"Yes! That's it! It's just brilliant!" Kuang Xi clapped his hands repeatedly, his face beaming. "If Brother Tang San hadn't given us a heads-up, we might have been caught completely off guard in this match. There's a good chance we would have lost."
Ye Yin waved his hand dismissively. "I'm a long-time fan of your Kuangzhan Team. You have to become the fastest team to get the Bronze Dou Soul Badge!"
Spider Woman smiled at him. "What's your name? Thanks for the help."
Ye Yin coughed and replied, "Sister Donggua Shangshuang, my name is Tang San. Remember that."
[Resentment from Spider Queen Xin'er +66!]
"Can you stop calling me 'Hoarfrost on a Winter Melon'?" she shrieked. "Since you insist, I'll let you see what I look like without makeup!" She pulled out a wet towel and scrubbed her face vigorously, wiping away all the makeup and concealer. "How about now?"
Ye Yin was silent for a moment. "Sister Donggua," he said softly, "why don't you put your makeup back on?"
Spider Woman's eyes widened in rage.
[Resentment from Spider Queen Xin'er +99!]
"Do you believe I'll kill you right now?" she roared, charging toward Ye Yin.
Twin Sheep quickly stepped in front of her to stop her. "He's just a bit sharp-tongued," he said calmly. "He doesn't have any bad intentions. Don't bother with him."
Ye Yin chuckled. "That's right," he said. "Sister Donggua, I just don't know how to say nice things. How about this? I have ten cans of surströmming here. Everyone can share them. Consider it my apology."
The eyes of all seven members of the Kuangzhan Team lit up. Fish cans were a rare treat.
"You're a thoughtful kid!" Kuang Xi patted Ye Yin's shoulder. "Come find me after the match, and I'll treat you to a meal."
Spider Woman glared at Ye Yin. "For the sake of these cans, I'll forgive you. But don't you dare call me Sister Donggua again!"
Ye Yin nodded innocently. "Okay, Sister Donggua."
[Resentment from Spider Queen Xin'er +33!]
"I'm going back to prepare for the match now," he said to them. "You guys have to win."
"We will!" Kuang Xi promised.
Ye Yin returned to his team's lounge and, in a corner where no one would notice, put his mask back on.
"Sunny Happy Big Boy, where did you go?" Tang San asked. "The match is about to begin."
"I just went to scout out the opponent's intelligence," Ye Yin said. "Here's what we're going to do. We'll do this, this, and this…"
When Dai Mubai heard Ye Yin's plan, he was stunned. "You can do that? Yin Ge, are you really so sure that everything will go as you predict? I feel like none of this is possible. You want our opponent's agility-attack system Spirit Master to rush forward, and then you want Fatty to fight him? Shouldn't he deal with Ning Rongrong, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's support-type Soul Master, first?"
Ye Yin rolled his eyes. "Just trust me."
There were a total of five group matches in District 13, and finally, it was time for the Shrek Eight Monsters to appear. They walked out of the Spirit Master preparation area and onto the stage right alongside the Kuangzhan Team. As soon as they emerged, Tang San felt a chill go down his spine. He saw Kuang Xi smiling at him from the other side of the stage. He secretly decided that after the match, he would immediately go back to the hotel, lock his room door, and make sure not to walk down any dark alleys.
The group battle stage was much larger than the one-on-one and two-on-two stages, with a diameter of forty meters. The surrounding spectator stands were also twice as large and completely packed with people. There were a few bloodstains on the stage, clearly left over from previous matches.
As soon as the Kuangzhan Team appeared, the crowd erupted into cheers. "Tear them apart! Kill them!" The shouts created pressure but also made the atmosphere even more exciting.
Manager Ao slowly began to introduce the members of both teams. "For the fourth match, we have a group battle between the Kuangzhan Team and the Shrek Eight Monsters!" He personally had a high opinion of the Shrek Eight Monsters because their Spirit ring configuration was just too outrageous.
The host asked both teams if they were ready. Ye Yin, as the captain, and Kuang Xi from the other team, both said they were.
"Countdown five seconds to start. Five, four, three, two, one," the host announced. "Group battle, fourth match, begin! Unleash your Spirit!"
As soon as he said the words, fourteen beams of light shot up from the stage. Circles of Spirit rings rose around each person, and when the audience saw the special Spirit ring configurations of Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Ye Yin, they were instantly stunned.
"A thousand-year ring! A second thousand-year ring!"
"Holy cow! There are actually three thousand-year rings!"
Kuang Xi looked at the muscular Dai Mubai and the agile Zhu Zhuqing, who was wearing a leather suit, and smiled. Everything was exactly as "Brother Tang San" had said! Evil Eyes White Tiger was using his bulging muscles to pretend to be an attack system, and Hell Civet was wearing a tight leather suit to pretend to be an agility-attack system.
"You're right," Spider Woman's voice echoed, "that Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda really does have eight layers. It's not the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda." She smiled. "If Tang San hadn't told us in advance, I'm afraid we really would have fallen for that Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's trick. Using it to absorb attacks and then sweeping them all away is a really good plan."
"Too bad there's a traitor among you!" she said triumphantly.
"Ruyi Disk, Defense Light, activate!"
"Ruyi Disk, Attack Aura, activate!"
Two circles of light, the same color as the two Spirit rings on her body, instantly appeared. They added a layer of yellowish-white light to each of her six companions.
Ning Rongrong also released her first and second Spirit Abilities. Fourteen colorful lights were released simultaneously, applying a boost to herself and her six companions.
Ye Yin's second Spirit ring flickered. His second Spirit Ability, Soul Skill Blessing, was activated. A white light fell on Dai Mubai, applying a buff to his White Tiger Vajra Transformation. The weakness of the move, which was a halved duration, was ignored, and it increased his Spirit power by one hundred percent with no cooldown. The effect would last for two hours.
Dai Mubai didn't hesitate. He immediately activated his White Tiger Vajra Transformation and charged toward Kuang Xi.
After Kuang Xi's Spirit possessed him, a single horn grew on his head. His first Spirit ring flashed, and he charged forward with an irresistible momentum.
Savage Rhino Charge!
"Perfect!" Dai Mubai roared at Kuang Xi. "Let's see which of us two attack types is stronger!"
Kuang Xi thought to himself, "If I didn't already know your real target was behind me, I might actually have to use my full strength."
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