"Hahaha! I admit defeat!"
Xuan Lao descended from the sky, carrying with him the previously eliminated students, along with He Caitou and Wu Feng. Grinning, he dropped them back with the group and smirked.
"All right. Now that you've lost, hurry up and shout the line. After that, you'll regroup for another round."
Ma Xiaotao's glare swept over her teammates. She gave a low growl. "I am a pig."
Without a trace of shame, Yao Haoxuan, Chen Zifeng, Huo Yuhao, and Xu Sanshi followed with cheerful voices: "I am a pig!"
Even Wang Dong gritted his teeth and muttered it under Huo Yuhao's not-so-subtle encouragement.
Jiang Nannan, blushing furiously, mumbled the line under her breath. Just when she thought she'd escaped humiliation—
"You're amazing, Nannan," Xu Sanshi chimed in with a smirk. "Even when calling yourself a pig, you're still so cute!"
"Xu Sanshi—GET OUT!"
Jiang Nannan's voice exploded. Everyone burst into muffled laughter, barely able to hold themselves together.
Xuan Lao chuckled as he took a swig of wine. "Enough. Take an hour to recover. Next round starts after that."
He cast a casual glance toward Chen Junting. Though he wasn't one for soul tools, he couldn't help but notice the unusual fluctuations of heaven and earth energy around the boy's wrist—clearly a soul guide of unique craftsmanship. Still, he let the thought drift, sipping his wine, lost in his own musings.
Chen Junting, aware of Xuan Lao's attention, didn't react. He simply sat down cross-legged and began meditating. While his soul power recovered, he quietly refined the insight he'd just gained from facing the Soul-Chasing Sword.
---
An hour passed.
This time, Xuan Lao rotated the lineup—Chen Junting and Ning Tian stepped down, and He Caitou and Wu Feng took the stage.
The match started with a comedy of errors, thanks to He Caitou's soul skill invocation phrase. It nearly derailed the entire battle until Xuan Lao, trying to stifle his own laughter, calmed things down and got the match underway.
Each side won one round.
The two evenly matched victories broke the ice between the regular and reserve teams. Tension gave way to camaraderie.
Following this, Xuan Lao officially appointed Chen Junting as the captain of the reserve team, with Beibei as vice-captain. As he slapped Junting on the shoulder with a greasy palm, he muttered, "Get used to being captain early."
Everyone blinked, unsure what he meant.
Then Xuan Lao turned serious and dropped a bomb.
"Pack up. We leave for Xingluo City tomorrow morning. Soul Master Tournament is coming."
With that, he vanished.
The room fell into a mix of silence and excitement. Huo Yuhao looked dazed. Everyone else? Fired up.
Yao Haoxuan was the first to break the mood. "Celebration dinner. My treat. Let's hit the best hotel in Shrek City!"
No one objected.
That night, they feasted.
Later, under the moonlight by Sea God Lake, Chen Junting and Ning Tian strolled quietly. Wu Feng had long since been sent off.
"Xiaotian," Junting said, pulling something from his Starlight Sapphire Ring. "This is for you."
It was a pair of beautifully engraved bracelets. The patterns shimmered faintly in the moonlight.
"I meant to give them to you after the sparring match. They're formation-type soul guides."
Ning Tian accepted them with a smile, slipping them onto her wrists. As soon as she infused soul power, the array patterns activated and began to operate independently.
"So this is why you weren't running out of soul power so fast. These bracelets recycle ambient energy?"
"Sort of. They're improved versions, based on the golden ancient tree branches."
Ning Tian raised an eyebrow, half amused. "Let me guess—Dong'er and Wu Feng helped forge the materials?"
"Yeah," Junting said, not meeting her eyes. "I'll thank them… eventually."
---
Dawn, the next day.
The early sky was streaked with silver-gray. Eighteen people gathered at the academy's main gate.
Regular team. Reserve team. Plus Xuan Lao and Wang Yan.
No one wore the standard Shrek Academy uniforms—but each was dressed in refined, individualized battle-ready attire.
Jiang Nannan, frugal as ever, wore a rare skirt Xu Sanshi had convinced her to accept. Beibei, Ma Xiaotao, the others—they all dressed to match their status.
Chen Junting's robe, matching the Seven Killing Sword's hue, flowed elegantly. His long white hair was tied simply behind him.
Ning Tian walked beside him, her yellow palace dress glowing gently under the morning light.
Their pace was relaxed. This wasn't just a journey to a tournament—it felt like a long-awaited expedition.
Not long outside Shrek City, Xuan Lao called a halt. His eyes swept the team.
"This spot is close to the academy. I need to say something before we go farther. Especially to the nine from the outer courtyard. Listen well—this concerns your future."
The atmosphere turned serious. Conversations died. Even the teachers grew solemn.
The inner courtyard students and Wang Yan already knew what was coming. They looked proud, reverent.
Xuan Lao's voice dropped.
"Shrek Academy has existed for over ten thousand years. In theory, every year we accept students into the inner courtyard. And in theory, a powerful soul master can live two hundred years or more."
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"But there are fewer than a hundred inner courtyard disciples still here."
A long silence.
"Why?" he asked.
Xu Sanshi raised a hand. "Because most graduate and leave?"
"Partly right," Xuan Lao said. "But the others… they never graduated."
Then, with quiet reverence, he revealed the Shrek Supervisory Group—the academy's covert force of elite soul masters who work in secret to uphold justice. Some vanish into history. Others never return from missions.
He spoke of evil soul masters and corrupt officials. Of battles fought in shadows. Of enemies hidden inside empires.
The room was still.
Only Chen Junting and Ning Tian stayed calm. As nobles of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, they understood the dangers.
Justice was not just about courage.
It was about strength—and sacrifice.
Shrek had no official sanction to enforce the law. And yet, for ten thousand years, it did.
Because no one else dared.
---
(End of Chapter)
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