After thoroughly reprimanding Yu Xiaogang and shifting all the blame onto him, Tang San walked out of Yu Xiaogang's study. He cast a long, cold glance at the room and said icily:
"Gangzi, I hope this incident helps you grow some self-awareness. Know your place. Being able to cling to me—Tang San—is your honor. Just obediently be my chamber pot."
With that, Tang San returned to the male dormitory.
Tonight was Oscar's turn, so he didn't come out. Only Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai were waiting for Tang San on the way back.
When Tang San returned, the two immediately approached him. Tang San noticed someone missing and asked:
"Where's Oscar?"
"Oh, Oscar" Dai Mubai replied. "He said he was too tired tonight and already went to bed. But let's not talk about that. Tang San, did that Level 29 get your external soul bone back?"
Tang San replied angrily, "Don't even mention it. Gangzi is just a worthless fool who ruins everything!"
Then Tang San recounted everything that had happened with Yu Xiaogang.
"So basically, you've completely lost the Eight Spider Lances," Ma Hongjun said, trying to sound sympathetic.
"What a shame…" Dai Mubai added, looking concerned.
Their faces showed sympathy for Tang San, but deep down, they weren't upset at all. In Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's minds, Tang San was the Chosen One of the Shura God—the Child of Fate in this era, destined to become a god.
If Tang San could ascend to godhood, he could take them along as well. As long as they stuck with Tang San, they'd have a shot at becoming gods too. But when it came to Tang San's personal fortunes—like the Eight Spider Lances—that was his exclusive opportunity. Losing it didn't affect them.
In fact, weakening Tang San's power during his growth was something they welcomed.
That way, when they became gods too, the gap between them and Tang San would be smaller. Then, once they all ascended to the Divine Realm and joined the camp of Destruction, they could backstab Tang San and fight over Xiao Wu. With less of a power gap, there would be fewer "accidents."
Tang San wore a pained expression and said, "What's done is done. It can't be helped. Fortunately, I'm the Child of Fate of this era, chosen by the Shura God. Losing the Eight Spider Lances is a big blow, but it won't shake my foundation."
"By the way, Tang San," Ma Hongjun asked, "are you still going to acknowledge that trash Gangzi as your teacher?"
A glimmer of cunning passed through Tang San's eyes. "This incident helped me realize Gangzi's position in Bibi Dong's eyes. That trash still has some value. At least until the Soul Master Tournament ends, we still need him."
"True," Dai Mubai nodded.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go train," Tang San said.
The three returned to the dorm. As they passed by Oscar's room, Tang San suddenly noticed a faint light glowing through the window, and a shadow moving behind it. He asked, "Didn't Oscar go to sleep?"
"Oh, oh, maybe he forgot to turn off the light," Ma Hongjun said quickly. "That's probably just the candle flickering. He really forgot to blow it out before sleeping. Doesn't he know to conserve? I'll go remind him."
He hurried toward Oscar's room.
Tang San didn't suspect anything and went back to his own room. Having lost the Eight Spider Lances, he now had only one thought—to seize every moment to train harder, to show off his strengths and charm Xiao Wu through his hard work.
Meanwhile, the teachers of Shrek Academy had gathered.
Flender looked at the list in his hands, which showed the current cultivation levels of the Shrek Seven Devils. He said:
"Now, aside from Ning Rongrong, the rest have all become Grandmasters. Gangzi, do you think they have a chance of winning the Soul Master Tournament two years from now?"
Yu Xiaogang, for once, gave a rare moment of honesty:
"Though I'd love to believe they could perform a miracle… it'll be very difficult. By the time of the tournament, it's a question mark whether any of them can reach Soul Sect level. Most teams that make it to the finals are Soul Sects. The champions usually have Soul Kings, at least."
Flender's excitement simmered down a bit as he said,
"Well, we'll treat the tournament two years from now as a trial run. Our little monsters are only 14. As long as they place decently, that's good enough. Our real goal is seven years later. By then, they'll only be 19. With their talents, they can easily aim for the championship in that year."
Yu Xiaogang added,
"But if they only train here in Soto City fighting those low-tier trash teams, it won't be enough. We need to let them test themselves against truly powerful teams to see where they stand."
"But, Master," Zhao Wuji said, "where do we find strong teams? Let's face it—Shrek is just a ragtag academy. No official academy team would want to spar with us."
At that moment, Flender's eyes gleamed.
"I've got it—"
"Got what?" Zhao Wuji asked curiously.
"Remember our most outstanding graduate—Qin Ming?" Flender said.
"Of course. Dean, you mean—"
Flender nodded.
"He's currently leading the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's battle team—the Heaven Dou Battle Team. That team is basically the top-tier team in every tournament. We can send Qin Ming a letter and invite his team to Soto City to spar with our little monsters. If we win, great. If we lose, it's still a valuable experience. Having the Heaven Dou Battle Team serve as a whetstone for our students will help us plan future strategies for the tournament."
He pushed up his glasses, and the lenses reflected a light called ambition.
"But would the Heaven Dou Academy agree to let their team be our training partners?" Zhao Wuji asked.
"No need to worry about that," Flender said confidently. "Qin Ming is loyal to Shrek. Right now, he's the youngest Soul Emperor of this era and has a real shot at becoming a Title Douluo in the future. The Heaven Dou Academy respects his opinions. Besides, it'll just be a 'coincidental encounter.' The academy won't object."
"Then it's settled," Yu Xiaogang said, a glint of scheming wisdom in his eyes.
"Let the Heaven Dou Battle Team become our monsters' whetstone—and the first step to making my disciple famous."
So Flender immediately drafted a letter to Qin Ming, who was currently leading the team at Heaven Dou Academy.
