In the days that followed, Dai Mubai spiraled deeper into frustration and gloom. Not even the cheapest brothels—usually his go-to source of temporary relief—could lift his spirits, emotionally or otherwise.
Desperate for distraction, he started frequenting gay clubs, chasing novelty in all the wrong places. It was a path of no return, or at least a very confusing detour.
Ma Hongjun, never one to miss out on a wild night, tagged along more than once. While their new nightlife choices raised a few eyebrows, no one could bring themselves to comment aloud.
Meanwhile, Tang Yin had his own focus. During this time, he officially took Ning Rongrong and Meng Yiran in as outer disciples. Alongside Zhu Zhuqing, he personally trained all three in the core techniques of the Mysterious Heaven Record. To ensure secrecy, he even used his telepathy to restrict them from spreading these records.
Under Tang Yin's guidance, the girls practiced several profound arts such as The Mysterious Heaven Technique for powerful cultivation,
Ghost Perplexing Shadow Track for lightning-fast movement. Mysterious Jade Hand which hardened their palms to incredible toughness, and finally Controlling Crane Catching Dragon, a technique that enhanced coordination and allowed manipulation of objects from afar.
As they trained together day and night, the emotional temperature among them steadily rose. Zhu Zhuqing felt immense gratitude—and something deeper. Meng Yiran was clearly developing a bad case of "love brain," falling harder with every sparring session. Ning Rongrong, surprisingly threw herself into the training so, self-preservation was no longer an issue.
Three months later…
Tang Yin had reached Soul Level 39, while Zhu Zhuqing climbed to Level 28. Rongrong was close behind at Level 27, and Meng Yiran had reached an impressive Level 32. The girls' cultivation speeds were nothing short of astounding—on par with full innate soul masters.
At the Soto Spirit Battle Arena, the crowd was in an uproar. A powerful new group calling themselves the Emperor Team was demolishing a renowned team that had previously claimed seven consecutive victories. Every single member of this upstart squad wielded a Silver Soul Battle Badge—a symbol of elite strength.
for the past three days, they'd steamrolled through their opponents without breaking a sweat.
The arena manager was losing sleep—and money—by the minute.
Meanwhile, in the waiting area, the Shrek Seven Devils were gathered, deep in discussion over tactics for their upcoming team battle. Victory would earn them the highly sought-after Silver Badge, and everyone was feeling the pressure—except Tang yin, who was bored from the repetitive tactics laid out by yu xiaogang.
Suddenly, there was a polite knock on the door.
Tang yin who was boredly listening to the nagging yu Xiaogang became interested and spread his telepathic range "who could it be?"
Tang Yin immediately recognized him—this was the arena manager from the original story.
"Hmm… If I remember correctly, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling should be here with the Emperor Team," Tang Yin muttered thoughtfully, tapping his chin.
His thoughts spun faster than a Beyblade. This is Tang San's biggest cheat code! Dugu Yan! I have to make her mine.
But then he frowned slightly. She's not an easy girl to win over...Strategicly that's the only way.
He smirked to himself. Sorry, Yu Tianheng—you'll just have to suffer for my success. Don't blame me, blame fate.
Then he gave a self-satisfied nod. I mean, you're the nephew of Yu Xiaogang. you have to bear a little karma if you care for your useless uncle.
Back to the venue
Oscar, ever the curious one, opened it to reveal a man in gold-rimmed glasses standing with a practiced, businesslike smile.
"Hope I'm not interrupting," he said smoothly, stepping inside without waiting for an answer.
As the man adjusted his glasses and gave a slight bow, he introduced himself.
"Hello, everyone. I'm the manager of the Soto Spirit Arena. I come bearing a proposal."
Before anyone could ask what kind of proposal, Flender practically teleported to the man's side, a glint of gold in his eyes. If money had a scent, Flender had just caught a whiff of it.
"My, my! Such an esteemed guest!" he gushed, his voice practically dripping with flattery. "Please, come in, have a seat—no, take mine!"
"Please have some tea—Oscar, fetch our finest! Ma Hong Jun, wipe that seat clean!"
The others exchanged glances. Oscar sighed. Tang Yin rolled his eyes. Bootlicking of this caliber should've been declared a spirit technique. It was that disgusting.
The manager coughed awkwardly before getting straight to the point. "I'll be frank. On behalf of the Soto Spirit Arena, I formally invite the Shrek Seven Devils to participate in a group battle at the Central Soul Arena."
Flender frowned, crossing his arms. "May I ask why? Shrek is just an iron-ranked team. We don't exactly qualify to fight in the Central Soul Arena."
The manager let out a heavy sigh. "It's because of those nobles who invited the Emperor's team just to gamble and rake in profits. We've been constantly losing money for the past three days. As your Shrek team are Soul Elders with iron badges. If you agree, we can promote you to silver-ranked status immediately." He pulled out a gleaming silver team badge and held it out as proof.
Flender snorted. "Shrek Seven Monsters could get that silver badge tomorrow anyway. What's the rush? Don't think I can't see through you—you're trying to cut corners on the rewards, aren't you? No proper compensation, no deal."
The manager's eye twitched ever so slightly. "There's no such thing as a free meal…" he muttered inwardly, but outwardly he smiled like a saint. "Of course, of course. Each participating member will receive a direct reward of 500 gold coins. And since this is an official invitation from our Spirit Arena, you'll also get a bonus of 10,000 gold coins if you win."
The moment "10,000 gold coins" was mentioned, Flender's eyes lit up like Gold coin. He burst out laughing with an indecent chuckle, practically radiating greed. In an instant, he was pouring tea, smiling like a fox, and flattering the manager as if he were royalty.
Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun had been staring intently at the manager's kun kun—a gaze so intense it made the poor man squirm. Unnerved, the manager quickly produced a contract. Flender signed it without hesitation.
Without another word, the manager bolted from the venue like a gust of wind, eager to escape the bizarre scene.