Yan Shaozhe felt a bit of the pent-up frustration in his chest dissipate.
He felt his attempt to morally Su Ming was brilliant.
Unfortunately, Su Ming wasn't having any of his moral kidnapping and instead turned the tables, holding even more people hostage.
"I merely wish to remind Shrek Academy," Su Ming's tone was dripping with undisguised threat, "the next tournament is hosted by our Sun Moon Empire. If your Shrek dares to be the one who breaks the rules first, don't blame us for being the ones to retaliate tenfold."
"You!" Yan Shaozhe glared furiously at Su Ming.
"Worried? Scared? If you don't dare to participate, then just don't." Su Ming returned the exact words.
Sensing the atmosphere had reached a point where Yan Shaozhe might attack at any moment, the Eight-Arms Douluo appeared, landing on the ring and standing behind Su Ming.
Yan Shaozhe glanced at the eager Eight-Arms Douluo; actually making a move was out of the question.
"A bunch of madmen!"
What gave the Eight-Arms Douluo the confidence to fight him, Yan Shaozhe? It was, of course, the Gold-level Second Awakening. But a Gold-level Second Awakening consumed even more life source than the Silver-level; it was a desperate, life-risking method. What did that eager look in the Eight-Arms Douluo's eyes mean? Yan Shaozhe inwardly cursed the Body Sect for being full of lunatics.
Little did he know, the Eight-Arms Douluo had nothing to worry about. If he fought now, he could go all out without restraint and then get reimbursed by Su Ming. Although using Spirit Refined tier Spirit Alloys to offset the effects of a Gold-level Second Awakening was far too extravagant for someone of the Eight-Arms and Lei Zhen's level, Su Ming had still prepared a piece for each of them. Extravagant it was, but it couldn't be left unprepared.
"What do you want?" Yan Shaozhe suppressed his anger and asked Su Ming what he desired.
"It's not about what I want, but what Shrek Academy should compensate all these teams that might encounter Shrek's team." Su Ming pointed towards the teams in the preparation area. As he pointed, the leaders of these teams felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles. Wait, how does this involve us?
"These are all teams that face the danger of Shrek unreasonably breaking the rules. Their hearts must have suffered trauma too. Isn't it reasonable for Shrek to compensate each of them with one Spirit Bone?" Su Ming suggested.
Yan Shaozhe stared at Su Ming, grinding his teeth. "What do you take Spirit Bones for?"
"For Shrek Academy, producing fifteen Spirit Bones shouldn't be difficult, right?" Su Ming countered.
At this moment, Yan Shaozhe finally regretted his earlier actions. If only he hadn't forced his way onto the ring; having Wang Yan hold up a surrender sign would have been fine. Now, it had cost such a heavy price.
After a long standoff, Yan Shaozhe finally conceded. He snorted coldly, accepting the compensation condition, and took Ma Xiaotao back to the preparation area.
"Teacher Li, check Xiaotao's condition. Can you suppress it for her first?" he instructed.
Su Ming glanced at the other teams, sensing a shift in their attitude towards these academy teams. Finally, he took a deep look at Xu Jiawei on the royal city wall. This counted as a severe blow to Shrek's prestige. With the great era of change for Spirit Masters approaching, an impact on the reputation of Shrek Academy, the leader of the Spirit Master world, was no different from digging at its very foundation.
"Elder Ma, how about leaving the next match to me?" Su Ming looked towards the preparation area and asked Elder Ma.
Hearing this, Elder Ma instinctively sensed that Su Ming had further plans for revenge. So vindictive. Being targeted once in the match, and now a triple retaliation? Compared to Yan Shaozhe, who relied on strength, Elder Ma was more shrewd. He had detected the subtle psychology in the second compensation demand Su Ming had just proposed against Shrek. Since it was revenge against Shrek, Elder Ma had no reason to refuse.
"Do what you want to do. You have more than just the Body Sect behind you," he affirmed.
"Referee, the team battle just now counts as our win, right?" Su Ming looked towards Tiansha Douluo.
