Chapter 174: The Start of the Tournament
Qian Renxue's fierce tone made Ning Bei think to himself that this girl really holds grudges.
But thinking about it, it was understandable. Little Angel had been humiliated so much since birth, so it was only natural for her to want to vent her anger.
The day of the tournament's opening quietly arrived.
The first round would be the preliminaries. There were 15 participating teams in the Tiandou City region, and a single round-robin system would determine the 5 teams to advance. Of course, the Shrek team was one of them.
When the tournament began, Ning Fengzhi, Emperor Xueye, and Platinum Bishop Salas of the Wuhun Temple took their seats on the high platform one by one.
Ning Bei sat not far from Ning Fengzhi, wanting to watch the competition up close.
"Ning Sect Leader, who do you think will win the championship in this preliminary round?"
Hearing Xueye's question, Ning Fengzhi smiled lightly and replied:
"I think the Royal Second Team will win!"
"Oh? It seems that Ning Sect Leader has a lot of confidence in his disciples!"
Xueye, who had learned the identities of the Second Team members from Qian Renxue, said with interest.
"Haha, Your Majesty can look forward to it. My daughter is also in the Second Team this time!"
"Oh? Then I suppose the talented women taught by Ning Sect Leader won't disappoint me."
"Your Majesty flatters me, Fengzhi is not worthy of such praise!"
Looking at the two old foxes exchanging pleasantries, Salas snorted coldly. He didn't think any of the participating teams would be a match for their Wuhun Temple team.
The Golden Generation is just playing around with you? It's just a formality, and yet there's all this fuss.
Ning Fengzhi observed Salas's expression, and a trace of a smile flickered in his eyes.
Time passed slowly, and all 15 participating teams had arrived, with the entire venue surrounded by the residents of Tiandou City.
One team, wearing poop-colored uniforms, attracted all the attention from the crowd.
"Wow, how can these people wear such clothes and still go out?"
"Haha, what's the difference between this and defecating in the street?"
"Shrek? Are they advertising for fertilizer?"
"...."
Shrek's group covered their faces, hunching over and slowly making their way to the venue, afraid of being recognized.
They were filled with endless resentment toward Flanders.
"Fatty, I feel like this might be the last time I ever show my face in public."
"Yeah, who said no? I was planning on using my good looks to attract some girls, but now it's completely ruined."
The ugly uniforms were just a small episode before the tournament began.
Ning Bei couldn't help but smirk inwardly, wondering how King Salas would react when he saw Xiao Wu and the others, now that they had all become Soul Kings.
With Xueye and Ning Fengzhi giving speeches to open the tournament, Salas also drew the lots for the matchups.
As expected, the first round of the preliminaries would be the Royal Second Team against Shrek Academy, just like in the original story.
After seeing the matchups, Ning Rongrong clenched her fists excitedly and then looked toward Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, make sure to kick their butts hard, don't let all that humiliation go to waste!"
"Don't worry, Xiao Wu will show them the power of the Eight-Stage Throw!"
Xiao Wu patted her chest confidently, reassuring her, with excitement in her eyes. She had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Entering the competition hall, Ning Bei walked with the three major leaders to the prepared seating area. Unexpectedly, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, was already there waiting for them.
Seeing them arrive, she quickly stood up and bowed.
"Greetings, Father, Teacher, and Bishop Salas!"
After they returned the greetings, Qian Renxue gestured for them to take their seats. Ning Bei couldn't help but glance at her, thinking, "Did she intentionally leave me out of the greeting?"
With that thought, as he passed behind Little Angel, Ning Bei discreetly gave her rear a quick slap.
Little Angel, who was greeting Xueye and the others, froze for a moment. When she realized what happened, she quickly shot Ning Bei an angry glare, as if blaming him for not being more discreet.
Ning Bei acted as though he didn't see her furious look and, whistling, walked over to sit beside Ning Fengzhi, watching the contestants preparing for the battle.
Her killing gaze made Qian Renxue grit her teeth, but she didn't dare to lash out. She could only glare at him, vowing that she would make Ning Bei taste her self-created soul skill, "Giant Crab Claw Kill," once the competition was over.
Ning Bei, feeling the deathly glare, decided not to look in that direction. He noticed Ning Fengzhi continually glancing at him, clearly puzzled about the two of them.
Fortunately, after a passionate speech by the host, the tournament officially began, drawing everyone's attention to the center of the arena.
Shrek's match against their own team was the third match of the first round, with a round-robin points system, and the top five would advance.
The first two matches didn't stir up much excitement, as the Elephant Armor Academy, supported by the Elephant Armor Sect, and the Thunder Academy, supported by the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Sect, easily defeated their weak opponents and gained points.
After some investigation, Master looked confidently at the students behind him.
"The opponent will most likely have six Soul Emperors and one Soul Master, an advantage on our side."
"Mu Bai and Xiao San have both become Soul Masters, and I believe you can suppress them!"
Tang San and Dai Mubai nodded slightly, their eyes showing a hint of excitement. Master had already investigated, and Zhu Zhuqing and the others were in the Royal Second Team, so now was their chance to avenge their past grievances.
"Don't worry, Teacher. I'll make them understand how wrong their choice was."
Master nodded and instructed everyone to follow Tang San's orders when they went on stage. Then, he told the students to prepare.
Since Shrek Academy was missing three girls, they had recruited four Soul Emperors to join their team.
The Mighty Gorilla Tailong, Skeleton King Ling, Bloodthirsty Lone Wolf Huang Yuan, and Healing Scepter Jiangzhu.
Soon, the host began introducing the two competing teams, and backstage personnel notified both sides to come on stage.
"Next, we will have the first round of the preliminary competition, the third match, with the Royal Second Team facing Shrek Academy. Please welcome both teams to the stage!"
Xiao Wu walked out of the passage, excitedly observing the audience around her, while glancing back at her teammates.
"Ah Bao, be sharp and don't mess up. We can't lose this one!"
"Don't worry, Xiao Wu, we won't lose a single match."
Ah Bao patted his chest confidently. After watching the first two battles, he felt stronger than ever.
At this moment, the crowd erupted into cheers and jeers.
"Royal Fight! Royal Fight! Royal Fight!"
"Wow, so that poop-colored uniform team is Shrek Academy?"
"Haha, are they trying to make their opponents laugh themselves to death and win without fighting? Look at their chest; there's an ad for MAh Yinglong hemorrhoid ointment!"
Shrek's group, originally walking proudly onto the stage, now had their momentum deflated, covering their faces to avoid being recognized.
At that moment, the Royal Second Team also arrived at the center of the arena, standing opposite Shrek Academy.
Dai Mubai glared at the elegant figure in front of him.
"Zhu Zhuqing, is this the teammate you picked? I'll show you just how wrong you were!"
Zhu Zhuqing, uninterested, casually played with her nails, not even looking at the grimacing man. She seemed to think speaking to him was disrespectful.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen10