The tournament was in full swing.
Although veteran teams like Shrek and the Clear Sky Sect, and rising black horses like the Mingyu Sect dominated the field, most teams weren't discouraged. After all, even if a top-three placement was out of reach, competing for fourth or fifth was still worthwhile.
There was no doubt about the prestige of the All-Continent Soul Master Tournament. Regardless of how Shrek Academy had claimed first place for ten thousand years, and others scrambled for second, even making it into the top sixteen meant that a team would draw the attention of all major forces.
For hot-blooded youths, to defeat opponents and win honor under the gaze of thousands was an irresistible lure.
However, after the thrilling showdown between the Clear Sky Sect and the Mingyu Sect on the first day, the rest of the competition started to feel underwhelming.
Even with the knockout format discouraging teams from hiding their trump cards, Soul Kings were still rare. Only three or four out of every ten teams had one. And after witnessing the earth-shaking clash between two Title Douluo, even the audience grew pickier.
The cheers weren't as wild as they were at the beginning.
Some teams led only by Soul Ancestors barely drew any applause, and the crowd's enthusiasm quickly faded. Worse yet, some weaker academies or sects refused to surrender despite being clearly outclassed, dragging matches out until they awkwardly shuffled off stage after finally losing.
"Ugh, so lame…"
Wang Dong'er stretched her arms.
Her light blue dress wrapped around her delicate figure, and under the sunlight, it outlined the graceful curves of her body. Her arms were slender yet strong. Even though she spent so much time beside the forge, her skin remained as fair as snow—none of that rough, tanned look that most craftsmen had.
"That Tianling Sect was such garbage, we didn't even get a chance to go on stage."
She arched her back and lazily lay back in her chair, arms cradling her head while she sunbathed. Her long, shapely legs swayed gently as her bright eyes drifted over to the young man beside her.
Still ridiculously "pretty," but now with a touch more masculine maturity. His face had lost a bit of that youthful, delicate beauty. After all, three years ago, anyone seeing him for the first time would've assumed he was just a pretty boy.
She inched slightly closer.
Her delicate nose caught a faint whiff of his scent, and a rosy blush spread across her cheeks, all the way to her ears.
Then came the shame and frustration.
She secretly cursed herself.What good is shyness? Even Sister Qiu'er already got him. If she kept clinging to her little sense of dignity, wasn't she the only one left holding back?
Men… you only truly have them once you've "eaten" them.
"Hey… what do you think I look like?"
Wang Dong'er bit her lip and glanced around. No one was nearby. Most people had left after the Clear Sky vs. Mingyu match on the second and third days.
Only Cain and Wang Qiu'er had stayed behind for some unknown reason—but they'd likely return soon.
"Like a peacock showing off its tail…" Xu Cheng muttered, head tilted up and a cap pulled low over his face.
"Huh…?" Wang Dong'er blinked, then gave his leg a playful kick in embarrassment.
"Didn't sleep well last night. Go easy on me?" Xu Cheng's voice was hoarse and sincere.
"You didn't sleep well?"
Her blue eyes widened with suspicion.
"You were with them all night again?"
Xu Cheng said nothing.
Wang Dong'er's lips trembled. Her expression went blank.
It felt like… something she deeply cherished—something she handled with care and tenderness—had been roughly used by someone else.An unspoken kind of NTR.
"Sigh…"
Xu Cheng sighed and still didn't remove his cap.
"Just one."
"One…" Wang Dong'er's pale face regained a bit of color, though she remained dazed.
"Didn't expect the difference between gods and mortals to be this insane. Damn it. It was like she had infinite stamina. If not for today's match, I think she could've kept going for months…" Xu Cheng rubbed his waist, finally lifting his cap to reveal a pale face and hollow eyes.
"My back's practically shattered."
"She said she'd be on top, but in the end, I still had to use my spiritual power to support the bed the entire time. Otherwise, even the ten-thousand-year Black Ice Jade Marrow Bed would've collapsed!" Xu Cheng grit his teeth, utterly exasperated.
Wang Dong'er: "..."
How was this any different?
It was like watching your goddess get ravished by some blonde jock…
No! Absolutely not!
Just then, Wang Qiu'er and Cain returned together, and Wang Dong'er's eyes gleamed with scheming light.
"From now on, if you want me to forge anything for you… at least once!" Wang Dong'er leaned in and growled the last word into Xu Cheng's ear, eyes blazing.
Xu Cheng: "..."
He glanced at Wang Dong'er's now fully-developed figure and raised an eyebrow.
"Not bad. Fair price."
