"The third-ring Soul Master thinks he can challenge the Tang Sect? Hmph, does he really think he's a genius and doesn't take Tang Sect seriously? The Tang Sect has a 20,000-year legacy; anyone who can join Tang Sect is a genius."
By the time Xia Yi and his companions returned to Shrek Academy and then made their way to the Tang Sect headquarters the next morning, the entrance to the Tang Sect was already packed with spectators, making it almost impossible to move.
When the three of them appeared, the crowd instinctively made way for them.
At that moment, three battle arenas had already been set up at the entrance to the Tang Sect.
Three young individuals were already waiting on them.
Two boys and one girl, all looking to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.
In addition to these three, three middle-aged individuals hovered in the air, looking to be in their forties. They were all covered in armor, and it was clear that they wore the most advanced three-word battle armor, as indicated by the enormous battle soul halos surrounding them, which measured over twenty meters.
Are these the referees? Three top-tier three-word battle armor referees?
Is this an intentional attempt to apply pressure on us?
"Please step onto the arena. From left to right, Xia Yi, Wu Jin, Gu Yue," one of the referees said coldly, casting a glance at the three of them.
Since Xia Yi and his companions were the challengers, they naturally had the right to decide their opponents.
However, the three of them didn't mind. They walked up confidently and stepped onto the battle arenas.
Once they were each on their respective arena, one of the referees spoke again in a deep voice, "Three geniuses from Shrek Academy, welcome to the Tang Sect for this challenge. Now, I will announce the rules for this challenge. If you have any objections, you may raise them or choose to cancel or delay the challenge."
Though the Tang Sect high-ups were displeased by the blatant challenge from Xia Yi and his group, with so many people watching, they still had to say the formalities.
"Alright, say it," Xia Yi responded with a nod.
The referee continued, "Although you are the challengers, as the saying goes, guests are welcome. The Tang Sect originally intended to invite you to come in as guests, but to avoid misunderstandings, the challenge will be held at the Tang Sect entrance. Following the principles of fairness, justice, and transparency, we have invited journalists to broadcast the match live. This challenge is meant to be a friendly sparring match, but to ensure both sides can truly showcase their strength, I, as the referee, will only stop the match if there is a serious injury, permanent disability, or a life-threatening situation. The winner will be decided when one side falls. Do you have any objections?"
"I object!" Xia Yi said calmly.
"You object?" The referee was visibly surprised. There was nothing wrong with his rules, so where did Xia Yi's objection come from?
"Yes!" Xia Yi nodded and then looked around at the cameras filming the scene. Rubbing his hands, he grinned, "Federal citizens' portrait rights cannot be infringed upon. The live broadcast is fine, but shouldn't the Tang Sect show a little respect?"
At this point, Xia Yi paused before continuing, "It's not that I care about a small amount of money, but mainly out of respect for federal law. We wouldn't want anyone to say that the Tang Sect is disrespecting the law of the federation."
The referee furrowed his brow. He had already heard about the final exams at Shrek Academy.
After thinking for a moment, he realized that Xia Yi was simply trying to get the fees for this challenge.
The referee wanted to reject Xia Yi, but his words made it impossible to refuse.
This was a live broadcast, and he certainly couldn't openly say that the Tang Sect didn't follow federal law.
Reluctantly, he turned to Xia Yi and asked, "How much do you want?"
"I've said it before, I don't really care about such a small amount of Federation credits. The Tang Sect is a large organization; just give me an amount that reflects your status and shows respect for federal law," Xia Yi said with a grin.
The referee's face darkened. How was he supposed to decide?
If he gave too much, Xia Yi would benefit.
If he gave too little, with everyone watching the live stream, it would make the Tang Sect look poor.
"How about this? For every minute you last in this match against the Tang Sect, we will give you 10,000 Federation credits as a portrait fee. How does that sound?" the referee said indifferently, his tone filled with strong confidence.
"And if we win?" Xia Yi asked.
"If you win, each of you will receive one million," the referee sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.
This challenge had been arranged by the Tang Sect's Inner Circle. The expectation was that Xia Yi and his companions might win a few matches at best.
However, they didn't think this was possible at all.
