Chapter 94: Du Busi's Delight, Disgusting Elder Xuan is the Greatest Joy!
Du Busi's voice was like a massive boulder crashing into a placid lake. The ripples it generated instantly shattered the fragile, terrifying illusion Huo Yuhao had painstakingly woven. The oppressive blood-red glow of the six hundred-thousand-year soul rings flickered, then dissolved into scattered, harmless motes of light.
The members of the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy, whose knees had nearly buckled moments prior, suddenly snapped upright. The sheer, paralyzing terror in their eyes evaporated, swiftly replaced by a burning, humiliating rage.
"Damn it! I almost pissed myself over a bluff!" The Tianling Academy captain spat, his face flushing a violent crimson. "A twelve-year-old with six soul rings? I must have lost my damn mind to believe such garbage! Brothers, Shrek has no one left! They're using cheap parlor tricks to fool us. Rush them! Tear off their masks!"
Following the captain's furious roar, seven soul rings flared to life across the arena. The Tianling team no longer cared about the fading crimson light beneath Huo Yuhao's feet. They surged forward, fanning out like a pack of hunting wolves.
The captain, an Assault System Soul Elder possessing the Red-Tailed Fox Martial Soul, led the charge. The third yellow soul ring beneath his feet ignited. His body blurred into a streak of red light, viciously closing the distance toward Huo Yuhao. In his mind, crushing the source of the illusion would shatter Shrek's false bravado entirely.
Seeing his Simulation soul skill fail so spectacularly, Huo Yuhao's stomach dropped. Yet, his combat instincts remained razor-sharp. The golden light in his eyes shifted as he instantly swapped his Martial Soul back to the Spirit Eyes. A formless mental web expanded outward—Spiritual Detection Sharing—instantly linking his mind with Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the rest of the preparatory team.
"Everyone, watch out! They're rushing us! Senior Xu Sanshi, hold the front!" Huo Yuhao's voice echoed urgently in their minds.
Xu Sanshi let out a cold, heavy snort. He stepped forward, his massive Xuanwu Shield materializing in his grip. He slammed the heavy, dark-green carapace into the arena floor, producing a deep, muffled thud that vibrated through the stone.
Boom!
The Tianling captain's razor-sharp claws raked across the Xuanwu Shield. A shower of orange sparks erupted from the point of impact. Though he successfully blocked the strike, Xu Sanshi's boots slid back half an inch. He could feel the raw, humiliated fury behind the opponent's attack; every swipe carried a reckless, desperate weight.
Up in the stands, the stunned silence finally broke. A tidal wave of deafening boos washed over the arena.
"Boo—! Shrek, you've really outdone yourselves! Using cheap street-swindler tricks to fool the audience?"
"Six hundred-thousand-year soul rings? Hah! I thought a god had descended, but it's just smoke and mirrors!"
"What an absolute joke! Is Shrek's ten-thousand-year glory maintained by low-class illusions? How disgraceful!"
The venomous mockery echoed throughout the Star Luo Plaza, every word piercing Elder Xuan's ears like poisoned needles. Sitting in the preparation area, the old man's usually unkempt, grease-stained face contorted into a mask of extreme shame and fury. He stared fixedly at the VIP viewing platform, his jaw locked so tightly that the grinding of his teeth was audible.
"Du Busi... you old bastard!" Elder Xuan hissed, the killing intent in his eyes practically freezing the air around him. "You've ruined my plans again! Do you have to oppose Shrek to the bitter end?!"
His chest heaved. If they had just bluffed their way through this match, Shrek would have advanced effortlessly, leaving a massive psychological shadow over all future opponents. But now, Du Busi had ruthlessly torn down the curtain.
Meanwhile, up on the viewing platform, Du Busi leaned lazily against the ornate railing. He held a folding fan—produced from who knew where—and fanned himself with exaggerated, leisurely strokes. Feeling the murderous glare from Elder Xuan, Du Busi smiled. Every pore on his body felt relaxed.
"Oh? Elder Xuan, why are you looking at me like that?" Du Busi projected his voice, ensuring it carried over the arena, dripping with thick, unapologetic mockery. "I am simply helping you face reality. As an elder of Shrek, teaching children to cut corners isn't a good habit."
He snapped the fan shut, pointing it downward. "If you ever run into someone with a short temper, and they mistake these little sprouts for real powerhouses and slap them to death, you won't even have time to cry."
