The Shrek Seven Monters returned to the backstage of the Great Spirit Arena
Yu Xiaogang and Flender had been waiting anxiously for some time.
The moment they saw the seven's figures—
They hurried forward.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes caught the bloodstains across Tang San's face, and his heart trembled faintly.
"Xiao San, you—"
"I'm fine." Tang San raised his hand. He forcefully wiped his cheek with his thumb, removing that glare of crimson.
"That Sword Wine…" Yu Xiaogang's voice was filled with worry.
"I said, I'm fine." Tang San abruptly cut him off. His tone was so flat it was almost cold, seeping with a chill that brooked no argument.
That second "I'm fine."
Was more like an invisible barrier.
Forcibly sealing off any further words about Sword Wine.
That single sword from Li Zhexian had shattered the Purple Demon Eye's mustard-seed realm.
Years of painstaking cultivation—destroyed in an instant.
Dai Mubai and Oscar looked at Tang San's expression, their throats bobbed twice, but in the end, they said nothing.
Xiao Wu gazed at Tang San's profile, her worry deep and tender, yet she too fell silent.
Perhaps the only one untouched by this heavy atmosphere was Zhu Zhuqing.
She lowered her head, staring at the short blade strapped to her leg, silently musing:
"Why can't my blade be as powerful as Li Zhexian's sword? Next time we meet, I'll ask him to teach me…"
Ning Rongrong's thoughts were elsewhere.
Her beautiful eyes flicked now and then toward Zhu Zhuqing, while within her sleeve her slender hand clenched tight, nails nearly piercing her palm.
"Perhaps…" A thought spun endlessly in her mind.
"Perhaps I should go alone to see Brother Zhexian…"
"…and ask him not to hate me so much anymore."
Though Shrek had won their first battle—
the air was heavy with suffocating tension.
Yu Xiaogang sighed inwardly without sound.
He understood Tang San.
That pride in Tang San's bones had suffered an unprecedented blow in that brief yet utterly one-sided clash with Sword Wine.
This silence now—
was merely a mask for what he could not accept.
"I only hope…"
"…that he can turn this hatred into strength to press forward."
...
The first day of the preliminaries thus ended.
Since each team had battles on the following day, none gathered again.
Only Feng Buyu, idle as ever, dragged Li Zhexian and a few others to a wine table, pouring out his grievances.
"Brother Zhexian!"
"I had already called people over, I was ready to rush into the field, but those Spirit Masters maintaining order blocked me!"
Feng Buyu raked back the black silk headband over his brow in frustration.
"Next time we get the chance, let's ambush Shrek in private!"
"Brother Zhexian, just give the word—I'll be the first to strike!"
Li Zhexian wasn't displeased—on the contrary, he was amused.
With Yu Tianheng and the others also chiming in, as they pushed their cups back and forth, they even started talking about "where to bury the Shrek people."
Meanwhile, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling poured for Li Zhexian as they listened, brows arched in amusement, unable to suppress their laughter.
...
The next twenty-seven days of preliminaries—
passed with surprising calm.
During the tournament, which was in full swing, various geniuses revealed their sharp edges, and the atmosphere in Heaven Dou City rose step by step.
In the end—
Out of twenty-eight teams—
Five emerged victorious:
the Skywater Team, the Godwind Team, the Blazing Team, the Thunderclap Team, and… the Shrek Team.
Among the Five Elemental Academies, restrained by their attributes countering each other, the four advancing teams each had two or three defeats.
Yet what spectators spoke of most—
was Shrek.
Whether out of tactics or genuine weakness,
when facing the other four advancing strong teams, Shrek chose to surrender without exception.
But against all other opponents—
including the Elephant Armor Team—
they struck with ruthless force, clean and decisive.
Especially Tang San, who at last revealed his twin Martial Souls.
That colossal hammer wrapped in violent thunder crashed down, even hurling Hu Yanli, bearer of the Diamond Mammoth, flat on his back.
Thus—
though Shrek qualified in the final spot by the narrowest of margins,
many spectators believed they had been holding back.
That perhaps they were lying low,
waiting for the right time to take revenge on the Imperial Battle Team and Sword Wine.
...
The five advancing teams, plus the directly-seeded Imperial Battle Team First Team—six teams in all.
Three days later,
they would set out for Spirit City.
To join the twenty-seven other teams from across the continent,
and contend for the ultimate crown.
...
"All right, you go pack first. Tonight, see you at Xiangfang Pavilion."
The preliminaries had ended that morning.
Li Zhexian had intended to drink with Feng Xiaotian and the rest straight through till dawn.
But since each had to prepare their baggage,
the banquet was postponed to the evening.
"Li Zhexian!" Huo Wu's crisp voice chased him from behind.
"Remember to pick two plums from your courtyard!"
"I love them!"
Li Zhexian tilted his head slightly, raised two fingers to his brow in a playful salute, and accepted.
Then, unhurried, he drifted away from the bustling arena.
Today, Xue Qinghe was occupied with wrapping up the preliminaries.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had gone home to pack.
Li Zhexian was left to wander alone.
He deliberately took a detour and came to the Jinxi Bridge. He bought the largest sugar figurine from the old craftsman.
The news that Li Zhexian was Sword Wine had already spread throughout Heaven Dou City.
The old man, carrying a bamboo basket with his babbling grandson inside, refused to take payment.
"Lord Sword Wine has brought honor to our Heaven Dou City!"
"This old man has no other skill, but one sugar figurine I can still afford!"
Li Zhexian, unable to refuse further, smiled and accepted.
Walking ten paces on—
He flicked his fingers.
A single gold coin fell silently into the old man's basket beside the child.
...
To take a shortcut, Li Zhexian turned into a secluded alley.
The rainwater from the other day had moistened the bluestone slabs, and slippery moss spread through the cracks.
He held the sugar figurine in his teeth,
humming tunelessly as he strolled to the midpoint.
Sunlight was too stingy to reach this deep alley.
And just then—
the dim light abruptly dimmed further.
A towering figure blocked the exit.
The man wore a coarse hemp cloak, hood pulled low to conceal most of his face.
Only a stubbled, hard jawline was visible.
Li Zhexian halted.
In the instant this man appeared,
it was as if all sound had been stolen from the alley.
The clamour of carts and horses, the bustle of the city—
all cut off.
A suffocating silence pressed down.
"Was it you who destroyed the Strength Clan… and humiliated my son?"
The man's voice was hoarse and gravelly, laden with the crushing weight of a mountain.
At those words,
Li Zhexian understood his identity.
His eyes narrowed, grave expression surfacing, though no trace of panic showed.
"The same thing—I will not allow it to happen twice."
As he said this, Li Zhexian lightly tapped the tip of his foot and slid back half a step.
Pssh—
A wisp of dark-green poisonous mist spread out in front of Li Zhexian's right side, condensing into a slender, cold-faced old man in a gray robe.
Crack—Boom!
Almost simultaneously, an arc of brilliant blue lightning erupted to his left side.
An heroic-looking old man in a blue battle garb, with his beard and hair standing up like halberds, stepped out from it.