"No mistake… This was the location Elder Mu told me about for contacting Elder Long…" Xuanzi muttered as he examined the tavern.
It looked recently renovated, and there were plenty of customers inside. Maybe due to the tournament, many were clearly foreigners based on their attire and behavior.
Of course, he was one of them.
Long ago, before Elder Mu perished here, he had entrusted Xuanzi with some matters. Back then, only a few knew about the love triangle between Ye Xishui, Elder Mu, and Elder Long.
But this secret had to stay hidden.
If people found out Shrek Academy was secretly colluding with evil soul masters, their once-great name would be utterly ruined.
"It's strange. Elder Mu said this tavern would be the contact point. Just say the code phrase 'three glasses of Ming Liquor,' and Elder Long would appear. But…"
He glanced at the busy staff, brows furrowing deeper.
He'd repeated the code phrase several times already. The staff just cheerfully brought him dozens of glasses of Ming Liquor. The table was full, and he had gulped them all down—yet there was still no sign of Long Xiaoyao.
"Elder Xuan, are you sure that's the right code?" Xian Lin'er asked hesitantly, clearly worried about the amount of gold soul coins being wasted.
"Absolutely sure!" Xuanzi's face was grim. "There's only one possibility left…"
Seeing her curiosity piqued, Xian Lin'er leaned in.
Xuanzi slowly muttered,
"He's gone to the Wandering Continent."
Xian Lin'er: "..."
"Elder Xuan, I have this feeling… What if Elder Long is already dead?" she said, eyes full of concern.
"These past three years, it's like we've been blindfolded. From the northernmost reaches to the Star Dou Great Forest in the south, the Sun and Moon Empire has completely surrounded Shrek and allied forces. We never had spies there to begin with, and now we can't even infiltrate it."
"Elder Mu's exchange student plan backfired horribly. Even Lexuan is gone… It's highly likely they've already struck at the Holy Spirit Cult."
Just as she was about to speak further—
They heard a loud snore.
Xuanzi had already collapsed on the table, nose red and snoring loudly.
Xian Lin'er: "..."
"Oh? So that was the code?"
Xu Cheng's eyes gleamed with surprise.
In the original timeline, he only knew Long Xiaoyao and Mu En had a secret connection, but he never expected there to be an actual agreed-upon code phrase.
Then again…
Mu En once borrowed an "army" from Long Xiaoyao to slaughter the Zhang Lexuan family. Their relationship had to be much closer than the world assumed.
Even Ye Xishui might not have known about it.
"Big bro, what should we do?" Nana stood behind Xu Cheng, toying with a short dagger. A cold light flickered in her eyes.
Long Xiaoyao and most of the Holy Spirit Cult had long been wiped out.At this point, even the weeds on his grave were nearly a meter tall.
"This is our turf. He thinks he can just bluff his way through?" Xu Cheng chuckled.
"If I'm right, he's looking for Long Xiaoyao to either contact Ye Xishui, get Long to promise a backstab during war… or he's trying to get intel on the Sun and Moon Empire. After all, the 'Holy Church' is now their state religion—highly influential."
"Forget it. Have our people at the tavern contact him through the Shrek Hotel. Same old spot. I'll go meet him myself."
"Got it!" Nana spun the dagger and turned to leave, her long legs striding forward.
But Xu Cheng stopped her.
With a cap still covering his face, his voice came calmly:
"Don't be so flashy. You're a vice cult leader now—keep it steady."
"Hehe~ That's 'cause I've got you, bro!"
Nana bent down, lifted his cap, and planted a loud kiss on his lips. She slapped the cap back onto his hand with a grin, waved without looking back, and sashayed away.
Xu Cheng: "..."
Wang Dong'er looked very jealous.
Why can they kiss him whenever they want… but I can't?!!
She inched closer to Wang Qiu'er.
Qiu'er wasn't greedy. She'd probably invite her sister to share…
Of course, she'd never admit it was because she was too shy to go in alone.
"Sigh…"
A long, slow sigh.
Xu Cheng sat up with a melancholic expression, resting his chin on his hand as he looked down at the arena.
Today marked the third day of the elimination rounds.
After today, there would still be two more rounds of eliminations.
Because the total number of participating teams exceeded five hundred, largely due to the inclusion of various sects, this year's tournament had nearly double the number of participants compared to previous editions. Naturally, the number of elimination rounds had increased from two to three.
In the end, after this brutal sifting process, around sixty teams would remain.
Only then would the group stages begin, initiating a new round of fierce battles.
Until finally, the top sixteen teams would be selected.
