While Ma Rulong and Lin Xi joined forces to resist the combined assault of Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao, the other members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy reacted just as swiftly.
Xiao Xiafeng's four yellow, two purple, and one black soul rings flickered in succession. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen steamed buns appeared in his hands, which he promptly tossed to his teammates.
Although his soul power was only at Rank 51, he was the most talented Food-Type Soul Master in the history of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Cultivating as a Food-Type Soul Master was notoriously difficult, yet he had already broken through to the Soul King realm at the age of twenty. Even if his progress had been aided by medicinal means, reaching such a level at his age was proof enough of his extraordinary talent.
Moreover, he was also a top-tier Rank 5 Soul Engineer. Thanks to his Bun Martial Soul's self-sustaining ability, in terms of endurance alone, Xiao Xiafeng could even outlast his captain, Ma Rulong, a Soul Emperor.
His eyes were calm yet focused, his hands weaving rapidly through the air. Each bun he crafted emitted a unique wave of soul power, as though imbued with a special mission of its own.
Beside him, Mika no longer used the Soul Tools crafted by others as he had when fighting Jiang Peng.
This time, he relied entirely on the Soul Tools he had personally built. As Ma Rulong and Lin Xi held off the fierce assault from Shrek's team, Mika's body emitted a series of sharp, precise mechanical sounds, as if he were a deity of machinery descending upon the world.
Within just a few breaths, a soul-guided cannon platform with a three-meter diameter fully unfolded around him. His body seemed to transform into a massive war machine, covered head to toe in cannon barrels at least a meter long.
Densely packed, he resembled a steel hedgehog. Even though he was only a Rank 5 Soul Engineer, his configuration clearly outclassed even He Caitou's "Source of Destruction" cannon platform combat style.
Just the sight of the countless cannon barrels was enough to leave the audience awestruck.
As soon as the cannon platform fully deployed, Mika devoured several of Xiao Xiafeng's buns in rapid succession. Soul power surged violently through his body, and all eighty-eight cannon barrels shone simultaneously, unleashing a torrent of explosive light and thunderous soul-guided shells.
At his chest, a single, enlarged energy-compression cannon—its barrel a full meter in diameter—was charging up.
From the front, the glowing barrel looked like a single massive eye—cold and merciless—gathering a power that could annihilate everything in its path.
At the very rear of the formation, to Xiao Hongchen's left, Chen Fei spread a pair of radiant wings.
His Martial Soul was the Flash Bird, a species unique to the Sun Moon Continent. Like the Sharp-Tailed Swift, it possessed little offensive ability, but its speed was unmatched.
The Flash Bird's other attributes were negligible, but its sheer velocity was something no Soul Master of his level could rival.
The moment his Martial Soul was released, his body blurred into a streak of light, circling around the stage in a wide arc. He had no intention of engaging Ye Guyi or Ma Xiaotao head-on—his true target was Shrek Academy's top-tier Support-Type Soul Master, Gongyang Mo.
The Sun Moon team had carefully studied Shrek's previous two matches. They determined that Gongyang Mo's presence alone boosted his entire team's overall combat strength by at least thirty percent.
Thus, in a team battle, eliminating him first was an absolute priority.
Chen Fei's second and fourth soul rings lit up as his body shimmered with the glow of soul tools. His specially crafted Rank 5 propulsion device roared to life, propelling his speed to the limit.
He shot across the stage like a phantom, leaving a roaring wind in his wake, his eyes filled with determination—his prey was locked.
On Xiao Hongchen's right stood Li Yan, surrounded by dim crimson flames—his Martial Soul, the Lihuo (Departing Flame).
Although classified as an Elemental Martial Soul, it was far from pure. Even as a Rank 51 Soul King, the heat of his flames couldn't match that of many Rank 40 fire-type Soul Masters.
However, his Lihuo was perfectly compatible with certain soul tools. While its heat wasn't high, its stability made it ideal for condensing, compressing, and channeling energy.
