They lost.
Seven people had joined forces—yet they couldn't even break through his defense before being completely defeated.
"Alright, consider this a good lesson—sometimes a fight is the best way to get to know someone," Liu Erlong said, stepping forward. "Yin Shu, arrange a private dorm room for Lin Xuan."
"Yes, Dean." Yin Shu nodded and turned to Lin Xuan. "Come with me."
Lin Fan followed Teacher Yin Shu out of the area toward the dormitory building.
Pfft—
Zhao Wuji waited until Lin Fan had left, then couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood.
"Old Zhao, what happened to you?" Flender looked at him in surprise.
"It was his attack—I underestimated him." Zhao Wuji wiped the blood from his lips.
"Zhao-sensei, how could that be? You were hurt by him? His attack is that strong?" Dai Mubai asked, stunned.
Yu Xiaogang and the others also looked over curiously.
"It's very strong. That one move just now—my Unmovable King's Body barely did anything to stop it."
"In other words, his attack ignores defense," Zhao Wuji explained bitterly.
"Xiaogang, do you know what kind of Martial Soul he has?" Flender asked.
"It looks similar to the Seven Killing Sword—a Martial Soul that focuses heavily on killing power—but his sword is even more savage. It's like a sword formed entirely of killing intent," Yu Xiaogang said thoughtfully.
"With a Martial Soul like that, and that kind of talent, we can't treat him as just an ordinary Soul King," Liu Erlong added. "But with him on our team, we really might have a chance at taking the championship from Spirit Hall."
Dai Mubai and the others were so ashamed they couldn't speak.
Meanwhile, in his private dorm room, Lin Fan was deep in thought.
He had just seen Xiao Wu again and realized that he could no longer see through her true form. It was as if a faint aura was covering and suppressing her spirit beast presence.
"This must be Tang Hao's doing. Whatever method he used, it's not some immortal herb. Likely a spirit bone, something like what Qian Renxue used to disguise herself."
"No wonder Tang Hao was so willing to let Xiao Wu come to Heaven Dou City. Turns out he had this planned all along."
"Still, this saves me the trouble of worrying about her soul beast aura being exposed."
"Half a year. I'll let them live for another six months. After I absorb the second soul ring gifted by the system, I'll personally slay Xiao Wu, Sky Azure Bull Python, and Titan Giant Ape."
Lin Fan smiled coldly to himself.
"No one can stand in the way of my ascension to godhood."
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
During those seven days, Dai Mubai and the others were too ashamed to even visit Lin Fan.
"Little monsters, I had the tailor make your official team uniforms. You must wear them for today's opening ceremony." Flender said, taking out ten bright green team outfits.
"Too ugly. If you like them so much, you wear them." Lin Fan scoffed and walked away.
"Dean, how much did they pay you? I'll double it—just don't make me wear this!" Ning Rongrong's face turned black.
"She's right, Dean. I'll chip in too," Dai Mubai added seriously.
"What are you kids up to?" Flender frowned. "I had these made a whole month ago to represent Shrek Academy's image."
"The material is top quality—each set costs me five gold soul coins!"
"I demand you wear them neatly and uniformly. We're not embarrassing our school."
"Dean… are you sure wearing these won't hurt our school's image?" Tang San asked hesitantly.
"Nonsense. They look great. Now, go put them on!"
In the end, the group resigned themselves to the fate of dressing in green outfits that made them look like grasshoppers and headed for the city gates.
"So embarrassing…" Xiao Wu muttered, slapping her forehead.
"Why doesn't he have to wear one?" Ning Rongrong pointed at Lin Xuan.
"If you had the strength of a Soul King, maybe you wouldn't have to either," Lin Fan replied flatly.
"Ugh..."
At 10:00 a.m., they arrived at the main entrance of the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, nearly as grand as the imperial palace itself.
This Spirit Arena was several times larger than the one in Suotuo City—understandable since it was in the capital.
Because the matches would take place here, the opening ceremony was held at the main entrance. The arena had been temporarily commandeered by the imperial family and would remain closed to other matches until the end of the preliminaries.
At that moment, crowds swarmed outside the arena—masses upon masses of people had come to witness the prestigious competition. Fortunately, Heaven Dou soldiers were maintaining order.
"So many people!" Xiao Wu exclaimed.
"Well, it's only held once every five years. No wonder it's such a big deal." Tang San nodded.
"Let's go. We're participants—we have a dedicated entrance," Flender said, leading the way.
The group followed him through a special passage that led them to the outskirts of the main arena.
Meanwhile, high atop the grandstand, the Heaven Dou Emperor Xue Ye, Prince Xue Xing, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe (Qian Renxue), Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Platinum Bishop Salas of Spirit Hall were already seated.
The announcer stepped out and declared,
"Welcome to the Pan-Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament!"
"Now entering: the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team One."
Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and their team walked in straight formation and stood beneath the imperial platform.
"Now entering: Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team Two."
"Now entering: the Five Element Academy teams—Godwind, Blazing Fire, Tianshui, Thunderclap, Elephant Armors!"
"Now entering: the Botany Academy!"
Ma Hongjun's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Whoa! So many beauties—especially from Tianshui and Botany Academy."
"You pervert, stop drooling. You won't be able to beat any of them anyway," Xiao Wu snapped.
"We're up soon. Maintain formation and decorum," Flender warned, glaring at Ma Hongjun. "If you act out again, I'll cancel your participation."
"Now entering: Shrek Academy!"
Dai Mubai led the team in a straight line, with Lin Fan (as Lin Xuan) bringing up the rear.
"Shrek Academy?" Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow with interest, glancing at Lin Fan's disguised form.
Of course, she didn't recognize his current look as Lin Xuan.
She only remembered Lin Fan had predicted Shrek would win this year's championship.
She scrutinized the team and frowned,
"Did Lin Fan make a mistake? Aside from the one at the back, these participants look even younger than the Heaven Dou Academy team."
"Still, the one at the back… he might have something."
Once all the teams had arrived, Emperor Xue Ye stood to give a long-winded speech.
After he finished, Ning Fengzhi gave a few remarks as well.
Finally, the Emperor announced,
"I now declare the Pan-Continental Elite Tournament Preliminaries… officially open!"
The teams were then ushered into the arena and assigned private viewing boxes.
Once settled, Bishop Salas, as Spirit Hall's representative, drew lots for the matchups.
Shrek's first opponent: Heaven Dou Academy Team Two.
Yu Xiaogang looked over the opponent list and turned to Lin Fan.
Lin Xuan, as a Soul King, it's better not to reveal too much too soon. Let Dai Mubai and the others handle the first match.