The Thousand Spirits Academy lost just like that.
It was an expected outcome, yet still somewhat surprising.
…
Few minutes back
At the forefront of Shrek's formation, Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan charged straight toward the Thousand Spirits Academy.
In response, the four Lingxi Shield users activated their defensive soul skills in unison, erecting an impenetrable wall of defense.
Not to be outdone, Ice Mistresses An Lengye saw the soul rings behind her flash one after another.
A thick layer of ice-blue radiance spread from his Frost Giant Bear, coating the dark-yellow Lingxi Shield wall in a shimmering layer of frost, making it appear indestructible.
"First Soul Skill: Frost Shield."
At the very least, it boosted the Lingxi Shield's defense by over 30%.
Immediately after, a ring of icy-blue light expanded outward along the ground, and the temperature on the stage plummeted.
"Second Soul Skill: Frost Seal."
Beibei and the other two, caught in the freezing air, found their movements significantly slowed.
An Lengye and his team's goal was simple—buy time.
As long as their captain, Shen Ce, could complete his power accumulation and launch the first strike to inflict casualties on the enemy, victory would be assured.
Though this coordination seemed slow in description, it was executed in mere seconds—flawlessly.
But Huo Yuhao had something to say about that.
Playing with ice in front of him was like brandishing a blade before Guan Gong—a laughable display of skill before the true master.
With just a glance, Huo Yuhao activated the power of his second martial soul and seized control of An Lengye's ice element.
If he wished, he could even turn An Lengye's own ice against her, ending her life silently.
Such was the terror of the Ice Jade Scorpion Empress—master of the coldest ice, sovereign of ultra-low temperatures.
With the Ice Soul Body Mimicry talent, Huo Yuhao had absorbed all of its advantages, fully unleashing the Ice Empress's power!
It could be said that on the current Douluo Continent, no one understood the ice element better than Huo Yuhao.
Even the Ice Empress herself had to admit this.
Ice Empress: "In terms of ice talent, I declare Huo Yuhao the strongest!"
Not long ago, the Ice Empress had sighed: "Huo Yuhao didn't even need to absorb the Ice Jade Scorpion's left arm bone—he could gradually comprehend the Ice Explosion Technique on his own. In this regard, I am far inferior."
Tianmeng: "Why bother with basic training? Just lie down and relax."
Electrolux believed the Ice Empress's limitations were due to the rules of Douluo Continent.
But Huo Yuhao, with his mysterious Gu worms, could bypass these rules to some extent, forging his own path.
As Ling Luochen wordlessly grasped Huo Yuhao's right hand, he deftly channeled the extreme cold into her.
The ice attribute of Ling Luochen's martial soul was temporarily elevated, propelling her into the realm of Ultimate Ice!
She immediately raised her ice staff—transformed by her first soul ring—above her head and pointed it skyward.
In an instant, an ice-blue halo radiated from her body, dyeing her entire form in a glacial hue.
Meanwhile, the four Lingxi Shield soul masters were inwardly marveling.
"Why does An Lengye seem to be in such peak condition today? Her control is exceptional—almost as if she's broken through to a higher level!"
"We'll have to push ourselves harder!"
But An Lengye, her face deathly pale, was speechless.
'Run! That's not me at all!'
She was the Thousand Spirits Academy's second-strongest, a level 45 Soul Ancestor.
Yet at this moment, she had completely lost control over the ice element.
Worse still, under the backlash of the ice, all her soul power seemed to solidify. Her body felt frozen, and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness gripped her.
She couldn't even issue a warning in time.
They had already been played.
As Ling Luochen's inky-black fifth soul ring suddenly lit up, her ice staff pointed forward, releasing a dark-blue ring of frost.
Fifth Soul Skill: Brilliant Ice Ring!"
The frigid chill instantly spread, turning the entire stage into a frozen wasteland. Even the soul tool shield was coated in a layer of white frost.
Spectators outside the arena shuddered as an inexplicable coldness seeped into their bones.
Unlike Huo Yuhao's restrained Ice Soul Sword Domain, Ling Luochen's ice excelled at large-scale control. Now, amplified by Ultimate Ice, its lethality was unmatched.
