After Shrek's crushing defeat, the round-robin tournament continued, but no one had yet recovered from the shock of that match.
After a moment, Salas smirked at Ning Fengzhi and said, "If I remember correctly, your daughter Ning Rongrong is part of the Shrek team. Sect Master Ning, the team you said you had high hopes for—couldn't have been Shrek, right?"
Ning Fengzhi responded with an awkward smile, "Bishop Salas, I only said I had high hopes for one of the teams in the tournament. As for which one—that's a mystery."
He was inwardly relieved he hadn't named Shrek outright earlier, or he'd have been thoroughly humiliated.
Still, the way the Spark Team rose so quickly was worrying. If a bunch of nobodies could climb this fast, that spelled trouble. If brute force couldn't handle them… maybe diplomacy could?
Perhaps it was time to bring them into the fold—recruit them to oppose Spirit Hall? Ning Fengzhi stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Round after round of the tournament went on. Many powerful teams emerged, but none could match the spectacle of the Shrek vs. Spark battle.
During the tournament, Yu Xiaogang swallowed the humiliation of Shrek's defeat and continued gathering and analyzing data from the stands on every team.
Once the round ended, Salas initiated the second-round draw.
Passing by Sect Master Huo, the latter gave him a subtle signal: assign Shrek a somewhat stronger opponent for the next match.
Salas: OK!
The draw began.
"Match 6 of Round 2: Shrek Academy vs. Dragon-Elephant Academy!"
Upon hearing the announcement, a young man with a flat-top haircut quietly left the spectator stands, deep in thought.
Shrek Academy Rest Area
Yu Xiaogang addressed the team: "Our opponent for the second round has been determined—Dragon-Elephant Academy."
"Dragon-Elephant Academy?" Tang San asked.
Flender explained, "Over ten years ago, Spirit Hall combined the Elephant Armored Sect and the Saint Dragon family into a new sect—Dragon-Elephant Sect. It's now one of the top three sects recognized by Spirit Hall. This academy is under its umbrella."
"And their strength?" asked Dai Mubai.
Yu Xiaogang, hands behind his back, calmly said, "Their team consists of one support-type, three diamond mammoth-type defense soul masters, and three white-armored holy dragon-type power attack soul masters. All are at the Soul Sect level—strong in both offense and defense. In this tournament, they rank among the top contenders."
Flender added, "Little monsters, we know you lost the first round. That loss was due to your own overconfidence. But we won't face the Spark team again anytime soon, so win each match in front of you. Make it to the finals and wash away this disgrace. Show the world that you're monsters—Shrek monsters—not weaklings, but proud freaks who stand above all others!"
"In short, I want you to go all out tomorrow. Win beautifully. You must win. No excuses. Understood?" Flender barked.
(Due to Shrek's humiliating defeat in the first round, many sponsors pulled their advertisements from the team's uniforms, demanding compensation. Flender barely made any money—in fact, he lost quite a bit. He was not pleased.)
"Yes, Headmaster Flender!" the Shrek monsters shouted in unison.
Flender nodded in satisfaction. Yu Xiaogang then began another lengthy analysis for the team.
At the end, he looked at Tang San expectantly and said, "I hope tomorrow you'll help restore the name of the Shrek Team (and especially mine, Yu Xiaogang)."
His meaning was all too clear—he hoped Tang San would take the lead again and win the next match.
But in response to his mentor's hopeful gaze, Tang San simply acted like he hadn't noticed.
Yu Xiaogang merely said, "The rest is up to you."
Now it was the Shrek team's time.
Yu Tianheng stepped forward, towering above Tang San like a proud lion looking down on a defeated rival.
"We lost the first match, but the loss was yours, not ours. You pathetic wretch, your incompetence dragged the Shrek team into disgrace. Looks like Xiao Wu and I will have to step up—people think Shrek is an easy target now."
"According to the bet, I get to decide the lineup and strategy for tomorrow's match," Yu Tianheng declared, sweeping his gaze across the team like a king.
"Tomorrow, the lineup will be me, Xiao Wu, Er Ming, Ning Rongrong, Jiang Zhu, Huang Yuan, and Jing Ling."
"What the hell, Yu Tianheng?" Dai Mubai was outraged to hear that he, Oscar, Tang San, and Ma Hongjun weren't on the list.
"You brought disgrace to Shrek. So sit on the sidelines and watch how we win back glory," Yu Tianheng said arrogantly.
With that, he and the selected members returned to their rooms.
Xiao Wu turned, her pure gaze meeting Tang San's.
"Silly Ah San giegie, if we'd let me, Er Ming, and Yu Tianheng fight yesterday, we wouldn't have lost. But don't dwell on it. Rest well. Tomorrow, I'll use our spirit fusion technique to restore Shrek's honor."
As she left, she subtly signaled to Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai: There'll be a reward tonight!
Then she walked off.
Tang San spat out a mouthful of blood in frustration. He could take Yu Tianheng's taunts—but Xiao Wu's words hit him where it hurt.
Xiao Wu, don't you know how painful your fusion technique is for me?
"Ah San, from what I know, the Dragon-Elephant team isn't to be underestimated. Tomorrow we'll just watch Yu Tianheng make a fool of himself. It's getting late—you should get some rest. I'll go cultivate," Dai Mubai said.
Ma Hongjun, suppressing his rising lust, added, "Yeah, cultivation! Let's go, the more the better!"
Oscar said, "Yes, yes, yes—let's all go cultivate!"
The three of them left.
Watching their backs, Tang San thought:
Have I been slacking off these years? Even Ma Hongjun—lazy and undisciplined in our past life—is training hard now. I must train twice—no, two hundred times as hard! If not, even Xiao Wu will look down on me.
And with that, Tang San returned to his room to train.
Note from the author: Some readers say Tang San seems dumbed down. Don't forget—his soul was pulled out and modified by the protagonist when he was born. Just like Tang San influenced Huo Yuhao with Dong spirit fusion technique, it's all connected.