Xu Lizhi had used Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon to stop and gather the arrow feathers in his hands, redirecting them to Zhang Xining with Fairy Scatters Flowers! They whizzed through the air faster than before. At the same moment, Xu Lizhi reached Gu Tianming.

  Faced with the hulking young man before him, Gu Tianming found it hard to split his attention efficiently between protecting Zhang Xining and dealing with Xu Lizhi. His second soul ring lit up and his wings doubled in size. As he spread his wings as wide as possible, an attempt to intercept all of the incoming feathers, he used his second soul skill, Eagle Wing Strike!

  Yet to his disbelief, the fatty grinned.

  Xu Lizhi thrust out his hands and stopped in mid-air just short of crashing into Gu Tianming. Something shot out of the flat of his palms, a cold glint to his eyes. It swerved past Gu Tianming and flew straight for Zhang Xining!

  This was Xu Lizhi’s real attack! The feathers he returned had merely been a distraction!

  The second before Eagle Wing Strike connected, Xu Lizhi waved his hands at Gu Tianming, his grin growing wider.

  Not good!

  But it was too late for Gu Tianming to save Zhang Xining. Despite blocking most of the incoming feathers, a couple had passed through his defenses.

  Zhang Xining was a control-type, but his control ability stemmed from his voice! While his control power was higher than most of his teammates’, he was weak in direct confrontation.

  All Zhang Xining could do was bat his wings forcefully in a bid to dodge the feathers, and even then he had barely managed to evade a fatal wound. The feathers streaked across, swift and sharp, leaving long crimson lines of blood in their wake.

  Right as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, he caught sight of a flash in his peripheral vision and turned toward it. His stomach dropped. A torrent of needles pursued him in a deadly chase, hundreds in number, imbued with thick soul power! He had no avenue of escape!

  Wha—


  A sigh reached his ears, then a series of tinkling sounds filled the air. His body fell limp to the ground.

  “Zhang Xining is eliminated,” Li Zhilong declared. He had been forced to intervene and save his student.

  Their first exchange against a team without any flying-types, and already one of their important control-types was eliminated!

  Shrek Academy truly was the academy of monsters.

  Zhang Xining flushed red with fury. He couldn’t accept such a quick elimination. But the match was treated as if it were an actual battle to the death. His incredulity meant nothing.

  Xu Lizhi tumbled toward Tang Wulin. Seconds prior to impact, Tang Wulin held out his hands and used Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, gently depositing his teammate at his side.

  Xu Lizhi tossed Tang Wulin a pork bun in gratitude, and Tang Wulin immediately devoured it.

  Meanwhile, Xie Xie was nearly upon Han Yuchang. Control-types restrained agility-types, but that was only when they had the space to do so. Xie Xie was already within engagement distance.

  Despite being forced to enter close quarters combat, Han Yuchang kept her cool. Her second soul ring lit up, though no visible change occured. She pulled on the air in front of her and batted her wings.

  Xie Xie felt the world warp with him situated at the center, colors stripped from everything around him, leaving behind shades of morose black and blinding white. The shapes before his eyes bent and stretched, finally collapsing into themselves like dying stars. He could vaguely make out Han Yuchang in front of him, so he pressed on. He raised his Light Dragon Dagger and slashed at what he believed to be her. It caught nothing but air. Pain seared his shoulder, angry and sharp, and with no foothold, he was falling to the ground.

  From the perspectives of the others, Xie Xie had moved to the side on his own accord and slashed at air. Afterward, Han Yuchang had flown over and heel kicked his shoulder, launching herself to a higher altitude simultaneously.

  Tang Wulin’s eyes went wide. She’s a spiritual control-type too!

  Xie Xie would never have missed by such a large margin. The only possible explanation was that Han Yuchang had hindered his senses.

  As Xie Xie continued to free fall, the thick scent of combustion spread nearby. Rather than from Gu Yue, the flames belonged to Li Yaoyao!

  It was difficult to discern which of her soul rings had lit up. Still, it was clear she was using a soul skill. She curled up in the air and her body transformed into a boulder. Flames spurted out of her rock form and propelled her at Xie Xie! Her speed was simply overbearing!

  What kind of martial soul is that? A meteor? Tang Wulin wondered.

  Even as an agility-type, there was no way Xie Xie could dodge an attack while he was falling through the air. Furthermore, agility-types had weak defenses. It was clear that Li Yaoyao and Han Yuchang had used this tactic many times before.

  Gu Yue released a fireball to intercept Li Yaoyao. Yet she simply charged through it, ignoring the flames.

  Left to his quick thinking, Tang Wulin tugged on the bluesilver grass tied to Xie Xie, jerking him out of Li Yaoyao’s path. However, that didn’t stop her. Free falling, she changed her target to Tang Wulin instead! As the captain and an assault-control-type, it was obvious he was the heart of the Shrek Academy team! Therefore, if she took him down, the tides of the battle would turn!

  Even so, Tang Wulin barely batted an eyelash at Li Yaoyao. Rather, he whipped the bluesilver grass tethered to Xie Xie, tossing his teammate back at Han Yuchang.

  Meanwhile, Ye Xinglan and Xiao Tiantian had engaged in combat as well. Ye Xinglan became one with her sword as she brandished it, using Sword God’s Star.

  Xiao Tiantian’s starlight aura flared. His wings stretched as wide as possible, and he thrust his palms at Ye Xinglan. A giant crimson ball of light formed before him, obstructing Ye Xinglan’s approach.

  Sword God’s Star burst out, countless golden stars blossoming around her. All of the stars in the sky seemed to grow brighter at that moment.

  She slashed apart the crimson ball and drove her sword at Xiao Tiantian.

  He was shocked. Never had he expected Ye Xinglan to be able to draw power from starlight as well, and that she could harness more stellar energy than him!

  His third soul ring lit up, and a pair of horns sprouted from his forehead. Crimson electricity crackled along his body, forming a protective sphere around him.

  Ye Xinglan’s sword screeched as she slashed at the electric barrier. Unfortunately, it bounced off without a scratch, and with nothing to keep balance, she began to tumble through the air. All of a sudden, her third soul ring came to life. Light flared around her. Her body began to float, defying gravity. Then she soared!

  What? Li Zhilong stared in shock. Like Xiao Tiantian, he could tell that Ye Xinglan’s martial soul was related to stars, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to harness the stellar energy. Apprehension creeped into his heart.

  On a different side of the battlefield, Li Yaoyao descended upon Tang Wulin a mere second after he had whipped Xie Xie back at Han Yuchang. The howling winds accompanying her fiery dive blew his hair out of place, the scorching heat drying his skin. Awe was kindled in his heart for her explosive power.

  Tang Wulin stood his ground before this meteor. Golden scales rippled into existence along his right arm and his hand transformed into a dragon claw. He clenched his claw into fist as he urged the blood essence within him to flow in reverse. A golden aura encased him. Unlike with the others, this aura wasn’t from harnessing stellar energy, but stemmed from his blood essence’s might! He threw a punch straight at the meteor.

  A shockwave tore through the stage when fist and meteor met, kicking up a cloud of dust. Time seemed to freeze. Everyone spared a moment from their battles, eager to witness the result of the clash, ensnared by the incredible development.