Book 14: The Finals!
Chapter 115: The Start of the Final Battle
“Is the Body Sect really so scary?” Wang Dong asked doubtfully.
Ma Xiaotao nodded seriously and said, “They’re very scary. There’s not many who can be mentioned in the same breath as Shrek Academy in the Douluo Continent. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is one of those who can. They represent the highest abilities of the Sun Moon Empire. All of you are the academy’s core disciples now, and it shouldn’t be a problem for all of you to enter the inner courtyard in the future. I think it’s fine if I tell all of you. There’s a place called the Sea God’s Pavilion on our Shrek Academy’s Sea God Island. The elders of our academy live there, which includes Elder Xuan. It’s also the organization in our academy with the highest authority and power. Even the 4 current vice-deans hold little authority in the Sea God’s Pavilion. There’s a saying in the world of soul masters that there are 3 strong powers on the Douluo Continent. One of them is the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s Illustrious Virtue Hall. Another is our Shrek Academy’s Sea God’s Pavilion. The last one is the Body Sect. Does anyone know why the Sea God’s Pavilion was established?”
“The Body Sect’s appearance once led to a huge catastrophe.
Shrek Academy tried to resist them, but we lost.”
“Shrek Academy was high-flying at that point in time too. But the Body Sect was even more powerful. To resist them, the academy had no choice but to recall many of their top-ranked students, and set up the Sea God’s Pavilion. The academy gathered all its strength to defeat the Body Sect, and managed to avert a catastrophe. Ever since that incident, the Body Sect hid itself, and never made any further movements.”
Huo Yuhao was stunned as he asked, “Wouldn’t the Body Sect be just like the evil soul masters if they threaten the continent? Why didn’t the soul masters team up together to deal with them?”
Ma Xiaotao shook her head and answered, “The Body Sect and evil soul masters are different. They’re neither good nor evil, and they do things to achieve what they want. They are also very domineering, and thus they are not very popular among the others on the continent. But they did contribute something positive to the continent before. However, very little people know about it. It’s almost impossible to get rid of the Body Sect. It’s said that where they’re located is the scourge of the earth. It’s easy to defend, and difficult for others to
attack it. Without three times the Body Sect’s abilities, it’s almost impossible to penetrate their defenses. And how difficult would it be to gather a force that is both more than three times their ability and willing to sacrifice itself?”
Huo Yuhao had never expected the Body Sect to be so powerful. No wonder they were not afraid of Shrek Academy.
Ma Xiaotao continued, saying, “The secret files in the academy did record the re-appearance of the Body Sect once more. Occasionally, their members would also appear in the continent. But they didn’t cause any huge uproar. Do you know what huge catastrophe the Body Sect almost brought about? All of you will realize how strong they are once I describe it.”
“That time, almost 40 members of the Body Sect snuck into the Star Dou Forest and killed seven hundred thousand year soul beasts. This led to a huge uproar among the beasts in the Star Dou Forest, and they rushed out of the forest in an attempt to mount an attack on us. This almost caused a disaster. The Four Great Savage Beasts of the Star Dou Forest teamed up to attack Shrek City. The reason why we stopped fighting with the Body Sect is because they joined us to resist the attack of the beasts. It was also during that time that we discovered that the Body Sect was above us in terms of overall
ability. The wave of beasts that attacked ensued for a year, until the academy started to recall students back. At least tens of villages were massacred in that time. Eventually, we reached a compromise with the Body Sect, and their leader back then swore not to enter the Star Dou Forest to hunt hundred thousand year soul beasts anymore. This ended the catastrophe. However, the soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest were angered, and soul masters encountered powerful soul beast much more frequently when they entered the Star Dou Forest for the next 500 years.
Huo Yuhao focused and listened. He was amazed that the Four Great Savage Beasts actually existed in the Star Dou Forest.
The Skydream Iceworm’s voice sounded at this moment. “I know about this too. I was trapped in the forest then too. The savage beasts that she mentioned were the ones who imprisoned me. But they shouldn’t be the strongest creatures in the Star Dou Forest. That’s because I overheard them mentioning a frightening presence that slept beneath the Star Dou Forest. They called this thing their leader. I’m not sure about the cultivation of this thing, but they sacrificed at least half of my soul power to this leader of theirs using some special ritual. That leader must be very powerful. From my estimation, its cultivation must be the greatest among all the
soul beasts on the continent. I fear that only the Hegemon in the ocean can match up to it.”
The Ice Empress seemed to be very interested when they talked about this, “Yes, I heard the Snow Empress mention before that Star Dou Forest is the scariest place on the continent. She warned me never to enter it easily. Over there, there’s someone who’s more powerful than her.”
Not just one? Huo Yuhao was horrified. From the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm’s evaluations, it must be a Transcendent Soul Beast that had cultivated for at least five hundred thousand years! The Star Dou Forest was actually so scary. He had dared to enter the forest to hunt soul beasts even before he had a soul ring. He was indeed very naïve then!
Ma Xiaotao said, “The Body Sect’s ambivalence towards good and evil is indeed a headache. But it’s not that we didn’t want to settle them then. On account of the fact that they tried to right their wrong, it’s clear to see that they are not too evil. Also, it will be a disaster if we fight the Body Sect. The Sun Moon Continent has been bound by our Douluo Continent for a thousand years, and even possesses the tendency to counter- attack against us.”
That’s why the conference held within the Sea God’s Pavilion decided that our academy should settle our dispute with the Body Sect through a compromise.”
Jiang Nannan was a little irritable as she said, “Then the commoners died for nothing?”
Ma Xiaotao glanced at her before replying, “I’m sorry, I’ve no idea how to answer this question of yours. I can only say that our academy did what we could. We stopped the wave of beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest and saved at least tens of thousands of commoners. We also resolved our dispute with the Body Sect to preserve our powers for the protection of the continent. I’m unsure of the detailed situation then though.”
Jiang Nannan was silent, but it was clear that she disliked that compromise from the look of resentment in her eyes.
Xu Sanshi walked over to pat her shoulder, but Jiang Nannan shrugged her shoulder with force.
Ma Xiaotao said to Huo Yuhao, “I don’t think the Body Sect will dare to do anything with Elder Xuan here. But you must
still be careful. From now on, don’t leave the hotel on your own. You must travel with the rest of us. Things will be fine when we return to the academy. Regardless of how strong the Body Sect is, they won’t dare to come to Shrek Academy.”
“Alright.” Huo Yuhao replied hurriedly.
Ma Xiaotao looked at the slightly weird expressions of the rest and said, “Are all of you interested in our relationship? Listen carefully now. Yuhao will be my younger brother from now on. He won’t be any different from my biological younger brother. That’s it. Alright, all of you can return to your own rooms to cultivate now.”
Everyone left except Ma Xiaotao and Wang Dong, who remained in Huo Yuhao’s room.
Ma Xiaotao was puzzled as she looked at Wang Dong. She asked, “Why aren’t you leaving?”
Wang Dong snorted and asked, “Why aren’t you leaving?”
Ma Xiaotao said, “I have something to tell Yuhao.”
Wang Dong raised his chest and said, “I want to cultivate with him. Don’t you know that we are martial fusion soul skill partners? Our martial souls are almost perfectly compatible. We’ll achieve success much faster if we cultivate together.”
Ma Xiaotao creased her brows and said, “Okay, then you can remain here. You say that you are even better-looking than a girl as a guy. Be careful of becoming a sissy.”
“You…” Wang Dong was furious. But he seemed to think of something as his eyeballs rolled, which caused his anger to dissipate. He sat down and remained silent after he snorted.
Ma Xiaotao said to Huo Yuhao in a low voice, “Younger brother, this matter regarding the Body Sect is likely to be more troublesome than you imagine. Come to think about it, the talents that you’ve displayed are too outstanding. Furthermore, you’re still young, and it’s easier to shape you. No wonder the Body Sect is tempted, and even send someone to watch the entire Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.”
Huo Yuhao said, “Elder sister, don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong with Elder Xuan around.”
Ma Xiaotao furrowed her brows and said, “You don’t understand the Body Sect. They’re capable of resorting to anything to achieve their goals. Because they have the abilities to achieve their goals, it makes them scarier. I’m staying here to warn you not to resist if the Body Sect tries to abduct you. Just follow them. The Body Sect is very protective of their own members. They appreciate your talent, but I don’t think they will harm you.”
Huo Yuhao didn’t expect Ma Xiaotao to say something like this, and he resolutely retorted, “Elder sister, I won’t join the Body Sect no matter what.”
Ma Xiaotao was stunned. “Younger brother, don’t think like that. Although you are part of Shrek, we’re an academy, not a sect. No one will really restrict you. Even if the academy has high hopes for you, your safety is the most important when it comes to the critical moment.”
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “No, elder sister. Everything that I have right now was given to me by the
academy. I’m a member of Shrek Academy, and I’m willing to fight for Shrek’s glory. Shrek is my home. No matter how strong the Body Sect is, it’s obvious that they are not suited for me from their behavior. I’m an orphan, and have no kith or kin. The academy is my home.”
Looking at the resolute look in his eyes, Ma Xiaotao could not help but think to herself, “This kid is really cute! No wonder the elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion held a conference for him.” Perhaps Elder Xuan’s appearance was not a coincidence after all.
Ma Xiaotao stood up and said, “Yuhao, I’m happy because of your attachment to Shrek. But you must remember that things are only possible if you’re alive. You can’t be too stubborn as a person. A great man needs to know when to yield and when not to.”
After speaking, she glanced at Wang Dong once more before leaving Huo Yuhao’s room.
Wang Dong followed her to the door and asserted his authority as he closed it.
Huo Yuhao said, “Wang Dong, go back and rest first. I’ll find you later.”
“Oh? Are you scared? I actually agree with her words that preserving your life is more important. If the Body Sect abducts you, don’t be stubborn.” Wang Dong said worriedly.
Huo Yuhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What’s there to be scared about? Nothing is scary with Elder Xuan around. I’ve never overthought the Body Sect all this while. Who can predict the future? It’s just that I gained some experience and developed some thoughts towards soul tools after seeing the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s performance. I need some time to think things over, but I’ll find you later. Don’t think so much.”
“This…” Wang Dong was a little angry as he growled, “You’re taking my goodwill as malicious. Go and slowly think.” After he finished, he opened the door and left. He even shut the door quite hard.
Huo Yuhao touched his nose and felt as if an unexpected calamity had arrived.
The Body Sect’s appearance didn’t exactly stir up his feelings much. But as Ma Xiaotao said, there was at least one thing that he doesn’t have to be afraid of no matter what ploy the Body
Sect used in the future. The Body Sect wanted to take him in and not hurt him. What was there for him to be afraid of? He was more focused on the start of the finals.
After witnessing Ma Rulong’s tremendous powers today, he was not confident that they would win! It was also his first time seeing how Ma Rulong was so frightening with his use of soul tools.
Huo Yuhao’s pupils turned golden as he stood up, and 2 of his soul rings quietly appeared. The dim golden color amidst the white was the Skydream Iceworm’s soul ring, while the darker purple soul ring was an imitation of his second soul skill.
The rise in his capabilities caused the burden on him to increase greatly. The Skydream Iceworm kept on releasing the powers that he had sealed to increase the strength of his soul ring, just like he had mentioned before. The strength of his second soul ring was at about five thousand years right now.
“It’s a pity there’re only 2 rings.” Huo Yuhao’s clenched his fist. What he needed the most now was the accumulation of time.
He stripped off his outer wear and sat cross-legged on the bed. He did not meditate, but recalled the performance of Ma Rulong earlier. Along with his own understanding of soul tools, he comprehended that soul tool strategy.
Star Luo City. As the Star Luo Empire’s capital, it had already been overcrowded for a few days.
Overcrowding in the city meant that every street was full of people.
The semifinals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had already ended. After the Semifinals ended, a queue had already formed in Star Luo Plaza. Some even queued for 2 days and 2 nights straight because they wanted to watch the finals of the tournament. This was one thing that they would probably rave about for the rest of their lives.
Moreover, the finals would be conducted in their entirety in 1 day even, though it was divided into a team round, an individual round and a 2-2-3 fight. This was indeed an exciting event, and it would be worth it to watch it, although they had to endure the suffering now.
The Star Luo Empire had also deployed 10,000 more elite troops to maintain order in the city. All the shops in the city extended their operating hours too. To accommodate the sudden rise in the city’s population, various types of resources were transferred from surrounding major cities. In an instant,
Star Luo City had reached a bustling state never seen before.
Without a doubt, the economic benefits to the Star Luo Empire brought about by the tournament were immeasurable. No wonder many empires competed to host the tournament, but still had to reach a compromise eventually, so that the tournament was held by a different country every time.
The 2 finalists, Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, represented the strongest powers on the continent. There was an enormous amount of anticipation for the finals.
However, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was odds on to defeat the Shrek Academy on the black market due to Shrek Academy’s weak lineup. They were given a 65% probability to emerge victorious, compared to Shrek Academy’s 35% chance.
However, no one would believe that Shrek Academy would lose so easily. Even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy thought so too. After all, Shrek Academy’s students were all filled with potential. No one knew what kind of powers they would display, or whether they had anymore tricks up their sleeves.
In the previous rounds, they had already dished out surprising performances several times. In the finals, they would definitely give their all to protect Shrek Academy’s glory. It was thus difficult to predict what the result would be.
Today’s weather was not very good. There were gloomy clouds, and a dim fog even covered Star Luo City. Light drizzles fell occasionally and brought about a sense of chill to this majestic city.
However, the spectators’ warmth and passion didn’t fall even with the sense of chill that struck the city. The finals of the Continental Elite Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament were about to start. An ultimate battle was about to begin.
Right now, both teams were on their way to Star Luo Plaza. Troops were deployed along the way to restrain the people who were shouting and screaming their names. Many of those who were unable to gain admission into Star Luo Plaza were gathered at the sides of the street to get a close look at both teams’ members.
Ling Luochen was in the middle of Shrek Academy’s team, and occasionally lifted her head into the sky. Her pretty face rippled with a tinge of happiness. Since she controlled the ice element, this gloomy weather that signified a possibility of rain was undoubtedly very beneficial for her! Moreover, she was also aided by Huo Yuhao.
Wang Yan had discussed their strategies yesterday and made further adjustments to account for the weather today. Everyone was overly nervous because of the upcoming finals. However, it was inevitable that they would feel like that.
Shrek Academy wasn’t the only nervous one. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s students were even more nervous. This was the closest that their academy had ever been to winning the tournament! They were extremely powerful, while the Shrek Academy team’s lineup was comparatively weaker too. This kind of opportunity only came once in a
lifetime. They were more nervous because they were so close to becoming the champions.
Even the normally arrogant Xiao Hongchen was very tense now. Occasionally, he would take a peek at the Shrek Academy members that graced the red carpet with them today. His competitive streak and hunger were piqued as he watched them.
Meng Hongchen was much better compared to Xiao Hongchen’s anxiety and buzz. Meng Hongchen’s gaze landed on Wang Dong.
From the side, Wang Dong’s facial lines were extremely smooth. Although he was still young, his figure was already very slender. Meng Hongchen observed him in a different way from the others.
She thought to herself as she looked at Wang Dong, “Wow, his eyelashes are really long. Not only are they long, but they’re also raised. They’re so beautiful, and even longer than mine by a lot. His eyes are pinkish-blue, and there’s an indescribable allure about him. He’s 12 years old, 2 years younger than I am. His twin martial soul is also considered…”
She was already feeling a little hot in her head as she thought till this point. For some reason, she kept thinking of Wang Dong after he had struck up a conversation with her that day. Even Wang Dong was unaware that he had caused her to develop a pure and intense crush on him.
The red carpet led all the way to the resting area before looping around the arena. On top of the city walls in the distance, the Star Luo Emperor had already led the Star Luo Empire’s officials up. This showed his respect for the two teams that were about to compete.
Huo Yuhao was very calm now. Wang Yan had talked to both him and Wang Dong last night for some time before he left. His competitive streak had never been so high before. While his powers were nothing in comparison to the other team members of both academies, things changed quickly in a competition. He wanted to compete, and thirsted for victory. He hoped to further Shrek Academy’s glory with his own hard work.
He turned his attention to the top of the city wall unintentionally. At first glance, he could already see the Star Luo Emperor, as well as Princess Jiu Jiu on his left.
Princess Jiu Jiu also saw him, but she didn’t seem too friendly.
In the next instant, Huo Yuhao’s body suddenly jerked. The composure that he had maintained was suddenly overwhelmed by horror.
It was a middle-aged man that appeared to be more than 30 years old. He wore golden armor, but no helmet. This revealed his facial features. His eyes were sunken, and his pupils flashed within his blue eyes. He looked a little thin, but he gave off a tough feel. He was charming, resilient, tall and straight, but also bursting with energy as he stood beside the Star Luo Emperor.
It’s, it’s him…
How could Huo Yuhao remain calm upon seeing this person?
Yes, the White Tiger Duke that protected the Star Luo Empire’s western border had returned for the finals. It wasn’t
just because this was the finals of the tournament, but also because he wanted to see his eldest son compete.
Since Huo Yuhao saw the White Tiger Duke, Dai Yueheng naturally saw him too. An excited flame lit up in his eyes as he saw his father, and he clenched his fists.
The White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, only nodded slightly at him. He encouraged Dai Yueheng using the expression in his eyes. As Dai Yueheng had treated his father as his role model since his youth, the look that Dai Hao gave him caused his competitive streak to surge. The previous anxiety that he felt was now gone.
The Star Luo Emperor revealed a dim smile on his face as he saw the team members from both teams entering the resting area. He nodded at the White Tiger Duke beside him.
“Silence, the competition is about to start. Your Majesty, please.” Dai Hao shouted in a deep voice. He did not use a sound-amplifying soul tool, but his voice still echoed far away. His vigorous energy spread out from the top of the city wall just like this.
All the peacekeeping troops lifted their weapons high and shouted, “Kill, kill, kill—!” At the same time, the entire Star Luo Plaza was filled with a strong killing intent.
The peacekeeping troops were all engulfed by passion and fanaticism. In their eyes, there was only the commander standing at the top of the city wall. The White Tiger Duke’s authority in the military was even above the emperor’s to a certain extent!
The Star Luo Emperor wasn’t displeased because of this. He continued to smile, while all the spectators all kept their silence because of the strong killing intent.
The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, “The last time the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was held in Star Luo City was 20 years ago. Both myself and Dai Hao were only youths then. Fast forward 20 years, and I’m already the ruler of an empire, while Dai Hao is also the top commander in the empire. We’re about to witness a battle between the strongest youths on the continent. I’m feeling very excited. I hope both teams can present an exciting contest for every spectator. As per tradition, the winner of this tournament will be awarded 3 soul bones and 1 million gold soul coins. I have already picked out 10 of the most outstanding
soul bones from our treasury for the winner to choose from. I wanted Dai Hao to host today’s final, but one of Shrek Academy’s team members is his eldest son. For fairness’ sake, today’s referee will still be the Heavenfiend Douluo.”
“Without further ado, let’s all watch this historical battle.”
After the Star Luo Emperor finished speaking, a streak of radiance flashed from the top of the city wall. It appeared in the center of the stage in the next moment. It was the Heavenfiend Douluo, Huang Jinxu.
However, his body jerked slightly after he landed on the stage. He turned his attention subconsciously to the resting area. His gaze landed on Shrek’s team.
A slovenly elder that carried a wine gourd had suddenly appeared behind them. As he saw the Heavenfiend Douluo looking over, he pinched his brow slightly, while Huang Jinxu became a little frantic, and quickly turned his head.
Everyone from Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy discovered the arrival of this
slovenly elder because of the referee’s gaze.
“Elder Xuan, you’re here.” Wang Yan said in surprise.
Elder Xuan took out another chicken drumstick from somewhere and took a bite. He said indistinctly, “Just give whatever instructions you have to and act like I’m not here. No one will dare to play any tricks since I’m here.” Without a doubt, the Taotie Douluo was here to hold the fort for Shrek Academy.
Upon seeing him, the faces of the teachers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Academy changed. They naturally recognized Elder Xuan. According to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s research, this Taotie Douluo’s cultivation was already above Rank 97. He was the strongest in Shrek Academy. However, this was as much as they were able to discover, as the Sea God’s Pavilion was too secretive.
The Heavenfiend Douluo also knew Elder Xuan, otherwise he wouldn’t have lost his composure. However, he recovered quickly, and said in a low voice, “I am Huang Jinxu, the referee for the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master
Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. I shall announce the competition rules.”
Although both parties were familiar with the rules, they still had to be announced as part of protocol.
“The finals will be divided into the team round, the individual round and the 2-2-3 round. A team must win at least 2 victories to be the overall winner. For the team round, each team will send 7 members out. After the team round, each team will have one chance to change their competing members. No further chances will be given. In the other 2 rounds, the 7 competing members cannot be changed. The team that wins 2 rounds will then be crowned the champion. Both teams can do what they want, and the referee will be responsible for everyone’s safety. Once the referee thinks that a particular move is fatal, he will intervene and eliminate the losing side. But because of the ever-changing conditions, the referee cannot guarantee absolute safety. I hope that both teams will know their limits. Right now, please prepare to send your team members up to the stage within 1 minute.”
As the competition rules were announced, the atmosphere in Star Luo Plaza tensed up. The spectators became extremely silent as they waited. Everyone widened their eyes. Although
the competition was yet to begin, they were unwilling to miss out on anything.
Wang Yan stood up and spoke to all 10 students from Shrek Academy in a deep voice, “Follow our original strategy. Shrek will win.”
“Shrek will win.” 10 people stood up together and roared in a unified, determined voice.
Wang Yan turned his attention towards Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng and nodded his head at them. The two of them also nodded back in acknowledgement.
On the other side, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy members also stood up and listened to their teacher’s final strategy.
One minute passed very quickly.
“Members from both teams, please enter the stage.” The Heavenfiend Douluo kept strict watch on time, and didn’t
extend the time limit by even a second.
7 members instantly walked out from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s side. Firstly, there was the team leader, Ma Rulong. Behind him were Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. Following them was Michael, the Class 5 soul engineer that Huo Yuhao and the others had seen in the semifinal match. The remaining 3 were all Class 5 soul engineers too. Because of their unique appearances, everyone from Shrek’s team could recognize the 7 members from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. The last 3 were Xiao Xiafeng, Chen Fei and Lin Xi. Besides Meng Hongchen, everyone else was male.
Shrek’s team was not surprised to see these 7. That’s because this was exactly what Teacher Wang Yan had expected.
Ever since the start of the tournament, Wang Yan had been monitoring the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy silently. Just yesterday, he related everything that he had gathered and analyzed on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to everyone from Shrek. He even came up with a detailed plan. Today’s victory was highly dependent on his tactics and strategies.
Since their opponent was already walking towards the competition stage, Shrek Academy also did the same. After everyone entered the waiting area, 7 walked out. However, this was a surprising scene for the spectators and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy both.
The 7 from Shrek Academy were the team leader, Ma Xiaotao, vice-team leader Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan and He Caitou.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who had both contributed greatly in the semifinals, were not in the team lineup. They sat in the waiting area.
All the spectators who were originally silent started to become noisy.
Although Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong did not have powerful cultivations, they had left a deep impression in everyone’s minds in the previous rounds of the tournament.
Ever since Huo Yuhao imitated a soul emperor in the first few rounds and unleashed 6 hundred thousand year soul rings, he
managed to capture every spectator’s attention with that shocking method.
In the following rounds, he was very effective as long as he appeared. The most obvious examples of this were the time they were against Justsky Academy, and in the semifinal against Star Luo Academy. This pairing of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong managed to turn the tide on several occasions.
Even till now, no one was clear on how powerful they were. For those who understood soul masters, they knew that both of them had twin martial souls even though they only had two and three rings respectively. They even possessed a martial soul fusion skill. Although their cultivations were not high, they were still very young, and they had great potential. They could aid their team greatly during a battle, and this was especially obvious during the team round.
No one could understand the reason why Shrek’s team hadn’t sent the both of them out for the team round, including the Sun Moon Soul Academy team. Because of this, everyone wore stunned looks on their faces as they watched Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in the waiting area.
Was this some new way of winning? What was Shrek Academy doing?
Wang Yan was expressionless as he sat down in the waiting area. No one knew how he was feeling.
Wang Yan was exhilarated beneath his calm exterior. When he had first led Shrek’s team to Star Luo City, he had had no confidence. This tournament was a huge trial for not only the team members, but him too. The further the competition proceeded, the more self-confidence he gained, and the more ideas on tactics and strategies he developed.
However, Wang Yan had not made too many detailed arrangements in the previous rounds of the tournament. This was even the case in the semifinals.
What was his reason? It was because he was trying to hide, puzzle and conceal his abilities from their opponent.
Chapter 116: A Wild Team Fight
Wang Yan only had one goal in mind after Shrek Academy defeated Justsky Academy. He wanted Shrek Academy to be the eventual champions and carry on Shrek’s streak as the tournament champions. There was only one true obstacle to Shrek Academy in their pursuit for glory.
That’s why Wang Yan hadn’t given too many instructions even though he had a brilliant set-up in place. His purpose was to confuse their strongest opponent and trick them into believing that Shrek Academy only fought based on abilities, and not strategies.
He was successful. Even Shrek Academy’s own students were kept in the dark before yesterday.
As the finals approached, there was no need for anymore concealment. Wang Yan was about to show his talent in today’s final through the Shrek team’s competing members.
Wang Yan could not help but recall his conversation with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong as he looked at them. The both of
them sat to one side and appeared to be calm, but they were gripping their fists tightly.
……
“The two of you will not compete in the team round tomorrow. He Caitou and Jiang Nannan will replace you.”
“What? Why? Teacher Wang, we can help the team.”
“I’ve already decided. This is a strategy that I’m using. At the same time, I’m protecting you. If you want to help your team in the team round, unleashing your martial soul fusion skill cannot be excluded. Furthermore, more than one of your martial soul fusion skills have to be unleashed. But I don’t want to expose so much too early on. Don’t forget that both of you will be the driving forces in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament 5 years from now in the Sun Moon Empire. Moreover, it’s my responsibility to protect the both of you as your teacher. My strategy also requires you to conserve your powers in the team round.”
“But…”
“Listen to me first before any buts. Maybe you will continue to turn the tables…”
……
The Star Luo Emperor said to the White Tiger Duke beside him softly on the top of the city wall, “Brother, what do you think of Shrek’s arrangement?”
The White Tiger Duke said after pondering for a while, “They must have adjusted their tactics and strategies. Although I’ve never seen them compete, we can’t underestimate the importance of these 2 fellows to their team. They’re probably not being sent out now because they’re preparing for the later segments.”
The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, “What’re your predictions then?”
The White Tiger Duke shook his head and replied, “I’m not familiar with either team, thus I can’t make any predictions.
What about you, Your Majesty? You seem very confident. I’m sure you have made your judgment.”
The Star Luo Emperor lowered his head and said something softly.
The White Tiger Duke was stunned as he looked at him and replied, “How could this be?”
The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, “Let’s wait and see. Although that teacher from Shrek is no longer young, it’s easy to tell that he’s not simple from his lineup selection. I believe we’ll see a surprise in this final.”
As they spoke, both teams had already ascended to the stage. They formed two rows and stood to the left and right of Huang Jinxu.
“I’ve announce the rules earlier on, and will not repeat them again. Both teams, please step back and prepare to start fighting. This match will end once one team can no longer continue.”
Ma Xiaotao squinted her small eyes, and her gaze shone as she stared at Ma Rulong. Her eyes seemed to surge with flames too.
Ma Rulong looked very serious. He had not had too much trouble against Jiang Peng, but the look Ma Xiaotao’s eyes made him feel suppressed.
This was a result of Shrek Academy’s reputation. Ma Rulong kept on telling himself this, but that suppressive feeling remained as he faced Ma Xiaotao.
Both teams slowly retreated. The emotion in Xiao Hongchen’s eyes turned from anxiety to excitement. He was meant to compete. The more nervous he was, the stronger he became. He and his sister, Meng Hongchen, greatly displayed their prowess by being able to compete in this tournament as preparatory team members. This was also their first appearance in this tournament. As secret weapons, what kind of capabilities did they possess?
Both team members had already reached the edges of the stage. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng still led the line over on Shrek Academy’s side. Ling Luochen stood behind the both of
them, followed by Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei. Jiang Nannan and He Caitou stood the furthest back.
This combination wasn’t very good. There were 3 assault- type soul masters, 1 defense-type soul master, 1 agility-type soul master, 1 control-type soul master and 1 soul engineer. There were no auxiliary-type soul masters among them. Of course, no one knew that He Caitou was a food-type soul master.
They already held cigars in their mouths, except for Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Nannan. Shrek Academy’s formation was lackluster, and there was nothing special about it. It even seemed a little redundant as 4 rows were formed.
The Sun Moon Soul Academy’s formation also didn’t seem impressive. It was shaped like a cone, with Ma Rulong at the tip and the rest forming a triangle behind him.
Both teams were extremely focused. At the moment when they reached the edges of the stage, the Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu announced, “Match, start!” The finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had finally begun.
In the next moment after Huang Jinxu announced the start of the match, both teams’ formations changed, and a shocking scene appeared.
It seemed as if Shrek’s team and the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team had agreed on this beforehand. Both teams’ members gathered towards the center of the stage and formed one row.
It was no longer Ma Xiaotao at the front for Shrek Academy, but Xu Sanshi.
After the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team formed their row, Lin Xi switched to the front of their formation.
As the formations changed, both teams unleashed their martial souls. The Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team also used their soul tools.
Everyone from Shrek stood in one straight line. Xu Sanshi lifted his Shield of the Xuanming Turtle and burst forward in
gigantic steps. The rest also followed him as they unleashed their martial souls.
The Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team did not move on the other side. To soul engineers, sufficient distance was required for them to unleash their powers.
Lin Xi immediately whipped out a soul tool, which was also a shield, though it only looked as big as the most ordinary tray. The golden shield flashed with radiance on its surface, and a yellow halo spread out from it. It turned into a light shield that reached almost 2 meters in diameter. Not only did it protect him, but it also protected the rest of the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team behind him.
Those who were sharp could tell what the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team was doing. The reasoning behind their actions was very simple – they were guarding against Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Displacement.
The Mysterious Underworld Displacement had been very useful against Shrek’s opponents on many occasions. Once Xu Sanshi completed the displacement, his repeated displacements would cause Shrek’s strategies to become
extremely strange. It wouldn’t be a good thing for the Sun Moon Soul Academy team if he substituted someone over or sent someone away.
Only Lin Xi could be seen as the Sun Moon Soul Academy team stood in a straight line. Lin Xi was huge, and blocked everyone behind him. Now that he had unleashed this shield, he could block the effect of Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Displacement. He was already prepared to be switched over.
Everyone from the Sun Moon Soul Academy team was pleased when they saw Xu Sanshi rushing to the front of Shrek’s team. To them, their plan was already pretty flawless. At the very least, Xu Sanshi was unable to use his Mysterious Underworld Displacement.
This was only the formation changes of both teams. An even more intense battle was about to ensue following this.
Countless balls of light condensed from soul power and unleashed using soul tools were released from the bodies of the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team members behind Lin Xi in an instant. These balls of light rapidly spread to both sides and
into the air before engulfing Shrek Academy’s team at an alarming speed along with a fizzing, ear-piercing sound.
The balls of light were still gathering at an increased speed as they flew into the air. From their trajectory, they were headed towards all 7 of the Shrek’s team members without any wastage.
The Sun Moon Soul Academy’s soul engineers were all at least Class 5. Although their soul powers were enhanced using different medicines and secret methods, and were incomparable to soul masters, their soul powers were indeed still very strong. Through a soul tool commanded by a soul king, its powers were even superior to the soul skills used directly by a soul king. How much more powerful would a skill that was unleashed by so many Class 5 soul engineers together be?
Against the Imperial Profound Academy, the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team had used such an all-rounded soul tool to suppress their opponent. They had also forced the Imperial Profound Academy’s members down from the competition stage through an incessant and relentless attack.
They used a similar strategy against Shrek. They didn’t hope to harm their opponent, but wanted to suppress them so that they couldn’t get close to them.
However, a beam of white light also shot into the sky from the amidst the seven Shrek members just as their balls of light spread.
This beam of light revealed a white crescent. Following that, it turned into countless streaks of white light that poured down on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s 7 members.
While the concentration of the white lights might seem weaker than the light balls unleashed by the Sun Moon Soul Academy, and their powers might also be inferior, they were unleashed at the perfect time. Just as the light balls were released by the soul tool and gathered towards the center, these white lights were unleashed. The two offenses collided right in the center of the competition stage.
Dai Yueheng’s fourth soul ring shone brightly as he unleashed his White Tiger Meteor Shower, a domain-type soul skill.
Since it was a soul emperor’s fourth soul skill, it was bound to be more powerful than a Class 5 soul tool used by a soul master. Furthermore, it was only being used to intercept. When both offenses collided in the center of the competition stage, the initial collision turned into a full-on collision that led into an explosion.
From the first wave of attacks, Shrek appeared to be doing better than the Imperial Profound Academy had.
Xu Sanshi did not stop because of the explosion. The Shield of the Xuanming Turtle in his hand shone with a black light, and both the Mysterious Underworld Force and Mysterious Underworld Shield were unleashed together.
Who knew that he was at the front not to defend against the opponent’s attack, but to take advantage of the shockwave produced as both teams’ soul powers collided?
Xu Sanshi was the best among all the soul ancestors in terms of defense. The Mysterious Underworld Shield removed all the shockwaves under the effect of the Mysterious Underworld Force, and his advancing footsteps weren’t affected at all. He seemed to enter the core of the explosion, and the distance between both parties was decreased to less than 70 meters.
the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s attack did not stop. They had great chemistry together as Class 5 and above soul engineers. As the first ball of light flew out, the second wave of long-range soul tools was also initiated. Radiances, light balls and cannon shells that many from Shrek had never seen before started to flood towards them.
But Shrek Academy also unleashed its second strike at this point.
Amidst a bright, fiery whistle, a dazzling phoenix flame shot into the sky. After the White Tiger Meteor Shower, Ma Xiaotao’s strongest soul skill, the Phoenix Meteor Shower, was also unleashed.
Dai Yueheng’s White Tiger Meteor Shower was only a thousand year soul skill. But Ma Xiaotao’s Phoenix Meteor Shower was her sixth soul skill, and was also a ten thousand year soul skill. It must mean that she had already prepared to attack at the instant the formation was set up, for it to tightly follow the White Tiger Meteor Shower after it was unleashed.
The burning flames caused the area within the competition stage to heat up tremendously. A Phoenix Meteor Shower that was at least 5 times bigger than the White Tiger Meteor Shower descended from the sky. Not only were the meteors very concentrated, but they were also extremely powerful. The air seemed to distort completely, and the 108 soul masters had to unleash all their soul power to prevent the barrier from collapsing.
A reverberating explosion sounded at the center of the two teams. Ma Xiaotao once again proved how strong she was.
Her Phoenix Meteor Shower suppressed all the soul tools from the Sun Moon Soul Academy, and even attacked their formation.
The Phoenix Meteor Shower superseded the White Tiger Meteor Shower in terms of power and duration. Shrek Academy’s two soul emperors decided to attack their opponents at long-range. No matter how strong the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s soul tools were, they had to land to have any effect. Since this was the case, Shrek could just prevent their attacks from landing. Soul tools did not unleash real soul skills. Their attacks couldn’t be controlled the moment they were released. Under Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng’s exquisite control, their opponents’ long-range attacks were all stopped. Even if there were any flaws, Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Shield would prevent those behind him from being hurt with his all-rounded defense.
However, the explosive force was already beyond Xu Sanshi’s defense capability, as the second shockwave was too powerful. He had no choice but to stop in his tracks 50 meters away from his opponents.
The Sun Moon Soul Academy also whipped out 3 layers of barriers to resist the Phoenix Meteor Shower. All 7 of them were protected within the barriers.
