, Xiao Wu recounted everything that had happened in the illusion.
After listening, Liu Erlong's expression changed drastically, and her voluptuous body trembled. At this moment, she recalled the scenes the pagoda had shown her.
"Xiao Wu, it's all an illusion. Let's go down first." Liu Erlong patted Xiao Wu's back, then took her hand and led the Shrek team off the stage.
The organizers quickly summoned some healing-type Soul Masters. However, after verification, they confirmed that the poison on the Canghui team members could not be cured by them.
Tang San stood on the stage, coldly watching all of this.
"Student, you've already won. I hope you can remove the poison from their bodies to avoid any accidents." After receiving a signal from the organizers, the referee nodded and spoke to Tang San.
"Fine, but after detoxification, they will experience a period of weakness, and their Soul Power will temporarily decrease." Tang San nodded.
The assistant coach from Canghui Academy immediately began to argue, but Tang San bluntly stated that even if the academy were disqualified, he couldn't offer any other detoxification method. For the sake of the students' lives, the assistant coach had no choice but to relent.
A cold smile appeared on Tang San's lips as he inserted the Eight Spider Lances into the Canghui students, feeling the continuous flow of life force returning to him, his heart filled with satisfaction.
In the stands, Li Xun slowly stood up, holding Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong's hands as they walked out of the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena: "It seems the definition of Evil Soul Masters needs to be accelerated..."
In the Jiangyue VIP room on the third floor of the Moon Viewing Tower in Spirit City, Yu Xiaogang was frowning as he gazed at the gates of Spirit Hall.
Since the Papal Token had been confiscated by the guards, he had waited here for ten days, but Bibidong had not stepped out of the Pope's Hall even once, which troubled him deeply.
Although he still had enough money to stay for a while, Yu Xiaogang was worried that Tang San couldn't wait that long.
"Let's try one last time. If it still doesn't work, I'll have to go back and ask my father to come," Yu Xiaogang shook his head with a bitter smile.
He could already imagine the expression on Yu Yuanzhen's face when he learned that his Papal Token had been confiscated at the entrance of the Pope's Hall.
It would surely be a mix of anger and humiliation.
Yu Xiaogang sighed, packed his things, and left the hotel.
"Halt, please show your pass or identification token." The same words, the same interception, but the guards had been replaced by a new batch.
Yu Xiaogang looked carefully and realized that none of the guards he had seen that day were present. His heart sank, feeling hopeless.
But thinking of Xiao San waiting for his news in Heavenly Dou, he forced himself to endure the discomfort and recounted the events of the past two days to the new guards.
After hearing the story, the guard's face showed sympathy. "Ah! Matters concerning the Papal Token are not something we can take lightly. However, you don't seem like you're lying. Alright, I can try to help you pass on your message and see if it can reach the Pope's ears."
Yu Xiaogang hadn't held much hope to begin with, and hearing the guard's initial words had already prepared him for disappointment. But the sudden shift in the guard's tone caught him off guard.
"You said you can help me pass on a message?"
The guard nodded. "Indeed, but I'll need to grease some palms."
"Then thank you," Yu Xiaogang said, a rare smile appearing on his usually stiff face as he nodded to the guard. In his life, he had rarely asked for help, rarely said thank you, let alone expressed gratitude to a gatekeeper.
The guard smiled back at Yu Xiaogang.
The two of them stood there, smiling at each other for a while, until the guard's smile gradually faded, and he looked straight ahead as if nothing had happened.
Yu Xiaogang was momentarily stunned, glancing at the guard with some confusion. Then, as if remembering something, he quickly took out thirty Gold Soul Coins and handed them over. "Sorry, little brother, it's been over a decade since I've had to deal with something like this, and I almost forgot. This is a small token of my appreciation."
At this moment, beads of sweat formed on Yu Xiaogang's forehead out of embarrassment. He had only encountered such situations when he was younger and traveling the continent. But ever since he went to the Nuoding Academy run by his friend, such things had never happened again, and he had almost forgotten the need to grease palms when asking for favors.
The guard glanced at the Gold Soul Coins in Yu Xiaogang's hand but didn't respond.
Yu Xiaogang thought for a moment, then took out another twenty coins and handed them over together, but the guard still didn't move.
"Little brother, this is all I can offer. If it's still not enough, then forget it," Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and took out another twenty Gold Soul Coins.
For this trip to Spirit City, Liu Erlong had forced a hundred Gold Soul Coins into his hand. After deducting ten for hiring a carriage along the way and another ten for lodging, he was left with eighty Gold Soul Coins. And that didn't even include the exorbitant service fees at Xunyang Pavilion.
The guard looked at Yu Xiaogang's troubled expression and sighed, then took the seventy Gold Soul Coins from his hand. "Actually, these coins aren't enough. If I want to pass on a message, I'll need to grease a lot of palms."
"But seeing how pitiful you are, I'll take a loss this time and help you out."
"Even if I arrange everything, it will still take some time. After all, the Pope's authority is not something we can casually defy. Just wait patiently."
"Thank you, brother," Yu Xiaogang said, feeling somewhat relieved upon hearing this.
The guard nodded at Yu Xiaogang and then turned around, disappearing through the doorway.
However, Yu Xiaogang waited until nightfall, and even after two shifts of guards had changed, he never saw that person come out again.
As Yu Xiaogang gazed into the dark night, he felt as though he had been deceived. But the young guard had mentioned that even with money, it would take some time to arrange things. He thought it necessary to give the other party a bit more time.