The suppression brought by bloodlines is like a natural chasm among soul beasts.
As the king of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, the Ice Emperor had already reached the level of an Ice Jade Scorpion Empress. Her dominance over other Ice Jade Scorpions wasn't just in terms of attributes—it was absolute suppression by bloodline.
At this moment, there was a new change on the stage.
A pair of massive blue-golden wings unfolded behind Huo Yuhao, radiating dazzling brilliance. The perfect fusion of blue and gold exuded a rich and magnificent golden flame, instantly becoming the focus of the entire arena.
The figures of Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao merged in an instant. At the same time, the blood-colored soul ring vanished, replaced by a giant golden vertical eye.
Brilliant rays of blue, purple, and gold light instantly swept across half the competition field. The end of the light beam struck directly where the seven members of the Tianling Academy team were clustered together.
Caught in the fame of Shrek Academy and disoriented by Huo Yuhao's spiritual interference, none of the seven Tianling Academy members managed to dodge. All of them were instantly wiped out.
"This... how is this possible?!"
Xiao Hongchen, standing beside Jiang Jue, staggered, his face full of shock and disbelief.
Whether it was the earlier six soul rings—three black and three red—or the dazzling scene just now, both had dealt a massive blow to his confidence.
He had always believed himself a genius, blessed with a divine beast bloodline martial soul, destined to stand at the pinnacle of this era. First he encountered the monstrous Jiang Jue, and now he was witnessing Shrek's overwhelming display. Waves of emotion surged in his heart.
"Smack!"
Jiang Jue gave Xiao Hongchen a hard slap on the shoulder, making him shudder.
"Snap out of it."
With Jiang Jue's low voice, Xiao Hongchen's eyes gradually regained focus.
Looking at him, Jiang Jue couldn't help but smile slightly.
This brother-in-law of his was great in every way—except that his heart wasn't steady. Every time he met someone more talented than himself, he'd start feeling unbalanced and questioning himself.
"Jiang Jue, how confident are you if you were to face him?"Xiao Hongchen looked seriously at Jiang Jue and asked, his eyes showing a trace of tension.
Jiang Jue said nothing. He simply raised one finger.
"One level...?"Xiao Hongchen murmured softly, clenching his fists, his brows tightly furrowed, deep in thought.
Just as he turned away, Jiang Jue's voice rang out:
"One move is enough."
Xiao Hongchen froze and suddenly turned his head. Just as he was about to speak, another voice rang out from the stage.
"Remember this: I come from Shrek Academy—from the Tang Sect!"
Huo Yuhao declared coldly on stage. After speaking, he slowly walked off, with Bei Bei and the others following behind, like stars surrounding the moon.
"Tang Sect? What force is that?"
"Could it be some ancient hidden power?"
Xiao Hongchen asked in confusion, nodding to himself as if convinced by his own speculation.
Jiang Jue saw this and immediately knew Xiao Hongchen was making wild assumptions again.
"Tang Sect, a hidden ancient force? It's nothing but a declining sect whose headquarters has even been taken away."
Jiang Jue shook his head slightly and said softly.
"What?! Then how could such a genius appear?"
Xiao Hongchen exclaimed in shock, speaking urgently.
"Bro, why do you keep worrying about others? Improving yourself is what matters most."
Meng Hongchen heard her brother's outburst and turned her head, pulling Jiang Jue away with her.
The members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy all looked grim. No one had expected Shrek Academy to drop such a bombshell right at the start of the tournament—it really shook them.
Even Ma Rulong and Elder Ma were frowning deeply.
Jiang Jue didn't speak again. He simply gazed at Huo Yuhao as he walked off the stage, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
Tang Sect? The fall of the Tang Sect was inevitable.
After the collision of the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent, the soul tools brought by the Sun Moon side were more practical and widely applicable than Tang Sect's hidden weapons. Tang Sect's hidden weapons could only be made by the sect itself, while soul tools could be used by any soul engineer.
Moreover, the Tang Sect refused to embrace soul tools and lacked innovation. In the end, it was destined to be discarded by the times.
In Jiang Jue's opinion, another key reason for Tang Sect's decline was its restriction that only soul masters with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul could be sect masters.
From the perspective of preserving the orthodox bloodline of the Tang Sect, this wasn't wrong—other sects did the same. But the problem lay with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul itself.
Blue Silver Grass? As the sect master? That's not a funny joke.
Back then, Tang San gained fame through his Blue Silver Grass because it possessed the royal bloodline of the Blue Silver Emperor. But which of the later sect leaders had that?
If the leader of a sect doesn't have enough strength, it's difficult to convince others in a world where strength rules.
With a martial soul like Blue Silver Grass, soul masters would never get far. That would mean consuming enormous resources to raise "pigs," and the result was obvious.
"Alright, kids, perk up. Don't stand there like groundhogs."
Elder Ma clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"Now it's our turn. Once you step onto that stage, you carry the honor of the Sun Moon Empire."
"Show our strength. If you're already scared before the fight, you're not worthy of standing here!"
"The best way to conquer fear is to face it—bring out your fighting spirit!"
Elder Ma looked at the group with encouragement. Unlike his anger yesterday, his tone was now gentle and calm.
As a veteran PUA master, Elder Ma knew how to deliver the right motivational speech at the right time.
"Go now! Let them witness our might!"
With Elder Ma's final words, the official team members all stood up. Their expressions had brightened, and in some of their eyes, flames had already ignited.
As the perennial runner-up, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy always went on after Shrek Academy's match.
There were no surprises in this match. Ma Rulong didn't even need to act. With just a few light moves from Lin Xi and others, the opponents were swept off the stage.
They hardly even used any soul skills. This indirectly proved the genius of Elder Ma's strategy—sending out the main team in the first match boosted morale without exposing too many secrets to other teams.
Ma Rulong stood on the competition stage, looking around at the audience. He could no longer suppress his emotions and turned to Lin Xi and the others:
"Brothers, how about we bring the championship home this time?!"
"We'll win it, no matter what!"
Lin Xi and the others shouted in unison.
Many in the audience heard their declaration, but there were no boos. As the constant runner-up, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had earned the right to speak with confidence.
"So cool! I'm totally doing that next time too."
Xiao Hongchen's breathing quickened as he watched Ma Rulong and the others on stage.
Xiao Hongchen had been kept as a secret weapon by Elder Ma and wasn't allowed to appear early. For him, this was a heavy emotional blow.
"Jiang Jue, do you feel it's a bit…"
Meng Hongchen leaned close to Jiang Jue's ear and whispered so only the two of them could hear:
"Embarrassing? No."
"A youth's pure and fearless courage is never to be mocked."
Jiang Jue rubbed Meng Hongchen's little head and said softly.
"Alright then. No matter what, I'll always stand by your side."
Meng Hongchen didn't fully understand, but her gaze was firm as she spoke.
(End of Chapter)