Yue Zhengyu smiled, and said, "We understand; we're actually very much looking forward to this sparring match as well."

Long Yue nodded in response. Yue Zhengyu was more mature than he had been in the past. He was the eldest among the male members of Shrek’s Seven Monsters, so he had stepped forward in Tang Wulin's absence. The rest of the Monster Eight Kings also greeted Shrek's Six Monsters in a relatively friendly manner. However, both sides were sizing up one another, eagerly anticipating the commencement of the match.

At the same time, they were all struck by a sense of nostalgia, as well as a smorgasbord of emotions. They had all grown into young men and women with their own careers, and each of them had a high-ranking spot in their own respective domains.

Compared to their past selves, they were no longer completely lacking inhibitions. Humans were social creatures, so they would inevitably be affected by society, so even though they were all full of anticipation toward this sparring match, this wasn't a purely enjoyable event as it would've been for them in the past.

The Smiling Douluo had also stepped onto the platform at this point, and he arrived in between the two sides with a smile on his face. "This is a sparring match, so make sure you don't go too far. When someone is about to lose the ability to battle, then I'll step in to eliminate them. You're all elite young members of the Tang Sect, so make sure to remember at all times that this is not a battle of life and death."

"Yes," everyone answered in unison.

"Alright, then prepare to begin; I'm sure everyone's growing tired of waiting."

Long Yue latched onto Xu Mi'er's hand in a very natural manner, then patted Dai Yueyan's shoulder before stepping off the platform with Dai Yun'er. He didn't need to say anything to Dai Yueyan; they had been brothers for so many years that they had already developed a tacit understanding with one another. There was no need for verbal communication; all they had to do was perform to the best of their abilities.

Yue Zhengyu looked on with disappointment in his eyes as Long Yue left the platform.

Thus, there were only 12 people left on the platform.

Shrek's Six Monsters consisted of Yuanen Yehui, Ye Xinglan, Yue Zhengyu, Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, and Xu Lizhi, while the Monster Six Kings consisted of Tiger King Dai Yueyan, Fox King Su Mu, Wolf King Hua Lantang, Wind King Lin San, Pagoda King Ye Zhi, and Shadow King Teng Teng.

The Smiling Douluo made a hand signal, and the protective barrier slowly appeared over the entire drill ground. At the same time, it cut off all sound from the outside world, so there was only peace and quiet on the platform.

All of the spectators fell silent and focused their attention on the 12 people on the platform, who retreated in unison and adopted their respective formations.

Among the Monster Six Kings, Tiger King Dai Yueyan stood at the very forefront with Wolf King Hua Lantang and Wind King Lin San on either side of him. Behind him were Fox King Su Mu and Shadow King Teng Teng, while Pagoda King Lin Zhi brought up the rear. The six of them had arranged themselves into a triangular formation.

Shrek's Six Monsters were also in a triangular formation with Yuanen Yehui, Ye Xinglan, and Yue Zhengyu at the front, forming a wall of assault system Soul Masters. Behind this trio were Xu Lizhi and Xu Xiaoyan, and curiously enough, the agility system Soul Master, Xie Xie, had been left to bring up the rear.

The two triangular formations were very symmetrical from a birds-eye view.

The Smiling Douluo's powerful voice rang out. "Begin!"

The match between the most elite young members of the Tang Sect from two different continents finally commenced.

Long Yue stood beside the drill ground and looked on with an intense gaze that was shared by Xu Mi'er and Dai Yun'er as well.

The Monster Eight Kings had been looking forward to this match for a very long time. They had always been unwilling to accept the defeat they had suffered all those years ago, and the best way to erase that shameful experience was naturally to rewrite it with a victory.

Both sides sprang into action almost in complete unison. They all released their martial souls as well as their suits of battle armor; no one was planning to hold back during this match.

A series of dazzling soul rings emerged from beneath their feet, and specks of light surfaced over their bodies as they donned their suits of battle armor.

A sinister-looking halo with a sawtooth border appeared beneath Dai Yueyan's feet, while a suit of battle armor that was as pristine white as jade quickly appeared over his body. His breastplate was in the shape of a giant tiger's head, and his suit of battle armor seemed to be very thick and heavy, giving him a very imposing appearance.

