In this first match, Wang Yan arranged for Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, and Ning Tian—five people in total.
It couldn't be helped; the others were all lying in bed. Furthermore, Wu Feng was merely an ordinary two-ring Soul Grandmaster with no special abilities or unique mechanics; sending her up would be meaningless.
Even for Gong-yang Mo and Ling Luochen, whose injuries were relatively light and cultivation levels higher, they would have to wait until at least the round-robin tournament to recover their combat strength and join the competition.
They were currently staying with Wang Dong and Wu Feng in the Shrek seating area below.
Not far away, in the Star Net National Academy team area, Dai Yueheng, sitting in a front-row seat, let out a soft tsk when he saw the Shrek team fielding only five people, with only Ma Xiaotao among the official members.
Dai Yueheng looked at the pale-faced Gong-yang Mo and Ling Luochen below the stage, stroking his chin thoughtfully. With his meticulous mind, he could naturally connect the dots.
He couldn't help but feel in a great mood.
Serves you right! Shrek couldn't distinguish between what's urgent and what's important, actually expelling me. Let's see what you do now!
Just for assassinating a lowly bastard of an illegitimate son, you actually had the heart to expel me?! How much blood have I, Dai Yueheng, shed for Shrek!
If you are unjust, don't blame me for being unrighteous!
Dai Yueheng clenched his fists. Since things were this way, he considered it his bounden duty to defeat Shrek!
As Huo Yuhao and the other four took the stage, the audience erupted in cheers as earth-shattering as a mountain roar or a tsunami.
However, seeing the slightly green youths—aside from Ma Xiaotao—the audience, the Emperor and officials atop the imperial city, and the personnel from various participating academies all realized that these people were likely Shrek's preparatory members.
An incomplete roster consisting entirely of preparatory members... was Shrek so confident that they were using the first match as a training exercise?
What did this represent? It represented absolute confidence in their own strength!
In all things, one should fear overthinking. After this wave of mental gymnastics, the already pressured members of Tianling Academy felt their legs trembling even more.
Seeing this, the captain of Tianling Academy quickly moved to reassure the team's morale.
Although losing to Shrek was perfectly normal, even if the outcome was a loss, they had to give their all to put up a beautiful fight; otherwise, they would truly be talked about for a lifetime.
Shrek set up a somewhat strange formation. Ma Xiaotao stood at the very front, chest out and head held high. Behind her was Huo Yuhao, and behind Huo Yuhao were Ning Tian, He Caitou, and Jiang Nannan.
It looked as though they intended to hand the entire battle over to Ma Xiaotao.
Seeing both sides in position, the referee gave the order.
"Begin the match!"
Accompanied by the referee's shout, students from both sides released their martial souls almost instantly.
As her martial soul possessed her, red feathers quietly appeared on Ma Xiaotao's body, and her eyes lit up with a blazing radiance.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black—six soul rings of the optimal ratio surrounded Ma Xiaotao's proud, delicate body. With a gentle flap of the flaming wings on her back, she floated in mid-air, while the phantom of the Evil Fire Phoenix behind her let out a searing cry.
The Phoenix is the king of birds; its status among avian martial souls is equivalent to that of the Tiger or Dragon among land beasts—it is an absolute top-tier martial soul, let alone a Fire Phoenix of the purest bloodline.
In terms of martial soul quality, only Huo Yuhao on the Shrek team was higher than Ma Xiaotao. Neither Bei Bei, nor Xu Sanshi (whose martial soul had not fully awakened), nor Wang Dong's Radiant Butterfly Goddess were equal to Ma Xiaotao.
[If the Radiant Butterfly Goddess doesn't snatch the Golden Dragon bloodline to evolve into the Radiant Dragon God Butterfly, this martial soul's strength probably wouldn't even surpass the White Tiger. I don't know if Princess Tang just used it poorly, but in the original work, there didn't seem to be anything particularly brilliant about it.]
The Phoenix's pressure covered the field. Combined with the soul power suppression from Ma Xiaotao's formidable cultivation (which approached that of a Soul Saint), some members of the opposing Tianling Academy even fell onto their backsides, while others couldn't even summon their martial souls.
Everyone else's soul rings were standard optimal configurations, but over on Huo Yuhao's side, there were four inscrutable white soul rings.
Xiao Hongchen snorted and turned his head away, muttering dissatisfiedly, "What... that kind of soul ring? How disappointing!"
On the field, Ma Xiaotao had already moved.
