Wu Ming pouted at these words, her eyes a little resentful. "Su Yu, can't you stop raining on my parade when I'm happy?"
She had only just started to feel happy, and Su Yu's words brought her back to reality.
Su Yu glanced at Wu Ming and said casually, "Just telling the truth. Shrek Academy's current situation is still quite unfavorable."
"There are still quite a few strong fighters left in the Body Sect."
Han Ruoruo sighed and agreed, "Su Yu is right. Our Shrek Academy is still at a disadvantage."
"Although the Body Sect has lost two Soul Emperors, on our side, Xu Sanshi and Xie Huanyue are also out."
"And Bei Bei doesn't have much soul power left either. The situation is still very grim."
Wu Ming's head drooped dejectedly as if she'd lost all her strength.
"Ah~"
Wu Ming sighed, looking like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
"The Body Sect is a formidable enemy. This match is going to be tough."
Han Ruoruo murmured. She wasn't too optimistic about this match either.
But in her heart, she still didn't want Shrek Academy to lose.
All they could do now was trust Bei Bei and the others.
But reality would never bend to human will. In the Body Sect's team, Long Aotian stood up.
Seeing this figure, Su Yu chuckled, "Oh?"
He knew that Shrek Academy had no hope left.
With Shrek's current lineup, none of them could handle this guy.
Even at his peak, Bei Bei couldn't compare to him.
Things went exactly as Su Yu predicted. With Long Aotian taking the stage, the situation completely changed.
Already greatly depleted, Bei Bei lasted less than three minutes in Long Aotian's hands before being swept out of the match.
Even when Bei Bei overexerted himself and awakened his Bright Holy Dragon again, he still couldn't pose much threat to this guy.
A true Martial Soul Avatar fully displayed the terror of a Body Martial Soul Soul Sage.
Soul Sage—another Soul Sage.
This was the third time a Soul Sage had appeared in the tournament.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Holy Spirit Sect, Body Sect.
All three teams had Soul Sages appear.
Some people had already started paying secret attention to the Holy Slayer Palace. As another group's top seed, many were curious whether Holy Slayer Palace also had a Soul Sage.
Undoubtedly, the appearance of Soul Sages had completely raised the tournament's level to the next tier.
"Next!"
Long Aotian, full of vigor after defeating Bei Bei, called out in a cold voice.
In the rest area, the Shrek team's faces had all grown grave.
Bei Bei lost and lost with no suspense.
What was hard to accept was that Bei Bei was defeated while using Bright Holy Dragon Awakening.
Long Aotian was just too strong.
"A Soul Sage, and stronger than Xiao Hongchen," Wu Ming stared intently at the arena, a flash of shock in her eyes.
Honestly, she felt that even when she was a Soul Sage, she wasn't as strong as this guy on stage.
This guy's cultivation, both in soul power and spiritual power, was extremely high.
He was exceptional in every aspect.
Shrek Academy was in real trouble this time.
"Interesting," Snow Empress softly murmured, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"What do you think of this Long Aotian?" Su Yu asked with a smile.
Snow Empress replied lightly, "This guy has the potential to become a top expert. He's already achieved perfect fusion between soul power and spiritual power."
"Other than you, there probably aren't any under twenty who could beat him."
"Even Mingli would have a hard time defeating him before breaking through to Soul Sage."
Su Yu didn't confirm or deny.
Long Aotian's strength was indeed formidable.
Especially since he was also a Body Martial Soul user with a second awakening trump card.
There's a big gap between Soul Sage and Soul Emperor.
Although Di Mingli had reached level seventy, she hadn't yet added her seventh soul ring.
At this stage, there was indeed some gap between Di Mingli and Long Aotian.
But once Di Mingli broke through to Soul Sage, things would be different.
Di Mingli as a Soul Sage would crush Long Aotian.
The Golden Dragon, as the ultimate power, was of extremely high quality—not something Long Aotian could compare to.
Only the golden-awakened level of Body Martial Soul could be on par with an Ultimate Martial Soul.
In the era of Soul Land 2, Ultimate Martial Souls themselves meant absolute strength.
"He's not bad," Su Yu commented offhandedly.
"Su Yu, you can't beat him either?" Wu Ming looked at him in shock—was even Su Yu wary of this person?
Su Yu: ??????
"Wu Ming, what are you talking about?"
Su Yu rolled his eyes. "I can't beat him?"
"I could beat him so hard he'd shit himself."
"Oh, then I'm relieved," Wu Ming patted her chest, looking relaxed.
Su Yu was momentarily blinded by her wickedness, shook his head, and asked in confusion, "Wu Ming, what do you mean by that?"
Wu Ming sighed.
Han Ruoruo chimed in, "Just look at the stage and you'll understand."
Su Yu turned to the arena, where the match between Long Aotian and He Caitou was underway.
With Bei Bei defeated, He Caitou was the only one left who could take the lead for Shrek Academy.
He was also Shrek's only remaining Soul Emperor.
As a soul engineer, He Caitou had reached Level 6 through constant research and study.
If he went all out, his firepower could even surpass Bei Bei's.
But his opponent was Long Aotian.
Soul engineers have an advantage over peers before Soul Sage, but after Soul Sage, the advantage shifts to soul masters.
He Caitou had no chance against Long Aotian.
His proud soul tools were useless against Long Aotian.
In no time, he was completely overpowered.
It was just a matter of time before he was eliminated.
"He Caitou's going to lose," Su Yu sighed.
Wu Ming and the others all sighed, looking glum.
Sure enough, less than thirty seconds later, He Caitou was eliminated by Long Aotian.
With He Caitou down, the remaining Shrek team members were no contest—in fact, even Xiao Xiao couldn't put up effective resistance.
Long Aotian swept the rest of the Shrek team clean.
