Though the Shrek preliminary team had returned to the hotel in high spirits and complete ease, they were fully aware that the strength of their future opponents would only increase from here.
The main team members, however, were completely unfazed. If the preliminary team couldn't hold the line, well, that just meant it was their turn to shine on stage.
Beside Zhou Sicheng, Gongyang Mo boasted with a smug grin,
"Captain, if all the opponents are like this, then with my Rank 59 soul power and the soul tools you've given me, taking down an average Soul King or two won't be a problem!"
Hearing this, Dai Yueheng shot him a glare and retorted,
"Don't get too full of yourself. That was only the first round of the round-robin. Sure, our prelim team is strong, but once we meet a real powerhouse, you'll see firsthand how raw soul power differences can completely tilt a battle."
Ling Luochen nodded in agreement,
"Talent and foundation can let a soul master far surpass others at the same rank—but when the gap in soul power becomes massive, that edge becomes meaningless. We must all stay sharp."
Zhou Sicheng gave a small smile.
"As long as you all understand. No need for me to say more. Since the prelim team is holding strong for now, just relax. There will be plenty of chances later to show what you've got."
Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao exchanged a glance but didn't say anything. With their current strength, they didn't even feel like showing off on stage—it just didn't excite them anymore.
Spending time walking with Zhou Sicheng, listening to him share his insights, and cultivating with him—that was more than enough.
The tournament would last just over a month, and after that, each of them would be starting new chapters, with different cultivation paths. It was likely they wouldn't be able to stay together like this again.
Even Dai Yueheng, the heir of the White Tiger Duke's household, cherished this final stretch of time with the group. Once the tournament ended, he'd be returning to Star Luo Empire to fulfill his duties.
During the first round of the round-robin, Cao Jinxuan and a few others had taken a trip to the Starlight Auction House. Although they already had soul tools prepared by Zhou Sicheng, they needed to restock on supplies.
Since Zhou Sicheng had already obtained the Spirit Life Gold, he didn't accompany them. He was waiting for the grand auction coming up soon.
In the meantime, with no matches to fight, Zhou Sicheng spent his days cultivating Martial Soul Fusion Techniques with Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao, and conducting research with Old Yi in the Half-Necromantic Plane.
He had a lot of ideas he wanted to explore. Now that he had five contracted soul beasts, he could run a variety of experiments.
Old Yi was just as excited—he now had a more refined understanding of Zhou Sicheng's vision of "soul spirits," and believed it might be possible to use necromantic magic as a foundation to create an entirely new system of soul evolution in this world.
Three days passed in a flash.
The first round of the round-robin concluded. The Sun and Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, true to form, matched Shrek's dominance by also claiming victory with their preliminary team.
And once again, their format was one-on-one.
Their prelim captain, Xiao Hongchen, also performed a clean 1v7 sweep, securing the win with his own strength.
He even challenged the opposing captain directly, both Soul Kings, and settled it with a single move.
His opponent, knowing full well the strength of Sun and Moon Academy, figured it was better to take a chance and gamble in a captain vs. captain showdown rather than risk the rest of the team getting injured one by one.
In the end, Xiao Hongchen emerged victorious.
It wasn't a crushing win, but here's the kicker: he didn't use a single soul tool—only his Martial Soul.
Meanwhile, his opponent had used both his Martial Soul and soul tools—and still lost.
As a result, Sun and Moon Academy's record once again tied Shrek's, and this time, Xiao Hongchen's victory arguably seemed more domineering.
However, Xu Sanshi didn't just win—his unorthodox and stylish fighting style also entertained the crowd. Many spectators were simply enjoying the show and refrained from making comparisons.
In short, Shrek and Sun and Moon remained evenly matched.
Soon, round two of the round-robin began.
Shrek Academy's opponent this time was Qianling Academy, a powerful team composed entirely of Soul Ancestors, led by a Soul King as their captain.
But Shrek once again fielded their preliminary team, comprised of six Soul Ancestors and one Soul Elder.
Up until now, only three of Shrek's preliminary members had revealed their abilities:
Cao Jinxuan, the captain, with his terrifying time-based control.
He Caitou, with his explosive soul tool firepower.
And Xu Sanshi, with his flamboyant, unpredictable fighting style.
This was the public's understanding of Shrek's seven preliminary team members. For the rest, they could only guess based on their Martial Souls.
Likewise, Shrek's prelim team had only been given a basic info sheet on Qianling Academy—just Martial Souls and soul power levels. Aside from scattered rumors, they knew next to nothing else.
Which was why, they took every opponent with 100% seriousness.
