In Huo Yuhao's eyes, Xuanzi's so-called "guidance" was meaningless. Once a week, under his direction, the seven reserve team members would simply fight each other in chaotic free-for-alls.
To put it nicely, this training was meant to let each person display what they had learned so far, allowing their teammates to become familiar with their abilities. It also supposedly gave Xuanzi a chance to observe their fighting styles and offer corrections.
In reality, however, the training was simply to make the seven of them act more like a single unit,subconsciously building teamwork and helping each person better understand their own role in the group.
That wasn't necessarily wrong, but as the saying goes: sheep move in herds, while tigers walk alone.
Cultivating soul masters in this way would only produce competent tournament fighters,students good at team matches, not truly powerful individuals capable of standing on their own.
Three weeks had passed since the selection trials. Today was another of Xuanzi's training days. Huo Yuhao and the other six members of the reserve team arrived at a closed training ground within the examination area, waiting for Xuanzi's arrival.
Before long, once Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Ning Tian, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong were all present, Xuanzi appeared,this time accompanied by seven figures in blood-red uniforms.
These seven were the official team members who would represent Shrek Academy in the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament. In the original story, they were the ones sacrificed by the will of the universe itself,mere pawns destined to die so that Huo Yuhao could shine.
Under the will of the Douluo world's grand consciousness, these seven were wiped out during what should have been a routine mission before the tournament,killed or crippled by a single evil soul master who was only at the Soul King level. The irony was not lost on Huo Yuhao.
Xuanzi nodded at the group and said, "Everyone's here. In ten days, the new Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament will begin."
"You should already know who the others are. Standing before you are both the main team and the reserve team members. Today is for introductions,get familiar with each other."
Then he looked toward Huo Yuhao's group. "Although the reserve team will mostly serve as observers during the tournament, each of you will have a chance to fight. When we face weaker opponents, you will take the stage to conceal the true strength of the main team."
"So, remember this well,you may win, but you are not allowed to lose. Shrek Academy produces no mediocrities. You all know the consequences of failure. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the seven reserve members answered in unison.
"Good," Xuanzi said. "I won't waste more words. I've always believed that fists are the best way to communicate. To help you understand each other's abilities and personalities faster, we'll start with a friendly match."
He then turned toward Ma Xiaotao's group. "Before we begin, introduce yourselves. Main team first."
"Inner Court, Ma Xiaotao, level 67 Assault System Battle Soul Emperor."
A tall woman with long, dark red hair tied in a ponytail stepped forward first. Her eyes, the same fiery red as her hair, seemed to burn with living flames.
Without the suppression of Huo Yuhao's ultimate ice, as in the original story, Ma Xiaotao still stood as one of Shrek's main representatives, and her soul power was no weaker than before.
But through the True Eye, Huo Yuhao could clearly see that beneath her appearance, her soul power churned like molten magma.
Even in the original timeline, the ultimate ice's suppression had merely been a temporary fix. What plagued Ma Xiaotao wasn't the fire itself,it was the corruption within her Evil Fire Phoenix spirit.
The ultimate ice could suppress it through sheer elemental dominance, but it was never a cure,just treating the symptoms, not the cause.
Worse, the more the evil fire was repressed, the more violently it would eventually erupt.
If one truly wanted to remove the evil fire's influence, purification was the only proper path.
However, in the Douluo Continent, a soul master's cultivation path was determined from the moment they awakened their martial soul. Even so-called ultimate attributes merely granted superiority within their domain,they couldn't transcend it.
Purification abilities existed, of course,the Angel martial soul was among the best examples. The Six-Winged Angel, a god-bestowed spirit, could easily cleanse corruption with the help of a high-level angelic soul master.
But since the destruction of Spirit Hall by Tang San thousands of years ago, the angel lineage had scattered. Even if a few descendants remained, their bloodlines were impure.
Some retained partial variants like the Healing Angel martial soul,still powerful, but lacking the divine purity and strength of the original.
With the Six-Winged Angel lineage gone, the only remaining path to eliminate the evil fire was refinement.
If one's own flame became pure and powerful enough, the corruption within would be naturally expelled.
But looking at Ma Xiaotao now, Huo Yuhao couldn't help feeling uneasy. Was this even an Evil Fire Phoenix anymore? The corruption inside her seemed ready to explode. Could she even be called a phoenix, or was she turning into something far darker?
"Old Yi, what do you think?" Huo Yuhao asked inwardly. He wasn't sure,he hadn't expected Ma Xiaotao's condition to be this bad.
If they really started fighting and she lost control, wouldn't she tear everyone here to shreds?
"Look more carefully, little one," Electrolux replied calmly, utterly unbothered.
Huo Yuhao frowned and refocused his True Eye on Ma Xiaotao.
Then he noticed it,the soul power within her seemed chaotic, but it was actually a kind of ordered chaos. The flames were like impurities, interfering with her flow of energy and misleading his earlier judgment.
