There wasn't much Tang San could do; after all, both Xiao Wu and Su Ming were already Soul Ancestors, and Su Ming was incredibly strong. Girls were naturally attracted to strength. Just wait, though—now that he had an external spirit bone, his strength would increase rapidly. One day, Tang San would show Xiao Wu what true power was!
"Alright, since you've decided, Dai Mubai and Oscar will team up, and Tang San will be with Ma Hongjun," Yu Xiaogang said, organizing the pairs.
"And you've all thought of your aliases, right?"
Dai Mubai nodded. "Master, except for Oscar, we all used our chosen nicknames during our previous matches at the Spirit Arena."
"My alias is 'Evil-Eyed White Tiger,' Su Ming's is 'True Thousand Hands,' Xiao Wu's is 'Soft Bone Enchanting Rabbit,' Tang San's is 'Thousand Hands Shura,' Rongrong's is 'Seven Treasures Glazed,' Zhuqing's is 'Nether Spirit Cat,' and Fatty... well, his used to be 'Evil Fire Phoenix,' but now it's just 'Phoenix.'"
Hearing this, Ma Hongjun shot a glare at Dai Mubai. Did he really have to keep bringing that up? It was painful enough knowing that he would never again be able to pursue the beautiful ladies he loved so much!
Oscar sidled up to Yu Xiaogang and asked, "Master, what alias do you think would suit me best?"
Without hesitation, Yu Xiaogang replied, "You used to go by 'Sausage Merchant,' right? Just keep using that."
In truth, Yu Xiaogang was most interested in the nicknames Su Ming and Tang San had chosen, both featuring the word "Thousand Hands." He could understand why Tang San chose "Shura," but Su Ming's "True Thousand Hands" piqued his curiosity.
"Su Ming, can you explain why you chose that name?" Yu Xiaogang asked.
Su Ming smiled and said, "Master, it's just a name I picked casually. Nothing special."
However, inwardly, Su Ming thought, Even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand. It's not worth going into detail. The truth will come out in time.
Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged knowing smiles but said nothing.
At that point, the Shrek Seven Devils had fully established their aliases. Yu Xiaogang had originally hoped their names might one day be famous across the world, bringing glory to the Shrek Academy, but things didn't turn out quite as he expected.
Once everything was settled, Yu Xiaogang and Flender led the group to the registration desk at the Spirit Arena.
Standing tall, Yu Xiaogang addressed the receptionist coolly, "Hello, I have four students who want to register for two-person teams, and seven students who will be forming a group for team battles."
The receptionist was a pretty young woman, catching Ma Hongjun's attention as he nearly drooled at the sight of her—though, unfortunately for him, his body showed no reaction.
The receptionist, though cold at first, softened slightly when the students gave their details, especially after hearing their power levels. Still, she wasn't shocked, since she couldn't discern their age behind their masks. She simply recognized their power, which wasn't uncommon in the Spirit Arena.
After registering the two-on-two teams, the receptionist asked for the details of the seven-person team: "Please provide the titles, levels, and team name."
Yu Xiaogang calmly relayed the information, but this time, the receptionist couldn't hide her shock—an Iron Spirit team made up of Soul Ancestors!
Soul Ancestor-level teams weren't unheard of, but those were usually Gold Spirit or higher. An Iron Spirit team with such power? She'd never seen one in this arena before.
"Please excuse me for a moment while I contact my supervisor," the receptionist said, somewhat flustered.
Yu Xiaogang smiled knowingly and nodded. He had anticipated this reaction.
With both Su Ming and Xiao Wu having reached the Soul Ancestor level, there were plenty of Soul Elder-level teams in the Spirit Arena, but a team of Soul Ancestors at the Iron Spirit level? That was rare indeed.
Before long, a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses arrived. "Good evening, sir. Could we discuss this further in our meeting room?"
In the meeting room, the supervisor adjusted his glasses and addressed Yu Xiaogang. "Master, to be frank, while other major Spirit Arenas might have Soul Ancestor teams at the Iron Spirit level, here in Soto City, we simply don't."
Privately, the supervisor wondered if Yu Xiaogang had brought these students here just to stir up trouble.
Yu Xiaogang frowned. "Then what do you suggest? Surely you're not saying we can't compete in the team battle?"
"If need be, we're willing to face a higher-level Soul Ancestor team. We don't mind the challenge."
The supervisor wiped the sweat from his brow. "Master, to be honest, our Spirit Arena doesn't even have any Soul Ancestor-level teams."
Yu Xiaogang responded, "In that case, we'll face a high-level Soul Elder team instead. But we'll make one concession: one of our Soul Ancestors will only use support skills during the match and won't attack."
Su Ming, who had been quietly observing, was surprised. So now I'm only allowed to use support skills?
Yu Xiaogang had assumed that Su Ming's fourth spirit ability was mostly supportive, focusing on healing and enhancing others' battle potential. He figured that limiting Su Ming to support would make things more challenging, as letting him go all out would render the fight pointless.
However, Yu Xiaogang wasn't aware of how potent Su Ming's support abilities truly were.
The supervisor, resigned to the situation, smiled weakly and said, "Very well."
They discussed the team's registration and the rewards for winning streaks. When it came to this part, Flender's eyes gleamed with greed. The supervisor tried to negotiate lower rewards for long win streaks, but Flender wouldn't budge. In the end, the supervisor had no choice but to agree.
Once everything was settled and the team registered, Flender rubbed his hands together with a sly grin. "Since there aren't any teams to properly challenge you, it seems your practice won't be as rigorous as we hoped. So, I've decided that for each win you get, the academy will take a 30% cut of the prize money."
"What?!"
Everyone cried out in shock. The dean really was too stingy!