On the other side, Qin Ming of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy immediately went to seek permission from the academy's three main instructors upon receiving a letter from his alma mater, requesting to take the Heaven Dou Imperial Battle Team out for training.
Out of support for this young talent—one with potential to become a future Titled Douluo of the Empire—Dream Machine and the other two instructors granted Qin Ming's request.
Now, let us shift our focus to the Heaven Dou Imperial Battle Team.
Yu Tianheng, grandson of Elder Yu Luoguan of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and Tang San's uncle Yu Xiaogang's cousin's son!
At this moment, he was passionately pursuing a woman. With a bright red rose in his mouth, he pressed a woman against the wall and said,
"Leng Leng, from the moment I saw you, I realized I was hopelessly in love with you. Please give me the chance to grow old hand in hand with you."
But Ye Lingling coldly pushed Yu Tianheng aside and said,
"Yu Tianheng, I'm not interested in you. Please stop bothering me."
With that, she turned and left without a backward glance.
Watching her retreating figure, Yu Tianheng's face flashed with a trace of cruelty. At that moment, Oslo stepped out from the shadows and nudged Yu Tianheng with his elbow,
"Boss, seems like a girl like Ye Lingling isn't so easy to win over, huh?"
"I won't give up. The wilder the horse, the more satisfying it is to tame," Yu Tianheng muttered as he casually tossed the rose into a nearby trash bin. A determined glint flickered in his eyes.
Ye Lingling possessed the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul, a rare single-lineage inheritance that only passed through female successors in each generation.
If he could successfully marry Ye Lingling, and their child inherited both the Nine-Heart Begonia and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial souls, then the Ye family would effectively be absorbed into the Yu family.
This would tremendously elevate his position within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—perhaps not enough to surpass his uncle Yu Xiaogang, but certainly enough to edge out his rival, Yu Tianxin.
This kind of gain was too tempting for Yu Tianheng to refuse.
Just then, Yufeng flew over and said,
"Boss, Oslo—Team Leader Qin Ming is gathering us. He wants us at the Battle Arena immediately."
"Got it. I'm on my way."
With that, Yu Tianheng and Oslo made their way toward the Royal Spirit Arena. Along the way, Yu Tianheng spotted Dugu Yan, her expression cold and distant. The two of them locked eyes, then quickly turned away like strangers, deliberately avoiding each other.
After the seven members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Team had gathered, Qin Ming stood in front and addressed them:
"Next, I will take you all to tour various cities. My requirement is this: at each city, participate in a team battle at the local Spirit Arena. Use these battles to sharpen your coordination. Let's go."
And so, under Qin Ming's lead, the Heaven Dou Imperial Battle Team left the academy. City by city, they entered tournaments at every Spirit Arena they passed, honing their teamwork. Eventually, they arrived at Soto City.
Meanwhile, the Soto City Spirit Arena had recently been troubled by something: Shrek Academy had chosen their arena as a training base.
The infamous Shrek Seven Devils—each of them outstanding in strength—were nearly unstoppable in team battles. Their overwhelming win streak left no suspense for the audience.
While the Shrek Seven Devils' confidence was well-earned, this wasn't in the Spirit Arena's best interest. If Shrek kept winning with zero suspense, all bets would go to Shrek. How could the house (the arena) possibly make any money?
Desperate to break this deadlock, the arena secretly posted a mission—seeking a team strong enough to challenge Shrek. Eventually, a team accepted the mission.
In the shadows, the Spirit Arena's manager met with the team's leader—a woman with snow-white hair and an aura of icy detachment.
Though the arena manager was a Spirit Emperor-level powerhouse himself, he couldn't sense a trace of spirit energy from her. That meant one of three things:
She was an ordinary person (unlikely),
She had some kind of energy-concealing technique,
Or she was simply so powerful that her strength couldn't be gauged.
Given she was leading a team of spirit masters, the first possibility was ruled out. That left the other two—either way, the manager had to treat her with caution.
"This is the detailed information on my team members."
The woman handed over a document with a calm voice.
The manager stared at the document, momentarily stunned.
"Do they meet your requirements?"
The manager immediately put on a flattering smile,
"Absolutely. Perfectly. Exactly what we've been looking for."
"Good."
Later that day, another battle team arrived at Soto City to register.
The manager checked their information and couldn't help but grin widely:
"Looks like this year's tournament might finally put an end to Shrek Academy's winning streak."
"The Heaven Dou Imperial Team, hmm?" the silver-haired woman commented lightly from her seat.
"Yes. Who would've thought they'd come all the way to our Balak Kingdom?"
"You expect them to end Shrek's win streak?"
The manager shook his head quickly:
"No, no. Your team is our ace in the hole. We plan to arrange a battle between you and Shrek to put an end to their streak once and for all. How about it?"
"No. If we're the ace, then we should go on last. Isn't that how it's done?"
"Yes, of course, absolutely! I'll arrange that immediately."
—
That day, Flender gathered the Shrek Seven Devils on their way to the Soto Spirit Arena. He solemnly warned them:
"Little monsters, do you know that Soto Arena has been secretly inviting powerful teams to end your winning streak? I've confirmed that one such team has already arrived. The opponents you face next won't be the same amateurs as before. This next battle will be the true test of your years of training."
"Understood, Dean Flender," the Shrek Seven Devils replied half-heartedly.
A strong team? Must be the Heaven Dou Imperial Team.
It's not like they hadn't fought them before. Although in this timeline Tang San lacked his Eight Spider Lances and the team had lost the Nether White Tiger fusion technique, they now had the advantage of an extra lifetime's worth of experience, and Xiao Wu's fusion skill with Er Ming had replaced the lost technique as Shrek's trump card. Facing the Heaven Dou Imperial Team again—they were confident of victory.