"This girl's power has already been tainted by the corruption," Electrolux explained, "but she's in a stable phase of transformation. She's not as unstable as you thought."
"Once that transformation ends, though, her mind will inevitably be affected. If she cannot maintain a firm sense of self, she will fall into destruction."
"And once that destruction comes, what will be born,a monster or a reborn self? That, no one can say."
"But as for you, there's no need to worry. Even if her strength skyrockets, I can still protect you. No matter how strong the corruption grows, unless she completely masters it, it's nothing more than a minor nuisance to me."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao felt more at ease. His gaze shifted to the other Inner Court members, especially one named Gongyang Mo.
He was a level 59 soul king with the Rainbow Dragon martial soul,one of the most prestigious in the soul master world, comparable to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Both were renowned as top-tier support-type spirits, but they shared the same flaw: the seven-ring bottleneck that prevented further breakthroughs.
Unlike the Pagoda, which was a tool spirit, the Rainbow Dragon was a beast spirit,and real Rainbow Dragons did exist, even among the ten-thousand-year species.
The Rainbow Dragon was known for its beauty and its mastery of multiple elemental magics, earning it a revered place among dragonkind.
But when such a spirit appeared in a human, it came with a harsh limit: at seven rings, its evolution stopped completely. Further progress was nearly impossible.
That was why Gongyang Mo had chosen to focus on the support system.
In truth, the Rainbow Dragon was so versatile that it could excel in assault, control, or support. But given the inevitable bottleneck, support was the most practical choice for a long-term career in Shrek Academy.
After all, to enter the Inner Court without the potential to reach Soul Douluo level, one needed another special talent.
To Huo Yuhao, though, that was an incredible waste of such a noble dragon spirit.
Even though the divine realm had long fallen and only Di Tian, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, remained among the true dragon descendants, the Rainbow Dragon bloodline was still exceptionally pure.
If Huo Yuhao could somehow analyze that bloodline and use it to strengthen his own body,perhaps even gain multi-elemental affinity,it would be a great advantage for his future growth.
Despite Electrolux's title as the Undead Holy God, the old man's memory contained an enormous store of other elemental magic as well. But because of Huo Yuhao's human body and the world's restrictive laws, his non-ice abilities were weak.
It was a constant frustration,possessing a treasury of knowledge but lacking the means to use it.
As for the other Inner Court students, there wasn't much worth commenting on.
There was Dai Yaoheng, level 64 Assault System Battle Soul Emperor, elder brother of Dai Huabin and heir of the White Tiger Duke,another person on Huo Yuhao's revenge list.
The remaining four were all above level 50: Yao Haoxuan, a level 55 Control and Support Soul King with the Giant martial soul; Xi Xi, a level 56 Agility Attack Soul King; and Chen Zifeng, a level 57 Assault Soul King.
In the original story, these three, along with Gongyang Mo, were all killed or crippled by the Death God Envoy. Only one, Ling Luochen,a level 55 Control System Soul King with an ice attribute similar to Huo Yuhao's,survived, thanks to fate's intervention.
After the main team's introductions, the reserve team members introduced themselves by age and specialization as planned.
Once everyone was done, Xuanzi said, "Alright. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yaoheng, each of you will lead a team. Ma Xiaotao, since your cultivation is higher, you can only have two main team members. But you get the first pick from both groups."
"Dai Yaoheng, your team will have three main team members, then the reserve members."
Ma Xiaotao glanced over the group and said coldly, "Gongyang Mo."
After a short pause, she chose Bei Bei next,the strongest among the reserve members and one of the "Twin Stars" of the outer court alongside Xu Sanshi.
Then she turned to Dai Yaoheng. "Your turn."
He chose Chen Zifeng and Xu Sanshi,the two strongest left among the group.
Since the Inner Court members didn't know much about the outer court's students, choosing by raw power was the logical move.
Xu Sanshi, however, looked miserable. He was quite familiar with Ma Xiaotao, having helped her suppress her evil fire many times, and he knew just how terrifying her temper had become over the past year.
When Ma Xiaotao's turn came again, she chose Ling Luochen and Jiang Nannan. Her Inner Court picks were thus complete. Dai Yaoheng then chose Xi Xi and Yao Haoxuan.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help thinking, "I don't get why he's still picking Inner Court members when Ma Xiaotao can't anymore,but whatever, not my problem."
Finally, Ma Xiaotao picked Ning Tian and Wang Dong,two of the stronger second-year Soul Elders,leaving Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao for Dai Yaoheng's team.
With the teams set, Xuanzi took a swig from his gourd and chuckled. "Good. Now that you've chosen, you have ten minutes to discuss tactics. After that, the match begins."
"And let's add a little wager. The losing team just has to say, 'I'm a pig.' That's all."
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