Her second soul skill, Phoenix Bathed in Fire, and her third soul skill, Phoenix Wings Skyward, were activated simultaneously. At some point, she had donned a pale gold belt around her waist which was currently emitting a faint golden halo; the soul power fluctuations on her body were rising rapidly.
"Seven Treasures have a name. First: Speed. Seven Treasures have a name. Second: Release. Seven Treasures have a name. Third: Strength."
Standing in the rear, Ning Tian held up the Exquisite Treasure Pagoda in her hand. The two yellow and one purple soul rings on the pagoda flashed simultaneously. As the three soul rings activated, the pagoda in her hand became exceptionally dazzling, even appearing to increase in size.
Three beams of light shot out at once, landing on Ma Xiaotao, causing the flames on her body to burn even more intensely.
In terms of auxiliary effects, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is the absolute pinnacle of the Douluo Continent. Even though Ning Tian was only a three-ring user, assisting a Soul Emperor like Ma Xiaotao (whose cultivation was near Soul Saint level) could still provide a 30% boost.
"Hah!"
Ma Xiaotao gave a low shout as her first soul ring lit up.
Great Fire Annihilation... oh, no, Phoenix Fireline activated.
As a hundred-year soul skill, the usual Phoenix Fireline, even when used by Ma Xiaotao, was merely a linear flame about the thickness of an arm. Usually, Ma Xiaotao used this move as a feint, not expecting it to deal effective damage.
But this time...
A sea of fire covering half the competition stage surged toward the other side. The high temperature from the heatwave singed eyebrows and hair. The members of Tianling Academy had no intention of continuing the fight; their souls nearly left their bodies as they scrambled to shout "Surrender!" and "We surrender!"
In the end, Ma Xiaotao's Great Fire Annihilation did not burn the Tianling Academy representative team, as it was blocked in time by the referee.
However, the sea of flames destroyed more than half of the competition stage... the residual high temperature would not dissipate anytime soon.
Afterward, the Star Net Empire had to bring in an entire class of water-attribute soul masters just to fix the arena's issues.
The referee's throat bobbed slightly as he spoke, trying his best to remain calm: "In this match, Shrek Academy wins and advances to the second round-robin stage."
Boom—
The audience was stunned at first, but after a brief silence, the atmosphere was completely ignited.
"Shrek!"
"Shrek!"
The audience erupted into long-lasting cheers, and the scene was filled with a fiery atmosphere.
Countless spectators shouted in unison, raising their hands and jumping in place, their faces red with an excitement that defied words.
Similarly, besides excitement, their eyes held a fanatic fervor.
This was Shrek Academy, the Shrek that had maintained a myth of invincibility for thousands of years!
...
Upon returning to the rest area, Zhang Lexuan gave Ma Xiaotao and Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up. The accompanying teacher, Wang Yan, immediately stepped forward.
"Do you want to go see the other matches later?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head indifferently. "No need. It's just the knockout stage; the truly strong teams won't be playing for real."
Wang Yan understood immediately. "...Fair enough. You all go back and rest."
In the Sun Moon Team's rest area, Ma Rugong looked at the departing backs of Huo Yuhao and the others, murmuring to himself.
"Shrek... is more interesting than I thought. They even know how to use soul tools that amplify soul skills. Interesting."
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that in the battle just now, the power of Ma Xiaotao's first soul skill, Phoenix Fireline, was incorrectly high.
To outsiders, it seemed like nothing more than the Shrek team's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda master providing a full boost, combined with Ma Xiaotao's own two amplification soul skills, causing the Phoenix Fireline to be exceptionally powerful.
In reality, however, that belt on Ma Xiaotao's waist was the key.
If Lan Xuanyu were here, he would naturally recognize that the belt was one of the exclusive components of Battle Armor.
Baili Du had naturally taught Huo Yuhao about Battle Armor and forging. Although Huo Yuhao hadn't researched forging yet, using some precious rare metals as substitutes for Spirit-Forging was no problem.
Xiao Hongchen narrowed his eyes as he watched Huo Yuhao leave. "This just shows that Shrek isn't the same Shrek as before. They also understand the essentials of soul tools coordinating with soul masters in battle."
Including the leading Elder Ma, everyone on the Sun Moon Team nodded repeatedly, but then Xiao Hongchen said something that completely spoiled the mood.
"But only such enemies have the value of being defeated by me!"
His voice was full of pride.
Ma Rugong, who had just had a slight change of heart regarding him, suddenly didn't want to talk to this Xiao Hongchen anymore. Even Elder Ma had dark lines across his face.
