Electrolux's research naturally received Xu Tianxi's full support. He told the esteemed master to proceed as he wished, promising to search the Sun Moon Empire for Soul Bones from the same type of Soul Beast.
Setting other things aside, he was still greatly covetous of the Soul Bone Armor that the Tang God King had stumbled upon ten thousand years ago. The Tang God King's Soul Bone Armor had been fine-tuned using the Eight Spider Lances External Soul Bone. Since he also possessed an Ice Jade Scorpion Tail External Soul Bone, he might as well give it a try.
While he couldn't bring himself to provoke the Man-faced Demon Spider clan for the sake of nourishing his Soul Bones like the Tang God King did, the Ice Emperor's forty-thousand-year Soul Bone didn't need any nourishment. It was just that he couldn't unleash its full power yet.
As for Soul Spirits, the ones Electrolux concocted before his death in the original story had many flaws, and Yuhao didn't perfect them, which later exacerbated the extinction of Soul Beasts. For his own research with Electrolux, he needed to perfect them to prevent the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and Ice Emperor from returning to find the Far North Land gone.
Xu Tianxi didn't consider himself a saint; he wouldn't advocate for protecting Soul Beasts when humanity's overall strength hadn't yet surpassed theirs. His actions were for his own benefit and that of those around him, while also considering the feelings of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and Ice Emperor.
Having accepted investments from Soul Beasts, it was natural to consider their living space. Mutual benefit was key to long-term development.
"Besides the Far North Land, we can also try to contact the ocean side. A member of the Heavenly Tyrant Bixi clan was nearly killed by the Demon Empress. We can see if the Xuanming Sect has suitable candidates to form Soul Spirits. Xu Sanshi suffered so much at Shrek; it's time he felt the warmth of his family."
He had already learned the full story behind the Xuanming Sect's attack on Shrek. Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul had shattered protecting Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan, and he had been taken home by Xu Fu to recover.
Xu Xiaoyun personally treated his injuries, and his Martial Soul successfully reformed. However, this injury prevented him from entering the Black Tortoise Awakening state for at least half a year, which was truly miserable. He could be given a large sea turtle as a supplement and become one of the first Soul Spirit volunteers.
Given this accident, Shrek naturally wouldn't issue Xu Sanshi a graduation certificate. Poor Xu Sanshi had toiled at Shrek for seven years, only to gain little benefit and end up with a severe injury.
Xu Tianxi was even considering whether to pull this guy into the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, as there were too few Soul Master geniuses here.
...
The next morning, the Pan-continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament officially began.
The Star Luo Empire only had the opportunity to host the tournament every twenty years. Star Luo City had been preparing for it for over a year, and Star Luo Square, both inside and out, had been renovated. Xu Jiawei even mobilized the army to maintain security and order in the bustling venue.
The road from the Star Emperor Hotel, where the contestants rested, to Star Luo Square was completely sealed off, accessible only to participants. This gave the various academies a sense of importance.
The competition stage for this tournament was not in the center of Star Luo Square but in front of the Imperial City's main gate. This allowed the Star Luo Royal Family and the entire court of civil and military officials to watch from above, while also providing security.
The stage was one hundred meters long and wide, five meters high, and surrounded by one hundred and eight metal columnar defensive Soul Guided Devices.
These could prevent Soul Skills from accidentally harming innocents.
However, Xu Tianxi took one look at the stage and felt that this venue was very unfriendly to agile-attack Soul Masters. For Soul Ancestorand Soul King-level agile-attack Soul Masters, the space for dodging and maneuvering was simply too small.
The Imperial City was to the north, and the academy resting area was to the west, accommodating only about seventy academies. The fourteen members of the Sun Moon Battle Team lined up in the waiting area, their position second only to Shrek Academy.
The team leaders of each academy were responsible for drawing lots. Xu Jiawei, accompanied by the empress and civil and military officials, stood on the city wall, smiling as he admired this nationwide celebration. He then arranged for the audience to slowly enter.
Xu Tianxi quickly scanned the crowd but didn't spot the legendary Star Luo military god, Dai Hao. He likely was still on the frontier.
