"..."
The firelight reflected in the eyes of every spectator. This scene was so shocking that everyone instantly fell silent, staring in astonishment.
Hundreds of Rank 9 soul cannons floated in the air.
To most soul engineers, being able to achieve this was no different than a god.
And in truth, it was nearly the same.
The first Rank 10 soul engineer of the continent, even among Limit Douluo, was a peak existence.
"Brother killed them all?" Meng Hongchen asked in surprise.
"No."
Xu Cheng shook his head.
"Killing them here would be a bit degrading. Ah Xiao doesn't have any deep-seated hatred for Shrek Academy anyway."
In the original story, perhaps he did.
But in this life, with Xu Cheng around, the Sun Moon Empire had been pressing Shrek Academy to the ground from beginning to end. Against defeated opponents, Xiao Hongchen had no desire to kill—only the craving to show off.
And as expected, when the smoke cleared—
Beibei and the others lay scattered and unconscious on the arena floor, their faces pale. Clearly, the match was over.
But what was even more shocking was that despite such a devastating offensive, Xiao Hongchen had managed to control the damage so precisely—injuring, not killing.
"Beibei!!!"
Xuanzai roared angrily, leaping into the arena.
He hurriedly checked Beibei's condition. Xian Lin'er followed closely, hovering at Elder Xuan's side. For the moment, they didn't have time to care about the other students. After all, Beibei was Shrek's future.
He was also the final gift Elder Mu had left the academy.
Before they came, the elders had warned again and again: absolutely nothing must happen to him…
Holding Beibei's wrist, Elder Xuan's expression finally softened.
"He's fine. Just completely drained of soul power and fainted from weakness."
"That's good," Xian Lin'er also breathed a sigh of relief.
Coming back to her senses, she hurriedly checked the other students and directed Shrek's members to carry them off.
Watching Shrek's students retreat so miserably, and Xiao Hongchen standing proudly in the arena—
Long Aotian remained silent for a long time.
"Aotian, do soul masters still have any hope?" Weina asked, her face full of shock, turning to her lover with difficulty.
"I'm afraid… it's very unlikely now," Mu Xue sighed softly.
Everyone knew Shrek Academy's purpose in this tournament. They had come with full force, sending out the strongest team in history led by Beibei, to trample the Sun Moon Empire beneath their feet and demonstrate their "backing" to the world while suppressing the Sun Moon Empire.
But no one expected the ending to be so miserable.
"That Xiao Hongchen… he's always kept a low profile, but now the strength he's shown… it's likely he's infinitely close to, or has already reached, that realm."
"Sis, you mean…"
"That's right. A Limit Douluo!"
"No wonder Life Metal is so strong," Ji Juechen sighed.
"The gap between him and me—I don't even know when it opened. Now I can't even see his back."
"It's as if I'm watching living soul tool mechas, each with their own consciousness…"
"Hehe, keep it low-key…"
Xiao Hongchen flashed back into his seat, resting his chin on one hand, pretending to be calm.
Everyone else: "..."
"Now, next…"
Xu Cheng looked toward the Clear Sky Sect.
Only Tang San remained.
The final battle was also the battle of fate.
"Waaah~"
Dark clouds rolled in, lightning and thunder flashed. Soon, fine rain began to fall.
Today was the finals.
The energy barrier only covered the arena, so the spectators' seats were fully exposed. Everyone was soaked by the rain, but even as it poured harder and harder, no one was willing to leave. They remained firmly seated in the spots they'd paid one gold soul coin for.
The Sun Moon Empire versus Shrek Academy—the final battle.
This symbolized the contest between the two greatest forces on the continent, and its outcome would affect not only the next ten years but the continent's pattern for the next hundred, even thousand years.
"Raincoats for sale~!"
A child carrying raincoats and umbrellas darted through the rows of seats, calling out to sell his goods.
"Who do you think will win?"
A tall, handsome man spoke, his gaze lingering on the boy hawking rain gear before he disappeared at the end of the corridor. His voice was low.
"Lord Destruction has such confidence in his successor, so probably Xu Cheng," a tall woman said softly.
"But his opponent is that man's divine sense. As long as it carries even a trace of divine aura, his strength will reach the half-god level. Hard to say…" She shook her head.
The two stood amid the crowd, yet like ghosts, no one noticed them. Everyone unconsciously stepped around them.
"Want to bet?"
Lie Yan grinned.
"No. I can't see through that kid…" Ji Dong narrowed his eyes.
"When did you get so timid?" Lie Yan raised an eyebrow.
"Taunting me won't work," Ji Dong chuckled. "That kid has too many secrets. So many that even if my true body descended, I couldn't fully see through him."
His gaze grew increasingly fervent.
"I hope I can fight him once he ascends to the God Realm. I can't beat the current Lord Destruction, but him… I can try."
"..." Lie Yan only smiled without answering.
"The Finals!"
"Sun Moon Imperial Royal Academy versus the Clear Sky Sect!"