Qianling Academy was undeniably strong. A formation of one Soul King and six Soul Ancestors was nothing to scoff at.
But they had no way to counter the terrifying control abilities of Cao Jinxuan.
The match format drawn this time was team battle.
As soon as the match began, Cao Jinxuan activated his first and fourth soul rings. A fine soul power-enhancing cigar, created by He Caitou's fourth soul skill, was clamped between his teeth.
Then came their fusion technique: Time Freeze, fully powered to its maximum.
Qianling Academy was a traditional soul master team. They used no soul tools, and none of their members had the ability to interrupt or defend against Cao Jinxuan's Time Freeze.
So the moment the match began, just as they were activating their Martial Souls… they were all frozen in place.
One second passed. The Qianling team struggled desperately to break free using their soul power, but quickly realized—it wasn't just soul control…
Time itself had stopped.
Their soul power resistance had no effect at all.
Keep in mind: Cao Jinxuan's Time Freeze was powerful enough to suppress even top-tier Soul Sages like Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao. So how could a few Soul Ancestors and one Soul King possibly resist?
And in that single second…
He Caitou, chewing on his first soul skill cigar: Mental Stimulation, activated his soul tools. Glowing lights surged, and rows of black metal barrels extended from his body, transforming him into a steel hedgehog amidst a chorus of mechanical clanks.
Long Xiangyue, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan all had soul tools gleaming with radiant light. Each of them hoisted a Grade 4 soul tool cannon, but instead of high-powered ammo, they were loaded with concussion shells, flashbangs, tear gas rounds, and poison gas grenades—four different types of non-lethal but extremely unpleasant ammunition.
With He Caitou providing the main firepower, the rest didn't even bother trying to deal damage. Instead, they chose to maximize discomfort, relying on these annoying soul tool shells to torment their opponents.
Wang Dong, still uncomfortable with soul tools for some reason, didn't use any. He simply stood silently in front of Cao Jinxuan, shielding him.
By the second second of combat, the four—Long Xiangyue, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan—had already fired off their rounds.
He Caitou, meanwhile, had activated every single soul tool at his disposal. The barrage resembled a nuclear strike—a deluge of projectiles, interlaced with soul power energy rays and interference beams, rained down mercilessly.
By the third second, the full spread of soul tools had closed in on the frozen members of Qianling Academy. They could do nothing but watch helplessly as the shells descended.
Meanwhile, Long Xiangyue and the others had already reloaded and unleashed a second volley.
At the fourth second, just as the toxic shells began to land, Qianling Academy's captain, Shen Ce, finally managed to break free from Time Freeze. But he hadn't even had time to activate a soul skill before—Boom!—a concussion shell exploded at his feet.
The intense shockwave immediately interrupted his movement. And that brief moment was all it took—he would never get another chance to retaliate.
A flashbang blinded him. A tear gas round made him cry uncontrollably. A poison gas shell made him nearly pass out from suffocation.
At the fifth second, the rest of Qianling's team had just begun to recover—only to find themselves surrounded by a sea of toxic, disorienting rounds. Just as they were about to cast their soul skills in retaliation, He Caitou's barrage landed in full force.
Even more shockingly, Long Xiangyue and the others had launched a second wave—the concussion and flashbang shells hit again, doubling the torment!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
When the dust settled after five short seconds, only Shen Ce remained standing—barely.
Clutching his Martial Soul, the Thousand Mechanisms Spear, for support, he stood trembling. His clothes were in tatters, his eyes shut tightly, tears streaking down his cheeks. His skin was blistered from the poison gas.
His teammates had already been rescued by the referee, and their condition, while battered, was noticeably better than his.
The entire audience was stunned by the scene—utter silence swept through the stands.
They didn't even have a chance to fight back.
Two full waves of concussion, flashbang, tear gas, and poison gas might not have been high-damage, but they were agonizing beyond belief.
Combined with He Caitou's "nuclear strike", even a Soul Emperor would've been overwhelmed.
Back in the elimination round, people thought Cao Jinxuan's control was just unexpectedly powerful and that his enemies were simply caught off guard.
But now—everyone finally understood.
Even if you knew Cao Jinxuan could stop time, even if you came prepared, it still didn't matter. If you couldn't interrupt or block his soul skill, then no amount of preparation would save you.
During those few seconds, his opponents were nothing more than sitting ducks, helpless as He Caitou's bombardment descended.
At first, He Caitou's lone attacks felt chaotic and wild. But with Long Xiangyue, Bei Bei, and the others joining in—it became both explosive and downright torturous.
Seeing Shen Ce still standing, He Caitou smirked, took a deep drag of his cigar, and was just about to launch another barrage...
