Chapter 187: 206. Simulated Trial
A soul master with an ordinary face approached the Starfire Team and said, "I'm your team leader. Follow me to the arena."
The seven exchanged uncertain glances but did as instructed, stepping onto the central dueling platform.
The Starfire Team faced their opponents across the stage. The seven from Shrek Academy looked back at them—pride and superiority gleaming in their eyes.
The announcer raised her voice. "You will now have one minute to activate your martial souls. The match will begin immediately afterwards."
The seven members of Starfire Team released their martial souls one after another. Though their soul power levels were only those of Great Soul Masters, their soul ring configurations were extraordinary—yellow and purple.
They bore martial souls such as Clear Sky Hammer of Metal, Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Emerald Swan, Nether Spirit Cat, Bone Dragon, and Holy Light Angel.
"Those martial souls…" Dai Mubai murmured in surprise among the Shrek ranks. "I don't know how you got them, but it doesn't matter. Today you're done for! Little San, Fatty, Oscar, Rongrong, Xiao Wu, Zhuqing—let's show them what we're made of!"
With that, the Shrek Seven released their own martial souls—White Tiger, Nether Spirit Cat, Blue Silver Grass, Soft Bone Rabbit, Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Sausage, and Ultimate Fire Phoenix.
Though both sides' martial souls were equally impressive, the gap in strength became glaring the moment their soul rings appeared.
All seven members of Shrek were Soul Sects with four rings each, while Tang San's fourth ring was a terrifying ten-thousand-year soul ring.
Feeling the pressure of their overwhelming aura, the seven of Starfire broke out in cold sweat. With their awareness of "death immunity" stripped away by the tower, they had no retreat.
"The countdown is over. Begin!"
At once, the Shrek Seven didn't attack directly. Instead, they drew delicate metallic contraptions—hidden weapons.
Swish, swish, swish—!
The flurry of hidden projectiles struck before Starfire could react, instantly killing Luo Xingqi, Su Qingqian, and Ye Qingmei. The remaining four survived only thanks to their strong defensive martial abilities.
But before they could recover, Shrek's offensive exploded in full force.
Xiao Wu blinked forward, her figure vanishing. In the next instant, she appeared behind Lu Kai, seizing him before unleashing her Eight-Stage Drop—hurling him out of the ring.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing combined their powers into the Nether White Tiger. Their Soul Sect-level fusion reached Soul King-level might, shattering Bone Dragon's defenses and smashing Zhao Hengning into the floor. Lin Chen tried to rescue him—but only fell into the beast's fangs, torn apart on the spot.
The last, Mu Yuanfang, was finished by Tang San himself.
Their preparation had been meaningless. The enormous gap in power, combined with Shrek's hidden weapons, led to Starfire's instant annihilation.
When they awoke again, they found themselves outside the arena, their memories of death painfully vivid.
"That team… they actually exist in the real world," Ye Qingmei muttered. "According to what I know, Dai Mubai is the third prince of the Star Luo Empire, and Zhu Zhuqing is the second daughter of the Duke of Nether."
"If that's true, then the others—Tang San, the Shrek Academy—are real as well?" someone asked aloud.
Mu Yuanfang raised his head toward the sky. The tower had already recorded one reset. They now had only ninety-nine attempts left.
The countdown to the next battle, however, was much longer, leaving them time to train.
"There's not enough time to close such a wide gap before the next round," Mu Yuanfang said. "Let's use every minute to cultivate. When we need soul rings, we'll hunt together. Next match, focus on surviving as long as we can—observe their tactics and gather intel."
The second match came, again against Shrek. This time, Starfire avoided an immediate massacre. Yet, the immense gap in cultivation still ended with their defeat. During the fight, thanks to foreknowledge of Xiao Wu's teleportation skill, Lu Kai set a counter trap and managed to wound her—triggering Tang San's berserk state. His power skyrocketed, and Starfire was instantly crushed. But from this, they learned a key insight: injuring Xiao Wu triggered Tang San's berserk buff, doubling his combat strength.
By the fifth round, Mu Yuanfang had reached level thirty. The tower's endless stores of soul beasts had enabled him to choose a seven-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape as his third ring, acquired through the assistance of arena soul masters.
One by one, the others also advanced to level thirty, their team rising to Soul Elder rank. Though they still lost to Shrek, their despair was gone—they were now learning, adapting, lasting longer each fight.
Meanwhile, deep within Spirit Hall—in the Angel Temple—the Spirit Hall Battle Team received the Angel God's Tests.
Qing Ming was granted the Black-Level Five Test.
Guang Ning received the Black-Level Four Test.
Tian Yue obtained the highest among them, the Black-Level Seven Test.
The remaining four members each received Purple-Level tests.
Unlike the Sea God's assessments, the Angel God's trials were unique. Only those with Angel Spirits could receive its inheritance or its blessings, making the black-level trials the highest an ordinary soul master could ever hope for.
"Congratulations, Second, Third, Fifth—your descendants seem quite promising," Qian Daoliu said warmly.
"We owe it to the generosity of the Grand Priest," the three replied politely.
But Qian Daoliu shook his head. "No need to thank me. This is the will of the Angel God herself." He smiled gently. "So, what are your trial tasks?"
Tian Yue rubbed his head awkwardly. "The Angel God instructed us to fight and defeat a simulated team within the Angel Domain—called Shrek Seven Devils. The test lasts half a year. Does such a team actually exist on the continent?"
"Tian Yue," Tian'e replied gravely, "the Shrek Seven Devils are the ones you'll face in the Soul Master Tournament two years from now. You must defeat them."
Tian Yue nodded. "Understood, Grandfather."
"Good. Enter the domain and test their strength first," Qian Daoliu said.
The seven entered the Angel Domain.
On the other side of the glowing realm, seven figures formed out of golden light—dressed in the same repulsive pea-green uniforms plastered with advertisements.
"This uniform is hideous," Guang Ning said with disgust.
Tian Yue sneered. "Pathetic gimmicks. Pretending to be eccentric and lowly just to stand out. Too bad there's no audience here to appreciate your ridiculous 'performance art.'"
(END CHAPTER)
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