The dark-blue ice ring hovered in the air, releasing seven beams of blue light that shot toward the Thousand Spirits Academy.
Ice Prison!
This was the combined might of Ling Luochen's first, third, and fifth soul skills—an instantaneous lockdown of the entire battlefield.
All six remaining combatants of the Thousand Spirits Academy were struck by the extreme cold in rapid succession, their vision blurring instantly.
Their consciousness remained, but their martial souls, soul power, and active soul skills were frozen solid.
Even without Ultimate Ice, Ling Luochen's formidable control could immobilize opponents for a considerable duration.
But with Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice enhancement?
Even a Soul King wouldn't break free for at least ten minutes.
Such was the terror of an Ultimate Martial Soul.
Seven ice sculptures materialized on the stage in an instant.
Shen Ce, frozen mid-action, was dumbfounded.
'Where are my teammates? Someone help!' A moment later, he realized—his entire team had been turned into ice statues.
With a furious roar, Shen Ce erupted with soul power, struggling against the Ice Prison.
It worked—but barely.
Seeing Fei Yuyan, the Blazing Tiger user, equally helpless, Shen Ce's eyes filled with despair.
"Is this the strength of Shrek's Soul King?"
"This level of control… we stand no chance."
"I surrender."
Originally, the Thousand Spirits Academy had mocked Zhengtian Academy—their strongest rival in the group—for being humiliatingly defeated by a mere Soul Ancestor from Shrek.
But now, facing Shrek themselves, they finally understood the vast gulf between them.
Question. Understand. Submit.
As expected of the defending champions.
They had fallen before Huo Yuhao even exerted his full strength.
'Apologies for not giving Lord Yuhao the chance to go all out.'
The rest of the battle could only be described in two words: a massacre.
Against seven near-helpless opponents, Beibei and the other two close-combat fighters delivered the final blows.
Once again, Shrek Academy secured an overwhelming victory.
Qianling Academy—renowned for its impregnable defense—hadn't even lasted a minute.
It was the fastest team battle in history!
Even the referee, Tiansha Douluo, was stunned.
"This level of ice control…"
"Without a doubt—Ultimate Ice!"
The referee, cast a deep glance at Ling Luochen before announcing: "Shrek Academy wins."
In the imperial city, Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei let out a sigh of relief.
After Huo Yuhao's one-versus-seven display last time, he had immediately assigned the Empire's Guardian Douluo to oversee Shrek's matches.
Otherwise, even a Soul Saint might have suffered greatly against Huo Yuhao and Ling Luochen's combined might.
"Where would the empire's dignity be then?"
At the same time, Xu Jiawei studied Huo Yuhao with interest.
The Spirit Eye Martial Soul's second skill—Imitation—was something even he, a Titled Douluo, couldn't see through.
Had he not known Shrek's intelligence beforehand, Huo Yuhao could have hidden it completely.
"What a terrifying martial soul… what bizarre soul skills."
The audience and rival academies were left in stunned silence.
The entire stadium erupted into chaos.
"This is Shrek Academy—the continent's greatest, the undefeatable legend!"
The students of Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy wore stiff expressions, as if frozen by Ling Luochen's soul skill themselves.
Any discerning observer could see the horrifying potency of her ten-thousand-year soul skill.
"Who dares claim they wouldn't be immobilized by such a technique?"
In a match, even a single second of control could decide the outcome.
Shrek had only fielded one Soul King, yet he had displayed astonishing power—proof of Shrek's might.
But according to current intelligence, Shrek's main team consisted of: Two Soul Kings, two Soul Emperors, and Huo Yuhao—a Soul Ancestor with combat power rivaling a Soul Emperor.
This lineup was downright outrageous.
Fortunately, they only had five regular members.
Wang Yan exhaled in relief, a smile finally gracing his lips.
With Ling Luochen and Xixi's return, the burden on his shoulders as team leader had lightened considerably.
As usual, Shrek's team didn't linger after the match, swiftly departing for their hotel.
If they could leave early, they wouldn't waste a second.
The only ones left behind were the other academies, now fervently discussing Ling Luochen's overwhelming ice control.
