At one o'clock in the afternoon, Shrek Academy, which was usually one of the quietest times of the day, was unusually bustling today. Many students who had just finished lunch chose not to return to their dormitories to rest but instead headed towards the academy's sparring arena.
The majority of these students were from the first and second grades, with a few from the third and fourth grades. As for the fifth and sixth grades, only a handful of individuals were present.
The reason they all gathered at the sparring arena was simple: they wanted to witness the first-grade team that had made a big splash in Mingdu—the first-grade class committee team.
When Jing Shaoyu and his team of seven arrived at the sparring arena, Tang Wulin, Luo Guixing, and their team of seven were already waiting there. Upon seeing Jing Shaoyu and his team, they immediately walked over.
"Class Monitor," Tang Wulin and Luo Guixing, who were at the front, greeted with smiles. Behind them, Xie Xie, Yang Nianxia, Xu Lizhi, Zheng Yiran, and Xu Yu Cheng also acknowledged them in their own ways.
Jing Shaoyu nodded with a smile and said, "You're here quite early. It seems you're full of confidence. Good."
He noticed that in the eyes of Tang Wulin and his team, there was a strong sense of confidence and fighting spirit, especially in Tang Wulin. Judging by his aura, it was clear that he had already broken through the fourth seal. No wonder he was walking ahead of Luo Guixing—he must have firmly established his leadership position within the team.
As the son of a Divine King, he was indeed not to be underestimated. Those who had recently gathered around Tang Wulin might have been strengthened and enhanced due to some "coincidences."
This made it even more necessary to leave them with some memorable defeats.
Jing Shaoyu's eyes were filled with amusement.
At that moment, Wu Zhangkong arrived.
"Good afternoon, Teacher," all the students present greeted Wu Zhangkong respectfully.
Wu Zhangkong nodded and then looked at the two teams. "Step onto the stage," he said. As soon as he finished speaking, he had already flashed onto the arena.
Jing Shaoyu and Tang Wulin led their respective teams onto the stage. The surrounding students quickly gathered around the arena, eagerly anticipating this peak battle of the first grade. The fourteen individuals on the stage accounted for the top ten of the first grade, making this a true peak battle.
Among the second-grade students, Yuanen Yehui, Le Zhengyu, and other top students were also paying close attention to the people on the stage. They were curious about the gap between their own strength and that of Jing Shaoyu's team. At the same time, they wondered what kind of team in the first grade would dare to challenge Jing Shaoyu's team, given their formidable strength.
Those two scholarship students? Yuanen Yehui naturally noticed Tang Wulin and Xie Xie. She remained expressionless, shaking her head slightly.
On the stage, it was seven against seven.
Both sides had seven members, and since they were all classmates, there was no need for pre-battle introductions. They directly and tacitly assumed their battle formations.
On Jing Shaoyu's side, Na'er, Ye Xinglan, Wu Siduo, and Mo Hentian stood at the front, with Xu Xiaoyan in the middle, and Jing Shaoyu and Gu Yue at the back.
On the opposite side, Tang Wulin stood at the very center of the front line, with Yang Nianxia and Xu Yu Cheng on his left and right. Behind them were Xie Xie and Zheng Yiran, and at the very back were Luo Guixing and Xu Lizhi. Once their formation was set, their momentum began to rise steadily.
Wu Zhangkong stood at the center of the arena, looking at both teams. He raised his voice and declared, "The match begins!"
After a simple and unadorned start, Tang Wulin from the opposite side charged forward with a "boom—", followed closely by Yang Nianxia and Xu Yu Cheng. Their movements were strikingly similar: they first released their Martial Souls and Soul Rings, then swallowed the buns thrown by Xu Lizhi.
Golden scales emerged on Tang Wulin's body, and two dazzling golden Soul Rings floated behind him, eliciting gasps of astonishment and awe from the Shrek Academy students below the stage. The intimidating effect of the golden Soul Rings was indeed maximized.
Seeing the two golden Soul Rings on Tang Wulin, Jing Shaoyu thought to himself, "As expected." Beside him, Gu Yue remained expressionless, though a hint of resentment flickered deep in her eyes, well-hidden and unnoticed by anyone.
"Everyone, let's crush them with all our might!" Jing Shaoyu shouted, raising his hand to summon the Staff of Stars. He then pointed it at a 45-degree angle toward the sky, scattering a shower of sparkling starlight that fell upon the four teammates at the front.
The frontliners—Na'er, Ye Xinglan, Mo Hentian, and Wu Siduo—also released their Martial Souls and Soul Rings the moment the match began. Although their four Soul Rings lacked the impact of Tang Wulin's golden ones, they were still deeply impressive.
