In the back mountain, where trees and flowers thrived, the Shrek Seven sat on a lush, green lawn.
"Xiao Gang, haven't you finished instructing the kids yet?" Even before they approached, Flender's voice was heard.
Accompanying him was the deputy headmaster of the academy, Liu Erlong.
Liu Erlong had long, jet-black hair, a clean and valiant appearance, and was fairly good-looking, though her fiery temperament was notorious.
This was the general opinion about Vice Headmaster Liu; her personality wasn't exactly praiseworthy.
"Headmaster, Vice Headmaster Erlong, what brings you here?" Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others stood up to greet them.
Liu Erlong impatiently waved her hand, motioning everyone aside. Her eyes, filled with affection, rested on the Master; this man captivated her every moment.
Flender also looked at Yu Xiaogang and asked, "Xiao Gang, haven't you finished your discussion?"
It was clear that neither of them noticed the peculiar atmosphere here, where a debate had just taken place.
Yu Xiaogang blushed, immediately turning away. He pretended to cough a few times to change the subject, saying, "Flender, the Elite Tournament is in three days. Have you prepared the children's equipment?"
At his age, in his forties or fifties, if his old friends found out he was arguing with a kid, he'd be utterly embarrassed.
"Of course, I've already prepared the team uniforms for the kids; they're guaranteed to stand out," Flender said, with a hint of pride.
Liu Erlong's lips twitched slightly, finding it speechless. Had she not seen the uniforms Flender had chosen, she might have believed him.
She thought her sense of aesthetics was quite standard, but what kind of academy uses green team uniforms with advertisements printed on the back? It was just plain embarrassing.
"Cough, cough." Flender pretended to cough to change the subject again, saying, "Little monsters, you've all gotten familiar with your new teammates, right?"
The Shrek members nodded in agreement. The Master had already introduced Tai Long and the others; everyone was more or less acquainted, except for Chen Xuan, who was still somewhat of a stranger.
"Headmaster, Master, is it really okay to add substitute team members at this time? It will take a lot of time to get used to them," Oscar stepped forward, voicing his concerns.
This was a point of confusion for both the Shrek Seven and Tai Long's group. With the tournament so close, adding five substitutes didn't seem like a stable decision.
The Master, hands behind his back, wore a proud expression. He naturally had his unique plans.
This was part of his training regimen: without adding relatively weaker teammates, how could he push the little monsters to their limits?
However, Yu Xiaogang still offered an explanation: "This is a necessary addition for the Soul Master Tournament. The severity of the competition is beyond imagination. It's hard to rely on just seven people to handle the complex and ever-changing opponents."
"I see." The Shrek Seven nodded in understanding. Injuries or lack of soul power during the tournament were inevitable, and that's when the substitutes would come into play.
Tang San thought quietly, understanding his teacher's intent. He had a feeling there was more to the plan than what the Master had revealed.
Yu Xiaogang waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down as he began explaining the rules and loopholes of the Soul Master Tournament.
On the lawn, the Shrek Seven and Tai Long's group sat around the Master.
With that, the issue with Chen Xuan was temporarily put to rest; no one brought it up again.
Chen Xuan was happy with this outcome. One thing was certain: he wouldn't be an auxiliary type; he'd be a sensitive or strong attack-type Battle Soul Master.
Clearly, with a powerful martial soul, his original self didn't know how to utilize it. If used properly, it could be as good as the Flying Thunder God.
"In a few days, the Soul Master Tournament will begin." As the Master spoke, he kicked Ma Hongjun, who had been dozing off nearby, awake.
"Don't take this lightly. Rules are restrictions but also advantages that can be exploited. You must fully understand the rules; otherwise, you could be taken advantage of by others…" Yu Xiaogang began to explain the rules.
Chen Xuan, sitting on the lawn, relaxed. He was already familiar with the tournament rules, so there wouldn't be much change whether he listened or not.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Zhu Zhuqing, the cold beauty, sitting nearby. Despite the meter's distance, he could feel her icy demeanor.
