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Following the Spirit Hall, the teams from Tian Dou, Star Luo, Four Elements, Haotian, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile, and Shrek Academy passed through the swirling, nebula-like portal, arriving in Xiaohai City.
The seven teams gathered along the coastline, gazing out into the distance. Some keen-eyed members had already spotted the faint outline of a ship's sail on the horizon.
"What should we do now, Xiao Ao?" asked Ma Hongjun of the Shrek team, scanning the surroundings for cover. "How about we hide and wait for them to get closer, spring a surprise, you know… lie in wait?"
"No, that won't work." Oscar shook his head, watching as the Spirit Hall team began chopping down nearby trees to build rafts and changing into fishermen's clothing. "If we lie in wait, we'll starve before they even get here. We have to take the initiative. Besides, what did Shrek teach us?"
"Only cowards avoid trouble!" the other five Shrek members shouted in unison, their voices fervent.
"Exactly! That's the Shrek way." Oscar clenched his fist. "We represent Shrek Academy; there's no way we're hiding like cowards. We need to take the fight to them—that's how we show the strength and pride of Shrek!"
Ma Hongjun agreed with Shrek's "no-fear" philosophy, though he wasn't entirely convinced about them being Shrek's embodiment of honor.
After all, Oscar's spirit abilities had already tarnished the Academy's reputation. Over the past five years, the number of female students joining Shrek could be counted on one hand—and Ma Hongjun was sure Oscar had something to do with that.
But this was no time for jokes. Ma Hongjun continued, "I don't mind causing trouble, but we don't have a boat, and none of us know how to build a raft. The teachers at our academy never taught us that skill…"
He glanced over at the other teams, already close to finishing their rafts, his eye twitching. "How do they all know how to do that? Did their teachers actually teach them this kind of thing?"
In fact, after Tang San proposed diversifying the competition venues, which was then implemented, the top academies began incorporating practical skills training for their students. They taught techniques such as how to construct rafts from trees for use in rivers, essential for when soul masters needed to hunt specific soul beasts near remote riversides where boats were unavailable.
This approach enriched the survival training that top academy teachers offered students to prepare them for soul hunting in the wild.
But Shrek Academy...
Shrek still used its old, brute-force training method. Combat experience primarily came from soul duels, and when it came to soul hunts, aside from basic safety instructions, students were mostly left to figure things out on their own. Teachers would intervene only at the last moment—resulting in a fair share of incidents.
To put it kindly, Shrek claimed it was cultivating independence in its students. But to be blunt, it was an incomplete education policy, pushing students to struggle unnecessarily as a form of "training" to shape them into so-called "strong" individuals.
True, students who survived this "training" did turn out formidable. But many others faded into obscurity or didn't even survive to graduate.
In short, Shrek Academy treated its top students like expendable resources, labeling those who couldn't meet its standards as "trash" or "failures."
An academy that denied its students even basic respect was hardly a respectable institution.
"Hmph! They've got too much time on their hands!" Oscar scoffed, thinking soul masters only needed to focus on training. Why bother with so many unnecessary skills? And if Shrek had the same resources as those other top academies, Shrek's students would be even stronger. These students from prestigious academies and powerful factions were truly ungrateful!
The other members of the Shrek team heard Oscar's remarks and, to some extent, felt a tinge of envy and jealousy. But who could blame them when they lacked the financial resources of the other academies?
Similarly troubled as the Shrek team was the Hao Tian Zong team. Their martial spirits were all Hao Tian Hammers—masters of swinging hammers but clueless about building rafts or boats.
When it came to blacksmithing, they excelled. The "Chaos Cape Hammer Technique" was a fundamental skill for Hao Tian disciples. However, their blacksmithing expertise didn't translate to woodworking.
As a result, of the seven teams, the other five set sail, leaving only the Shrek team and the Hao Tian Zong team stranded on the coastline, feeling quite helpless.
"Fatty, aren't you supposed to be able to fly?" Oscar came up with an idea and suggested that Ma Hongjun scout the area.
"Alright, Second Brother, don't mess me around! I don't have infinite soul power. I can't sustain flight for long. The other teams can support each other, but I'm alone. What am I supposed to do?" Ma Hongjun immediately protested. It was true he could fly, but using the Phoenix Wings Soaring soul technique constantly drained his stamina.
And this wasn't over land—it was the open sea!
He had no idea how far the ship was from the shore. If his soul power waned and he fell into the ocean, he would meet his end in the belly of a fish. Moreover, this vast sea offered no safe landing spots. Was he expected to single-handedly capture an entire ship from the Sun Moon Empire?
He might as well wash up and go to sleep.
Oscar angrily retorted, "So we're just supposed to stay here and do nothing?"
Ma Hongjun shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't think that's impossible. The Spirit Hall asked us to gather intelligence, but they didn't specify that we must obtain it personally. These seven teams are our competitors. We could potentially seize the intelligence from the other teams."
Oscar was astonished. "Not bad, Fatty. You actually have a good head on your shoulders!"
Although Oscar intended to test the power of the Eight Spider Spears on the people from the Sun Moon Empire aboard that ship, his main goal was still to win the championship.
*Victory is King!*
As long as the Shrek team could clinch the championship, even if his own martial spirit and soul techniques were deemed unsavory, he would still gain admiration. Perhaps he could even set a new trend for the era.
*Unsavory?*
No!
This was the pure, unadulterated beauty of primal instinct!
But above all, it was about winning the championship prize—
The prizes for this year's Continental Elite Tournament had not yet been announced, but rumors within the Spirit City already suggested that, in addition to soul bones, there would be mysterious rewards provided by Tang San, the Master of Martial Spirit Theory.
From Oscar's perspective, his own teacher, Yu Xiaogang, was equally competent in martial spirit theory as Tang San—just unfortunate in terms of recognition. However, Tang San had become a Hegemon Soul Master before the age of twenty, with soul ring configurations that were extraordinarily formidable.
Just the strength alone made the mysterious rewards he could offer highly anticipated by everyone.
(End of Chapter)