Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

Can a place like this really train teams to participate in the Advanced Soul Master Competition?

Flander sensed Lin An's suspicion, quickly coughed twice, and lowered his voice, saying, "Little An, don't let the academy's current conditions fool you; we have the best teachers and the most talented students. Look over there."

He pointed to the six people walking towards them: "Those kids, each one of them has monstrous talent. Especially that black-haired boy and the blonde girl next to him, they are already high-level Soul Masters at the age of twelve."

Lin An looked in the direction Flander pointed.

Her gaze first fell on Tang San.

With black hair and black eyes, a handsome face, and a calm gaze, he didn't look like a twelve-year-old boy.

His soul power fluctuations were calm and restrained, but Lin An could sense a faint aura of danger, like a sharp sword hidden in its sheath.

Then there's Cinderella next to her.

With blonde hair and blue eyes, her features were as delicate as a porcelain doll, but the light shining in her blue eyes carried a wisdom beyond her years.

Lin An's heart stirred.

These two children certainly seem to be extraordinary.

But she still couldn't completely dispel her doubts.

“Uncle Flander,” Lin An said softly, his voice clear and melodious, yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible coldness.

"Are you sure this is really a place where we can participate in the Advanced Soul Master Competition?"

Flander's smile froze for a moment, then he patted his chest and assured him, "Of course! When have I, Flander, ever lied to you? Your father is watching from heaven; would I joke about something like this?"

Lin An fell silent.

She looked at Flander's seemingly sincere face, then glanced at the six boys and girls in the distance, each with a distinct personality.

Finally, she nodded slightly.

After all, we're already here.

Moreover, standing before her was a Soul Saint, a powerful figure with shrewd eyes and a composed aura.

In this world, strength equals power. Faced with a Soul Saint, she, a Soul Venerable at only level thirty-five, had little right to say "no."

Flander's face immediately lit up with a smile. He put his arm around Lin An's shoulder and announced loudly to the six people who walked over, "Come on, come on, let's get to know each other! This is Lin An, the Martial Soul Miracle Veil, a level 35 Control-type Weapon Soul Master. He's a new member of Shrek Academy and the final piece of our team's puzzle! From now on, we'll all be teammates fighting side by side!"

Lin An's gaze calmly swept over the six faces, each with a different expression.

She could clearly feel scrutinizing and curious gazes falling on her.

She straightened her back slightly, her amethyst eyes revealing no trace of timidity. She simply nodded to everyone and said in a clear voice, "Lin An, please give me your guidance."

Tang San's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, a hint of assessment flashing in the depths of his dark eyes before returning to calm, and he nodded slightly.

Cinderella smiled warmly and kindly, her azure eyes curving into crescents: "Welcome, Lin An, I'm Cindy."

Dai Mubai scrutinized her, his eyes filled with a hint of scrutiny and the arrogance of his White Tiger Martial Soul. But looking at Lin An's beautiful face, he smiled and gave a soft "hmm".

Zhu Zhuqing remained as cold as ever, as if the presence or absence of one more person had nothing to do with her.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun were much more direct, one with a shining eye and the other muttering to himself, "Finally, another eye-catching one."

Next, Lin An began her life at Shrek Academy.

As she expected, life was indeed tough.

The dormitory was an ordinary wooden house. Although the canteen served medicinal meals every day, Lin An found the food to be outrageously simple and the taste even more unappetizing.

The training grounds were rudimentary, and resources were so scarce that even the most basic supplementary cultivation potions had to be carefully budgeted.

But soon, her attention was drawn to something else: Yu Xiaogang's training.

The teacher, whom Flander called a "master," was so rigorous in his training methods, so meticulous in his plans, and so profound in his understanding of each person's martial soul characteristics that Lin An was secretly alarmed.

She could see that the seemingly inhumane weighted running, the tedious soul power control exercises, and the highly targeted combat were all squeezing out everyone's potential in the most efficient way.

What shocked her even more was the strength of the other six people.

The black-haired boy named Tang San, although his martial soul was just ordinary Blue Silver Grass, had an unpredictable fighting style. He not only had exquisite footwork control, but also very strange soul skills, which made even a control-type soul master like her feel troubled.

Despite her seemingly delicate appearance, the blonde Cindy is incredibly agile and always manages to appear in the most vulnerable positions. The light emanating from her crystal dancing shoes always manages to disrupt her opponents' rhythm at just the right moment.

Dai Mubai's White Tiger Martial Soul is domineering and fierce, Zhu Zhuqing's Netherworld Cat is swift and deadly, Oscar's Sausage has all sorts of strange effects, and Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix has amazing explosive power.

Each of them, taken individually, would be an outstanding individual among their peers.

When they begin to cooperate, even if there are many flaws in the early stages, the hidden, tacit understanding and destructive power they possess, like a lurking beast, already reveal a chilling sharpness.

Lin An began to believe that Flander might not have really lied to her.

Despite the harsh environment and the diverse and sometimes incompatible personalities of the team members, their talent and indomitable spirit are genuine.

Based on past experience, such a team could very well break through in the Advanced Soul Master Tournament and even reach the edge of the finals.

Chapter 336 Shrek Seven Devils

After Lin An joined, the seven of them began to sign up for the seven-person team battle at the Soto Grand Arena.

The initial days were not smooth. The somewhat strange team name "Shrek Seven Devils," coupled with their excessively youthful appearance and uneven clothing, attracted a lot of contempt from opponents and boos from the audience.

