Lu Jingming was quite confident in his control over his own power. After all, during his days learning swordsmanship with Jingliu, he had long mastered fundamental power control techniques. The force he used just now was, at most, enough to break Meng Hongchen's soul skill; it wouldn't even cause her substantial harm, so how could it be paralyzing? However, since Meng Hongchen herself had no objections, Lu Jingming, holding her soft, delicate body, naturally had no complaints either. No matter how he looked at it, he wasn't the one at a disadvantage.
On the other side, Xiao Hongchen was frantically dodging Firefly's attacks. To make matters worse, a purple blade of light tore through the void, carrying a chilling aura of death directly towards him. Xiao Hongchen's face instantly turned pale, filled with helplessness. With no other choice, he had to reveal his trump card. His fifth soul ring shone intensely, and his fifth soul skill, Golden Devotion, activated. In an instant, he transformed into a puddle of golden liquid, expertly dodging the fatal strike in a bizarre form, then quickly retreated away from Firefly and the other two.
Just as he reformed into solid form, Xiao Hongchen looked up, utterly exhausted, only to see Meng Hongchen, her arms around Lu Jingming's neck, lying shyly in his embrace.
Boom!
This sight struck Xiao Hongchen like a bolt from the blue, instantly hitting him hard. He stared blankly at Meng Hongchen, pointing at her, his lips trembling. After a long moment, he weakly managed to stammer out a few words: "Meng… you... you!"
The next moment, Xiao Hongchen's vision went black. Already physically and mentally exhausted from the continuous high-intensity soul power consumption during the battle, and having just used his life-saving fifth soul skill, the double blow of seeing his sister in such a state caused him to collapse heavily, unable to rise again.
"Brother!" Meng Hongchen exclaimed, seeing his collapse. She quickly jumped out of Lu Jingming's embrace, her movements so agile there was no sign of paralysis. She swiftly ran to Xiao Hongchen's side and anxiously helped him up.
Lu Jingming looked at the fallen Xiao Hongchen, a hint of sympathy in his eyes. He knew that Xiao Hongchen wasn't defeated by Firefly or the others; he was simply so infuriated by the scene that he passed out.
"Match over! Semifinals team battle, St. Freya Academy wins!" Dan Heng calmly surveyed the chaotic arena, his expression serene, as he clearly announced the result. The roar of cheers from the audience instantly erupted, as if threatening to overturn the entire venue. Amidst the thunderous applause, Ma Rulong and his teammates, covered in fatigue and injuries, were carried off the stage. Lu Jingming then led the St. Freya Academy team off the arena in an orderly fashion.
As their figures gradually receded, the memory metal device beneath the stage was quietly activated. The once severely damaged arena seemed to come alive, beginning to repair itself. Broken slabs slowly pieced back together, and cracks gradually healed, as if the fierce battle had never taken place. After all, the team battle between Shrek Academy and Emperor Academy was about to commence, and the arena needed to be in perfect condition for the next showdown.
"A'Ming, was hugging Meng student comfortable?"
As soon as they returned to the lounge, March 7th stood there with her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffed out, her large eyes filled with displeasure as she glared directly at Lu Jingming.
"Hmm? Is little March jealous?" Lu Jingming was slightly taken aback, a surprised expression on his face. In his impression, March 7th was always lively and unrestrained. What was wrong today? Had she finally matured, learning to be "territorial"?
"Jealous of your big head, you playboy!" March 7th gritted her teeth in annoyance, speaking with a speechless expression. In her eyes, Lu Jingming, surrounded by a large group of beautiful girls, was still "flirting" outside. He was simply a complete scumbag.
Lu Jingming helplessly shook his head. His intentions had never been deliberately hidden; he simply wanted to build a big "harem." After all, these girls were all his "waifu," each so cute and charming that choosing just one was too difficult for him.
"Alright, little March, didn't you also like that Meng student? I thought you two got along quite well," Robin quickly interjected, gently comforting March 7th.
"How can that be the same, Sister Robin!" March 7th became even more helpless. She simply couldn't understand. It was one thing for Lu Jingming to want a "harem," but the key was that most of the girls around him actually condoned this situation, which left her feeling extremely frustrated.
"Sigh, I can't do anything about it!" March 7th let out a deep sigh, finally giving up the struggle. Forget it. Since she couldn't change the current situation, she would just let it be. She decided to completely give up.
Seeing March 7th also choose to compromise, Gu Yue's eyes flashed with a hint of disappointment. "March 7th, March 7th, can't you put up more of a fight? Hurry up and rein in this scumbag!"