That, at the very least, was still a week away.
As for now…
Xu Cheng yawned.
Ever since three years ago, when he initiated the development of artificial spirit rings—liberating tens of thousands of soul beasts—and received from the system a blueprint for developing interstellar battleships, he had racked his brains trying to earn more rewards. But most of the things he received were insignificant—trivial, almost useless.
As for what he really wanted—the follow-up blueprints for the interstellar battleships—those never showed up.
He figured…
He would likely only get those by unifying the continent.
Xu Cheng frowned slightly.
Only such a monumental achievement might be enough at this stage to trigger truly valuable system rewards.
After all, in all the years of Douluo Continent's history…
Nations had been warring endlessly, but the closest anyone had come to unification was ten thousand years ago, when the Spirit Hall was destroyed by Tang San.
And even that had ultimately failed.
He understood: after tens of thousands of years of evolution, the continent couldn't remain divided forever. Most likely, there was some invisible force manipulating everything from behind the scenes. Perhaps once it had been the God of Asura, but now…
"My Lord."
Jiang Nannan appeared quietly at Xu Cheng's side, her lithe figure as graceful as a pink bunny. Her long, slender legs immediately drew the attention of many male students nearby. Her stunning beauty, too, had left a deep impression on even someone like Xu Sanshi.
The beauty bent down slightly, whispering a few words in Xu Cheng's ear.
Wang Dong'er puffed up angrily.
They're keeping secrets from me now?!Hmph! That damn bunny! I even made you a custom close-fitting soul device just two days ago!
"How's your mother doing?" Xu Cheng asked calmly, taking a sip of tea.
"She's doing well. She also remembers you fondly," Jiang Nannan said softly.
"That's good to hear…"
Xu Cheng turned his head slightly and glanced at the flawless face that was just inches away.
Six years ago, after Shrek Academy forced her into the Sun and Moon Empire, she had narrowly escaped pursuit from the Xuanming Sect and ended up joining the Holy Spirit Cult by chance.
Now that the cult had changed its banner, not only had the girl reached the level of Soul Douluo, her status within the organization had risen sharply as well.
Though she couldn't quite compare to Nana, she wasn't far behind.
Unlike Nana, she disliked violence. And given her background as a commoner, she aligned perfectly with Xu Cheng's long-standing strategy of recruiting talent from among the common people. She took charge of that very task—and had also become the face of the Holy Church.
Once dark and wicked, the Holy Spirit Cult had now transformed into a true "Holy Church," one that sought to save all beings…
"You've grown even more beautiful," Xu Cheng said, almost in awe.
"Mmm~"
Jiang Nannan's face instantly flushed bright red like a steamer overheating. Her mind went blank, and she froze in place.
"See? This is why I prefer interacting with innocent young girls," Xu Cheng said with a sip of tea, calm and composed. "Say a few simple words, and you're already blushing like that."
"Not like the rest of you… a bunch of thirsty degenerates, always drooling over my body."
"Don't lead her astray!"
Jiang Nannan hung her head. You could almost feel the heat radiating off her even from meters away.
"..."
Wang Dong'er bared her little tiger teeth and glared daggers at him.
Nearby, Wang Qiu'er quietly polished her golden spear. She glanced at Xu Cheng and then let her eyes drop lower. Her red lips parted slightly:
"You're not sleeping tonight."
Cain was also there, poised as ever, dressed in a deep purple gown. Her long, narrow eyes shimmered, but she said nothing.
"Sigh…"
Xu Cheng looked at the two nearly identical sisters and gave a faint snort, then lazily leaned back in his chair again.
"You two? Please. Just don't beg me to stop later. Always so weak, yet love to play rough."
"..."
"By the way, Nannan… that turtle over there doesn't have a thing for you, does he?" Wang Dong'er asked as she glanced at Shrek Academy's seating in the top sixteen area.
There was always one pair of eyes staring their way—and ever since Jiang Nannan had appeared, they hadn't looked away.
"Shrek people are seriously weird."
She pouted.
"I remember when we came to the Royal Academy for exchange studies, Beibei and Xu Sanshi were acting strange. And Tang San? He was the worst. He wouldn't stop pestering Ning Tian until I beat him up."
"If we run into him again, want me to beat the crap out of him for you?"
She hoisted her signal axe onto her delicate-looking shoulder, a glint of excitement in her eyes.
"That… won't be necessary," Jiang Nannan quickly waved her hands.
Then, in a cold tone, she added:
"The grudge between him and me—I'll settle it myself."
(End of Chapter)