Chapter 145: You can have a gold-plated one if you like

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Shrek's group entered the city of Soto and settled in a nearby inn close to the Soto Great Spirit Arena. They were going to spend quite some time in this place.

According to the Grandmaster's rules, each person had to engage in at least two spirit battles a day, with only one battle per type of spirit allowed. This meant they needed to participate in one-on-one and two-on-two battles, which required them to form teams.

Luckily, they had exactly eight people, so they could divide into four teams.

The Grandmaster allowed them to freely form teams, which surprised everyone. They exchanged glances with their teammates, unsure how to proceed.

Dai Mubai hesitated for a moment before his gaze fell on Zhu Zhuqing. He felt complicated inside, but then he sighed and looked at Oscar, saying, "Oscar, how about we team up?"

Oscar couldn't help but feel delighted. As a support-type spirit master, although he was a Spirit Douluo, he didn't have much combat power. It was impossible for him to advance to Silver Spirit Douluo on his own, so he needed to cling onto his teammates. He originally wanted to team up with Zeng Yi since they had spent their days practicing together and had a good relationship. But since Dai Mubai took the initiative to propose a partnership, Oscar couldn't disappoint him.

Besides, Dai Mubai was one of the strongest among them. With his formidable strength at the Spirit Douluo level of Rank 37, there were only a few people at Spirit Douluo level who could defeat him, apart from Zeng Yi and Tang San. Oscar thought that with his support abilities combined with Dai Mubai's strength, they could easily win battles.

"Sure, let's team up!" Oscar happily agreed.

The first team was formed, and the remaining six people continued to pair up one after another.

Since Oscar had already found his teammate, Ning Rongrong was left as the only support spirit master. If she wanted to rank up to Silver Spirit Douluo, she needed to find a powerful teammate.

Tang San? He was already paired up with Xiao Wu, so they were already excluded. That left only three people: Zhu Zhuqing, Zeng Yi, and Ma Hongjun. Ning Rongrong's gaze settled on Zeng Yi, and after a deep breath, she gathered her courage and said to him, "Zeng Yi, let's team up."

"Oh? Why?" Zeng Yi wanted to tease her when he saw her expression.

Ning Rongrong became displeased instantly. As a Spirit Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, she couldn't believe she was being turned down by someone. If it were outside, countless people would be willing to team up with her, regardless of their faces.

"Grandpa Sword told you to take care of me!" Ning Rongrong blushed, her eyes filled with resentment as she stared at Zeng Yi.

"He also said I'm your senior brother. Why haven't I heard you call me senior brother?" Zeng Yi looked mischievously at Ning Rongrong, who was angry yet at a loss.

"Why don't you call me senior brother? Try it?" he suggested.

"You..." Ning Rongrong pointed at Zeng Yi with her slender jade finger, her body trembling with anger, unable to speak.

"To call or not to call? If you call, I will agree to your request," Zeng Yi said with an evil smile, his voice whispering like a devil's whisper next to Ning Rongrong's ears.

Ning Rongrong lowered her head, clenched her fists tightly, struggling with her expression.

"Bro... bro..."

Muttering to herself, the only person who could hear her voice was herself. But she couldn't bring herself to say that last word.

"What did you say? Speak louder," Zeng Yi found Ning Rongrong's behavior amusing.

"Zhu Zhuqing, save me!" Ning Rongrong couldn't take it anymore. She suddenly raised her head, her eyes reddened. Then she flew towards Zhu Zhuqing beside her.

Ning Rongrong opened her arms and embraced Zhu Zhuqing's slim waist. Her head bumped into Zhu Zhuqing's chest and bounced off due to the softness. However, she immediately sank into it again, tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly, Ning Rongrong felt the world was filled with malice towards her.

Raising her head from Zhu Zhuqing's chest, her tearful eyes staring at Zhu Zhuqing, she said, "Zhu Zhuqing, let's team up! Okay?"

Seeing Ning Rongrong's appearance, a gentle smile crept onto Zhu Zhuqing's lips. She reached out her slender jade hand and stroked Ning Rongrong's hair.

"Alright."