A figure from Shrek shot out quickly at this point. Burning phoenix flames turned into wings that flapped in the air. As she rose, a tough fist punched her foot and sent her flying up like a cannon shell. Her speed reached an extremely frightening level. After she flew up 10 meters, two gusts of flames also spurted out from her feet. This caused her speed to soar once again. In the blink of an eye, she had already arrived in front of her opponents.
Without a doubt, this person was Ma Xiaotao. It was only her and Dai Yueheng who dared to fight their way into their opponents’ formation. And distance was always the most important in a fight between a soul master and soul engineer.
Everyone was a little dumbfounded as they saw this. From the odds, the Sun Moon Soul Academy should be beating Shrek Academy easily! But the current situation showed that Shrek held the upper hand. Ma Xiaotao had already arrived in front of Lin Xi in just the blink of an eye, while the other 6 also
upped their speed as they rushed closer to the Sun Moon Soul Academy team.
Ma Xiaotao was so strong that her fourth soul ring had already lit up as she flew quickly. The phoenix flames turned dark red, and the Evil Phoenix Fire appeared once again. Once her Phoenix Skywhistle restrained the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s members, the result of this round would be decided.
Under the stage, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had already clenched their fists. Although Wang Yan’s strategy had only just been executed, they hoped that Ma Xiaotao could use this strike to ensure victory for Shrek.
However, the truth proved that it was reasonable to tip the Sun Moon Soul Academy as the favorite to be the champion.
Against Ma Xiaotao’s attack, Lin Xi made a leaping motion. Following that, at least 3 soul tools on his body released an intense radiance.
Firstly, a white halo was unleashed from his chest. This white halo seemed as faint as fog. When it appeared, Ma Xiaotao’s body also showed a white light. Ma Xiaotao changed her direction slightly because of Lin Xi’s leaping motion.
After that, a layer of golden light that everyone from Shrek Academy was familiar with lit up on Lin Xi’s body. No, it wasn’t just one layer. It was two layers. The first layer was an ordinary Invincible Barrier that blocked Ma Xiaotao’s Phoenix Skywhistle. Following that, there was a bigger layer of golden light that spread from his body. From the outside, it engulfed both his and Ma Xiaotao’s body within it. Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Phoenix Flames were prevented from being unleashed.
An explosive boom sounded from within the two layers of barriers. Within the barriers, intense phoenix flames rose. But Ma Xiaotao’s determined strike was blocked off by Lin Xi.
However, Lin Xi did not have it well either as he blocked Ma Xiaotao’s attack. While the Invincible Barrier was defensively sound, it still had to absorb a huge amount of the user’s soul power before its defensive capabilities could be displayed. His soul power had been depleted tremendously after using 3 Class 5 soul tools, and his face had turned pale.
The Sun Moon Soul Academy coordinated among themselves very well. Michael also unleashed a shield when Lin Xi leaped up. This caused Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Displacement to fail.
At this point, a streak of golden-red radiance shot out from Michael’s shoulder. Xu Sanshi had seen this golden-red radiance before. It was a frightening attack by a Class 7 soul tool! It was also an offense that was focused on one point. The barrier erected by the 108 soulmasters couldn’t handle this frightening presence either.
This streak of golden-red radiance came at the perfect time. Lin Xi had leapt up to block Ma Xiaotao, and Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Displacement was unleashed. A black line was blocked by Michael’s shield, and the golden-red radiance also appeared at this instant. Its target was Xu Sanshi. He had no choice but to resist it forcefully, as he had just used his soul skill.
Not only did this golden-red radiance appear, but countless streaks of radiance also shot out from Michael’s back. These lights were purplish-blue in color, and were abnormally dazzling. After these lights shot in the sky, they turned into parabolas and flew towards Shrek’s team.
An unexpected situation occurred at this point. A sly look drifted across Xu Sanshi’s eyes, although he had appeared frantic earlier. Following that, his body disappeared, and he was replaced by someone else.
The person who was switched over was none other than the preparatory team leader of the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team, Xiao Hongchen.
The Mysterious Underworld Displacement succeeded just like that.
If one were to look carefully, they would see that the black line unleashed by Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Displacement had made a strange turn as it was blocked by Michael’s shield. It had turned in front of Michael and struck Xiao Hongchen.
This change was too rapid. No one expected that Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Displacement could be used like that.
In the waiting area, Huo Yuhao lowered his head, and his eyes repeatedly shone with golden light. They regained their normal look very quickly.
There was no way it could be controlled so precisely if it were only by Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Displacement. However, his Mysterious Underworld Displacement became different with the guidance of Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection.
All of this was within Wang Yan’s plan. Ma Xiaotao’s Phoenix Meteor Shower had struck the barriers around the competition stage, meaning that a portion of her soul power was wasted. However, was it really wasted?
Just as the barrier shook, Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was condensed into a wave using his precise control, and this wave penetrated the barrier. He used his Spiritual Detection Sharing on Xu Sanshi alone.
Huo Yuhao might have fused with the Life Gold, but even still, his spiritual power would be depleted after he managed to penetrate the barrier. Furthermore, the burden on his spiritual power would be very great. However, his spiritual sea had undergone a transformation now, and his spiritual power had increased greatly. His control of his spiritual power had also been enhanced. Although he could not sustain this Spiritual Detection for his compatriots for very long, he could still manage for a short while.
Wang Yan had expected their opponents to guard against Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld Displacement. However, soul shields were not one-way. This meant that if a soul shield became a barrier, it would affect the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s offense because of its large size. This was not what they wanted. That was why Wang Yan believed that it was unlikely that they would be able to block the Mysterious Underworld Displacement. Xu Sanshi’s Mysterious Underworld
Displacement was very critical in this team round. Since they were inferior overall, they had to grab hold of every opportunity. Although Huo Yuhao was not present, his aid offstage was even more important than the direct help he could give onstage.
There was no room for Xiao Hongchen to dodge. As he was switched over, the golden-red radiance had already reached him. It came at the speed of light, and thus he was unable to unleash his soul tools even if he wanted to. Neither him nor Meng Hongchen had made a move in the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s previous attack. He was plain unlucky now!
Before he could even turn gloomy, the frightening radiance had already struck his chest. But at this instant, a layer of even more intense golden light was suddenly emitted from Xiao Hongchen’s body.
This layer of golden light had to be activated. The golden-red radiance’s penetrative ability was very strong, but it was stopped by this golden light. Xiao Hongchen groaned and stepped back. He looked pale. The golden light from his body had protected his entire body just like the Invincible Barrier. However, it was brighter than what Shrek’s team had ever seen before. It was much more eye-blinding.
At this point, the purplish-blue radiance from the sky had already descended. On Shrek’s side, a huge shield of ice had appeared mid-air. Not only that, but countless streaks of light were shining towards the purplish-blue radiance. A series of dazzling fireworks seemed to have been released. Ling Luochen and He Caitou made their moves now.
However, that purplish-blue radiance was much more difficult to deal with than they had expected. After being struck by He Caitou’s rays, the purplish-blue radiance stopped in mid-air. Following that, streaks and streaks of light spread rapidly and became like a cage that moved downwards.
Since Xiao Hongchen was switched over there, Xu Sanshi was also switched to the other side. Immediately after he was switched over, he unleashed the Mysterious Underworld Quake that was enhanced by the Mysterious Underworld Force without any hesitation.
A black halo engulfed the other 5 from the Sun Moon Soul Academy and delayed the martial souls that they had unleashed.
Xu Sanshi did it flawlessly. After he used the Mysterious Underworld Quake, he did not stop. He straightened his body and dashed out again. The Mysterious Underworld Displacement shone again, and Dai Yueheng had also made a dash forward. If the Mysterious Underworld Displacement succeeded once again, this second soul emperor from Shrek Academy would be brought over as well.
Lin Xi and Ma Xiaotao had both landed on the ground. The last second of the Invincible Barrier’s 3 seconds remained.
It was not a good thing to be in close contact with Shrek Academy’s two soul emperors. At least it wasn’t what the Sun Moon Soul Academy hoped to see. This would only lead to their defeat.
However, the black line from the Mysterious Underworld Displacement was destroyed at the next moment. Xu Sanshi and Dai Yueheng didn’t manage to switch positions. It was the purplish-blue radiance that had stopped the Mysterious Underworld Displacement.
That was a huge purplish-blue barrier that had trapped Shrek Academy’s remaining five members within. When the
black line from the Mysterious Underworld Displacement reached it, the purplish-blue radiance surrounded and destroyed it.
Xu Sanshi was a little dumbfounded now, and cursed to himself. He lifted his shield and struck towards Ma Rulong, who was not far away.
That purplish-blue radiance was unleashed by Ma Rulong. It was another Class 7 soul tool that he had developed himself.
Xu Sanshi’s choice of offense was quite on point. Ma Rulong had unleashed 2 Class 7 soul tools consecutively, and also needed some time to regenerate his soul power. Xu Sanshi’s sudden appearance and surprise attack with the Mysterious Underworld Quake had caused Ma Rulong to be struck from the side.
But the instant the Shield of the Xuanming Turtle struck Ma Rulong, a layer of intense white light shone from his body. A white bracelet on Ma Rulong’s right hand was crushed, and that white light also caused Xu Sanshi to be violently jerked away.
It was the Repelling Bracelet, a single-use Class 5 soul tool.
At this point, everything was a mess. The spectators were also unable to tell which side held the advantage.
Ma Rulong shouted, “Second plan, fight the enemy separately.” As he spoke, his head lit up with an intense black light. A huge helmet appeared on his head. After unleashing his martial soul, his head was much bigger than before. This was the effect of the Bigheaded Spirit Ape.
The Bigheaded Spirit Ape enhanced Ma Rulong’s souls tools with its power. It also had the advantage of doubling Ma Rulong’s spiritual power compared to soul masters with the same cultivation. Although he was not a spiritual-type soul master like Huo Yuhao, it was a great help to his control and usage of soul tools.
In the center of this black helmet was a circular ruby. At this point, the ruby shone with a weird radiance. Following that, a dark red light projection burst out of it. It went straight in the direction of Lin Xi’s Invincible Barrier.
Ma Rulong’s reaction was not slow, but he still couldn’t save Lin Xi. That was because Ma Xiaotao was too powerful.
After Huo Yuhao suppressed her Evil Phoenix Fire, Ma Xiaotao’s cultivation managed a breakthrough once again. She reached Rank 68, which was something even she herself had not expected. She didn’t expect to achieve such rapid progress. She was only 2 ranks away from a seven-ringed Soul Sage.
What was the concept behind Rank 68 soul power? Her soul power was much greater than Dai Yueheng’s or Ma Rulong’s, who were also soul emperors. The higher a soul master’s cultivation, the greater the gap in soul power between the ranks. In terms of soul power, Ma Rulong and Dai Yueheng were still inferior to her even if they combined their power.
The Invincible Barrier did block Ma Xiaotao’s Phoenix Skywhistle. But that strike was also unleashed by Ma Xiaotao with her full power. The temperature within the 2 Invincible Barriers reached a frightening level in an instant.
Lin Xi was originally a little elated. He thought that he had stopped the strongest team member from Shrek and earned enough time for his compatriots. His action could be
considered noble. He was also no longer needed against Ma Xiaotao next. Furthermore, he had other methods to use.
The Invincible Barrier blocked out the attack and temperature. However, the frightening heat was unleashed between the 2 layers of barriers as the Invincible Barrier disappeared.
The Sun Moon Soul Academy’s greatest mistake was to underestimate the Evil Phoenix Fire’s temperature and explosiveness. If there were only a single Invincible Barrier that blocked Ma Xiaotao, Ma Xiaotao could still continue to attack, and wouldn’t be trapped for long. The might of the Phoenix Skywhistle also spread to the others. But it was still just spreading. At this moment, even Ma Xiaotao couldn’t control the heat contained within the strike that shot out.
“Chi—"
The smile that was previously on Lin Xi’s face disappeared in the next instant. It had disappeared completely. Even the air seemed to be left with some of the smug smile he had had earlier.
Ma Xiaotao was also in a daze. At the moment when the Invincible Barrier disappeared, she felt a wave of heat that suddenly spread. Lin Xi disappeared after that. At this point, the dark red light projection that Ma Rulong had unleashed was forced back as it collided with the wave of heat and revealed its form.
It was an ape that was not more than 1.5 meters tall. Its arms were very long as they reached the ground. Its dark-red fur gave off a smooth and clear feeling, but its eyes were golden, and flashed with a weird golden radiance. After being forced back by the wave of heat, it jumped rapidly on the spot. It was groaning in pain, as if it had been burnt.
“Lin Xi—!"
The Sun Moon team only reacted at this point, and they screamed in horror. They hadn’t expected one of them to be killed within such a short time. His life disappeared just like that. Even the Heavenfiend Douluo was unable to save him in time. It had happened too quickly, and no one had expected Ma Xiaotao to generate such a frightening amount of heat with this ultimate blow of hers. Not only did it melt the soul tool that protected Lin Xi, but it also turned his body into air.
Ma Xiaotao’s brows rose after a momentary daze. After all, this was just a competition, and killing someone wasn’t her intention. She was also helpless against such a situation that was either a calamity or an accident.
“Bastard.” A figure dashed out from the Sun Moon team. It was Chen Fei, an agility-type soul master. His martial soul was the Lightning Bird.
Chapter 117: Xiao Hongchen's Three- Legged Golden Toad
Chen Fei moved with lightning speed as a ball of bright golden light blasted towards Ma Xiaotao with undeniable accuracy. His movements were blindingly quick, and he even left an afterimage in his wake.
Ma Xiaotao grunted coldly. She wasn’t the kind that liked to kill people, but wouldn’t hesitate if it was required. Red light flashed in her eyes, and a Phoenix Fireline poured out and clashed with the sphere of golden light rocketing through the air.
What was strange was that there wasn’t any violent explosion or anything like that. The light circle expanded instantly after being triggered, and transformed into an enormous golden net that bore down on Ma Xiaotao.
She had already suffered a loss under trap-type soul tools such as this, and she had been on guard this whole time. She watched the various red-eyed members of the Sun Moon Empire’s camp as she tapped on the floor with the tips of her feet and immediately flew backwards. Two streaks of red light
spurted out from beneath her as she surged into the distance. However, she wasn’t retreating without a plan in mind, and she flew towards the position where Xu Sanshi had just been sent flying.
Their battle continued to rage. On the other side, Xiao Hongchen faced the Shrek team’s siege as well.
Xiao Hongchen had relied on his auto-activated advanced invincible barrier to block Ma Rulong’s strike within the lightning cage, but the protective barrier that flickered with golden light had been greatly weakened.
The protective layer of golden light on his body was called the Impregnable Wall, and it was a Class 6 soul tool. This soul tool had to be activated by a soul master’s own soul power, or maintained through a continual injection of soul power.
The reasons why invincible barriers were so precious was because their defensive capabilities were sufficiently powerful, and also because they could be activated with a fixed amount of soul power. Afterwards, the special jewel contained within the soul tool would provide enough energy to maintain the protective barrier for three seconds, and it would have the
defensive power of an eight-ringed soul douluo. The only problem was that it was a disposable item, and thus was a little wasteful and extravagant by nature.
However, the Impregnable Wall on Xiao Hongchen’s body was far more advanced. Its defensive powers were slightly inferior to invincible barriers, but it was just enough to fend off attacks from Class 7 soul tools. Furthermore, it wasn’t a disposable item. This soul tool had two salient features: it could be used repeatedly, and it could automatically activate itself. That meant that if Xiao Hongchen came under attack and wasn’t able to react, the Impregnable Wall would deploy its mechanisms automatically, which made it a lot more useful than the Invincible Barrier.
Of course, there were pros and cons to everything – the problem was that the Impregnable Wall absorbed Xiao Hongchen’s soul power automatically after activating itself in order to provide protection.
Ma Rulong’s golden Class 7 soul tool was only a single attack, but it possessed formidable destructive powers. The Impregnable Wall did block the strike, but, as he was a Soul King, Xiao Hongchen’s soul power was immediately consumed
by more than fifty percent, which caused his expression to change to one of immense fear.
Furthermore, as long as that cage called the Net of Lightning was around, the members of Shrek’s team were not the only ones caught inside – he was trapped within as well.
This proud young man displayed a battle prowess worthy of his high and respected status within the Sun Moon Empire’s team at this critical moment.
The Impregnable Wall’s appearance was too similar to the Invincible Barrier, thus Shrek’s team didn’t continue their assault at the first possible moment. Instead, they waited for the “Invincible Barrier’s” time to naturally run out.
Xiao Hongchen took advantage of this grace period and unleashed his own martial soul.
A flash of golden light flickered, and a leg grew out from his buttocks behind him. This leg was completely golden, and a layer of blinding gold blanketed his entire body.
The three-legged Xiao Hongchen crouched a little, and three of his two yellow, two purple and one black soul rings radiated. He arched his back faintly, and little humps protruded from his clothes, each one exuding a bright golden hue. His first and third soul rings lit up at the same time before he waved both of
his hands and hurled out several hundred metal balls.
These metal balls instantly hovered in midair and encircled his entire body.
A strange scene then occurred; row after row of metal cannon barrels grew out just like that, with the metal balls as the core.
It wasn’t wrong to describe them as things that simply just grew out. Those metal cannons just came into existence, and Xiao Hongchen wasn’t the one that released them. His whole body became like a giant porcupine in just a moment.
“Oh… Shit…” Bei Bei was never one to curse and swear, but he couldn’t help but speak what was on the Shrek team’s minds.
He Caitou was most familiar with soul tools. He thought to himself, “Can he rely on his own soul power to fire so many metal cannons?”
It wasn’t just the number of soul cannons that were out there. The most important thing was that his personal mastery must be able to handle that number of soul cannons. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be functional, and would be for display.
Xiao Hongchen showed everyone whether his soul cannons were simply decorative or not.
His second and fourth soul rings replaced his first and third soul rings. One could see with clarity that uncountable numbers of golden specks of light appeared in the sky and surged towards Xiao Hongchen with unstoppable force. Every light speck released a circle of pale-golden light as they came close to his body, as if they were burning up, and the poignant smell of metal immediately permeated the whole area.
The rows of metal cannons began to burst with blinding brilliance as the specks of golden light fused into them, and this fearsome aura cast a haze of terror over the Shrek team.
There were a total of one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons that appeared on Xiao Hongchen’s body, and every single one was a Class 5 soul tool. The sonorous soul cannons actually turned towards their targets automatically, and every single one was pointed at the Shrek team members. Even the
soul cannons behind Xiao Hongchen’s back curved forward, and this wasn’t something that could be explained with the handling of soul tools.
The next moment, a terrifying hurricane of soul power exploded the moment the Impregnable Wall was withdrawn.
The Shrek team members naturally didn’t just stand around to watch. Dai Yueheng stood in front of everyone the moment Xiao Hongchen erupted and used the White Tiger’s Shield, the White Tiger’s Vajra Transformation and the White Tiger’s Devilgod Transformation at the same time. All three were powerful amplifying soul skills, and boosted his defensive powers to the highest possible level. He was the vice-captain, and also a Soul Emperor – and he was under the audience’s watchful eye and his own father’s scrutiny. There was no way he was going to back off.
A searing ball of white light suddenly flew out from beside Dai Yueheng. He Caitou had started channeling power inside the super energy-gathering soul cannon from the start of the battle, and released his own attack at this moment.
However, he was also a soul engineer, and he was being suppressed far too much. His super energy-gathering soul cannon possessed power greater than normal Class 5 soul tools, but faced with Xiao Hongchen’s one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons’ unified assault, his super energy- gathering soul cannon was instantly dispelled by that frightening blanket of light. He only managed to obstruct it momentarily as the petrifying layer of light bore down upon them once more.
Ling Luochen did all she could as well. She used her Icy Staff to release wall after wall of ice and launched an Icebrilliant Halo at Xiao Hongchen at the same time.
However, those ice walls were simply unable to resist the coordinated assault from Xiao Hongchen’s Class 5 soul tools, and every single layer was shattered in an instant.
Dai Yueheng’s face grew solemn and serious. His buddies were right behind him, and he couldn’t dodge this attack no matter how much he wanted to. He took a deep breath, and vigorous streaks of white light flickered while he raised his Soul Emperor-level soul power to the highest possible level; he needed to withstand this strike no matter what.
Before Xiao Hongchen was swapped over with the Mysterious Netherworld Displacement, who would have thought that this Soul King was actually this powerful? He was able to activate so many Class 5 soul tools at the same time, and this was clearly beyond a Soul King’s limits. Even Class 6 soul masters would have probably failed at this endeavor! Ma Rulong had never controlled so many soul cannons at the same time.
A smile broke out across Xiao Hongchen’s face. This was the first time he had put his maximum power on full display, even though this strike was a powerful as it could get. However, he had absolute confidence that Dai Yueheng wouldn’t be able to withstand his attack, and he would be severely injured even if he did. His own soul power would be almost completely exhausted after this strike, but he would be satisfied if he could eliminate a Soul Emperor from his opponents’ camp, and better still if he could even wound the others – furthermore, he still had the strength to retreat safely.
He was the reserve team leader. Not only was he adept with soul tools, but his martial soul wasn’t weak like other normal soul engineers. He was only fourteen years old, but had managed to become a Soul King via various methods and without using too many sequela. The reason for that was
because his martial soul was powerful enough. More importantly, his martial soul could be said to be the one most suitable for soul engineers in the entire world, yet was sufficiently powerful by itself.
This was Xiao Hongchen’s martial soul: the Three-legged Golden Toad. This rare beast soul possessed a special ability: it could manipulate metal.
He could control any type of metal. He could even absorb the energy from certain exotic metals to support and enhance his personal cultivation. Otherwise, how could he become a Soul King at such a young age? If the Sun Moon Empire lacked anything, it wouldn’t be metal.
Before this, out of the four soul skills that he had just used, the first and third soul skill that he had released at the same time were called Metal Manipulation and Golden Coagulation. The metal balls that he had thrown out were the soul cannons’ formation arrays, while the cannon barrels were formed
entirely from his ability to control metal on the spot. He always carried voluminous amounts of metal powder on his body, and the metal powder could solidify into any form under his manipulation.
The second and fourth soul skills after that were called Golden Surge and Golden Sacrifice.
Golden Surge was used to greatly boost his Three-Legged Golden Toad’s metal soul power activity, and exponentially increase his ability to control metal for a short period of time, while absorbing the metal elements contained in the air in vast amounts for his own use at the same time.
The Golden Sacrifice filled the metal elements that had come together with fire to produce formidable power. Using these two soul skills at the same time gave him the energy to fire so many soul cannons at the same time. The toll on his soul power was only present on the soul skill, and the energy used to support the soul cannons all came from the metal elements.
He was known as the Sun Moon Empire’s number-one prodigy since the beginning of its history for his impressive ability to control metal. His overall battle prowess wasn’t inferior to Ma Rulong by much. If his level of mastery caught up with Ma Rulong, his abilities would irrevocably overtake his team leader’s.
However, a person that nobody expected suddenly stepped in front of Dai Yueheng just as Xiao Hongchen thought he had it.
Her figure was tall and slim, but appeared young and immature. Yet, there was a tinge of unwavering determination on her pretty face. Thick and vigorous golden light rose from her body and formed a light barrier that protected her inside.
Who was she? When Xiao Hongchen clearly saw the young girl that was far more good-looking than his younger sister, Meng Hongchen, his actions became a little sluggish, as he couldn’t bear to hurt her.
However, his assault had already been fully unleashed; withdrawing it now was impossible even if he wanted to.
Who was she? She was the number-one beauty in Shrek Academy’s outer courtyard, and could be said to be the one with the least salient features in this competition from Shrek Academy’s team—Jiang Nannan.
Just as that terrifying strike was about to land, Jiang Nannan went beyond everyone’s expectations and stepped in front of Dai Yueheng. In the next moment, her figure was swallowed by the soul cannons that loomed over everyone.
“No, Nannan…” Xu Sanshi looked on from far away. His pupils widened in an instant as the blood in his face receded, and a petrifying aura was immediately unleashed from within his body. His Strength of the Xuanwu was finally triggered
once more in the moment Jiang Nannan placed herself in danger.
Ma Xiaotao was standing beside him. At this very moment, she raised her hand without warning and chopped down on his neck.
Xu Sanshi’s Strength of the Xuanwu had yet to erupt when he was knocked unconscious. Ma Xiaotao raised her leg and kicked him off the competition stage.
Wang Yan stood up abruptly below the stage when he saw Ma Xiaotao’s actions, and his eyes sparkled as he muttered under his breath, “She’s finally a qualified team leader.”
Just as Ma Xiaotao kicked Xu Sanshi off the stage, Ma Rulong’s dark red monkey had arrived before her. The monkey cooed in front of her, and its originally scrawny and tiny frame suddenly exploded in size – it had become an enormous ape that was over four meters long in the blink of an eye. It raised its giant fists and hammered them down on Ma Xiaotao’s head as the dark red fur all over its body stood on end, resembling a layer of iron needles.
This wasn’t a skill. It was a real soul beast, and its cultivation was definitely over ten thousand years judging by its aura. Who would have thought that Ma Rulong could release a soul beast to fight for him during the competition?
The monkey wasn’t the only one on the offensive. Thirty-six lightning balls had already caught up to Ma Xiaotao when she retreated before this, and it came from the Sun Moon Empire’s Michael.
All the lightning balls transformed into a large net that didn’t have a single loophole as it bore down on her.
Chen Fei, the Lightning Bird Soul King, pounced forward beside the enormous dark red demonic ape as he repeatedly fired spheres of golden light from his hands much like before. These spheres of golden light followed closely behind the lightning balls and sealed off every possible spot that Ma Xiaotao could dodge towards.
Yet, this wasn’t the greatest threat that Ma Xiaotao faced. The greatest and most conspicuous threat she was facing right now was still Ma Rulong, the Sun Moon Empire’s team leader.
The golden cannon was on his shoulder once more. Ma Rulong’s emotions appeared entirely unaffected by the death of his comrade, and his hands were still as stable as ever as he gazed at Ma Xiaotao with cold and sparkling eyes. Even if he was only locked on to her, it would consume at least half of Ma
Xiaotao’s concentration.
The only person that didn’t make a move from the Sun Moon Empire’s camp was Meng Hongchen. She stood behind Ma Rulong as if she didn’t exist at all. Xiao Xiafeng rushed to Ma Rulong’s side and stuffed a ball of something round, white and soft into Ma Rulong’s mouth while the latter began chewing without hesitation.
A steamed bun… Xiao Xiafeng was actually a food-type soul master. There was no question that the steamed bun he had stuffed into Ma Rulong’s mouth served to amplify his soul power.
He rooted himself to the ground the moment he finished shoving the steamed bun into Ma Rulong’s mouth. There was a steamed bun in his mouth as well, while a cacophony of metal clanging sounds rang out from his body. Eighty-one cannon barrels appeared one after another, and a circular pedestal swivelled beneath him as he turned towards Ma Xiaotao and
locked onto his target. This was the Soul Tool Fortress battle tactic.
Soul power was already starting to condense in the black cannons’ openings. Xiao Xiafeng was a food-type soul master, and he was able to maintain the Soul Tool Fortress battle tactic for a longer period of time than normal soul masters because of that.
Ma Xiaotao had already been in a corner when she had moved to a spot beside Xu Sanshi. At this moment, she was under pressure from four people and a soul beast, and she had no hope of evading this onslaught. Her opponents’ strategy was obvious – they wanted to negate Shrek Academy’s team leader’s strength at once before they targeted anyone else.
Just as Ma Xiaotao was entering a perilous situation, the circumstances on the other side also began to change drastically.
Xiao Hongchen’s face was full of proud smiles when all his soul cannons hit their targets. Xu Sanshi had swapped him over with the Mysterious Netherworld Displacement, but had given him a shot at fame and glory instead of helping his team.
He even had the thought that he’d become his own academy’s hero if he could wipe out Shrek Academy’s remaining five members with his epic strike; he would even become a national hero! It was just too bad for that little beauty.
However, the smile on his face was quickly replaced with a haze of terror. The reason was because a sphere of golden light burst forth as if it were riding the waves after it blocked his one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons, and arrived right before his eyes. Subsequently, he felt as if the soul cannons on his body had grown ten times heavier, as if they were going to drag his entire body into hell. He was afraid that this terrifying weight would tear open his own physical body.
Even though he had the ability to control metal, his body was ultimately the one holding everything up, and that was flesh! He almost instantaneously severed his connections with his soul cannons, and let the dozens and dozens of soul cannons fall to the ground. The golden shadow dashed next to him in a flash and kicked him in the chest.
The golden luster receded. Xiao Hongchen could clearly see the person that had just kicked him in the chest. Wasn’t it the charmer with unrivaled beauty that he’d just felt bad for hurting?
What, what’s this? Xiao Hongchen’s eyes widened as he couldn’t believe that such a tender-looking young girl with only four soul rings could forcibly stop his one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons. He wanted to exclaim, Is this reality?
Jiang Nannan’s kick was quite heavy, and knocked him over as he stumbled backwards. Xiao Hongchen’s soul power had been heavily expended at this point, and his body weight had seemingly increased exponentially, which meant he didn’t even have the means to dodge this attack.
Jiang Nannan leapt up the moment her kick landed on her target before she trapped his neck in between her legs. Before Xiao Hongchen could struggle or retaliate, he felt his body weight decrease by multiple times from the previous density, and a force traveled from his neck as he was tossed away as if he were being thrown into the clouds.
Subsequently, he saw a sharp edge flickering with golden light – it belonged to Dai Yueheng, the White Tiger Soul Emperor. The sharp edge was his shimmering golden tiger claw.
Xiao Hongchen wanted to curse and swear. He wanted to curse at Shrek Academy’s members. Why were they so perverted? Were they still people? What he didn’t see was that Jiang Nannan vomited blood and collapsed the moment she tossed him away.
Jiang Nannan didn’t have many flash points during this season’s competition. However, did that mean she wasn’t powerful? No, she was only low-profile by nature.
She was chosen by Elder Xuan to become one of the reserve team members, and shared the same status with Xu Sanshi. Could it be because she was pretty? One should take a look at her four soul skills.
Jiang Nannan’s four soul skills were: Waist Bow, Gravity Control, Instant Teleportation, and Invincible Golden Body.
The Waist Bow was a relatively normal soul skill, but the other three remaining soul skills rivaled even the Mysterious Netherworld Displacement, and could achieve miraculous effects when used appropriately.
What was the Invincible Golden Body about? Xiao Wu from the first generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters had used this soul skill before. Jiang Nannan’s martial soul was similar to hers, and even some of her soul skills were no different either.
The Invincible Barriers used by soul engineers were created after they drew inspiration from this rare and powerful soul skill, the Invincible Golden Body. The Invincible Golden Body’s defensive capability was the ultimate form of absolute protection. Nobody would be able to break through the Invincible Golden Body during its execution unless they possessed divine power.
Jiang Nannan had used her Invincible Golden Body to block Xiao Hongchen’s strongest attack. She had then used Instant Teleportation and Gravity Control to unleash multiple-pronged pressure on Xiao Hongchen and finally used the Waist Bow to toss him out.
Xiao Hongchen’s disbelief and bewilderment came from the concordant combination of these four soul skills. Jiang Nannan vomited blood and crashed to the ground as she gave her all to maintain the Invincible Golden Body for just a moment longer, which took a heavy toll on her body.
She didn’t have Bei Bei or Xu Sanshi’s incredible potential. However, she had her own repertoire of sufficiently powerful soul skills. She was the number-one short range combatant in Shrek Academy’s team under particular circumstances, and it was her that gave Dai Yueheng an opportunity.
The dazzling blade radiated frightening hues as the White Tiger Soul King’s sixth soul skill, the White Tiger’s Extermination, appeared in the blink of an eye.
The referee of the competition, the Heavenfiend Douluo, appeared next to the two of them in a flash, but hesitated momentarily, as he wasn’t sure whether he should interfere. This was ultimately the finals of the competition, and his interference would very likely affect how the competition would unfold. However, someone had already perished, and if someone else were to meet his or her unfortunate demise, there would be a lot of pressure on him as the judge. The respective team members from the Sun Moon Empire and Shrek could all be described as extraordinary prodigies, after all.
Dai Yueheng’s strike crashed downwards within that moment of hesitation.
How could Dai Yueheng not be despondent? There had already been two important rounds in the competition. It was
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s sudden explosion that had broke the impasse and forcibly turned the tides. It was Jiang Nannan who had appeared in front of him in a split second in this round and blocked his opponent’s fatal strike. Furthermore, both his father and the emperor were watching from the top of the city wall, and this was the finals. He was a Soul Emperor, and he let a Soul Ancestor step in in front of him, and this intense stifling sensation that he felt was better off not mentioned. Yet, he also understood that he would have been severely injured if not for Jiang Nannan.
He swallowed all of this, and this was the reason why his White Tiger’s Extermination could be said to be his best effort. The judge was there anyway, and he never even considered whether he might end up murdering his opponent.
Xiao Hongchen’s fifth soul ring sparkled as the terrifying soul skill was about to hit him. At this point, He no longer dared to use his Impregnable Wall, which was much more practical than the Invincible Barrier, as he could clearly feel from the petrifying aura looming over him that he wouldn’t be able to maintain the Impregnable Wall to fend off his opponent’s assault even if he emptied the rest of his soul power.
Therefore, even as a soul engineer, he still resorted to soul skills at this crucial moment.
The White Tiger’s claws flashed by, while Xiao Hongchen’s body seemed to instantly melt; he simply transformed into a sphere of dark golden liquid, then slid down to the ground.
The White Tiger’s Extermination also instantly landed on this sphere of liquid.
Dai Yueheng’s strike was formidable, and his maniacal and devastating aura reached the highest possible level in an instant, and the liquid that Xiao Hongchen had transformed into was slashed apart into pieces as it exploded in all directions like fine powder.
However, just as the liquid touched the ground, it spread out in all directions with bedazzling speed, and the dark golden liquid merely looked a little singed when it came out of the Prison of Lightning.
“Brother—!”
Meng Hongchen screamed in shock, and she finally made her move after holding herself back since the start as she rushed towards the dark golden liquid that was flowing out.
The liquid began to solidify and when Xiao Hongchen reappeared in front of everyone’s eyes, his entire body was full of wounds, and there were dozens of gashes all over. He coughed out mouthful after mouthful of blood, and collapsed into Meng Hongchen’s arms. However, he was still conscious, and muttered a single sentence. “Such bad luck… I’ve been severely wounded.”
The soul skill that Xiao Hongchen displayed during the most crucial moment was called Golden Yearning. This was an extremely powerful ten thousand-year soul skill, and the Illustrious Virtue Hall had to send three Class 8 soul engineers to complete the task of killing the ten thousand year soul beast for this skill. They had then used special medicines to amplify Xiao Hongchen’s body so that the absorption would be successful, and so that he could have this thirty thousand year soul beast’s impressive soul skill.
Xiao Hongchen was able to instantly liquefy himself, and convert his entire body into liquid metal using the Golden Yearning. It gave him the ability to negate about eighty percent
of material attacks. However, his cultivation was still low, and his control of this soul skill was not completely smooth. Otherwise, he would become much more frightening if he paired it with his Golden Coagulation. He used the Golden Yearning to escape impending demise.
However, the White Tiger’s Extermination was simply too brutal. Metal conducted electricity, and this property brought insufferable pain to his entire body as he escaped from the Prison of Lightning, and he had lost his ability to continue in this group battle. He had never expected to end up like this in his first appearance, and even his hair had been charred a charcoal black color. This wasn’t anything comfortable at all.
While Xiao Hongchen was seriously wounded, Ma Xiaotao made an unexpected decision on the other side. Shrek Academy’s team leader chose to go on the offensive instead of defending herself under her opponents’ barrage of attacks.
She flew backwards like a bolt of lightning as she raised her right arm, and a searing ball of dark red flame congregated and transformed into a black phoenix before it shot out. At the same time, she leapt down from the competition stage in the nick of time in the face of her opponents’ attacks.
