"Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!"
The crowd chanted "Shrek" wildly, their expressions ecstatic.
This scene also shocked Huo Yuhao. He already knew that Shrek's influence was extraordinary, but he hadn't expected these people to be so... easily swayed. They were truly a bunch of simpletons.
After the cheering died down, the two teams slowly ascended the stage. The Tianling Academy team of seven looked unremarkable, all young men around nineteen years old. In contrast, the Shrek team caused some surprise among the audience. They were the reserve team, and the oldest was no more than fifteen, with the youngest appearing to be only twelve.
The Shrek team was young, but their momentum was strong. They strode forward, chins slightly raised, the arrogance in their eyes plain for all to see.
After both teams were on the stage, the referee spoke, "First round, elimination round team battle. Most soul tools are permitted, excluding fixed-core soul tools. If one side concedes, the other side cannot continue attacking. Do you all understand?"
Both sides nodded in agreement. The referee didn't delay, announcing the start of the match and retreating to the edge of the stage.
At the same time, the one hundred and eight soul tool metal pillars below were activated. Each pillar was overseen by a soul master, and their cultivation started at the Soul Sect level. This was a lavish display. As the one hundred and eight people activated the pillars simultaneously, streaks of white light shot into the sky, arcing upward and converging in the air twenty meters above the ground.
After the light gathered, a semi-circular shield quickly formed, like an inverted bowl, encompassing the entire arena.
With the protective shield in place, the two teams clashed. Tianling Academy's lineup consisted of five with four rings, and two with three rings, all possessing the optimal yellow-yellow-purple-purple soul ring configuration.
Shrek Academy's side had four with four rings, two with three rings, and one with two rings. Although they were short one four-ringed Soul Master, Wang Dong's second thousand-year soul ring had caught the audience's attention.
Tianling Academy's overall cultivation was higher than Shrek's, but they were completely suppressed when they actually fought. Their martial soul grades were inferior to Shrek's, and these guys were all cowards when facing Shrek, having long lost their will to fight. In their eyes, not directly admitting defeat was already quite courageous.
Beibei took the lead and fought against Tianling Academy's strongest, a forty-eight-ranked, strong-attack soul master. Although his soul power was weaker, he firmly held the upper hand due to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's domineering nature. The others also traded blows with their opponents.
He Caitou even shamelessly set up his soul-guided cannon and began bombing the auxiliary soul masters protecting Tianling Academy's rear.
But the most surprising wasn't Beibei, the team captain, but Wang Qiu'er. This girl was a total tomboy. With a Golden Dragon Spear in hand, she fought against Tianling Academy's four-ringed Soul Masters, who were struggling to defend themselves and were quickly losing ground.
Huo Yuhao was already too lazy to watch after a while. The outcome was self-evident. Tianling Academy was too weak, and the current Shrek Academy wasn't enough. If they faced the Ben Ti Sect, they would be defeated in minutes.
Even if those three inner court students from Shrek Academy recovered later, it wouldn't matter. Besides, Huo Yuhao would personally take action at that point, not giving Shrek any chance to turn things around.
There was no need to pay attention to Shrek Academy anymore. Instead, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, a school almost as famous as Shrek, piqued Huo Yuhao's interest.
Unsurprisingly, Shrek Academy won, with barely any effort.
Applause erupted from the audience, with many spectators chanting for Shrek.
The reserve team versus Tianling Academy's main team, and they won – that was Shrek Academy, the invincible, number one academy in their hearts.
"Please welcome the second group of contestants. They are Zilan Academy from the Star Luo Empire and from the Sky Spirit Empire..."
The competition continued. Huo Yuhao watched with boredom, finding it uninteresting. He even considered leaving; he'd rather be cultivating.
But after glancing at the representatives from other factions, and considering the emperor's face, Huo Yuhao decided to stay put.
The elimination rounds moved at a brisk pace, with eight matches completed in the morning alone.
The Star Luo Emperor had only appeared briefly at the beginning of the matches before departing. It was understandable, of course; as the Emperor, he was incredibly busy and couldn't possibly monitor the competition constantly. The All-Continent Elite Soul Master Academy Tournament would last at least a month, after all.
"Big Brother."
In the afternoon, just as Huo Yuhao was starting to feel drowsy, he heard a familiar voice. Opening his eyes, he saw Ye Lingling, accompanied by a palace maid, had come to Huo Yuhao's viewing platform.
Huo Yuhao started to speak, but then quickly thought better of it. His expression immediately turned cold. "Who told you to come here?"
Ye Lingling was taken aback. In her memory, Huo Yuhao had always been a warm, caring Big Brother. He had never spoken to her in that tone before.
For a moment, the little girl felt wronged, standing timidly beside Huo Yuhao, afraid to speak.
Star Luo City was the capital of the Star Luo Empire, and there would be no shortage of eyes and ears from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. If those people discovered that Ye Lingling and he were close, she might suffer the consequences.
Even though he was now the young master of the Ben Ti Sect, and the Ben Ti Sect was known for its protectiveness, the Dai Family was unlikely to retaliate against him out of fear. Still, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
Huo Yuhao was starting to regret bringing Ye Lingling out.
"Behave yourself. I'll deal with you later." He glared at Ye Lingling, removing her hand from his clothes.
The little girl didn't understand what she had done wrong and felt very wronged, but she couldn't cause a scene in the current situation, so she could only stand to the side, looking dejected.
After that, Huo Yuhao didn't bother with the little girl. In the eyes of outsiders, Ye Lingling was just like Huo Yuhao's maid.
It wasn't until they returned to the Star Emperor Hotel that evening that Huo Yuhao went to Ye Lingling's room to explain everything.
Being in the Star Luo Empire's territory, and with his identity already known to the Dai Family, he didn't want others to think Ye Lingling was too close to him.
He wanted to prevent the Dai Family from targeting Ye Lingling, perhaps with a kidnapping threat or some other cliché plot. As the saying went, it's better to be safe than sorry.
"So, Lingling, remember, you can't be too close to me during this time, understood?"
"Mmhmm, Big Brother, I understand." Ye Lingling nodded her head obediently. After learning that Huo Yuhao was worried about implicating her, the little girl was incredibly touched and snuggled back into Huo Yuhao's arms.
Huo Yuhao clearly felt that this little girl was becoming more and more clingy. He didn't know how to handle the situation.
"Alright, Lingling, I'm going back. Remember not to come looking for me tomorrow." Huo Yuhao patted the little girl's head, repeating his instructions.
...
NOTE: I will be on break for some time so dont hope for more chapters but you can get complete english translated pdf of this novel on my patreon shop.
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(End of Chapter)