Only to hear Shen Ce yell desperately,
"We surrender! Qianling Academy concedes!"
Only after experiencing it firsthand did Shen Ce truly grasp the nightmarish control ability of Shrek's preliminary team captain.
He had five soul rings, with his fifth ring nearly eight thousand years old—a bona fide Soul King.
Yet Cao Jinxuan, with only four rings, had kept him frozen in place for four entire seconds.
Shen Ce swore: those four seconds were the longest of his life.
He watched helplessly as his enemies calmly prepared their firepower, knowing he had no opportunity to resist.
The moment he conceded, the referee's voice boomed with excitement:
"Victory to Shrek Academy once again!"
And the referee truly was excited—the entire team battle had lasted only five seconds, setting a new record.
Back in the eliminations, the ref hadn't been fully prepared and didn't feel the impact. But this time, he'd experienced the entire thing clearly.
He came to only one conclusion:
"Shrek… is terrifying beyond belief!"
After five breathless seconds, the crowd erupted into a tsunami of cheers.
Over in the Sun and Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's rest area, their captain Ma Rulong looked grim. The main team members wore equally serious expressions.
They hadn't been able to process the elimination match's five-second defeat, but this time, in a full-on team battle, they had watched every second in full detail.
Once again—five seconds.
And Qianling Academy was far stronger than Tianling Academy, yet still—they lasted just five seconds.
Everyone now looked at Cao Jinxuan with newfound awe.
His Martial Soul, the Clock of Flowing Time, was just too powerful. Almost like cheating.
It didn't matter how strong the opponent was—he could control them all. A terrifying force no one wanted to face.
Xiao Hongchen narrowed his eyes and muttered,
"Soul Elders—six seconds. Soul Ancestors—five seconds. Soul Kings—four seconds."
His sister Meng Hongchen, recalling Shrek's elimination match, looked at Cao Jinxuan on the stage in disbelief.
Ma Rulong turned to Xiao Hongchen and asked,
"You're saying his control duration depends on the opponent's cultivation level?"
Xiao Hongchen nodded,
"That's what it seems. Time-based power is formidable, but not invincible. If the opponent's soul power level or quality is high enough, the duration of the control weakens."
Ma Rulong went silent for a moment, then thought aloud,
"With my six-ring cultivation, I'd be under control for only three seconds."
"In three seconds, He Caitou's soul tool shells would just be entering our range. If I immediately activated an invincibility barrier the moment control wore off, I could block his first wave."
He grew visibly excited at the idea.
Cao Jinxuan's control couldn't be resisted, but three seconds was manageable. With a well-timed invincibility shield, he could defend his team and counterattack once the control wore off. Without that absolute lockdown, Shrek would be easy pickings!
But then Ma Rulong's smile faded.
"Damn it... that's only their prelim team. If I'm going up, Shrek's main team definitely will too."
On stage, Cao Jinxuan and the others had already withdrawn their Martial Souls, each with a cigar between their lips as they walked down.
In Shrek's rest area, Zhou Sicheng and the others also stood and left, their movements calm, composed, unchanged.
From the start of the tournament, Shrek's main team had acted like clockwork—come, sit, watch the preliminaries, then leave. Rinse and repeat.
The crowd had already started getting used to this, but what they didn't know was—Shrek's team was raking in massive profits from the betting pool.
Of course, since so many people were betting on Shrek, the only way to earn big was to bet big.
As the fourteen Shrek team members disappeared backstage, cheers still echoed across the plaza.
Xiao Hongchen, hearing Ma Rulong's musings, shook his head and said coolly,
"If you want to avoid getting wiped out in one wave, it's simple—either block his skill's effects or interrupt its casting. If you can't do either, then just equip Grade 5 triggered invincibility shields."
Upon hearing this, everyone from Sun and Moon Academy brightened up.
That's right! If you can't stop Cao Jinxuan's time freeze, just survive He Caitou's firepower instead.
As far as they could tell, Cao Jinxuan's control lasted only a few seconds. After that, he was spent.
If they could survive the barrage, then Cao Jinxuan would be out of the fight—and the others wouldn't have that terrifying crowd control to rely on.
Just a few Grade 5 triggered invincibility shields—and as the number one soul engineering academy on the continent, Sun and Moon could easily equip their team.
Thanks to Xiao Hongchen's reminder, they no longer feared Cao Jinxuan's absolute control.
As for the rest of Shrek's prelim team—without that lockdown, it would come down to real combat.
And with two Soul Kings in Sun and Moon's prelim team—could Shrek really win?
****
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