The black phoenix’s target of choice wasn’t the enormous ape, and neither was it the strongest of them all, Ma Rulong. The black phoenix’s speed wasn’t fast at all, but Michael’s lightning pearls strangely disappeared the moment the black phoenix collided with them. When the black phoenix clashed against Chen Fei’s metal balls, they dissipated into nothingness as well, and these soul tools weren’t able to unleash their full potential before they were vaporized entirely.
The fiery black phoenix’s aura was just too frightening, and its first target was Chen Fei. Chen Fei just launched his attack and was standing next to the Bloodthirsty Demon Ape, and he never thought that Ma Xiaotao would go after him. His body flickered as he attempted to dodge the assault from the black phoenix.
The flaming black phoenix’s surface area wasn’t big, and neither was it fast from his perspective. His Lightning Bird’s speed wasn’t something that could be threatened by the black phoenix.
It was a pity that his judgement was erroneous.
The black phoenix wasn’t that large, and it wasn’t that fast either. However, just as it Chen Fei was in the midst of evading it, the scorching black flames suddenly exploded outwards.
This speed of expansion was simply too fast, and too quick to be registered by the naked eye. Chen Fei’s body was swiftly swallowed inside this abrupt expansion.
Not all members from the Sun Moon Academy had the status to use automated soul tools like the Impregnable Wall. The resources required to make that particular soul tool were simply too great.
Chen Fei did have the Invincible Barrier in his possession, but the Invincible Barrier was a single-instance soul tool, and it was far too valuable. He was confident that he could avoid the attack, and wanted to save it for future use, thus he naturally hadn’t unleashed its power. However, by the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late.
Ma Rulong exclaimed, “Judge!”
If the Heavenfiend Douluo had been paying attention to their side, he could have reached out in time, but it was a pity that the Heavenfiend Douluo was occupied with Dai Yueheng’s strike against Xiao Hongchen. When he heard Ma Rulong’s voice and wanted to make a move, it was too late.
The crisp and shrill cooing sounds from the phoenix rang out as Chen Fei’s fast-moving body was barely scraped by the expanding black flames before the black flames sped up and surged towards Michael the next moment.
Chen Fei’s body was still surging forward into the sky, but half his body had disappeared, and his corpse crashed down onto the stage.
Michael didn’t dare to hold back as he witnessed Chen Fei’s tragedy. He threw out the Invincible Barrier in the first possible moment and attempted to block the black phoenix’s strike. What he didn't expect was that the black phoenix swerved, and finally lunged towards Ma Rulong.
Ma Rulong’s eyes were flushed red from his fury and hatred, but he had no choice but to use his own Invincible Barrier. Even though he was also a Soul Emperor, he knew that there
was no other soul tool in his arsenal besides the Invincible Barrier that could defend him against Ma Xiaotao’s attack.
“Boom –” The blistering red flames detonated in the sky, and a dark red mushroom-shaped cloud burst into the air from the collision.
Michael initially felt as if using his Invincible Barrier was wasted when the black phoenix turned away, but he knew he was fortunate as even the aftershocks of the black phoenix’s detonation turned the stage’s surface into molten lava.
The Sun Moon Empire's team had already placed Ma Xiaotao in high regard by arranging four people to besiege her at the same time. However, Ma Xiaotao’s explosive power was still almost too much for them to take.
Lin Xi and Chen Fei perished in battle, while Ma Rulong and Michael’s Invincible Barriers were no longer operational. Even though they were students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, they had all been equipped with only one Invincible Barrier, as this item’s value was simply too lofty. Ma Xiaotao jumped down from the stage, and this meant that she was no longer able to participate in the battle, but this also
meant that she managed to reserve her strength and wasn’t injured.
Ma Xiaotao didn’t glance back at the stage to see the consequences as she leapt off. She grabbed Xu Sanshi and swiftly returned to the waiting area.
Huo Yuhao jumped up from his seat and gave it to her at once. Her seat was immediately vaporized the moment Ma Xiaotao sat down, and Wang Yan hurriedly shifted to the side fearfully. It appeared as if anybody who touched this Phoenix Soul Emperor would be done for.
If a term could be used to describe this battle, then “cataclysmic” would be perfect.
Only in the initial elimination rounds had people died in this season’s Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. There were individuals who were grievously injured in the subsequent rounds, but there had been no other casualties under the judges’ watchful eyes – yet, there had been two participants from the Sun Moon Empire’s team who perished in battle during today’s battle even though it was refereed by a titled Douluo. Lin Xi’s situation could still
be counted as an accident, but the Heavenfiend Douluo truly couldn’t save Chen Fei in time. The vigor and intensity of this battle only went to show how ferocious both parties could be in their attacks.
Ma Xiaotao tossed Xu Sanshi aside, and Wang Yan supported him as he shifted him to the side without attempting to wake him up.
Huo Yuhao quickly placed both of his hands onto Ma Xiaotao’s back. He activated the Ice Empress’ Pincer and his Mysterious Jade Hands to amplify his powers as he pressed his hands onto her back, and two streams of steam erupted as they crackled loudly. Ma Xiaotao’s clothes instantly vaporized in the shape of two palm prints where Huo Yuhao came into contact with them.
Chapter 118: Shrek Lost?
Huo Yuhao only felt two waves of heat coming from the points of contact between his palms and Ma Xiaotao. They flooded his body and surged maniacally inside him.
However, today was different from the situation before. He was in his peak state now. His soul power was surging rapidly, and the aura that turned into Ultimate Ice assimilated this wave of surging fire. At the same time, Ma Xiaotao felt a wave of coldness in response.
Wang Dong also arrived beside Huo Yuhao now. He placed his palms behind his back and relieved Huo Yuhao’s burden with an increase in Haodong Power.
That black fire phoenix that was no more than a meter long possessed a frightening strength. How could it be so easily unleashed?
It seemed like Ma Xiaotao had only lifted her right arm. But that strike of hers included the will of her Evil Phoenix and the frightening strength of 3 skills, the Phoenix Baptism, Phoenix
Skypierce, and Phoenix Rupture contained within her right arm soul bone.
Ma Xiaotao’s right sleeve had disappeared by now, revealing her charcoal-burned arm.
This was a secret method of Shrek Academy – compressing 3 soul skills before unleashing them. And it was only suitable for Ma Xiaotao, who was a strength-type soul master. Even Dai Yueheng couldn’t do it. Who from Shrek Academy was simple? This was Ma Xiaotao’s true power.
For some reason, Huo Yuhao experienced a weird feeling when he placed his palms on Ma Xiaotao’s back. After he experienced the change in ice and fire soul power with Ma Xiaotao earlier, they seemed to develop some sort of compatibility. It was if the burning soul power in Ma Xiaotao’s body was calling him.
Surely not? Huo Yuhao was in a daze. That’s because he had felt something similar before between him and Wang Dong. That was when both of them used their martial soul fusion skill! The me in you and you in me feeling then was very similar to how it was like now. However, Ma Xiaotao was a
Phoenix, while he was an Ice Empress and Spirit Eyes. How could they have developed compatibility if she contained the fire element and he contained the ice element? This was too weird.
Ma Xiaotao also sensed what Huo Yuhao sensed. She even felt it more intensely. She managed to quickly repress the evil fire that was engulfing her using the Ultimate Ice. She clearly felt the affection when the cool ice circulated through her body.
Why was it like this? Was it a problem because she had initiated the evil fire repeatedly? Ma Xiaotao was also very puzzled.
Compared to the last two times, where Huo Yuhao had suppressed the evil fire passively for her, he did so actively this time. He was also in peak condition. Ma Xiaotao had also initiated her evil fire without any hesitation because he was around. Along the way, minor changes started to occur between their ice and fire.
While these weird changes occurred between them, the group match ended on the competition stage.
Meng Hongchen saved Xiao Hongchen and retreated quickly. On the other side, the surviving Team Sun Moon members were going crazy after another of their members was killed. Ma Rulong led the rest as they unleashed their strongest soul tools. They mounted a relentless attack on Shrek’s team, who
were caught in a Net of Lightning.
Xu Sanshi and Ma Xiaotao had left the stage, while Jiang Nannan had lost the strength to compete further because of her critical injuries. Only Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei and He Caitou were left.
Bei Bei shouted suddenly as the opponent unleashed all their soul tools, “Referee, we concede defeat.”
The Heavenfiend Douluo did not feel well at this point. As the referee, he was very concerned about his own reputation even though he didn’t care about the two Sun Moon members who had died! That was why he was very focused. Bei Bei’s shout caused him to descend to the center of the competition stage. A ball of bright light shone from the Heavenfiend Douluo at this point.
9 soul rings – 2 yellow, 2 purple and 5 black – shone brightly. He used his right hand to guide a wave of proud and noble aura as it was unleashed. A white star appeared in front of him, and starlight instantly spread. It turned into a huge barrier that segregated the competition stage and blocked off the Sun Moon
team’s attack.
It was impossible for a Class 5, 6 or 7 soul tools to hurt a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, the Heavenfiend Douluo had powers that were very close to a Transcendent Douluo.
Dai Yueheng turned and stared at Bei Bei furiously, “Why did you shout so randomly? We hadn’t lost. We could have still continued competing.”
Bei Bei creased his brows and said, “Senior, this is Teacher Wang’s strategy. We’re to follow his strategy.”
“But victory is right in front of our eyes!” Dai Yueheng roared back.
Bei Bei sighed, “Do you really think that we can beat the 4 of them with just the 4 of us alone? I couldn’t have resisted that
blow earlier. Do you think that anyone of us could have?”
“I…” Dai Yueheng really wanted to impress his father. He knew what Bei Bei was saying was true. After all, he was the White Tiger Duke’s eldest son. He calmed down after a temporary outburst of emotion and nodded at Bei Bei, “Sorry, I was too impulsive. It’s because I’m feeling bad that Jiang Nannan took that blow for me.”
Bei Bei smiled and revealed a set of white teeth. “It’s fine.
You’ll have a chance to shine later.”
The soul tool attacks had already ended, and all of the Sun Moon team members’ eyes started to turn red. Tournament, this was just a tournament! But 2 of their team members had died. Those who could represent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to compete in this tournament were elite talents! Those who perished in battle were their compatriots and brothers. They felt extremely sorrowful that they had just died like that. If the Heavenfiend Douluo hadn’t intervened, they would have gamble with their lives against Team Shrek.
“Both teams, please calm down,” Huang Jinxu said coldly, “Victory has already been decided. If anyone acts recklessly,
don’t blame me for being unkind.”
The teacher in charge of the Sun Moon team had also turned pale, but remained calm. He scolded his team members, which stopped Ma Rulong and the rest from acting recklessly.
Huang Jinxu turned to the direction of the city wall and said in low voice, “The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy has won the team round. Both teams, you have 1 minute to readjust. After 1 minute, the 1v1 round will begin. At the same time, please choose your 7 members for the individual round. Once decided, no further changes can be made.”
Shrek Academy had lost?
The entire Star Luo Plaza descended into silence. In the next moment, there was an uproar again.
Although many knew that Shrek’s team was inferior to the Sun Moon Soul Academy’s team in this tournament, everyone was still feeling incredulous that they had lost this team round. They were all awaiting a miracle from Shrek. But no miracle
happened.In the end, Shrek had actually lost. They didn’t even hold on to the end. Some of the agitated spectators started to curse furiously, and the entire Star Luo Plaza was now in chaos.
“Silence!” A mighty and sonorous voice rang across the entire venue at this point.
The commotion in the huge plaza was restrained by this furious roar.
It was the White Tiger Duke. He held a sound-amplifying soul tool in his hand, and said in a deep voice, “Both teams have already done their best. Victory and failure are very common. Those who hurl insults at the competing members will be found and severely punished.”
As the commander of the military for many years, Dai Hao’s simple words were filled with a mighty aura. He controlled the situation just like that. His mighty aura even pressed Huo Yuhao, who was helping Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire, to look up to the city wall,.
His mood and the expression in his eyes were very complex.
As a guy, who would not hope that their father was a hero and their pride? But he had never enjoyed paternal love before. He only had hatred for this father who he had not even seen before he left the Duke’s Mansion.
Yes, he ruined his mother’s chastity. His mother’s victimization was because of him. But he was so valiant and powerful. No wonder Huo Yuhao’s mother didn’t regret giving birth to him because of Dai Hao.
Huo Yuhao’s psychological mindset was not as twisted as it was when he had left the Duke’s Mansion after learning and cultivating in Shrek Academy for the past year or so. But his hatred for the White Tiger Duke and those in the Duke’s Mansion who victimized his mother had never waned.
“Mom, this is who you loved before. He is outstanding, but it’s precisely because of this that he hurt you so badly. Mom, don’t worry. One day, I will stand before him and exact revenge for you. He’s my father and gave me life, thus I won’t kill him. But I will make him repent as he kneels in front of your grave.”
“Mom, I will find you after the tournament is over. Bless me, so that I can grow up quickly. Mom, I miss you so much.”
His eyes welled up unwittingly, and he didn’t even realize Ma Xiaotao looking at him.
“Younger brother, what’s wrong?” Ma Xiaotao asked softly.
“What?” Huo Yuhao only regained awareness now, and he shook his head slightly, “Elder sister, I’m fine.”
Ma Xiaotao smiled and said, “That’s great then. I’m fine already. Quickly regain your soul power. You may be needed later.”
Everyone had descended from the stage right now. Bei Bei carried the unconscious Jiang Nannan as he returned to the waiting area.
Wang Yan rushed forward. There were already healing-type soul masters from the Star Luo Empire coming forward to administer treatment. As men were different from ladies, and the individual round was about to begin, Wang Yan let Xiao Xiao tend to Jiang Nannan temporarily. After that, he reported the seven names he wanted to send out for the individual round.
These seven were Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Ling Luochen, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
Yes, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were being sent out for the individual round. Xu Sanshi was woken up by Ling Luochen using the ice element.
“Nannan, Nannan!” Xu Sanshi couldn’t help but scream as he regained consciousness. His soul power surged out ferociously.
“Calm down.” Bei Bei slapped him, and Xu Sanshi only calmed down because of that.
Xu Sanshi very soon found Jiang Nannan, who was in Xiao Xiao’s arms. His body was even trembling because he was too agitated.
Xu Sanshi was more than a little frantic as he asked, “How is she? How is she?”
Wang Yan came to his side, patted his shoulder and said in a deep voice, “Her injury is very serious, but her life won’t be in any danger. Sanshi, do you want to avenge her?”
Xu Sanshi turned around suddenly, “Of course.” His voice sounded different because he replied with great enthusiasm.
Wang Yan nodded and said, “I shall give you a chance. You’ll be the first in the individual round.”
“Good. I will go up and destroy them.” As he spoke, Xu Sanshi received a Milk Bottle from Wang Yan. He shut his eyes quickly, and regained the soul power that he had depleted earlier.
For today’s final, Wang Yan had specially bought a few more Milk Bottles in the two days of preparation. Everyone had one of them now, and used them to regain their soul power quickly. The individual round was about to start.
Wang Yan was very calm. Although he seemed lethargic, he had a resolute look in his eyes.
Yes, the loss in the team round was part of his plan.
Shrek was inferior in terms of overall abilities. The Sun Moon team was made up of powerful soul engineers, and they had the most advanced soul tools among those of the same rank. They were undoubtedly the strongest as a team. This meant that they would be most powerful in the team round.
If they clashed head-on, Shrek’s chances of success wouldn’t be greater than 30%, and so Wang Yan had decisively chosen to give up victory in the team round without knowledge of Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen’s abilities.
His strategy was very simple. In the team round, all his team members were supposed to conserve. Only Jiang Nannan and
He Caitou would unleash their all, because they wouldn’t be in the individual round. They only had one target in the team round – hurt as many of their opponents as possible. It’s important to note that today’s finals would be completed in one go. While the Sun Moon team was very powerful, they had a limited number of soul kings too. Wang Yan also didn’t expect Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen to be soul kings, but even still, the Sun Moon team only had 9 soul kings. If one was taken down, only 8 would be left.
Reality proved that Wang Yan’s strategy had succeeded.
Lin Xi and Chen Fei’s deaths were not part of his plan, but a Ma Xiaotao who gave her all was too scary. She couldn’t be merciful at all in this final. Along with a little accident, she actually killed 2 Class 5 soul kings. At the same time, she depleted several Invincible Barriers. More importantly, Xiao Hongchen was severely injured. He was unlikely to participate in the rest of the matches. Out of the 9 soul kings, 2 were killed and 1 was heavily injured. Team Sun Moon was very restricted in who they could send out. This would be very disadvantageous for the later segments of the final.
However, the blow that Jiang Nannan took for Dai Yueheng wasn’t within Wang Yan’s plan. But he could understand Jiang
Nannan’s painstaking intention.
Although Jiang Nannan was never a phony in front of Xu Sanshi, she was clear that she might bring Xu Sanshi down. That’s why she took the blow for him without any hesitation. It’s important to know that her life might have been lost if her Invincible Golden Body couldn’t hold on long enough! But she still dashed forward and managed to achieve the best result. Xu Sanshi was agitated, and his internal strength was half- awakened. It was also her efforts that caused Xiao Hongchen to be critically injured. It was even fair to say that Shrek’s team had executed Wang Yan’s plan better than expected.
Ma Xiaotao made the greatest contribution in this team round. Without her, this result would not have been achieved. Even so, Wang Yan did not think that Jiang Nannan made the second greatest contribution. He thought that it was Bei Bei who did so, after he shouted that Shrek conceded defeat at the last moment.
What’s being able to see the bigger picture? It’s the ability to make the correct choice after judging the situation at the most critical moment.
Bei Bei had shouted at the right time. The remaining 4 from the Sun Moon team were still very powerful, and they were also very far away from them. Their soul tools could still be preserved in their best states. Even though Dai Yueheng got closer eventually, the Bloodthirsty Demon Ape that Ma Rulong had summoned wouldn’t be easy to deal with. Or at least, it couldn’t be dealt with in a short period of time. Shrek wouldn’t have been able to achieve victory in that situation. Since this was the case, they should conserve their powers and use them in the individual round.
Dai Yueheng was the one who was supposed to concede defeat, but it was obvious that he had lost control of his emotions. Wang Yan was more impressed with Bei Bei, as he was able to do what Dai Yueheng couldn’t.
Both teams had to decide their sequence before the individual round started and relay them to the referee. This was to ensure fairness.
Wang Yan had already prepared his list earlier on, and passed it to Huang Jinxu. As two members had been killed and one member was severely injured, the teacher in charge of the Sun Moon team had to make changes. This left him extremely frantic.
“No, I have to compete. I must compete. If I don’t, I won’t be present for the 2-2-3 fight either. Damn it, I’m too cowardly.”
Xiao Hongchen was still squawking even though he was heavily injured. He wasn’t very bothered by the 2 official team members’ deaths. He was not very good at interpersonal relationships, and those 2 official team members didn’t like him either. But he was feeling indignant!
Xiao Hongchen had been recognized as the top talent in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s entire history. His talent didn’t just make him a soul engineer, but also an outstanding soul master. He could even perfectly combine these 2 together.
Both he and Meng Hongchen weren’t sent to compete earlier because they were kept to deal with Shrek Academy later on. But who knew that he would embarrass himself the first time he revealed himself.
His all-out offense was blocked by a ravishing lady. What was even more unfortunate for him was that he was wrenched into the air by that same lady using her feet. Eventually, he was
heavily injured by Dai Yueheng. He was totally embarrassed even before he did anything. How could he not feel depressed?
Xiao Hongchen’s identity on the Sun Moon team was very sensitive. Their teacher didn’t dare to let him take a risk! After he was critically injured and two of the other students were killed, he quickly withdrew Xiao Hongchen’s participation from the tournament and replaced him with another preparatory team member. What could Xiao Hongchen do?
Xiao Hongchen still wanted to turn the tide and reveal himself in front of everyone. If he left it just like that, it would be an absolute farce for him!
That was why he was unwilling to be substituted just like that. As he was treated by the healing-type soul masters, he debated with his teacher. He was unwilling to disqualify himself.
The teacher said in a deep voice, “Xiao Hongchen, calm down. Don’t forget what you mean to our academy. If something happens to you, how can I account to the hallmaster?”
Xiao Hongchen raged, “I don’t need you to account to anyone. Isn’t my sister here? If I really die in battle, she’ll explain it to my grandfather. I don’t care, I have to compete. Don’t blame me for complaining to my grandfather if you don’t let me compete.”
Meng Hongchen was a little annoyed as she said, “Teacher, just let him compete if you have no choice. At most, we’ll not let him fight in the individual round. I think 6 of us is enough. If we can’t and lose, my brother and I can unleash our full strength together for the 2-2-3 fight. He can also use the time for the individual round to recover a little. Although I hate to admit it, it’s partly accidental that two seniors were killed just now.”
The teacher creased his brows. These two fellows were very troublesome! Only after the Heavenfiend Douluo urged him for a lineup did he say helplessly, “Very well then. Even if we lose in the individual round, you can’t compete. At most, you can pair with Meng Hongchen in the 2-2-3 fight.”
“Okay.” Xiao Hongchen agreed forthrightly. He also knew his own condition. He couldn’t recover so fast from the White Tiger’s Extermination attacks that were unleashed onto him. With some time from the individual round, he believed that he
could regain a part of his true powers. With his sister around, he was sure he could achieve something in this final. It was definitely better than watching from below the stage.
The Sun Moon team’s competing members and their sequence for the individual round were decided just like that.
Ma Rulong had expended a lot of his powers earlier, and couldn’t be the first to compete. The first to be sent up was an official team member that had been substituted by Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen earlier on. After that, it was another official team member that had been substituted. Following these two, it was Michael, Meng Hongchen, and Ma Rulong followed by Xiao Hongchen. There was a reason why Meng Hongchen was among the first few to be sent up.
Since Wang Yan had already arranged everything, there were no changes on Shrek’s side.
Xu Sanshi was the first to enter the fray. He would be followed by Bei Bei, Ling Luochen, Dai Yueheng, Ma Xiaotao, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.
Without a doubt, the first 5 were the main forces for this individual round, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were the icing on the cake. One of them had 3 rings while the other had 2 rings. Wang Yan included them in the lineup with eyes on the 2-2-3 fight. If the 2 of them were paired along a soul emperor, it would be a great choice. Their martial soul fusion skill couldn’t be underestimated, even though they weren’t that powerful individually.
Wang Yan didn’t send them out in the team round because of his arrangement for Shrek to lose the team round, and also because he wanted to conceal their true abilities. Wang Yan might not have even sent them to compete for today’s final if not for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s incessant pleas. He wanted to protect them.
In 5 years, they would be the core of Shrek Seven Monsters. The more they revealed themselves now, the better their opponents would understand them. Furthermore, the Body Sect had already laid their eyes on Huo Yuhao. Wang Yan didn’t want them to reveal even more about themselves.
But how could Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong not want to compete because of that? Furthermore, there were only 3 possible permutations for Shrek’s lineup. After the team battle, they were definitely needed! That’s why such an arrangement cropped up.
“The individual round begins. The first competing member of each team, please enter the stage. From Shrek Academy, we have Xu Sanshi. From the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, we have Li Yan.”
Xu Sanshi did not even use the stairs. He jumped onto the stage from Shrek’s waiting area.
Even everyone from Shrek felt an unfamiliar sense as they looked at him right now.
Xu Sanshi often laughed and joked normally. He either pestered Jiang Nannan or bickered with Bei Bei. The occasional promise that he showed wouldn’t hold up either. But now, his entire person seemed to have change at this point.
He was silent, cold, and even had an indescribable manner to him. This manner could be described as dignified, or could be referred to that of a leader. He was no longer like a youth now. He was more like an adult, one that was very aloof and competitive.
Through closer observation, one could notice a subtle undulation of black gas flowing around him even though he had not unleashed his martial soul. There was even a dense, gentle ripple that moved with a slight rhythm around his body. He wore a deep gaze that was also cold. His entire person seemed to have become a deep valley that sucked people in.
This was Xu Sanshi in his complete state. He was no longer a soul master who controlled the Shield of the Xuanming Turtle, but the wielder of the Xuanwu Shield. He had the strongest defense-type martial soul on the continent.
Coincidentally, Xu Sanshi’s opponent was a fire-type soul master.
Li Yan was originally one of Team Sun Moon’s official team members. But his ranking among the 7 official team members should be quite low considering how he could be replaced by Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen. His martial soul wasn’t a pure Fire element; it possessed many impure sources of deviant fires and impurities. He wouldn’t have been powerful enough if he only cultivated as a soul master. That’s why he chose to become a soul engineer. He couldn’t use his martial soul to provide himself with more soul power to last in battle, but he could use his own deviant fire to supplement all his soul tools with a fire aura through different soul skills. Of course, his fire was much weaker than Ma Xiaotao’s phoenix flames. But he was still extraordinary to have become a Class 5 soul engineer before he was 20 years old.
Both of their gazes crossed as if they were arch-enemies. The Sun Moon team had lost two of their members! Normally, they were partners that trained and improved together. Li Yan was filled with hatred now that they had passed on.
But Xu Sanshi felt even more hatred in his heart compared to them. When he saw the unconscious Jiang Nannan, he was
rubbed the wrong way, and he now only had one thought on his mind. He had to take revenge for Jiang Nannan and defeat his opponent.
The Heavenfiend Douluo didn’t say anything much. Instead, he gestured for both of them to step back with an ugly look on his face. But the most chaotic team round was already over. He believed that he had enough focus and energy to monitor every exchange of moves between both teams in future battles.
“Match, start!”
Both parties made their move as Huang Jinxu shouted.
Li Yan waved his right arm upwards, and a thick soul tool cannon landed on his shoulder. Without even looking, he fired the cannon towards Xu Sanshi.
A huge fireball was suddenly shot towards Xu Sanshi. The fireball carried a series of explosive sounds in the air, distorting the air wherever it passed.
His deviant fire wasn’t very strong, but it was still very powerful as his soul tool compressed and condensed it. After he injected his soul power into the soul tool, it was almost as if he had created this soul tool himself.
Under normal conditions, one’s first reaction to this cannon shot would be to dodge it. After Li Yan’s soul power was compressed, this cannon shot was rather devastating offensively. The best choice was to dodge it.
But Xu Sanshi did not dodge. He opened his feet wide and suddenly dashed towards his opponent. His martial soul was also unleashed at the same time.
Xu Sanshi’s martial soul had the Xuanwu aura as it was unleashed. This was expected by Wang Yan and everyone from Shrek after Xu Sanshi was agitated because of Jiang Nannan.
Another dark-green snake appeared on the fine and heavy turtle shield. The snake’s eyes were fresh red. A turtle and snake combined – this was the original appearance of a Xuanwu.
A black halo spread out from the shield. Xu Sanshi seemed to turn entirely black at this point. Against the ball of fire, he performed an extremely domineering action. He swept the Xuanwu Shield and used the shield’s surface to strike the ball of fire.
Under normal conditions, any power released by a soul tool would cause an impact once it collided with something else. This was even more so for a fire-type attack like this
However, what happened next was contrary to everything that everyone knew. When Xu Sanshi’s Xuanwu Shield struck the ball of fire, the snake eyes flashed with a red light. At the same time, a gentle ripple strangely covered the ball of fire. The ball of fire did blow apart, but it was delayed by a second because of this ripple. But this second was enough to decide many things.
The ball of fire was hit more than 10 meters away before it blew apart. The shockwave it produced couldn’t reach Xu Sanshi. Xu Sanshi continued to dash forward in big steps. As his martial soul became the Xuanwu Shield, his cultivation had also increased greatly, which meant that he had also become faster.
Li Yan did not panic even though his strike achieved nothing. The stage was 100 meters wide. Xu Sanshi couldn’t dash to the front instantly even if he wanted to.
Metal barrels started to appear on his body, and streaks of intense light lit up continuously. Not only this, but the soul tool on his shoulder changed into a huge fire cannon. This fire cannon was not fired towards Xu Sanshi directly, but above him.
A huge fiery web descended from the sky and engulfed the area in front of Xu Sanshi from above.
Li Yan had calculated this strike beforehand. If Xu Sanshi continued to burst forward, he would be covered by this fire web. If he stopped, it would buy more time for Li Yan to unleash more soul tools against him. Li Yan was waiting for Xu Sanshi to delay himself. He could not last, but his explosiveness was great. But that explosiveness of his had to be unleashed at the correct timing too.
Just when everyone thought that Xu Sanshi would stop in his tracks or go around the web, Xu Sanshi made a decision that no
one had expected. He did not stop, and continued to sprint forward. The fire web covered him.
A cold grin appeared on Li Yan’s lips. He was sure that Xu Sanshi was unaware that this fire web was a soul tool that he had invented. This fire web would restrict the opponent like a cage. However, all of his fire-type attacks could penetrate the fire web, and he could thus continue to attack his opponent. This meant that Xu Sanshi would be in deep trouble if he landed inside the fire web. At least this was what Li Yan thought.
As the fire web was about to descend and engulf Xu Sanshi, Xu Sanshi’s Xuanwu Shield was still blocking the attacks of Li Yan’s various soul tools, and he couldn’t defend against what was above him.
At this moment, Xu Sanshi stopped in his tracks. He did not even glance at the fire web that descended from the sky as he placed the shield in front of his chest.
In the next instant, Li Yan saw two spots of red light shining on the Xuanwu Shield. After that, he felt that space had distorted.
Everything around him seemed to turn illusory. Li Yan couldn’t describe this feeling either. He was a little dizzy because of this, and his soul tool attacks also seemed to become very messy and chaotic.
This distortion only lasted for a moment before normalcy was restored. In the next instant, Li Yan was appalled. That was because he discovered to his great horror that he was in front of Xu Sanshi and the Xuanwu Shield. That fire web had only just landed.
A dense, black soul power spurted from Xu Sanshi’s body. His third and fourth soul rings started to light up.
His third soul skill was the Mysterious Underworld Force, while his fourth soul skill was the Mysterious Underworld Displacement. However, everything was different when the Shield of Xuanming Turtle turned into the Xuanwu Shield.
Chapter 119: Xu Sanshi Goes All-Out
With the Strength of the Xuanwu supporting him, the soul power unleashed caused the fire web to descend at a much slower speed. His fourth soul skill, the Mysterious Underworld Displacement, did not switch his position with his opponent. Rather, it caused his opponent to be translocated in front of him.
Xu Sanshi was calmer in such important battles. That decisive charge of his confused his opponent and caused him to slip up.
After the Shield of the Xuanming Turtle became the Xuanwu Shield, all his soul skills changed too. The Mysterious Underworld Displacement changed from its pure displacement effect to a soul skill that could both displace and translocate opponents.
The Mysterious Underworld Displacement now allowed translocation of all life within 100 meters to just right in front of him. The translocated person would also be momentarily stunned. Although it was only for one second, it was already sufficient for a defense-type soul master to do many things. If a
friendly force was translocated over, the user could stop the person being translocated from being momentarily stunned.
He had arrived so close to Xu Sanshi in an instant that Li Yan did not even have time to react before he saw Xu Sanshi’s cold and scary black pupils. Following that, the Xuanwu Shield slammed into him.
Li Yan was a soul king, while Xu Sanshi was only a soul ancestor. But the Xuanwu Shield caused an unimaginable impact at this moment.
Li Yan still managed to react through his panic. He wanted to unleash his Invincible Barrier, seeing that things were not right. Everyone had prepared an Invincible Barrier before they came for the final. Although it was very costly, it could turn a situation around if used well. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy never had a lack of money.
But Li Yan miscalculated this time. Before the Xuanwu Shield even slammed against him, he already felt a gentle water ripple engulfing his body. He was a fire-type soul master, whereas the Xuanwu was a water and earth-type. Water was the main element, while earth was the secondary element. As his
martial soul was suppressed, his soul powers retracted, and he couldn’t use the Invincible Barrier. After all, the Invincible Barrier was neither auto-activating or omnipotent.
The Xuanwu Shield slammed into him in the next moment.
Li Yan’s entire body turned black after he was struck, and there was a feeling of water being splashed. Countless metal shards flew out from his body in all directions. Not only this, but he seemed to have been sucked into a whirlpool. His body wasn’t thrown away, and a string of booms resonated from the Xuanwu Shield’s surface. Xu Sanshi’s first soul ring also started to flash.
Mysterious Underworld Quake. The violent Mysterious
Underworld Quake. The ever-changing Mysterious
Underworld Quake! Or rather, the improved version of the Mysterious Underworld Quake!
Li Yan’s body seemed to be struck thousands of times in that instant. His soul tool was knocked away from him, and his soul powers were dissipated. His life was also in danger…
The Heavenfiend Douluo reacted in time. When he noticed something amiss, he had already appeared beside Li Yan instantly. He used one hand to chop the central position where both of them had collided with each other.
The black light from the Xuanwu Shield jerked a little, and Xu Sanshi staggered backwards half a step, whereas Li Yan collapsed to the ground. At least 7 or 8 of his ribs were probably broken, and his internal organs were greatly injured too. If he hadn’t been wearing his soul tool armor, his injuries would have been even worse.
Even the Heavenfiend Douluo’s palm shook a little as he stopped Xu Sanshi. This showed how powerful the Mysterious Underworld Quake was. Xu Sanshi was no longer simply just a defense-type soul master.
A gentle, immense force dragged Li Yan’s body down from the competition stage. Healing-type soul masters immediately tended to him.
The Heavenfiend Douluo said in a deep voice after he glanced at Xu Sanshi, “The Sun Moon team’s second competing
member for the individual round, Chen An, shall enter the fray. You, step back.”
His last few words were for Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi didn’t retract his Xuanwu Shield, but stepped back a few steps. Another Milk Bottle appeared in his hand too. As he stepped back, he used the Milk Bottle without retracting the shield. Milky white ripples could be seen spreading outwards from his body before they were retracted back in.
“Sanshi!” Bei Bei couldn’t help himself, and screamed from below the stage. He was the clearest about Xu Sanshi’s ability. He had fulfilled his potential by using the Xuanwu Shield, which also expended all his soul power. To recover his soul power to its peak state in a short period of time, he was using the Milk Bottle while his martial soul was still out. Although the impact on his body by his soul power was minimized by his strong Xuanwu aura, the feedback on him would be too great if he left this explosive Xuanwu state right now.
Jiang Nannan had also slowly regained consciousness in Xiao Xiao’s arms with the aid of the healing-type soul masters.
Jiang Nannan was a little dazed as she saw the huge and tall figure that was retreating step by step with his back facing her, and was using the Milk Bottle to regain his soul power.
“He’s, he’s doing this for me? He treats me… but…”
Complex emotions surged in this young lady’s heart, and her pain didn’t seem obvious anymore. Her intense distaste for a certain someone was slowly disappearing.
“He’s indeed awakened the powers of the Xuanwu. I’ve succeeded. But why do I feel frantic even though I succeeded? Is he really true to me? But I… but he…”
Jiang Nannan’s mind drifted with the scene when she saw Xu Sanshi for the first time. Her tender face was also starting to flush. She lowered her head, as if she didn’t dare to look at him on the stage. But she lifted her head very soon, and the look in her eyes changed tremendously in just a blink. There was an extra tinge of concern, or perhaps that was worry.
Chen An was an official team member of the Sun Moon team. His martial soul was the Lightning Bird. He was also Chen Fei’s
biological younger brother, and they were only a year apart in terms of age.
Compared to his brother, Chen An was only 18 this year. It was obvious that he was more talented than his brother, as he could represent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy as an official team member even though he was only 18 years old. But he only had this one biological brother, who had always been his goal.
Chen Fei was dead. He had died under Ma Xiaotao’s phoenix flames. Chen An’s eyes turned had blood-red from that point on.
Li Yan had lost. He had already jumped onto the stage the moment the Heavenfiend Douluo opened his mouth. His entire person seemed to be on fire, and a layer of formless radiance was shining from him.
He fought differently from other soul engineers. When the Heavenfiend Douluo signaled the start of the competition, he leapt towards Xu Sanshi like a bolt of lightning.