As rain washed the earth, Jing Hongchen's figure appeared above the arena. His voice boomed, instantly spreading across the stadium, making the puddles on the ground ripple.
"Draw lots for the match format. Each side, send a representative!"
"Should I go?" Xiao Hongchen looked at their team's core.
"I'll go."
Xu Cheng shook his head.
In a flash, he appeared in the center of the arena.
The rain was kept out by the energy barrier; inside, it was completely dry.
Appearing at the same time was Tang San.
"You're finally willing to show up?"
Xu Cheng tilted his head slightly, glancing at Tang San's side, which should've been empty but now "grew" a new arm.
He smiled.
"Xu Cheng, I should've killed you long ago. Even if Destruction had stopped me, even if I violated God Realm laws—if I had acted when I first discovered you, none of this mess would exist now," Tang San said, his expression complex.
"But it's fine. I'll use this match, under everyone's watchful eyes, to openly defeat you and kill you…"
"If you're afraid, you can leave now." Tang San's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"…"
"Taunting me? That's a bit too low-level," Xu Cheng smiled helplessly.
He knew the one most afraid of him not stepping onto the stage was the man in front of him.
A clumsy provocation.
But… he accepted.
"Is being a half-god really that strong?" Xu Cheng asked thoughtfully.
"Hmm?"
Tang San's eyes suddenly contracted. He looked at Xu Cheng in surprise, seeing the latter smiling warmly, his brows furrowed.
Why did he suddenly bring up half-gods? Could it be he'd guessed Tang San's strength had reached that level?
"Doesn't matter. I'll kill you all the same," Xu Cheng smiled brightly.
For some reason—
Though it was broad daylight—
Tang San suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine, making him shiver.
Gods couldn't act recklessly.
To pull out divine power and create a half-god in the mortal world while avoiding the God Realm's laws… he knew how great a price his true body had paid.
"You sharp-tongued brat," Tang San sneered.
"Begin the draw!"
Jing Hongchen tossed three white balls into the air.
Xu Cheng and Tang San each raised a hand. No one saw how the balls reached their palms, but when they opened their hands, each held one white ball. After a long moment, the third ball landed on the ground, bounced, and rolled back into Jing Hongchen's hand.
"Team battle," Tang San said flatly.
"Individual elimination," Xu Cheng said.
"I'll repeat the rules one last time. Best of three. Unlike the quarterfinals and semifinals, in the finals, even if you win the team battle, you still need to completely eliminate the opponent's entire roster in the individual elimination to claim victory…"
Jing Hongchen repeated the rules once more.
"It's fine, we still have a trump card…"
In Mingdu, at an inn—
Xian Lin'er took a deep breath.
"That person notified us. He secretly sped up the Abyssal Plane. At most one month from now, those creatures will arrive. When the tournament ends, we'll stay in Mingdu on the pretense of buying soul tools from the Sun Moon Empire. We'll coordinate with Elder Long to strike them all at once!"
"That's right!" Elder Xuan gritted his teeth.
He had never imagined they could lose this badly. When Xiao Hongchen took the stage, he had actually felt relieved.
But reality had slapped them hard.
Looking at the weakened Beibei on the bed, he sighed softly:
"Let's send Beibei back first. If the Sun Moon Empire notices anything wrong and decides to drag us down with them even if they die, we'll suffer huge losses."
"Elder Xuan, I'm not going back!" Beibei forced himself upright, shouting through clenched teeth.
"I want to see Xu Sanshi with my own eyes and ask him why!"
"Sigh… fine, have it your way." Elder Xuan shook his head helplessly. Sharing a glance with Xian Lin'er, he turned and left the room.
"Elder Xuan, when will we go back?"
In the lobby, Cao Jinxuan asked listlessly.
"Not yet. The academy is buying soul tools and negotiating cooperation with the Sun Moon Empire. If you want to leave, you can go ahead," Elder Xuan said casually, sipping his wine.
"Then forget it…" Cao Jinxuan shrank his neck.
The journey from Mingdu back to Shrek Academy was not short.
They would have to pass through a Sun Moon Imperial province, the territory of the formerly Star Luo Empire that had already submitted to the Sun Moon Empire, and even part of the Star Dou Forest.
As just a Soul King, and an auxiliary one at that, traveling without a teacher meant that even a slightly stronger evil soul master could spell doom.
Xian Lin'er was also rushing about busily. After leaving Beibei's room, she didn't even say goodbye before hurrying away.
Seeing their two leaders gone, the others fell silent.
This place wasn't exactly central Mingdu, and there wasn't much around to explore.
"Why don't we go back to the arena?" Zhou Sichen suddenly suggested.
"Good idea! The academy's negotiations look like they won't end for a week or two anyway. And today's the finals, the last day of the tournament!" Cao Jinxuan quickly agreed.
With the two of them urging the others, the group headed back toward the arena.
(End of Chapter)