Tang Wulin nodded before turning to Gu Yuena. "Demon Sovereign is most likely going to be participating in the final match, so we should do the same and leave enough people for the final match."

Gu Yuena nodded in response.

She then turned to the Spirit Pagoda camp, and said, "In order to ensure our victory against Demon Sovereign, I need to join forces with Sect Master Tang, so I'll be in the same group as him. Our Spirit Pagoda and the other prominent Soul Master clans will be contributing to the third group; I'll be counting on you two to lead everyone in my stead."

The two people that she was referring to at the end were naturally none other than Qiangu Dieting and Qiangu Dongfeng.

Qiangu Dongfeng immediately wanted to protest, but Qiangu Dieting grabbed onto his shoulder and immediately nodded without any hesitation. "Alright, we won't let you down."

Qiangu Dongfeng turned to his father with a stunned expression, and he asked through voice transmission, "What are you doing, Father? Gu Yuena isn't going to be with us, and Leng Yaozhu is dead; we don't have enough power on our end! If we form a group..."

Qiangu Dieting replied in an indifferent voice, "Do you think we'll be welcomed back with open arms like heroes even if we can win this battle? For the sake of continuing our family's heritage, some things must be sacrificed, such as our lives. We can't allow our actions to permanently tarnish our family."

Qiangu Dongfeng shuddered upon hearing this, and in that instant, he suddenly realized many things.

He opened his mouth to say something, but merely remained silent in the end as he knew that nothing he could say would change anything.

Shortly thereafter, Yu Guanzhi returned, and declared, "Demon Sovereign has agreed to our proposal, and the matches will commence in an hour from the time the bet was first proposed."

Serious looks appeared on everyone's faces upon hearing this.

Seeing as the decision had already been made, then all everyone could do was fight with all their power.

Tang Wulin turned to his friends, and said, "Let's begin deciding the lineup."

"Count us in," Yuanen Zhentian immediately said as he stepped forward with a faint smile, as if he were merely offering to do something insignificant rather than volunteering for a fight to the death.

Tang Wulin was very touched by this gesture. "Senior Yuanen, you're not actually truly a part of Shrek Academy, so I'd understand if you..."

Yuanen Zhentian feigned a furious expression, and protested, "What do you mean by that, Sect Master Tang? How are we not a part of Shrek Academy? On the contrary, don't forget that both my son and I are teachers of Shrek Academy. I've heard many stories about Shrek Academy, and what I admire the most about the academy is that in the wake of that disaster, not a single student perished. That story had a very strong impact on me, and even though we've only been at Shrek Academy for a short time, we've been deeply influenced by the Shrek Academy spirit.

"Besides, this isn't a battle solely for the sake of Shrek Academy; the fate of the entire human race is on the line. My son and I are pretty confident in our powers; if this isn't the time to put these powers to good use, then I can't think of a better occasion. Are we supposed to wait until the human race is on the brink of destruction before we finally step in? Even if I were to perish in this battle, I would have no concerns in leaving our Yuanen Family in the care of Shrek Academy. Under Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect's protection, our family's heritage will be sure to continue, so let's not waste any more time; count us in, Sect Master Tang!"

Yuanen Tiandang was standing beside his father, and even though he hadn't said anything, the resolve in his eyes was more than enough to display his intentions.

"Alright!" Tang Wulin didn't say anything further.

"Count me in as well," Tong Yu said as he also stepped forward, and he wore a very calm expression, as if none of this really mattered to him.

Tang Wulin gave him a meaningful look, and said, "Senior Tong Yu, I'm sure you heard the earlier conversation. My birth father is Sea God Tang San, and Tang Ziran is only my foster fathers, so..."

Tong Yu interjected, "Does your foster father have any other children?"

Tang Wulin shook his head in response.

Tong Yu continued, "Then it's decided. Who else am I supposed to seek out as my psychological pillar? Besides, this is a matter that concerns the entire human race, so just treat me as the Star Luo Empire's representative in this battle." 

Following this declaration, he made his way over to Yuanen Zhentian and Yuanen Tiandang and fell silent, not giving Tang Wulin a chance to reject him.

Yali also made her way over to Tong Yu's side, and there was naturally nothing Tang Wulin could say to this godmother of his; both of them regarded the Holy Spirit Cult as sworn enemies.

Thus, a lineup of four Limit Douluos was assembled.

"Surely you can't count us out." Lan Muzi, Tang Yinmeng, and Wu Zhangkong were the next ones to emerge, and one Titled Douluo after another also stepped forward from the Tang Sect camp, including the likes of A'Ruheng and Sima Jinchi.

"Shrek's Seven Monsters is one single entity, Boss; you can't just leave us. I don't care; I have to be on your team. These are the moments that make historic heroes! I can't miss out," Xie Xie said as he made his way over to Tang Wulin with a stubborn expression.

"That's right, Shrek’s Seven Monsters is a single entity."

Ye Xinglan strode forward, and the other members of Shrek’s Seven Monsters also gathered beside Tang Wulin.

There was no doubt that they weren't the most powerful beings available. In fact, aside from Tang Wulin, none of them were even at the Limit Douluo level; only Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan were Hyper Douluos, while the others were only Titled Douluos.

However, one would be remiss to count them out as they were Shrek’s Seven Monsters, and they all had suits of four-word battle armor crafted by Tang Wulin. Even a Titled Douluo with a suit of four-word battle armor would be close to a Limit Douluo in power, and that was why the most significant role that Tang Wulin had played for Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect was that of Divine Blacksmith.

Furthermore, he suffered next to no backlash during his heavenly refinement, and that was the most fearsome aspect about him as a Divine Blacksmith.

All of a sudden, over 30 people had already emerged from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, all of whom felt that they were powerful enough to participate in the matches, and none of them were willing to back down.

It was in this moment that everyone else present truly came to realize just how formidable Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect had become.

Tang Wulin was also placed in a very difficult position.

It was clearly a difficult task for him to choose only nine out of the over 30 volunteers, and in terms of raw power alone, it would naturally be wise to prioritize the Limit Douluos, but the synergy of Shrek’s Seven Monsters was not to be ignored.

In particular, Xu Xiaoyan's ultra-powerful control abilities made it impossible to judge her powers using conventional standards.

How was he supposed to choose?

Just as Tang Wulin was struggling to make a decision, Yali made her way over to him, and said, "Power is one thing, but all of you have exceptional chemistry, which should be more than enough to make up for the lack of individual power. In the history of our Shrek Academy, all past generations of Shrek's Seven Monsters have constantly developed through challenging foes more powerful than themselves.

Hence, I suggest you fight as one as Shrek’s Seven Monsters. Obviously. Gu Yuena will join you as well, and I think Sima Jinchi should also be included to complete the group of nine."