Looking down on this one and that one all day... if you didn't have a good grandfather, would there be a place for you to be so arrogant here? Who cares about you?
Geniuses are certainly arrogant, but arrogant geniuses often don't live long.
...
The second match began quickly, but because of the contrast with Shrek Academy's brilliant opening performance, it seemed much more ordinary.
Of course, a balanced team battle was still enough to get people excited; a river of blood was what the audience really wanted to see.
When everyone returned to the hotel, Wang Yan gathered the students for a meeting.
The main responsibility of Zhang Lexuan and Xian Lin'er was to protect the students' safety. Besides, it was just the round-robin tournament; it didn't require them to arrange the tactics personally.
Wang Yan said in a heavy voice: "In the round-robin tournament two days from now, it's very likely you will need to give your all. Now, let me make the arrangements for the round-robin first."
"...The round-robin is divided into team battles, individual matches, and the 2-2-3 combat method. The format will be determined on-site by drawing lots."
"Team battles go without saying—normal seven-on-seven. The individual match isn't just one person going up for one fight; rather, the loser leaves the stage and the winner continues to fight until all seven people on one side are eliminated. I will adjust the order on the spot based on the opponent's abilities; you just need to do your best."
"The main thing is the 2-2-3 method. As the name suggests, it is divided into two 2-v-2 matches and one 3-v-3 match, using a best-of-three system. Therefore, I have carefully considered based on the abilities you excel at."
"Tentatively, Jiang Nannan and He Caitou will be one group, Ma Xiaotao and Ning Tian another—or Ma Xiaotao and Huo Yuhao, depending on the situation. Wang Dong, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng, you three will be the 3-v-3 members."
"Of course, our goal in the 2-2-3 method is to win the first two matches and try not to play the third."
He Caitou and Jiang Nannan subconsciously glanced at each other. He Caitou gave her a simple, honest smile, and Jiang Nannan also nodded with a smile.
Everyone agreed after hearing this. Indeed, Wang Yan's arrangement was very reasonable. Going "all-in" to win the first two matches could indeed solve their current manpower shortage.
Then, Wang Yan thought of something. After hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask: "Yuhao, can your Spiritual Detection Sharing penetrate the protective shields?"
Although Huo Yuhao didn't understand why Wang Yan was asking, he answered truthfully: "I tried it today. The protective shields on the Star Net Empire side aren't very strong. I can penetrate them. Why?"
Wang Yan said naturally: "When others are competing, don't be stingy with your invisible Spiritual Detection. For the glory of the academy, we must now do everything possible to strive for victory."
Huo Yuhao was stunned. The look in his eyes as he turned toward Wang Yan was even a bit incredible and cold.
Although he was a teacher, Wang Yan was made to feel quite embarrassed by the stare. Just as he was about to say something, Huo Yuhao spoke, his voice full of disbelief.
"Teacher Wang, what you mean is... you want me to cheat, right?"
"No... it's just... to maintain the glory of Shrek, we need to use a little bit of means..."
Huo Yuhao slapped the table on the spot, startling everyone present.
He then stood up and walked toward the door. "Then I'm withdrawing. I won't compete."
Wang Yan quickly stopped him. "Hey, hey, Yuhao, what are you doing?"
Zhang Lexuan and Xian Lin'er also walked over. Huo Yuhao turned around and looked directly at them.
"Teacher Lexuan, Dean Xian, has Shrek's ten thousand years of victory truly been won by cheating?"
Xian Lin'er said somewhat awkwardly: "...Little Wang is also doing it for the glory of the academy. It's okay to use a few necessary means."
Zhang Lexuan looked at Xian Lin'er and Wang Yan, then glanced at the cold-faced Huo Yuhao. She patted his shoulder, indicating her support for him.
Huo Yuhao shook his head resolutely. "No! If you really want me to cheat, I'll drop out of school right now!"
For a moment, the atmosphere became extremely tense. Wang Yan couldn't help but complain, "Do you have some kind of spiritual obsession with moral cleanliness? Why so much trouble! It's just using your soul skill, is it worth all this?"
Huo Yuhao let out a cold laugh. "Since when do you have a say here?! Get lost!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Yan's whole body swayed, as if he had seen something terrifying. He slumped back into his chair, his face pale.
Huo Yuhao scanned the Shrek crowd, then looked at the ugly expression on Wang Yan's face. "I'm sorry, Teacher Wang Yan, I cannot obey. I do have such a 'spiritual obsession.' I would rather not have a victory obtained through cheating! Please find someone else more capable."