That evening, Xiao Tianyang returned to Shrek Academy.
Upon reaching the cafeteria entrance, he noticed that no one else was around except for Saber, who stood there waiting.
As soon as Saber saw Xiao Tianyang approaching, he quickly stepped forward. "I heard from Grandmaster that you went to the Star Dou Forest?"
"What's wrong?" Xiao Tianyang tilted his head in confusion as he made his way toward the kitchen.
Saber followed closely behind, lowering his voice. "Can you take me with you next time?"
"Why?" Xiao Tianyang stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him, momentarily taken aback.
"You're improving so fast, and I don't want to fall behind." Saber's expression was serious. "I want to walk the same path as you."
Xiao Tianyang regained his composure and smiled, shaking his head. "If you want to grow stronger, following my path won't necessarily help you achieve that."
He reached out and ruffled Saber's hair. "You have your own road to walk. If you follow the right path, you might not be any weaker than me."
"But I... I don't know what to do." Saber whispered, a faint blush creeping onto his face.
"That is a bit troublesome," Xiao Tianyang mused.
After a brief pause, he said, "How about this? Tomorrow night, come train with me in the back mountain. I'll practice swordsmanship, and you can also train with your sword. While our techniques are different, it might give you some inspiration."
Over time, Xiao Tianyang had begun to grasp Saber's potential.
On one hand, Saber retained incredible combat instincts and battle awareness—otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to showcase such exceptional sword skills at her age. On the other hand, perhaps due to her young age, she still lacked clarity on how to develop her abilities.
It was as if Saber was a Grandmaster of warfare, yet he had been handed ancient battle strategies written on bamboo slips in an unfamiliar script.
This meant that his growth required a specialized approach.
Xiao Tianyang didn't have all the answers, but he was more than willing to help Saber find his way. After all, it wouldn't take much time out of his day.
"Alright." Saber nodded eagerly, and the two of them headed into the kitchen.
During dinner, Tang San and the others eagerly recounted their battle against the Berserker Team.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar animatedly described the fight, embellishing parts of the story for dramatic effect. Xiao Tianyang, however, could tell when they were exaggerating.
Even so, the battle's overall outcome was impressive. One detail, in particular, caught Xiao Tianyang off guard.
According to the original plan, Oscar should have used his mushroom sausage, and the team should have relied on delaying tactics to counter the Berserkers' rage-fueled onslaught.
Instead, they had chosen to confront their opponents head-on!
To make things even more absurd, Ning Rongrong and Oscar ended up chasing down the enemy's auxiliary-type Soul Elder with a hammer.
Xiao Tianyang could easily imagine how comical that scene must have been.
And all of this was thanks to the Wing Chun techniques he had taught them!
Otherwise, how could two auxiliary-type Soul Elder have gone on the offensive like that?
Dai Mubai's performance was even more astonishing.
He had managed to hold off the berserk Kuang Xi for a full three minutes on his own! This was a key factor in their swift victory.
Altering story plot's course like this gave Xiao Tianyang a slight sense of unease, but he quickly brushed it off.
"As long as we keep getting stronger, who cares if the plot changes?" he thought to himself with newfound confidence.
…
As the end of the month approached, Yu Xiaogang took charge of registering the Shrek team for their next battle.
However, when he arrived at the registration desk, he was surprised to find that the usual staff member had been replaced by Director Ao.
"Sir, on behalf of the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena branch, I would like to formally invite your team to compete in the main Soul Arena," Director Ao said respectfully. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors over the past few days."
"Aside from their initial defeat here, the Emperor Team has been on an undefeated streak. The more they fight, the stronger they become, and they are practically unstoppable. We would like to invite the Shrek Team to step in and put an end to their winning streak."
Yu Xiaogang cast a quick glance at Xiao Tianyang before responding, "Since they've already suffered a loss against us, why come to us again?"
Director Ao gave a bitter smile. "A battle like last time won't happen again... The leader of the Emperor Team isn't a fool."
Last time, Xiao Tianyang had defeated their entire team in a single move—without even using his soul skills.
In short, their loss had been an utter humiliation.
There was no way they would allow such an outcome to repeat itself.
Yu Xiaogang understood this well. But as the saying goes, "When opportunity knocks, one should negotiate."
Since the arena was making a request, there was no harm in demanding a reasonable price in return.
After some negotiation, Yu Xiaogang secured a generous reward of gold soul coins for the team—an amount large enough to make Xiao Tianyang's mouth water.
Unfortunately, the deal had nothing to do with him.
As they left, Xiao Tianyang couldn't help but sigh. "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have beaten them so badly the first time. Maybe that money would be in my pocket now."
Yu Xiaogang simply smiled, saying nothing.
By now, he had no doubts about Tang San and the others. After countless battles, he was confident they could handle the Emperor Team.
…
Inside the lounge, the usual chatter faded as Yu Xiaogang placed a document on the table.
"This is your next opponent," he stated. "Discuss your battle strategy amongst yourselves."
He then revealed the details of the deal he had negotiated with Director Ao.
Tang San and the others remained calm, but Flender's eyes immediately lit up.
At this moment, there was only one thing on his mind—gold soul coins.
Then, Flender turned to Xiao Tianyang. "Tianyang, you're participating in this match. But you're not allowed to intervene—you're only there to supervise."
"Huh? Then why even put me on the field?" Xiao Tianyang was speechless. "Wouldn't it be better if I just watched from the sidelines?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "We study our opponents, and they study us.
"If they know you're on the field, they'll take the fight more seriously. Do you understand?"
Xiao Tianyang immediately got the message.
Yu Xiaogang's real intent was clear: "If you weren't there, would they really go all out?"
If the Emperor Team was pushed to their limits, they would be desperate to prove themselves.
While Oscar's recovery sausages could heal wounds, they didn't solve the root problem.
But Xiao Tianyang was different. His green fire had immediate effects—one group recovered, two groups were revitalized, and three groups had increased attributes.
With such a powerful support ability, who else would be better suited for the match?
"Fine," Xiao Tianyang finally relented. "But I have one condition—I want a share of the prize money."
Grandmaster: "..."
Flender: "..."
Everyone: "..."
You're already a monster. Couldn't you at least ask for something more fitting of your status?"
…
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