In the two matches that Shrek Academy had already finished, whether it was the martial soul fusion skill that had swept the entire field or the time-stopping ability, both had left an extremely deep impression on the audience. They all wanted to see what kind of surprise Shrek Academy could bring them today.
In this match, the Shrek members were to face the Thousand Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy from the Dou Ling Empire. It was also very famous in the Dou Ling Empire, but in terms of both popularity and prestige, it was far from being comparable to Shrek Academy.
Two battles. They needed to hold on for at least two more battles, and then Ling Luochen would return. With one more Soul King presiding, they would have a much easier time in the subsequent round-robin matches. And Dai Yueheng, this Soul Emperor, was already at the very top of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.
If Ma Xiaotao were still in the participating team, a Soul Sage with an ultimate attribute who could display her Martial Soul True Body would undoubtedly bring a fatal blow to all participating teams.
In the tournament, if one were to say there was a privileged class, then Shrek Academy was the only one. Their match today was still held in the first slot. And, this was chosen by Shrek Academy itself.
With the sun high in the sky, the time for the match had arrived. His Majesty the roguish Star Luo Empire Emperor had already come to the wall of the imperial city to watch the battle. Naturally, the one he was most concerned about was also the performance of Shrek Academy.
On the competition stage, the referee walked to the center and, through a sound-amplifying soul tool, said in a loud voice, "Both sides, enter the waiting area. Captains of both sides, come up to the stage to draw lots."
The members of Shrek Academy, dressed in their dark green competition uniforms, stood up and walked into the waiting area. Wang Yan nodded at Bei Bei. Bei Bei, after exchanging a look with Xu Sanshi, as the captain of the preparatory team, strode onto the competition stage.
On the Thousand Spirit Academy's side, the one who came up was precisely Shen Ce. He looked to be about twenty years old, with a slender figure and a cold, hard face. His whole person looked like a javelin, which was extremely in line with the characteristics of his martial soul, the Thousand Hit Spear. Facing Bei Bei, who possessed a top-tier beast martial soul, he remained expressionless.
The draw begins!
Everyone was paying attention to what the result of the draw for this match would be. No matter which competition format, a match with Shrek Academy would undoubtedly be very exciting. Now the audience just hoped that Shrek Academy's opponent could hold on for a little longer, so they could see more exciting matches.
It's unknown if it was because Wang Yan's prayers had worked, but the result of the draw was exactly what he wanted most.
"Shrek Academy versus Thousand Spirit Academy, team battle," the referee announced the result of the draw loudly.
A team battle was undoubtedly the most intense and also the most comprehensive competition. What was being compared was the overall strength of both sides. The captains of both sides expressed that they had no objection to a team battle.
The referee said in a deep voice, "Team members of both sides, enter the stage."
In the waiting area, Yao Haoxuan, Cao Jinxuan, Gongyang Mo, Dai Yueheng, Xu Sanshi, and Wang Dong stood up together. Under Wang Yan's encouraging gaze, they walked onto the stage in single file.
Last night, what Wang Yan had arranged the most was the team battle. The tactical arrangements were already completely in place. Now it was up to the performance of the Shrek members.
Walking onto the stage, the two sides each occupied one side. On Shrek Academy's side, Bei Bei and Dai Yueheng were surprisingly standing at the very front. Behind the two of them were Xu Sanshi and Wang Dong. At the very back, Yao Haoxuan and Gongyang Mo stood on either side, while Cao Jinxuan stood in the very center.
After walking onto the stage, Cao Jinxuan crossed his arms over his chest, actually making a provocative and arrogant gesture, as if he didn't put his opponent in his eyes at all. Therefore, on the side of the Thousand Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy's team members, almost everyone's gaze fell on him.
Although after the end of the first day of the knockout tournament, when every academy went back to analyze Cao Jinxuan's time-stopping ability, none of them believed he could strongly control an existence at the Soul King level or above. However, the evaluation of his close-combat ability was also very high. And that "Blooming in Brilliance, the Splendor of Gilded Gold" of Xu Sanshi and Wang Dong had also left an extremely deep impression on them. After all, it was a one-hit victory in the knockout tournament!
Most of the Shrek contestants did not look old, at most around fourteen or fifteen. But the various academies had at least already regarded them as opponents that could not be underestimated. In the future, they might even be top-tier experts who could influence the situation.
Huo Yuhao saw from a distance that Dai Yueheng was present. He figured that in this one battle, Shrek still wouldn't have too much of a problem. Excluding the factor of soul tools, under normal circumstances, a Soul Emperor facing a Soul King was a crushing victory. The level gap was not so easy to make up for. What's more, there was also a Gongyang Mo to stack amplifications for him.