He was too quick. In terms of speed, he was even faster than his elder brother. Huo Yuhao could only tell that Chen An was wielding a pair of short swords as his weapons even though he had his Spirit Eyes.
The 100 meters between them seemed to be covered so easily. That bolt of lightning surged straight towards Xu Sanshi, and even the Heavenfiend Douluo had to be absolutely focused in preparation to end this round.
The radiance from Xu Sanshi’s Milk Bottle had disappeared when his opponent dashed out. He lifted the heavy Xuanwu Shield and performed an action that didn’t seem related to the competition.
He moved half a step to the right, and tilted the Xuanwu Shield at an angle. He also shut his eyes at this point and sealed
his vision.
“Dang—” A streak of advancing golden light grazed past the Xuanwu Shield and amidst a stream of sparks. After that, a series of explosions echoed from the Xuanwu Shield. The frightening explosive force was too much for Xu Sanshi, even though he had the Xuanwu Shield. He retreated a few steps rapidly, and only managed to stabilize after staggering a little.
Yes, Chen An and Chen Fei were different. Chen Fei used his speed, as he was a speed-type long-range attacker, whereas Chen An was a close-combat soul engineer. He specialized in close-combat and attacked rapidly. A powerful assault-type close-combat soul tool, along with his extreme speed, made him stronger than an agility-type soul king.
The pair of short swords in his hand had been molded by him 7 times. The short swords would become more powerful every time they were molded. He had made them Class 6 soul tools through all his effort. One sword had a flash effect, and was extremely quick, while the other sword could invoke a thunderstorm. Once struck by this sword, a thunderstorm would rage and strike the opponent. It would also create an opportunity for the other sword.
It took Chen An less than a third of a second to slow his assault. In the next instant, he had already attacked Xu Sanshi like a bolt of lightning.
Xu Sanshi started to shift his feet, and his small steps changed repeatedly. It appeared that his actions were out of tune with the oncoming bolt of lightning, but he was able to dodge behind the Xuanwu Shield.
A close-combat soul engineer was offensively stronger than a long-distance soul engineer. While the soul tool rays and soul tool cannons looked very dazzling, only a close-combat soul tool could unleash the effects of a soul tool to its fullest.
Xu Sanshi’s defense had reached a soul king’s standard with the Xuanwu Shield supporting him. However, he was still forced back by Chen An’s relentless attacks. He couldn’t even stand properly. A streak of flashing light left streaks and streaks of shrilling sparks. Bolts and bolts of lightning brought booming, reverberating sounds with them.
Xu Sanshi was in great jeopardy now. He was at risk of perishing under the pulsating bolts of lightning.
He was getting closer to the edge of the stage. If this continued, Xu Sanshi would certainly be forced off the stage even if he could resist Chen An’s attacks.
However, Chen An changed the direction of his attacks at this point. Xu Sanshi had to retreat laterally because of this.
“Rascal, what’re you doing?” The Sun Moon team’s teacher could not help but scold furiously. Chen An was on the verge of victory earlier!
“He wants to take revenge for Chen Fei. This fellow…” Ma Rulong was a little annoyed as he shut his eyes. What else could he say? If it were him, what would he do?
Chen An didn’t force Xu Sanshi off the stage, as he wanted more time to attack. He wanted to find a loophole and kill him.
Xu Sanshi was forced to retreat laterally. He was staggering now, and could be killed at anytime.
The Heavenfiend Douluo was experienced, and could tell Chen An’s motive.
“Boom—"
An explosion rang from the Xuanwu Shield. Xu Sanshi’s hands also trembled a little, and he staggered backwards quickly. He wanted to use his soul skill to make up for his shortfall, but Chen An’s speed increased to its peak at this instant. Chen An’s flashing sword stabbed towards Xu Sanshi rapidly.
The Heavenfiend Douluo hesitated for a while. He could tell that Xu Sanshi was unable to dodge this blow, but he saw Xu Sanshi’s Xuanwu Shield lighting up too.
He could end this round if he made his move, but he couldn’t determine the victor. That was why he hesitated. He didn’t strike with the hand he lifted, as he didn’t want to influence the result.
“Psht—” The flashing sword stabbed into Xu Sanshi’s chest. Intense lightning flashed across his chest, and his entire person
seemed to be coated with a layer of lightning.
“No—!” Below the stage, the critically injured Jiang Nannan sat up. She let out a sorrowful groan, then spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
How could Xu Sanshi not hear that? His eyes were filled with resolve initially, but a shred of comfort appeared when he heard that sorrowful groan.
The lightning that spread across his body was the effect caused by the flashing sword. As the sword stabbed into his body, the flashing lightning surged in his entire body and could even tear it apart.
Chen An was delighted when he managed to stab Xu Sanshi successfully. He muttered to himself, “Elder brother, I’ve avenged you.”
However, his smile stiffened up at this point.
Xu Sanshi’s body was covered on flashing lightning, but there were too many bolts of lightning on his body. Just as Chen An was stunned in place, a gentle ripple undulated, and Xu Sanshi’s tough Xuanwu Shield softened. It turned into rippling water that engulfed his body internally.
Xu Sanshi had been waiting for this moment for too long. Against a close-combat soul engineer, his Mysterious Underworld Displacement was useless. Bringing his opponent close to him would only enable his opponent to increase his frequency of attacks. The Mysterious Underworld Quake couldn’t even quake at a speed that matched up to the opponent’s rate of attack. That was why he could only wait for an opportunity to arrive.
Did Xu Sanshi slip up just now? No, of course not. He had intentionally revealed a crack in his defenses. That was because he could clearly sense that he was unable to hold on, as his soul power was depleting quickly and his opponent was attacking him relentlessly. He had no chance to wait any further, thus he needed to take a risk.
The Xuanwu Shield turned into a ball of black watery light that engulfed Chen An precisely. In the next instant, a huge illusory Xuanwu Shield appeared behind Xu Sanshi
Chapter 120: The Tang Sect's Secret Techniques
The shield had turned into a liquid? The changes came too suddenly, but it changed the outcome of the fight.
Even Bei Bei, who was the most familiar with Xu Sanshi, didn’t know that this good friend of his had such a capability. No one would also have expected that this soul skill would become Xu Sanshi’s trademark. It had a frightening strength that was almost irresistible. Its name was Descent of the Xuanwu.
This was an additional power that the Xuanwu Shield possessed. However, Xu Sanshi could only attack within close range, as he could not fully control the shield yet. Furthermore, the area that he could cover was very small, and he had only one chance. Once his opponent dodged this attack, he would no longer possess any chance of winning.
That’s why he waited. When his opponent’s flashing sword stabbed into his right chest that he intentionally exposed, he knew that the opportunity had arrived.
Chen An lowered his guard for an instant after he got what he wanted and slowed down by a beat. This gave Xu Sanshi an opportunity to unleash an all-out strike towards him.
The flashing lightning from the sword didn’t cause any harm to Xu Sanshi. Only the sword blade that stabbed right through him left him in intense pain.
Water conducts electricity. Moreover, Xu Sanshi had the Xuanwu Shield. He could suppress his opponent completely using his martial soul. That’s why the lightning from the sword was conducted out from his body by his water-type soul power. It wasn’t that easy to harm a defense-type soul master.
Chen An’s first reaction to being engulfed by the water ripple was to burst out of it. He wanted to retract his sword, but he couldn’t do it anymore. Xu Sanshi tightened his muscles and both his hands grabbed the sword blade very tightly.
Chen An had no choice but to let go of his sword since strength was not his forte. He subdued with his speed, thus it was imperative for him not to get caught.
Bolts of lightning shone on his other sword, and an intense boom reverberated from it.
Impure water conducts electricity, and the radiance from the Xuanwu Shield contained traces of water.
The viscous fluid prevented Chen An, a Class 5 soul engineer and soul king, from escaping.
Fresh blood flowed down Xu Sanshi’s chest and palms as he pulled the flashing sword from his chest and glared coldly at the entrapped Chen An, who was surrounded by the black radiance converted from the Xuanwu Shield.
“Goodbye.”
The illusory Xuanwu figure behind Xu Sanshi turned into another Xuanwu Shield as the black radiance flashed. The snake’s eyes on the shield then shot out a red light, causing the black radiance trapping Chen An to turn red in an instant.
“Stop.” The Heavenfiend Douluo stepped forward and attempted to stop Xu Sanshi’s attack.
However, the Xuanwu Shield’s innate offensive method was too weird . The Heavenfiend Douluo erected a layer of light to segregate the both of them and extended his hand to pull Chen An out. However, he quickly retracted his hand when he extended it into the red fluid, as if he was shocked.
The Heavenfiend Douluo’s expression had changed because of the terrifying feeling he’d experienced.
His spirit shook from the Xuanwu’s aura of desolation. After that, he watched as Chen An disappeared within the red fluid. Or rather, he melted in the fluid.
This strike was no longer just inflicted with Xu Sanshi’s strength. He’d become the intermediary between the Xuanwu that controlled the water and earth elements.
There were only three ways of preventing this blow from landing. The first was to avoid being struck by the ball of black light converted from the Xuanwu Shield. The radius of that
ball of black light was only 3 meters, and it could only be used once every 3 days, just like Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao’s martial soul fusion skill. Furthermore, it had to be unleashed in the awakened Xuanwu form.
The second way was to take Xu Sanshi down before the Descent of the Xuanwu was fully unleashed. This was the only way to end his ritual of summoning the Descent of the Xuanwu.
The last way was to suppress the Xuanwu with one’s martial soul. However, this was very difficult.
This was Xu Sanshi’s first time using this innate skill, or rather this bloodline skill. Chen An was also the first sacrificial offering towards the Descent of Xuanwu.
“Ahhh—” Sorrowful moans rang from below the stage. Everyone from the Sun Moon team was about to go crazy. Their teacher was even about to rush up the competition stage.
This was the third one! This was the third member from their team that had perished in the tournament! How could
this be? Their teacher was absolutely flustered now. There was no way he could account to the dean after three of the academy’s outstanding talents had been killed!
Xu Sanshi didn’t see all this. Once Chen An was assimilated by the red radiance, he collapsed himself and passed out. The burden on him was even greater this time; he wasn’t acting anymore.
He’d managed to beat two soul kings as a soul ancestor. He’d already contributed a lot to Shrek’s glory. Furthermore, he was only a defense-type soul master!
The defensive barriers on the competition stage were projected inwards. This was to prevent any outflow of powers from the stage, and the barriers only exerted a unidirectional force. That was why it was very easy for everyone from the Sun Moon team to barge up the stage towards Xu Sanshi.
“Stop!” The Heavenfiend Douluo shouted. Even though he felt gloomy, he still had to restrain the Sun Moon team, as he was the referee.
The Sun Moon team could no longer hold back as they were too emotional. Countless soul tool rays shot towards Xu Sanshi, who’d collapsed to the ground.
However, a brazen figure appeared at the center of the stage at this point, and all of the rays of light were instantaneously dispersed.
A layer of formless yellow seemed to spread in the air. Everyone on the stage, including the Heavenfiend Douluo, seemed to have been frozen in place, and all of their actions stopped.
The figure on the stage held onto his wine gourd and calmly downed a mouthful of wine. He peacefully looked at everyone from the Sun Moon team peacefully.
“Trying to revolt?”
These simple words of his seemed to heavily strike the minds of everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. None of them could speak at this moment.
Without a doubt, the person that had appeared onstage and caused everyone to be petrified was the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan.
Elder Xuan said indifferently, “The history of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament can be traced back more than 10,000 years. Even when the Martial Soul Hall controlled all the soul masters on the continent, the tournament has never been disrupted before. Please find the referee if someone has been killed and you want to get even. According to the rules, all competing members have to give their all in order to display their true abilities. Who can hold back after they’ve given their all? Furthermore, the referee is in charge of monitoring the competition. If someone dies, the referee is the one at fault. What has that got to do with our team member? If anyone intends to break this ten thousand year-old rule, they can come find me.”
He turned around and walked towards Xu Sanshi as he spoke, then bent down and lifted Xu Sanshi up. A gentle yellow radiance was injected into Xu Sanshi’s body, which immediately sorted him out. It also sealed the veins where his wounds were located.
The Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu was extremely depressed after hearing this. Subtle streaks of black seemed to droop from his forehead.
Why was this old fellow still alive? However, he didn’t say anything in response.
Elder Xuan turned around once again as he reached the edge of the stage, “The tournament must continue, unless you want to be the butt of all jokes. Oh yes, I don’t care if the others die, but if these little fellows die, I can’t guarantee that I won’t go crazy. I don’t think there’s anyone here who can stop me if I go crazy.”
This was an obvious threat! However, no one dared to open their mouth.
Only after Elder Xuan had carried Xu Sanshi off the stage did everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy manage to move again.
The students still wanted to protest, but their teacher reached out his hand and stopped them.
“Teacher, we’re just going to leave things like this? We…” Ma Rulong protested indignantly.
“Shut up!” Their teacher bellowed, “Do you know who that is? He’s the strongest in Shrek Academy, and he’s also one of the top 5 on the continent. His title is Taotie, and he’s a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo. He has frightening power close to that of an Ultimate Douluo. If he goes crazy, he could lay waste to this city. Even the Hallmaster wouldn’t dare to challenge him if he were here. No one expected him to appear in today’s finals.”
After he spoke, it was as if everyone from the Sun Moon team had been splashed with a basin of ice water. They all felt a chill in their hearts.
As soul engineers, they believed that soul engineers would surpass soul masters in the future. But Rank 98 was too high of a figure for them; it was beyond their knowledge. In the Sun Moon Empire, there wasn’t a single Transcendent Douluo! Rank 98 was even more ridiculous.
“Are we really going to leave it just like that?” Xiao Hongchen asked indignantly.
Their teacher was pale as he said, “Taotie may be very strong, but he cares about his own face. So long as we don’t annoy him, he won’t do anything to us. He won’t disrupt the tournament as long as things go according to the rules either. Let’s all leave the stage. He’s also right in that that it’s largely the referee’s fault that our team members were killed. The academy will seek redress for this matter.”
It had been proven that a Transcendent Douluo was enough to suppress everyone. Even the Star Luo Emperor and White Tiger Duke didn’t comment, instead only watching from afar. The Star Luo Emperor, Xu Jiawei, revealed a pensive look, whereas the White Tiger Duke furrowed his brows and seemed to be thinking of something.
The Heavenfiend Douluo was very proud and withdrawn. If it were someone else, he would have retaliated even though it was in front of 100,000 spectators. However, he didn’t dare do so in front of Elder Xuan. That was because he had sparred with Elder Xuan 20 years ago, and hadn’t fared much better than a certain Protector Douluo from the Star Luo Empire’s royal family…
Huang Jinxu took a deep breath, and tried his best to calm himself down. There was nothing embarrassing about being humiliated by Elder Xuan. Although Elder Xuan had shifted the blame to him, he didn’t argue back and bore the humiliation.
“Both teams, please send your next competing members up to the stage. From Shrek Academy, we have Bei Bei. From the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, we have Michael. Both members, please ascend the stage.”
Shrek Academy held the advantage now that the individual round had reached this stage. They’d even laid a solid foundation for the upcoming 2-2-3 fight.
Shrek Academy had only sent out a soul ancestor, Xu Sanshi, yet he’d been able to overcome 2 Class 5 soul engineers. His contributions were immense. Furthermore, one of his opponent had died, while the other had been gravely injured. They couldn’t compete in the 2-2-3 fight. This meant that Shrek Academy had already won 1 round out of the 3 rounds in
the 2-2-3 fight. And they just had to win 2 rounds out of 3 in the 2-2-3 fight!
Even though Shrek Academy had lost Xu Sanshi, their 2 soul emperors had yet to compete. Their advantage in the individual round was obvious.
Team Sun Moon’s teacher squinted his eyes, and his expression turned ghastly. However, he also knew that he couldn’t panic at this point. If they made a false move, they could lose the entire tournament. It wasn’t as if Shrek’s advantage would last forever, even though they had the upper hand right now. After all, the individual round had only just begun.
He summoned Meng Hongchen over.
“Little Meng, everything will depend on you later. You’ll be up next. For the academy’s glory, give it your all.” The teacher said in a deep voice.
A weird radiance flashed across Meng Hongchen’s eyes as she nodded her head slightly. “Don’t worry, Teacher. I might not
be able to determine the outcome, but I can definitely change the situation. I won’t let Shrek Academy have it easy.”
“Yes, we’re counting on you.” The teacher bowed slightly towards Meng Hongchen.
Xiao Hongchen pursed his lips from the other side. He was dejected, as he believed that he should be the one to turn the tables around. While his sister’s capabilities were special, and could lead to unprecedented effects, she was likely to be greatly restricted under certain conditions. Her abilities weren’t as balanced as his! However, he really was seriously injured. Even though he might be able to participate in the 2-2-3 fight, he would be useless in the individual round. Besides feeling dejected, there was nothing he could do.
Bei Bei and Michael retreated to the edges of the competition stage. The Heavenfiend Douluo didn’t reveal any expression on his face as gestured and shouted, “Match, start!”
Michael was an official team member, thus his powers were superior to the other 2 members before him. His abilities weren’t as simple as they’d seemed when he’d faced Jiang Peng from the Imperial Profound Academy.
He immediately displayed his true capabilities the moment the competition began. A series of metallic clanking sounds rang out as several soul tools attached themselves to his body.
However, he was different from his other team members. There weren’t many barrels on his body, but they were all located around his legs and back.
A pair of blue, metal boots had appeared around his feet and legs. At the same time, 2 metal barrels had appeared behind his back. These 2 metal barrels were only 3 inches long, but they were more than 6 inches in diameter. The backs of these barrels were shaped like balls, which allowed them to change directions easily.
Huo Yuhao would find it difficult to control such an advanced soul tool, as his soul power was insufficient, but Michael could easily control this soul tool, as he was a Class 5 soul engineer.
Other than these 2 soul tools, 4 metal wings extended from Michael’s ribs. But they were not flying-type soul tools. Rather, they were there to help him adjust his aim and maintain his balance.
In addition, Michal there was a thick barrel on each of his arms, as well as another huge, circular, ball-like object that seemed similar to a concentrated soul tool on his chest.
Bei Bei fought in a similar style to most soul masters: As soon as the start of the competition was announced, he burst forward towards his opponent as fast as possible.
Closing the gap between them was the best way that one could resist a long-distance soul engineer.
Michael also made his move, the long boots on his leg flashing with light, causing him to immediately move a few meters laterally at a frightening speed. While he wasn’t comparable to Chen An, he was not that much slower either. The soul thruster behind his back also shot out a little light as he moved laterally, although their radiance wasn’t intense. However, it still managed to increase his speed significantly, while the wings on his back automatically adjusted to maintain his balance as he moved. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were both awed when they saw these soul tools in action. Michael truly lived up to his name as a disciple that came from the best soul engineering academy on the continent! Michael’s immaculate control of these soul tools had left them extremely amazed.
He couldn’t just dodge throughout the entire fight though. He lifted his hand while he was moving, and the barrel on his right hand fired towards Bei Bei. An scarlet, oval-shaped ball of light quickly shot out into the air and flew without any rhythm. Despite its erraticness, Bei Bei remained its target. What was strange was that it didn’t let out any sound as it appeared.
Bei Bei expression became serious and he stopped in his tracks. He waved his right hand and unleashed his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, his first soul ring shining brightly. He then used his Thunderous Dragon Claw to grab the ball of light.
It was imperative for Bei Bei to understand what the offensive capabilities of his opponent were, based off of the 2 soul cannons on his opponent’s arms.
He managed to precisely grab the orange-red light ball, but a strange scene appeared.
The lightning from the Thunderous Dragon Claw was extinguished as soon as it made contact with the orange-red
light ball. The ball of light stopped in mid-air, then began to shine even more brightly than before.
He Caitou had already stood up below the stage. He said in horror, “That’s an automatic soul cannon! To think they actually had something like this…”
Huo Yuhao had once heard Fan Yu’s description of such a soul tool. It was a powerful soul tool that Shrek Academy didn’t possess.
Once an automatic soul cannon was fired, the cannon shell would absorb all surrounding energy, then become explosive once it struck its opponent or was blocked. The scariest thing was that it could be also be detonated at any time.
This meant that Michael could make it so that the cannon shell only detonated a few seconds after it was touched. Generally speaking, it would explode between one and five seconds after contact. After all, a cannon shell was a high- energy entity compressed from soul power; it couldn’t be controlled for too long.
But many things could still be decided within this period of time!
This was the case now. When he saw the sudden increase in the intensity of the light, Bei Bei had no choice but to stop and leap to the side.
The scarlet ball of light exploded after a second, its frighteningly explosive force creating a burning, scarlet circle of light with a diameter of more than one and a half meters, and an even greater explosive strength, to appear. The light caused the air within a 3 meter radius to distort wherever it passed.
Bei Bei turned pale and wanted to curse. This soul tool was too powerful. He was likely to be critically injured if he was struck head-on even once!
Fortunately, the automatic soul cannon fired at a rather slow speed due to its great power, as a huge amount of soul power had to be gathered before the cannon could be fired.
By the time the first cannon shell exploded, Michael’s second cannon shell had only just been fired from the barrel on his other hand.
This type of soul tool was very useful, but the heat that it generated could easily cause the barrel to crack, and couldn’t be fired repeatedly. As such, Michael chose to fire with the other barrel. Ma Rulong had mentioned before that close- combat wasn’t his forte. These automatic soul cannons that had appeared in this tournament for the first time were his true trump cards. Of course, there was also the scarlet ball that started to light up in front of his chest; it was bound to be something powerful too!
Michael’s body moved rapidly as he attacked in a constant attempt to maintain the furthest distance he could from Bei Bei.
This second cannon shell crossed in front of the path that Bei Bei would have to follow if he wanted to get to him.
A cold radiance flashed in Bei Bei’s eyes. This time he actively moved to collide with the cannon shell, rather than use a soul skill to intercept it.
A cold smile was revealed on Michael’s face. He thought to himself, “Are you trying to dodge my attack? My cannon shell has locked onto you; you can’t escape it. Once you’re hit by it, you’ll be stuck, and I’ll be able to exact revenge for my brothers.”
When the cannon shell reached in front of Bei Bei, he lifted his left hand and grabbed it.
Why did he grab hold of the cannon shell? This was what every spectator wondered. In the Sun Moon team’s eyes, his arm was bound to be crippled, even if he didn’t die.
Bei Bei’s movements were sequential. The moment he grabbed the cannon shell, his footsteps became slightly faster. As he slid towards the cannon shell, his body became slightly illusory. He let go of the cannon shell, but the cannon shell came sticking back towards him as it tracked him.
But Bei Bei also wrenched his left hand downwards at this point. The cannon shell, which was a less than a foot away, seemed to be guided by his palm, and was slammed into the ground. It was completely smashed by the impact.
Bei Bei then burst forward with increased speed as he propelled himself off the ground with the tips of his toes, increasing the gap between the cannon shell and him to over 3 meters.
A boom resonated from behind him; it was as if the sun seemed was shining brightly at his back.
“I have to return your favor. Since you’ve given me two eggs, I’ll give one to you in return.” Bei Bei’s right wrist jerked as he flung a pitch-black, ball-like entity towards Michael.
This ball-like entity was oval-shaped, and its trajectory was as unrhythmic as the automatic soul cannon shell. It drew an arc in the air as it flew towards Michael.
Michael had just fired his third cannon at this point, and was shocked by how his second cannon shell was smashed onto the ground by Bei Bei. However, he immediately adjusted his third cannon so that its cannon shell would blow apart
instantaneously. If Bei Bei dared to use the same method again, the cannon shell would explode the instant he made contact with it. However, it was a pity that he couldn’t absorb any further energy from Bei Bei’s soul skills, as it was unlikely that Bei Bei would use them again.
The 2 ball-like objects seemed to interlace as the scarlet ball of light reached Bei Bei almost instantly. Bei Bei performed an unexpected limbo-like action as he burst forward. He continued to advance, but his upper body was bent backwards. He flung both of his hands backwards too, causing the scarlet ball of light to be pushed backwards by a special force. Despite this, it remained locked onto Bei Bei, and continued chasing him after flying 3 meters away.
A loaded arrow concealed in Bei Bei’s sleeve suddenly flew out and struck the ball of light at this moment.
Once Michael’s automatic soul cannon shell was struck, it would blow up. In other words, it wouldn’t continue to chase its target anymore. It wasn’t so intelligent after all!
A deafening explosion that generated immense heat reverberated from behind Bei Bei, but Bei Bei wasn’t struck by
the shockwave as he continued to advance forwards.
“Well done!” Even Elder Xuan couldn’t help but say when he saw this scene. He was immensely amazed. Bei Bei had dealt with his opponent’s soul tools extremely brilliantly.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked at each other and saw the amazement in each other’s eyes.
Bei Bei hadn’t resisted the automatic soul cannon with his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, but with a secret weapon from the Tang Sect! As the Tang Sect’s eldest disciple, he’d finally revealed the true ability that he’d concealed for so long in the tournament. He’d used the Tang Sect’s secret techniques!
While Bei Bei handled the third automatic soul cannon, the metal ball that he thrown reached Michael.
Michael wasn’t careless, but he was still extremely scornful subconsciously. As an outstanding student from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he was acquainted with the history of soul tools. Thrown soul tools had existed for a
long time, but he couldn’t think of any powerful ones amongst those this size.
It wasn’t just arrogance for Bei Bei to fling a thrown soul tool towards a Class 5 soul engineer like him—it was much worse than arrogance.
However, he didn’t react to it carelessly despite having such an opinion. He lifted his right hand and the Thunderous Soul Sword that he’d once used against Jiang Peng appeared.
A bolt of lightning shot out and turned into a lightning whip that he swung towards the metal ball.
Lightning was naturally attracted to metal. He wouldn’t let the metal ball get close to him. A simple explosion wouldn’t affect him with the distance he maintained from the metal ball. Furthermore, he was rapidly retreating backwards as he wielded the sword, while also preparing to fire his fourth cannon. Bei Bei might be very agile at dodging, but Michael wasn’t scared of Bei Bei getting close to him. In addition to this, he could tell that Bei Bei had exhausted all of his power dodging his previous 3 cannon shells. He fired this fourth
cannon towards the ground in front of Bei Bei; delaying his opponent was imperative.
A sequence of strategies formed in Michael’s mind. The only thing that didn’t cross his mind was the potential problem that the metal ball could pose to him.
“Boom—” The metal ball blew apart the moment it was struck by the lightning.
Compared to Michael’s cannon shells, this explosion seemed very mild; it was as if a watermelon had been smashed. It didn’t even catch many people’s attention.
However, a gust of fog rose the moment it exploded. This fog carried a sweet scent that diffused in the air. As lightning flashed through it, the gust of fog surged slightly.
Poison?
This was Michael’s first thought. He was called an elite talent from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy for a
reason, as a barrier immediately shone around his body.
As he was a Class 5 soul engineer, this barrier was naturally a Class 5 barrier as well. Although this barrier couldn’t withstand Ma Xiaotao’s attacks or Xu Sanshi’s Descent of Xuanwu, it was still resistant against most soul king-level attacks.
He believed that his defense was already very stable. While Bei Bei was quite intelligent to use poisonous gas, he was only delaying Michael’s attack by a bit. Poisonous gas wasn’t of much use against him.
But was it really just poisonous gas?
A soft crackling sound rang out. There was insufficient sunlight bearing down amidst the gloomy weather, thus Michael only briefly saw a black figure flash through the air. The crackling sound had originated from the barrier on his body.
Afterwards, he felt his body turning numb. It was as if he had been stabbed, and his body became stiff. The most tragic thing
was that the cannon shell he’d just fired had stopped in front of him.
How could this have happened? Was it a dud?
Two thoughts popped up in Michael’s mind at the same time. He hadn’t expect to face something like this. Furthermore, he didn’t know what trick Bei Bei had employed.
However, a beam of light descended from the sky engulfed his body at this point. This beam of light shielded him when the cannon shell blew up.
Everything had turned scarlet in front of Michael, and his gaze stiffened. His hair stood on end, and cold sweat ran down his back. If the beam of light had come even a second later, he wouldn’t have been able to react in time. If he’d been engulfed entirely by that scarlet radiance, he would’ve followed in the footsteps of his compatriots. There truly was a thin line between life and death.
The Heavenfiend Douluo had been the one to save him.
The things that had happened before had left this Titled Douluo on his toes. He’d already readied his only defense-type skill in his palm. Once he realized that something was amiss, he’d immediately protected Michael.
Bei Bei seemed regretful as he muttered, “It seems like I’m better. He used so many eggs, but they were all inferior to mine!”
As the scarlet radiance slowly faded away, the muffled sound thunder could be heard from the sky. The weather became even more gloomy.
But this gloominess couldn’t compare to the Sun Moon team’s mood.
Since the Heavenfiend Douluo had intervened, it meant that Michael had lost. What they couldn’t comprehend was how Michael had lost.
What was that metal ball that Bei Bei had thrown? Even most of those from Shrek Academy were confused.
Secret weapon; it was definitely a secret weapon from the Tang Sect. Huo Yuhao clenched his fist and watched the lofty Bei Bei in awe.
The Tang’s Sect secret technique had finally appeared after many years of disappearance. However, how many still knew about the Tang’s Sect secret techniques now?
It was a powerful secret weapon from the Tang Sect known as the Clustered Soulchasing Balls. The black figure that had appeared was the metal ball. After the Clustered Soulchasing Balls blew apart, countless Oxhair Needles had flown out. While these needles were poisonous, the poisonous fog had appeared in order to mask their presence.
The Clustered Soulchasing Balls were among the top 10 secret weapons in the Tang Sect, and specialized in breaking down all sorts of defensive barriers. Even a Class 5 defense barrier could only slow these needles down. In the end, the barrier was eventually penetrated by the needles, and the automatic soul cannon shell was detonated. Bei Bei hadn’t intend to do the last part, however; that was just a coincidence.
Michael collapsed just like that at the center of the stage. The Heavenfiend Douluo’s facial muscles twitched, and he burst towards Michael to prop him up. He quickly examined Michael’s body.
“Poison?” The Heavenfiend Douluo was shocked and turned to look at Bei Bei.
Bei Bei shrugged and said, “Don’t worry, it’s not lethal. I’ll give him the antidote once today’s competition ends. It’s not like I can give it to him now, right?”
The 2-2-3 fight had yet to begin. Giving his opponent the antidote now would mean that he’d have another opponent to deal with in the 2-2-3 fight.
What else could Huang Jinxu say? He could only personally escort Michael down from the stage.
Shrek Academy had won yet again.
Up until now, only 1 out of the 7 Shrek Academy members had been eliminated, whereas the Sun Moon team had already lost a total of 3 members. The conclusion seemed forgone in this individual round.
The healing-type soul masters were also helpless against the poison; they were only able to treat injuries. Furthermore, it wasn’t easy to remove poison from the Tang Sect.
As the team leader of the preparatory squad, Bei Bei’s move was very intelligent. Now that one of them had been poisoned, the Sun Moon team would be more cautious in the later stages. If they went all-out, who would be able to provide them with the antidote after the competition ended?
Chapter 121: The Tang Sect's Secret Techniques
“Will the fourth contestant from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Meng Hongchen, please step forth.”
Meng Hongchen sauntered onto the competition stage. Her looks couldn’t compare to Jiang Nannan’s, but she was still a charming and good-looking young girl, and was about Jiang Nannan’s age as well. Her flowing locks were a rare wine-red color. It was a deeper hue than Ma Xiaotao’s, and resembled mellow wine flecked with pale hues. However, her eyes weren’t red, but were blue. This characteristic was different from her brother, Xiao Hongchen.
She was the fourth contestant from the Sun Moon Empire’s team to participate in the single-elimination round. The Sun Moon Empire’s team only had four individuals left who could still participate, including her and her severely injured elder brother.
The Sun Moon Empire’s team had won the group battle, but everything was still going according to Wang Yan’s plan and
arrangement. Shrek Academy’s team could be said to have obtained an overwhelming victory in terms of battle strategy and tactics; all their patience in terms of battle strategy in the competition before this had been worth it at this moment.
Who else did Shrek Academy have to send out in this single- elimination round? Other than Bei Bei, Shrek was able to send out the control-type Soul King, Ling Luochen. After that, there was still the White Tiger Soul Emperor, Dai Yueheng, as well as the Evil Phoenix Soul Emperor, Ma Xiaotao. As for the Sun Moon?
Besides Meng Hongchen, they only had a food-type Class 5 soul engineer, Xiao Xiafeng, their team leader, Ma Rulong, and the heavily wounded Xiao Hongchen.
Soul engineers should generally have an advantage over soul masters of the same level. However, which of the contestants from Shrek Academy wasn’t a monster?
Why had Michael lost? Because he hadn’t expect Bei Bei’s battle tactics. According to their research, Bei Bei’s greatest strength was his martial soul mutation on the battlefield—a cross between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and the
Golden Holy Dragon. He’d been on guard against this the whole time, which was why he hadn’t used his strongest offensive move. He’d unwittingly lost the battle due to that single Clustered Soulchasing Ball without even getting to unleash his full potential.
The battlefield could have a myriad of changes in an instant, but every single one of Shrek’s team members were pervertedly strong.
Two Soul Ancestors had stepped onto the battlefield and defeated three Soul Kings that were also Class 5 soul engineers! How powerful would their Soul Kings and Soul Emperors be?
Even if one didn’t mention Dai Yueheng, the dominance that Ma Xiaotao had displayed in the competition thus far meant that she would be Shrek’s cornerstone and pillar of strength in the subsequent battles.
How would the Sun Moon Empire’s team stand a chance in the single-elimination rounds? How would they stand a chance in the following 2-2-3 battle?
The finals’ situation was quickly unfurling after this abrupt turn, with the scales of victory slanting in Shrek Academy’s favor. This was Shrek, the monster academy with over than ten thousand years of history.
Meng Hongchen stepped onto the competition stage under such circumstances, and faced her opponent: The Soul Ancestor with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Bei Bei.
“Begin!” The round that the Sun Moon Empire’s team couldn’t lose began following the Heavenfiend Douluo’s bellow.
Bei Bei growled as his feet slid forward, and his entire body rocketed towards his opponent at the fastest speed possible. He’d already completed his original task once he’d achieved victory against Michael. He knew that he couldn’t use the same tactic to attain victory a second time. But despite this, and even if he lost, he wanted to whittle down Meng Hongchen’s power as much as possible in order to lay down a solid foundation for Ling Luochen, who would be the next to come on stage.
Wang Yan’s current emotions weren’t relaxed at all as he stood below the stage, despite their recent victory. His eyes were fixed upon Meng Hongchen, who’d just stepped on stage,
but he couldn’t explain the sudden ominous feeling that had surfaced in his heart.
A profuse number of talents and prodigies had come from Shrek Academy. Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei had already sufficiently proven their status as the current outer courtyard’s stars, as well as the future inner courtyard’s pillars with their background and prowess. But what about their opponents? The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy wouldn’t have become Shrek Academy’s nemesis over the past few thousand years if they were that easy to deal with.
Xiao Hongchen’s abilities were enough to attract Wang Yan’s attention. Xiao Hongchen would’ve probably caused great trouble and danger for the Shrek Academy team if not for Jiang Nannan’s sudden outburst of strength—which had stopped her opponent in his tracks—followed by Dai Yueheng’s all-out strike, who wasn’t even fifteen years of age.
Then, what about Meng Hongchen?
Xiao Hongchen was the Sun Moon Empire’s trump card, and his ability had been to control metal. What was Meng Hongchen’s ability? This befuddling question mark had been in
Wang Yan’s mind this whole time, and still remained unanswered.
Meng Hongchen’s expression remained as calm as ever as Bei Bei lunged towards her. She wasn’t like her comrades, who’d released their soul tools or engaged in long-range combat right from the start. Her feet shifted from beneath her body and she traipsed forward—right towards Bei Bei. At the same time, conspicuous changes began to occur all over her body.
Her flowing wine-red hair turned snowy white, while her icy blue eyes instantly turned bright red—the kind of color that made it seem like her eyes were dripping with blood.
