Gu La held no interest in the Sun Moon Empire's internal power struggles or its shadowy schemes.
Amidst a sea of complex gazes—fear, hatred, and that faint, instinctive admiration for strength rooted in biology—he stepped down from the arena stage.
No matter how reluctant the audience felt, they had to admit the absolute power and godlike presence of the figure on stage belonged among the world's elite.
That deep-seated yearning for strength woven into human nature made them involuntarily revere him—even as their reason resisted, their emotions betrayed them.
Who, in their youth, hadn't dreamed of becoming such a powerhouse?
Returning to Shrek Academy's rest area, Gu La appeared to meditate with closed eyes. In truth, his consciousness had seamlessly shifted to his Du An avatar—the one bearing an innate divine position.
Combining fragmented insights on faith and divinity gleaned from Yun Ming, he focused intently on analyzing the vast, chaotic belief energy he'd just gathered, seeking to unravel the mysteries behind faith and divine position condensation.
The tournament continued, but after Shrek's crushing dominance, subsequent Soul King-level matches felt bland—like plain porridge served after a feast, stirring little excitement.
Meanwhile, at the underground Soul Device Tournament, Gu La's clone had already advanced to the top six, one step from the finals.
The sixth round of group matches began. Shrek Academy faced the Tang Sect—a kindred force from the same origins.
In the Tang Sect's rest area, Huo Yuhao shook his head to his teammates: "We forfeit this round. Gu La is uncompromising—self-centered, even. He won't hold back against us. Better to conserve strength. By the finals, my injuries should be mostly healed. That's when we'll settle this."
Wang Dong'er's face tightened with frustration at his words. Her seventh soul ring was also a hundred-thousand-year level; she'd only hidden it earlier to mislead Sun Moon's team, using Huo Yuhao's simulating skill to temporarily mask its blood-red glow as black.
She couldn't help but protest: "Yuhao, if I activate True Body, I should be able to hold Gu La temporarily. You could eliminate Shrek's others first, then aid me—wouldn't that work?"
Huo Yuhao looked at her questioningly. This was one tactical backup he'd considered for the finals—but...
"Dong'er, have you forgotten? What if Gu La chooses to fight the individual matches first? We'd never reach the team battle."
Wang Dong'er froze. Pride ran deep in her bones; aside from Huo Yuhao, she believed no peer could truly overpower her. She'd overlooked the individual match rules.
Helpless, she fell silent, accepting Huo Yuhao's decision.
Thus, the Tang Sect forfeited this round strategically, advancing as runners-up in their group.
Shrek Academy, unsurprisingly, topped their group.
The group stage concluded swiftly. The eight finalists were announced:
Group winners: Shrek Academy, Snow Demon Sect (Body Sect), Holy Spirit Sect (Holy Spirit Cult), Natural Sect.
Runners-up: Tang Sect, Star Luo National Academy, Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy, Heavenly Dragon Gate.
Proud Sword Sect—once hopeful for first place—met misfortune. In group matches, they faced Natural Sect's "overpowered clones" (dubbed "Cheat Gate" behind closed doors), suffered a one-through-seven slaughter, and lost their key fighters to injury. Defeated by Star Luo Royal Academy, they were eliminated without even contesting second place.
That afternoon, the organizing committee held the quarterfinal draw ceremony at the hotel.
As Shrek Academy's representative, Gu La stepped up first. When his hand reached into the draw box, nearly every team representative below held their breath—terrified of facing this "great demon king" squad.
Gu La pulled a token at random and showed it to the referee. His opponent: Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy.
"Oh?" Gu La raised an eyebrow. 'Sun Moon Empire's second-ranked soul device academy.'
The crowd below—especially non-Sun Moon teams—secretly exhaled in relief, then shot pitying glances toward Mingdu Academy.
'Shrek's on a path to wipe out all Sun Moon academies along the way!'
The remaining pairings followed:
Top half: Shrek Academy vs. Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy.
Natural Sect vs. Heavenly Dragon Gate.
Bottom half: Snow Demon Sect vs. Tang Sect.
Star Luo National Academy vs. Holy Spirit Sect.
Gu La frowned slightly at this bracket. He'd hoped to face the Holy Spirit Sect in the semifinals—to properly "savor" this feast of evil soul masters.
Now, with the Holy Spirit Sect in the bottom half and Natural Sect in the top, reaching them required hoping the Holy Spirit Sect eliminated the Tang Sect first—a risky variable.
'Should've 'cheated' a little,' Gu La mused inwardly. 'But it's not too late.'
Unseen by others, Gu La subtly invoked time power.
A faint golden ripple flickered deep within his eyes as traits of his True Body activated. A focused thought, carrying specific information, traveled along time's thread—back to that very moment when he'd reached for the draw token.
A subtle cause-and-effect shifted. Reality bent.
