"Privilege?" The disciples from the outer courtyard looked at Wang Yan in astonishment.
Wang Yan nodded. "Right! Don't forget, our Shrek Academy reigns as the number one academy across the entire continent. When were we not the champions of a tournament? Because of that, we'll be able to complete our registrations regardless of when we arrive. However, the inner courtyard disciples are also Guardians, and many of them are carrying out assignments in the outside world, so they'll definitely need some time to rush over. We won't meet any strong opponents in the first few matches, so I'm confident there'll be no problem with your strength. Now, I'll explain the rules of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament."
After putting the students from the outer courtyard at ease, Wang Yan explained calmly, "The Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament is the ultimate competition for the various academies around the world. It has fair and equitable rules that test the total strength of each academy's students."
"Because of that, the manners in which we compete are extremely plentiful and lively. I'm going to explain some of them today. There are a total of a hundred and thirty three advanced soul master and soul engineering academies who've come today, and all of them are staying in this hotel. The first round of the preliminaries is a direct elimination match. In other words, the losing party will be directly eliminated. The first round will be a 7v7 team fight. The lot-drawing for which will be carried out tomorrow. I reckon that it'll take three days for the first round to be finished."
"Once the first round is finished, we'll be split into groups. Each group will have eight or nine teams, and will undergo a round-robin tournament. The rules for each of the round-robin matches will be randomly chosen from one of three situations: Firstly, Single Elimination. Secondly, a 3-man, 2-man, and 2-man Coordination Match. And lastly, a 7v7 Team Fight. This will test the comprehensive strength of every team. Every match will have a lot-drawing preceding the match, and this will determine which situation will be used for that match. This is the best way to test your strength as a whole."
"I'll explain the specifics of these matches after you get through the first round. Right now, you'll have to face your opponents in the first round. After you finish that, we'll be able to get into the elimination round and wait for our backup. Xiaotao and the rest won't be able to make it in time, so we can only rely on you guys to win this no matter what. After the elimination round, you won't have to be so nervous about the later matches. Furthermore, we could have our backups coming at any time. Even if they aren't able to make it in time, Xiaotao and the rest will be able to recover their strength within half a month, at the very most. And after all, we're still the number one team."
The moment they heard that the first round was an elimination round, everyone's faces clearly turned serious. If Shrek Academy were to take their leave in the first round of the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament, they would become a joke.
Yet, Wang Yan was extremely confident. Without revealing any worry at all, he smiled slightly. "What are you guys doing? Are you nervous? You don't need to be nervous at all. After the tournament starts, you'll realise that your opponents are far far weaker than what you were expecting. You've forgotten one thing; you're the elites who've been chosen from Shrek Academy. Even if you're the preparatory team, the fact that you've been chosen to represent Shrek Academy on this platform has proved that you've got enough strength. Moreover, this strength is something that the other academies will never be able to compare against. You can't assume that your opponents from the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament will be as strong as the powerful enemies you've faced during your advancement tests!"
Everyone present was slightly stunned, Right! Teacher Wang was right. They were the disciples of the number one academy on the continent. They couldn't use their fellow peers to judge the strength of their opponents.
Wang Yan leaned back in his chair comfortably, "Other than Yuhao, all of you have optimum soul ring combinations; every single one of you has a thousand year soul ring. What about your opponents? Do you think thousand year soul beasts are that easy to hunt? I can tell you that even Soul Kings are rare in many of the advanced soul master academies. Although your opponents are all around twenty, it's already quite hard for them to guarantee that their whole team will be filled with soul masters who have three or more rings. Four-ringed soul masters are extremely rare. I dare say that unless you meet the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, you won't meet a Soul King. What cultivations does our team possess? We have four Soul Ancestors, and two people with twin martial souls; we even have an Ultimate martial soul. Your opponents should be the nervous ones. Okay, go rest. Preserve your energy and go beat them up tomorrow. Let the other academies see that they won't have any chance against us, even if we send out our reserve team. Oh, right. I have to remind you that we'll definitely be going out on the first day of the elimination round. As the reigning champions, we'll be the first ones out."
Somewhat astonished, Xu Sanshi asked, "Teacher Wang, are you not going to make any strategies for us?"