Whoever witnessed the sudden change in her eyes would definitely be shaken by the sight; some would even feel terror.
Bei Bei had a sensation similar to when he’d faced off against the evil soul master, the Envoy of the Death God, when he saw her, and an inexplicable chill instantly ran up his spine.
It was just at this moment that the sky rang out with the crackling sounds of a lightning strike, and a thin drizzle flitted
down from the sky.
Meng Hongchen raised both of her hands into the air and suddenly pushed forwards. Every part of her skin that was visible became a snowy-white color, and appeared sparkling and translucent. However, her eyes still seemed extremely out of place. They were incredibly breathtaking and electrifying.
Her palms seemed to faintly flicker with a pale green luster as well.
Meng Hongchen didn’t look like a soul engineer at all.
Instead, she appeared much more like a soul master.
However, not a single person from Shrek could tell what her martial soul was; not even the Taotie Douluo Elder Xuan or Wang Yan.
Elder Xuan’s eyes narrowed into a squint, and his eyes sparkled with astonishment. Even though he still couldn’t tell what Meng Hongchen’s martial soul was, he postulated that her martial soul couldn’t be as weak as a typical soul master’s,
and even if she couldn’t compare to Xiao Hongchen, they wouldn’t be too far apart.
Xiao Hongchen’s metal-type martial soul was compatible with his status as a soul engineer. His potential in the future was boundless, and he was already a Soul King even though he was still so young; one could only imagine what kind of power he would possess when he grew up.
It was apparent that Meng Hongchen had chosen a different path from her elder brother.
While everyone was flabbergasted by Meng Hongchen’s martial soul, both parties were headed straight at each other with dazzling speed. The distance between them was quickly reduced to less than thirty meters.
The first one to attack was Meng Hongchen. She raised her hands and drew two semicircles outwards, then pushed them in Bei Bei’s direction.
Her soul rings began to sparkle brilliantly on her body—two yellow, two purple and one black. This was the standard and
most optimal soul ring combination. At the same time, a light projection gradually drifted into view behind her.
It was a toad, spotlessly white like a piece of jade, and with eyes the same blood-red color as hers. However, the martial soul beast transformation that had appeared on Xiao Hongchen’s body didn’t appear on Meng Hongchen.
“This is…” Wang Yan’s eyes instantly widened. He’d perused and scrutinized all sorts of encyclopedias and archives from the academy about martial souls from the moment he’d joined Shrek. He had a strangely familiar feeling about the white jade- like toad before him, and knew that he’d seen this in some ancient record before.
A beam of white energy that was a foot long in diameter surged towards Bei Bei from Meng Hongchen’s palms when she pushed them out, and her first soul ring lit up along with it.
The reason why she’d released a beam of energy and not radiance was the fact that this beam didn’t seem quick at all. There were tinges of green throughout the whiteness, and the whole thing seemed like a luminous patch of mist.
What was even more sinister was that the tiny raindrops drifting down from the sky naturally infused themselves naturally into the beam of energy, which made it look like a whirlpool.
Bei Bei naturally wouldn’t underestimate an unknown martial soul. His personality was a lot calmer and more stable than Xu Sanshi’s, thus he abruptly halted in his tracks. His third soul ring, the Thunderous Fury, lit up first, followed immediately by his fourth soul ring. He’d actually used his most powerful offensive move, the Thunderous Dragon Head, at the very beginning of the battle.
Bei Bei knew just by looking at Meng Hongchen’s appearance that it would be extremely difficult for him to emerge victorious. Meng Hongchen seemed to exude an air of mystery in whatever she did. Thus he’d assigned himself a simple target: he would grind his opponent down as much as he could.
An uncountable number of streaks of lightning accompanied the Thunderous Fury and crackled all around him. Their radiant light reflected off of the dragon scales on the right half of Bei Bei’s body, causing them to gleamed with a bluish-purple brilliance. At the same time, his fearsome draconic aura was completely unleashed amidst the drizzle around him, and a
crisp draconic roar could be heard as the colossal Thunderous Dragon Head ferociously boomed out. Under the Thunderous Fury’s amplification, the force of this strike wasn’t one whit inferior to the strike of a powerful Soul King.
Lightning and thunder were rolling in the skies, causing the Thunderous Dragon Head tp appear even more ruthless than before. The enormous dragon head had a diameter of over one meter, and pierced through the miniscule raindrops falling from the sky as it slammed into the dense white whirlpool coming towards him.
Right at this moment, Meng Hongchen made a decision that was completely beyond everyone’s expectations. She didn’t intend to fight fire with fire, and neither did she push forward
—instead, she stood up on her tiptoes, and her body sprung
into the sky like a bolt of lightning as she flew backwards with bedazzling speed.
The Thunderous Dragon Head barreled forward and blew the white mist energy that she’d unleashed into smithereens, then proceeded to chase after her with the sounds of thunderous howls and dragon-like roars.
Meng Hongchen displayed astonishing agility as she arrived on the competition stage’s edge with two flips before she abruptly leapt to the side.
The Thunderous Dragon Head was able to lock onto its target. However, instead of chasing after her, it proceeded to crash into the protective barrier surrounding the competition stage with a loud boom.
Innumerable streaks of lightning erupted when it struck the protective barrier, causing a sphere of lightning that was over three meters in diameter to appear. Several seconds passed before it gradually dissipated.
Meng Hongchen didn’t move an inch as she dropped back onto the ground. She didn’t take the initiative to launch another attack, nor did she do anything else; she just watched Bei Bei on the other end of the stage.
Bei Bei just stood there, his gaze a little lackadaisical. There was a trace of disbelief in his eyes, but the twinkling glow in his eyes was dwindling with tremendous speed.
Boom. Bei Bei’s body collapsed backwards onto the competition stage just like that. He didn’t move an inch after the initial bounce when his body first crashed onto the stage.
The audience looked on with bewilderment, while everybody from team Shrek stood up in unison, their expressions that of intense disbelief.
How could this be? It was clearly Bei Bei’s Thunderous Dragon Head that had broken through his opponent’s attack. How could he just crumple onto the ground, unconscious, when he hadn’t even touched his opponent?
What exactly had happened?
Even the Heavenfiend Douluo looked a little dazed, as not even he knew the reason why Bei Bei had fainted on the spot. There was no reason for him to collapse, no matter which perspective he looked at it from.
However, the truth was that he’d gone down, which meant that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was victorious this round.
The Heavenfiend Douluo used a strand of gentle soul energy to carry Bei Bei’s unconscious body towards Shrek Academy’s team members. Huo Yuhao hurriedly came forward and grab his senior brother, and realized that Bei Bei’s face was extremely pale. All it took was that tiny moment before his breathing became extremely weak. It felt as if his vitality had been frozen, but the more frightening fact was that Bei Bei’s skin color had become as white as Meng Hongchen’s skin, except that he didn’t have her crystal-like translucence.
Meng Hongchen gradually stepped into the stage’s center, then she glanced at the other team members from Shrek with a pair of chilly eyes. She raised her right hand and pointed at the troupe in the waiting area and coldly said, “Next.”
Ling Luochen slowly straightened her back. The third contestant from Shrek Academy’s team was her.
Suddenly, Wang Yan and Huo Yuhao exclaimed at practically the same time.
“I know what her martial soul is!”
“I finally remember!”
The first sentence belonged to Huo Yuhao’s, while the latter was Wang Yan’s. Huo Yuhao’s judgment came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, who’d just been abruptly shaken awake inside his mind, while Wang Yan’s determination came from his accrued knowledge from reading a myriad of materials.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Yan exchanged a look, then shouted at the same time. “Her martial soul is the Vermillion Ice Toad! It’s extremely poisonous.”
The Ice Empress was in a deep slumber inside his spiritual sea, but she’d been awakened the moment Huo Yuhao caught Bei Bei and had said the Vermillion Ice Toad’s name.
Huo Yuhao quickly probed for information about the Vermillion Ice Toad. The Ice Empress told him that it was an ice-type soul beast that possessed extremely strong poison, and was known in the Extreme North as the ‘King Within the
Crevice’. The reason for this was because its territory was in the Extreme North’s outer regions, along the border to the human world. There were very few of them around, and their whereabouts were unpredictable, as they always moved from place to place. As such, they were rarely-seen and exotic. The Vermillion Ice Toad’s forte was poison, and they absorbed the coldest air and energies between heaven and earth to forge their poisons. The two reasons that they hadn’t moved deeper into the Extreme North was because the Three Heavenly Kings were holding down the fort, and the Vermillion Ice Toad’s body was an ice-type soul beast, while its eyes were fire-type—an extremely peculiar combination. Thus, places of extreme cold weren’t suitable for them to inhabit. They intertwined both their fire and ice abilities to produce their special icy poison.
The Vermillion Ice Toad would leave a trail of acute poison wherever it went, which would remain there almost indefinitely. Even soul beasts more powerful than it found it challenging to harm the Ice Toad. There had been records of soul masters with this martial soul on the continent, but they were extremely rare. The reason for this was because the Vermillion Ice Toad’s situation was similar to Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Phoenix; the icy poison within it would cause a toxic backlash to its owner. One misstep, and the soul master would perish from the icy poison entering his or her heart. This was the main reason why there were very few of such soul masters who could cultivate to an extremely high level.
However, there were two sides to everything. The stronger the toxic backlash, the more formidable its power, and the stronger the poison in battle.
There was no question that the sphere of white mist that she’d released was charged with the Vermillion Ice Toad’s intense poison. Bei Bei had been unwittingly poisoned, thus he had no longer been able to control the Thunderous Dragon Head, which naturally meant the latter wouldn’t be able to lock onto its target anymore. Meng Hongchen wasn’t only powerful and unique—her calculations were accurate and impeccable. She’d defeated Bei Bei practically without breaking a sweat, and it was apparent that she could control the Vermillion Ice Toad’s intense poison at a whim, as the Heavenfiend Douluo would’ve been affected otherwise. Whether she’d suffer from a toxic backlash was hard to say.
Bei Bei hadn’t let Michael unleash his full potential, and he ended up with the same fate. The Golden Holy Dragon’s radiance would no longer shine in this season’s grand competition.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Yan’s unified exclamation was so loud that even Meng Hongchen heard it from the competition stage.
She glanced towards Shrek Academy’s waiting area, then grunted and said, “You guys are from Shrek after all. Looks like you do know some things.”
The competition carried on, as the single-elimination rounds couldn’t be stopped halfway. Huo Yuhao and Wang Yan’s words were clearly meant to remind Ling Luochen as she stepped onto the competition stage.
However, both of their faces were full of worry and anxiety.
The rain was becoming even finer. There was no doubt that Ling Luochen’s ice-type control abilities would receive a great boost under such a deluge. However, wouldn’t the downpour also create many perfect avenues for poison to spread?
Someone with Bei Bei’s cultivation, and with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon’s natural resistance, had lost the ability to battle in just a few gasps of breath. One could only imagine how intense the Vermillion Ice Toad’s poison was, and Meng Hongchen was already a Class 5 soul engineer.
Ling Luochen walked on stage with a calm look in her eyes and stood before the judge. Shrek still had the advantage in the single-elimination round for now, as she was the third contestant, while Meng Hongchen was the fourth.
The light drizzle continued as both parties gradually retreated to their respective corners. Meng Hongchen’s expression at this moment was like an arrogant and aloof peacock.
Ling Luochen moved back to the edge as she breathed out lightly. The raindrops around her body drifted away and couldn’t touch her body at all.
“Begin.”
Ling Luochen immediately made an extremely magnificent and gorgeous move.
She released her martial soul, her soul rings naturally appearing as well. The moment they came into view, all five of her soul rings started to sparkle alternately.
Ling Luochen had actually used all five soul skills one after another within a span of three breaths. Everybody could see that all five circles of light were flickering alternately, from her first hundred year soul ring, to her last ten thousand year soul ring.
This was no longer about simple tactics or tricks, it was more about her personal understanding of ice.
Soul masters couldn’t possibly unleash so many soul skills with such dazzling speed under normal circumstances, yet Ling Luochen had managed to do so. She had complete control over ice, and had thus made use of the connection between her soul skills and exploited their relationships. Not only had she unleashed five soul skills within such a short period of time, but she’d also managed to reduce their consumption by about thirty percent.
Every single disciple from Shrek Academy that could enter the inner courtyard could be described as both talented and prodigious.
Following her five soul rings’ alternate sparkling, the first thing that appeared in her palm was naturally her Ice Staff.
She raised her Ice Staff into the air as her soul rings continued to flicker, and a crystal-like Ice Armor covered her entire body; even her mouth and nose were completely protected. At the same time, an icy prison descended upon Meng Hongchen and trapped her inside. The sprawling Icemist erupted with Ling
Luochen at the center, followed by her Icebrilliant Halo.
The temperature on the competition stage instantly dropped to fifty degrees below zero, the Icemist’s extreme coldness permeating and wreaking havoc within the stage’s protective barriers at lightning speed.
As Ling Luochen didn’t have the Ultimate Ice’s power, the lowest temperature that she could reach with her current level of control was only about eighty degrees below zero. In comparison, Huo Yuhao’s level of cultivation wasn’t that high, but he could reduce the temperature in his immediate vicinity to more than two hundred degrees below zero if he wanted to because he had Ultimate Ice. This was the distinction between their two different kinds of ice, and this was also the reason why Huo Yuhao was recognized.
The lack of Ultimate Ice didn’t mean that Ling Luochen wasn’t powerful, however. She was strong enough to be chosen as Shrek’s official team’s main control-type soul master, and
her control of the ice element had long reached nearly complete freedom.
She was uncertain whether she would be affected by the acute poison. Therefore, she had to use her most powerful abilities in the face of such danger. She needed to use her strongest defensive abilities while simultaneously controlling both the stage and her opponent.
What made her a little surprised was that Meng Hongchen didn’t do anything to stop herself from being entrapped by the icy prison after Ling Luochen’s multi-pronged release and her elegant unleashing of five different soul skills. She didn’t even seem like she wanted to break out from the inside. In fact, there was a tinge of indifference at the corner of her mouth.
The Icemist and the Icebrilliant Halo’s effects reduced the temperature to an extremely low level and spread around with dazzling speed; both had permeated the entire stage in the blink of an eye.
Most of the audience didn’t really appreciate soul masters like Ling Luochen, as she would greatly affect the competition’s visibility the moment she made a move.
The Icemist swiftly blanketed the entire competition stage, making it so that nothing else could be seen on stage.
Both Shrek Academy’s team members and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s team members were as nervous as ever inside of their respective waiting areas. Victory was imperative to Shrek Academy in this round, as a loss would mean that their advantage would disappear. Even though they still had two powerful Soul emperors, their opponents’ team leader had yet to step out either.
A minute passed, and then two minutes passed… Soon, five minutes had passed in the midst of everyone’s agonizing anxiety.
The Icemist covering the entire stage gradually dissipated. When everything that was on stage became visible, everybody could see that Meng Hongchen was still standing inside the icy prison. Her pale white skin seemed to be even more pale at this point, as it was covered in a layer of frost.
Ling Luochen also remained in her original spot on the other side, as her Ice Staff was raised high above her head, while her
entire body was covered in her Ice Armor.
Was it over? Who’d won the round?
The Heavenfiend Douluo, Huang Jinxu, stood at the center of the stage, as he was the judge. A layer of starlight had condensed into a protective barrier that enveloped his body within it. It was obvious that he was rather fearful of the battle that had transpired before him.
At that moment, piece after piece of thin ice drifted down from Meng Hongchen’s body following a series of crisp crackling sounds, which shattered into dust as they fell to the ground. There was still a look of disdain paired with a faint smile on her face.
“Did you think that ice could block off my poison? It’s a pity for you, as my martial soul is an ice-type one as well. Passing venom through ice is my forte, thus your loss is not unjustified.”
Blue light flashed through her right hand as she spoke, a blue longsword appearing in her hand. She slashed it in front of her body, and a chilly and sinister blue light flickered as she cut
open the ice prison, which Ling Luochen no longer had control over. She then elegantly sauntered out from inside.
“The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is victorious. Shrek Academy, send forth your next contestant.” The Heavenfiend Douluo waved his arm in the air, and a sphere of light enveloped Ling Luochen and sent her off the competition stage. Ling Luochen was like an ice statue.
Huo Yuhao was the one who caught her yet again. He tapped her and instantly dispelled the ice armor that was enveloping her body.
Ling Luochen had completely lost consciousness like Bei Bei before her; even the color of their faces was identical. Such powerful poison!
Wang Yan was also overcome with a haze of terror.
No matter how intelligent he was, and no matter how well he could arrange battle strategies, he was at his wits’ end, and could only look on helplessly in the face of such a situation. Who would have thought that such a formidable poison soul
master would emerge from their opponents’ camp? Both Bei Bei and Ling Luochen had been defeated in battle without even having a chance to directly clash with their opponent.
Huo Yuhao would be able to get rid of a pure ice poison. However, even though Meng Hongchen’s dual-type venom origin was ice-based it also contained traces of fire inside of it as well. The moment the outer layer of ice-type venom was removed, the fire-type poison inside was likely to be unleashed. One misstep could cost Ling Luochen her life; how could Huo Yuhao dare to take this risk?
“Next.” Meng Hongchen’s voice—akin to the harbinger of death—could be heard once more. Her expression was still condescending and extremely arrogant, but this single word caused an immense pressure to fall onto team Shrek inside of the waiting area.
She’d defeated two people in a row, both of which could be described as effortless victories. Meng Hongchen was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s cornerstone at this point, as both parties had now been pulled back onto the same footing in terms of able-bodied contestants.
Dai Yueheng gradually rose to his feet, his brows furrowed. Wang Yan had explained the Vermillion Ice Toad’s situation to the best of his ability to the rest of Shrek’s team while Ling Luochen was battling with her opponent.
The White Tiger was ferocious enough, but it still belonged to the same category as Bei Bei’s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Bei Bei hadn’t been able to resist Meng Hongchen’s poison; would he be able to as a Soul Emperor? Dai Yueheng didn’t know the answer to this question.
Yet, even if he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist it, how could he just chicken out? Both the emperor and his own father, the White Tiger Duke, were watching.
The despondence and exasperation that Dai Yueheng felt in his heart was already at the highest possible level, causing veins to pop out all over his forehead. He’d rather challenge a Soul Sage than fight someone like Meng Hongchen. It wouldn’t be much if he won, but it would be an embarrassment if he lost, and he’d be humiliated in front of the vast audience.
The list was fixed and couldn’t be changed, however, so he could only gather his courage and prepare to engage in battle.
“Dai Yueheng.” A deep voice rang out from beside his ear.
“Eh?” Dai Yueheng turned around. Ma Xiaotao was the one who’d just called his name.
Ma Xiaotao had completely suppressed the evil fire in her body during their period of adjustment and recovery before this, and she’d even regained much of her soul power through a Milk Bottle.
Ma Xiaotao gazed at him, and a serious look flashed across her eyes. She lowered her voice and said, “Her venom is powerful, but she’s ultimately still a level below us. Your three powerful transformations that are meant to amplify your powers will grant you a great boost to your resistance. Rain hell upon her in the time that she tries to take you down with poison!”
All of them were intelligent; this single pointer was enough. Dai Yueheng immediately understood the meaning in her words, and his eyes squinted a little as he nodded his head. He gave Ma Xiaotao a thumbs-up, then leapt into the sky and landed on the competition stage.
As the onlooker, he could see more of the game, and immediately understood what he had to do with Ma Xiaotao’s timely reminder. He possessed a powerful martial soul and was a Soul Emperor over Rank 60. The amplifications that his martial soul could apply onto his body were extremely formidable. Under such circumstances, a certain duration of time was needed for poison to take effect on his body no matter how acute his opponent’s venom was.
Bei Bei’s level of cultivation was inferior to his opponent, plus he’d been caught off guard.
As for Ling Luochen? Their round had only concluded ten minutes after her Icemist had permeated throughout the entire competition stage. Meng Hongchen had mentioned afterwards that ice was ineffective in blocking her from spreading poison, but it was clear that she’d needed a certain amount of time to deal with Ling Luochen. Ling Luochen was a control-type soul master, and thus was more adept at controlling the battle rather than using brute force. He, on the other hand, was different.
Meng Hongchen looked back over her shoulder at her own camp’s waiting area as Dai Yueheng stepped onto the
competition stage. The Sun Moon Empire’s teacher-in-charge made a few gestures towards her, and Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes, then she nodded her head slightly to show that she understood. An added tinge of self-confidence instantly appeared in her eyes.
“Step back,” the Heavenfiend Douluo habitually said.
Dai Yueheng squinted slightly as he stared at Meng Hongchen with a chilly gaze.
Meng Hongchen felt her body tighten up and a chill ran down her spine. She felt as if she was actually facing off against a ferocious tiger. He was a Soul Emperor from Shrek Academy, and his intimidating aura was cause her stomach to freeze.
She quickly recovered, however, as her two previous victories had built up her confidence.
Dai Yueheng’s disposition seemed to change delicately when he reached his corner. He didn’t move very fast, but the distance between every step that he took was extremely balanced and even. His aura kept becoming denser and more
stable, as if he were a mountain that was gradually taking shape.
On top of the royal city wall.
The Star Luo Emperor grinned and said, “My friend, do you think that Dai Yueheng will be able to defeat the Sun Moon Empire’s rare poison soul master?”
The White Tiger Duke frowned faintly and replied, “He can win if he plays it smart. However, he will still probably end up hurting himself even if he does emerge victorious, as poison soul masters are troublesome—especially those from the Sun Moon Empire. Your Majesty, you need to start taking that girl seriously.”
“Indeed, the Sun Moon Empire is getting more out of control. The messenger that I sent to Shrek Academy returned yesterday.”
“Oh? What did Shrek Academy say?” It was apparent that the White Tiger Duke knew about the Star Luo Empire’s efforts to form a rapport with Shrek Academy.
The Star Luo Emperor laughed and replied, “What else? Those cunning foxes! They politely declined my offer. The Martial Soul Department’s dean, Yan Shaozhe, sent a message: Shrek will never fall in. They will only nurture, and they will only protect. Shrek’s influence will never leave Shrek City.”
The White Tiger Duke grunted and said, “They’ve already become the Continental Guardians, yet they’re still not coming out of the city? They’re just not going to expand outwards.”
The Star Luo Emperor sighed and said, “We still have to admit that it’s only because of the Shrek Academy’s steadfast belief in their principles that they’ve remained as the neutral party between the Douluo Continent’s three original empires. We might’ve had the opportunity if not for the Sun Moon Empire’s existence, and it would’ve been our chance to unify the continent. However, Shrek will never allow any form of infighting, and we don’t have the strength to contest anything under the current political circumstances.”
The White Tiger Duke replied, “The Sun Moon Empire has been relatively quiet recently; I imagine they won’t cause much disturbance in the near future.”
The Star Luo Emperor waved his hand and said, “The competition has begun. Let’s watch.”
Dai Yueheng and Meng Hongchen’s contest had begun while the ruler and his minister were discussing the great throes of politics.
Dai Yueheng roared like a tiger as soon as the judge gave the green light, and his entire body shot forward like an arrow. His first, third and fifth soul ring immediately began to sparkle sequentially as he flew through the air, and he transformed as fast as he could.
Golden fur and golden claws appeared as he used the White Tiger’s Shield, the White Tiger’s Vajra Transformation, and the White Tiger’s Devilgod Transformation. These three powerful amplification skills could raise his power to the highest possible level in a matter of seconds.
He’d already reached the center of competition’s stage by the time his third soul ring had been completely released, and it was obvious how frighteningly quick his movements were. It felt as if his fearsome aura was going to tear everything before him to pieces.
Below the competition stage, Ma Rulong’s expression changed again and again. He was also a Soul Emperor, but the rift between him and Dai Yueheng was simply too vast in terms of their martial soul and cultivation. He only had a fifty percent chance of defeating Dai Yueheng at best, even if he unleashed his soul tools with all his might. He had to admit that Shrek was superior in single combat at the same age and the same level of cultivation. He knew that he wouldn’t even have a thirty percent chance of victory if he were to go up against Ma Xiaotao in a one-versus-one matchup.
Meng Hongchen finally released her soul tools as she faced off against Dai Yueheng.
An icy blue radiance glowed from thirteen spots on her body
—these thirteen spots were her forehead, shoulders, chest, elbows, abdomen, hips, knees, and both of her hands.
Thirteen spheres of chilly blue light formed from, then swiftly transformed into an exquisite blue armor that protected Meng Hongchen’s body.
Even though her armor covered her entire body, there didn’t appear to be any redundancies in it. The entire set of armor seemed extremely delicate and fine, and was even engraved with magnificent bluish-gold floral patterns. Meng Hongchen was already enchanting, but this body armor made her appear even more valiant and formidable.
She also held a pair of icy-blue longswords in both of her hands. The swords were thin, and were each three feet long. Three pairs of folded wings that were roughly a foot long extended from behind her body. The body armor in and of itself was enough for her to release a dense, chilly aura.
He Caitou’s ability to distinguish soul tools was relatively advanced, thus he immediately gave his opinion. This was a Class 6 soul tool; a full-body armor with attached weapons and a flying-type soul tool. Furthermore, a Class 5 soul engineer would be able to use this Class 6 soul tool. He was also positive that Meng Hongchen couldn’t possibly have made this; this soul tool had definitely come from the hands of some expert.
Chapter 122: Dai Yueheng's Determination
Generally speaking, soul engineers could only use soul tools of the same class unless there were special processes involved during the crafting of said soul tools, or if the soul tool itself had something unique about it that allowed it to bypass class differences.
How old was Meng Hongchen? The fact that she was already a Soul King was extraordinary; there was no need to ask to know how much importance the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy placed on her. It was almost impossible for her to have reached her current level of cultivation all by herself, and she’d also had to train in soul engineering at the same time.
Huo Yuhao possessed twin martial souls, and the Ice Empress, Skydream Iceworm, and Electrolux all lived in his body simultaneously. Yet, even with all of these factors, even he wasn’t confident that he’d be able to reach Rank 50 and be a Class 5 soul engineer by the age of fifteen.
There was no question that both Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen had had a lot of man-made factors involved in their
growth. There was no use telling others what exotic treasures or herbs they’d ingested, but the sheer level of their cultivations also implied that their foundations weren’t stable.
Rank 30, Rank 60, Rank 70, and Rank 90 were the four important milestones that soul masters faced. Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen would experience a decline in their cultivation speed if their foundations weren’t solid enough. They would have to stabilize and consolidate their foundations over a sufficient period of time if they wanted to achieve real success in the future.
This was the reason why it was so apparent that Meng Hongchen hadn’t been the one to forge and produce the Class 6 soul armor that she was currently wearing.
This didn’t mean that she couldn’t display formidable prowess using this soul tool. Instead, she was using her own aptitude and abilities to show Shrek what the future development of soul masters on the continent was likely to be.
Meng Hongchen’s speed increased exponentially as her figure flashed once. She didn’t intend to clash directly with Dai
Yueheng. Rather, the thin swords she was holding cut through the air as she stepped to the side.
Two streaks of icy blue light appeared in midair like two bolts of lightning and formed something like a cross, then soared towards Dai Yueheng. They didn’t appear as if they would dissipate either; it was as if they were part of a soul skill.
Dai Yueheng didn’t even attempt to dodge, as he was aware that he didn’t have much time. He swung his tiger-like left hand and unleashed his soul power, causing five beams of golden light to collide with the center of the cross. His forward momentum remained unchanged and unaffected as he did so.
The cross was immediately shattered into pieces, but thick white mist immediately permeated the air. There was no question that this attack had been charged with the Vermillion Clear Icetoad’s intense venom.
Dai Yueheng held his breath, but he still felt his entire body turning cold. It was as if something was invading his body with unstoppable force.
He concentrated his soul power and relied on his body’s powerful resistance to disregard this feeling as he continued his forward lunge towards Meng Hongchen.
Meng Hongchen’s first soul ring had been sparkling ever since she’d made her first strike, which represented her Vermilion Clear Icetoad’s acute poison. At this moment, her second and third soul rings lit up one after the other.
An icy-blue light ring extended out from beneath her feet and covered the entire competition stage in a matter of seconds. This was her second soul skill—Icevenom Ring.
Every ounce of venom that belonged to her Vermilion Clear Icetoad would be amplified inside the Icevenom Ring. She’d taken advantage of the cover provided by Ling Luochen’s Icemist previously to use the Icevenom Ring to amplify her first soul skill and eventually defeat Ling Luochen inside of her own Icemist.
When her third soul ring lit up, something strange began to happen. A mirror-like solid piece of ice that was about five meters in diameter appeared beneath her feet. This ice block
projected her reflection, but the scene that appeared was extremely peculiar.
Dai Yueheng arrived in front of her just as she finished unleashing these two soul skills. He shot out the White Tiger’s Fierce Light Wave at her as soon as possible.
The White Tiger’s Fierce Light Wave was extremely formidable under the amplifying effects of his three transformation skills. A beam of white light as thick as an arm tore through the air, booming and crackling with energy. If this beam of light hit its target directly, its power wasn’t inferior in the least to that of a Class 5 energy-gathering soul cannon.
A sinister scene appeared at that moment: Two Meng Hongchens suddenly appeared on the surface of the ice block. The streak of white light flashed by, and the Meng Hongchen that it was targeting simply dissipated like a shadow, while the original Meng Hongchen relocated to another position. Not only had she managed to evade the White Tiger’s Fierce Light Wave, but she’d also managed to relocate to a position behind Dai Yueheng.
Her thin swords sparkled and transformed into sword shadows that pervaded the skies before they stabbed right towards Dai Yueheng. Her swords’ foot-long radiances became concentrated, causing the air around them to release chirping sounds.
This was Meng Hongchen’s third soul skill—Ice Reflection. It allowed her to switch positions with the light images of herself that were reflected on the surface of the block of ice that she’d released. Even though it wasn’t as powerful as Instant Teleportation, it was an extremely practical soul skill that worked well in combination with her soul armor.
Who was Dai Yueheng? He was the White Tiger’s heir, and a Soul Emperor who’d stepped out from Shrek’s inner courtyard. He could be counted as a veteran of countless battles.
He was not in the least bit worried or frightened despite his opponent’s unique soul skills. He immediately swept his tiger- like palms out behind him the moment that his left leg landed on the ground. The sharp talons on his tiger-like palms blazed with large patches of golden light when they clashed directly with the thin swords coming toward him.
The thin swords in Meng Hongchen’s hands were Class 6 soul tools; their offensive power was just as strong as Dai Yueheng’s tiger claws. She relied on her soul tools’ power to forcefully bridge the gap between their levels of cultivation.
Dai Yueheng had severely wounded Xiao Hongchen before this, thus it was natural for Meng Hongchen to feel an acute sense of belligerence when she unleashed her full power.
However, he was still a Soul Emperor after all. Dai Yueheng would be able to overcome Meng Hongchen in terms of strength, soul power, and martial ability if he didn’t have worry about the effects of her venom. Even though a Class 6 soul tool was powerful, Meng Hongchen still wasn’t a Class 6 soul engineer, thus she was only able to temporarily maintain this balance. When Dai Yueheng took the opportunity to spin around and face her directly, she started to crumble under the pressure.
Meng Hongchen’s figure flashed once more as she used her Ice Reflection to relocate herself again. Her thin swords slashed through the air, their shadows permeating through the entire arena as she relentlessly tried to find any weaknesses or loopholes in Dai Yueheng’s defense.
She could wait; she understood that Dai Yueheng was relying on his resistance to fight against her Icetoad’s Venom. However, she was positive that this resistance was time-based. Dai Yueheng would feel the Icetoad Venom‘s effects more and more over the continuous passage of time, which would undoubtedly lead to her being the ultimate victor.
This was the truth, and Dai Yueheng could feel a chill that pierced right into his bones incessantly assaulting his body. Even though his body was tough and he could delay this process for a long time, completely stopping it was impossible for him.
Meng Hongchen was no match for him in close-quarters combat, but she was nimble and agile thanks to her Ice Reflection. In order to hold back Dai Yueheng for as long as she could, she tossed out explosive soul tools from time to time, meant to distract rather than damage her opponent.
Their epic battle made the audience dizzy as they looked on, ear-piercing crackling sounds constantly audible. Dai Yueheng wasn’t slow, but he wasn’t able to gain any sort of advantage over Meng Hongchen, who had a Class 6 soul tool and the help of her Ice Reflection. The situation on the stage remained at a prolonged impasse.
Everybody in Shrek’s waiting area began to frown and curse. They could tell what sort of battle tactics Meng Hongchen was employing, but nobody had expected her close-combat prowess to be so formidable—she was actually able to hold back Dai Yueheng, and she didn’t look like she would be defeated anytime soon.
Dai Yueheng suddenly slowed down, his entire body shivering as a streak of icy-blue light flashed across his shoulder.
However, he had the three amplifying transformation soul skills protecting him, thus the icy-blue sword radiance merely shaved off some of his golden tiger fur. It didn’t damage his body at all.
“Oh no.” Wang Yan’s expression suddenly changed. “I don’t think that Yueheng can withstand the poison anymore.”
Dai Yueheng had used all three transformative soul skills from the beginning of the battle, which was the only way that he could raise his resistance, and in turn his offensive powers, to the highest possible level.
However, Meng Hongchen had refused to clash with him directly; she was as slippery as an eel. Dai Yueheng had almost broken through her defense several times, but his attacks had immediately been dispelled by her automatically triggered Impregnable Wall. Meng Hongchen’s soul power was greatly diminished whenever this happened, but Dai Yueheng’s was being consumed at a far greater rate.
“Believe in him. As a disciple from Shrek’s inner courtyard, if he can’t defeat an opponent one tier of cultivation below him, then he isn’t worthy of stepping out from the inner courtyard.” Ma Xiaotao was the only one able to remain calm, as only disciples from the inner courtyard could truly understand each other.
Still, the situation on stage wasn’t very optimistic. Dai Yueheng had slowed even more after he’d suffered that first strike—it seemed that the Icetoad’s Venom had begun to take effect. The thin swords in his opponent’s hands began to become more ferocious as more and more streaks of sword radiance criss-crossed towards him. His body was quickly cut several times.
Even with the White Tiger’s Shield, the White Tiger’s Vajra Transformation, and the White Tiger’s Devilgod Transformation, he couldn’t completely defend himself against a Class 6 soul tool’s attack. Traces of blood rapidly began to appear on Dai Yueheng’s body. However, what was more important was the fact that Meng Hongchen’s weapons were also tinged with venom as well. The poison would only spread
faster now that it had made contact with his blood.
“Urghh!” Dai Yueheng seemed to have become infuriated, or maybe it was because he’d realized the current state of his body. He suddenly roared into the sky, and a dense golden light erupted from his body as his sixth and final soul ring finally began to sparkle brilliantly.
Dai Yueheng’s most powerful soul skill, the White Tiger’s Extermination, had finally been unleashed.
A terrifying aura immediately enveloped an area around five meters in diameter as the intense golden light gathered together form a giant word “Kill” in midair. The shadow of the White Tiger also slowly came into view behind Dai Yueheng at the same time.
Was this his final strike? Meng Hongchen’s mouth curled into a cold smile and a beam of golden light immediately emerged from her body.
She was naturally unable to withstand his White Tiger’s Extermination; the result would be the same even if she used her Impregnable Wall. The gap in their soul power was ultimately too great, and the White Tiger Soul Emperor’s most powerful strike when he was fully amplified was powerful enough to sap her entire pool of soul power, which would cause her to collapse and crumble.
This ray of golden light wasn’t from the Impregnable Wall, but… following the flash of golden light, Meng Hongchen was instantly moved ten meters away, completely evading Dai Yueheng’s most powerful strike.
One couldn’t underestimate the power of shifting ten meters away in the blink of an eye. This was a Class 7 soul tool known as the ring of teleportation; even Xiao Hongchen didn’t possess a soul tool like it.
