Among the seven members of the preparatory team, three possessed twin martial souls!
Even in Shrek Academy, twin martial souls were exceedingly rare—not something you'd just stumble upon like cabbages on the roadside. So how did this generation manage to produce so many? Just what kind of luck was Shrek having?
As these thoughts ran through the minds of the official team members, they all gave the three a polite smile and nod. Twin martial souls—definitely worth building good relationships with. Only one girl among the official team, the blue-haired young woman in white, remained cold and distant. She glanced at the trio briefly, offering no greeting or pleasantries.
Once the preparatory team finished introducing themselves, the official team began their introductions.
There was no need to elaborate on Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng.
Not only were they the team's captain and vice-captain respectively, but they were also the only two Soul Emperors with six soul rings among the official team members.
After the two Soul Emperors made their presence known, a male student stepped forward:
"Inner Court, Chen Zifeng, level 57, Power Attack–type Battle Soul King."
Next came a girl who looked extraordinarily average—so unremarkable she could disappear into any crowd.
"Inner Court, Xi Xi, level 56, Agility Attack–type Battle Soul King."
Compared to beauties like Jiang Qingtong or Jiang Nannan, her looks were clearly lacking.
But in cultivation, appearances didn't matter. So what if she wasn't pretty? Strength was everything. And Xi Xi wasn't ugly—just plain.
After Xi Xi, the icy blue-haired beauty stepped forward:
"Inner Court, Ling Luochen, level 55, Control-type Battle Soul King."
The last two, Gongyang Mo and Yao Haoxuan, were also Soul Kings—one a pure Support-type, the other a hybrid Control-Support.
Once the introductions were complete, Xiao Xiao couldn't contain her excitement.
"Wow! All of the official team members are Soul Kings at the very least!"
But Wang Dong didn't seem impressed.
"We'll be that strong one day too. Actually… stronger."
Hearing that, Ma Xiaotao laughed and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Ambitious, huh? Keep that spirit up!"
Wang Dong nodded. "I will, Senior Sister!"
Seeing both sides get acquainted, Xuanzi announced the day's objective:
"Your task today is a friendly match to help build familiarity and cooperation. You're not required to team up with your usual squad. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng—you'll each be captains and take turns choosing teammates. The winning team will be rewarded. The losing team… punished."
As soon as Xuanzi finished, both Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng turned to Jiang Qingtong. It was obvious—they both wanted her on their side.
"Hey, Qingtong, looks like you're the hot commodity today," Wang Dong said with a grin, noticing their eager gazes.
Jiang Nannan smiled as well. "With Qingtong's talent, of course she is!"
Jiang Qingtong casually smoothed her hair and muttered,
"Can't help it—being popular comes with trouble."
Ma Xiaotao looked back at Xuanzi.
"Elder Xuan, will team selection be based on cultivation level?"
"That's not fair!" Dai Yueheng immediately protested. If that were the case, he'd have no chance to recruit Jiang Qingtong.
Though he hadn't fought alongside her, he'd heard plenty about her strength from Dai Huabin. With two purple rings and one black, her level didn't reflect her actual combat power.
Ma Xiaotao turned to him. "What's unfair about that? If you're not happy, then go level up past me! If you can't, then accept it."
Dai Yueheng fell silent, unsure how to argue.
Xuanzi waved his hand.
"Rock-paper-scissors."
"Rock-paper-scissors?"
Both captains blinked in surprise. Then Dai Yueheng grinned—luck-based meant it was finally fair. He actually had a shot at picking Jiang Qingtong.
Under Elder Xuan's supervision, they played best-of-three.
Dai Yueheng won. Without hesitation, he selected Jiang Qingtong as his first pick, ignoring the other official Soul Kings entirely.
In response, Ma Xiaotao picked Wang Dong, clearly aiming to split up the trio.
As a result, the team selection took an odd turn. Neither captain picked from the official team.
All their attention was on the preparatory members.
The final teams were:
Ma Xiaotao's team: Wang Dong, Beibei, He Caitou, Ling Luochen, Xi Xi, Gongyang Mo.
Dai Yueheng's team: Jiang Qingtong, Xiao Xiao, Dai Huabin, Jiang Nannan, Yao Haoxuan, Chen Zifeng.
With the teams set, Xuanzi floated into the air, overseeing the battle from above.
"The match begins now. A team loses when all members are incapacitated."
After his declaration, the match commenced.
Both sides were mixed teams with no prior coordination, but as Soul Emperors, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng reacted instantly and activated their martial souls.
After doing so, Dai Yueheng shouted to Jiang Qingtong:
"Qingtong! This one's on you! Chen Zifeng, let's go!"
Jiang Qingtong immediately activated Spiritual Detection Sharing and linked the entire team.
Those who had never experienced it—like Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng—were visibly astonished. With this kind of vision and awareness, they felt far more confident.
The battle erupted.
With the support of Spiritual Detection, Dai Yueheng—despite being a few levels lower than Ma Xiaotao—was able to clash with her on equal footing, even locking her into a fierce duel.
Each team member paired off with an opponent. Thanks to Jiang Qingtong's overall command, her team skipped the usual adjustment period—they moved with perfect coordination.
In contrast, Ma Xiaotao's team struggled. The three preparatory members had never trained with the official team, and in a battle of this caliber, that kind of gap couldn't be ignored.
He Caitou was the first to be eliminated. His soul tools hadn't even activated when Jiang Qingtong noticed his setup and directed Chen Zifeng and Jiang Nannan to team up and dismantle him.
With He Caitou out, a hole opened in Ma Xiaotao's formation.
Jiang Qingtong seized the momentum and started controlling the entire battlefield.
Though Ma Xiaotao tried to play the savior with her immense power, it was exactly what Jiang Qingtong wanted—to drain her soul power.
Ma Xiaotao felt stifled. When facing her directly, the opposing team offered little resistance—yet she couldn't break through. Every time she attempted to go all-in on one target, one of her teammates would fall into a crisis.
If she didn't help, more would be eliminated. If she did, she'd lose her chance to strike.
Finally, after Xi Xi was taken out, Ma Xiaotao shouted:
"This can't go on! Ling Luochen, Beibei—take care of Qingtong! As long as she's on the field, we can't win!"
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