His aura swelled dramatically, and as he released his suit of battle armor, he also completed his White Tiger Diamond Transformation, transforming him into a huge tiger.

The domain halo beneath his feet indicated that he was definitely wearing a suit of three-word battle armor, and a pair of white wings spread open on his back. Sharp tiger claws sprang out of his suit of battle armor from both his hands and feet, then combined as one with the tiger claws released by his martial soul. A peerlessly domineering aura erupted from his body, and a thunderous tiger's roar could be heard reverberating through the air.

Meanwhile, Wolf King Hua Lantang had spread open a pair of azure wings, and a suit of azure battle armor that gave off a dangerous aura appeared over his body. His pauldrons were in the shape of a dragon's head and a wolf's head, and there was no halo beneath his feet, so this was clearly a suit of two-word battle armor.

A suit of streamlined green battle armor had appeared over Wind King Lin San's body, and there was also no domain halo beneath his feet, but eight soul rings had risen up around him, consisting of four purples and four blacks.

There were four major levels of battle armor, and there was a vast disparity between each level. Dai Yueyan was the current rightful heir to the throne, so it naturally wasn't difficult for him to get his hands on a suit of three-word battle armor. However, for normal cultivators, even if they were prodigies of Monster Academy, it was not that easy to secure a suit of three-word battle armor. Hence, Hua Lantang and Lin San still had suits of two-word battle armor, and the Tang Sect would craft their suits of three-word battle armor for them in two or three years at most.

Another member of the Monster Six Kings who possessed a suit of three-word battle armor was standing behind them. Fox King Su Mu's eight large tails were all raised up into the air, and he also had a suit of white battle armor that somehow gave off a furry appearance. Whatever metal was used to construct the suit of battle armor, it somehow appeared more like a fox pelt than metallic armor. If it weren't for the domain halo beneath his feet, one could easily be misled into thinking that this wasn't a suit of battle armor at all.

Standing beside Su Mu was Shadow King Teng Teng, who had a suit of two-word battle armor, and he also possessed one of the lowest cultivation ranks among the Monster Eight Kings.

However, there was one more three-word battle armor master among the six of them, and that was Pagoda King Ye Zhi.

Ye Zhi's cultivation rank was inferior to that of Lin San and Hua Lantang, but she possessed the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, which was renowned as the number one support tool martial soul in existence! She would definitely be able to provide enhancements of the highest caliber, and it was exactly because of this that the Tang Sect had pooled together their resources to construct a suit of three-word battle armor for her first.

Ye Zhi's suit of three-word battle armor was extremely grandiose in design. It was translucent and shimmering with rainbow-light, with all types of gems embedded onto its surface, making it look more like a spectacular artistic masterpiece.

As soon as Ye Zhi had become a Soul Sage, the Tang Sect had crafted her this suit of battle armor without any hesitation, and it was of an even higher caliber than Su Mu's suit of battle armor.

A Soul Sage who possessed the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda martial would be able to provide enhancements that could virtually double the powers of all of their allies. Such a formidable enhancement effect would undoubtedly be a nightmare for all those who stood against them.

Three sets of three-word battle armor, three sets of two-word battle armor, three Soul Douluos, and three Soul Sages; this was a very formidable lineup regardless of which continent they were on. On top of that, they were the elite young talents of Monster Academy, so their true powers would definitely be far superior to Soul Masters of the same cultivation rank.

There were already cheers and praise ringing out across the entire drill ground. At the same time, Shrek's Seven Monsters had also released their martial souls and suits of battle armor.

Yuanen Yehui was clad in a suit of dark yellow battle armor with a dual-layer halo beneath her feet. The outer section of the halo was of a dark yellow color, while the inner section was dark red. The two colors intertwined with one another, and a series of extremely complex patterns could be seen within the halo. In particular, there seemed to be an entire small world within the red section of the halo.

The suit of battle armor itself didn't seem to be remarkable in any way; it was completely understated and very simplistic, just like Yuanen Yehui's understated personality.