The ring of teleportation could only be used once per day, but it wasn’t a disposable soul tool, and was often touted as a miracle amongst Class 7 soul tools. Possessing an item such as it was essentially equivalent to having a second life in most situations, even though its instant teleportation distance was limited to a hundred meters.
Meng Hongchen had teleported a mere ten meters, and had been waiting for an opportunity like this.
The White Tiger’s Extermination had missed, thus her fifth soul ring finally started to sparkle with eye-catching luster.
She’d been waiting for him to use his ultimate move. Now that he had, Meng Hongchen’s heart was filled with self- confidence, and she was sure that she would emerge victorious. Her elegant figure flew into the air, her entire body starting to vigorously spin in the sky; it was as if she’d transformed into a whirlpool. She then launched herself directly at Dai Yueheng, who’d yet to recover from using his White Tiger’s Extermination.
Dai Yueheng was in the weakest possible state right now, as he was both suffering from her acute poison, and had just used all of his strength in his last attack. Meng Hongchen’s opportunity of choice could only be described as optimal and impeccable.
The Heavenfiend Douluo quickly arrived at a spot not far from where the battle was occuring at; he was prepared to end the contest at a moment’s notice.
Red light glimmered in the center of the whirlpool, which flickered icy-blue. That pale red light gave the spectators a
searing sensation; it was as if there were a pillar of blistering fire in the icy whirlpool’s center.
This was the most powerful attack that Meng Hongchen could unleash—the Icefire Venomdragon’s Corkscrew.
This was a perfect combination of a ten-thousand-year soul skill and a Class 6 soul tool, and its power was enough to rival a formidable Soul Emperor’s soul skill. It was apparent that she didn’t intend to give Dai Yueheng any chance at all by using such a mighty soul skill.
However, what Meng Hongchen didn’t realize was that the mirror-like ice block that enabled her to use Ice Reflection beneath her feet had been shattered in her fight against Dai Yueheng.
The Icefire Venomdragon’s Corkscrew had already reached Dai Yueheng, whose eyes seemed to be growing more and more clouded, and whose aura was growing weaker. The Heavenfiend Douluo’s hands were already raised into the air.
However, Dai Yueheng suddenly moved at this moment.
His move was simple: He stepped out with his left foot, then took a stance similar to that of using a bow and arrow as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“Bang—”
A series of explosions rang out as Dai Yueheng’s right arm sparkled. A brilliant golden light covered and protected his entire body in an instant, stopping Meng Hongchen’s Icefire Venomdragon’s Corkscrew just like that. It didn’t achieve anything at all.
A searing white light glowed once more immediately afterwards, and Dai Yueheng’s body was like a ferocious tiger as he entrapped Meng Hongchen.
He’d activated the White Tiger’s Extermination once more!
Meng Hongchen had been waiting for her opportunity to strike Dai Yueheng down for good, but Dai Yueheng had also been waiting for the same thing all along.
The resistance provided by the White Tiger’s three amplifying soul skills were even stronger than Meng Hongchen had imagined. Dai Yueheng had deliberately revealed every single weakness or loophole that she’d discovered.
Meng Hongchen was just too slippery and agile. As she was a soul engineer, Dai Yueheng was acutely aware that she had multiple tools and methods to protect her life. This was the reason that he’d chosen to reveal weakness—to lure his enemy deep within, and to let them think that he was no longer able to continue.
How could Meng Hongchen’s experience in battle compare to Dai Yueheng, who was the true veteran?
Dai Yueheng’s right arm flickered with light. This was a soul bone skill, and was something that he had yet to use throughout the entire competition. It was called Absolute Defense.
It was dissimilar to Princess Jiu Jiu’s absolute defense barrier from before, as his Absolute Defense could only be used for a fraction of the time, and only once a day. That miniscule
moment would render him invincible, but it was imperative that his opponent’s attack strike his right arm.
Considering Dai Yueheng’s current level of cultivation, he would be able to negate any attack or soul skill within that instant as long as his opponent wasn’t a Transcendent Douluo.
Meng Hongchen was relatively powerful, and Dai Yueheng had almost no way to deal with her Icetoad Venom. However, just as Ma Xiaotao had said before, a Soul Emperor from Shrek’s inner courtyard was sophisticated. Dai Yueheng had relied on his own battle experience to finally force his opponent, who’d just won two rounds in a row, into desperate straits.
Meng Hongchen had consumed a large amount of soul power in her hit-and-run tactics from before. Furthermore, she’d just unleashed her Icefire Venomdragon’s Corkscrew, definitely not expecting Dai Yueheng to turn the tables at a time such as this. She, who wasn’t even fifteen years old, immediately became hysterical.
Her Impregnable Wall was triggered at the first possible moment. However, Meng Hongchen felt her soul power
immediately drain at lightning speed following the golden light’s protection. Her Impregnable Wall would only be able to last for two seconds before it crumbled under the White Tiger’s Extermination.
Frightening tiger claws slashed her Class 6 soul armor and made ear-piercing grinding sounds.
“We admit defeat!”
The Sun Moon Empire’s teacher-in-charge’s suddenly shouted, a ray of starlight descending from the skies to protect Meng Hongchen’s body.
In this short duration of time, dozens of cracks and marks had appeared all over Meng Hongchen’s Class 6 soul armor. Its defensive capabilities were formidable, but Dai Yueheng’s all- out strike was incredibly terrifying as well. If not for the Sun Moon Empire’s teacher-in-charge and his quick reaction, Dai Yueheng would’ve shattered the soul armor to pieces after another second, and Meng Hongchen would’ve been ravaged and torn to pieces by the White Tiger’s immense power.
This was absolute strength! Dai Yueheng, as a Soul Emperor with White Tiger as his martial soul, had proved to everyone with his extraordinary prowess that Shrek was still as powerful as ever, even if their martial souls were restrained.
Meng Hongchen was still held in the vice-like grip of terror even after the White Tiger’s Extermination’s radiance had dissipated. She could still feel how close to death she’d just been in that tiny amount of time. Her Impregnable Wall had been completely destroyed, while her soul armor’s formations had been heavily damaged. This valuable Class 6 soul tool had been laid to ruin just like that, the only things left intact being her twin swords.
“Ah—” Meng Hongchen suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood, and her body quivered as if she was about to fall over. She would’ve collapsed if she didn’t use her thin swords to support herself.
Dai Yueheng gazed at her coldly, the ferocity in his eyes sending a cold shiver down Meng Hongchen’s spine. She knew very well that, without her Icetoad’s Venom and her soul tools, she wouldn’t even be worthy of battling this individual.
What surprised everyone was that Dai Yueheng only shot a single look towards Meng Hongchen before quickly leaping off the stage and returning to Shrek’s waiting area.
He stepped before Ma Xiaotao. His body’s transformations from his martial soul and soul skills were receding with dazzling speed, revealing his original form once more.
“I didn’t let Shrek down, team leader.” Dai Yueheng’s eyes sparkled as he gazed into Ma Xiaotao’s eyes. This was the first time that he’d taken the initiative to address Ma Xiaotao as his team leader.
Ma Xiaotao stood up and nodded heavily in his direction.
Dai Yueheng raised his hand and removed a massive ring from the index finger of his left hand. The ring was light silver, and had a fearsome tiger head engraved upon it.
“This is for you. I’m sure that you’ll be able to use it. Shrek cannot lose, team leader. Please.” He stuffed the ring into Ma Xiaotao’s hands as he spoke. Immediately afterwards, his eyes closed and his burly body collapsed backwards.
Ma Xiaotao grabbed onto his arm to prevent him from falling. Her red lips were pressed tightly together, and her perky chest undulated vigorously for a while.
“An admirable resolve. You’re not a good-for-nothing after all.”
Dai Yueheng had been victorious—he’d beaten Meng Hongchen. However, he’d also been knocked unconscious by her intense venom, and had lost all ability to continue battling.
However, his ferocity galvanized every single member of Shrek, and rekindled the raging flames in every one of their hearts.
Yes, Shrek had to win.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong clenched their fists tightly. The two of them, along with Ma Xiaotao, were the only people still conscious in Shrek’s seven-member participating team for the single-elimination battle.
They looked at the others, who were either unconscious or severely injured, and their hearts were immediately filled with both despair and an unrivaled fighting spirit. Right now, they would place their lives on the line for Shrek’s honor and glory without a single instant of hesitation. This was the only thought on their minds.
“It’s my turn.” Ma Xiaotao put Dai Yueheng’s ring on her right hand’s thumb as she spoke, and was about to go up onto the competition stage.
At this moment, the Heavenfiend Douluo loudly announced, “As the judge, I have confirmed that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy have given up the rest of this round and have admitted defeat. Shrek Academy is victorious in this single-elimination round. Both parties will have one minute to rest. The 2-2-3 fight will then begin immediately afterwards. As both parties no longer have enough people to complete the third round, and as both parties have a single win each from the previous two rounds, the third round shall be completed with each team’s respective reserve team members that did not participate in the single-elimination round.”
The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had admitted defeat?
Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong were all astonished.
There were three people in their opponents’ camp who were still able to participate. Ma Rulong, their team leader, was the most powerful one, and was still able to fight. How could they just admit defeat?
Wang Yan grew solemn and muttered, “Impressive.”
Ma Xiaotao frowned and said, “What’s wrong, Teacher Wang?”
Wang Yan’s expression was as dark as ever. He lowered his voice and said, “Although they’ve given up on the single- elimination rounds, this is them retreating in order to advance. They’re aware that none of them will be able to defeat you one-on-one, and that, as soul engineers, they’re stronger when they’re together. Thus, the 2-2-3 battle will be more advantageous for them. Furthermore, of the original seven participating contestants, only three of you are still able to fight. Even though they also only have three contestants left, Meng Hongchen hasn’t lost her ability to fight – she’s simply overly exhausted. She’ll be able to recover, given enough time.”
“The first people they’ll send out will be Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng for the first round of 2-2-3 battle, iso that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen have enough time to rest. However, we only have the three of you left. Even if Ma Xiaotao wins a round with one of you, they’ll almost certainly win the next one. Even if we get a win, it’ll be equivalent to a loss for us.”
All three of them immediately understood the situation when they heard Wang Yan’s words. What he’d said was true. Who else was left in Shrek’s reserve lineup?
Only He Caitou and Xiao Xiao were left. Xiao Xiao’s injuries had yet to completely heal, while He Caitou was only a Class 4 soul engineer.
The last round would be a three-versus-three. It wouldn’t be a problem for their opponents to choose three Class 4 soul engineers from their reserve team then—Shrek didn’t stand a chance for it.
This meant that in the subsequent battle, their opponents would practically win the entire tournament so long as they won a single two-on-two battle.
Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen were both wounded, and weren’t at their peak condition. However, Meng Hongchen’s venom combined with the fact that they were both Soul Kings as well as Class 5 soul engineers still made them extremely formidable.
Furthermore, they still had Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng. Ma Rulong was a powerful Class 6 soul engineer, while Xiao Xiafeng was a Class 5. It would be extremely challenging for Shrek to win even a single round. This was the disparity between the two team’s depths—Shrek had only had three official team members to begin with. The rift in their strengths couldn’t even be compared.
Wang Yan looked upwards and heaved a sigh, an expression of defeat on his face. Both he and his team had already given up so much, yet this was how they were going to be defeated in the end? He couldn’t reconcile with this fate… he just couldn’t! Everybody could only participate once in the 2-2-3 battle—they didn’t stand a chance.
“Yuhao, Wang Dong.” Ma Xiaotao suddenly spun around and placed her hands on both of their shoulders.
“Leave the first round to me. The two of you will have to face Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen in the next round. We can’t retreat; we have to fight to the end. Look at the rest of your comrades who have already fallen—it’s up to us to defend Shrek’s honor and glory. Shrek must win.”
Ma Xiaotao’s eyes flashed red. Her valiant fighting spirit hadn’t wavered at all, even after Wang Yan’s analysis.
“Tell me—can you guys do it?” Ma Xiaotao’s voice instantly became somewhat overbearing as her words resonated.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong exchanged a look. The flame of passion in their hearts had been completely rekindled at this point.
“Shrek must win!” They shouted in unison. Even though their voices were slightly hoarse, the resolute determination and unwavering spirit they displayed was filled with bravery, as if they were currently facing death with equanimity.
Wang Yan felt a little dazed when he saw this. He felt as if his soul was about to jump out of its shell at this moment. These kids were just too cute. Nothing could describe the feeling he currently felt.
Tears poured from his eyes uncontrollably as Wang Yan took a giant step forward and encompassed all three of them in a hug. “Children—it’s all on you.”
Elder Xuan remained seated in the back, but he put his chicken wing down, as well as the wine gourd in his other hand. A radiant luster flickered in his eyes that were filled with vicissitude.
These children were destined to become the source of Shrek’s pride, no matter whether or not they emerged victorious in the end. They would leave a heavy mark on Shrek’s history, and Shrek would be extremely proud of them.
“Both teams, approach the stage,” The Heavenfiend Douluo’s voice could be heard once again.
Both the audience inside of the Star Luo Plaza and the ruler and his ministers atop the royal city wall were completely silent at this point. They had all predicted that the finals would be exciting, but could this contest still be described as “exciting”?
Both Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s teams could only be described as bitter and desperate at this point.
Yes, this was a bitter and desperate competition, but it was also a final that rattled everyone’s hearts!
Both parties had won one round each after the group battle and the single-elimination rounds. This was the ultimate round that would decide every; the 2-2-3 battle was the most uncertain contest format.
Shrek had three able participants, while the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had four. Everybody could tell that this competition was now the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s to lose. Unless Shrek could emerge victorious in the first two battles of this round, they would lose the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling
Tournament’s champion title for the first time in several thousand years. However, they didn’t even have enough people to participate; how would they be able to outmatch their opponents?
Just as Wang Yan had predicted, Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng stood up from the Sun Moon team’s waiting area and strode onto the competition stage in order to give Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen enough time to recover. Their soul powers had been almost fully restored from the time they had to rest; it could be said they were nearly at their peak condition. Ma Xiaotao was the only one to step onto the competition stage from Shrek Academy’s side.
“You…” The Heavenfiend Douluo glanced at Ma Xiaotao, doubt in his eyes.
Ma Xiaotao said plainly. “I’ll represent Shrek for the first round. I’m sure that’s allowed. We’ll give up the other entry spot for this battle.”
The rules stated that only a maximum of two people were allowed to participate in the two-versus-two battle, but there wasn’t a rule that stated that only one person couldn’t
represent a team. The Heavenfiend Douluo hesitated, then nodded his head and said, “Okay.”
Ma Rulong’s eyes narrowed into slits as he muttered, “You’re too condescending and disrespectful, Ma Xiaotao.”
Ma Xiaotao grunted indifferently as she looked up and shot a cold look at the two people before her. “So what if I’m looking down on you two? I along am enough to take down the two of you. Come. If you want take revenge for your fallen comrades, you’ll have to take me down. However, that’s if you have the ability to do so, because I’ll destroy you if you don’t.”
Even the Heavenfiend Douluo felt his heart skip a beat when he heard these words; this girl was truly ferocious and dauntless!
How could Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng not feel intense hatred when they heard her words? Two of their friends had just perished under Ma Xiaotao’s hands, even if it hadn’t been intentional. This feeling was intensified now that they were standing before the target of their vengeance, and was even further aggravated when Ma Xiaotao took the initiative to provoke them.
Ma Rulong had no confidence at all if he was to battle Ma Xiaotao by himself. However, it was a different story with Xiao Xiafeng by his side, who was a Class 5 soul engineer. He would have a much easier time dealing with Ma Xiaotao with Xiao Xiafeng impeding and obstructing her.
Xiao Xiafeng was infuriated at Ma Xiaotao’s words, and nearly pounced forward before Ma Rulong held him back.
“Do you guys really think you still stand a chance? You may not even be able to beat us, and so what if you do? Do you really think that those two little fellas over there can defeat Xiao Hongchen and his sister? Stop your wishful thinking; they have no way of countering Meng Hongchen’s venom.”
Ma Xiaotao chuckled and said, “Is spouting nonsense all you know how to do? If you’re trying to beat down my fighting spirit, then you’re dreaming. That venom is bullshit. Why don’t you ask that immature little girl if she dares to face me in battle? I’ll burn her alive. Stop this nonsense and let’s get this over with.” She then turned and walked to the edge of the competition stage.
Ma Rulong took a deep breath, as he knew that Ma Xiaotao wouldn’t be easy to handle. Her temper was fiery and explosive, but her thoughts and reasoning were meticulous and thorough, to the point where he wasn’t even sure what Ma Xiaotao’s true strength was. He had yet to see where Ma Xiaotao’s baseline lay, even up to today.
Ma Rulong led Xiao Xiafeng back to their corner, gradually distancing themselves from their opponent.
This round could be said to be the ultimate showdown between the Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s respective team leaders, and was also a clash of the highest level in the competition. Shrek Academy would have a shot at victory if she won, but if Ma Xiaotao lost, it would automatically decide the competition’s result.
Ma Xiaotao quickly backed off to the edge of the stage, her eyes flickering with chilly light. Nobody knew what was on her mind as her expression grew solemn.
Ma Rulong whispered something into Xiao Xiafeng’s ear as the two of them took their time arriving at their own corner.
A light drizzle continued to flitter down. The current weather was extremely humid, which was naturally disadvantageous for Ma Xiaotao, but the negative impact she’d received definitely wasn’t that great.
The sprawling competition stage seemed to be riddled with gaping wounds from all of the battles that had taken place before; every surface was either damaged or smashed inwards like a crater.
The Heavenfiend Douluo glanced at both parties. The finals were about to end at long last. Even he felt a little exhausted from fully concentrating for such a long time, despite his cultivation.
“Let the competition begin!”
The ultimate showdown had finally started. Ma Xiaotao dashed forwards, while her phoenix wings swiftly emerged from her body into the air and flapped backwards. Her body barreled towards Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng like a meteor. As she did so, she opened her mouth, a Phoenix Fireline surging out from it and asserting long-distance pressure.
Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng weren’t slow either. Ma Rulong was well-aware that the methods he’d employed against Jiang Peng would be useless against Ma Xiaotao. A thick, bluish- purple cannon barrel instantly appeared on his shoulder, which almost immediately fired a bluish-purple ball of light.
He and Xiao Xiafeng shared a decent chemistry, as a unidirectional soul shield was unleashed that protected them both from the Phoenix Fireline attack when he did so. At the same time, he rooted himself to the ground and quickly released his Soul Tool Fortress. Metal clanging sounds could be heard as a series of cannons appeared on his body with lightning speed; there was no doubt that he intended to use his most formidable firepower to coordinate with Ma Rulong. Relying on his food-type soul master’s salient characteristics, his ability to continue battling was the best amongst the other Sun Moon team members.
The bluish-purple lightning strike that Ma Rulong had fired from the cannon in his hands wasn’t directed at Ma Xiaotao. Instead, it struck the center of the competition stage.
A bluish-purple light wall was immediately erected at the exact spot it struck, barricading Ma Xiaotao’s advance. According to Ma Rulong’s judgment, Ma Xiaotao was fearsome
and ferocious, thus she would definitely attempt to forcefully charge forward. And when she so, she would fall into his trap.
Chapter 123: Dark Phoenix Transformation!
This Class 6 soul tool that Ma Rulong had just used was strong in the sense that, once Ma Xiaotao touched it, she would be stuck to it like a housefly in a spider’s web. Immediately afterwards, the lightning energy contained within would envelop her entire body. When that happened, Ma Xiaotao would have to deal with the might of their attack. Although it couldn’t truly harm her, it would be able to buy sufficient time for her to be subjected to their immense firepower while she was trapped.
However, they didn’t expect Ma Xiaotao to stop the moment the lightning screen appeared. She stopped extremely quickly, and her sixth soul ring lit up.
“Damn it, the Phoenix Meteor Shower.” Ma Rulong cursed to himself, his expression changing drastically.
Was Ma Xiaotao’s sixth soul skill so easily resisted? That lightning trap had become her defensive barrier instead.
The golden barrel that had given Team Shrek a lot of trouble appeared once again at this moment. Ma Rulong squinted his eyes as he aimed the golden barrel towards Ma Xiaotao.
Whenever Ma Xiaotao unleashed the Phoenix Meteor Shower, any movement she made would greatly affect its power. Ma Rulong had Xiao Xiafeng to defend him, thus he wouldn’t suffer too much if he were struck by the Phoenix Meteor Shower a few times. On the contrary, Ma Xiaotao would be the one in deep trouble if she was struck by his attack. Ma Rulong’s reaction was both quick and appropriate.
However, the Phoenix Meteor Shower didn’t strike when he expected it to. When the golden barrel appeared in Ma Rulong’s hand, Ma Xiaotao suddenly stepped backwards and punched out with her right fist. A ball of fire was sent towards the lightning barrier in front of her.
The lightning immediately engulfed the ball of fire, then blew apart. Ma Xiaotao’s figure turned illusory when this happened.
On closer inspection, her flaming wings were flapping rapidly behind her back. It was due to this flapping motion that
she managed to rapidly change her position in the air. She even left a series of shadows behind her that shimmered as she continued to advance forward. Ma Rulong realized, to his horror, that he couldn’t lock onto her exact position.
What ability was she using? It was obvious that she wasn’t using a soul skill, as her body wasn’t shining with any soul rings. This was obviously a secret technique suitable for soul masters.
Even though both parties had yet to truly clash with one another, they’d already displayed what they were capable of.
It was also at this point that superiority in numbers began to show its worth: Xiao Xiafeng’s soul tool fort was finally completed.
Waves and waves of light were rapidly unleashed. Light balls, light rays, and even metal balls that rose into the air and drew parabolas were unleashed.
The immense firepower of his soul tool fort was instantly unleashed.
Ma Rulong had been waiting for this opportunity. He clasped both of his hands in front of him, and a ball of intense, golden light shone as one of his soul rings started to flash repeatedly. His aura ballooned, while the golden barrel disappeared and was replaced with a huge, golden-red sword.
Was it a close-combat soul tool? Had Ma Rulong given up his long-range offensive capabilities for a close-combat soul tool?
This was the first time the sword had appeared in the tournament. Ma Rulong had also concealed his trump card, and was only using it now.
The offensive might of a soul engineer when they unleashed everything they had was extremely formidable. Ma Xiaotao tried her best to dodge, but Xiao Xiafeng depleted his soul power in order to increase the offensiveness of his various soul tools, which left her frantic.
Team Sun Moon was much stronger in terms of applying soul tool forts compared to other ordinary soul engineering academies.
Xiao Xiafeng’s attack was holistic. There were automatic explosions, intense rays… even trapping-type soul tools involved.
The entire competition stage seemed to light up with dazzling lights. It was impossible for Ma Xiaotao to dodge all of his attacks, thus she could only face them head-on.
Ma Xiaotao was more powerful than Dai Yueheng, but her body wasn’t as tough as his.
She used her wings as her shield, and exerted all of her soul power to resist the wave after wave of Xiao Xiafeng’s relentless attack.
Even though Ma Xiaotao wasn’t a soul engineer, she was rather familiar with the strategies that they used. Xiao Xiafeng’s soul power was bound be depleted extremely quickly if he kept this up, as he was only a Class 5 soul engineer, yet he was trying to suppress a soul emperor. His attacks couldn’t last long at this rate. Xiao Xiafeng would become less and less useful to Ma Rulong as his intensity dipped, .
Ma Xiaotao was the calmest at the most critical moments. She carefully observed Ma Rulong actions while she was resisting Xiao Xiafeng’s attacks. Xiao Xiafeng was, without a doubt, aiding Ma Rulong. Ma Rulong’s attacks were much more threatening towards Ma Xiaotao because of this.
Ma Rulong suddenly grabbed the golden sword’s hilt with both of his hands and slowly lifted it, intense golden light shining from the sword’s body as he did so. Nine core formations could be seen extending from the sword tip down to the hilt. Streaks and streaks of light shot into the air as the intense golden light shone. Ma Rulong lifted the sword far above his head, his pupils slowly starting to turn golden.
“Awaken, Judgement Sword!” Ma Rulong shouted, injecting his soul power into the huge sword at a frightening speed. A white halo could be seen rising from his feet because he was injecting his soul power into the sword so intensely. As the halo moved round his entire body, it eventually reached his hands, then entered the sword.
The sword also started to experience changes: The golden light on the hilt retracted, while the sword gradually turned two different colors. One side of the sword turned white, while
the other side turned black. The two contrasting colors exuded an odd sense amidst the golden light that flashed.
“Ordained as darkness, guilty of heresy.” Ma Rulong grabbed the huge sword with both his hands, then pointed the black side of the blade in Ma Xiaotao’s direction.
A streak of black radiance flashed through the air, then suddenly disappeared.
Ma Xiaotao’s entire body raged with flames. However, when the black radiance reached her, all of her defenses failed. The black radiance simply flashed as it entered her body.
Ma Xiaotao immediately felt her body turning abnormal. Her crimson-red phoenix flames instantly turned black and dark and chilly sense filled her entire body. The evil energy that had been suppressed immediately rampaged through her body and combined with the black phoenix flames. She was about to lose control.
What soul tool is this? Ma Xiaotao was appalled. It was her first time experiencing something as strange as this. This soul
tool attack couldn’t be defended against?
It was also at this point that Ma Rulong flipped the huge sword over. The white side then emitted an intense white color and shone with an extremely bright white radiance. The surging aura of light instantly filled the entire venue.
Ma Xiaotao groaned in pain as the black phoenix flames on her body turned into a haze; she felt as if she was going to be decomposed by the light. The phoenix flames in her body started to flood out of her.
Ma Rulong appeared very pleased. The scheme that he’d plotted had finally succeeded.
He’d once mentioned in his competition against Jiang Peng that a soul engineer was the most familiar with his own self. That was why all of his soul tools were self-developed. He hadn’t said it for Jiang Peng, however. He’d said it for Shrek Academy.
In reality, the Judgement Sword couldn’t have been created by him, as it was a Class 8 close-combat soul tool. In fact, it was
one of the best Class 8 soul tools.
The Judgement Sword combined both light and darkness. It could infuse the power of darkness into the enemy’s soul and cause the enemy to turn dark uncontrollably. At the same time, it could use the immense power of light to then judge the enemy. If the enemy was weaker, his soul power would be instantly degraded. It could even be completely destroyed under the aura of light.
Ma Rulong was still only a Class 6 soul engineer however. He’d had to pay a huge price in order to use this Class 8 soul tool. What Ma Xiaotao couldn’t see was that a blood-red core formation was currently shining behind Ma Rulong’s back, intense blood-red flames burning from it.
That was the power of a Class 7 soul tool, which was known as the Sacrificial Seal. Ma Rulong had sacrificed his own life energy and potential to instantly increase his physical and soul power. This was needed to support the Judgement Sword. Of course, he still couldn’t last long. But he only needed to defeat Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Rulong knew that even if he and Xiao Xiafeng lost to Ma Xiaotao, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen would still be able to emerge victorious. But he was just like Dai Yueheng: He wanted to be the one to decide victory. Furthermore, he was their team leader.
That was why he’d paid the price necessary to unleash the Judgement Sword from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.
This Judgement Sword was useless against only an opponent with a light-type or darkness-type martial soul. However, Ma Xiaotao didn’t have either of these. Her martial soul was a fire- type.
Ma Rulong felt that the price he’d paid was worth it when he heard Ma Xiaotao groaning in pain. An indescribable satisfaction filled his entire body; he was about to take revenge for his team members that had perished at her hands.
His determination to win reached its peak. Ma Rulong suddenly stepped forward and lifted his Judgement Sword, then swung it towards Ma Xiaotao yet again.
Ma Xiaotao was also experiencing weird changes as well as several emotional changes.
Her phoenix flames turned entirely black as her Evil Phoenix Fire surged out from her body, guided by the dark power. The Evil Phoenix Fire that had been suppressed by the Ultimate Ice had instantly been unleashed and turned into dark flames, which were raging and surging throughout her body.
Ma Xiaotao couldn’t control her flames anymore, even if she wanted to.
The intense aura of light suppressed her from the outside, causing the dark flames on her body to be extinguished, whereas the Evil Phoenix Fire continued to ravage her body now that it had been combined with the power of darkness.
Ma Xiaotao’s body was on the brink of collapse.
The evil aura had become a part of darkness. The Judgement Sword’s effect on her was even greater compared than it would be to an ordinary soul master; her eyes that had originally flashed with flames had instantly turned pitch-black.
Was this the end…? Was she going to lose? Was Shrek Academy going to lose? Shrek’s glory was at stake here!
Ma Xiaotao became filled with fury. She was extremely indignant.
Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, and Ling Luochen had all been defeated. Even Dai Yueheng had lost his combat abilities due to fighting against their opponent’s poison-type soul master. They’d given their all in order to contribute to the eventual victory of Shrek; they’d even put their lives on the line for Shrek’s glory. But as their team leader, was Ma Xiaotao going to collapse just like this?
“Judgement. What bullshit judgement? I’m not convinced. I don’t believe that there’s anything that can judge me in this world!”
Ma Xiaotao’s desire to survive, coupled with her strong resentment, was revealed.
As the inheriting disciple of Shrek Academy’s dean, Ma Xiaotao was one of the best in terms of abilities, talent, and competitiveness among all the inner courtyard disciples. Nobody her age could rival her; she was Shrek Academy’s future hope.
With her talent, she could’ve gone even further and become the first in Shrek Academy’s history to become a soul sage before she was 21. However, she’d regretfully been delayed because she had to repress the evil fire within her. Thus, this was never fulfilled.
All of this repression disappeared at this moment. Her martial soul began to show signs of changing due to the purification at this instant under the effect of her resilience.
The phoenix was the king of all birds. Even only the strongest and most powerful dragon could be mentioned in the same breath as a phoenix.
Among phoenixes, Fire Phoenixes had the purest bloodline. However, they weren’t the only ones with an extremely pure bloodline.
Ma Xiaotao had a part of the fire phoenix’s bloodline in her body. However, this bloodline wasn’t pure; she’d never be a true Fire Phoenix because of the evil aura that also existed in her body.
But the bloodline in her body suddenly changed. It became that of a dark phoenix—filled with desolation and violence. This phoenix’s sole purpose was to destroy and wreak havoc.
This was the evil side of the Fire Phoenix—the Dark Phoenix. It had appeared in the world for the first time as a martial soul.
A clear and crisp phoenix whistle resonated from Ma Xiaotao’s mouth. At the same time, a huge, golden light blade had just taken form on the Judgement Sword. It then slashed towards her.
The black flames were quickly extinguished as they met the golden light blade. The competition was also bound to end when the sword slashed down; the Heavenfiend Douluo would definitely stop the sword from striking Ma Xiaotao.
But the black flames on Ma Xiaotao’s body that had quickly turned to haze began to gather and compress inside of her. Following that, a huge projection appeared behind her back.
A entirely black phoenix that was much smaller than the original Evil Phoenix appeared. However, a frightening aura
was exuded from its pitch-black body, and its deep, purple eyes were filled with an aura of desolation and insanity.
“This isn’t good. Xiaotao has changed.” Elder Xuan suddenly stood up. His eyes revealed a look of anxiety. Even with his experience, he couldn’t determine whether this change that Ma Xiaotao was experiencing was good or bad.
The pitch-black flames reformed into a pair of wings behind Ma Xiaotao’s back. Her figure suddenly flashed through the air as she dodged the Judgement Sword.
How was this possible? Ma Rulong eyes widened. He’d already expended his life power! If he didn’t finish Ma Xiaotao off quickly, he’d have to stop using the Judgement Sword. Otherwise, the backlash wouldn’t just cost him a year’s worth of his cultivation.
Ma Xiaotao lifted her head as she moved laterally, her once- bright red hair now black.
“Ah—!” Ma Xiaotao screamed. When she opened her eyes, a purplish light flashed, and a frightening aura emerged
alongside her black flames.
A streak of crystallic yellow light instantly emerged and turned into a huge blade of light alongside her maniacal, tiger’s roar. It struck the side of the Judgement Sword heavily, and a loud boom resonated.
Ma Rulong’s Judgement Sword was stopped in place, while Ma Xiaotao held another huge blade in her hand.
This was what had been concealed within the ring that Dai Yueheng gave to her: It was the Tyrannical Tiger Soulblade, the Class 8 offensive close-combat soul tool that they’d obtained from the top-ranked auction. This soulblade was four and a half feet long, and iwas at least one inch thick. It was curved like a cavalry saber, while its hilt was made of bone, and its pommel was extremely wide. Overall, it was shaped like a tiger’s head.
This soulblade wasn’t comparable to the Judgement Sword in terms of quality, and to unleash its full might, one needed to be a soul sage at the very least.
However, Ma Xiaotao had understood Dai Yueheng’s intention when she’d received the ring. She also believed that she’d be able to at least land a few strikes with this soulblade if she utilized her phoenix flames.
But she hadn’t expected to use this soulblade under such circumstances. Now that she turned into the Dark Phoenix, she could sense that everything was different. A boundless aura of brutality and violence raged from her heart, while a frightening aura was instantly unleashed. The Tyrannical Tiger Soulblade’s seven-ring restriction couldn’t even stop her from using it.
As she held the soulblade, black flames instantly entered it. Ma Xiaotao screamed once again, and the black phoenix behind her slowly drifted in front of her, then fused with the soulblade. As she held onto the soulblade’s hilt with both hands, her delicate figure made a half-turn in the air. She then swung the soulblade again.
Ma Rulong couldn’t resist her anymore this time. His cultivation was not only beneath hers, but he’d also used the Judgement Sword against his abilities. The soulblade strike that was previously unleashed against him nearly crippled his ability to wield the Judgement Sword further. When Ma
Xiaotao struck again, the Judgement Sword flew out of his hand. The huge soulblade landed on his body with a tiger’s roar, and a black light flashed.
The Invincible Barrier lit up in time. However, something extremely shocking appeared: The Invincible Barrier was torn apart within the first second, even though it was supposed to last for three seconds. Ma Rulong’s body flew backwards and heavily struck the defensive barrier around the competition stage.
Ma Xiaotao then swung the Tyrannical Tiger Soulblade towards Xiao Xiafeng.
Xiao Xiafeng continued to persistently attack Ma Xiaotao after she transformed. However, he was absolutely horrified when he discovered that almost all of his Class 5 soul tools had lost their effect. The attacks unleashed by his soul tool fort were ablated by Ma Xiaotao’s black flames, with no traces left behind.
Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng’s plan was that Xiao Xiafeng would try to restrain Ma Xiaotao, while Ma Rulong would unleash the Judgement Sword.
The Judgement Sword was an elite Class 8 soul tool, close in might to a Class 9 soul tool. It was also a close-combat soul tool. Even a soul sage or soul douluo would be elementally suppressed by the Judgement Sword. They’d once experimented before; a Rank 69 Soul Emperor couldn’t resist even a single strike from the Judgment Sword. This soul tool was thus their most powerful weapon in this tournament. Even though they hadn’t used it in the team round, they’d prepared it in the event that they needed to turn the tables.
But who could’ve known that this powerful soul tool would cause Ma Xiaotao to transform, and enable her to become even more powerful. She’d become nearly invincible.
Ma Xiaotao’s soul rings weren’t even visible amidst the black flames anymore. An enormous black blade light descended from the sky towards Xiao Xiafeng, but he couldn’t even dodge it, much less resist it.
The black flames swallowed every trace of light. Even the competition stage seemed to have been divided in two.
A streak of starlight suddenly appeared in front of Xiao Xiafeng; the Heavenfiend Douluo seemed to have teleported over.
A star-shaped shield with five corners then appeared in front of him and blocked the blade light.
“Boom—” Black flames scattered and instantly covered the entire region. When the black flames landed on the ground, the ground also started to combust and turned into a sea of fire. The regions that were on fire then began to melt and even began to collapse.
Ma Xiaotao’s flashing, purple gaze was fixated on Xiao Xiafeng. As she held the blade with both her hands, spots of purplish radiance seemed to spread from her eyes. A frightening aura was released from her body, and she slashed out with her soulblade again amidst a terrifying roar.
