he next morning, after Shrek was disqualified for being late a second time, a new round of preliminary matches began.
Due to severe mental trauma, the Shrek Seven Devils were all in a state of mental exhaustion.
Their bodies were extremely weak, their strength had significantly decreased, and they could only exert one or two tenths of their power; any more would cause a headache.
Especially Tang San, a Soul Emperor who had advanced by absorbing chaotic Life energy, his realm was unstable; if not for the Tang Sect's Secret Skills, he might struggle against a top Martial Soul Soul King.
Now that he was weakened, his strength had drastically dropped, making him the weakest among the weak, but he could still easily entangle a Soul King.
After a short rest, Yu Xiaogang sat in a wheelchair, pushed by Liu Erlong, and came outside to await today's match list.
As the emcee appeared, he looked at the team list he had drawn and announced loudly from the stage.
"Canghui Battle Team versus Black Tiger Academy."
"Panlong Battle Team versus Royal Beast Soul Battle Team."
"Heaven Dou Royal First Team versus Purple Lightning Blazing Light Battle Team."
"Shrek Team versus Tianshui Academy."
...
Upon learning the results, the Shrek Seven Devils in Shrek's lounge did not look well, but it wasn't because of Tianshui Academy.
Instead, it was dissatisfaction with the draw of their opponent.
It was too coincidental; they were still heavily injured, and they were assigned a strong team. This was clearly intentional targeting.
"Damn it, this is clearly that referee doing it on purpose."
Ma Hongjun said, gritting his teeth, extremely annoyed.
But the emcee didn't know they were severely injured, and each opponent was drawn by the captain. If anyone was to blame, it should be Tang San, the captain of the Shrek Seven Devils.
"Who cares if it's intentional or not, even if we're heavily injured, a mere Tianshui Battle Team can't just toy with us."
Dai Mubai also sat on the sofa, somewhat displeased with the emcee hosting the competition, acting on impulse and unfit for a great responsibility.
He directly threw out a baseless accusation, not blaming Tang San for drawing Tianshui Academy, but instead blaming the one who announced the results.
"Mubai, Fatty, even if we're heavily injured, Tianshui Academy is no match for us."
Tang San sneered; he was a Soul Emperor, and even with only two-tenths of his strength, he was still a Soul Emperor, while Tianshui Academy only had three Soul Sects.
He seemed to recall Tianshui Academy's Martial Soul Fusion Technique, and Tang San's expression turned serious as he said,
"Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu of Tianshui Academy have a Martial Soul Fusion Technique whose power is equivalent to a sixtieth-level Soul Emperor's sixth Soul Ring, so when we get on stage, the first thing we need to do is knock one of them off the arena."
Even at his peak, Tang San could not directly withstand Tianshui Academy's Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Ice Snow Falling.
Because in this life, his immunity to ice and fire was gone, and his Dark Blue Silver Grass, due to gradually devouring Life energy, had lost its original Life attribute and transformed into a devouring attribute.
So now his Blue Silver Grass was as fragile as paper, but he was still confident before because of the confidence being a Soul Emperor gave him.
Now that his strength was damaged, he definitely had some concerns.
"Don't worry, Third Brother, I heard that Shui Bing'er's Martial Soul is an Ice Phoenix, and my Martial Soul happens to counter her. I'll definitely be the first to knock her off the stage then."
Ma Hongjun now looked down on the people from Tianshui Academy; his Evil Fire Phoenix was no worse than Tianshui Academy's Ice Phoenix.
Moreover, even if his realm had dropped after Shi Nian's nightmare ordeal, he still had 43 levels of Soul power, while Tianshui Academy's strongest was only level forty-two.
"Mm, this time we'll finish quickly. After all, our physical condition is too poor right now; dragging it out for too long would be a disadvantage for us."
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang was pushed in by Liu Erlong. He looked at the people discussing and found that no one had noticed his arrival.
"Cough cough."
He couldn't help but cough awkwardly twice, attracting the attention of the Shrek Seven Devils who were still discussing strategy.
Seeing Tang San and the others look over, Yu Xiaogang had Liu Erlong push his wheelchair, bringing him in front of the Shrek Seven Devils.
"Are you discussing strategy?"
Yu Xiaogang looked at the Shrek Seven Devils who had just finished their discussion, asking knowingly, clearly wanting to show off a bit himself.
Tang San was now too lazy to bother with Yu Xiaogang, but he still had to maintain appearances, otherwise, his persona of respecting teachers and valuing morality would collapse.
"That's right, Teacher, we've just settled on the strategy for Tianshui Academy. You've just arrived, you should rest quickly."
However, Gangzi waved his hand indifferently. How could he leave easily without highlighting his wisdom at this moment? He immediately waved his hand and said casually,
"It's just some minor injuries; there's no major problem now. I've also watched Tianshui Academy's matches. Their overall strength won't be much of an obstacle for you. You can just make your move then."
He said nothing of value. Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang with disdain. How was that different from useless talk? But he still nodded in agreement.
"Teacher is right, Tianshui Academy is no match for us."
"Good that you know, but you can't be careless. After all, you are all injured right now, so be careful not to be exploited."
"Xiao San, your Blue Silver Grass tends to become fragile when it encounters ice, so you need to pay extra attention."
"As for Ma Hongjun, his Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, which happens to be quite effective against ice-type Soul Masters, so at that time, Ma Hongjun, you will need to restrain the opposing captain, Shui Bing'er."
After speaking, Yu Xiaogang nodded. Seeing that he had finished, he had Liu Erlong push his wheelchair, and he left without looking back.
"What's the difference between saying that and saying nothing at all?" Ma Hongjun said indignantly after Yu Xiaogang had gone far away.
This was different from what they had just agreed upon; he was just pretending to be something he wasn't.
"Fatty!"
Before Ma Hongjun could finish speaking, Tang San glared at him warningly. How could he not defend Yu Xiaogang when he was being humiliated in front of him?
"Hehe, I misspoke, sorry, sorry."
Seeing Tang San's expression, Ma Hongjun immediately cowered and apologized hastily. He went to the door and said, "I'll go watch the match first."
This place was unbearable; Ma Hongjun just wanted to get away from this troublesome place.
Walking out of the lounge, he secretly muttered, "What's he pretending for? His cultivation increased so fast, who knows what unspeakable methods he used."
After speaking, he prepared to go find Flander, since Flander was the only teacher who would speak up for him now.
Dai Mubai was still trying to curry favor with Tang San and wasn't ready to fall out with him. He also noticed that Tang San was very cold towards him.
He wasn't going to offer a warm face to a cold backside. Anyway, Dai Mubai was still good to him, and he would eventually become a Soul Douluo.
At that time, wouldn't the two great empires give him a general's title? That would be much better than suffering humiliation by following Tang San.
Thinking this, Ma Hongjun's dislike for Tang San grew, and the negative emotions deep in his eyes became more agitated, while the hidden shadow in his spiritual sea became more active.