"Born into a family vying for the throne, with no father or mother's love, abandoned by her fiancé, and even hunted by her own sister. What a tragic life…" Chen Xuan sighed softly, shaking his head as he looked at the ice-cold beauty.
She had set out alone to find Dai Mubai in Soto City, only to be hunted by her sister along the way, barely surviving. And when she finally arrived, she found a fiancé who was nothing but debauched.
If it were anyone else, they would have already turned dark or broken down after such experiences.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Chen Xuan with her cold, elegant gaze, her expression puzzled by his strange behavior.
She was confused by the sympathy and admiration in his eyes, making him hard to read.
Chen Xuan didn't mind, just sighing in passing, and continued listening to the Master's explanation of the tournament rules.
"Master, the rule that we can't injure the opponent's Soul Master seems a bit unreasonable, doesn't it?"
At this point, Dai Mubai interrupted Yu Xiaogang, asking, "Fists and kicks have no eyes. What if someone accidentally kills the opponent? Besides, in a close fight between equally matched opponents, it's hard to avoid casualties, right?"
The Shrek Seven echoed this sentiment; it was too inhuman for them to understand. No one could predict what might happen in a match, and accidental deaths were not impossible.
"You're right, but you must understand the purpose of the Soul Master Tournament held by the two empires."
The Master glanced at everyone sitting there and continued, "The purpose of this tournament isn't for the advanced academies to fight for the top spot, but to select the best talents for recruitment by the empires and the major sects. Geniuses are rare, and cultivating a Soul Master is even harder. For you, this is a form of protection."
The Shrek Seven finally understood the intentions of the two empires. Although it was called a Soul Master Tournament, it was actually a talent selection contest for the empire.
"That makes sense." Chen Xuan agreed with the empire's policy, which was also why he stayed at Shrek Academy.
Firstly, because of the Seven Monsters, these people had all consumed immortal herbs, bringing their talents almost to the level of innate full soul power. Whether or not they had external help, one had to admit that these seven were the most talented in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
After the tournament started, the Shrek team was bound to make a stunning impression, and as one of them, he would naturally benefit.
Chen Xuan had considered leaving and joining another academy, but at this point, it was too late. Which academy would let him join their team?
Moreover, at that time, he hadn't finished his ninjutsu training. Even if he joined another academy, he could only be an auxiliary Soul Master.
Even if he did enter a team to participate in the tournament, he would likely be a substitute and might not even get much playing time.
Shrek Academy was different; Yu Xiaogang wouldn't allow all seven monsters to participate at once, which happened to work in his favor.
"Apart from these two rules, you must not use non-food items in the competition, or it will be considered cheating."
Yu Xiaogang spoke as he walked towards Tang San, saying, "Also, you cannot use any weapons other than your martial soul. If you violate this, the empire will disqualify you from the tournament. Remember this well."
"That means I can't use my hidden weapons." Tang San sighed, touching the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, where he had stored various mechanical-type hidden weapons. He had even created hidden weapons capable of killing a Titled Douluo.
Chen Xuan sighed too. This meant his Flying Thunder God technique might not be fully utilized.
He took out two kunai from his pocket, both pure white, made by a craftsman, with a few small characters engraved on them—"I'm a big handsome guy."
They were crude, embarrassing, and shameless. Every time he saw those words, Chen Xuan couldn't help but feel awkward; it was truly humiliating. If someone saw them, he'd lose all face.
But he had no choice; these were personally engraved. Once activated, they could never be changed.
His martial soul blade was similar to the Flying Thunder God technique. By inscribing a circle of spells on the kunai, he could achieve long-distance teleportation.
The only downside was that his martial soul had limitations. The engraved marks would disappear and currently could only last for three days. At this stage, he could only create three Flying Thunder God kunai, and their effectiveness would increase with his level.
Currently, the maximum range was 300 meters. After breaking through to level 40, the range would increase by 100 meters, allowing for four Flying Thunder God kunai, and the time would extend to over four days.
One advantage over the original Flying Thunder God technique was that the spell engraving was extremely fast