Tiansha Douluo nodded. This was the judgment Xu Jiawei had just given.
"We forfeit the two-two-three battle method. Let's start the individual elimination round directly. I'll be the first to fight," Su Ming announced. His revenge came swiftly and directly.
So vindictive, Elder Ma lamented once more.
Given the methods Su Ming had just displayed, even if Ma Xiaotao were still able to fight, she probably wouldn't be his match in a one-on-one, let alone Dai Yueheng and the others. Would this kid actually try to single-handedly defeat all seven opponents in the finals of the Soul Master Tournament? Of course, a one-versus-seven might be difficult to achieve because Ma Xiaotao would definitely have a spot in Shrek's individual elimination lineup, and now she couldn't compete...
Just as Elder Ma thought this, Su Ming's voice from the stage reached his ears again. "Additionally, I permit Shrek Academy to readjust their lineup for the individual competition."
Good heavens, he really intends to take on all seven by himself.
After speaking, Su Ming signaled that his other teammates could rest. He alone sat cross-legged on the ring, beginning to recover his Spirit Power.
Too arrogant! Was he planning to challenge Shrek single-handedly?
Wang Yan felt the pressure. He looked at Yan Shaozhe, waiting for his decision.
"Fight. Fight him. I don't believe he can hold out alone," Yan Shaozhe said grimly. Then, he sent a voice transmission to Wang Yan: "Don't give him a chance to recover his Spirit Power."
Receiving the instruction, Wang Yan began rearranging their battle order. Everyone on the ring had now descended.
"Yueheng, how is your Spirit Power consumption?"
"About sixty percent left."
"Chen Zifeng?"
"Fifty percent."
"..."
After assessing everyone's Spirit Power situation, Wang Yan made arrangements.
"Bei Bei, you can also Awaken, right? You'll go first later."
Bei Bei was silent for a long time. Only when Wang Yan called his name did he seem to wake from a dream, nodding blankly.
Noticing Bei Bei's problematic mindset, Wang Yan instructed him, "Bei Bei, your task is to consume Su Ming's Spirit Power and buy as much time as possible for Yueheng and the others to recover to their peak condition."
Dai Yueheng was now the only Spirit Emperor Shrek could field. Only after he recovered to his peak did Shrek have an absolute certainty of eliminating Su Ming.
"After Bei Bei, it's Xi Xi."
"After Xi Xi..." Wang Yan fell silent.
Looking at the members available for selection, he felt for the first time that his team seemed... lacking. Apart from Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, there were hardly any standout individuals. Had Shrek fallen to this state?
"Chen Zifeng, can you recover in two rounds?" Chen Zifeng hesitated.
"I'll help him recover," Teacher Li spoke up. "With my help, Chen Zifeng, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen can all participate." Although Ling Luochen had been severely injured by Dai Yueheng's single strike, as long as it was purely physical injury, Teacher Li was confident he could quickly heal her. This Teacher Li's Martial Soul was the Tree of Life, and with his Spirit Sage cultivation, utilizing his Martial Soul True Body gave him great assurance.
"Also, Elder Yan, regarding Xiaotao's condition, I am powerless. Her problem lies with her Martial Soul, not physical injury," Teacher Li added.
Yan Shaozhe went to Ma Xiaotao and used his own Spirit Power to help suppress her origin, trying his best to slow the deterioration of her condition.
"Then after Xi Xi, it will be Ling Luochen, then Dai Yueheng. He Caitou and Jiang Nannan will be backups. Chen Zifeng will go last," Wang Yan made the decision.
He knew that Shrek Academy was bound to lose the individual elimination round as well. He could only try to preserve their record. Letting Su Ming defeat three in a row was acceptable, but not four. After that, even if someone like Ma Rulong came next, with Dai Yueheng, He Caitou, and Jiang Nannan's abilities, they should be able to eliminate at least one more member of the Sun Moon Imperial Royal Soul Engineering Academy team. Then, if Chen Zifeng fought with all his might, he might eliminate another. That way, the result wouldn't look too bad.
***
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(Chapter End)