The highly anticipated Exhibition Match was about to begin.
An announcement echoed throughout the venue: "Today marks the start of the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition. We have specially invited a team from Shrek Academy to engage in an exchange match with the previous champions."
"Given Shrek Academy's formidable strength, this exchange will feature a cross-age competition. Our Tianhai Alliance Youth Group seven-member champion team will challenge Shrek Academy's seven-member teenage team. Now, please welcome both sides to the stage!"
As the announcement ended, the tunnels on both sides of the Soul Dueling Platform lit up simultaneously. The Shrek seven were the first to appear, their uniform green attire exceptionally striking under the lights.
The audience erupted in cheers.
Yu Henglong led the way, followed by a young girl. The tall, thin boy from before and two others followed closely behind. These front few appeared to be only in their teens.
Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi, who were clearly even younger, brought up the rear.
They stood casually, clearly not taking this match to heart.
Representing the Tianhai Alliance were the previous Youth Group champions, seven students from Tianhai Academy. They were all over twenty years old and were about to participate in the Adult Group competition.
What puzzled the audience was that the Tianhai Academy team only had four men and two women on the field, dressed in silver team uniforms, looking valiant and moving in unison.
Following behind them was an eye-catching Little Yellow Hair.
It wasn't just because he was unfamiliar, but mainly because that Little Yellow Hair looked too young. He was even younger than the people from Shrek Academy opposite him.
He looked completely out of place among his Tianhai Academy teammates, who were at least twenty years old.
"Who is that? How did a kid sneak into the Tianhai Academy team?" Whispers rippled through the stands as people pointed at that conspicuous yellow hair, which included a tuft of ahoge swaying back and forth.
One spectator asked with a puzzled face, "He looks ten years old at most, right?"
Xie Xie jumped up and down in the stands, shouting, "Go Brother Art! Crush Shrek!"
Na'er, not wanting to be outdone, followed suit and shouted words of encouragement.
Xu Xiaoyan clasped her hands together, her eyes full of anticipation.
On the stage, both sides exchanged greetings and introduced themselves.
The Shrek side all stared intently at Arthur, the boy they had just had a dispute with.
Yu Henglong asked, "I recall you weren't in the Tianhai Academy team."
After all, their opponents were all Soul Masters over twenty years old. No matter how much he looked down on them, Yu Henglong had still glanced through their profiles.
Arthur tilted his head, that tuft of ahoge swaying with the movement, wearing a nonchalant smile.
"The main force is busy, I'm the substitute."
The Tianhai City Governor on the high platform followed up, explaining loudly to the referee and the entire audience, "A member of the Tianhai Academy team has fallen suddenly ill, so student Arthur from East Sea Academy will participate as a substitute to ensure the match proceeds smoothly!"
This statement caused a stir throughout the venue. "A substitute? Who is this kid?"
"He looks even younger than the Shrek teenagers. Can he really do it?"
Arthur then introduced himself, "East Sea Academy, Arthur."
As the teacher leading the East Sea Academy team, Long Hengxu was already ecstatic. Arthur was being far too generous!
This scene alone was enough to make East Sea Academy famous.
The Shrek group was momentarily stunned, then they all showed mocking expressions. The tall, thin boy sneered, "A substitute? Has the Tianhai Alliance run out of people? Sending a brat to make up the numbers is simply looking down on our Shrek too much!"
The girl beside him also frowned, her tone full of disdain. "A child should just go down, lest you end up crying for your mother later."
Ye Xinglan's gaze was as sharp as a blade. "I haven't settled the score with you for what happened just now. Since you insist on taking the stage, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"The glory of Shrek must not be insulted."
The Tianhai Academy team members beside Arthur didn't speak up for him. They were also somewhat dissatisfied that the organizers had replaced their long-time teammate with such a child.
At this moment, Shen Yi and Wu Zhangkong were watching together from a corner.
"That child is..." Shen Yi recognized Arthur at a glance, since they had just met.
She frowned. "What on earth is the Tianhai Alliance thinking, letting such a young child take the field?"
"It's Arthur, the child who had a dispute with your students just now." Wu Zhangkong's voice remained cold, but his gaze was firmly locked on the figure of Little Yellow Hair on the Soul Dueling Platform.
"My..." Wu Zhangkong sighed helplessly. "My friend."
He didn't say he was his student.
But Shen Yi understood the weight of those words even more.
This is bad!
Her expression changed instantly. "Is he on the field now because of the conflict earlier?"
"Can he defeat Yu Henglong and the others?"
Wu Zhangkong nodded. "Easily."
Shen Yi's pupils constricted, her eyes fixed on Little Yellow Hair on the Soul Dueling Platform, her tone full of disbelief. "Easily? Yu Henglong is already a Four-ring Spirit Ancestor, and he has the support of Ning Xin's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. No matter how high this child's talent is, his age is right there..."
Before she could finish, the referee on the Soul Dueling Platform raised his hand, and a clear voice echoed throughout the venue: "Match start!"
Just as the referee finished speaking, the seven from Shrek Academy were the first to launch an offensive.
The first to act was Xu Lizhi. Two yellow spirit rings lit up beneath his feet, and with a flick of his right hand, several bun-like objects flew toward his teammates, who caught them and stuffed them into their mouths.
Immediately after, two yellow and one purple spirit rings rose from beneath the girl beside Yu Henglong, and a seven-layered pagoda appeared in her right hand.
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
The bottom three layers glowed simultaneously, and three beams of light landed on Yu Henglong.
Yu Henglong let out a long Dragon roar, his body swelling abruptly, his arms becoming exceptionally thick, and incredibly, two yellow, one purple, and one black spirit ring rose beneath his feet.
This spirit ring configuration was clearly problematic; it was obvious that some of Yu Henglong's spirit rings were obtained by hunting Spirit Beasts.
soul spirits offered far more advantages than Spirit Beasts and could even undergo Spirit Ascension. Why would anyone hunt Spirit Beasts to obtain spirit rings?
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly; this indicated that his Spiritual Power was very weak and could not yet withstand high-age soul spirits.
Yu Henglong shouted, and in the next second, a burst of intense blue light erupted from the center of the arena. The arena wasn't very large, less than fifty meters in diameter. Massive lightning instantly enveloped the entire field.
The Tianhai Academy team members felt their bodies go numb, making it impossible to move a step.
The violent lightning spread like a spiderweb. The six members of Tianhai Academy tried to circulate their Soul Power to resist, and their support Soul Master kept using Spirit Abilities, but it was to no avail.
The Shrek side was already charging forward. Bound tightly by the lightning, the others could only watch helplessly, sweating profusely from anxiety.
If not for Arthur, they would have been easily insta-killed like this.
"You guys are so weak," Arthur couldn't help but grumble. It seemed he really would have to fight one against seven.
The Tianhai Academy members widened their eyes, their faces turning red, but they had long been rendered speechless by the electricity.
Arthur stomped his foot, and three black spirit rings appeared behind him, with the second spirit ring flashing.
Domain Skill: Sword Domain, activate.
The light from the pitch-black spirit ring surged, like ink dripping into clear water, instantly spreading across the entire fifty-meter diameter arena.
An invisible Sword Pressure instantly swept through the venue. The once violent and rampaging lightning, as if meeting its nemesis, was forcibly crushed back into Yu Henglong's body.
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