Du Busi threw his head back and laughed wildly. Rubbing Elder Xuan's face into the dirt was simply too satisfying.
Down on the arena floor, the battle had escalated into a white-hot struggle.
Stripped of their psychological deterrent, Huo Yuhao and the preparatory team were dragged into a bitter, exhausting brawl. While Tianling Academy lacked the raw talent of Shrek's main team, they were all seasoned Soul Elders with seamless, practiced coordination.
Crackling blue lightning surged around Bei Bei. The draconic claws manifested by his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul tore through the air, continuously swiping at the enemies flanking their formation. Yet, faced with the opponent's stubborn, rage-fueled resistance, breaking their lines proved incredibly difficult.
"Spirit Eyes... Spirit Shock!"
Huo Yuhao's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. Two invisible spikes of mental energy shot across the arena, violently piercing the mind of Tianling's support-system Soul Master. The support let out a bloodcurdling scream, clutching his head as he collapsed to his knees, blood leaking from his nose.
The moment the enemy formation fractured, Xu Sanshi seized the opening. His fourth soul ring flared black.
Xuanwu Swap!
Space warped, and the Tianling captain was forcibly teleported directly into the epicenter of Bei Bei's attack range.
"Thunder Dragon Claw!" Bei Bei roared. The long-accumulated thunder power detonated in a blinding flash of blue-white light. The massive, electrified claw slammed into the Tianling captain's chest, blasting him completely off the arena floor.
With their core captain eliminated, Tianling Academy's morale finally shattered. Relying heavily on Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, the Shrek preparatory team spent the next several grueling minutes burning through every last ounce of their soul power to dismantle the remaining enemies one by one.
"The Shrek Academy representative team wins!" the referee announced.
However, the stands did not erupt with the thunderous, awe-struck applause of previous years. Instead, a sparse, mocking smattering of claps mixed with lingering jeers drifted down from the audience.
Elder Xuan slumped back into his chair. The ambient mockery washed over him, leaving no trace of joy on his weathered face. He looked down at Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and the others. They were drenched in sweat, their chests heaving, their soul power completely drained. The anxiety gnawing at his heart reached an absolute peak.
"They won... but they won so arduously," Elder Xuan muttered, his voice heavy with dread.
He could see the glaring truth: without the main team, the preparatory squad was stretched to their absolute limits just surviving a standard high-intensity match. This was only the first knockout round, yet Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had been forced to reveal almost all of their trump cards. As the tournament progressed, the opponents would only grow more ruthless. Shrek's true, weakened state was now fully exposed.
"At this rate, let alone holding out until reinforcements arrive, I'm afraid they won't even make it past the round-robin tournament. Xiaotao, Yaoheng... when will you finally purge that evil fire and poison?" Elder Xuan looked up toward the distant Star Luo Emperor Hotel, his chest tight with gloom.
On the other side of the tournament bracket, the situation for the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy representative team was a completely different story.
When Liu Yuan led Long Aotian and the rest of his team onto the stage, facing opponents of comparable cultivation, they didn't even bother with complex tactics.
Long Aotian stepped forward, his fist glowing with a terrifying metallic luster, and shattered the enemy's frontline defense with a single, devastating punch. Chen Lu flickered through the chaotic ranks like a phantom, dismantling their support in seconds.
And from beginning to end, Liu Yuan simply stood at the rear of the formation. His hands were clasped casually behind his back. He didn't even bother summoning his soul rings. The sheer, suffocating pressure radiating from his Double Pupils was enough to make the opposing Soul Masters' hearts palpitate with primal dread.
In less than three minutes, the match was over.
Liu Yuan and his group strolled off the arena looking completely refreshed, as if they had merely gone for a light morning walk. The absolute, crushing ease of their victory formed a stark, humiliating contrast to Shrek's disheveled, desperate struggle.
"The first round of the knockout tournament has concluded, and the list of advancing teams has been confirmed," the referee's magically amplified voice rang out once more.
Next came the critical moment that would determine their immediate fate—the drawing of lots for the round-robin groups.
Elder Xuan stood up, his face a mask of dark, heavy storm clouds, and walked toward the drawing table. He had only one desperate thought echoing in his mind: Please, please do not let us draw a powerhouse team in the same block.
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