With the Tang Sect's 20,000 years of legacy, even if Xia Yi was a genius and the disciple of Leng Yaozhu, it was utterly unrealistic for him to challenge the Tang Sect's talents.
Out of the thirty matches in total, many Tang Sect members believed that if Xia Yi and his group managed to win four or five, that would already be impressive.
Moreover, this was the Tang Sect headquarters in Shrek City.
Apart from the differences in martial souls, the three of them were already among the strongest in the Tang Sect, beneath the Soul King.
They were practically invincible among the Tang Sect members below the rank of Soul King.
If they lost here, the next few cities would find it difficult to stop Xia Yi and his companions.
"That's what you're offering?" Xia Yi smiled mischievously. Normally, one million Federation credits wouldn't mean much to him. He could easily earn that by forging a few items.
But now, he didn't even have his blacksmith badge, so he couldn't take on any tasks.
Though he had other ways to make money, nothing was as quick as this.
One million Federation credits might not be much, but it was more than enough for the expenses of this final exam.
"I said it, is there a problem? If not, let's start," the referee said indifferently.
"No problem, let's begin," Xia Yi nodded, looking at his opponent. His opponent was a slender young man.
"Start the match!"
With the referee's command, all six combatants immediately summoned their martial souls.
Xia Yi's opponent summoned a mirror as his martial soul.
Although it was only about the size of a palm, it was glowing with shifting colors, looking extremely beautiful.
Tang Jing, Martial Soul: Flowing Light Mirror!
An excellent martial soul.
As usual, Xia Yi immediately used his intermediate skill to leap off the ground and shot toward Tang Jing like a cannonball.
Tang Jing quickly retreated, and his purple second soul ring lit up instantly.
Indeed, Tang Jing's four soul rings were all purple.
A beam of light shot from the Flowing Light Mirror toward Xia Yi.
The speed of the light was so fast that it was impossible to dodge.
In an instant, it hit Xia Yi.
However, just as Xia Yi was about to activate his soul power to endure the attack, he realized that he felt nothing.
It was as if the soul skill had no effect on him whatsoever.
This situation was unexpected not just for Xia Yi, but also for the referee and even Tang Jing himself.
Seeing that his soul skill had failed, Tang Jing's previously confident expression suddenly turned to one of panic.
Taking advantage of Tang Jing's daze, Xia Yi had already closed the distance and was within ten meters of him. The moment his second soul ring lit up, his third soul ring also activated.
As long as the Fox Mind Technique could control Tang Jing, the match would essentially be over.
The Tang Sect's Tang Jing truly was a core disciple, and after his second soul skill failed, he quickly regained his composure.
His fourth soul ring lit up instantly, and once again, a beam of light shot from the Flowing Light Mirror, but this time it landed on Tang Jing himself. His body immediately transformed, becoming mirror-like.
The moment the Fox Mind Technique landed on him, Xia Yi felt the power of his skill being reflected in all directions.
The Flowing Light Mirror's fourth soul skill, the Reflective Mirror, could reflect all energy-based attacks.
This was an extremely overpowered skill.
Its only flaw was that it couldn't reflect physical attacks.
The Tang Sect had done their homework on Xia Yi and knew that his Fox Mind Technique could often end battles instantly.
Since that was the case, they had deliberately chosen someone who could counter Xia Yi.
However, they hadn't expected that the second soul skill of their carefully selected Tang Jing would fail.
Tang Jing's Flowing Light Mirror's second soul ring, the Copy Mirror, could create a perfect copy of the person it hit, with identical abilities.
The flaw was that it couldn't copy battle armor or similar equipment.
It was an extremely powerful soul skill.
Tang Jing had joined the Tang Sect thanks to this ability.
Since gaining this power, he had never encountered a situation where his soul skill had failed.
Originally, the Tang Sect had chosen Tang Jing to deal with Xia Yi because he had an advantage over him. Now, it seemed that both sides had a mutual restraint.
If the Creation Hammer were here, Xia Yi could have used the Fox Mind Technique to control the hammer and crush him.
At this moment, although Tang Jing's body could reflect energy attacks, it had become as fragile as a mirror. One hit would shatter it.
(End of Chapter)