Chapter 336: Xu Sanshi Breaks Under Pressure
On the competition stage, the referee hovered mid air and announced loudly, "The first match of the round robin stage is about to begin. Competitors from Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, please enter the arena!"
The next moment, two figures shot out from their respective waiting areas, landing swiftly on the stage. As their appearances became clear, the two competitors were revealed to be Xu Sanshi and Xiao Hongchen.
"Xiao Hongchen? Why is it you? Where's Huo Yuhao?" Xu Sanshi asked in surprise.
He had planned to defeat Huo Yuhao in the very first round of the individual knockout matches, but the first opponent wasn't Huo Yuhao at all.
Xiao Hongchen glanced at Xu Sanshi, then scoffed coldly, "Xu Sanshi, with your level of strength, you're not even worthy of fighting Yuhao. I can take care of you myself. If you want to fight Yuhao, you'll have to beat me first."
Xu Sanshi laughed immediately. "Xiao Hongchen, you better not get ahead of yourself. Sure, you might be a genius from the Sun Moon Empire, but judging from your time as an exchange student at Shrek Academy, you're still behind Shrek's true prodigies.
"I'll defeat you in front of everyone and then make Huo Yuhao come out and face me!"
Xiao Hongchen's gaze flickered, thinking to himself that back at Shrek Academy, he never had a reason to reveal his full strength.
After all, the stronger he appeared, the more wary Shrek Academy would be of him, which might have led them to plot against him. Keeping a low profile had always been the best strategy.
But in the end, even though he avoided exposure at Shrek Academy, he still encountered Xuan Zi's ambush on his way back to Mingdu.
Shaking his head, Xiao Hongchen sneered, "Why don't you worry about actually defeating me first? With your strength, you're not qualified to challenge Yuhao. Come, Xu Sanshi, show me what you've got."
At this moment, Xiao Hongchen deeply respected Huo Yuhao.
After all, he had personally benefited greatly from Huo Yuhao's research and breakthroughs. His strength had soared as a result.
If Huo Yuhao had been born in the Star Luo Empire, he would have become an incredibly terrifying enemy.
Xu Sanshi wanted to continue trash talking, but before he could say another word, a deafening wave of insults erupted from the stands.
Many audience members, still furious over Xuan Zi's disgraceful actions, seized this moment to unleash their anger on Xu Sanshi.
"Xu Sanshi, you piece of sh*t! Stop talking and just fight! Are all Shrek Academy students as pathetic as Xuan Zi? You guys just waste time running your mouths instead of proving yourselves in battle! If you can fight, fight. If not, get the hell back to Shrek Academy!"
"Oh, I see! You're stalling so that even if you lose, you can say you fought hard to protect Shrek's 'ten thousand year legacy,' huh?"
"No matter how much you blabber or how well you fight, Jiang Nannan will never like you! She won't even look at you!"
Each insult stabbed directly into Xu Sanshi's heart, especially the comments about Jiang Nannan.
After all, lies don't hurt only the truth cuts like a knife.
His one sided love for Jiang Nannan was no secret everyone at Shrek Academy knew about it. It wasn't surprising that the Sun Moon Empire had managed to dig up this painful piece of information.
This had always been a sore spot for him.
He had tried so hard to mend his relationship with Jiang Nannan, but his past mistakes had left a lasting wound. She had never forgiven him, and she hated him deeply.
Feeling a surge of uncontrollable frustration, Xu Sanshi turned to the referee and shouted, "Referee! I request the use of a soundproof soul barrier! The spectators are completely out of control and are seriously disrupting the match!"
"Understood." The referee nodded and immediately activated a soundproof barrier, enclosing the entire competition stage.
Suddenly, the world outside fell silent.
Xu Sanshi sighed in relief as his expression calmed slightly. He focused on regaining his composure, telling himself that his assumptions had been correct the Sun Moon Empire would definitely resort to psychological warfare in this match.
"Alright, both competitors, prepare yourselves." The referee raised his right hand.
Xu Sanshi and Xiao Hongchen retreated to their starting positions at opposite ends of the stage.
"Begin!" The referee swung his hand down.
Xu Sanshi bolted forward like lightning, charging straight at Xiao Hongchen.
Unless his opening attack completely failed, he had no intention of wasting his secret technique, Mysterious Nether Swap, on Xiao Hongchen.
After all, it was obvious to everyone that the greatest threat in the Sun Moon Academy team was Huo Yuhao.
If he used Mysterious Nether Swap too early, Huo Yuhao would definitely be on guard and then he would lose his best chance to surprise him.
In the previous tournament, he never got to use Mysterious Nether Swap.
And in this tournament, he had deliberately avoided using it as well, keeping it as a hidden trump card.
As far as he was concerned, nobody outside of Shrek Academy knew about Mysterious Nether Swap.
"Mysterious Nether Force!"
His third soul ring glowed with deep purple light, and his Mysterious Nether Turtle Shield shone with a dark green glow, feeding its energy into his body.
His muscles swelled, his shirt tore apart, and his entire frame expanded.
Although his Black Tortoise bloodline had not fully awakened, preventing Mysterious Nether Force from reaching its full potential, it still enhanced his strength by 50%.
Feeling even more confident, Xu Sanshi's fighting spirit surged.
But then, Xiao Hongchen smirked.
In a flash, his storage soul tool glowed brilliantly, releasing dozens of metal spheres into the air.
As an elite Soul Engineer, he immediately switched to cannon turret warfare against Xu Sanshi.
After all, his greatest strength lay in his soul tools.
With a golden glow, Xiao Hongchen activated his Martial Soul Possession.
A brilliant golden light surrounded his body, and a golden toad leg extended from his lower back.
Unlike before, however, the toad leg now bore intricate ancient markings, making it look exceptionally noble and majestic.
This was the external manifestation of his evolved Martial Soul!
At the same time, six soul rings hovered beneath his feet, shining in succession.
His floating metal spheres rapidly transformed into powerful soul cannons.
Xu Sanshi instinctively raised his Mysterious Nether Turtle Shield as he charged forward.
Something felt off.
Xiao Hongchen's turret formation is much faster than what he showed in the last tournament...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A barrage of soul cannon blasts roared toward Xu Sanshi like a raging storm.
The stage floor cracked apart, leaving behind countless craters as fire and smoke filled the air.
Xu Sanshi zigzagged through the explosions, attempting to dodge but against such overwhelming firepower, how could he possibly evade everything?
Several cannon blasts struck his shield directly, sending shockwaves rippling through his body.
The force pushed him back several steps, and visible cracks appeared on his Mysterious Nether Turtle Shield.
His face darkened.
Damn it... How is he this strong?!
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