Jiang Nannan stepped onto the arena with an expressionless face, walking calmly. The moment she appeared, the entire plaza erupted into thunderous cheers—her performance in the opening match had left a deep impression on everyone present.
Yunluo Academy's first contestant was a somewhat overweight boy. When he saw that his opponent was Jiang Nannan, his face immediately turned pale with fear.
"The rules for the individual elimination battle are as follows," the referee announced. "Once a contestant is defeated, they must leave the field. The victor may choose to continue or be replaced. Each team may send out up to seven participants. The match ends when all members of one side are eliminated. Do you both understand?"
"Yes!" Jiang Nannan's voice was crisp, pleasant, and confident.
"Y-yes…" her opponent stammered nervously, clearly shaken.
The referee continued, "Very well. Step back and prepare. No soul tools that rely purely on material composition or are excessively lethal—such as fixed-mounted soul tools—are permitted."
As Jiang Nannan stepped back, she heard her opponent call out, "S-senior, my name is Ma Yingjun. Please go easy on me!"
Jiang Nannan almost laughed at his trembling tone but kept her icy expression intact. She simply nodded indifferently and walked to her starting position.
"Thank you, Senior!" Ma Yingjun smiled brightly at her reaction, looking slightly relieved as he headed to his own spot.
"Begin!" the referee shouted.
Ma Yingjun immediately sprang into action. His arms lifted, and three thick metal tubes popped out from each. Two more large tubes emerged from his shoulders, while a pair of folded mechanical wings unfolded from his back. His legs revealed six more tubes each, and a metallic shield-like soul tool appeared over his chest. With this full-body armament, his confidence clearly surged.
But Jiang Nannan moved just as fast.
As soon as the referee gave the signal, her Lunar Jade Rabbit Martial Soul appeared in a flash, and five soul rings lit up behind her. Instantly, her first soul skill activated, and she turned into a stream of silver light, arriving in front of Ma Yingjun in the blink of an eye.
Ma Yingjun had barely finished equipping his gear when Jiang Nannan was already on him. He panicked, but it was far too late to react.
With a burst of strength, Jiang Nannan launched her second soul skill: Silver Moon Aerial Flash. She grabbed him by the shoulders, twisted in midair, and flung him toward the ground with a bone-shaking slam.
BOOM!
The audience flinched—many even covered their eyes. Wasn't this girl supposed to be beautiful and graceful? Why were her soul skills so… violent?
Ma Yingjun crashed to the floor. His soul tools scattered around him, his face bruised and swollen. Though Jiang Nannan had held back at the last second, preventing serious injury, his will to fight was utterly broken.
"I—I surrender…" he mumbled, eyes full of terror as he looked up at her.
"First match of the individual knockout round: Shrek Academy wins!" the referee announced. Even he looked at Jiang Nannan with newfound caution. If her first match had left people impressed, then after today, they'd all remember her as a devastatingly beautiful and brutally strong soul master.
"Agility-type attacker…" muttered Ma Rulong from the Sun Moon Empire's rest area. "That's going to be a serious problem for us soul engineers."
"She crossed the hundred-meter stage in about five seconds," said Meng Hongchen, watching Jiang Nannan intently. "If we face her, it'll be trouble."
Ma Yingjun staggered off the stage. At Yunluo Academy's camp, the team captain's face was grim. He knew Shrek's students were strong, but this strong? A Soul King agility-type? How were they supposed to fight that?
"…Shangyue, you're up," he finally said, sending out a female student.
The girl named Shangyue had long, elegant legs, giving her a commanding presence opposite Jiang Nannan.
Unlike Ma Yingjun, Shangyue was a close-range soul engineer. As she advanced, she reached behind her and unsheathed two massive four-foot-long blades. They gleamed with incandescent white light, forming bladed arcs of three feet as she swung toward Jiang Nannan.
Her martial soul released behind her: three yellow and one purple ring—not elite, but respectable. Her body grew taller under the spirit possession, her eyes turned golden, and her lips protruded slightly to reveal faint canines. Clearly, she had a canine-type martial soul.
Jiang Nannan smiled slightly and surged forward. Her speed vastly outpaced Shangyue's. Before the girl could swing her blades, Jiang Nannan had already flipped over her with a graceful backflip, landing behind her.
Then, with flawless timing, Jiang Nannan activated Silver Moon Aerial Flash again.
Just like before—caught mid-attack, unable to respond—Shangyue was lifted into the air and slammed to the ground with a thunderous crash.
Unsurprisingly, Shangyue lost the second match.
Yunluo Academy's morale collapsed.
The captain could no longer sit idle. He stood up and walked onto the stage himself.
Facing Jiang Nannan with a heavy expression tinged with respect, he said,
"Yunluo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy. Situ Yu."
"Shrek Academy. Jiang Nannan," she replied with a small nod.
"You're very strong. But Yunluo Academy still has its pride," Situ Yu said seriously. "Rather than let my team be humiliated further, I'll face you. If you can defeat me, we'll concede the match."
"…Understood," Jiang Nannan nodded, though she couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. So much for winning all seven by myself.
"Step back!" the referee commanded gravely, sensing the seriousness of the moment. Once both had retreated to their positions, he shouted, "Begin!"
In the blink of an eye, Situ Yu's body transformed into a mobile artillery platform. His entire body was covered in soul tool armor and cannons of various sizes. Compared to Ma Yingjun earlier, his equipment was on a completely different level—far more advanced and well-coordinated.
Jiang Nannan frowned. There's no way my second soul skill will work. He's completely armored. I'll have to destroy his soul tools first if I want to get a grip on him.
Four soul rings floated behind Situ Yu as white energy began to surge. Dozens of egg-sized white energy balls erupted from his weapons, creating a storm of light projectiles that tore toward her like a hailstorm.
In that instant, Jiang Nannan activated her fourth soul skill.
Silver light burst from her body, and she vanished into the barrage. The next moment, she reappeared directly in front of Situ Yu.
She raised her left leg, charged it with violet energy, and kicked out fiercely. A purple energy sphere launched from her shin and spun rapidly through the air, transforming into a massive serpent with a gaping maw.
Situ Yu fired more energy blasts to intercept, but the serpent tore through them effortlessly and slammed into him.
The energy beast swallowed him whole.
A second later, Situ Yu reappeared—disheveled and scorched. His soul tool armor was tattered and non-functional. The outcome was clear.
Evil Serpent Annihilation Shot – Powered by the Purple Fiend Demon Spirit Left Leg Bone
Situ Yu's face was sour, but he accepted defeat honorably.
"I've lost. Yunluo Academy… surrenders."
"Shrek Academy wins!" the referee announced loudly.
The speaker system carried his voice across the entire plaza.
"Valkyrie! Valkyrie! Valkyrie!" the audience roared.
With these three battles, Jiang Nannan had fully solidified her title as the Valkyrie of Shrek Academy.
Back in the Sun Moon Academy's rest area, Ma Rulong's expression was dark.
"This Jiang Nannan… is a serious threat," he muttered. "Using artillery warfare against an agility-type soul master was idiotic. That captain never stood a chance."
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