On the shabby training ground of Shrek Academy, an unconventional yet extremely arduous joint training session commenced.
Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang announced the first training content with an expressionless face: weighted long-distance running. When Royal Fight Team members like Osler and Dugu Yan saw the bamboo baskets filled with stones brought by Dean Flender, their faces changed. Especially after seeing the weight of the stones in the baskets, they gasped in shock.
"This... how long do we have to run with these?" Osler swallowed hard and asked with difficulty.
"Run around the village until the sun reaches its zenith." Grandmaster's voice showed no fluctuation.
Although Yu Tianheng and the Shímò brothers also felt pressured, as power attack and defense system Soul Masters, physical strength was their strong suit. They gritted their teeth and lifted the heavy bamboo baskets. Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the other Shrek Seven Devils were already accustomed to this, silently putting them on their backs.
As the training began, the two teams formed a long line and started running along the path surrounding the village. The heavy burden pressed on their shoulders, making every step exceptionally difficult. Sweat soon soaked their clothes, and their breathing became heavy. Oscar's Recovery Sausage became the most sought-after item, but Grandmaster strictly controlled the distribution rhythm, aiming to push everyone to their limits.
When had the Royal Fight Team members ever suffered this kind of "primitive" torment? Dugu Yan's pretty face turned pale, Osler grimaced in pain, and Yu Tianheng's forehead veins bulged. In contrast, although the Shrek Seven Devils were equally exhausted, their steps were relatively steady, clearly already accustomed to this. This gap made the proud Yu Tianheng and others secretly grit their teeth, unwilling to admit defeat easily.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the training ground near the small grove, there was a completely different scene.
Marco leaned leisurely against a large tree, watching the running team in the distance with calm eyes. Ye Lingling sat quietly not far from him, concentrating with closed eyes as she cultivated her Soul Power, her Nine Heart Begonia Spirit emitting a gentle life energy.
Li Qiuyao stood in front of Marco, her small face full of seriousness. In her hand, she held a constantly rotating water ball that emitted a low humming sound.
"Focus your mind, feel the rotation of the water," Marco's voice was gentle yet clear. "Don't use Soul Power to forcibly control it, but guide it, make it rotate according to your will, faster and faster, until it generates tearing power inside."
This was precisely a Soul Power control training method that Marco had simplified and improved based on the principles of a certain powerful ninjutsu from his previous life memories, combined with this world's Soul Power application techniques. Its ultimate goal was to master a close-combat attack skill called "Spiral Pill" that didn't require Martial Soul enhancement, but instead generated extreme destructive power purely through Soul Power form changes. Of course, for the current Li Qiuyao, she was still at the most basic stage of water ball rotation practice.
Li Qiuyao followed his instructions, operating her Brain Soul Spirit at full capacity, highly concentrating her Mental Power, carefully controlling her Soul Power to guide the water ball's accelerated rotation. Ripples formed on the water ball's surface, its rotation speed sometimes fast and sometimes slow, extremely unstable, but she never tired of it, delighting in every tiny improvement.
In the distance, Osler, who was running with weights and exhausted like a dead dog, happened to catch a glimpse of the "serene and peaceful" scene over there and nearly spat out blood in frustration. He wailed, "Heavens! Why are we here doing hard labor while Qiu Yao and Lingling get to relax and cultivate in the shade?! Boss Marco is too biased!"
Dugu Yan, drenched in fragrant sweat from exhaustion, shot him a glare and panted, "Stop complaining... just keep running... If you have what it takes, get Boss Marco to give you special training too..."
Yu Tianheng ran in silence, but his gaze involuntarily drifted toward that direction, a flicker of curiosity about Marco's training methods stirring in his heart. The Shimo and Shimò brothers kept their heads down and ran doggedly. As defense-type fighters, they had decent endurance, but even they were suffering under the grueling training load.
In contrast, although the Shrek Seven Devils were also tired, their curiosity was more focused on the content of Marco's training. With his Purple Demon Eyes, Tang San could faintly see the rapidly spinning water ball in Li Qiuyao's hand. He thought to himself, "That method of controlling Soul Power... is truly unusual. Cultivating pure Soul Power form changes without relying on the Martial Soul? This Marco is indeed extraordinary."
The morning's weighted run finally came to an agonizing end. In the afternoon, it was time for practical combat drills. Grandmaster mixed up the members of both teams for one-on-one, two-on-two, and even group sparring sessions, aiming to hone their skills and identify weaknesses.
