"We concede!"
The captain of the Tianling Advanced Academy team was sprawled on the ground, muscles taut, every fiber straining to resist the crushing force.
Sweat dripped from his brow, pooling on the stage.
Yet the invisible, overwhelming pressure pressed down like an immovable mountain.
Beside him, his teammates collapsed one by one, unable to hold out, groaning in pain.
Their youthful faces, twisted with unwillingness, were all contorted in defeat.
At last, the captain could only force out the words with great effort.
"Match over!"
Dan Heng's voice broke the deathly silence, announcing the end of the match as he glanced at Lu Jingming.
Lu Jingming calmly retracted his left hand.
With that motion, the invisible gravity receded like a tide, vanishing instantly.
Robin and the others withdrew their soul rings as well—they'd known from the start that this match was just a formality for them.
Lu Jingming had never intended for them to intervene.
To display Saint Freya Academy's might and reputation, they needed to sweep the opposition aside with overwhelming force.
His left arm bone, inherited from a hundred-thousand-year-old Mountain-Moving Ape, came with the soul bone skill—Dominion—the perfect tool for this.
Dominion, a hundred-thousand-year soul bone skill, was gravity-based, able to unleash ten or even a hundred times normal gravity, pinning opponents mercilessly.
Using it consumed a vast amount of soul power and spiritual energy.
But the more he expended, the stronger Dominion became; the gravity multiplier increased with greater energy input.
Unless Lu Jingming allowed it, none could stand under Dominion's crushing force.
It was a skill with an extremely high ceiling—its power directly tied to the user's strength, growing with them.
Though limited by the soul bone's age, Lu Jingming possessed Honkai energy.
Everyone knew Honkai energy was universal—it could gradually temper the soul bone fused with his left arm, increasing its age and strength, and endlessly expanding Dominion's power.
The match had ended, but hundreds of thousands of live spectators and millions more outside remained in shock, unable to recover.
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring, appearing on a Soul King—such an unimaginable sight left them stunned and wildly excited.
Even ordinary folk knew the significance of such a soul ring.
It was a treasure many titled Douluos spent their lives seeking, representing the fall of a mighty soul beast and unparalleled power.
"Let's go."
Lu Jingming glanced indifferently at the defeated Tianling Academy team, now helping each other off the stage, then turned and left.
Soul master tournaments were ruthless.
Tianling wasn't weak; with luck, they might have advanced from the knockout stage.
But their misfortune was to face Lu Jingming.
After this shocking opening match, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament continued in full swing.
Though Lu Jingming was confident in his team, they didn't leave the arena.
First, March 7th and the others were fascinated by the matches and eager to watch. Second, they wanted to study their rivals' strengths and tactics.
In the following matches, Shrek Academy surprised everyone with an unexpected spectacle.
Because Ma Xiaotao and others were injured, Shrek had to send reserves like Bei Bei into the knockout rounds.
When Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao—clearly only twelve or thirteen—appeared, the crowd buzzed with speculation.
Was Shrek playing tricks by sending such young contestants?
But as soon as the match began, Huo Yuhao unleashed simulated soul skills, and six crimson, hundred-thousand-year soul rings appeared, radiating power.
He even helped Bei Bei and others simulate six soul rings, making the whole team seem like powerful Soul Emperors. Especially Huo Yuhao, with six simulated hundred-thousand-year rings—the spectacle rivaled, if not surpassed, Lu Jingming's earlier display.
Their opponents, already intimidated by Shrek's reputation and Lu Jingming's power, were now terrified by Huo Yuhao's simulated rings, their morale in shambles.
Seizing their chance, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong performed their Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Golden Road.
A dazzling golden light flashed; with just one attack, they defeated their opponents and won.
Shrek's shocking victory left the audience speechless.
But as the crowd calmed down, they couldn't help but feel something was off.
When Lu Jingming displayed his hundred-thousand-year ring, some doubted their eyes—yet his overwhelming strength dispelled suspicion.
But Huo Yuhao? With six simulated hundred-thousand-year rings, Soul Emperor-level power, yet needing a fusion skill to win, and not as decisively as Lu Jingming—how could people not suspect trickery? Some sharp-eyed spectators saw through his disguise.
Still, most simply regarded it as Shrek's competition strategy, not suspecting a problem with their lineup.
The first day of the tournament ended quietly amid fierce knockout matches.
That night, discussion of the matches raged on.
In particular, Lu Jingming's commanding shout of "Kneel!" and his single-handed suppression of the arena were seared into the audience's memory, leaving them too excited to sleep.
Besides Saint Freya, several other academies that competed that day became hot topics.
At the Cloud Rest Heaven Suite in the Daydream Hotel, Lu Jingming lay comfortably on Robin's lap, looking thoroughly content.
Robin gently massaged his temples, her movements soft and soothing, humming a sweet, melodious tune that was like a mountain spring or birdsong, easing both body and mind.
"Robin, you don't actually believe Xiao Ming's nonsense, do you?" March 7th scoffed, arms crossed, staring at the blissful Lu Jingming.
After returning to the hotel, Lu Jingming claimed his spirit was drained from using the hundred-thousand-year soul bone skill and needed a massage to recover.
But everyone knew it was just an excuse—he simply wanted to enjoy her lap pillow and massage.
Still, both Firefly and Castorice had offered to help, but Robin had claimed the initiative first.
"It's fine." Robin smiled gently, shaking her head, her expression as radiant as a spring bloom.