"Tang Haoran, the strongest of the Clear Sky School apart from Shrek Academy, an 82nd-level Soul Douluo," Meng Hongchen said softly.
"…"
Xu Cheng gave a slight nod.
He said nothing, shifting his gaze to the bouncy, deer-like girl running over — Xu Tianzhen — and smiled again.
"Not bad. She's starting to resemble me."
"Hmph, Brother, you're so narcissistic!"
Xu Tianzhen put her hands on her hips and flipped her ponytail arrogantly.
"Hahaha…"
Several students from Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy behind them looked on enviously at the dashing youth, who was petting the girl's head like a cat. Though simply dressed and not extravagant, he had an imposing aura that was both invisible and suffocating.
Countless eyes fell on him, yet none with suspicion.
Who would've thought the new face of the Sun Moon Empire was crafted by him…
He was absurdly young.
And Xu Tianzhen, their team captain, seemed completely unaffected.
"No wonder they're siblings…"
Someone whispered in awe.
"Second match: Sun Moon Imperial Royal Academy versus Shrek Academy!"
"Who's going on?" Meng Hongchen asked with a grin.
"It's a team match plus individual elimination. They'll definitely use their trump cards, so we can't afford to be careless. That Beibei isn't simple. At least one or two starters need to go up to suppress them steadily. Let Xiaotian anchor the team," Xu Cheng said thoughtfully.
"Brother, you're not going?" Nana asked curiously.
"It's not my turn yet," Xu Cheng replied calmly — not out of arrogance, just stating the truth.
"Wait a sec."
Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened.
"What did you just say? You're going on?!"
"Are you crazy, or am I?!"
"It's just the Clear Sky School — is that necessary?!"
"Just two people — and you're stepping in?"
A barrage of questions showed just how confused he was.
"Tang San will act through someone else," Xu Cheng said, ignoring Xiao Hongchen's outburst.
"You mean…" Everyone was shocked.
"That's right. So next match, you go, Ah Xiao. Otherwise, there might not be another chance for you to shine." Xu Cheng smiled brightly at him.
"Damn! You could've said that earlier!"
Xiao Hongchen beat his chest in frustration.
"If I'd known, I would've acted cool more often. One time isn't enough for me to show off!"
Xu Cheng: "…"
Still as cheeky as ever.
"Then I leave the final match to you?" Xu Cheng asked with a smile.
"Better not…" Xiao Hongchen smacked his lips. "If it requires you to step in personally, even I probably can't handle it. If it were something I could settle, you wouldn't have bothered showing up at the tournament."
"Then I'll go alone. Qiu'er, Dong'er — you two already cut off one of Tang San's arms. Nan Nan stole the spotlight in the group stages. Xiaotian too. Why not give me a moment to shine?" Xiao Hongchen grinned, rubbing his hands together.
"Brother, can you not be so creepy…" Meng Hongchen said in exasperation.
"Creepy? Me? I'm a dashing young gentleman, headmaster of the Sun Moon Imperial Royal Academy, powerful and noble — how could I be creepy!" Xiao Hongchen said indignantly.
"Alright, we'll leave it to you alone then."
Xu Cheng raised an eyebrow, slightly speechless.
In any case, they still had fallback options. And besides, Xu Cheng didn't sense anything unusual from Beibei.
No divine aura… at all.
"Would both teams please enter the arena."
As Jing Hongchen's voice echoed through the arena, both teams took the field.
Leading the Shrek team was Beibei, followed by Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Lan Ruoruo, Lan Susu, Xie Huanyue, and Cao Jinxuan.
Their soul tool user was a rare time-type auxiliary Soul Master — a five-ring Soul King. He was barely qualified to substitute for the originally absent Xu Sanshi.
"No need to hold anything back — though it's hardly a real trump card."
Beibei gave Dai Huabin a complicated glance.
He never thought that the one standing with him at this stage wouldn't be Xu Sanshi, but this kid…
"Yes, Senior Beibei!"
Dai Huabin felt his blood boiling.
Are we going to lose?
He and Zhu Lu had never unleashed their martial soul fusion ability publicly, despite it being well-known even among commoners. Win or lose, this time they'd fight with dignity—
But his face suddenly froze.
Because he clearly saw that only one person had walked onto the field.
Xiao Hongchen.
"Sun Moon Imperial Royal Academy, just one person?" Jing Hongchen asked, smiling.
"Yes." Xiao Hongchen nodded.
Instantly, the arena burst into noise.
Even powerhouse Wang Dong'er, with her eight-ring Soul Douluo cultivation and top-tier Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda support, needed everything to slice off Tang San's arm.
Now against a team full of formidable Soul Masters — starting from Title Douluo — Sun Moon Imperial Royal Academy sent only one person?!!
"Xiao Hongchen…"
Beibei's face darkened.
He vaguely remembered that the death of the former Martial Soul Department head was somehow tied to an exchange student who had "fled" back to the Sun Moon Empire.
Back then, this guy studied at Shrek as an exchange student — even nearly forced Teacher Zhou Yi to resign.
Beibei had disliked him for a long time.
And now… he actually dared to go up alone.
"Huabin, the Sun Moon Empire will pay the price for his arrogance…" Beibei glared at Xiao Hongchen, a chill in his voice.
"Yes, Senior. I can't wait." Dai Huabin smirked.
"They don't really think that the headmaster of the Sun Moon Imperial Royal Academy — someone who was unanimously approved to participate and even lead the interstellar battleship project — is some pushover, right?"
At Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy, several students folded their arms and sneered.
"It's normal. Ignorant people are always like this…"
"They've probably never even seen a real interstellar battleship. These past three years of Sun Moon Empire's progress — they wouldn't understand even if they wracked their brains."
"Hahaha, this'll be good. But that guy really enjoys playing with fools."
"What are you talking about?"
Long Aotian asked in shock.
He had just happened to pass by, intending to see how much strength Shrek could force the Sun Moon team to reveal — but ended up hearing something earth-shattering…
Headmaster?
The headmaster of Sun Moon Imperial Royal Academy?!!
Impossible!
"Long Aotian?"
Recognizing the Snow Demon Sect leader, the Mingdu student softened his tone slightly but still spoke with pride:
"Since he's already gone up, no harm in telling you. That guy is—"
Before he could finish—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted behind them.
Hundreds of soul cannons floated into the air.
The clouds parted.
A terrifying roar filled the entire arena.
The deafening blast drowned out the student's words, and in Long Aotian's stunned gaze, the cannons fired simultaneously.
And what shocked him more:
All of them radiated the aura of Rank 9 soul tools.
He watched with his own eyes as Beibei, eyes wide with terror, had only just released his martial soul form before being swallowed by a sea of fire. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's martial soul fusion — the giant white tiger — instantly melted. The entire Shrek team seemingly vanished in the flames…
"..."(End of Chapter)