"How to counter her?" had become the hottest topic of the day.
Initially, Shrek had maintained this aloofness to preserve mystery and intimidate opponents.
Now, however, it was sheer confidence in their strength.
Moreover, with the round-robin tournament nearing its end, the outcome was clear.
In Shrek's group, only Zhengtian Academy and Thousand Spirits Academy had posed any threat—and both had fallen to Shrek.
The remaining teams were even weaker.
With Ling Luochen and Xixi back, Shrek's only weakness in the 2-2-3 formation had been eliminated.
Advancing was a foregone conclusion—utterly without suspense.
This was simply the way of true powerhouses.
In the round-robin stage, elite teams conserved their strength, never revealing their full hand prematurely.
The real test would begin in the top 16 knockout rounds.
…
By the third round's end, Shrek had four matches remaining—all against insignificant opponents.
In those four battles, the main team didn't even make an appearance.
One individual battle, one team battle, and two 2-2-3 battles—all effortlessly swept by the reserve team.
The seven reserve members were in high spirits, even finding the fights relaxing.
Beibei kept his Golden Holy Dragon awakening hidden.
Xu Sanshi didn't activate his Xuanwu bloodline.
Tang Ya concealed her Blue Silver Domain.
Wang Donger never used her Clear Sky Hammer.
He Caitou held back his Super Energy Soul Tool Cannon.
Only Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan revealed slightly more.
Xiao Xiao's twin martial souls had no reason to hide—she showcased their strengths flawlessly in the sole team battle.
With seven consecutive victories, Shrek Academy smoothly advanced to the final stage—The Top 16 Knockout Rounds.
In their group, the other advancing team was Zhengtian Academy—the same team Huo Yuhao had soloed earlier.
Since most groups had nine teams, Shrek's matches concluded three days ahead of the round-robin's end.
During this time, the team received nothing but good news.
First, Dai Yuheng had fully recovered, though he hadn't participated in the round-robin or even attended the matches.
This was part of Wang Yan's strategy.
Their sole goal was the championship. Unless absolutely necessary, concealing their strength would benefit them in later stages.
Then, on the eve of the top 16 matches, Ma Xiaotao returned—now a Soul Sage.
Her delay had been fortunate.
She had encountered a perfectly compatible soul beast, just over 60,000 years old.
Even better, it had dropped a precious left arm bone, which Yan Shaozhe had her absorb immediately.
As for the tournament schedule?
Yan Shaozhe couldn't care less.
With Huo Yuhao as insurance, what was there to fear?
"The round-robin stage was a guaranteed win anyway."
"If we couldn't even qualify, I'd resign on the spot."
Thus, Ma Xiaotao's late arrival was of no concern.
Chen Zifeng and Gong Yangmo, however, were confirmed absent due to injuries.
Shrek would receive no further reinforcements.
This meant reserve members would still be needed in the post-top-16 team battles.
But the reserve team was utterly relaxed.
Their recent dominance had bolstered their confidence.
Besides, with Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao, and Dai Yuheng leading, Shrek was now complete—poised to defend their title.
…
Xu Sanshi continued pestering Jiang Nannan.
After much pleading and Beibei's encouragement, the two had partnered in later round-robin matches, performing spectacularly.
Xu Sanshi had hoped Jiang Nannan would warm up to him afterward.
Instead, she remained as cold as ever.
Yet he refused to give up.
His relentless persistence baffled everyone—especially the girls.
From his performance these past days, it was clear: Despite his usual roguish demeanor, Xu Sanshi was exceptional in strength, talent, character, and even looks.
"Why does Jiang Nannan despise him so much?"
After yet another rejection, Xu Sanshi trudged away dejected.
Xixi pulled Ling Luochen aside, whispering: "Even in the inner courtyard, men like him are rare. Don't you think so, Luochen?"
Ling Luochen didn't answer, her gaze fixed thoughtfully on Huo Yuhao's room.
Xixi frowned. "You're not eyeing Ma Xiaotao's lover, are you? Ugh, the way they cling to each other after just a short separation…"
"Yuhao is Ultimate Ice…" Ling Luochen murmured vaguely.
But in her heart, a decision had already been made.
…
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