"Thank you so much, Zhu Zhuqing. Unlike someone, who has no sympathy at all!" Ning Rongrong turned her head and gave Zeng Yi an angry glare.

Although she couldn't team up with the strongest Zeng Yi, teaming up with Zhu Zhuqing was also great. With Zhu Zhuqing's formidable strength at Rank 29 and her battle power equal to a Spirit Elder, along with Ning Rongrong's strong support abilities, they would be invincible in the realm of high-level Spirit Masters.

Even though she couldn't team up with that guy Zeng Yi, teaming up with Zhu Zhuqing made Ning Rongrong feel somewhat comforted.

Ma Hongjun felt happy with this situation. He didn't expect to have the opportunity to go with such a powerful teammate. He had wanted to team up with Zeng Yi initially, as he thought it would be amazing. With only four people left, and with the inclusion of Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, Ma Hongjun assumed that Zeng Yi would probably form a team with one of them.

He couldn't team up with the great Zeng Yi, but teaming up with a beautiful girl didn't feel too bad either, even if he couldn't flirt with her.

But who could have expected that Ning Rongrong would suggest a one-for-one swap.

Seeing this, Ma Hongjun felt even more contented with himself. He guessed that he could advance with minimal effort. It could be summed up with just one word: Awesome!

After the teams were formed, the Grandmaster took out eight masks from the spatial soul guide bracelet and handed one to each of them.

"When participating in Spirit Fights, you must wear this mask. Also, you cannot use your real names during registration. Just choose a title and use it. Don't let others know your true identity, understand?" the master advised.

Everyone understood the master's intent. As they were all still young, especially Tang San and Xiao Wu, who had reached Spirit Elder level at the age of twelve, just having one person in the Spirit Master realm would be shocking enough. Especially at the Great Spirit Arena, once they became famous, the Spirit Hall would be the first to come looking for them.

However...

Zeng Yi looked at the mask in his hand, green and extremely ugly. He found it hard to accept.

With all that money, why were they still so stingy? Couldn't they make it more refined and pleasing to the eye? How much could a mask cost?

Cursed management!

Zeng Yi couldn't help but despise Principal Flender who was standing next to him.

"Dean, can we have a more attractive mask? This one is really ugly," Zeng Yi raised his hand to express his dissatisfaction.

The others secretly nodded in agreement. They also didn't like the masks, but under the master's suppression, they didn't dare to speak up. Only Zeng Yi dared to speak this way with the elders.

You were a true warrior!

Each of the seven silently gave Zeng Yi a thumbs up.

"Ah, Xiao Yi, you know, the academy's funds are quite tight," Flender said and sighed, wearing a face full of extreme bitterness, which moved the others.

Seeing Flender like this, Zeng Yi felt the urge to smash the mask in his hand into his face.

Didn't others know how much money this miser had!

"Well, if that's the case, I'll pay for a better mask!" Zeng Yi looked disdainfully at Flender's face, not in the best mood.

Zeng Yi had saved a considerable amount of money from his victorious battles. Although he usually pinched pennies and lived modestly, when it came to appearance and temperament, he didn't mind spending money.

Hearing Zeng Yi, Flender instantly became spirited. It was best if he didn't have to spend his own money.

"No problem. Since you're paying for it, you can have a gold-plated mask if you want!"

Others: ...

Finally, they discussed the titles they would use for their spirit fights. After some deliberation, they finally settled on them.

Tang San: Title - Thousand Hands Asura.

Dai Mubai: Title - Evil-Eyes White Tiger.

Oscar: Title - Sausage Monopoly.

Xiao Wu: Title - Soft Boned Rabbit.

Ma Hongjun: Title - Evil Fire Phoenix.

Ning Rongrong: Title - Seven Treasure Glazed Tile.

Zhu Zhuqing: Title - Shadow Ghost Cat.

And Zeng Yi, of course, was the Swift Sword Master Yi!

Now, they just had to wait quietly for the night to come and to shine brilliantly in the Suotuo Great Spirit Arena.

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[[Notes: It's been sometime since I did my Patreon shameless plugin. If you are interested to have early access to chapters, check it out. Link in synopsis.]]