When the sun was high in the sky, the crowd had finished entering. Xu Jiawei arrived with his civil and military officials. After the entire venue fell silent, saluted, and then rose, Xu Jiawei delivered a diplomatic speech, taking the lead in officially opening the tournament:
"I declare the Pan-continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament officially open!"
Amidst thunderous cheers of "Long live!" and the firing of saluting cannons, the host's booming voice, amplified by a Soul Guided Device, resonated throughout the venue.
"According to the rules of the Pan-continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament, the first round will be a knockout competition. This tournament has a total of one hundred and thirty-three registered advanced Soul Master and Soul Engineer academies. After the draw, one academy has a bye in the first round.
A total of sixty-six matches will be held. The first round is a knockout system, and the losers will be directly eliminated from this tournament."
"Next, the first match will begin shortly. The competing teams are the representative team from Tianyun Advanced Soul Master Academy, hailing from the Dou Ling Empire, and the continent's number one academy, with countless honors, having almost swept all tournament championships in the past millennium—the Shrek Academy representative team!"
In the waiting area, Xu Tianxi frowned slightly upon hearing Tianyun Advanced Soul Master Academy. Where did this random academy come from?
"Old Xiao, do you know the standard of this academy? I don't recall it being among the top five in the Dou Ling Empire."
Xiao Hongchen scoffed, "Why would I remember such an academy? We are the Sun Moon Empire's top genius duo of the millennium. We should set our sights higher."
I shouldn't have asked you, a patient with advanced chuunibyou, Xu Tianxi thought to himself, directly turning his gaze to the group of trembling academy members standing behind them. At the same time, he activated Xuan Ziwen's Detection Glasses.
Excellent. Not a single Soul King, and only three Soul Ancestors. A true minor academy. It's hard to find one weaker.
With this strength, they'd have trouble advancing even if they didn't encounter Shrek. Their fate was likely a single-round elimination. It was hard to say whether Shrek drawing such an academy was good luck or bad luck.
In front, Shrek's team leader, Wang Yan, motioned for everyone to gather around to listen, cheering on his students.
"I know Tianyun Advanced Soul Master Academy. They're a relatively weak academy even within the Dou Ling Empire. They can't possibly have any Soul Kings, and not many Soul Ancestors either. Our luck is excellent; we drew a superb lot."
Ma Xiaotao curled her lip in disdain, muttering, "What's so good about it? I'd rather draw an academy with a Soul King so I don't have to just watch from the sidelines."
Zhang Lexuan smiled gently, "Xiaotao, this is all for the academy. You need to have a broader perspective."
Ma Xiaotao reluctantly nodded, saying nothing more. Wang Yan breathed a sigh of relief at this.
In Wang Yan's plan, unless they encountered a team with more than four Soul Kings, Ma Xiaotao wouldn't be allowed to participate until at least the latter half of the round-robin matches. This made her extremely unwilling, and she immediately argued with Wang Yan, stating that she wanted to unleash Shrek's invincible might as soon as she went on stage.
Fortunately, Zhang Lexuan also supported Wang Yan's plan and stepped in to suppress Ma Xiaotao. The prestige of the Inner Courtyard's senior sister and an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo forced her to yield.
Wang Yan lightly coughed twice and assigned the participants: "We'll treat this match as practice. Bei Bei and Dai Huabin will be the main attackers. He Caitou will utilize his Food System Soul Master abilities and act as a fixed artillery. Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, you'll seize opportunities to release your Martial Soul Fusion Technique. Zhu Lu will roam the field, and Ning Tian will provide support."
Dai Huabin's eyes glowed faintly red as he said, "Teacher Wang, Zhu Lu and I both carry Big Brother's protection and hope. Can we also release our Martial Soul Fusion Technique to swiftly win the battle?"
Wang Yan smiled slightly, "That's up to you. After all, the Netherworld White Tiger is the most famous Martial Soul Fusion Technique on the continent, and there's no need to hide it. Everyone can guess it by its name and Martial Soul."
Tactics usually involved concealment, but the Netherworld White Tiger wasn't something that could be hidden. Anyone with a bit of historical knowledge would recognize it, so it was better to unleash it to enhance their power.