Yu Tianheng faced Dai Mubai—Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon against Evil Eye White Tiger—in a fierce, evenly matched battle. Tang San sparred with Dugu Yan, where the control of Blue Silver Grass clashed with the corrosive poison of the Muddy Earth Poison Dragon. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing teamed up against Osler, engaging in an extreme speed duel between agility-type fighters. The Shimo and Shimò brothers served as the perfect defensive targets, enduring Ma Hongjun's relentless barrage of Phoenix Flame.
The battles were intense, with Spirit Abilities colliding and brilliant flashes of light filling the air. Cheers, instructions, and heavy panting echoed intermittently. Grandmaster observed carefully from the sidelines, offering sharp and precise guidance from time to time.
Meanwhile, Marco's afternoon training shifted to instructing Ye Lingling. He had her practice finer control over the healing aura of her Nine Heart Begonia—such as condensing area-of-effect healing into powerful single-target healing or attempting to apply healing of varying intensities to multiple targets simultaneously. Ye Lingling's cool eyes gleamed with determination as she diligently worked on mastering this more efficient support method. Li Qiuyao continued her water ball rotation practice, occasionally using her newly acquired "Mind Control" Spirit Ability under Marco's guidance to combine with the spinning water ball for simple combo attack drills, like using the water ball to obstruct an opponent's vision and then employing Mind Control to move small stones for attacks. Though not particularly powerful, these tactics were highly deceptive and disruptive.
After several days of high-intensity training, the members of the Royal Fight Team groaned incessantly, but they genuinely felt improvements in their endurance and combat adaptability. And every time they collapsed exhausted on the ground, seeing Ye Lingling and Li Qiuyao undergoing what seemed like effortless but actually demanded extremely high Soul Power control "special training" under Marco's guidance not far away, their hearts swelled with envy.
During a training break, Qin Ming found the Grandmaster, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he proposed a bold idea: "Grandmaster, the training these past few days has been extremely effective! The children have all made great progress. What do you think... about arranging a special team sparring match? Let Marco alone face the combined forces of our Royal Fight Team and the Shrek Seven Devils? This would absolutely be a once-in-a-lifetime experience!"
Hearing this, even the Grandmaster's stern face showed a trace of astonishment. Let Marco fight alone against the combined teams of two top academy squads? This idea was insane! But upon second thought, it truly was a perfect opportunity to test Marco's real strength and let all the students witness what "there's always someone better" meant. After pondering for a moment, he nodded: "We can give it a try. I'll go talk to Marco."
When the Grandmaster presented this proposal to Marco, Marco merely raised an eyebrow. His gaze swept over Yu Tianheng, Dai Mubai, and the others resting in the distance—their eyes tired yet faintly excited—and the corners of his mouth curled into a faint, ambiguous smile as he calmly uttered two words: "Fine."
The news spread quickly.
On the Royal Fight Team's side, when Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Osler, Shimo, and Shimò heard the news, their expressions instantly froze before turning into undisguised despair.
Osler let out a miserable groan and collapsed to the ground: "No way?! The boss is going to fight all of us alone? And with those monsters from Shrek too? How are we supposed to fight this?!"
Dugu Yan's pretty face turned pale, her voice trembling slightly: "Brother Marco's strength... we're not even on the same level!"
Yu Tianheng's face darkened as he clenched his fists. Though unwilling to admit it, he deeply understood Marco's terror—it was an absolute gap that made even the desire to challenge him difficult to muster. The Shimo brothers exchanged glances, both seeing bitterness in each other's eyes. This wasn't a spar at all—it was one-sided "guidance" or rather, "crushing," wasn't it?
In contrast, the atmosphere among the Shrek Seven Devils was completely different!
Dai Mubai's eyes blazed with intense fighting spirit as he slapped his tiger-like palm: "Great! Finally, a chance to cross hands with this 'Mainland's Top Genius'! I want to see just how strong he really is!"
Ma Hongjun rubbed his hands together excitedly, chattering: "Hehe, this fatty's been itching to test the mettle of a Soul Emperor!"
Xiao Wu hopped up and down: "Count me in! Count me in! I've been itching to fight him ever since I saw how strong he is!"
Though Tang San's expression remained calm, deep in his eyes burned raging flames and intense curiosity. The opportunity to spar with such a powerful expert would undoubtedly be greatly beneficial for his cultivation and broadening his horizons! Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Oscar also showed eager, ready-to-fight expressions.
One side was as mournful as if bereaved, while the other was eagerly warming up, forming a stark contrast.
Watching the completely different reactions from both sides, Qin Ming smiled wryly inwardly but grew even more expectant. The Grandmaster's gaze was profound; this seemingly unfair confrontation might reveal much more.
An unprecedented special team spar—one person against fourteen talented Soul Masters—was about to unfold on the small training ground of Shrek Academy. The air was thick with tension, excitement, and a faint aura of "despair" emanating from the Royal Fight Team members.
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