Then Huo Yuhao took Xie Huanyue and the others and began to wander around the edge of the plaza, trying to find the base camp of the Sun Moon team. It was just that his face was a little heavy now. His silent appearance made Xie Huanyue and the others not dare to ask too much.
Just this morning, he had received a report from Ning Tian's spies. When he had been intercepted by Shi Xing, Zhongli Yu, who had been pushed away from the Spacetime Turbulence by him, had already been captured by the experts of Shrek Academy. And on the other side, Ma Xiaotao had actually defected to the Holy Ghost Cult, betrayed the participating team and Elder Xuan, and had left with the Holy Ghost Cult. Therefore, she had also been put on a wanted list by Shrek.
Ma Xiaotao defected to the Holy Ghost Cult? Huo Yuhao would be the first to jump out and express his doubt. She, who had cultivated with Yan Shaozhe since she was young, had long been thoroughly brainwashed by the glory of Shrek. How could she possibly betray the many Shrek elders who cared about and valued her?
There must be some misunderstanding in this, or a conspiracy by the Holy Ghost Cult.
It seems that in the one year since he had left the Holy Ghost Cult, that group from Zhongli Wu's side had been up to no small number of tricks.
Perhaps he had to find a chance to go back to the Holy Ghost Cult and see. Heaven knows what those insane things from the Holy Ghost Cult would do to his Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao thought to himself.
However, now that both Shrek and the Holy Ghost Cult had a Saintess as a hostage, he figured that neither side would act rashly. Not to mention Huo Yuhao's doubts about Ma Xiaotao's motives, even Yan Shaozhe and those Sea God Pavilion elders who had watched her grow up should be unwilling to believe the fact of Ma Xiaotao's betrayal.
When the tournament here was over and he was ready to run, Huo Yuhao planned to set off first to go back to the Holy Ghost Cult to rescue Ma Xiaotao.
Soon, the situation on the field showed a one-sided trend. After being amplified by his own three great amplification soul skills and the amplification provided by Gongyang Mo, Dai Yueheng's White Tiger Meteor Shower, which was comparable to a Soul Sage level, let the participating team of the Thousand Spirit Academy see what was called cruel.
Dai Yueheng looked at the Shen Ce opposite him with disdain and said in a deep voice, "Do you want to continue?"
Shen Ce looked at his partners beside him, who had already lost all fighting spirit. He sighed and shook his head. "We surrender."
The light of a Soul Emperor almost covered all his companions. But Shen Ce, who had been facing them for a long time, saw clearly. Whether it was the Yao Haoxuan who had instantly devoured one of their members, or the defense-type soul master Xu Sanshi who had taken a full-power joint strike from him, a Soul King, and a fire-system Soul Ancestor with his Soul Ancestor strength, they were all powerful forces that could decide the victory or defeat of a match. Not to mention, the other few from Shrek Academy had barely made a move at all.
"Shrek Academy wins."
With the referee's announcement, the seven from Shrek Academy stood in a row, bowed slightly to their opponents, and then left the stage in single file.
Just as Shrek Academy was intensively arranging their strategy and tactics for the next match, the students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy had at this time also all returned to the hotel and had also entered their conference room at the other end of the corridor. It was just that they were not researching tactics, but researching Shrek Academy.
"Everyone, speak up. What did you feel after watching today's match?" Old Ma said in a deep voice.
The members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy were all somewhat silent. An official team member couldn't help but say, "Old Ma, that Shrek Academy representative team probably has more than one Soul Emperor. And the two auxiliary-type Soul Kings who participated in the battle were also too terrifying. Whether it's a team battle or a one-on-one, we don't have too much of an advantage."
Old Ma said angrily, "Idiot! In the previous tournaments, didn't Shrek Academy send out a Soul Emperor? This is actually their normal performance. Just like in the past, they let a few substitute members go on stage first to conceal the true strength of the entire official team."
The official team member was suddenly a little dejected. "Setting aside the Soul Emperor, even their preparatory team's strength cannot be underestimated. The ability to directly stop time in the entire venue and forcibly control a Soul King for a few seconds—even an ordinary Soul Emperor couldn't do that, right?"
"And that instant-kill-the-whole-field martial soul fusion skill of Xu Sanshi and Wang Dong," Captain Ma Rulong spoke. He crossed his hands and propped them under his nose, saying in a deep voice, "A three-ring and a four-ring. A martial soul fusion skill that can defeat so many opponents with one blow. Their martial souls must be a hundred percent compatible. I dare say, even if a Soul Emperor faced them, they probably wouldn't get any advantage. So, if we encounter these two in a match, we absolutely cannot give them a chance to use their martial soul fusion skill."