At this moment, Jinhsi was silently observing everyone's expressions and reactions. Robin displayed a tolerant attitude, March 7th was having a little tantrum, Firefly, though focused on "battling" her small cake, occasionally glanced at Lu Jingming, Castorice looked indifferent, and Gu Yue, like March 7th, was somewhat displeased with Lu Jingming's behavior but felt helpless and could only accept it. As for Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and Ye Guyi, they were currently outsiders, merely watching the drama unfold.
As for Jinhsi herself, after a moment of thought, she mused to herself, "Hmm, just like Master, let nature take its course!" With that, she opened her insulated food container and took out a steaming basket of small steamed buns, beginning to savor them. After all, she had just fought an intense match and was a little hungry. In her opinion, what was the point of worrying so much about those troublesome matters? There were still many days ahead; this was just the beginning. If they were to seriously dwell on it, wouldn't those who came first be "cheated on" every time a new person appeared? So, it was better to be open-minded and just focus on herself. The rest would follow naturally.
The team battle between Shrek Academy and Emperor Academy, as everyone expected, resulted in a decisive victory for Shrek Academy thanks to their formidable strength. In the match, Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yaoheng, and Ling Luochen were simultaneously on stage. Compared to Emperor Academy, their advantage was simply too obvious. Emperor Academy's Jiang Peng was not to be underestimated; his martial soul, the Heaven-Shaking Axe, was a top-tier tool martial soul, quite famous throughout the soul master world. But even so, at most, he could only be evenly matched with Dai Yaoheng in terms of strength. When facing Ma Xiaotao, a Soul Saint, Jiang Peng quickly fell into a disadvantage and ultimately lost.
The first day of the semifinal team battles quickly concluded in a fervent atmosphere. Next up were the individual elimination matches.
The next morning, gentle sunlight softly bathed every corner of Hǎiyuān City, casting a golden glow over the vibrant metropolis. Lu Jingming led his team early to the Eye of the Abyss again, ready to participate in the upcoming individual elimination matches.
The Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had regrettably lost their specialized team battle event yesterday. They knew in their hearts that this likely meant their journey in this competition would end in the semifinals. However, as the highly renowned "perennial second-place finisher" in the soul master world, they possessed an indomitable spirit and could withstand such setbacks. They did not give up on themselves and still decided to participate in the individual elimination matches. Among them, Xiao Hongchen specifically challenged Lu Jingming by name. In his heart, Lu Jingming, this man who had "seduced" his sister, was truly unbearable. He absolutely refused to lose to Lu Jingming.
However, ideals were rich, but reality was lean. Lu Jingming unhesitatingly accepted Xiao Hongchen's challenge, but the result of the battle greatly disappointed Xiao Hongchen; he suffered a terrible defeat. In the match, Xiao Hongchen's proud metal manipulation ability was perfectly countered by Lu Jingming. Lu Jingming's power of decomposition could easily destroy the metal soul cannons Xiao Hongchen controlled, and his electromagnetic manipulation ability further restricted Xiao Hongchen's use of metal, completely preventing him from unleashing his full potential.
Finally, when Xiao Hongchen was knocked off the stage by Lu Jingming's spear, his eyes were still filled with disbelief. He never expected that Lu Jingming would be so ruthless, completely disregarding his dignity as a "future brother-in-law." He decided then and there that he would absolutely not agree to this "marriage"!
Lu Jingming, unaware of Xiao Hongchen's chaotic thoughts, showed no mercy in the match, cleanly defeating the remaining contestants from the Sun-Moon team. When it was Meng Hongchen's turn, after a brief consideration, she directly chose to surrender. After all, she knew in her heart that even if she wasn't swayed by his charm and fought with all her might, she was no match for Lu Jingming. She didn't want to suffer another defeat like her brother, Xiao Hongchen.
Thus, the individual elimination matches concluded smoothly, and St. Freya Academy successfully advanced to the finals. In the matches held that afternoon, Shrek Academy also performed excellently, decisively defeating Emperor Academy with an absolute advantage, and also securing their ticket to the finals.
Strikingly similar to the previous Soul Master Grand Competition, this year's competition would once again see St. Freya Academy and Shrek Academy, these two powerhouses, cross paths, set to duel on the final stage. The only difference was that in the previous competition, St. Freya Academy had the Soul Saint, while this year, the academy with the Soul Saint was Shrek Academy. This left the audience incredibly excited for the upcoming finals: would St. Freya Academy prove stronger, or Shrek Academy?