Wang Yan snorted unhappily. "What do you need a strategy for? Are you trying to humiliate me, or yourselves? Do you even need a strategy against these types of opponents? Go. Xiaotao, you three stay behind for a moment. I'm going to get some medicine for you." The seven from the preparatory team all returned to their rooms and rested. After Wang Yan's speech, they had become much less nervous. Right! We're the elites of Shrek Academy! So what if we're from the preparatory team? We're not weaker than anyone else.
Once the seven left, Wang Yan rose to his feet and shut the door to the conference room. The relaxed look on his face instantly vanished as he let out a long sigh. Once he sat back down, the look on his face turned extremely serious.
Dai Yueheng sighed, "Teacher Wang, is there a need for you to console them like this? Although nothing you said was wrong, the students who are representing their respective academies are the most elite existences among their peers as well. Although there might be a few weaker ones, the overwhelmingly large majority of our opponents are at the Soul Ancestor rank on average. Furthermore, the academy we're fighting against in the elimination round tomorrow will definitely go all-out."
Ma Xiaotao said, "What Teacher Wang did was right. Were it not for him, they wouldn't have any morale at all; they wouldn't have even needed to fight if that was the case. All we can do now is trust them completely. Can you or I even move now?"
"I asked you three to stay behind to tell me how long you'll need to recover from your injuries and fight," Wang Yan said solemnly, "I need an accurate timespan."
Ma Xiaotao said, "If I go all-out cultivating to recuperate, I'll need fifteen days."
Dai Yueheng said, "My cultivation isn't as good as Xiaotao's, so I might need a bit more time. I reckon seventeen days or so."
Wang Yan's heart became increasingly heavy. This was his first time taking a team to a tournament and he wasn't confident in himself at all!
Ling Luocheng said, "My injuries are relatively lighter, so ten days or so should be good."
There was finally a rather good piece of news. After doing a few calculations, Wang Yan continued, "In other words, you'll be able to fight in the third or fourth match of the knock-out tournament if everything goes well."
After sinking into contemplation for a while, Wang Yan nodded. "We can only hope that they'll win their first match. We'll only have the chance to continue on if we're able to get into the knockout stage. You have to keep the fact that we don't have a backup team a secret. Their confidence has to be established via victory, and I believe that they'll have the strength to maintain the glory of our Shrek Academy."
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both returned to the former's room.
After shutting the door, Wang Dong couldn't help but ask, "Yuhao, do you think what Teacher Wang said was the truth?"
Huo Yuhao smiled slightly. "Regardless of whether it's true or not, we have to assume that he's being honest, because we simply don't have any other choices. Come, let's start cultivating. After the lot-drawing for the knockout round tomorrow, the tournament will officially start. The only thing we can do now is make ourselves more confident. There are no alternatives."
"Right." Wang Dong sat directly opposite Huo Yuhao, and the two placed their palms against each other and started cultivating their Haodong Power.
Shrek Academy wasn't the only academy that was holding a meeting; at this moment, all of the participating academies were trying to boost the morale of their students. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy that was on the same level as Shrek Academy was also doing the same.
They were always second place in practically every single tournament, so there was practically no difference between the treatment that they and Shrek Academy received in the Imperial Star Grand Hotel. They only had a single target, that was, to become champions.
Two elders sat at the head of the table within the conference room, and a total of fourteen students were sat by their sides. The students seated on the left were evidently older, and the students seated on the right were slightly younger. Clearly, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had also sent an official team and a preparatory team for the tournament that was to be held five years later.
The elder who sat on the left had a straight nose, and a square mouth. His facial features were majestic, and he was wrinkled like a date. As he sat there with his wide shoulders, he gave off an extremely sturdy feeling. He spoke in a low voice. "According to our investigations, Shrek Academy has actually brought only ten people this time. Furthermore, three of them look younger than twelve. The others are a bit older. We've used a few men who've infiltrated the inner parts of the Star Luo Empire, and we've obtained accurate information. When they registered, only those three were nineteen. The other seven were all under fifteen. In other words, Shrek Academy didn't even make an official team of seven to participate in this tournament. Out of the seven from last time's preparatory team, only two of them showed up. It's the first time we've seen that nineteen-year-old girl show up. Do you know what this means?"
The fourteen students were all somewhat doubtful.
The elder seated by the right had a curly beard and was similarly tall and big. His short white hair resembled steel needles, and the hairs on his temples, along with his curly beard made him seem impressively terrifying.