“Stop, the match has ended.” Huang Jinxu’s frantic voice sounded. Ma Xiaotao’s Tyrannical Tiger Soulblade stopped mid-strike and didn’t slash down.
The black flames around Ma Xiatao weakened a little, and she slowly lowered the huge soulblade. A purplish radiance flashed through her eyes, but she remained steadfast.
Huang Jinxu seemed a little pathetic even though he was a Titled Douluo.
He quickly led Xiao Xiafeng—covered in a globe of starlight— to Ma Rulong. The shield from earlier had already disappeared, and many holes had appeared in his long robe. Even a small segment of his hair seemed to have been charred away.
What was happening? Everyone was shocked. No one expected Ma Xiaotao to be so powerful. Even the Heavenfiend Lonestar was not entirely able to resist Ma Xiaotao’s black flames.
After Huang Jinxu announced the end of the competition, a figure burst out from Shrek Academy’s waiting area and came to the competition stage.
“Xiaotao, calm down.” Elder Xuan’s deep voice rang out.
Ma Xiaotao seemed to shiver before her body started to tremble quickly. It seemed as if she was in a lot of pain.
Elder Xuan lifted his palm and slapped her neck. Ma Xiaotao’s hands moved a little, as if she was trying to resist. But in the end, she didn’t lift them, and Elder Xuan slapped her to the ground.
Elder Xuan grabbed ahold of her, and an intense yellow radiance shot out from his body. Ma Xiaotao was engulfed by this yellow radiance, but the black flames on her body’s surface continued to surge tremendously. It resisted Elder Xuan’s soul power and wouldn’t allow itself to be suppressed.
Elder Xuan’s face turned serious as he jumped down from the competition stage and returned to the waiting area.
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Wang Yan went up to him.
Huo Yuhao wanted to take Ma Xiaotao from Elder Xuan, but Elder Xuan released a layer of yellow light that blocked him.
“You can’t.”
Huo Yuhao was stunned, “Elder Xuan, I’m the one who suppresses the evil fire for elder sister every time!”
Elder Xuan shook his head and he looked dismal. “It’s not just the effect of the evil energy. Her martial soul was greatly
agitated, and a serious transformation has occurred. I’m afraid…”
Wang Yan was horrified, “Elder Xuan, are you saying that Xiaotao…”
Elder Xuan nodded his head slightly, and a look of lamentation flashed across his face.
Wang Yan said frantically, “What do we do then? Is it because of the Sun Moon team’s soul tool? Do we settle the score with them?”
Elder Xuan shook his head and said, “It’s useless. Although the transformation in Xiaotao’s martial soul was sparked by their soul tool, their soul tool couldn’t have affected her after the transformation. Xiaotao is in a really unstable condition now. I can only help to suppress her transformed martial soul using my soul power. We can only wait until we return to the academy. Let’s see if Elder Mu has any other methods.”
Huo Yuhao was confused, and he asked in a panic, “Elder Xuan, what’s wrong with elder sister? I’m the Ultimate Ice.
Can I help her?”
Elder Xuan looked at him and sighed, “If your cultivation were around Xiaotao’s level, there might be a chance. But you’re too far away from her. You’ll be engulfed by the black flames if you try. Xiaotao is in big trouble now. She may even become an evil soul master if things go awry.”
“What?” After hearing the words ‘evil soul master’, Huo Yuhao realized how serious things were. Ma Xiaotao’s phoenix flames had actually experienced such a huge transformation. No wonder Elder Xuan couldn’t help her even though he was extremely powerful.
Elder Xuan was filled with torment. “The Evil Phoenix is already a top-ranked martial soul. This transformation is indeed very great. However, the evil energy in her body has completely evolved after being stained by the power of darkness. But this evolution is also towards darkness. Her mind has also been greatly affected by this evolution. Her black flames have already risen to the level of Ultimate Fire, but it’s one that is filled with darkness and evil. Her cultivation has been propelled to at least Rank 70 too. If she really becomes an evil soul master, she can’t be stopped by an ordinary Titled Douluo with her current cultivation and the black flames.
Huo Yuhao was stunned, and he could not help but moan, “Elder Sister.” He had only acknowledged Ma Xiaotao as his elder sister for a few days. After losing his mother, he’d always believed himself to be an orphan. Now that he had finally found himself an elder sister, his elder sister was about to become an evil soul master. He was filled with sorrow and fury.
The Heavenfiend Douluo did not rush both parties to start the next round of the competition. That’s because the damage done to the competition stage was too great. Ma Xiaotao’s black phoenix flames burned for a whole minute before disappearing. If repairs weren’t made, the competition couldn’t continue. A few extraordinary earth-type soul masters were carrying out the repairs right now.
After this battle, the tragic aura had become thicker and thicker. Everyone who had watched the fight had difficulty breathing. Although Shrek had emerged victorious, their strongest soul emperor was in trouble. The last round between both sides with limited team members left was about to begin too. If Shrek lost, they would likely lose the glory of champions too.
Elder Xuan sighed and said, “Forget it, let’s forfeit.”
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Wang Yan were all shocked when he said that.
Tears streamed down Elder Xuan’s aged face, “Kids, all of you have contributed greatly to the academy. How can we send the both of you to die? Xiaotao is the strongest, but even she’s hurt. If something happens to the both of you, it’ll be a catastrophe for Shrek! We can’t let the both of you continue fighting for the academy’s pride and glory anymore.”
“No, Elder Xuan. We want to fight.” Huo Yuhao said determinedly. As he looked at the unconscious and tormented Ma Xiaotao before turning to the rest of his team members who were hurt, Huo Yuhao’s eyes burned with a strong fighting will.
“Elder Xuan, we were all conflicted when we first came to Star Luo City to compete. None of us were even from the official team then. The entire squad was made up of preparatory team members. Shrek’s glory has supported us in our journey, and supported us in the tough times that we’ve faced. We’re all filled with the will to fight. This glory doesn’t belong to the academy alone; it belongs to every one of us too. As long as Shrek’s glory remains, Shrek’s camaraderie remains
too. Many of our seniors have sacrificed themselves for this glory. Our partner has also collapsed for Shrek’s glory. They’re all without any regrets. We’ve given our all for this glory. If we forfeit, we’ll be safe, but our hearts will not be satisfied. For Shrek’s glory, for the Tang Sect’s glory, for all of our team members who came to compete, and for ourselves, we must
fight this battle. We must even win it.”
Huo Yuhao was resolute and decisive when he said those words. His face even turned pale because he clenched his fists so hard as he spoke.
Wang Dong’s eyes flashed with a resolute and determined radiance as he stood beside Huo Yuhao. Both of them had the same thought. What Huo Yuhao said was exactly what he felt.
Elder Xuan opened his eyes again. As he looked at this pair of lovely kids, he took in a deep breath. He even bowed to the both of them. “I understand now. I don’t have the right to stop the both of you. But the you need to know that you are Shrek’s pride and heroes no matter the result. Once we return, the academy will confer this glory to all of you. All of you have left an important mark in Shrek’s history. I only have one request, that is to protect yourselves. If I sense any potential dangers
that might incapacitate the both of you, I won’t hesitate to stop this match.”
“Yes!” Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong cheered. Huo Yuhao lifted his hands, and Wang Dong lifted his hands to grip Huo Yuhao’s. It was not just Haodong Power that circulated through their bodies at this instant. A strong fighting will and resolve also filled their bodies.
Wang Yan took in a strong, deep breath. He only stopped when his lungs felt a piercing pain. He tried his best to calm himself down.
He tried not to choke on his voice as he looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
“Yuhao, Wang Dong, the two of you are about to face Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. You have already witnessed what they are capable of. The first thing to deal with is Meng Hongchen’s poison. If you can’t do that, I won’t let you compete no matter how determined you are today.”
Wang Dong was hesitant, but Huo Yuhao said decisively, “Teacher Wang, I can do it.”
Wang Yan heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. “That’s good. Although they are powerful, they are both still injured. Their fighting wills are definitely beneath yours. I have already presented a strategy for the both of you. You must believe in yourselves and try your best. Yuhao was right when he said that we can’t lose at this stage. Just give everything you have. Come on.”
As he spoke, Wang Yan extended his hand. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong also stacked their hands above his.
There was nothing more to say at this point. At this stage of the competition, one’s fighting spirit and will were even more important than one’s power.
The competition stage was already prepared, and the Heavenfiend Douluo had also calmed down.
“The second match of the 2-2-3 round shall commence. Both teams, please send your competing members up.”
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked at each other. They could see themselves in each other’s eyes. They were about to compete in the most uneven final of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament’s history
Chapter 124: A Wide Gap, the Last Battle!
When Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen walked up to the competition stage, their minds were still pre-occupied by Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng’s lost looks.
In the previous round, Ma Xiaotao had still managed to defeat them even though she was outnumbered and had to face the frightening attacks of the Class 8 Judgement Sword. Ma Xiaotao didn’t just achieve victory. She even dented their confidence.
This was especially so for Ma Rulong. Although he was not heavily hurt, he was tormented internally.
As their team leader, he still lost even though he had used such a powerful soul tool, combusted his own life power and had a numerical advantage over Ma Xiaotao.
The over-depletion of his soul power meant that his powers would not just stagnate for a year. What was even more frightening was that Ma Xiaotao’s black flames had left a
trauma in his heart that couldn’t be obliterated. Both he and Xiao Xiafeng had been trounced in their fight.
However, Shrek wasn’t in good shape either. They no longer had any alternatives. However, they could become the eventual champions of the tournament if they managed to achieve victory in this upcoming 2 v 2 battle.
“Younger sister, I must admit that my past opinion about Shrek Academy was wrong. Shrek is really powerful.” Xiao Hongchen did not look arrogant anymore. He was still a little pale from the injury he had received. But there was a sense of resilience amidst that paleness that had never been there before.
Meng Hongchen sighed. “If all their official team members were here, we’d not even stand a chance.”
Xiao Hongchen looked into the sky. The rain was getting heavier, and there was even a layer of mist in the air. Their clothing was also wet, but didn’t become drenched, as their soul power evaporated some of the rain.
“I must stabilize myself after this tournament. Grandpa was right. It’s not a good thing to increase our cultivation so quickly. It’s not just because our bodies can’t handle the burden. It’s more because of our psychological mindset. If I don’t stabilize myself, I’m afraid that I’ll continue to be unable to reach my peak.”
Meng Hongchen nodded her head hardily and said, “Alright, I shall accompany you.”
Meng Hongchen’s eyes suddenly lit up, “But we have to win this battle first. Our partners can’t just die for nothing. We must snatch our glory back from Shrek’s hands. We must win this battle.”
Meng Hongchen’s eyes lit up too. At this point, she saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ascending the stage holding hands. Wang Dong’s pinkish-blue eyes were filled with his fighting spirit. As Meng Hongchen looked at him, her heartstrings were tugged.
“Yes, we must win.”
The four of them took their positions on the competition stage. Their competitive streaks rose as they looked at one another. Besides Meng Hongchen’s gaze that carried a slight bizarrerie when she looked at Wang Dong, the rest were all resolute.
The four of them also had another feeling at this point. It was as if something had guided all of them to gather on this stage and meet one another in this important tournament.
Was this fate? If this was really fate, then perhaps they were destined to be rivals. 5 years later, they would still compete for their respective academies in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. They were bound to be the main forces in their respective teams then. What could change after 5 years? They didn’t know. Right now, they only knew that they had to be the champions.
More than a month had already passed. After all the hard- fought battles and effort they had made, they had finally reached this stage. This was especially so for everyone on Shrek’s team. It wasn’t easy for them to be standing here in the final.
The burning competitive streak in Huo Yuhao’s eyes dipped a little. In his eyes, a dim golden light subtly appeared. Although he wore an obvious look of innocence, there was also a shocking calmness about him too.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were different. A light seemed to shine from Wang Dong’s body. That pure feeling of light seemed to cause his body to burn up. No matter how gloomy it was or how the raindrops kept on falling, everything around seemed to turn clear as he stood there.
Xiao Hongchen was a five-ringed soul king. His martial soul was a Three-Legged Golden Toad, and he was a Class 5 soul engineer.
Meng Hongchen was a five-ringed soul king too. Her martial soul was a Vermilion Clear Icetoad, and she was also a Class 5 soul engineer.
Huo Yuhao had two soul rings. His martial souls were the Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Empress. He was a Class 2 soul engineer.
Wang Dong had three soul rings. His martial souls were the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Clear Sky Hammer.
The difference in cultivation between both sides was very obvious. But no one thought that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would definitely emerge victorious.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had created a lot of miracles in this tournament. Moreover, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were both hurt now, and their soul power had been depleted greatly too. Their soul power could be replenished by soul tools like the Milk Bottle, but what about their vigor? What about their injuries?
Their powers waxed and waned, making the gap in their powers less obvious than the gap in their ranks.
“Both sides, please step back.” The Heavenfiend Douluo shouted. This was likely to be the last match that he would referee. Huang Jinxu swore to himself secretly that he wouldn’t serve as a referee if there was a next time.
No one was more shocked than him right now. As the referee, he could truly sense the power of these youths. He saw many things on them that he shouldn’t have seen on youths. Top-ranked martial souls, twin martial souls and even Class 8 soul tools. The transformation of Ma Xiaotao’s martial soul earlier left him the most appalled. His Heavenfiend Lonestar was even unable to entirely resist Ma Xiaotao’s black flames. What was it exactly? Were these youths really not even 20 yet?
Especially these two representing Shrek Academy now. They were probably not even 15 years old yet, much less 20 years old.
However, the expression in their eyes told Huang Jinxu that they were confident they would win.
The Heavenfiend Douluo was even in a slight trance now. That’s because he recalled when he was only 15. He was trying his best to cultivate then, and his family hadn’t been killed by his Heavenfiend Lonestar’s curse yet. But he didn’t even know much about the world of soul masters then!
He couldn’t imagine how far these youths could go 20 and even 30 years from now.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong held each other’s hands as they stepped back. They knew that this was probably the toughest and the most intense battle that they were going to fight ever since they had entered Shrek Academy.
It was no longer just a tournament. It was war. It was a war where their lives were at stake.
But the more it was like that, the more excited they felt.
Their potential seemed to be completely stimulated now.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were the kind of talented youths that resembled sponges that had fully absorbed water. The greater the pressure, the greater the potential they showed. Before the competition even began, their energies had reached their peaks already.
As they held each other’s hands, their minds were connected.
Huo Yuhao’s figure flashed, and he moved behind Wang Dong after they retreated to the edge of the competition stage. He placed his hands on Wang Dong’s waist, while Wang Dong was calm as he looked opposite him.
This was already starkly different from what they had displayed in this tournament before.
In the previous rounds, Huo Yuhao took the lead when they unleashed their martial soul fusion skill. Everyone believed that Wang Dong was only his aide. Besides unleashing their martial soul fusion skill together, Wang Dong didn’t really stand out. The only surprise that he gave was probably when he unleashed his Clear Sky Hammer. But that was the only time.
There were very few who remembered Wang Dong. But no one would forget Huo Yuhao’s six hundred thousand year soul rings at the start of the tournament! Although everyone found out that it was fake, the shock that they felt was still deeply imprinted in their minds.
Huo Yuhao was actually standing behind Wang Dong right now. It was obvious that Wang Dong was going to lead this time. No one expected this, even their opponents.
After seeing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s movements, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen’s expressions changed slightly.
They discovered that they knew very little about Wang Dong.
To everyone, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao came as a single entity. They fought together from the start. But what were his abilities? What was his martial soul? Many were already starting to think about this question.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen retreated to the edge of the competition stage too. Meng Hongchen stood in front, while Xiao Hongchen took up the rear. But neither of them made any contact with each other.
Xiao Hongchen was not physically well yet. His physical body was completely ravaged by Dai Yueheng, and he didn’t even dare to use the Milk Bottle to restore his soul power. That was because his passageways couldn’t handle it.
His dislocated bones were already set, and his injuries were already healing too. But he still felt tremendous pain throughout his body at times. He was not even up to thirty percent of his peak condition. That was why he could only aid his younger sister. Meng Hongchen was the one leading now.
Meng Hongchen’s Class 6 soul tool armor saved her at the last moment when she fought Dai Yueheng. But she was still hurt to some degree. Even so, she still managed to maintain more than 70% of her abilities. More importantly, she was confident in her Vermilion Ice Toad’s lethal poison.
Dai Yueheng could delay the spread of the poison with his soul emperor cultivation, but what about these two? What cultivation did they have? The tournament would likely end if they were even slightly touched by the Vermilion Ice Toad’s poison.
The only thing that Meng Hongchen couldn’t figure out was why the two of them had such tenacious looks in their eyes. Did they still think that they had a chance in this tournament? They were Shrek’s last standing members, and they had no choice but to compete. Meng Hongchen revealed a cold look on her face. Though she was attracted to Wang Dong, this was a competition that involved the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s glory. This tournament might even concern the Sun Moon Empire’s glory. She couldn’t lose. The pride in her heart had never been inferior to her brother’s.
The Heavenfiend Douluo took in a deep breath. After that, he lifted his right hand up before it jolted downwards, “Match, start!”
As he shouted, everyone opened their eyes wide. Their pupils even shrank. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the competition stage.
On the city wall, the Star Luo Emperor and the White Tiger Duke didn’t really converse either. Their palms were pressed on the crenelations, and they were watching the match anxiously.
The White Tiger squinted his eyes, and they glowed with light. When he saw Huo Yuhao, he had a weird feeling. He couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but Huo Yuhao naturally drew his attention. Could this young fellow create a miracle?
Both parties unleashed their martial souls as the competition began. Meng Hongchen lifted her arms, and two streaks of icy- blue light instantly appeared.
Her armor was damaged. But her Class 6 swords were still intact. Her defense might have been weakened without the Impregnable Wall and armor, but her offensive ability wasn’t much affected.
Xiao Hongchen took in a deep breath behind Meng Hongchen and repressed the pain in his body. He also unleashed his Three-Legged Golden Toad. Golden, metal foam spilled out, and barrels started to appear on his body.
Although these metal barrels only formed a third of the barrels that he had formed in the previous round under his Golden Coagulation and Metal Manipulation, a stable core formation still appeared. Not only that, but his aura also ballooned, and the opening of every barrel shone with strong light. They also seemed ready to be fired.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had mastered long- range range soul tools and close-combat soul tools respectively. They divided up their roles well, and they excelled in their respective roles. Although Xiao Hongchen was critically injured, one was likely to suffer if he dared to underestimate Xiao Hongchen.
When these metal barrels were formed, Xiao Hongchen also formed a thick, pitch-black barrel on his shoulder. When he lifted this barrel, his entire face turned pale. His body also trembled a little. This showed how heavy this soul tool cannon was.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had already burst towards them as they unleashed their soul tools.
The dazzling Radiant Butterfly Goddess appeared behind Wang Dong, whereas Huo Yuhao’s body was blocked, and he couldn’t be seen.
Wang Dong had unleashed his martial soul in the previous rounds, but no one had noticed a three-ringed soul master like him. But now he was the center of attention.
His blue wings flapped open, and golden light patterns surfaced. An intense aura of light spread, along with his charming looks, and Meng Hongchen was suddenly left in a daze.
Meng Hongchen had a sudden feeling that only such a dazzling martial soul was worthy of him!
Wang Dong’s figure started to rise as his wings flapped open. As they started to flap, he leapt in Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen’s direction.
Huo Yuhao was tightly stuck to Wang Dong’s back, and his hands were around his waist. The two of them seemed like the same person now.
But Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen couldn’t see Huo Yuhao’s arms around Wang Dong’s waist, as Huo Yuhao’s Imitation started to take effect.
Wang Dong’s speed was naturally inferior to Ma Xiaotao’s, but he was not slow. As he flapped his wings, he emitted a dazzling and blinding golden-blue radiance which enabled him to quicken his speed through the air. Huo Yuhao had also unleashed his soul tool thruster behind him. Although it was only a Class 2 thruster, it still allowed Wang Dong’s speed to increase by at least 30%.
Xiao Hongchen’s attack began. Streaks of light shot out, and they started to engulf Wang Dong’s body.
Since he was a soul engineer, using a long-range soul tool to lock onto his target was very basic. Even though he was critically injured, he was confident that he could strike his opponent.
Soul tool rays and soul tool cannon shells engulfed Wang Dong as if they were windstorms. There were even soul tools among them that could lock onto their opponents.
However, the two of them fell into a slight trance just as they were about to attack.
Xiao Hongchen’s attack had already been unleashed, but its lock-on effect didn’t work.
What was going on? Xiao Hongchen was shocked. But he had unleashed several of his long-range soul tools at the same time. His all-round attack had already been launched.
Xiao Hongchen believed that it would be very difficult for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to resist his wave of attacks with their abilities. He used Class 5 soul tools that even soul kings had to be careful of. Moreover, his attack was so condensed. Even if they used the Golden Road, what kind of effect could it produce? That martial fusion soul skill of theirs was a control- type skill, meaning that it was unlikely to strike both Xiao
Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. Even if they were struck, nothing would happen. There was no way that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could get close to them.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had the same thoughts. But their eyes soon opened wide. That was because they discovered that they were wrong.
Against the attacks of Class 5 soul tools, one could dodge instead of resisting them!
Wang Dong’s wings retracted before he made a breathtaking escape.
His pair of wings seemed to have a life of their own. They flapped open before retracting, flapping and drifting. Every transformation adjusted his flying posture slightly.
The streaks of soul tool rays and soul tool cannon shells slid past him because they couldn’t lock onto him.
Wang Dong was like a Radiant Butterfly Goddess that was facing a huge web. No matter how all-engulfing that web was, he could find a loophole to escape.
His glittery dodges even left streaks of dazzling shadows in mid-air. Bright, golden-blue flowing light caused the spectators to erupt in cheers.
Everyone sympathized with the underdogs. The spectators’ emotions reached their height as they witnessed Wang Dong’s impeccable dodges. They were even praying for Shrek Academy. It didn’t matter whether they had wagered on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
As the saying goes, “The insider knows the ropes, while the outsider just comes along for the ride.” The spectators were extremely excited as they watched the competition, but the true soul masters were also wide-eyed right now!
Including the Star Luo Emperor and White Tiger Duke, those who were observing carefully or soul masters with great visual powers could tell that Huo Yuhao’s soul tool thruster had developed slight changes as Wang Dong was dodging Xiao Hongchen’s attack. This meant that his soul tool thruster had launched, but not with great intensity. But it was these gentle propulsions that enabled Wang Dong to dodge successfully time and time again. The cooperation between the two of them couldn’t just be described using great chemistry; they were almost like the same person!
However, they would vomit out blood if they knew what Huo Yuhao was thinking.
Without a doubt, Xiao Hongchen had lost his ability to lock onto Wang Dong because of his Spiritual Interference.
As his spiritual power became stronger, his Spiritual Interference started to reveal its strength. What enabled Wang Dong’s agile dodging of Xiao Hongchen’s attacks was naturally the Spiritual Detection Sharing. With both the Spiritual Interference and Spiritual Detection Sharing, it was not difficult for the two of them to cooperate with each other.
Huo Yuhao was whining in his heart right now. He was whining about Wang Dong’s thin waist. Both his hands were already touching when he hugged Wang Dong’s waist. He didn’t feel as if he was hugging Wang Dong tightly enough.
But Wang Dong’s butt was extremely perky and pressed against Huo Yuhao’s belly. It was a little weird and uncomfortable.
Even Huo Yuhao was unsure why such a thought would flash across his mind amidst such a tense competition.
A series of dodges enabled Wang Dong to slip through the web of soul tool rays and soul tool cannon shells. If Xiao Hongchen were in his peak state, his attacks would be at least 3 times more condensed practically flawless. No matter how powerful Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection was, he wouldn’t have been able to help Wang Dong escape then. But they succeeded now.
At this point, the gap between both parties had already been reduced to 30 meters.
Meng Hongchen’s toes were pointed toward the ground, and her tender figure flashed as she moved. She swung her pair of thin swords, and two streaks of light were launched towards Wang Dong’s path.
Her mentality became apparent as she unleashed this strike.
That’s because she coincidentally shouted, “Be careful!”
Wang Dong gazed at her deeply, and the light in his eyes became gentler. This caused Meng Hongchen to be stuck in a slight daze. She thought to herself subconsciously, “What’s he thinking about?”
Wang Dong turned to his left at this instant and managed to slide in between the two streaks of light.
But Meng Hongchen’s attack wasn’t so easily avoided. The light blades struck each other behind Wang Dong and unleashed a layer of icy fog.
The Vermilion Ice Toad’s lethal poison had finally appeared in this critical last match of the tournament.
Below the stage, Elder Xuan, Wang Yan, He Caitou and Xiao Xiao were all extremely anxious. The key lay in whether Huo
Yuhao and Wang Dong could resist this lethal poison!
The icy fog covered a huge area. Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were immediately engulfed, but Wang Dong didn’t seem to realize the lethal poison that was coming from his back. His wings revealed a golden light pattern before his second soul ring flashed brightly.
A huge number of golden balls of light suddenly appeared. They started to bombard Xiao Hongchen, who had also just unleashed his second wave of attacks.
The Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ second soul skill, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.
An intense aura of light filled the entire venue. This was everyone’s first time seeing the might of Wang Dong’s soul skill.
With Huo Yuhao’s Imitation covering them, the soul rings that both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong unleashed were white. No one could see exactly what class their soul skills were in.
But the power of their soul skills wouldn’t change because of this!
Wang Dong quickly told Xiao Hongchen with his abilities that underestimating him was a big mistake.
An explosive boom reverberated within a 20 meter radius. Logically speaking, Wang Dong’s Light of the Butterfly Goddess shouldn’t have been able to resist the soul tool rays even if they could resist the soul tool cannons. But Xiao Hongchen’s attack was perfectly intercepted. The explosion only occurred between the two of them. A few of the balls formed by Wang Dong’s Light of the Butterfly Goddess landed even in front of Xiao Hongchen and forced him to resist using his Impregnable Wall.
Only a soul ancestor’s strongest soul skill would have such an effect. Xiao Hongchen cursed in his heart. His cultivation was indeed not up to standard yet, such that the power of his soul tools couldn’t be fully unleashed. He was suppressed by Wang Dong’s second soul skill, and felt extremely depressed by that.
Wang Dong had three rings. With the aid of Huo Yuhao’s twin martial soul that was close to a three-ringed cultivation,
the combination of their soul powers reached above Rank 40.
Huo Yuhao’s soul power might only be at Rank 28, but the sum of his soul power was not any less than Wang Dong. That was because his second martial soul might have a soul ring! Although most of the power of the hundred thousand year soul ring was sealed, his total soul power still managed to increase some.
The Haodong Power didn’t function based on the laws of addition. Wang Dong’s Light of the Butterfly Goddess was also a thousand year soul skill. Under such a circumstance, their combined strike was already comparable to a top-ranked soul ancestor. They were as powerful as Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi with their unchanged martial souls, and that was without consideration for their martial fusion soul skills
Meng Hongchen was slightly shocked as she saw Wang Dong showing his might. She quickly adjusted her mentality and burst forward rapidly. Her thin swords turned into a sky full of light projections that slashed down towards Wang Dong. It was a pity that her armor was damaged, otherwise she would have flown into the air to fight Wang Dong.
Meng Hongchen had a question in her mind right now. Why hadn’t the Vermilion Ice Toad’s poison taken effect yet?
The Vermilion Ice Toad’s poison did engulf Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. But it was a pity that her poison was useless against them.
Why was this? Only Huo Yuhao understood why. This could only be traced back to the time when Huo Yuhao caught hold of Bei Bei after he was defeated by the Ice Toad’s poison.
“Oh? How could this be? Such a soul beast still exists?”
“Ice Empress, what’s going on? What’s wrong with my eldest senior?”
“He’s contracted a very hateful Ice Toad poison. The martial soul that hurt him is a Vermilion Ice Toad, a soul beast that roams the borders of the Extreme North. Its powers are quite extraordinary. Although it’s not really accomplished in the aspect of ice, it has managed to grasp the true meaning of the combination of ice and fire. That’s why the Ice Toad’s poison is extremely lethal, and very difficult to be neutralized.”
“Oh? Then what do we do? Ice Empress, can you neutralize this poison?”
“I can’t. That’s because your partner cannot bear the Ultimate Ice’s encroachment. He can only dispel the poison through the extreme chill in his own body. There’s no other way. If that method is used, only an ice-type body can handle the burden. Otherwise, one’s internal organs will be frozen.”
“Will I be poisoned?”
“Are you joking? As one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, I am the king of all ice-type soul beasts. Although the Vermilion Ice Toad is a rather strong soul beast, there’s a reason why it doesn’t dare to enter the Extreme North region. That’s because the Ice Jade Scorpions are its jinx.”
“While we gave up lethal poison to achieve the Ultimate Ice, we can’t be hurt by any ice-type poison. You don’t have to be afraid of her poison when you face her. No ice-type or fire-type poison can work against the Ultimate Ice.”
If Huo Yuhao had to appraise which soul skill of his was the most powerful, it had to be one of the four soul skills that the Ice Empress conferred onto him. In terms of both offense and defense, the Ice Empress lived up to its name as one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North.
But if he had to choose the most practical soul skill, which one would he choose?
If someone really understood his capabilities, he might think it was the Spiritual Detection. But Huo Yuhao would certainly choose the Spirit Eyes’ second soul skill, Imitation.
Imitation was a thousand year soul skill bestowed onto him by the clan members that the Skydream Iceworm helped him to find. Among all of Huo Yuhao’s soul skills, Imitation was the least offensively inclined. But it was the most important soul skill to him, even far more important than his Spiritual Detection.
Although Imitation was a thousand year soul skill, it depleted Huo Yuhao’s soul power the least when it was unleashed due to its special characteristic. Huo Yuhao could sustain it for a very long time, and he wouldn’t even be
discovered by his opponent, unless his opponent’s spiritual power was beyond his, and they could use a special spiritual detection power to see through him.
The only pity was that Imitation could only be used within a 3 meter radius with Huo Yuhao as the center. Otherwise, this soul skill would have been unbelievably powerful.
Huo Yuhao was using Imitation at this exact moment. Not only did his Imitation prevent his opponent from seeing him, but it also prevented his opponent from seeing what he was doing.
Even the spectators couldn’t see. When Imitation was used, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were actually masked by a layer of transparent armor that seemed to be made up of diamond-like particles. Their entire bodies were covered.
It was the Ice Empress’ Barrier, Huo Yuhao’s strongest defense-type soul skill. It was one of the two soul skills bestowed onto him by the four hundred thousand year Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s soul ring.
The Ultimate Ice’s defensive strength reached its peak under the Ice Empress’ Barrier. How could the Vermilion Ice Toad’s poison overcome it?
A dim radiance flashed. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong seemed to be the same entity now. In fact, Huo Yuhao depleted more of his soul power than Wang Dong, who was attacking more actively.
Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Detection Sharing, Spiritual Interference and the Ice Empress’ Barrier. These soul skills were unleashed with all of Huo Yuhao’s might.
Huo Yuhao had managed to achieve significant progress in his cultivation and spiritual power after the constant improvements and enhancements of the Life Gold. His body was also able to bear more than what someone of his age should be able to. At least in terms of his physical strength, he was not weaker than Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
A dim radiance flashed, and Huo Yuhao revealed a cold, divine radiance on his face. It was time to snatch the final victory!
The countless sword projections that Meng Hongchen created as she waved her swords engulfed Wang Dong. The enhancements of her Class 6 swords were all in terms of offense. They were extremely destructive, and had even hurt Dai Yueheng earlier. The Vermilion Ice Toad poison that it contained was also the most lethal.
Although Meng Hongchen had lost the help of her soul tool to aid her in flying, her cultivation was still far beyond Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. When her swords were unleashed, they soared up immediately.
The height of the defensive barriers on the competition stage had a limit. Meng Hongchen could reach this height with the extreme leaping abilities of the Vermilion Ice Toad.
That’s why no matter how impeccable Wang Dong’s flying techniques were, he couldn’t escape from her attacks.
But Wang Dong didn’t dodge.
When Meng Hongchen jumped up, his Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ wings flapped towards the front and propelled Wang
Dong backwards. At the same time, a ball of golden light shone on his chest. From the edge of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ wings, all the golden light started to gather towards Wang Dong’s chest as countless golden spots appeared.
A small sun seemed to have appeared in front of Wang Dong’s chest. The radiance of this sun was extremely blinding.
Meng Hongchen’s attack stopped, and Wang Dong pushed the ball of light from his chest at this critical moment. It struck the center of Meng Hongchen’s sword projections.
Chapter 125: Yearning for the Mortal World
An ear-piercing boom enveloped the entire stage, and the seemingly-ordinary golden ball of light instantly exploded the instant it collided with Meng Hongchen’s sword shadow.
This was the Butterfly Goddess Slash, Wang Dong’s third soul skill.
This was a soul skill that Wang Dong used very, very rarely. However, its strength was absolutely not as ordinary as that of a normal thousand year soul skill.
Wang Dong’s second soul ring was already a thousand year one, and his third one had actually surpassed three thousand years of age. In other words, his third soul skill was practically equivalent to Meng Hongchen’s fourth one. Although his attack couldn’t take on a Soul King, the explosive power generated by the Butterfly Goddess Slash that was strengthened by the Haodong Power was extremely great.
It clearly wasn’t possible for him to use this soul skill to defeat Meng Hongchen, but it was enough for him to merely stall for time.
The waves of light blades instantaneously detonated, making the hundreds of golden light blades resemble the bloom of a rose bud. Then, it once again exploded into countless flower petals. The instant the tightly packed blades of light detonated, they carried the aura of the sun and flew around in all directions.
Meng Hongchen was flustered as she faced Wang Dong’s attack. After all, she had lost her powerful defensive armor, which meant that she would be injured if the blades of light struck her. If she were in her peak condition and fully equipped with her soul tools, she would’ve even dared to charge through an attack like this without feeling any pressure.
However, this was clearly impossible now. This was the final battle, and victory in this match would determine whether or not they would be able to bring the champion’s trophy back. How could she dare to be careless at all? Furthermore, she subconsciously felt that Wang Dong was very strong. Perhaps
these were her inner feelings wreaking havoc on her, or just the feelings of a young girl.
Because of that, Meng Hongchen instantly danced about with her swords the instant she collided with the Butterfly Goddess Slash, creating an airtight barrier that blocked all of Wang Dong’s attacks. Whenever her thin swords collided with a blade of light, they would release a large amount of the Vermillion Clear Icetoad’s poison. As long as her poison took effect, this battle would be over.
At this exact moment, an indescribable sense of terror suddenly rose in Meng Hongchen’s heart. Her mind started to uncontrollably tremble violently.
This suppression came from her mind itself, or rather, the source of her power--her martial soul.
An enormous illusory figure noiselessly emerged behind Wang Dong. Its crystalline and translucent body emitted a chilly aura, and its jade-green tail gave off the light of a serene forest. The most terrifying thing about it was the suppression it caused to the very depths of Meng Hongchen’s soul, causing her movements to slow greatly due to her astonishment.
This was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Huo Yuhao’s second martial soul. At this moment, the aura of a four hundred thousand year soul ring had completely emerged due to his Imitation.
Although the Vermillion Clear Icetoad didn’t reside in the Extreme North, nor was it a pure ice-type martial soul, a large part of its comprehensive power came from the element of Ice.
It was just as the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had said--she was the master of Ice, and all ice-type soul beasts would have to revere her as their king. How could the Vermillion Clear Icetoad’s aura be comparable to that of the Ice Empress? Moreover, this was the aura of a four hundred thousand year Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.
Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen had watched over Huo Yuhao’s previous matches, but their line of sight had been blocked by the protective barrier surrounding the tournament stage. As such, they were only able to see Huo Yuhao’s hundred thousand year soul ring and the imposing aura that it gave off; they hadn’t sensed its true aura.
