39: Chapter 39 Shrek Academy wins and arrives at the Starlight Auction House

Hearing this, Su Chen lazily lifted his eyelids and set down his teacup.

He looked at Ma Xiaotao's pretty face, which was filled with tension, and gave a faint smile.

"Don't worry."

"The opponents are just some pampered children; they happen to be the perfect whetstone for Yuhao and the others."

"The real competition hasn't even begun yet."

Ma Xiaotao opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but looking at Su Chen's deep and calm eyes, she eventually swallowed her words.

Little did she know that Su Chen's confidence didn't stem from trust in Huo Yuhao and the others at all, but from a transmigrator's God's-eye view.

No joke.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were definitely children of fortune, the protagonists of destiny.

Not to mention that kid Yuhao had consumed the immortal herb "water gazing dew" in advance, essentially opening a third-eye cheat for his Spiritual Detection, handling the battlefield's God's-eye view with absolute clarity.

How could they lose?

On the other side.

On the competition grounds, the battle had already entered its final stages.

Just as Su Chen expected, although the members of the Star Luo Royal Academy were all quite capable, under Huo Yuhao's cheat-like "Spiritual Detection Sharing," all their movements were laid bare.

Every soul skill release and every movement intention was anticipated in advance by the Shrek reserve team.

Under the exquisite cooperation of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, the Star Luo Royal Academy members retreated step by step and were eventually defeated one by one.

When the last member was swept off the competition stage by Wang Dong's Wing Guillotine, the entire venue fell into an eerie silence.

The referee froze for a good while before raising his hand high and announcing at the top of his lungs.

"The match is over! Shrek Academy wins!"

After a brief silence, the stands instantly erupted into a deafening roar like a mountain tsunami.

Shock, confusion.

Using a group of unknown reserve members to head-on crush the powerful host.

...

Inside the rest area.

As Huo Yuhao and the others stepped down, they were greeted by Xuan Zi's face, which was full of approval.

Xuan Zi took a swig of wine and nodded with satisfaction.

His cloudy gaze turned toward the nonchalant Su Chen, and he chuckled.

"Not bad. Letting them fight both trains the newcomers and maximizes the concealment of our strength."

"You kid, you've got quite a deep mind."

This evaluation was the highest affirmation of Su Chen's strategy of "training the troops" and "hiding one's brilliance."

Before Su Chen could even speak, a gust of fragrant wind rushed toward him.

"Little Martial Uncle is truly amazing!"

Ma Xiaotao was full of admiration, her phoenix eyes sparkling with little stars. "Strategizing within a tent to win a battle a thousand miles away! This is way cooler than rolling up your sleeves and fighting yourself!"

Su Chen was amused by her look and reached out to ruffle her hair.

"It's cool, but trouble has come too."

After saying that, the smile on his face faded, and his gaze inadvertently swept toward a corner of the spectator stands.

"Hmm?"

Ma Xiaotao followed his gaze but didn't see anything special.

But Huo Yuhao, standing nearby, narrowed his eyes.

In that corner sat several young people.

They wore uniform white team outfits with sun and moon patterns embroidered on their chests. At that moment, they were holding notebooks, staring at the Shrek group while rapidly recording something.

Huo Yuhao's expression changed slightly.

"It's the people from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy."

Hearing that name, Ma Xiaotao's expression turned serious.

Su Chen withdrew his gaze and nodded, appearing not at all surprised.

"Yeah, they've started studying us."

"Just some reserve members getting them this nervous—it seems our whetstone is working quite well."

"But they..." Huo Yuhao was a bit worried.

The strength of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tool Masters was no longer a secret.

"What's there to panic about?"

Su Chen glanced at him.

"We haven't even revealed a single one of our trump cards yet."

A playful smile appeared on his face as his gaze swept over Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and the eager main team members behind them.

"The good show has only just begun."

"I hope the next opponent is somewhat interesting, or I won't even have the interest to take the stage."

...

The next day.

The tournament reached a brief rest day.

The largest Starlight Auction House in Star Luo City also chose to hold a grand auction today.

Upon receiving the news, Xuan Zi waved his hand and decided to take the youngsters out to see the world.

At dusk, the Shrek group arrived at the Starlight Auction House.

Just looking at this place, one word came to mind: extravagant.

The massive building looked like a giant beast crouching on the ground, its eaves tracing soaring curves in the twilight.

Strings of beads connected by spirit tool threads hung from the corners of the eaves. At the end of each thread was a moonstone, emitting a soft glow.

Just at the entrance, twelve guards stood.

They wore glittering gold light armor, with gems embedded in the armor pulsing in light and dark in sync with their breathing.

The captain at the head had a long sword hanging at his waist; on the hilt, the light of three spirit rings flickered.

He was actually a Spirit Emperor.

*Hiccup~*

Xuan Zi gave a wine hiccup and wobbled forward, pulling a token from his robe and casually tossing it to the manager at the door.

When the middle-aged man, who looked like a manager, glanced at the token and saw the emblem representing Shrek Academy, a brilliant smile suddenly blossomed on his face.

"Oh! So it's the distinguished guests from Shrek Academy!"

The manager quickly bowed, his voice loud and respectful.

"Please, please come in! The Heaven Character Number Three Private Box has already been reserved for all of you."

With that, he personally led the way, his attitude extremely enthusiastic.

The group followed the manager into the interior of the auction house.

As soon as he entered, Su Chen couldn't help but look up.

Good heavens.

The ceiling of this auction house was a spirit tool composed of thousands of floating lenses.

At this moment, these lenses refracted the light into slowly flowing auroras, enveloping the entire hall above. It looked like a holographic projection, fully loaded with a sense of technology.

"Little Martial Uncle, this is quite a grand display."

Ma Xiaotao leaned in close to Su Chen and whispered.

Su Chen just nodded faintly, his face expressionless.

To a transmigrator like him who had seen all kinds of sci-fi blockbusters, this was just child's play.

The manager leading the way bent his back even lower than before.

He enthusiastically introduced the history of the auction house while stealing glances behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Elder Xuan looked like an ordinary drunk old man and could be ignored.

But the youngsters behind him were all full of vitality and vigor; it was clear at a glance they weren't ordinary people.

The fiery red-haired girl, the heroic and handsome youth, and that one with the deep gaze...

Those weren't the eyes a youth should have.

The manager's heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly remembered a rumor.

It was said that this generation of Shrek had produced an extraordinary monster.

Even Mu En had personally taken him as a disciple, and his status was even higher than that of the Sea Gods Pavilion Elders.

Could it be... this one?