"Holy crap! The girls in the Tianshui Team are literally masterpieces!"
Oscar let out an excited cheer, his eyes glowing with an unfiltered, thirsty light. Beside him, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai exchanged a glance, both seeing the same hollow resignation in each other's eyes. It didn't matter how beautiful the girls were; ever since Fu Ye had "decommissioned" them, any thought of pursuing such beauties was nothing more than a cruel, equipment-less joke.
Dai Mubai's gaze lingered on Zhuqing, but he quickly looked away. He had been crippled, losing any chance of vying for the Star Luo throne. That was the real reason he'd managed to swallow his pride and not seek further trouble with Fu Ye—he simply had nothing left to fight with.
Ma Hongjun was in an even worse state. His "wicked fire" had been purified by Fu Ye's black flames, but it had essentially cauterized his very essence. He was alive, and he wouldn't burn to death from his own power anymore, but he felt like a hollow charcoal shell.
Their "hungry" stares toward the Tianshui girls didn't go unnoticed. Shui Bing'er and the others felt a wave of visceral disgust.
"Sister, should we settle this quickly?" Zhu Zhuyun asked, glancing at Zhuqing. "Mhm, let's not waste time on these trash," Shui Bing'er said, looking at Yue'er.
The crowd's roar intensified as a small, angelic figure descended from above. It was Doudou, the referee with the White Pigeon spirit. Her snow-white wings were unfurled, casting a gentle glow as she hovered over the center of the Great Spirit Arena.
"Welcome everyone to the Soto City Great Spirit Arena! I am your commentator, Doudou. I hope you all have a wonderful and exciting night!"
As she hovered near the luxury VIP boxes, she noticed four extremely cute girls sitting together, looking down. Doudou, who had a weakness for anything adorable, waved at them with a sweet smile. But then, her gaze shifted to the man standing beside them.
Crap! That man is... peerless!
Doudou's heart skipped a beat. She had seen thousands of Spirit Masters, but none possessed that combination of dangerous elegance and raw, overwhelming charisma. She shook her head, forcing herself to focus. Now wasn't the time to gawk at handsome men; she had a match to announce!
Fu Ye caught her eye and gave a subtle, polite nod. This small gesture sent a ripple through the VIP box. Shen Liuyu, Yu Hairou, Meng Yiran, and Xue Ke all turned their gazes toward him simultaneously. Five pairs of beautiful eyes were now fixed on him, filled with a sharp, vinegar-like jealousy.
"Brother Fu Ye, is Liuyu prettier, or was that flying sister prettier?" "Brother Fu Ye, Hairou really, really likes you, you know?" "Brother Fu Ye..."
Fu Ye: "o(≧口≦)o Don't come over here!!!"
Aside from Xue Wu, the other four original Tianshui members were now just a thin sheet of glass away from crossing the line with him. They spent every day sticking to him like glue, testing the boundaries, but none had been as bold as the little princess Xue Ke, who had simply bypassed the line and "stolen the home."
Down on the stage, the atmosphere shifted.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Phantom Cat Demon!""Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Ice and Snow Kingdom!"
Fu Ye had spent months developing their potential, and now, the fruits of that labor were on full display. The rendering of the energy was high-production quality—clean lines of power, glossy elemental shading, and textures so detailed they felt real.
"What the—! My fire is being frozen solid!" Ma Hongjun screamed. "Brother, my Blue Silver Staff is... it's getting even harder from the frost!" Tang Chuan yelled, his voice cracking. "Zhuqing, Zhuyun... I didn't think you two could..." Dai Mubai stammered, his teeth chattering. "It's too cold! Let's just surrender, we can't win this!"
The Shrek members didn't even get the chance to raise their hands in surrender. Before the Zhu sisters could even strike as the Phantom Cat Demon, the entire stage was engulfed by the "Ice and Snow Kingdom."
Snap!
The seven members of Shrek were instantly encased in thick, translucent pillars of absolute zero ice. They looked like grotesque museum exhibits, frozen in mid-panic.
"Sigh, I knew we shouldn't have bothered with the fusion," Zhuyun muttered, her voice echoing in the sudden silence. "Well, look on the bright side: another free win," Yue'er giggled.
The blizzard had been so violent that Doudou, the referee, found herself being swept away. As a mere Spirit Grandmaster, she had no hope of resisting a fusion skill backed by Ultimate Ice. Just as she was about to be slammed against the arena wall, a shimmering, multicolored barrier of energy enveloped her.
The storm died down thirty seconds later. The only ones standing were the seven girls of Tianshui.
"Little San! Little Chuan!"
Yu Xiaogang, the stout, middle-aged man known as the "Grandmaster," came limping onto the stage. He looked at his frozen disciples with a face full of grief and fury.
"Where is the referee?! This is murder! They are trying to commit murder in the arena!" Xiaogang bellowed, his voice cracking with indignation.
Snap!
Shui Bing'er flicked her fingers, and the ice encasing Shrek shattered into a million sparkling shards.
"This is the Great Spirit Arena," Bing'er said, her voice dripping with disdain as she looked down at the "Living Buddha" of the soul master world. "Losing your life during a match is perfectly normal. If Shrek's level is only this pathetic, I suggest you take these babies back and let them drink milk for a few more years."
She remembered how Shrek had acted against the Mad Team—ruthless, killing three people without hesitation. And now this shameless old man was crying "murder" because his precious students got a bit chilly?
"You! Unreasonable!" Xiaogang's face turned a mottled purple.
"Hehe, call it what you want," Bing'er retorted, turning her back on him. "But you seemed to be the one smiling the widest when your students were the ones killing others."
She looked up into the air at the referee, her eyes softening with a touch of apology. "Miss Referee, you can announce the result now."
Doudou slowly regained her senses. She poked the multicolored barrier that had protected her—it was incredibly solid. She looked up at the VIP box and saw Fu Ye leaning against the railing, a faint, elegant smile on his face. He had withdrawn his soul power the moment the danger passed.
Doudou made a mouth shape, and Fu Ye just nodded faintly.