Li Yan's innate talent for crafting soul tools was also exceptional. After years of research and experimentation, he had forged a unique, self-designed soul tool perfectly suited to his Martial Soul—his exclusive life-bound Soul Tool.
After devouring Xiao Xiafeng's buns, Li Yan's first, third, and fifth soul rings flared to life. His flames surged explosively, and within moments, his body expanded into a towering three-meter giant of living fire.
At the same time, the belt-like soul tool around his waist began to glow, its light resonating with his blazing form.
A special metallic layer spread rapidly across his body, merging with the inferno enveloping him.
Within seconds, Li Yan had transformed from an ordinary youth into a towering Lihuo Flame Demon.
This Rank 5 Soul Tool, combined with his Martial Soul, mimicked a rare soul beast that thrived in volcanic wastelands—the Flame Demon.
While not as powerful as the genuine creature, the fusion of his Martial Soul and soul tool granted him power on par with a ten-thousand-year Flame Demon.
Roaring, the flaming colossus charged to the front lines. Massive fireballs gathered in his hands before he hurled them toward Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng, who had already crossed two-thirds of the stage. The flames rolled forward like a tidal wave, threatening to burn everything to ash.
Meanwhile, at the back of the formation, the sibling duo—Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen—had already unleashed their Martial Souls.
The arena's atmosphere instantly tensed, the crowd's collective gaze drawn toward the mysterious pair. Everyone sensed that something extraordinary was about to happen.
Divine Beast: Three-Legged Golden Toad!
As his Martial Soul possessed him, a flash of golden light enveloped Xiao Hongchen. From the base of his spine, a third golden leg extended, shimmering as though forged from purest gold, radiating a brilliance that none dared look at directly.
A gleaming golden armor spread over his entire body, his form exuding both divinity and menace.
Crouching slightly, his two yellow, two purple, and one black soul rings pulsed rhythmically, each beat resonating with growing power.
From beneath his clothes, small golden protrusions emerged along his back, glowing with a soft luminescence that made him appear almost divine—an idol of golden might.
"First Soul Skill: Metal Control!"
"Third Soul Skill: Form of Gold!"
His first and third soul rings flared in unison, their light dazzling like twin suns.
With a sweeping motion of his arms, his storage-type soul tool shimmered, releasing more than a hundred metallic spheres into the air. Each one traced a brilliant arc, like golden meteors falling through the night sky.
These orbs hovered midair, encircling the entire Sun Moon formation.
Then, as if growing from seeds, thick metal cannon barrels sprouted from each orb.
Yes—grew. The cannons didn't appear as completed constructs; they were being formed right before everyone's eyes, shaped from the metal itself under Xiao Hongchen's control.
Within moments, his body was surrounded by dense ranks of metallic cannons, turning him into a living fortress—a true steel hedgehog.
Even Mika's earlier display now seemed insignificant in comparison.
Though both were Rank 5 Soul Engineers, Xiao Hongchen—barely fifteen years old—demonstrated mastery far beyond his teammate. The crowd could only watch in awe.
"Unbelievable! Ma Rulong is holding back two of Shrek's top fighters with just Lin Xi's help—and now this kid's pulling that off?" someone shouted from the stands, setting off a chorus of astonished murmurs.
"What in the world?! How can two Soul Engineers deploy that many soul tools at once? They're supposed to be only Rank 5!"
"Sun Moon Academy was hiding monsters all along! That's not a cannon platform—that's an arsenal!"
"Wait—does he even have enough soul power to fire all that?" someone questioned skeptically.
"Quantity isn't everything," another replied. "You need enough cultivation to actually control those cannons—otherwise they're just decorations."
The arena buzzed with noise and disbelief.
And then, Xiao Hongchen proved them all wrong.
The metallic spheres he had thrown were the cores of each soul-guided cannon, and the barrels themselves were shaped in real time using his control over metallic elements.
