Right now, Nan Fusheng is being looked after by the hotel staff. After the opening ceremony, if you're still worried, you can go and visit him.
For now, just relax a little and watch the exhibition match. This time's exhibition match won't be like the ones before—it'll give you a chance to recognize the gap between yourselves and those who are truly called heaven's favored."
"Is that so…" Hearing Wu Zhangkong's words, Xu Xiaoyan finally let out a breath of relief.
Tang Wulin, on the other hand, was curious about what this so-called exhibition match meant.
"Teacher Wu, what exactly is the exhibition match?"
Before Wu Zhangkong could answer, Xie Xie jumped in.
"You don't know? There's going to be an exhibition battle later. I heard they spent an enormous amount of money to specially invite some powerhouses from Shrek Academy.
Their opponents will be the seven-man team that won the last Youth Division Championship here in the Tianhai Alliance. The whole point is to let us see the gap between ourselves and true elites.
But I don't think this is the right way to go about it."
"Why?" Gu Yue, standing beside him, asked with a puzzled look.
Xie Xie shrugged. "It's simple. If the gap is within a reasonable range, then sure, you can call it a gap—it motivates you to catch up.
But if the gap surpasses a certain level, then it's no longer just a gap—it becomes a chasm. An unbridgeable gulf that only leaves people feeling crushed."
"You do have a way with words." Xu Xiaoyan glanced at him. "But don't you think something so obvious wouldn't have occurred to the higher-ups of the Alliance? I'm sure they already have their methods of handling it."
While Xie Xie and the others discussed heatedly, the so-called "patient" Nan Fusheng was quietly preparing in a private rest chamber.
This chamber was specially provided by the Tianhai Alliance's leadership for tournament teams.
At this moment, Nan Fusheng's appearance had undergone a dramatic change—short, sea-blue hair, eyes of the same oceanic shade, looking about seventeen or eighteen, and with a handsome face. He now appeared exactly like Zhang Wuji, the young man he had parasitized not long ago.
This change was thanks to one of the powers of the Fool Path's Sequence Six: Faceless Man.
One of its core abilities, Faceless, allowed the user to permanently take on another person's outward appearance. The transformation was limited—height and build could only shift within certain bounds, and clothing could not be imitated—but voice could be mimicked, so long as the target was an ordinary person.
Using this ability, Nan Fusheng perfectly assumed Zhang Wuji's likeness. Coupled with his power to steal, he had even seized Zhang Wuji's martial soul. Unless someone was intimately familiar with Zhang Wuji, no one would ever suspect the truth.
And as for the real Zhang Wuji? Nan Fusheng had simply told him to find a quiet place to lie down and wait until the tournament ended. Right now, it was Nan Fusheng's time.
Inside the chamber with him were six others—four men and two women—each of them a member of the same team.
The room was silent. Everyone went about their own business without speaking, and there wasn't the faintest sense of camaraderie. Yet this was, indeed, a team—the Nan Fusheng Team.
The name, of course, had been chosen by Nan Fusheng himself. Why? Because everyone in this team… was him. Since they were all his, naturally, there was no one to object to the name.
Ordinarily, with his current strength, controlling so many people would be impossible. But right now, he was drawing upon the power of the Origin Castle. That made everything different.
From the Error Path, Sequence Four: Parasite.
For Nan Fusheng, as long as he didn't forcibly activate the Mythical Creature state like he had during the Soul Train incident, he could withstand the strain. Without invoking that level, he could still borrow a trace of Sequence Zero "True God" power. Using a Sequence Four ability was nothing in comparison.
With the power of Parasite, Nan Fusheng's strength had skyrocketed. Not only had he parasitized these six teammates, but he had also latched onto two of the Tianhai Alliance's high-ranking officials.
Still, it was all borrowed power. If he failed to sustain it, the parasitic hold would vanish.
When that happened, aside from the first two he parasitized with martial souls, the rest would either faint if lucky or die on the spot if unlucky.
Even so, the mental damage done to their spiritual selves during the process would be very real.
It was worth noting that Nan Fusheng's method of parasitism involved fusing with the host's soul.
That meant the hosts became his "avatars," but because of the fusion, their personalities would be altered. The stronger the host's soul, the more of their original personality bled through; the weaker the soul, the more completely Nan Fusheng's will dominated.
Yet the core consciousness of everybody remained his. That never changed.
At this moment, the seven-man team's martial souls were: Sea Dragon, Water Element, Sea Star, Walrus, Giant Claw Crab, Fat Catfish, and Giant Lobster. All water-attribute spirits, with soul power levels above Rank 35—not a single Soul Ancestor among them.
Frankly, with such strength, they had almost no chance against the Shrek Academy team.
From the Tianhai high-level officials he parasitized, Nan Fusheng had learned that the Shrek team included two Soul Ancestors, three Soul Elders, and two Great Soul Masters.
Even a single Soul Ancestor was enough to balance out the burden of those Great Soul Masters. With two, the advantage was overwhelming—and these were Shrek students, each one accustomed to battling far above their level.
Even worse, Nan Fusheng discovered that this Shrek team included top-tier martial souls such as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda.
On the surface, Nan Fusheng had no chance of victory. But fortunately, he still held a hidden trump card.
At that moment, the broadcast echoed through the entire stadium, reaching even Nan Fusheng's chamber.
"Today marks the beginning of the Tianhai Alliance Tournament! We have specially invited a team from Shrek Academy to exchange pointers with our previous Youth Division champions!
Given Shrek Academy's overwhelming strength, this exhibition will take the form of a cross-age exchange battle. Our Youth Division's seven-man champion team will be challenging Shrek Academy's seven-man Junior Division team! Now, let us welcome both teams to the stage!"
It's here.
In the resting chamber, Nan Fusheng raised his head toward the screen. It displayed the grand Tianhai Stadium—but the ones walking onto the platform were the previous Youth Division champions.
As for his team, they weren't involved—at least, not yet.