He pounded the table violently, and stood up, saying, "It means that they're looking down on us! They think they can defeat us just with their preparatory team! This is like getting a slap in the face; do you understand that? This is the most direct way they could use to slap us in the face. According to the rules of the tournament, the registrations will end today. Therefore, they're planning to rely on that team to fight us. Ma Rulong."
"Here." A male student sitting in the place of honor on the regular team's side stood up. His face was somewhat similar to the angry old man's. He had a large stature and short hair with curly sideburns. Both his eyes were bright, and his entire body was emitting a boundless power.
"If we manage to lose against such a lineup, you will be kicked out of the Illustrious Virtue Hall."
"Yes." Ma Rulong replied with one word just like before, but his voice was already filled with murderous intent.
"Elder Ma, don't be anxious. I don't think things are so simple." Sitting in front of Ma Rulong was the captain of the preparatory team; he was less than fifteen, and looked very pretty and delicate. He had big bright blue eyes, and a tall and slender build. His hands, which were now placed on the table, were also as white as jade and very delicate. Even a girl was unlikely to have such beautiful hands. He seemed to like his hands very much. Even while talking to Elder Ma, he was still gazing at them as if looking at the most beautiful piece of art in the world.
Elder Ma furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "What's not so simple?"
The delicate youth was still looking at this hands as he said, "Shrek Academy isn't made of fools. How can they not know that those three aren't enough to stop us? I have great confidence in Big Brother Rulong, but as I see it, Shrek Academy must have run into some kind of problem. Didn't they always attach great importance to us? It's strange that they would get careless at this time."
After hearing these words, Elder Ma's face became slightly red. He had also suspected that something like this might have happened, but he had still said those words to rally the students.
"That would be better. Xiao Hongchen, you should use all this energy to deal with those students of Shrek Academy that are under fifteen years old. They'll be your opponents in the next tournament."
The youth named Xiao Hongchen finally raised his head and smiled. This smile was just like that of a beautiful woman. Then, he said, "Elder Ma, only I can be my opponent."
Ma Rulong, who was sitting on the other side, gave him a supercilious look as he said, "Xiao Hongchen, if you have something to say, just say it."
Xiao Hongchen put on a happy face. "Big Brother Ma, I've already said it. You should try your best, because if you fail to defeat the current members sent by Shrek Academy, you'll be kicked out of the Illustrious Virtue Hall just like Elder Ma said. That would be a pity, wouldn't it?"
"You…" A hint of anger immediately appeared in Ma Rulong's eyes.
Elder Ma glared at him and said in a grave tone, "Sit down. I'll now choose those that will participate in the first round."
Even if he was only the captain of the preparatory team, both the leader of the main team Ma Rulong and the old man that was leading them seemed to dread him. Behind Xiao Hongchen's smiled was hidden an arrogance that seemed to place him above every other living thing.
Early morning. Just as the first rays of sunlight started to shine over Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire was shrouded in a solemn atmosphere.
All the roads leading to Star Luo Plaza were blocked by soldiers in shining armor. The Imperial Star Grand Hotel was even more well-guarded. More than a thousand soldiers were stationed around it, and all the roads leading to Star Luo Plaza from there were under strict supervision.
Only the members of the various academies that were participating in the tournament could get through the encirclement.
The location where the tournament would take place wasn't the middle of Star Luo Plaza. It was instead going to take place in front of the inner city gate. This way, the emperor could watch the show with his civil and military ministers from the top of the walls of the inner city. Not only was the view very good, but it was also very safe.
The platform that would be used for the matches had a length and breadth of 100 meters and a height of 5 meters. Moreover, there were 108 pillars of metal on the periphery of the platform. These pillars weren't there as an ornament, but were instead a defensive-type soul tool. After the start of the tournament, these pillars would be controlled by 108 soul masters, creating a defensive formation around the platform that would stop the leakage of soul skills. This was to avoid destroying the inner city and causing casualties.
The platform had cost a large amount of money to construct. Moreover, they would have to compensate the 108 soul masters that would operate the defensive-type soul tools for the duration of the tournament, which would go on for more than a month. It was difficult to achieve all of this without the power of an empire.
At this time, except for the far off soldiers, there wasn't a single soul in the wide Star Luo Plaza.
The previous time the tournament had been held in the Star Luo Empire, there was an incident where people had trampled on each other. Therefore, the royal family had decided to attach great importance to this matter. Not only they dispatch the army to keep order this time, they also found other ways to avoid problems.
