Star Luo Academy's waiting zone.
Xu Jiujiao's eyes flickered.
Jiang Jue's guess was indeed correct—the order of today's matches had been tampered with by her brother.
That very morning, Xu Jiawei had sought out Xu Jiujiao, secretly arranging for Star Luo Academy to face Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. His instructions were clear: fight with full strength and try to force Sun Moon Royal's hidden trump cards into the open.
In Xu Jiawei's view, if Di'ao Academy were matched against Sun Moon Royal, they would most likely be crushed. Whether in terms of high-end strength or mid- to low-level power, Di'ao could not compare to Sun Moon Royal.
But Star Luo Academy, although lacking a Soul Emperor as their anchor, did possess a number of deadly hidden techniques. Thus, Xu Jiawei decided to use them as the probe—letting Star Luo reveal Sun Moon Royal's hand for Shrek Academy to exploit later.
Naturally, Xu Jiujiao would not refuse her royal brother's arrangement. Besides, after being humbled by Jiang Jue last time, and under Man Yi's persuasion, Xu Jiujiao was determined to defeat Jiang Jue openly on the battlefield—to prove that he was not the only genius around!
"Huang Heyun, stick to the tactics we arranged in advance. Don't you dare mess up."
"Yes, Captain!"
A strong youth in yellow clothes responded respectfully.
Before Xu Jiujiao joined, he had been the team's captain—but now, she was the one to lead.
Soon, the time came for both teams to enter the stage.
Because Star Luo Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had drawn lot number one, they would be the first match of the day.
According to the rules of the semifinals and finals, there were three rounds in total:
First round: team battle
Second round: one-on-one
Final round: two-two-three battle format
Each round counted as one point. The first team to reach two points would be the winner.
"Come on! For our glory, we must win this battle!" Ma Rulong roared.
"Victory!"
The team shouted in unison, their fighting spirit blazing like wildfire.
In contrast to Sun Moon Royal's fiery atmosphere, Star Luo Academy's side appeared far calmer.
The chosen team members walked out one after another, Xu Jiujiao leading at the front. Her eyes swept evenly across Sun Moon Royal's lineup—yet when she looked past the others and locked onto Jiang Jue, her gaze hardened.
Jiang Jue, who had been staring at Star Luo's side, met her eyes. To his surprise, he saw in them a spark of fighting intent—no, even provocation.
"Interesting…"
His eyes, dark like a deep pond, flashed with a glint of emerald light. That brief flicker made Xu Jiujiao's heart turn cold; she shuddered slightly despite herself.
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Star Luo National Academy—team battle members, take the field."
The referee for today's match was none other than that same Heavenfiend Douluo.
Meanwhile, Xu Jiawei, escorted by three other Title Douluo, had already returned to the imperial city and climbed the walls to observe from afar.
On Sun Moon Royal's side, Ma Rulong walked in front, followed closely by Li Yan and Lin Xi. Xiao Xiafeng was protected in the middle, while Jiang Jue and Mika held the flanks. Chen Fei deliberately took the rear.
On Star Luo's side, their formation was peculiar as well—six arranged in a triangle: one in front, two behind, then three. Only Princess Jiujiao stood alone at the back, golden light beginning to blaze in her eyes. She looked every bit the commander of the formation.
"The match begins!"
Just as both sides were watching each other closely, Heavenfiend Douluo barked, his voice booming. A streak of golden light flashed across the stage, and his powerful figure vanished.
Both sides reacted instantly, unleashing their martial souls without hesitation.
"Fourth Soul Skill—Soft White Steamed Bun!"
"Fifth Soul Skill—Fragrant Delicious Big Bun!"
At once, Xiao Xiafeng, standing at the center, summoned his martial soul: a gleaming white bun floated in his hand. As his fourth millennial and fifth ten-thousand-year soul rings lit up, a rich aroma spread through the air. The bun multiplied rapidly, dividing into various sizes and distributing itself into his teammates' hands.
Xiao Xiafeng held the central position because his martial soul was of the support type. His fourth soul skill increased movement speed by 25%, while his fifth boosted soul power recovery by 30%.
At that moment, golden light gleamed on Princess Jiujiao's forehead—an elegant rhombus-shaped gem appeared.
"Be careful, everyone. This Xu Jiujiao hasn't appeared in any previous matches."
Ma Rulong's voice was low and grave.
They only knew she was a support-type soul master, focusing on battle reinforcement.
The golden diamond on her brow burst into dazzling brilliance. It detached from her forehead, floating upward amidst swirling light.
A magnificent crown, seemingly formed from countless golden stars, descended slowly to rest upon her head. Each of the eighteen larger stars on the crown rose into sharp, radiant points.
Two yellow, two purple, one black—five soul rings encircled her.
"Taste my treasure!"
A massive fifth-tier charged soul tool appeared in Ma Rulong's hands. As he poured soul power into it, the core formation spun wildly. A terrifying aura gathered at its heart.
"Boom!"
A purple-black beam of destructive soul tool energy erupted forth. At the same time, silver radiance flared from Jiang Jue's body. Ice-blue soul power surged as thorny vines of solid ice whipped out behind him.
This was the fruit of Jiang Jue's recent training—his mastery over the ice attribute had grown tremendously, aided by none other than the Ice Emperor. His progress was lightning-fast.
"Lightning Falcon!"
"Lightning Bird!"
Two streaks of electric light blazed out. A purple-clad youth from Star Luo shot skyward, while Chen Fei's eyes lit up—he immediately followed suit.
Though they knew little about Xu Jiujiao, they had thoroughly studied the rest of Star Luo's team. And with that knowledge came carefully prepared counter-strategies.
(End of Chapter)