Their lack of coordination was fatal, often resulting in broken control chains, disjointed attacks, and support players failing to keep up with the pace. They suffered several defeats in a row, and their points once ranked last in the Soul Master group.

The ridicule and doubt came like a tidal wave.

In the arena, the other teams looked at them with pity or disdain.

But the Shrek Seven Devils, or rather, the Shrek Seven Devils under Yu Xiaogang's iron-fisted leadership, all have a stubborn streak in their bones.

Failure did not break them; instead, it became the best catalyst for their growth and development.

After each failure, Yu Xiaogang would use his cold tone, combined with the images recorded by the recording device, to ruthlessly analyze every mistake and every gap in cooperation.

Late-night practice sessions became the norm.

Although they didn't get along well, neither of them liked to fail.

Tang San and Dai Mubai studied how to combine strong attacks with control, Lin An and Zhu Zhuqing discussed how to use speed and range control to create killing opportunities, Cinderella and Oscar experimented with the stacking and timing of auxiliary soul skills, while Ma Hongjun practiced how to integrate his burst damage into the team's rhythm.

Pain, exhaustion, and arguments, but also rapid growth.

Gradually, the number of defeats decreased.

When the seven of them executed their first smooth combo on the field—Dai Mubai drawing attention with a frontal assault, Tang San secretly controlling the field with his Blue Silver Grass, Lin An using his Miracle Veil to disrupt the enemy, Zhu Zhuqing flanking, Ma Hongjun using his Evil Fire for long-range coverage, and Cinderella and Oscar's perfect combination of control and amplification—and crushed a veteran Soul Master team, the entire Soto Grand Arena fell silent for a moment.

Then, cheers and exclamations erupted.

The name "Shrek Seven Devils" began to spread like wildfire among the Soul Masters of Soto City.

They won more and more decisively, their tactics became more and more unpredictable, and the seven of them seemed to have become a whole, with their offense and defense working in unison and their teamwork was so tacit that it was frightening.

They became a dark horse in the Soul Master level of the Soto Grand Arena, a truly "famous" monster team.

……

After arriving at the Soto Grand Arena, Qin Ming, with his status as a teacher at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and his Soul Emperor-level cultivation, gained some advantages from the management of the Soto Grand Arena.

He easily found out which young Soul Master teams had recently gained fame.

Looking at the composition of one of the Soul Master teams, and their team name, Shrek Seven Devils.

Qin Ming's lips unconsciously curled up, his eyes filled with pride and nostalgia.

"As expected... it was you guys." He muttered to himself.

"Dean Flander, you've found another bunch of little monsters."

An idea quickly took shape in his mind.

The children of Team Tiandou are exceptionally talented and have abundant resources, but perhaps because they have had a smooth journey, they inevitably carry the arrogance that belongs to geniuses and nobles.

Although this tour of combat exercises involved many battles, it lacked a defeat that could truly sting them and make them realize that "there are always people better than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding."

Isn't this Shrek Seven Devils right in front of us the best whetstone?

Qin Ming's eyes sharpened.

He decided that in a few days, he would arrange for the Tian Dou team to have a real seven-on-seven team battle against the Shrek Seven Devils team from Shrek Academy!

Let these arrogant imperial prodigies taste the power of the "unorthodox" monsters, severely punish their pride, and make them calm down and work harder in future competitions.

But then, Qin Ming's brows furrowed slightly. He thought of Snow White, the imperial pearl who, at only twelve years old, was already a high-level Soul Master and possessed the fourth ring of a ten-thousand-year-old Soul Master.

If she goes all out...

"Very well." Qin Ming pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"If the Shrek kids lose, it will give them a valuable experience of playing against top teams and letting them know where the gap lies. If... in the unlikely event that they win, or demonstrate strength that can threaten the Heaven Dou Team, then it will be an even more powerful wake-up call for the Heaven Dou Team."

He no longer dwells on winning or losing; his focus is on ensuring that both sides can benefit from the outcome.

"That's fine then."

Qin Ming made his decision and turned to head to the office of the Soul Arena Management Bureau. He needed to communicate with the Soul Arena first and arrange this special battle.

Things went very smoothly.

After Qin Ming revealed his identity as a member of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy team and expressed his desire to "exchange and learn from local young soul master teams with distinctive characteristics," the Soul Arena almost immediately agreed.

The Shrek Seven Devils are currently riding high, and arranging for them to face off against the Heaven Dou Royal Team, who have traveled from afar, would undoubtedly be a highly anticipated match.

The match was scheduled for the evening three days from now, during prime time.

After receiving the battle schedule and the brief information about the Shrek Seven Devils provided by the Soul Arena, Qin Ming did not delay and immediately returned to the hotel where his team members were staying.

……

The atmosphere in the suite's living room on the hotel's top floor was relaxed.

When Qin Ming pushed the door open and came in, the team members were gathered in twos and threes.

Snow White sat quietly by the window reading, while Ning Rongrong whispered something beside her. Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan were discussing the details of a soul skill in hushed tones. The Graphite and Stone Mill brothers were drinking tea, while Yu Feng and Oslo seemed to be competing in hand speed, playing a simple untying game. Ye Lingling and Rapunzel sat alone in a corner.

"Teacher Qin is back?" Yu Tianheng was the first to notice and stood up to greet her.

All eyes turned to them.

With a hint of barely perceptible excitement on his face, Qin Ming placed the match schedule and the brief information in his hand on the coffee table in the center of the living room.

"Everyone, we have a team battle in the Soto Arena three days from now," Qin Ming said, getting straight to the point and pointing to the papers on the table.