It was unclear how much time had passed, but even the Sun Moon Battle Team's soul engineers began to show signs of exhaustion.
Their soul power couldn't compare to Qian Ran's. Even with the milk bottle soul tools replenishing their energy, their recovery rate was far slower than Qian Ran's.
Meanwhile, Qian Ran maintained his Eternal Frozen Domain effortlessly, with minimal soul power consumption thanks to his superior efficiency and endurance.
"Enough playing around. Time to take them out one by one," Qian Ran said casually to the women behind him before vanishing in an instant.
The next moment, Qian Ran appeared in the midst of the Sun Moon Battle Team's formation.
Despite maintaining his Eternal Frozen Domain, Qian Ran's combat strength was undiminished.
Amid the chaos of soul tool beams and cannon blasts, his sudden presence behind the seven Sun Moon team members went completely unnoticed.
It wasn't until they realized that Qian Ran had disappeared from his previous position that a cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.
By then, Qian Ran had already locked onto their strongest member.
With lightning speed, he unleashed his most powerful single-target skill, Wrath of the Ice Emperor. A brilliant beam of light erupted from Qian Ran's core, smashing into Ma Rulong, the team's leader and a Soul Emperor.
A Rank 7 defensive soul tool materialized on Ma Rulong's chest, emitting a brilliant golden light and forming a protective barrier around him.
Even with the soul tool's protection, Ma Rulong let out a muffled groan, spitting a mouthful of blood. The glow of his defensive soul tool dimmed visibly, showing signs of severe damage.
Before Ma Rulong could recover, Qian Ran followed up with another attack. His hands and arms transformed, covered in diamond-like ice crystals, each edge gleaming with deadly sharpness.
With a brutal strike, Qian Ran's icy hands smashed into Ma Rulong's chest, completely nullifying his soul tool's defenses. Ma Rulong's consciousness faded as he crumpled to the ground.
After dealing with Ma Rulong, Qian Ran vanished again, manipulating his formidable spiritual power to distort the remaining team members' perception. Though he stood mere meters away, it was as if he were a phantom, leaving them terrified and unable to locate him.
When they finally noticed Ma Rulong lying unconscious, panic spread like wildfire.
"Captain!"
Xiao Hongchen, though often dismissive of Ma Rulong, froze in shock. Despite his disdain for the Soul Emperor, seeing him defeated so easily was a psychological blow to everyone.
"So, you're Xiao Hongchen?" Qian Ran's voice whispered in Xiao Hongchen's ear.
Qian Ran had overheard Xiao Hongchen's earlier exchange with Meng Hongchen, his spiritual power keen enough to detect even faint murmurs from across the vast Star Luo Plaza.
Xiao Hongchen's arrogance was no mystery to Qian Ran. A self-proclaimed genius, Xiao Hongchen constantly belittled others. Even Ma Rulong, a Soul Emperor and a rarity for his age in the Sun Moon Empire, was not spared from Xiao Hongchen's scorn. Yet, Xiao Hongchen lacked the strength to back his arrogance, relying on bravado instead.
Now, confronted with Qian Ran, a true powerhouse, Xiao Hongchen was utterly outmatched.
"What do you think, Meng Hongchen? How should I punish him?" Qian Ran's soft, teasing voice drifted into Meng Hongchen's ear.
"I… I don't know," Meng Hongchen stammered, blushing furiously, caught off guard.
"Alright, then." Qian Ran grinned and delivered a powerful kick to Xiao Hongchen, sending him flying across the stage.
"Trash is trash. Xiao Hongchen, you're not even qualified to be my opponent. Understand?" Qian Ran declared, stepping on Xiao Hongchen's face with disdain.
This time, Qian Ran deliberately refrained from concealing himself, allowing the entire Sun Moon Battle Team—and the audience—to see him clearly.
The sight of Qian Ran pinning Xiao Hongchen's face to the ground sent the crowd into fits of laughter. Was this a competition or a street brawl?
The fact that Qian Ran was taking on the Sun Moon Battle Team with such ease made the scene even more absurd.
Even the Shrek Academy spectators couldn't help but chuckle.
Meanwhile, members of the Sun Moon Battle Team felt a twisted sense of satisfaction. Xiao Hongchen's popularity within his team was notoriously low. Watching him get thrashed by Qian Ran was oddly cathartic for them.
"What are you standing around for? Attack him!" someone finally shouted. The remaining team members hastily activated their soul tools, directing a barrage of attacks toward Qian Ran.
Without Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen, however, their effectiveness was severely diminished. They struggled to hold their ground against Ling Luochen, leaving little firepower to support Xiao Hongchen.
Qian Ran activated Ice Emperor's Armor, shrugging off their attacks like raindrops on a glacier. Encased in a dense shield of ultimate ice, he was virtually untouchable against ordinary soul tools.
"Qian Ran, this is a match! You can't just hit me like that!" Xiao Hongchen wailed, his eyes bloodshot and filled with terror.
"Why not? Don't think so highly of yourself—you're nothing to me."
"Meng Hongchen is your sister, isn't she?" Qian Ran said, shifting his gaze to the stunning figure of Meng Hongchen. If not for the competition setting, he might have been tempted to pull her closer and teach Xiao Hongchen a lesson in helplessness.
"What are you planning to do?" Xiao Hongchen's face twisted in horror. The idea of Qian Ran targeting his sister made his blood boil.
"What does a man do with a beautiful woman? She's gorgeous, and I admire her," Qian Ran replied via spiritual transmission, his tone playful.
Xiao Hongchen coughed up blood in anger. A proud heir to the Mingde Hall, the future Duke, he had never been so humiliated. This was a disgrace he could not bear!
"You're right—I dare. But not now. For now, let's send you packing," Qian Ran said. He removed Xiao Hongchen's storage soul tool before kicking him off the stage.
Outside the arena, instructors from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy caught Xiao Hongchen's battered form and glared furiously at Qian Ran.
Moments later, Ma Rulong was also unceremoniously kicked off the stage.
"Senior, increase the pressure!" Qian Ran shouted toward Ling Luochen.
Understanding his intent, Ling Luochen conjured a storm of ice spikes with her staff, bombarding the Sun Moon Battle Team's formation.
The remaining team members dared not slacken their attacks on Ling Luochen. Any lapse could turn the ice spikes into lethal projectiles that riddled them like a sieve.
While Ling Luochen kept them occupied, Qian Ran strolled leisurely through the Sun Moon team's ranks, casually dispatching them.
He approached Lin Xi, another member, and swept his leg across Lin Xi's chest, sending him flying off the stage with a scream.
Qian Ran continued this pattern, eliminating each member one by one.
The audience in Star Luo Plaza was utterly stunned. They had anticipated Shrek's victory but never imagined such a dramatic conclusion. Qian Ran had turned the Sun Moon team into his personal sandbags.
"Do you want to step down yourself, or shall I kick you off, lovely lady?" Qian Ran asked, his tone teasing as he addressed the last remaining member, Meng Hongchen.
"I… I surrender," Meng Hongchen said, her face flushed. Despite knowing he was her team's nemesis, she couldn't muster any resentment toward Qian Ran.
From an observer's perspective, Qian Ran's actions were undeniably charismatic.
In the finals of the Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, only Qian Ran could pull off something so outrageous.
(End of Chapter)