He always carried a supply of fine metallic dust, which he could manipulate through his powerful soul power and unique Martial Soul ability, forming any structure he desired.
He was a true artist of metal—his creations were alive.
But he wasn't done yet.
"Second Soul Skill: Boiling Gold!"
"Fourth Soul Skill: Sacrifice of Gold!"
As his second and fourth rings ignited, countless golden motes appeared in the air, surging toward him like rivers flowing into the sea.
Each mote pulsed with faint golden light, burning brighter as they neared him, filling the arena with an overwhelming metallic aura.
The cannon barrels around him glowed intensely, radiating heat and pressure so powerful that even through the protective barrier, the audience could feel it.
A total of one hundred twenty-eight cannons surrounded Xiao Hongchen—all Rank 5 Soul Tools.
With a metallic roar, every barrel calibrated itself, locking onto Shrek Academy's formation. Even the cannons behind him twisted and turned forward, as though guided by an invisible will.
The Boiling Gold skill drastically heightened the activity of the metallic soul power within his Three-Legged Golden Toad, exponentially amplifying his control while allowing him to absorb surrounding metallic elements for temporary use.
The Sacrifice of Gold skill, meanwhile, burned those gathered metallic elements to unleash massive energy.
Together, they granted him the strength to control and fire all 128 cannons simultaneously.
And because the energy came from the absorbed metals themselves, his own soul power was only spent maintaining the skills.
That was the true power of the Three-Legged Golden Toad—total dominion over metal. He could even absorb energy from rare metals to strengthen himself.
It was precisely this ability that allowed him to reach the Soul King realm at such a young age.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire had no shortage of rare metals.
With such terrifying control, it was no wonder Xiao Hongchen was hailed as the greatest genius in the empire's history.
At this point, his combat strength was nearly equal to Ma Rulong's. Once his cultivation caught up, he would surpass his captain entirely—becoming the undisputed number one of his generation.
Under the combined effect of his four skills, Xiao Hongchen's 128 cannons fired in unison—not at Ye Guyi or Ma Xiaotao, nor at Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng—but at Shrek's rear line: Ling Luochen, Dugu Xianmeng, and Gongyang Mo!
He knew that in team battles, control and support Soul Masters were the linchpins. Eliminate them, and the entire team would crumble.
At nearly the same moment, Mika's cannons fired in coordination with Li Yan's attacks, while Xiao Hongchen's barrage synchronized perfectly with Chen Fei's assault on the backline.
Their teamwork was flawless—each movement seamless, each strike deadly precise.
Meanwhile, Meng Hongchen stood still. Unlike the others, she didn't unleash a barrage of long-range soul tool firepower.
Upon activating her Martial Soul, her once-wine-red hair turned snow-white, pure as untouched frost. Her icy-blue eyes shifted to a haunting blood-red, glowing like liquid crimson.
King of the Polar North's Crevices—Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad!
Her Martial Soul's emergence chilled the entire arena, its aura both venomous and eerily cold.
While Xiao Hongchen's cannons finished forming, Meng Hongchen's first and second soul rings flared.
"First Soul Skill: Ice Toad's Venom."
"Second Soul Skill: Ring of Frozen Poison."
At first glance, nothing seemed to happen.
But a closer look revealed faint traces of red-and-blue vapor creeping over the barrels of Xiao Hongchen's cannons—an almost invisible toxic mist.
That was Meng Hongchen's trump card: the Ice Toad's Venom, colorless, odorless, and lethally potent.
She had learned from watching Dugu Xianmeng's matches, realizing the power of infusing toxins into ranged soul tool attacks to catch enemies off guard.
Now, she would return the favor.
The venom-coated cannons gleamed ominously.
The battlefield trembled.
And the storm was about to begin.
****
Well, my P*tr*on was banned and my S*bscribeSt*r is under review, so while my Sub is being activated, I'll be using K*-fi to sell advanced chapters. If you'd like to read those chapters (26+), you can go here:
ko-fi.com/shax07