There were many iron bars in the plaza. These iron bars were around 1.5 meters high, and wouldn't cover the line of sight for most of the audience. Their purpose was to divide the plaza into different zones. The audience had to enter and exit the plaza from different places; this made the soldiers' work much easier. Every area could only hold a certain number of spectators.
The inner city was located on the northern side of Star Luo City, facing south, and a luxurious resting area was built on the eastern side of the platform. It had been specially built for the members of the various academies that would be participating in the tournament. However, there was only space for around seventy academies in this resting area. This meant that there wasn't space for the academies that would be eliminated in the first round. With that, there would be no waste of space, and the students would be more motivated.
After the tournament had changed its system to the current one, except for the final stage, the thorniest one was exactly this first round of eliminations. Both its awesomeness and harshness exceeded that of the round-robin that would come later.
There was still place for tactics in the robin-round stage, and you could even make use of tactical defeats. However, the first round would lead to a direct elimination. Losing the match would mean that you were out of the tournament, and every team had to go through this first round. Even the defending champions of Shrek Academy were no exception. When drawing lots, there was a possibility of a team obtaining a bye. However, none of the academies could enjoy its privileges directly.
The teachers leading the respective academies had arrived at the inner city very early in the morning. They received a number plate based on the time they had registered, and afterward, they started to draw lots. At this time, the lots had already been drawn. An official of the Star Luo Empire had the duty of announcing the results of the lots. Once the order of the matches was decided, the final preparations for the early phase of the tournament could be considered complete.
The sun slowly rose from the far away east. And Star Luo City, which was located in the middle of the continent, was engulfed in warmth.
On the city walls of the inner city was a middle-aged man with his hands crossed behind his back and an imperial golden crown on his head. He was wearing a long bright yellow gown, and was standing exactly on top of the main entrance to the inner city. This also happened to be the best place from where to watch the match.
At his side was a beautiful woman wearing fine attire that belonged to a palace lady; she was standing respectfully and quietly beside him. A few steps behind her were the Star Luo Empire's civil and military officers.
"Your Majesty." An old man wearing the red clothes of a civil officer took a step forward and bowed respectfully after arriving at the man's side. On his long gown was embroidered a python; this signified that his status was very high. He was worthy of holding the highest position.
"Prime minister, how are the arrangements going?" The emperor asked with a smile.
The prime minister respectfully said, "Everything is ready. The lots were drawn, and the order of the matches has been decided. There are no problems in the periphery either. We can allow the citizens to enter the arena."
The emperor of the Star Luo Empire nodded and said with a smile, ���Good, pass my order down. Clear the important passages, and allow the people to enter the arena. Make them enter in a slow and orderly fashion. If there are problems, the ones in charge of the area involved will be punished severely."
"Yes." The prime minister retreated several steps before turning and leaving.
The emperor spoke to the beautiful woman beside him. "Empress, we have waited twenty years for this grand occasion. It reminds me of when I was young! If the royal family didn't have so many customs, I would have participated myself."
"The emperor has always had the heart of a soldier," the empress said with a faint smile.
"Look," The emperor said with a smile of his own, "the students of the various academies are already entering the arena. However, not all of them will be able to make use of the resting area. Only those that achieve victory will have this privilege. It seems that Shrek Academy has only sent ten people this time, and their age is quite young. One of the leading students is Dai Hao's eldest son. I thought of calling him back and letting him watch the tournament. After all, it's something that our country can host only every twenty years. But in the end, I decided against it; the Sun Moon Empire is getting more and more restless. If he is there guarding the western border, I'll feel more at ease."
The empress listened quietly and didn't say anything. As the first lady of the nation, she wasn't allowed to interfere with politics. Especially when there were many civil and military officers around them. Every one of those military officers was a powerful soul master. Their hearing was very keen.
At this time, the crowd started to enter Star Luo Plaza under the lead of the army; the long lines converged inside the plaza.
You couldn't watch the tournament for free. However, the admission cost wasn't too high either; it was only two gold soul coins. And even if a limited number of people could enter the plaza, there was enough space to accommodate more than twenty thousand spectators. Two gold soul coins was the base price. The nearer you were to the platform, the higher the price. You had to pay a hundred gold soul coins to enter the area that was nearest to the platform.
For the commoners, it was a lot of money. But for aristocrats and merchants, it wasn't that much.