The preparatory team captain, Xiao Hongchen, who was sitting opposite Ma Rulong, couldn't help but raise his head upon hearing this. He looked at Ma Rulong and nodded slightly, a few traces of admiration in his eyes. For someone with his proud personality, to show such a look was quite rare.
Ma Rulong noticed Xiao Hongchen's gaze on him, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "I believe that without that martial soul fusion skill, the strength of those two is ultimately not comparable to our Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. That Cao Jinxuan's twin martial souls should both be quite strong, but his biggest flaw is his age."
Xiao Hongchen frowned. "Captain, what you mean is, if his age were comparable to mine, then I would not be his opponent?"
At the side, Ju Zi finally spoke. She said faintly, "What do you think?"
Hearing her question, Xiao Hongchen's brow couldn't help but furrow even more. "It's hard to say. Without actually clashing, who can say for sure? Even if he has twin martial souls, and even more so a body martial soul, I am also a dual-cultivator of soul master and soul tool master. At the same age, his soul power might not necessarily be able to cultivate to my level."
Ju Zi waved her hand with utter boredom and said, "One-on-one, as long as your soul power level hasn't surpassed his by two great realms, in the few seconds of time stop, it's enough for him to get close and heavily injure you."
Listening to Ju Zi's analysis of the two, whether it was the official or preparatory team members, the members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy all had a feeling of sudden enlightenment. Old Ma and Ma Rulong also had smiles on their faces and nodded repeatedly.
When it came to controlling the battle situation, Ju Zi was the number one person in the Sun Moon team, and also the true strategist in the official team. At the same time, her strength was also unfathomable.
And the reason why Ma Rulong could become the captain was by no means just his strength, but more importantly, his personal love for and achievements in soul tools. If not for the later rise of Ju Zi and the Xiao Hongchen siblings, Ma Rulong could have very well become the most outstanding student of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy in a hundred years. This could be seen from the fact that every soul tool he had used in the original novel was made by him himself. He indeed had the qualification to be elected as the team captain.
In terms of making soul tools, to be able to achieve the effect of a high-level soul tool by assembling suitable low-level soul tools himself, Ma Rulong was undoubtedly an absolute genius. If not for his cultivation not being there yet, he would already have the qualification to be rated as a level-seven soul tool master.
Clap clap clap...
Just then, a series of crisp applause came from behind them.
"As expected of the number one handsome talent of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy. To be able to analyze so thoroughly after just two or three short matches. In the future, you will surely be the female war god of the empire..."
"Who is it?"
Old Ma was the first to stand up. One after another, metal cannon barrels appeared on his body. A terrifying aura emanated from his whole body, as if in the next moment he would shoot this uninvited guest down with his cannons.
The visitors were several young men and women with fresh and beautiful appearances. The one in the lead was a youth in a white robe. His temperament was transcendent, with a relaxed and carefree look, as if he were strolling in his own back garden. He opened his arms, his brow slightly raised.
"Hello, members of the Sun Moon team. I've come to help you win the championship!"
Finally, he cast his gaze towards the girl in the crowd who had been instantly stunned. His gaze turned gentle. "As we agreed, I have come."
Whether it was his voice or his face, both were exactly the same as that year.
Ju Zi faced this figure she had longed for day and night. At that moment, her teeth lightly bit her red lip.
"I thought you wouldn't come..."
Huo Yuhao scratched his head. "I just came back from the past and spent some time recuperating, so I came late..."
The next moment, in the eyes of all, Ju Zi, who was indifferent to everything, suddenly transformed into a girl like the wind, pouncing into Huo Yuhao's firm embrace. Her small mouth flattened, and she actually started to cry wantonly in front of everyone.
A full seven years! From the time Huo Yuhao had transformed into motes of light and disappeared before her, until now when she had come to Star Luo to participate in the Soul Dueling Tournament, a full seven years had passed.
"Seven years! A whole seven years! Do you know how I've gotten through these seven years?"
Ju Zi wailed loudly, forcefully hammering his chest. For her, Huo Yuhao was the most cherished existence in her life. A sudden descent into her life, a sudden contract of a ten-thousand-year soul spirit for her, a sudden rescue of her family which should have been shattered, and finally, a sudden dissipation before her eyes in this world, leaving only the riddle of meeting again in the future.
Xiao Hongchen stood at the side, staring blankly at the goddess in his heart, who, in a way that overturned his cognition, was crying and shouting in the arms of another youth. In an instant, it was as if something in his heart had suddenly shattered.