Chapter 345 Shrek Academy vs Blazing Fire Academy (Part 1)

The person walking at the front was of medium build and quite ordinary-looking, but a pair of eyes blazed with fiery brilliance. His broad shoulders and the gold-and-red uniform he wore lent an imposing air to his otherwise unremarkable face.

This was Huo Wushuang, captain of the Blazing Fire Academy's battle team. A level forty-two Battle Soul Master of the assault type. His Martial Soul was somewhat similar to Liu Erlong's—a fire dragon. The difference was that Liu Erlong's fire dragon leaned more toward yin fire, while his was a horned fire wyvern that followed an entirely explosive path. Among the known Soul Masters of this preliminary tournament, he was universally regarded as the strongest in direct confrontation. He was also Blazing Fire Academy's undisputed main attacker.

The seven members of Blazing Fire Academy walked in tight formation. Behind Huo Wushuang was another assault-type Soul Master, level thirty-eight, without any particularly notable features. Records indicated his Martial Soul was a fire leopard. Behind them walked two more—a pair of young men with identical, cold expressions. They were twins. One was called Huo Yun, the other Huo Yu, and their Martial Souls were fire cranes. In other words, they were the agile-attack fire-element Battle Soul Masters that Great Master had mentioned. Both had reached level thirty-nine, just a hair away from level forty.

The final three were two men and one woman. The two male Soul Masters were extremely tall and rugged-looking—judging by appearance alone, anyone would mistake them for assault types. But Great Master had told the Shrek Academy members that these two were not assault types but support types. The catch was that their support ability carried a degree of offensive power. Unless their opponents were particularly formidable, it was nearly impossible to discern the nature of their support. The two shared a remarkably identical Martial Soul: fire sparks. That was correct—fire sparks, a peculiar Martial Soul.

And between these two, the only female among all of Blazing Fire Academy's competitors, was an extraordinarily beautiful girl. The gold-and-red uniform looked stunning on her, and with her dark crimson hair, she herself was like a flame capable of melting any man who looked her way.

Although she was the sole girl on Blazing Fire Academy, she was actually the tallest of the seven, with a perfectly proportioned figure. Standing at the center of the formation, a faint smile lingered on her face at all times, and a subtle red glow emanated from around her body.

If anyone assumed she was Blazing Fire Academy's weakest link during a match, they would die a miserable death. For this girl was the team's other Soul Master above level forty, second only to captain Huo Wushuang. Moreover, she held the highest level among the entire team—a level forty-three Control-type Battle Soul Master named Huo Wu. She was the true soul of the team and served as its vice-captain. Her Martial Soul was herself—a shadow based on her own body, a Fire Shadow.

Before the match began, Tang San had only managed to glance at the opponent's Soul Master composition. It wasn't that Shrek Academy had received their intelligence late—Great Master had deliberately waited until just before the match to give them a rough overview of the opposing team. Victory was important, of course, but to Great Master, what mattered more was nurturing these children's growth. Real battles between Soul Masters demanded on-the-fly adaptation. When you faced an enemy, the enemy would never conveniently disclose their capabilities in advance. What Great Master aimed to cultivate was precisely that adaptive ability in Tang San. As the soul of the team, his ability to adapt was unquestionably the most critical.

Among the seven opponents, the one that caught Tang San's attention the most was not the so-called strongest in direct combat, Huo Wushuang, but rather the two support-type Soul Masters positioned at the very back of the formation and the Control-type Soul Master, Huo Wu.

Although this opponent's overall Soul Power was inferior to the Elephant Armor Sect—they only had two Soul Ancestors above level forty—the fact that they had defeated the Elephant Armor Sect spoke volumes about their strength. Their capability was beyond doubt.

The referee stepped to the center. "Both teams, line up and bow."

All fourteen members formed two rows and bowed to each other. Dai Mubai's gaze locked onto Huo Wushuang's, and Tang San's eyes inevitably met Huo Wu's. The match had not yet begun, but the smell of gunpowder was already spreading through those exchanged glares.

Huo Wushuang stared daggers at Dai Mubai, their gazes clashing fiercely. He spoke in a deep voice, "Today is the day your winning streak comes to an end."

Dai Mubai replied coolly, "That's exactly what I was going to say. Today, one of our two teams will no longer be able to keep its streak alive."

Huo Wushuang's gaze shifted to Tang San beside Dai Mubai. "What a shame. If your Control-type Soul Master weren't a plant type, you might have had a sliver of a chance. But now… I'd advise you to forfeit. At least that way you can preserve your strength for the next match."

Dai Mubai let out a cold laugh and said nothing. In truth, he had no confidence either.

How could he not know that plant-type Soul Masters were innately countered by fire-type Soul Masters?

And the opposing team was an all-fire composition.

Tang San was undoubtedly the most critical piece of Shrek's battle team. If he were suppressed by the opponents, then with their current roster, defeating Blazing Fire Academy would be nothing short of a fantasy. Even if he and Zhu Zhuqing had their Yin-Yang White Tiger, it might not be enough to take down every last one of them.

What's more, Zhu Zhuqing was not competing in this match. Who would emerge victorious remained anyone's guess.

"You may release your Martial Souls," the referee's voice rang out once more. In an instant, light erupted across the central main arena.

Brilliant Soul Ring radiance flooded the entire platform. Without question, both teams had the optimal Soul Ring configuration. In terms of Soul Ring count, they were perfectly matched—each side led by two Soul Ancestors above level forty, with five Soul Venerables above level thirty backing them up.

In overall rank, they were dead even. Of course, differences still existed—and that difference lay in Tang San's terrifying ten-thousand-year Soul Ring.