The Star Luo Empire was treating all the spectators fairly. The more you paid, the nearer you would be to the platform. But aside from this, everyone was treated the same. There weren't any seats, and you could watch only while standing. This was so that they could accommodate more people.
This simple entrance fee they collected would earn the Star Luo Empire two million or so gold soul coins every day. Within a single month, they could earn a total of sixty million gold soul coins. After deducting the military and other various costs, the empire would still earn a large sum. This was one of the main reasons why the four empires were very willing to host the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament. It had to be known that a year's worth of revenue from Star Luo City wasn't far from this number!
Just as the spectators began to fill the arena, Huo Yuhao and his companions were standing in the participant's area.
Today, the people from Shrek Academy were dressed in their traditional, dark-green school uniforms; these were the standard colors of the academy. Furthermore, they stood at the very front of all of the other academies. However, there were no objections to this. This was the glory that Shrek Academy had accumulated through their strength for over a thousand years.
However, the other participants who stood behind them involuntarily revealed a look of astonishment as they looked at their lineup.
It would have been fine if only ten people had turned up, but an overwhelmingly large majority of the ten didn't seem like they were anywhere near twenty years old. They were able to see how young they were without even using a bone test. Only the three who stood at the very front seemed like they were of an appropriate age. However, they all wore cloaks that concealed their facial features.
A large majority of the academies were inwardly praying that they wouldn't meet Shrek Academy or the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in their first match. Otherwise, it was practically announcing that they would be eliminated.
The participants from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy stood behind Shrek Academy, allowing them to get an even better view of the students from the latter.
The youngest students from Shrek Academy were Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Huo Yuhao was slightly better than the other two; after fusing with the Ice Empress' torso bone, his stature had changed greatly. He could now pass for a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth. However, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's faces still looked somewhat infantile. This was especially true for Xiao Xiao. She was rather short, and looked like she was only a young girl. At this moment, even the proud Xiao Hongchen was filled with doubt. Just what was Shrek Academy trying to do by sending out a lineup like this?
It took a full hour for the spectators to enter the arena; there were simply too many people.
The originally-empty Star Luo Plaza was now packed with people. Fortunately, the place didn't seem too chaotic due to the iron fences partitioning it, in addition to the army maintaining order.
It was now 9am.
"Silence." A loud voice suddenly spread throughout the entire field. After hearing this voice, every soldier in the army stood perfectly straight and raised the lances in their hands.
Immediately, as the solemn voice covered the entire field, the originally-clamorous Star Luo Plaza promptly went silent.
"His Majesty, the Emperor, arrives!"
With a crash, the populace immediately knelt down in large numbers. Several hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously made the same, orderly movements, creating a truly spectacular scene.
The soldiers only knelt down on one knee, but the participating academies had been given special permission to not kneel. However, they had to give a ninety-degree bow to show their respect to the emperor.
"Subjects, you may rise." The voice of the Star Luo Empire's emperor was magnified with a loudspeaker-type soul tool. Only then did the populace get to their feet, and the participating students subsequently straightened their backs. The gazes of everyone present were cast towards the top of the imperial capital's walls.
The Star Luo Emperor was already standing at the very front of the city walls, along with the empress and his civil and military officials. His gentle gaze didn't lose any of its grandeur as he surveyed his people.
"The Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament is the most important occasion on our Douluo Continent. This time, it's our Star Luo Empire's turn to host it, and I'm very happy. Now, on behalf of the Star Luo Empire, I welcome each and every academy who has travelled far to come here. I wish that you'll be able to reveal the elegance you should have in the tournament one month from now.
"Thank you, your majesty." The leaders and students from the hundred and thirty-three academies bowed again.
The Star Luo Emperor nodded and smiled slightly in their direction.
"Okay, I now announce that the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament has formally begun!" The Star Luo Emperor's loud declaration opened the curtains to this grand occasion.
"Long live the king, long live the king, long live the king!" The masses all cheered in chorus. The atmosphere in the plaza seemed to have been aroused instantly.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…." Gun salutes rang out from the city walls, and rang out a hundred and eight times before stopping. Star Luo Plaza had already transformed into an ocean of excitement and cheers.
The Star Luo Emperor retreated slightly with his generals, then took a seat alongside the empress in a chair that was already prepared for him. He waved towards the prime minister beside him, who then obeyed his command and ordered a subordinate to start the tournament.