On the Body Sect side, three people competed, scoring five points.
According to the rules, they still needed to have a team battle.
But Shrek's team was battered and confused; how could they put up any real fight in a team match?
Driven by so-called honor, the Shrek team didn't give up and insisted on competing.
But they were crushed by the Body Sect's seven members in under a minute.
Fortunately, the Body Sect didn't go too far, and no one from Shrek Academy was killed.
Except for Xu Sanshi, who was left mentally impaired, the others were only lightly injured and would recover with some rest.
A small blessing in misfortune.
...
In the rest area—
Seeing Shrek's crushing defeat, Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming both looked grim, while Zhang Lexuan remained calm and unaffected.
"Damn it!" Wu Ming cursed—it was hard to accept such a result.
Having a bad feeling was one thing, but seeing her team lose so badly was another.
And this was only the quarterfinals.
To lose like this? Shrek Academy had always been champions—even last time, they only lost because of the freak Su Yu, settling for second place.
And now?
They didn't even make it into the top four—the worst result in Shrek's history.
Wu Ming didn't know how she could face everyone back at the academy.
It was just so humiliating.
Su Yu called it—Shrek didn't make the top four.
Thinking this, Wu Ming glared fiercely at Su Yu.
Su Yu: ??????
Is this woman crazy? Why glare at him for no reason?
"The match is over. The winner is Snow Demon Sect."
"With the conclusion of the quarterfinals, congratulations to Holy Slayer Palace, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Holy Spirit Sect, and Snow Demon Sect for making the top four."
"Tomorrow there will be a draw for the semifinals. The semifinals will be held in two days. All teams, please prepare in advance."
The voice of Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan rang out, and the audience erupted in applause.
These were all citizens of the Sun Moon Empire—they were only excited to see Shrek lose.
And with the Sun Moon Royal team in the top four, they were naturally thrilled.
"Heh, Body Sect won. Looks like this time they've one-upped Shrek Academy," Xu Tianran laughed, with a touch of amusement in his eyes.
Neither Body Sect nor Shrek Academy were friends with the Sun Moon Empire.
Xu Tianran enjoyed watching them fight, no matter who won or lost.
Wu Chongli chimed in, "Shrek is done for. Without a single Soul Sage, how could they beat the Body Sect?"
"That young man from Body Sect is no joke—not only a Soul Sage but one who tempered himself step by step."
"If he survives, he'll become a Super Douluo in the future—might even succeed Du Busi."
"Oh?" Xu Tianran's eyes flickered, showing a hint of sharpness.
"Such talent—Body Sect has raised a fine successor, huh?"
Xu Tianran's smile didn't reach his eyes—if such an outstanding student didn't make it home, that would be fun to watch.
"What do you think, Hall Master?" he asked Jing Hongchen.
Jing Hongchen lowered his eyes and responded, "What Your Highness says is right."
"Haha~"
Xu Tianran laughed, his pale fingers tapping lightly on his wheelchair armrest.
...
In the rest area—
Shrek's defeated team looked like beaten roosters, heads drooped.
They all stood before Zhang Lexuan, heads lowered in silence.
This match had crushed their pride.
They lost and lost badly.
To not even make the top four before being swept out—this was a humiliation for the always-proud Shrek team.
Such an ugly result made them unable to face Zhang Lexuan and the others.
"I'm sorry, Pavilion Master, it's all my fault," Bei Bei said, supporting Xu Sanshi, head bowed in shame.
He was the team leader, yet couldn't bring Shrek into the top four—a serious dereliction of duty in Bei Bei's eyes.
Not making the top four and leaving such an ugly record—he felt entirely responsible.
Zhang Lexuan looked at the dejected, defeated young men and women in front of her and gently comforted them, "Victory and defeat are commonplace. Competition naturally has wins and losses—no one can always win."
"You've all done very well and fought with everything you had. There is honor even in defeat."
"You haven't let down your status as Shrek students. You're all outstanding."
"Know shame and then strive—it's just one setback. There's a long road ahead. We can make it up next time."
"You're all tired. Go rest early."
Her words brought some comfort to the students' bitter hearts.
They silently vowed to wash away this shame.
"Pavilion Master, Sanshi's mind is badly damaged…" Bei Bei spoke again, face grim.
They were all okay, but Xu Sanshi had suffered a major head injury—his condition was worrying.
"Hmm?" Zhang Lexuan frowned and checked Xu Sanshi's condition, her brow furrowing deeper.
"His brain has suffered multiple injuries—it's very bad. Even if we heal his external wounds, he may never return to normal," she said seriously.
"What? Senior Sister, you mean…" Wu Ming asked urgently.
Zhang Lexuan sighed, "Brain injuries are the hardest to heal. Sanshi's mind… may never recover."
Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo's faces changed—was Xu Sanshi going to be left brain-damaged?
Hearing this, both of them felt their hearts sink.
Although Xu Sanshi wasn't well-liked, he was still a teammate.
Neither wanted to see him end up like this.
"What matters now is finding someone to heal him. But we don't know anyone in Radiant City…" Han Ruoruo said, glancing meaningfully at Su Yu.
Bei Bei turned to look at Su Yu, hesitated only briefly, set Xu Sanshi on a chair, and went to kneel in front of Su Yu.
"Bei Bei, what are you doing?" Wu Ming exclaimed, and the other Shrek students were all shocked.
Bei Bei pushed away He Caitou's supporting hand and pleaded, "Su Yu, I know Sanshi has a grudge against you, and you don't like him."
"But he's no threat to you now, and he's badly injured."
"I beg you, for the sake of our friendship, please save Sanshi."
Su Yu was slightly stunned, a bit surprised.
He never expected Bei Bei would go so far for Xu Sanshi.