The reason the Lan sisters' Martial Soul Fusion Technique wasn't concealed was their low Soul Power. Even if hidden, it could only trap Soul Ancestors and barely obstruct Soul Kings. If not used early, it would be useless later.
Unleashing two Martial Soul Fusion Techniques at once would surely make everyone wary of Shrek. Who could be sure they didn't have other Martial Soul Fusion Techniques?
"Alright! Teacher Wang, just you wait and see!"
Dai Huabin excitedly agreed, exchanging glances with Zhu Lu. Both saw the blazing fire in each other's eyes.
Their Big Brother had risked his life and future to save them. They absolutely could not let him down. They would fiercely tear apart every enemy standing in their way to the championship on this stage!
Bei Bei stepped forward, extended his right hand, and said in a deep voice, "Shrek, victory!"
"Shrek, victory!" The six contestants stretched out their hands together, shouted in unison, and strode towards the arena.
On the other side, the Tianyun Academy students took the stage, their legs trembling and faces pale.
On the arena, the metal pillars shone brightly, casting streaks of white light that converged into a dome. The referee reiterated the competition rules and announced the start of the match.
Both sides activated their Martial Souls. Bei Bei, standing at the very front, was enveloped by his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, blue and gold lightning surging around him, possessing both light and lightning attributes.
Did Mu En stabilize his Light Bloodline for him before he died? A Soul Power of forty-eight, that's not weak, Xu Tianxi nodded lightly, looking at the others.
The Shrek team was not surprising; among the Soul Elders, the highest was Dai Huabin at level thirty-eight, close to thirty-nine.
He Caitou sat in a wheelchair, appearing unable to stand.
As for their opponents, three Soul Ancestors and four Soul Elders, one of the Soul Ancestors had soul rings that were three yellow and one purple. Xu Tianxi's eyelids twitched, thinking they should just surrender to ensure their safety.
"There's no point watching this match at all; they're not even on the same level."
In the audience, Wang Dong was half-reclining in a very comfortable and relaxed posture, hands clasped behind his head, and said to Huo Yuhao beside him, "We get to watch the match here for free, so cheer up."
Huo Yuhao blinked, regretfully saying, "It's a pity. If that Ma Xiaotao wasn't around, we could have gone down and shown what we can do too."
He had been diligently cultivating since entering Shrek and was confident he had made some progress, but now he had no chance to show it.
"There's no helping it. Who wants to see Madman Ma's sour face? Always acting high and mighty, looking down her nose at everyone, as if someone owes her money. If you ask me, she just hasn't been beaten enough."
Wang Dong grumbled indignantly, then continued:
"If I had known Shrek Academy had so many abnormal people, I definitely wouldn't have come here for school. I don't know what Big Daddy and Second Daddy were thinking, saying this place would definitely make me gain something.
What monster academy? I think it's just an academy of crazy people who bully the weak and fear the strong."
She still didn't understand why Big Daddy and Second Daddy insisted she attend school disguised as a boy, saying her father was afraid she'd be bullied. You guys can knock Shrek to the ground, so who else would be so foolish as to dare mess with me?
Xu Sanshi's background might be sufficient, but he was completely fixated on Jiang Nannan, and didn't seem like someone who would be interested in her at all.
Being disguised as a boy was so troublesome. She had to avoid people when washing up, otherwise if someone saw her, she couldn't even yell "pervert." Instead, she'd be seen as a female pervert invading the male dorms, though some male disciples might even wish for more of these "female perverts."
That unknown and never-seen "father" was truly detestable. He didn't even meet her but still gave orders. The day I see you, I'll definitely give you a few swings with my Haotian Hammer, just to show my filial piety.
"Roar~!" "Ah~!"
Just then, a startling tiger roar and screams of students suddenly erupted from the arena. Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao quickly looked over, their pupils constricting sharply.
The sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo had already unleashed their Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Heavenly Net, trapping one Soul Ancestorand three Soul Elders. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu embraced, transforming into an eight-meter-long Netherworld White Tiger. With a few lunging pounces and slashes, they actually tore apart the bodies of two Soul Elders on the spot!
Crimson blood splattered across the arena, and mangled flesh dropped onto the light barrier outside the ring. Life was rapidly draining away.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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