Four Soul Grandmasters! And this was only the second year of the first grade!
Na'er, wielding the Silver Dragon Lance, directly confronted Tang Wulin. She harbored no goodwill toward this person who had stolen the power and bloodline of her dragon clan, so she actively sought him out, hoping to teach him a lesson.
Ye Xinglan, holding the Star God Sword, clashed with Xu Yu Cheng, who wielded the Dark Demon Scythe. Xu Yu Cheng, one of the three Soul Grandmaster students at the time of enrollment, had now reached level 45 in Soul Power, second only to Jing Shaoyu and Wu Siduo. This was Ye Xinglan's first time sparring with her classmates, and most of them knew little about her.
Mo Hentian faced off against his old rival, Yang Nianxia of the Darkgold Bear. A year had passed, and while Yang Nianxia's Soul Power had reached level 37, Mo Hentian had already advanced to Soul Grandmaster. The gap between them had widened, and the outcome of their clash was clear from the start.
"Glittering Starlight!" Xu Xiaoyan, standing at the center of the team, raised her Star Staff, her clear voice resonating in everyone's ears.
"Everyone, be careful!" Tang Wulin's expression shifted, and he immediately turned to shout at his teammates. However, this move left him exposed in front of Na'er, who swung her lance at him, causing him to stagger back several steps.
"How dare you lose focus in front of me! How foolish!" Na'er snorted coldly.
At the same time, the entire arena was enveloped in a shower of starlight. Bright, dazzling starlight rained down from the sky, falling upon everyone on the opposing side, including Xie Xie, who was moving at high speed, and Luo Guixing, who was attempting to open a spatial rift. Without exception, their movements came to an abrupt halt, as if someone had pressed a pause button. Their bodies were immobilized, though their eyes and consciousness remained active.
Glittering Starlight—total control.
The rest of the battle was straightforward. The two sides were not on the same level to begin with, and now that they were under such control, Na'er, Ye Xinglan, Mo Hentian, and Wu Siduo, who had dashed to the enemy's rear, swiftly ended the fight with overwhelming force.
The match concluded quickly. The moment Xu Xiaoyan unleashed Glittering Starlight at the start, the defeat of Tang Wulin's team was already a foregone conclusion.
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Their cultivation and strength left them with no means to counter the Glittering Starlight. Although Tang Wulin managed to break free from its control with his Golden Dragon Overlord Body, the subsequent Star Wheel Chains swiftly ended the match.
The audience below the stage was still caught up in the opening cheers when the match concluded—it was over too quickly, too unbelievably.
As expected, Yuanen Yehui turned and left without hesitation. The strength of Jing Shaoyu and his team far exceeded her expectations. It seemed she needed to work even harder; otherwise, not only would she fail to defeat them, but catching up to them might also be out of reach.
Most of the students below the stage had already left, leaving only the first-year students standing there.
"We lost," Tang Wulin said dejectedly on the stage. "I had thought we might lose, but I never imagined it would be this fast and this crushing!"
"Is this the gap between us?" Luo Guixing forced a bitter smile, his voice low and heavy.
Xu Yu Cheng, Yang Nianxia, Xie Xie, and Zheng Yiran were also filled with disappointment and frustration. They had worked hard for a year, prepared for a year, only to last a mere minute in the end. It was almost laughable.
In contrast to the despondency of Tang Wulin's team, Jing Shaoyu's side, though victorious, didn't show much excitement. For them, this match was truly just a sparring session.
To be honest, if Tang Luo's team hadn't been their classmates, they might not have even bothered to engage with them, given the significant gap in strength. Among Tang Wulin's team of seven, only Xu Yu Cheng and Luo Guixing had reached the Soul Grandmaster level, while the other five were still at the Soul Venerable stage.
Facing a full team of Soul Grandmasters like Jing Shaoyu's, even the original Shrek Seven Monsters wouldn't dare claim a 100% chance of victory, let alone Tang Wulin's team of seven.
Their defeat was inevitable.
"Don't be disheartened. This was just a sparring match," Jing Shaoyu consoled them. "There's still plenty of time ahead, and we're always open to your challenges."
"Thank you, Class Monitor," Tang Wulin and Luo Guixing exchanged a glance before responding with a wry smile.
"Alright, everyone, disperse now," Wu Zhangkong stepped in, first shooing away the first-year spectators, then turning to Jing Shaoyu's team. "You all can go too."
"Got it," Jing Shaoyu had no interest in staying, and with Wu Zhangkong's intervention, they naturally took their leave.
Thus, Jing Shaoyu's team left the sparring arena and headed to their workshop to continue crafting their Battle Armor, while Wu Zhangkong stayed behind to thoroughly analyze and critique Tang Wulin's team's performance.
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