The sonorous voice that had previously spoken immediately rang out again, "According to the rules of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, the first round of the tournament will be a knockout round. This year, there have been a total of a hundred and thirty-three academies who have registered so far. After drawing some lots, there will be a single team who has a bye. A total of sixty-six matches will be conducted. The first round will be a knockout round, and the loser will have to end his journey in this tournament. Now, the first match will begin. The first team consists of the participants from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy, while the other is the continent's number one academy, the academy that has countless feats of glory to its name, the academy that has won every single tournament for the past thousand years, Shrek Academy!"
Following the announcer's declaration, the atmosphere in Star Luo Plaza immediately reached its boiling point.
"Shrek, Shrek, Shrek…"
The shouts for Shrek Academy thoroughly covered every single corner of the plaza.
The seven from the preparatory team were left staring blankly as they watched the scene unfurling in front of them. This was the first time they'd seen something like this, and their faces were somewhat pale for a brief moment. This was a crowd of several hundreds of thousands! If they were to lose this match, leading to Shrek Academy's disqualification, they simply couldn't imagine what would happen.
"Everyone, don't panic. This is the glory that belongs to our Shrek Academy, and also the glory that will soon belong to you. During the last tournament, we too faced a scene like this. I can tell you that our opponents will definitely be ten times more nervous and panicked than us, because we're Shrek Academy." Ma Xiaotao's voice rang out in the ears of every single member of the preparatory team.
A scene like this was a first even for Wang Yan, who was leading the group! Only Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen, who'd previously represented Shrek Academy as the preparatory team in the last tournament, would've seen something like this. At this moment, Ma Xiaotao's words were naturally most persuasive to them.
Dai Yueheng immediately continued, "Xiaotao's correct. These cheers are for us, and for the glory of Shrek Academy. Right now, we need you to burst forth and step up. Use your strength to prove how powerful our Shrek Academy is. Go. Raise your chests, and put on your most enthusiastic face to thank these supporters."
With the morale boost from the two seniors, their incessantly excited hearts calmed down slightly. However, their palms were still sweaty. They naturally didn't know that Shrek Academy's preparatory team had never appeared in the first round before. This was because the first match represented the face of Shrek Academy. Furthermore, their hearts would definitely be affected after facing such a passionate crowd for the first time. Thus, the main team would go out in full force during the first round.
However, they simply had no other choice now!
Right at this moment, the announcer's voice rang out. "May the team members from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy take the field."
A group of young, pale-faced students walked out from the far side of the contestant's area. As they walked out, even their footsteps were somewhat unstable. Ma Xiaotao giggled, and turned towards Huo Yuhao and the rest, "Look, these are your opponents. Have you noticed? Some of them are shaking all over. The reputation of Shrek Academy is indeed a large responsibility and a heavy burden on you, but our glory is also one of the most effective weapons you have. Bring out your courage and strength. Shrek, win."
With that, Ma Xiaotao strode towards Bei Bei and extended her right hand. The others then stepped forth, and eleven right hands were placed atop each other.
Wang Yan whispered, "Huo Yuhao, you're in charge of commanding the team after we're up. The rest of you have to follow and maneuver according to his Spiritual Detection. Yuhao, use your second soul skill carefully, if possible."
Huo Yuhao's mind had originally still been somewhat blank, but he was suddenly enlightened after hearing Wang Yan's reminder and the words that Ma Xiaotao had said. His Spirit Eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded heavily. "Teacher Wang, I understand. Seniors, don't worry. We won't lose any of Shrek's face. Shrek, win."
As they looked at the determination in Huo Yuhao's eyes as he said the word 'Shrek', every single member of the preparatory team felt their blood boiling. Right, they were students of Shrek Academy, representing the ten thousands years of glory it had held. Their opponents would only feel fear towards them. What they had to do was beat every single opponent who stood in front of them.
They no longer had an escape, nor did they need to retreat. They needed to unceasingly advance, advance, and advance!
"Okay, the members of the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy have stepped up. Under the eyes of the crowd, let us now have the continent's number one academy, the true king of academies, Shrek Academy, take the field!"
The announcer's resounding voice immediately reached its peak, and Star Luo Plaza instantly became a sea of voices that cheered for Shrek. Even the Star Luo Emperor, who sat on the city walls, couldn't help but stand up and reveal a look of excitement on his face. Who would've imagined that he'd studied in Shrek Academy during his youth using a pseudonym? Even now, he still deeply loved a person, the person who eternally stood guard within Shrek Academy's inner courtyard…