The facts had shown that what Huo Yuhao had done was merely an illusion. After that battle, Huo Yuhao hadn’t used an ability like that in any of his other battles. Although the other teams wouldn’t go so far as to completely ignore his soul skill, a large majority of them reckoned that he had been seen through, which meant that there was no longer any practical meaning to it anymore.
However, as Meng Hongchen faced the aura that belonged to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, she immediately realised how much of a joke her judgement had been.
The terrifying aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was just so realistic, and even if they were trapped in an illusory domain, this was one that was infinitely close to reality! Her martial soul was fully suppressed in front of this terrifying aura, to the extent where she wasn’t even able to release a half of her true cultivation. This was even compounded with the sensation of terror that came from the very depths of her heart, causing a tremendous impact to her will to fight.
It was no wonder that so many people had suffered disastrous defeats when facing the hundred thousand year soul ring that Huo Yuhao had released; the deterrence it gave off was just that powerful.
Meng Hongchen wasn’t the only person affected by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s aura. Even Xiao Hongchen was similarly affected by it.
The Vermillion Clear Icetoad and the Three-Legged Golden Toad were both toad-type martial souls. Out of the five poisons, the poison that came from a toad and the poison that came from a scorpion were equally matched. There wasn’t too much of a difference between both parties, and thus victory and defeat would be decided by the levels of the two creatures.
There was no doubt that the Three-Legged Golden Toad was of a higher level than the Vermillion Clear Icetoad, and the two were also top-ranked martial souls. However, they were akin to subjects who were facing their king whilst facing the unrivaled martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Regardless of how strong they were, they were still petty and weak in front of a true king.
They were completely unable to imagine how a mere illusory domain could cause such a great effect. However, was what Huo Yuhao was releasing now still a mere illusory domain?
As the saying went, the truth would become a lie when a lie became a truth. If a person added a few true things within an illusion, it would be hard to tell that the illusion was fake. The illusory figure behind Huo Yuhao was created using his Imitation, but the aura it possessed came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s soul ring! This was a true four hundred thousand year soul ring! Could an illusory domain fake an aura like this? This was the aura of pure Ultimate Ice, and also the aura of one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts.
There was no need to even mention the two of them; even the Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu, who was nervously presiding over the match as referee, felt his heart palpitate after sensing the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.
Everything happened within an extremely short amount of time. Although Meng Hongchen was able to neutralise the Butterfly Goddess Slash while her body and soul were shaken, the force behind her following attacks was greatly weakened. On the other hand, Xiao Hongchen had just gotten back to his senses from the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, and was slowed down for a brief moment while trying to assist his sister.
At this exact moment, the combination of an icy-white aura and the supreme majesty of an emperor blossomed from Huo
Yuhao and Wang Dong.
Meng Hongchen was simply too close to the two of them, and thus she had no chance of dodging the omnidirectional release of this light. As her martial soul had clearly been affected, she couldn’t even take the opportunity to attack Wang Dong.
A strange, cold aura instantly spread through her body, and Meng Hongchen’s body stiffened instantly in midair. Since she awakened her martial soul, she couldn’t even remember the last time she felt cold. At this moment, however, the extreme cold that seemed to dig into her bones made her body tremble violently. A layer of light-blue frost even seemed to cover the surface of her skin.
Huo Yuhao’s combat strength instantly reached its peak. Although the extremely cold air only spread for a relatively short distance, the illusory figure of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion that appeared behind his back emitted a dazzling light. This was especially so for its jade-green tail, which seemed to have halos flowing around it.
Due to Huo Yuhao’s Imitation concealing his body, nobody was able to see that his sternum, ribs, and spine were releasing
an intense jade-green light.
Right, this was the powerful soul skill granted to him by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s torso bone, Domain of Perpetual Ice.
This was a true display of the power of Ultimate Ice, and also its tyrannical might. Even the Vermillion Clear Icetoad that was also an ice-type martial soul wasn’t able to endure it. Although Huo Yuhao couldn’t truly use the might of this domain-type soul skill, he was still able to unleash a portion of the Ice Empress’ power in a limited range.
Meng Hongchen reached the top point of her jump as her body was instantly frozen in the Domain of Perpetual Ice, causing her to immediately plummet to the ground.
How could Wang Dong just give up on a good opportunity like this? Folding his wings, he instantly chased after Meng Hongchen and activated his Guillotine Wing.
However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong didn’t notice that a dark-red chain had somehow been connected to Meng
Hongchen’s waist. The instant Wang Dong’s attack was about to land, Meng Hongchen was instantly pulled away, bringing her out of Wang Dong’s attack range. Right after that, a large energy storm flew straight towards him, blocking his pursuit.
The dark-red chain had appeared in Xiao Hongchen’s hand first, and his current expression was that of solemnity.
Right. As they walked onto the tournament stage, neither he or Meng Hongchen had thought that this battle had any meaning. However, he now felt that he had been wrong. As he faced these two youths, he realized that he couldn’t use their level of soul power to judge them.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were extremely well- coordinated, but Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were siblings! The two had grown up together, and had worked, fought, and cultivated together. The level of synergy they possessed wasn’t any inferior to Huo Yuhao’s duo.
At this moment, a dark-red light lit up by Meng Hongchen’s chest. Right after that, an icy mist shot out from her body with a flash of red light. Then, it quickly returned and entered her body once again, allowing her to unexpectedly recover from
the Domain of Perpetual Ice. Although her body was still trembling, and she didn’t seem to be able to hold her swords properly, she had regained the ability to move.
Huo Yuhao had used the Domain of Perpetual Ice many times in the past, and he had even used it against Soul Kings before. However, this was the first time he met someone who was able to bypass it so quickly.
Other than the difference in their cultivations, the profundity contained within the Vermillion Clear Icetoad’s fusion of ice and fire had played an important role in this.
Huo Yuhao was quickly thinking to himself, It’s no wonder the Vermillion Clear Icetoad didn’t get decisively sealed in front of my Ultimate Ice. Aih, if I were also a Soul King, how would she be able to break through my Domain of Perpetual Ice so easily?
At this moment, both parties seemed to return to their original positions. Under Xiao Hongchen’s all-out attacks, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren’t able to complete their pursuit.
The might of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion then vanished like a flash in the dark.
Unfurling his wings, Wang Dong once again revealed his powerful evasion skills in midair. Guided by the Spiritual Detection, over 90% of the soul tool attacks targeting him would miss completely. However, Wang Dong’s figure was gradually approaching the Hongchen siblings.
At this moment, Meng Hongchen had finally caught her breath. She had just used her fourth soul skill, Ice Feeding. By using fire as a catalyst, she was able to stimulate her Icetoad poison and turn it into pure energy that could feed her body, causing her attack power to reach a completely new level.
However, she wouldn’t be able to use the Icetoad for a short period of time after using Ice Feeding. On the surface, it seemed as though Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had spent more energy than their opponents. However, the string of collisions had greatly affected Meng Hongchen as well.
She could no longer use her Icetoad poison, and her Ice Feeding hadn’t even increased her attack power, but merely allowed her to regain the ability to move. Why wouldn’t she have spent a large amount of energy? Furthermore, the freezing caused by the Ultimate Ice had caused her injuries from Dai Yueheng’s attack to resurge faintly.
Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly. If their previous attack that relied on their opponents looking down on them had succeeded, winning this match would’ve been much easier. However, it now seemed that it wouldn’t be possible to win this match without a fight.
However, the Hongchen siblings now felt a tremendous amount of pressure coming from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. The most terrifying opponent that one could face was one that was completely unreadable. However, these two youths who were even younger than them had damaged the conviction they had in winning.
“Sister, come. Let’s finish them off. We can’t hesitate any longer.” Xiao Hongchen let out a deep shout.
Meng Hongchen hesitated, “But, your body…”
“What do these injuries amount to?” Xiao Hongchen said arrogantly, “Let’s show them our strongest attack. Quick. We can’t lose this match. We can’t give them a chance. Once we beat them, we’ll be the pride of our academy, and the heroes of our empire.”
With that, all of the soul tools on Xiao Hongchen’s body suddenly switched off and fell to the ground. The soul tools themselves turned back into metallic dust, and he didn’t even bother to care about the formation arrays that had fallen to the ground. Instead, he spread his hands out towards his sister.
The rapiers in Meng Hongchen’s hands vanished as she turned around and threw herself into Xiao Hongchen’s embrace. Immediately, a pillar mixed with golden and ice-blue light surged into the air and instantly covered their bodies.
“Not good.” Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were simply too familiar with their movements. That was clearly the starting sign of a martial soul fusion! They had already evaluated the Hongchen siblings highly, but they’d never thought that the two soul engineers would actually be able to use a fusion skill. Furthermore, they were using it at this extremely critical moment.
When two Soul Kings used a fusion skill together, how powerful would their attack be? They were clearly trying to take Huo Yuhao’s duo out in one shot.
“Let’s take them on!” Wang Dong let out a shout. Because he was overly excited, there seemed to be a few traces of delicateness contained in his voice.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. He could no longer hesitate at this moment. Otherwise, their last chance of winning would disappear.
Immediately dispelling the Ice Empress’ Armor, Huo Yuhao hugged Wang Dong. At the same time, the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion returned to his body, leaving only his Spirit Eyes.
Wang Dong’s wings quietly vanished, causing the dazzling bluish-golden light in the sky to disappear. Wang Dong hugged Huo Yuhao from the back, then descended to the tournament stage. At this moment however, a pitch-black hammer appeared in his hand. This was his second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.
They were about to fall to the ground, but at this moment, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s bodies released a dazzling light.
This was an indescribable light of nothingness that caused everything contained within it to vanish from sight. The only thing left was an illusory figure. This illusory figure looked somewhat strange, and its entire body was transparent. Its face couldn’t be clearly seen, but its hands formed the shape of a heart.
The figure looked like an adult male, and if anyone had seen the initial display of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Heavenly Emperor’s Hammer, they would’ve discovered that this void- like figure was identical to that of the aforementioned skill.
However, the Heavenly Emperor’s Hammer was formed by the fusion between the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the Clear Sky Hammer. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren’t using the Golden Road that was formed by the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Spirit Eyes, nor the Heavenly Emperor’s Hammer. Instead, they were using the mysterious fusion between the Spirit Eyes and the Clear Sky Hammer.
Everything passed by quickly as both parties unexpectedly released their respective fusion skills together. This was the first time that this had happened in this year’s Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament.
The audience felt as though their hearts were about to jump out from their throats. A scene like this would be rarely seen even in a hundred years!
How many soul masters in this world could possess a fusion skill? The fact that two pairs of them had appeared at this moment was simply too shocking.
Even Elder Xuan from Shrek Academy was already clenching his fists tightly. Were it not for the fact that he was distracted by suppressing the black flames of the Dark Phoenix, he would’ve had an even more excited expression.
The excitement from this event was so great, to the point where even Wang Yan couldn’t even bear to look at it. He covered his face with both hands, only revealing his eyes. He was the only person who knew how many fusion skills Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong possessed, but even he had never seen the true might of those fusion skills. Nobody knew just how
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were able to create a miracle like this.
If Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were in perfectly good conditions today, he would never have allowed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to take the stage. However, Xiao Hongchen was heavily injured, and Meng Hongchen was somewhat injured. Only thus did a chance of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong winning come into existence.
However, Wang Yan would never have thought that the Hongchen siblings would be able to bring a fusion skill out. This was a practically unimaginable even in the world of soul engineers. It could even be said that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were the first pair of soul masters from the Sun Moon Empire who were able to do so.
Over on the city wall, Emperor Xu Jiawei had an astonished expression on his face. Who would’ve thought that the finals of this tournament would actually turn into a duel between two fusion skills?
On the other hand, the most depressed and pained person in the entire arena was the referee, the Heavenfiend Douluo. At
this moment, he naturally couldn’t stop both parties from using their fusion skills. However, just what level would the might of both fusion skills reach? He wasn’t clear about that! In the event he wasn’t able to rescue the losing party in time, resulting in a casualty, the burden placed on him would be far too great. He was very clear that the four people who were standing on the battlefield were very different from the previous people who had died.
The pillar of light that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen floated into began to transform. The pillar of light solidified in mid-air, turning into the enormous shape of a toad. Mysteriously, a change in color suddenly occurred to the toad while it solidified.
At this moment, the gold of the Three-Legged Golden Toad and the ice-blue of the Vermillion Clear Icetoad completely vanished, leaving a red light that emitted a metallic glint. The scarlet-gold that covered it made the enormous toad that was over five meters tall incomparably dazzling. Its eyes were a shade of black that was as deep as an abyss.
As it widened its mouth, a violently spinning scarlet-gold whirlpool could be faintly seen. It seemed as though the toad could spit out the whirlpool at any time.
Xiao Hongchen’s voice rang out across the entire field. Even at a time like this, he didn’t forget to play the part of a hero who was trying to save the battle.
“Take this blow, youngsters. We’ll let you witness what a truly powerful fusion skill is, our Hongchen’s Yearning.”
Right. Hongchen’s Yearning was the name they had chosen for their fusion skill by taking the family name of the two siblings. If one looked carefully at it, one would discover that the reddish-golden toad was three-legged. However, its eyes were flashing with the same light as that of the Vermillion Clear Icetoad the instant it was about to spit out the reddish- gold whirlpool.
At this exact moment, a change also began to occur to the illusory figure that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had formed. His eyes lit up.
Since his entire body was in a void-like and transparent state, the flash in his eyes was especially obvious. This was a pair of eyes that couldn’t be described using words. Its dazzling gold seemed to absorb and coagulate all of the starlight in the skies.
The instant that mysterious golden luster appeared, the light on the entire tournament stage actually darkened. The drizzling rain in the sky instantly paused, and every single drop of rain remained in its descending state, unable to fall any further.
A strange vertical eye slowly opened on the void-like figure’s forehead, and a light filled with the aura of life instantly illuminated the entire arena. Faintly, a glorious golden hammer appeared out of nowhere, then shattered into countless smaller hammers above the void-like figure. Then, these smaller hammers transformed into golden light, causing a golden halo to appear on the void-like figure’s forehead.
Everything that was occurring seemed to slow down, but spider web-like cracks appeared within the air on the tournament stage wherever the golden light passed. It seemed as though space was going to cave in.
Even the Heavenfiend Douluo was left dumbstruck at this moment. This was because he clearly felt that his movements had uncontrollably slowed down. Not only that, but he felt his chest depress. Right after that, it seemed as though an enormous hammer had suddenly pounded his spiritual sea, instantly sending his mind into a field of white. The deepest
part of his spiritual sea suddenly shook violently, making it seem as though all of his memories were able to burst apart,
This was the reaction of a Titled Douluo, and even he couldn’t resist at all. This was because at that moment, the Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu simply didn’t know how to block that mysterious golden light. Naturally, this was because he couldn’t make a move to disturb the match as a referee.
The golden halo spread out, signalling the start of Hongchen’s Yearning. A whirlpool-shaped ray of reddish- golden light transformed into a flood that rained straight towards the void-like figure.
The reddish-golden light was filled with the clanging of metal and the toughness of ice. More terrifyingly, the air started to distort from its heat the moment it appeared. Various contradictory elements gathered together, forming a madness that was seemingly twisted and hysterical. Illuminated by the reddish-golden light of Hongchen’s Yearning, the entire tournament stage seemingly transformed into a sea of magma.
However, it wasn’t able to obstruct that golden ring of light from spreading outwards regardless of how strong it was. When the extremely soft ray of golden light passed through the violent, reddish-gold wave without any obstruction, it instantly reached the enormous figure of the reddish-gold toad, making it tremble violently. Right after that, the reddish-gold light suddenly collapsed, revealing Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen’s falling figures.
Before Hongchen’s Yearning was even able to release a third of its power, it ended unexpectedly.
The siblings had blank looks on their faces, as though they had lost their sense of self, to the extent where they couldn’t even control their descent from the sky. As they fell, snake-like wisps of blood started to surge out from Xiao Hongchen’s seven apertures.
The terrifying Hongchen’s Yearning had only lasted for a brief instant. Although it still filled the entire tournament stage, nothing happened afterwards.
However, it still couldn’t be blocked so easily. The terrifying might caused by melting gold into steel landed, immediately causing the entire tournament stage to boil as though a volcano had erupted. The madness of metal and the poison from the Vermillion Clear Icetoad, along with the fusion of ice and fire, caused the wide tournament stage to turn into a hell on earth.
The void-like figure was about to be swallowed up. At this moment, the Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Xujin hadn’t woken
up from the golden light’s effect. This meant that he simply wouldn’t be able to rescue them as a referee.
Elder Xuan already had one foot outstretched, but Wang Yan tugged on his sleeve just before he made a move.
“Wait.”
Elder Xuan flew into a rage, “What should I be waiting for?
For them to die?”
However, he suddenly quietened down after uttering these words. To his astonishment, he saw that the void-like figure didn’t just resign itself to its fate in front of the surging Hongchen’s Yearning. Instead, it floated backwards at a lightning-quick rate, revealing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s bodies again.
Under the eyes of the enormous audience, another mysterious change occurred to their bodies.
A bluish-gold pair of wings was once again unfurled, revealing the Radiant Butterfly Goddess. However, Huo Yuhao’s shirt suddenly burst open, revealing the enormous tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. It seemed as though there was some kind of power that was trying to burst out from his swelling muscles, and the jade-green tail of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion stretched all the way to his waist. Naturally, his buttocks couldn’t be seen.
At this moment, the tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion seemed to come alive. This was especially true for its crystal- yellow eyes, which emitted a wild aura that made it seem as though it was the only sovereign in the entire world.
In a situation like this, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong once again hugged each other. They looked at each other for an instant, and everything else seemed to disappear, leaving only the other’s determination in their eyes.
Huo Yuhao had two martial souls, which were the Spirit Eyes and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.
Wang Dong also had two martial souls, which were the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Clear Sky Hammer.
When the Spirit Eyes fused with the Radiant Butterfly Goddess, they could use their first fusion skill--A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.
When the Spirit Eyes fused with the Clear Sky Hammer, they could use what they had just used earlier--the golden ring of light that could cover over a hundred metres.
This was their third fusion skill, and it was called Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest.
The Spiritual Tempest was equivalent to taking the Clear Sky Hammer’s most powerful attack and fusing it with Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock. Moreover, it was a large-scale attack, and possessed an attack power that was many times greater than that of the two aforementioned skills.
On the other hand, this fusion skill drained much less soul power than the other two. However, its demand on their spiritual power was extremely terrifying. Were it not for the fact that Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea had been strengthened immensely by the Life Gold, he would’ve immediately fainted after using it.
The Life Gold had opened Huo Yuhao’s third eye, allowing Electrolux to sleep within it. However, Huo Yuhao didn’t know that the place Electrolux had used the Life Gold to carve out for himself could be considered a second spiritual sea.
Other than their initial testing, this was the second time they had used the Spiritual Tempest. However, its power this time around had increased explosively due to Huo Yuhao’s second spiritual sea. Combined with the Life Deprivation given to him by the Life Guardian, they were able to instantly interrupt Hongchen’s Yearning.
These were the two fusion skills that could be used by combining Huo Yuhao’s Spirit Eyes with either of Wang Dong’s martial souls.
But what if it were the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion instead?
The fusion between the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the Clear Sky Hammer was the most powerful attack at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s disposal. Previously, even the Absolute Defense Barrier had been shattered by that attack, which was
known as the Blaze Amidst the Frost, Heavenly Emperor’s Hammer.
On the other hand, what Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were using at this very moment was the last fusion skill at their disposal, the fusion between the two insect-type martial souls, that of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the Radiant Butterfly Goddess.
In terms of pure offensive capabilities, this fusion skill wasn’t as powerful as the Heavenly Emperor’s Hammer. However, this was the only fusion skill that was controlled by Wang Dong. In terms of flexibility, this skill was comparable to that of the Heavenly Emperor’s Hammer, which staked everything for a single, all-out attack.
A supernova that seemed as though a myriad rays of light had exploded spread out from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s bodies. This light was so intense that nobody dared to even look at it directly.
Even the surging Hongchen’s Yearning was forced to slow down due to that intense light.
Right after that, the bluish-gold pair of wings started to spread outwards at an astonishing rate. Within the blink of an eye, they had already doubled in size.
Originally, the Radiant Butterfly Goddess only had a pair of front and rear wings. At this moment however, it now had a pair of jade-colored middle wings which were as transparent as a gem, and extremely alluring. An intense aura of life blossomed outwards, with a true essence of light and water. This dense aura of life complemented the aura of light extremely well.
As the dazzling pair of butterfly wings unfurled, the three colors of blue, gold, and green seemed to be embellished with countless rays of light. There seemed to be countless drops of water gently rolling around the butterfly wings, reflecting every single ray of light within their surroundings that could be reflected. Tens of thousands of rays of light shone forth, but layers of frost started to emanate from its feet, causing that slender figure to look ever so noble.
The frost quietly diffused, causing the surroundings to turn into a world of ice and snow. As the chilly aura started to spread out, an astonishing change occurred to Huo Yuhao and
Wang Dong’s fused body. A slender figure had noiselessly appeared amidst the three-colored halo of light.
This figure was a girl, a girl who had already matured. This girl was over 1.8 meters tall, and her slender figure looked extremely moving and thrilling.
She had a head full of bluish-pink hair which fell all the way to her feet. Her eyes were a brilliant gold, and even the word ‘perfection’ wasn’t sufficient to describe her moving, slender body. Her perfect looks eclipsed every single other girl within the arena, and every ray of light and curve on her body fitted extremely well. Nobody could even describe the first thing they felt when seeing her, but every single man and woman in the arena was completely drawn to her.
In the next instant, she made a move. After taking a slight step forward with her left leg, the slender woman was now in midair. The three differently-colored wings on her back had carried her slender figure upwards into the air in a graceful and light manner.
A dense layer of frost started to spread from her feet, turning into small wisps that rose and spiralled around her.
At this moment, a small crack was carved open from the murky clouds in the sky. A ray of sunlight descended from the sky, passing through the tournament stage’s defensive barrier before landing on her.
The golden ray of sunshine contrasted with her perfect looks that could overturn a city, making it seem as though a goddess was undergoing her rebirth on the tournament stage.
The flood brought about by Hongchen’s Yearning had arrived, but just before it struck the slender figure, it suddenly split into two, then spiralled around her body.
She started dancing gracefully in midair, and every single step of hers was just that soft and perfect. Her moving complexion was filled with the light of life and hope, and the six butterfly wings on her back were the best decorations on her body. Bathed within the warm sunlight, she danced a Raiment of Light.
The beauty who had looks that could overturn a city didn’t even seem to sense any danger coming towards her as she continued to dance alone within the faint frost. Her three
differently-colored wings continued to stretch outwards and fold inwards, making her noble figure look even more dazzling and brilliant.
A faintly discernible set of golden characters quietly appeared on her forehead, but nobody was able to see them, as her dancing movements began to grow quicker and quicker.
That set of golden characters started to flicker with light, releasing a gentle light. Then, the strong undulations of spiritual power caused her to fall into a mysterious state.
While spiralling around the beauty’s body, Hongchen’s Yearning quietly collapsed. It was as though it had only appeared to supplement the appearance of the beauty who could overturn cities.
Even if the White Tiger Duke had an unwavering heart filled with determination, his eyes started to turn somewhat dull. He didn’t dare to believe his own eyes and even questioned himself inwardly, Can such a beautiful woman even exist in this world?
The three-colored wings vanished, and that dazzling figure flew towards Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
Chapter 126: Raiment of Light
It was at this moment that the audience finally took notice of them. There was no need to even mention how much of a miserable state the two siblings were in. Disregarding Xiao Hongchen, even Meng Honchen’s mouth and nose were covered in bloodstains. They seemed to have come to their senses at this moment, but they couldn’t do anything other than reveal the shock in their eyes.
Xiao Hongchen suddenly let out a muffled groan, and he directly fell to the floor. However, his eyes were actually filled with infatuation the moment before he collapsed.
However, Meng Hongchen’s eyes were only filled with shock. She couldn’t believe that the city-overthrowing beauty that made even her look inferior was created by a fusion skill.
The peerless beauty descended from the sky and swiftly landed in front of the duo, a chilly intent radiating from her golden eyes as she did so.
At this moment, Meng Hongchen was finally able to clearly see the characters on the peerless beauty’s forehead. This character was clearly a trident, and it was very small, seemingly only an inch wide. Moreover, it quietly faded as the peerless beauty landed. However, it left behind a noble sense of awe on her forehead, though it had only existed for a brief moment.
“Goodbye.” The young lady’s red lips rose gently. With a gentle sweep of her wings, a three-colored halo of light immediately covered Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen’s bodies. However, it didn’t seem to hurt them; it only sent their bodies off the tournament stage.
Meng Hongchen didn’t try to resist it. Due to Xiao Hongchen’s heavy injuries, Hongchen’s Yearning had been unleashed using her own soul power only. Furthermore, after it was forcefully interrupted by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Spiritual Storm, they were struck with a heavy backlash. At this moment, they truly didn’t possess any fighting strength at all.
The tri-colored butterfly wings vanished, and the peerless beauty moved towards the very center of the tournament stage with a flash. A layer of frost formed wherever she passed.
Wang Yan observed everything from below the tournament stage with a flabbergasted look in his eyes. He murmured, “We, we won? Elder Xuan, we won! We’re the champions, we’re truly the champions!” His voice was trembling. When he uttered his last sentence, he was already shouting in a hysterical manner.
Elder Xuan was no calmer than Wang Yan. Every single wrinkle on his aged face seemed to be filled with vitality as he said, “They, just how did they do it? Was what they just used a fusion skill?”
“Right, right!” Wang Yan said excitedly, “I was the only person who they told about that last fusion skill. If I’m not mistaken, Huo Yuhao said that that fusion skill was produced when his Ice Jade Scorpion fused with Wang Dong’s Radiant Butterfly Goddess. It is called the Solitary Dance Amidst Frost, Raiment of Light. I didn’t think that a fusion skill would be this, this beautiful! This is also the only fusion skill they possess which is controlled by Wang Dong.”
“We’ve won.” The peerless beauty landed right in front of the Heavenfiend Douluo.
However, this great referee still had a dazed look in his eyes as he looked at this young lady, whose age seemed to be in the double digits. His voice was clearly somewhat hoarse as he said, “Yes, you… you’ve won.”
After speaking, Huang Heyun seemed to slip slightly. He was only able to regain his footing after stabilising himself.
Spiritual Storm wasn’t just a pure spiritual-type attack, but an attack that could directly go through an opponent’s spiritual sea to unceasingly attack their spirit by using various memories. It didn’t do something as simple as destroying a target’s spirit, but affected their consciousness.
Although Huang Heyun was a Titled Douluo, he had endured far, far too many things in his life. He had watched his close relatives and friends die one by one, and he had buried that pain deep in his heart. As he didn’t make any preparations to block Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Spiritual Storm, Huang Heyun was affected much more than Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
The tri-colored light vanished, and the peerless beauty once again turned into a bright, colorful halo. The halo of light
quietly dissipated, revealing the two figures who were hugging each other.
They were extremely pale, and they were both supporting and nestling up against each other as they quietly stood there.
The tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion on Huo Yuhao’s back slowly faded away. However, Wang Dong had already fallen into a deep sleep against his chest. Only the golden trident on his forehead flickered quietly for a bit.
However, Huo Yuhao wasn’t able to see all this. Although he was barely able to stand up while supporting Wang Dong, overexhausting his body had caused him to gradually lose all six of his senses. He only felt a patch of darkness surround him, but he didn’t feel any regret; at this moment, he only felt excitement and happiness. His last memory was that of him tightly hugging Wang Dong while standing on the tournament stage of the finals of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament with his back straight.
At this exact moment, he felt as though his spiritual sea had been upgraded to a higher level amidst this happiness. Right after that, he didn’t know what happened.
At this moment, an uproarious cheer completely covered the entire tournament stage. Every single member of the audience had reddened faces due to their excitement.
All of the waiting and hardships they had to endure were all worth it, in their opinion. The finals of this tournament could no longer be simply described using the word ‘marvelous’. On the contrary, it was a classic that would be eternally engraved within their hearts!
This was especially so for the curtain call, with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong releasing their fourth fusion skill. The city- overthrowing peerless beauty formed by their Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light had been deeply engraved in all of their hearts.
She was too beautiful, simply too beautiful. That was a type of beauty that simply didn’t belong to the world of mortals.
Perhaps that was simply the descent of the Goddess of Light.
Every single person had a different definition of what a goddess was in their minds, but at this moment, that had all been replaced by the young lady who had been dancing alone amidst the frost. The figure of that peerless beauty had even been elevated to the level of worship in many of their hearts.
That figure possessed a combination of beauty and strength, and was the most dazzling figure within the fight. Everything that had just occurred was simply too astonishing.
The Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu forcefully took a deep breath, then forcefully shoved the scenes which were unceasingly flickering through his mind to the depths of his spiritual sea. He said loudly, “The 2-2-3 match has ended, and the winner is Shrek Academy. This year’s Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament has come to an end. The final winner is the representative team from Shrek Academy!”
The sounds of cheering were brought to a peak following his announcement. The entirety of the Star Luo Plaza was now boiling, and even many of the aristocrats and ministers who stood on the city walls couldn’t help but yell out.
The Star Luo Emperor, Xu Jiawei, had a somewhat flushed expression as well, as he was also extremely excited. The image of that empire-overthrowing beauty had been embedded in the depths of his heart as well!
The White Tiger Duke was much calmer than him. He began to mutter to himself as he looked at the pair of youths who were embracing each other, “A willpower as tough as steel. They’ll definitely become very useful in the future.”
The entire plaza had already turned into a sea of boiling emotions. Due to the heavy injuries suffered by both participating teams, the awards ceremony had to be delayed.
The Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan, had already appeared by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, blocking their path forward.
“None of you are allowed to leave. Dispel the poison inflicted on my disciples first.” Elder Xuan had a very cold and solemn
gaze in his eyes, and he still held Ma Xiaotao, who was flickering with the flames of the Dark Phoenix, in his embrace.
The teacher in charge of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was still somewhat confused about the entire matter. Since everything had happened so quickly, he didn’t know just how they had lost the final match that they were originally guaranteed to win. The instant he saw that peerless beauty take the stage, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were sent down from the stage.
Why had Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao not hurt Meng Hongchen? This was because they wanted her to dispel the poison in their teammates’ bodies.
“Did you not hear what I just said?” As he speaking, Elder Xuan made a grabbing motion towards Meng Hongchen.
“Wait a moment.” The teacher in charge hurriedly blocked the path to Meng Hongchen. If possible, he truly wanted to resist Elder Xuan; he truly didn’t wish to allow the absolutely astonishing members of Shrek Academy to continue living.
The higher the hopes one had toward a certain thing, the larger the disappointment would be if one failed to achieve it. The pain he currently felt was similar to that of falling down from a tall mountain. He had to stay strong as the teacher in charge of his team, but he couldn’t.
He didn’t dare, he truly didn’t dare to obstruct Elder Xuan at this moment. Xiao Hongchen was now unconscious, while Meng Hongchen had suffered heavy injuries. If he couldn’t bring them back, he wouldn’t face a consequence as simple as losing his own life. Even his family would be implicated in this matter.
“Elder Xuan, this is only a competition. I’ll dispel the poison in your student’s bodies.” The teacher in charge forcefully suppressed the grief he felt in his heart and enunciated each word carefully.
Elder Xuan nodded and said coldly, “That’d be for the best.
Also, give me that sword that Ma Rulong used earlier.”
The teacher’s expression immediately changed, “That won’t be possible. That’s a Class 8 soul tool that our Sun Moon
Empire’s Illustrious Virtue Hall forged. Its value is inestimable.”
“Let me ask you this. Are you going to give it, or not?” Elder Xuan’s voice was as cold and tough as ever, and he didn’t release any pressure either. However, his mere question caused the teacher to start sweating to the point where his shirt was drenched.
Elder Xuan didn’t look at him, but the unconscious Xiao Hongchen.
The teacher’s voice trembled somewhat as he said, “Elder Xuan, you are but a Transcendent Douluo. Don’t tell me that you are going to bully the weak and make things difficult for us of the younger generation?”
Elder Xuan said indifferently, “This old man disdains to do something like that, but you too have seen what has happened to the child in my hands. Xiaotao was affected by that soul tool of yours, causing a variation to her martial soul. It’s hard to say whether she’ll even be able to continue living. I won’t bully the weak; I’ll find that old fellow from the Illustrious Virtue Hall to explain things to him. These two kids should be his
grandkids. I’ll bring them back to Shrek Academy, and you can call that old bastard of yours to find me in Shrek Academy.” With that, he made a grabbing motion towards the unconscious Xiao Hongchen.
“Don’t, I’ll… I’ll give you what you want.” The teacher in charge of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy nearly shattered the steel teeth in his mouth. How could he dare to let Elder Xuan take Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen away?! If they were brought back to Shrek Academy, would they even be able to come back in one piece? When compared to the Judgement Sword, the Hongchen siblings were clearly much more important to the Sun Moon empire.
The Judgement Sword quickly fell into Elder Xuan’s hands. Supervised by Elder Xuan, Meng Hongchen had no choice but to recover her soul power using a Milk Bottle and save the people who had fallen unconscious due to the Vermillion Clear Icetoad’s venom whilst she was in an extremely exhausted state. Fortunately, due to the fact that Michael had been struck by Bei Bei’s Clustered Soulchasing Balls, she didn’t make any vicious moves for fear of letting her teammate die of poisoning. Otherwise, the poison of her Vermillion Clear Icetoad could’ve been fatal.
In the end, Elder Xuan left the other party with a bit of face. At the very least, he let the awakened Bei Bei dispel Michael’s poison, and helped dispel the poison from the Oxhair Needle.
Only then did both parties settle the various issues that had resulted from the match. Naturally, this was only on the surface. As for any repercussions which would occur as a result of this, they didn’t bother caring about them for the time being.
The fervent atmosphere in the Star Luo Plaza lasted for several hours. Due to the several thousand soldiers maintaining order within the city, the common folk gradually dispersed.
For the sake of ending the crowded condition of the Star Luo Plaza, the Star Luo Emperor made a decree stating that the awards ceremony would not be open for public viewing.
With this decree sent out, the common folk of Star Luo City began to leave. After all, a large majority of them didn’t stay in the city itself. Moreover, the cramped conditions in the city had caused commodity prices to rise to a terrifying level.
Without anything nice to see, would there be any meaning left in staying there?
Due to the astonishing performances of Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in the finals, the defenses of the Grand Imperial Star Hotel had been strengthened threefold. This was done to keep the masses from charging right into it as a result of their surging emotions.
However, Huo Yuhao didn’t know about any of this.
By the time he woke up from his coma, it was already the afternoon of the day after.
“How uncomfortable.” Coughing, Huo Yuhao gradually woke up from his deep sleep, his eyes still somewhat dazed. He only felt his entire body go soft, as though all of his energy had been sucked away. Not only that, but all of his muscles were in an extremely sore state. Even after sleeping for so long, he didn’t seem to have any signs of recovering his soul power.
“This feeling of having everything sucked out from my body is really uncomfortable!” Huo Yuhao wasn’t feeling anxious at
all. As his consciousness gradually recovered, he discovered that although he had severely over-exhausted his body, he felt extraordinarily clear-headed after waking up. The memories of everything that had just occurred were clearly returning to him after he woke up, and he quickly remembered him and Wang Dong defeating their opponents in the finals.
“We should’ve won. We’re the final champions. We’ve protected Shrek Academy’s glory!” His excitement caused his eyes to gradually light up. The current Huo Yuhao had just noticed that something had changed in his spiritual sea.
As he gazed deep into himself, he was immediately overjoyed. His spiritual sea had increased in size by 25% at the very least. Not only that, but his spiritual power had become more condensed, and even the golden lights in his spiritual sea had brightened somewhat.
At this exact moment, a figure suddenly appeared in Huo Yuhao’s mind. It had a head of pinkish-blue long hair, a set of golden eyes, and peerless looks, as well as a faintly discernible golden trident.
She, was she really the descent of the Radiant Goddess?