The Battle Gods fanned out in a line behind Guan Yue, while Guan Yue was appraising Tang Wulin and his friends with a complex expression before heaving a faint sigh.

"From this day forth, this generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters has truly matured.

"

Tang Wulin nodded with a faint smile to acknowledge all of the Battle Gods. In the presence of so many people, it would be inappropriate to thank Guan Yue again for his guidance.

"The sparring matches are already over, and you've earned yourselves the right to advance further. We'll be taking you to the 16th level shortly, where trials other than a test of power will await you,

" Guan Yue said with a meaningful look in his eyes before making an inviting hand gesture.

At this moment, the entire Shrek Academy camp was full of excitement.

They knew that they had won. Even though the final battle had concluded as a tie, they had full confidence that they would've won had the battle played out to the very end.

Aside from Tang Wulin, no one was aware of how powerful Guan Yue was, so everyone thought that they had won.

This heralded the true resurgence of Shrek Academy.

What was virtually the most powerful lineup that the Battle God Hall had to offer had been completely dominated by them, and they had given the Battle Gods a multitude of surprises, including A'Ruheng's Invincible Vajra Body and Xu Xiaoyan's amazing control.

Just as Guan Yue had said, from this moment forth, this generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters had finally matured and reached the pinnacle of the Soul Master world.

It wasn't difficult to envision that Shrek Academy would be sure to enter an even more prosperous era once all of them attained complete suits of four-word battle armor.

The wall up ahead parted to reveal a passageway, and Guan Yue led everyone into another space.

Even up until now, the Battle Gods were still reeling and full of indignation, but they had to admit that their opponents were truly formidable.

Ling Zichen had already awakened from her unconscious state, but she was rather quiet. Tang Wulin enquired about her condition through voice transmission, to which she had only replied that she was fine.

There wasn't really anything Tang Wulin could say or do to console her. He knew that her defeat to Mo Zihong had to have dealt her a heavy blow, especially considering how proud an individual she was.

However, this was also a good thing. After all, improvement always came off the back of setbacks. Thus, Tang Wulin made no effort to console her. There were more important matters to be taken care of at hand, and everything else could wait until they left the Battle God Hall.

Guan Yue drew to a halt, and all of the Battle Gods stopped beside him. He then turned to Shi Mengshan, and asked,

"Mengshan, will you be going with them or coming back for now?

"

Shi Mengshan took a glance at A'Ruheng, and replied,

"I'll go with them.

"

The expressions of the Battle Gods darkened slightly upon hearing this. It was clear that Shi Mengshan's heart had been completely captured.

The Battle God Hall was a direct subsidiary organization to the federal parliament, so there weren't any strict restrictions and regulations. All Battle Gods had to accept summoning orders in the federation's times of need, but there were no restrictions preventing her from getting married.

Some of the Battle Gods were very understanding toward Shi Mengshan. After all, it wasn't easy for someone like her to find a suitable spouse, and they were happy for her.

Guan Yue nodded in response.

"Alright, please get ready, everyone; we'll be sending you directly to the 16th level. Everything has already been prepared, and if you can pass through the final three levels, you will have conquered the Battle God Hall.

"

As soon as his voice trailed off, Guan Yue pressed a button somewhere, and the ground fell away beneath the feet of Tang Wulin and his friends, instantly sending them plummeting downward.

Everyone in the group had the ability to fly, but right at this moment, a burst of powerful suction force erupted from down below to forcibly drag them downward.

Xu Xiaoyan was still in a state of excitement from the previous battle, and she immediately released her Starlight Shackles to connect everyone. Of course, Ling Zichen wasn't a Soul Master, and her mecha was unable to connect to the Starlight Shackles.

Tang Wulin also reacted very quickly, using his Mountain Dragon King torso bone to control the surrounding gravity, while Yuanen Yehui unleashed a few punches downward to slow their descent.

At this point, the opening up above had already closed, and the surrounding area was plunged into darkness.

Yue Zhengyu spread his wings, and holy light radiated from his body as he lit up everything like a miniature sun.

As a result, everyone discovered that they were situated in a cave, and Tang Wulin couldn't help but think of the abyssal passageway as the walls of this cave were also engraved with all types of soul formations. The only difference was that there was tremendous suction force drawing them downward, and only after descending for close to two minutes did the suction force finally begin to subside.

Under the illumination of Yue Zhengyu's holy light, everyone was able to see that there was a body of water down below.

The sound of flowing water was already heard by everyone before they had reached the bottom, so they knew that this was not a still body of water.

Tang Wulin turned to his friends, and Xie Xie volunteered himself.

"I'll go; I can swim.

"

His body began to transition between illusion and reality as he spoke, and he plunged directly into the water.

A Starlight Shackle was connected to his back to ensure his safety, while everyone else hovered above the surface of the water.

At this point, the suction force had completely disappeared. It seemed that it was very likely going to be necessary to cross this underground river in order to reach the 16th level of the Battle God Hall.

"Judging from the speed and duration of our descent, we should already be below the mountain, and judging from the rate at which the water is flowing here, this underground river should be connected to a large river outside. If I'm not mistaken, there's a river called the Bright River that's formed by glacial water over at the Western Mountains, and it flows all the way into the sea in the southwestern direction,

" Ling Zichen analyzed, breaking her silence.

As a scientist, she excelled in deriving conclusions from all types of data and observations.

Shortly thereafter, Xie Xie emerged from the water with a splash and quickly shook off the water on his body.

"There's a very long river down there; I swam for over a kilometer, and there was still no end in sight. That's the maximal length of the Starlight Shackle, and I returned because I was worried that you'd be concerned. From what I could see, there doesn't seem to be any danger in this underground river, and I didn't spot any signs of soul beasts, either; it's just that I don't know how long it would take to swim to the exit.

"

Tang Wulin asked,

"Are there any divergent paths or crossroads down there?

"

Xie Xie shook his head in response.

"I couldn't see any. From what I could see, this is an underground river that stretches straight into the distance. The only issue is breathing; all of us are able to self-circulate, but that'll most likely only give us around half an hour.

"

A'Ruheng suggested,

"I can go take a look; I can remain underwater for at least two to three hours without having to breathe.

"

Shi Mengshan suddenly tugged on his hand upon hearing this, and he turned to look at her.

No one had asked Shi Mengshan about what trials lay ahead. After all, Shi Mengshan was a Battle God, and they would be placing her in a very difficult situation by grilling her about the trials that the Battle God Hall had prepared.

Thus, they were all acting on their judgment alone.