As soon as the announcement was made, a massive stir was created within the Tang Sect. Many of the Tang Sect disciples outside of Star Luo City drove overnight to the headquarters just to be able to witness this match. Of course, what was even more important to them was the opportunity to witness their sect master in action during the Trial of Five Gods. The new sect master was rather unfamiliar to everyone, so they all wanted to see just how powerful he was.
"Long Yue's also sitting out?" When Shrek's Six Monsters were informed of the situation by Hu Jie, a joyful smile immediately appeared on Xie Xie's face. Of course, it was a very sly smile.
"In that case, we'll wreck them to our hearts' content! We'll return the favor for everything they did to us last time."
Yuanen Yehui aimed a glare at him. "Don't get complacent; they're the best that Monster Academy has to offer, and they haven't been slacking off, either, so this match may not be an easy one for us."
"Yes, Mistress," Xie Xie replied with a cheeky smile.
Yue Zhengyu urged, "Let's hurry up and get some breakfast, then discuss strategy after that. Who's going to be the stand-in captain?"
Ye Xinglan and Yuanen Yehui looked at one another before pointing toward Xu Xiaoyan in unison.
"Me?" Xu Xiaoyan pointed at herself with a smile, and said, "Alright then, I'll fill in for captain."
Tang Wulin was an assault and control dual system Soul Master, while Xu Xiaoyan was a pure control system Soul Master.
Generally speaking, the commander of a team was always a control system Soul Master as they had to control the entire battlefield. Yue Zhengyu gave Xu Xiaoyan an encouraging thumbs-up, and his expression suggested that he was full of confidence in her.
In the cafeteria of the Tang Sect headquarters, Shrek's Six Monsters received a lot of scrutiny. It was really easy to pick them out as they were almost the only unfamiliar faces here.
"What's wrong with a seven-on-seven match? I'd be more than happy to fill in." A'Ruheng appraised the six of them with an indignant look on his face. He was always eager for a battle.
Xie Xie chuckled, "It's not that we're keeping you out of this for the sake of it; it's just that this is a rivalry between our Shrek Academy and Monster Academy, so we have to face it on our own. If we add you to the team, they'll definitely accuse us of sourcing external help when they lose."
"Are you that confident that you'll win?" A slightly enraged voice suddenly rang out.
Xie Xie turned to discover an adorable and petite young woman appraising him with an angry look in her eyes.
She was eating on the neighboring table, so she was able to overhear Xie Xie's words.
Xie Xie shrugged in response. "I'm just stating the truth. Are you rooting against us?"
The young woman harrumphed, "My big sister won't lose!"
She was Ye Zhi's younger sister, and she was also a Tang Sect disciple, as well as a Monster Academy graduate, so she had virtually infinite confidence in the Monster Eight Kings. As such, she was naturally very displeased to hear Xie Xie and the others speaking as if they had already won the match.
Yuanen Yehui was present, so Xie Xie didn't dare to say anything too suggestive. As such, he merely smiled, and said, "The proof will be in the pudding."
The young woman harrumphed, "There's no way you can beat my big sister!"
Xie Xie chuckled, "Is that the only thing you know how to say? Alright, seeing as there's no way we can win, we'll be the underdogs, right? Can you cheer for us during the match?"
The young woman faltered slightly upon hearing this before an enraged look reappeared on her face. "I've never seen someone as shameless as you! You're definitely going to get your ass kicked!"
She then picked up her tray of food and stormed away.
Everyone was quite amused by this, and Yue Zhengyu chuckled, "We're all Tang Sect disciples, but it looks like everyone's rooting against us here; home court advantage really is something that can't be ignored."
Xie Xie shrugged, and asked, "What do you think, Lizhi?"
In response, Lizhi pointed to his own mouth, which was bulging with food, indicating that he was unable to speak.
"Prove your dominance to everyone through your actions. In a place where individual heroism is revered and romanticized to such an extent, you have to display sufficient power to be taken seriously," Sima Jinchi said.
If one were to look closely at him, they'd discover that his eyes were filled with excitement. He wouldn't be able to participate in the match today, but he had a role to play in the Trial of Five Gods. After all, he was technically Tang Wulin's weapon, so Tang Wulin should be able to wield him in battle. As such, the match where Tang Wulin had the greatest chance of securing victory was most likely the weapons match of the Trial of Five Gods.
Just as Yue Zhengyu had said, this was the Tang Sect, but there were very few people who truly supported them.
In the Star Luo Empire, Monster Academy was the equivalent of Shrek Academy in the Douluo Federation. Many of the empire's exceptional talents had graduated from Monster Academy, and that included Tang Sect disciples, so they were naturally more supportive of the Monster Eight Kings.
Furthermore, Long Yue's generation of the Monster Eight Kings was legendary. At the very least, Monster Academy hadn't been able to produce a group like them before, and in particular, Long Yue himself was an extraordinary talent.
Even though they had lost the final match during the youth tournament all those years ago, almost everyone was of the opinion that they were actually more powerful than Shrek's Seven Monsters, and had simply lost due to complacency. This opinion was naturally shared by all those who supported Monster Academy.
By the time Shrek's Six Monsters arrived at the drill ground in the Tang Sect headquarters, the place was already packed to the rafters. At least 500 people had come to spectate the battle, the vast majority of whom were Tang Sect disciples, there were also some important figures who had received news of this and somehow gained access to spectate the match.
This was a long-awaited rematch between Shrek’s Seven Monsters and the Monster Eight Kings. Furthermore, it had been many years since their last match, so all of them had to have definitely become a lot more powerful.
The match was going to be refereed by the Smiling Douluo himself in order to ensure safety.
As Shrek's Six Monsters strode into the venue, the raucous chatter instantly died down significantly.
If this were a public match with commoners spectating, then there would most likely already be a lot of booing going on. However, this was the Tang Sect, after all, and all of Shrek's Seven Monsters were high-ranking figures in the Tang Sect, while the captain was even the new Tang Sect Master.
Hence, the Tang Sect disciples present were all exercising some restraint. Even so, there was certainly no one cheering for them, and it seemed that it was truly them up against the world here.
The Smiling Douluo greeted them before taking to one side of the competition platform.
"Are you all ready? I didn't think that so many people would turn up; almost all of the Tang Sect disciples in the three neighboring cities have gathered here to watch and learn from this match."
"Leave it to us," Xie Xie smiled, and said, "It seems that we're not so popular here, but I'm sure that'll change following the match."
The Smiling Douluo also smiled in response. "I certainly hope so."
"Where are Long Yue and the others? Have they arrived yet?" Yue Zhengyu asked.
He had the most resentment toward Long Yue as he had almost perished by Long Yue's hands in the past, and he certainly didn't have any good memories of his Mountain Dragon King martial soul.
Even though he was far more powerful than he had been back then, the trauma from that experience still lingered somewhat to this day.
"They should be here soon. Your six-on-seven proposal has really lit a fire under them. This is their home court, so you'd better be mentally prepared." The Smiling Douluo wasn't actually all that concerned about the outcome; all he wanted was to be able to witness a spectacular match.
These young men and women were part of Shrek’s Seven Monsters, just like Tang Wulin was, so they definitely weren't slouches. On the surface, it appeared that they were all only Soul Sages, but the students of Shrek Academy could never be judged based on soul power rank alone.
Right at this moment, a loud cheer suddenly rang out from one side of the drill ground, and the crowd immediately parted to create a path.
A line of people then strode directly toward the competition platform through the path that had been created. The man standing at the forefront of the group had a large bald head and a mountainous aura; it was none other than Dragon King Long Yue.
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