"Ah!"
Li Xun didn't deliberately lower his voice, so his teammates heard him clearly. However, they were still somewhat astonished by his straightforwardness.
"Brother, did you bribe that Spirit Hall elder just now?" Ning Rongrong asked with sparkling eyes, looking at Li Xun.
Even Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity.
Chrysanthemum Douluo had just sworn by his title that there was no deceit involved. The cost seemed too high—had the standards for titles become so flexible now?
Facing everyone's curiosity, Li Xun smiled and gestured around the Great Spirit Arena: "I didn't bribe Chrysanthemum Douluo, but from the organizers to the referees, and even the judges and the Crown Prince above, they're all on our side. Is it really that hard for me to arrange a match with anyone?"
Indeed, it wasn't difficult.
The expressions of the group suddenly turned peculiar. If this weren't a competition based on strength, they might have been crowned champions the moment they signed up.
"Alright, since Brother Li is so eager to teach them a lesson, let's go all out and give them a good fight," Yang Qianjun chuckled, starting to stretch his body.
"Brother Li Xun, it seems like they're also quite eager to have a match with us," Dugu Yan said with a smile, glancing at Yu Tianheng and the others before turning her gaze back to Li Xun. "I still remember how you drove away my suitors back then."
"Ahem, Sister Yan, that's all in the past. Besides, Yu Tianheng was never a good match for you," Li Xun suddenly laughed awkwardly.
"I don't care. It's because you drove him away that no one in the academy has dared to pursue me these past few years. And you keep disappearing from time to time. You figure this out yourself," Dugu Yan said, her eyes curving into crescents.
"Sister Yan, that's easy to solve! Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has plenty of talented young men. If nothing else, I can introduce you to some when we return to the sect," Ning Rongrong chimed in, pouting and immediately moving closer to Li Xun, wrapping her arm around his.
Seeing Ning Rongrong's actions, Dugu Yan maintained her smile: "Rongrong, we've grown up together, and I have to say, it's not a good habit to be so possessive before you've even gotten what you want."
"The match is about to start. Let's discuss our tactics first," Zhu Zhuqing interjected softly, noticing the tension between the two.
Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan both glanced at Zhu Zhuqing and suddenly realized they had no way to deal with someone who didn't compete or argue.
The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously snorted, ignoring each other.
"Brother Li Xun, what tactics are you planning to use? Three-three-one or three-two-two?" Dugu Yan asked, her beautiful eyes fixed on Li Xun.
Strictly speaking, their team had two support members: Ning Rongrong and herself.
Although her Martial Soul had evolved after consuming the Immortal Herb, she was still in a semi-support role.
The others gathered around as well.
As his cultivation gradually increased, Li Xun's responsibilities grew, and he rarely trained with them anymore, only occasionally sparring with them.
However, these sparring sessions often didn't reveal Li Xun's true strength, as his Soul Power level was far higher than theirs, and he was a very troublesome control-type fighter.
After a battle, they were often exhausted and still couldn't do anything about Li Xun, and that was with Li Xun holding back.
As for the Purple-Gold Badge matches in the Great Spirit Arena, they could sweep through them on their own, so Li Xun never had to step in. This led to everyone being intensely curious about Li Xun's true strength.
"This time, you don't need to step in. I'll handle it alone."
Li Xun ignored the curious gazes of the others and shook his head with a smile: "The audience says we're picking on the weak? Then I'll show them the true strength of our Heavenly Dou Team."
"Brother!"
Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dugu Yan were startled and quickly tried to dissuade him.
"Brother Li, I know you're very strong now, but they are a team that has trained together for a long time."
Yang Qianjun asked with some confusion: "With our strength, if we all went up, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to deal with them? Why take the risk of fighting them alone?"
Dugu Yan seemed to think of something: "Brother Li Xun, you're not still angry about them burning down our Seven Treasures Factory, are you? But wouldn't it be easier if we all fought them together?"
Li Xun looked at the Shrek Academy members who were trying to kill him with their eyes and grinned: "I don't just want to defeat them. I want to crush their pride and confidence in this very arena."
"I want them to lower their heads whenever they see me in the future, and I want to shatter Yu Xiaogang's so-called Ten Core Competencies of Soul Spirits."
"Besides, it's been a while since you've seen me go all out. This time, you'll get to see it all."
"Xiao San, look, Li Xun is glancing back at us." Ma Hongjun bared his teeth: "Let's set up our formation quickly. I can't wait."
Tang San narrowed his eyes and nodded: "This match is crucial for us, almost like a final. So we can't stick to the original plan of only sending three main members. We need to bring out our full strength and aim to crush the Heavenly Dou Team in one go."
"But Xiao Wu isn't here today, so we need a substitute. Tailong, you'll take Xiao Ao's position. We can't have two support-type Soul Masters on the field at the same time."
Oscar nodded upon hearing this: "Do you want to take some of the sausages I made in advance?"
Tang San nodded and then took the sausages Oscar handed over: "Sure, this is about the humiliation we've suffered before. It's best to be fully prepared."
The others also took a few sausages, only Ye Lingling hesitated but eventually took them under the gaze of Tang San and the others.
"Tianheng, Mubai, Fatty, Tailong, today is the day we take our revenge. If necessary, I hope you won't hold back."
Thinking of the humiliation Li Xun had brought upon their teacher, his own defeat in Suotuo City, and the recent incidents with the hidden weapons, a cold glint flashed in Tang San's eyes: "Hmph! They're asking for death. If only killing wasn't forbidden in the arena..."
Ye Lingling and Yu Feng, seeing the cold glint in Tang San's eyes, felt uncomfortable and rubbed the goosebumps on their arms.
"The first match of the preliminary round begins now. Please welcome our contestants to the stage."
As the referee appeared, the seven members of Shrek Academy slowly rose from their seats. Ma Hongjun and the others stretched their bodies before heading onto the field.
On the side of Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, only Li Xun stepped forward.
"Heavenly Dou Royal Team, this is not an individual match. Please send out seven members to compete," the referee said, thinking that Li Xun might not understand the rules.
"I know this is a team match. I just want to take on their entire team by myself