"The Spirit Fight is over!"
The host's voice echoed through the venue once more.
"Spirit Master 'Shrek No. 8' walked off the Spirit Arena on his own, which means he has forfeited the match! I now announce the winner... Black Rhino Spear—Wang Shuai!"
Transmitted by a special sound-amplifying spirit tool, the announcement reached every corner of the vast arena. However, the crowd was left feeling a little unsatisfied. They shook their heads and sighed, disappointed that such a dramatic and unforgettable battle had ended so abruptly. It felt like a pity.
Still, most people agreed that their tickets were worth the price. It was a spectacle they would never forget, and it was definitely worth it.
"Hey, if I remember correctly, aren't there a few other people wearing the same mask as that guy?" a spectator in the crowd suddenly commented. He had seen the Shrek students milling about outside the arena earlier, and their strange, uniform masks had caught his attention.
"You're right! I saw them outside earlier," a middle-aged man next to him added with a grin. He pointed towards the area near the stage where Dai Mubai and the others were gathered. "Look over there. Those people are all wearing the same mask. They must be from the same team or something."
"Hiss… You don't think… they all use those kinds of shady, disgusting tricks, do you?" the first man asked, his voice a mix of suspicion and morbid curiosity.
They had heard of useless Spirit Masters and even Evil Spirit Masters, but they had never encountered a "Disgusting Spirit Master" before. Perhaps some new, unknown power had found a different path to victory, developing a secret technique unlike any other.
The two men were standing not far from Flender, and their entire conversation was overheard by the furious academy dean. At that moment, Flender's face was darker than a stormy night. Tang San hadn't just lost his own dignity today; he had dragged the reputation of the seven other Shrek students down with him. This was how rumors started. As the saying goes, if three people say there's a tiger in the market, people will believe it. The story would only become more bizarre and exaggerated as it spread. Who knew what grotesque form the tale would take by the end of the night?
"Yu Xiaogang," Flender said, turning to the man beside him. He kept his voice low, but it was filled with barely contained rage. "We can forget about everything else that has happened before, but you must give me an explanation for what happened today!"
"I..." Yu Xiaogang's throat felt tight. He wanted to argue, to defend himself, but after a long moment of thought, he couldn't find a single word to say. He knew, deep down, that the ridiculous scene Tang San had created was indirectly his fault. But with his proud personality, he would never admit that out loud. Faced with Flender's fury, he chose silence.
Without another word, Yu Xiaogang stood up and walked away, heading straight for the toilets of the Soto Spirit Arena. He didn't need to guess where Tang San was. He felt he should go and offer a few words of comfort. But actually help him? The situation was just as disgusting to him as it was to everyone else.
"Dear audience members, my sincere apologies," the host's voice announced again. "Because the last fight caused some... damage... to the arena floor, we will need fifteen minutes to clean and repair the site. Please be patient." He paused, glancing sideways at the horrific mess on the stage, and his own stomach began to churn. "The next Spirit Fight will continue as scheduled in a quarter of an hour."
Every branch of the Great Spirit Arena had its own special cleaning team. They would typically do a simple cleanup of bloodstains after the day's matches were over. But never before had they needed a full fifteen-minute break in the middle of the schedule to clean the stage. The cleaning team on duty today was truly unlucky. They entered the arena looking like they were preparing for chemical warfare, covered from head to toe in protective gear. Without it, who would dare go up there?
Not far from the stage, the other Shrek members sat down, their moods thoroughly soured. According to their original schedule, Tang San was first, followed by another member, then Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun in their one-on-one matches. After that, they had two-on-two matches and, finally, the seven-person team battle. Their initial excitement for the night was now gone, replaced by a lingering sense of depression and disgust, all thanks to Tang San.
Dai Mubai, who had been laughing at Tang San's expense moments earlier, was now gritting his teeth in frustration as he overheard spectators talking about the masks and lumping all of them together.
"What terrible luck!" Dai Mubai cursed under his breath.
"That's right! If you're going to be a disgusting bastard, don't drag the rest of us down with you!" Ma Hongjun, ever Dai Mubai's loyal follower, immediately added, spitting his own curses at Tang San.
"Who can argue with that? I'm never letting him eat one of my sausages again!" Oscar chimed in.
As soon as he said it, the three girls shot him a look of utter disgust. His choice of words was almost as foul as what they had just witnessed.
Another of their members, who was scheduled to fight next, appeared calmer than the others, but he couldn't help but curse Tang San as well. He knew that when he stepped onto the stage for his match, he would have a chance to dispel the audience's suspicions. He would show them that Tang San was just a clown. Though they wore the same masks, their strength and character were on completely different levels. As the other Shrek students fought their matches one by one, the audience would realize the truth: except for Tang San, everyone else on their team was a powerful and respectable Spirit Master. Then, the outrageous incident would be associated only with him.
Meanwhile, rumors were already spreading through the arena like wildfire.
"Did you hear? In the arena next door, some guy got the shit beaten out of him!"
"Yeah, and it exploded all over the stage! It was a total disaster!"
"What kind of person does that?"
"No, no, you heard wrong. I heard some guy was playing with shit on the stage, and his opponent almost beat him to death for being such a creep!"
"Are you serious? No human would do that!"
"Why would I lie? The story is spreading everywhere. Everyone's going to know about it soon."
With each retelling, the story became more and more outrageous, twisting into something almost completely different from what had actually happened. The only consistent detail was the shit.
Tang San, still in the toilet trying to clean himself up, had no idea what was happening. He didn't know that while he was hidden away, his codename, "Shrek No. 8," was becoming famous throughout the entire Soto Spirit Arena.
He was famous, though not for any reason a Spirit Master would ever want.
But as the old saying goes, any publicity is good publicity.
Whether they hated you or loved you, they were still talking about you. In that sense, Tang San was a success.
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