To all eyes, the draw results seemed to waver—then settle. Or perhaps it was just a trick of the light.
But when Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan reconfirmed and announced the pairings, they had changed:
Top half: Shrek Academy vs. Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy.
Star Luo National Academy vs. Holy Spirit Sect.
Bottom half: Snow Demon Sect vs. Tang Sect.
Natural Sect vs. Heavenly Dragon Gate.
Natural Sect and Holy Spirit Sect had swapped positions!
Natural Sect moved to the bottom half, set to face the winner of Snow Demon Sect vs. Tang Sect in the semifinals. Holy Spirit Sect now occupied the top half—if they defeated Star Luo National Academy, they'd meet Shrek directly in the semifinals!
Gu La nodded in satisfaction. 'Much better.'
Others stared in shock before realizing what had happened. Smirking glances turned toward the Holy Spirit Sect.
These evil soul masters had long drawn universal hatred with their cruelty—only the Sun Moon Empire's ambiguous stance and their strength had kept dissent silent.
Now, seeing them matched against Gu La—the "monster"—everyone waited eagerly to see how he'd "deal with" these abominations.
Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan found the shift odd but detected no soul power interference. He declared: "Draw complete! The top eight matches begin the day after tomorrow!"
---
Gu La returned to his room with his team. Soon after, a knock came at the door. Outside stood Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er, and Bei Bei.
Gu La opened the door, his gaze sweeping their faces—especially catching the anxious hope in Bei Bei's eyes. He instantly understood their purpose.
"No need to explain," he said directly. "Against Tang Ya, I'll hold back and try to free her from control."
He hadn't mentioned payment. What the Tang Sect could offer—resources, skills, even Tang Sect hidden weapons—held little appeal for him. He'd already obtained even the Extraordinary Meridians and Eight Vessels section of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
But after a pause, before the trio could thank him, he added: "As for payment... after the match, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi—each give me some of your blood. I'm researching your martial soul bloodline evolution."
Bei Bei's half-formed gratitude choked off. He could only laugh helplessly, agreeing: "Alright. I'll convince Sanshi."
This price was trivial for them—mere loss of origin energy, recoverable with rest. To save Xiao Ya, he'd pay any cost.
After they left, Wang Dong'er muttered under her breath, still resentful: "Is Gu La even one of us Shrek students? Asking for payment to save Senior Tang Ya..."
Bei Bei shook his head, more understanding: "This isn't bad. Not owing favors might be better for us. Gu La... he's the type who dislikes owing others—and dislikes others owing him. A unique man. He lives by his own principles, freely."
Huo Yuhao nodded quietly, seeing nothing wrong in Gu La's approach.
Saving Tang Ya was unrelated to Gu La; his willingness to help was already a kindness. Requesting "research materials" as an exchange was perfectly reasonable.
---
The matches proceeded as scheduled.
First quarterfinal: Shrek Academy vs. Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy.
Gu La took the stage alone.
This academy held no formidable opponents to truly test him. The only point of mild interest was their captain's inherited Solar Martial Soul from the Sun Moon imperial family—a top-tier elemental martial soul.
Yet in Douluo Continent's system, elemental martial souls without draconic lineage had limits. Lacking beast-type physical resilience, they remained fundamentally flawed.
Mingdu's captain stepping up was Princess Xu Tianzhen—disguised as a boy, her flat physique making the ruse fairly convincing.
She eyed Gu La with playful defiance: "Hey! I heard your martial soul isn't a pure Holy Angel—but a Solar Angel? What's the difference?"
Gu La sensed the relatively pure solar energy within her. Unhurried, he answered casually:
"Essentially the same. The difference lies in primary attribute focus, and the depth and purity of solar energy comprehension and mastery."
Xu Tianzhen snorted, mischief flashing in her eyes: "They say you're immune to my solar attacks. I don't believe it! Dare you stand still and take one hit from me?"
She released her Solar Martial Soul. Heat radiated from her body, causing murmurs in the stands at the sight of the Sun Moon imperial family's signature power.
Gu La smiled, seeing through her ploy: "Your provocation is dull. But I'll indulge you."
He summoned no martial soul, merely stood waiting as Xu Tianzhen prepared her attack.
Xu Tianzhen was naive but not foolish—she recognized the confidence born of absolute strength. Yet she persisted—not to test rumors, but because...
The "fate" between a Sun Martial Soul and a Solar (Sun) Angel, combined with Gu La's flawless appearance and power, had sparked a bold idea in her heart—
She wanted Gu La as her imperial consort. Had Xu Tianran known his only sister could be so recklessly straightforward, he'd have been driven to distraction.
"Second Soul Skill: Solar Coalescence! Sixth Soul Skill: Solar Gaze!"
Xu Tianzhen dared challenge an Ultimate Attribute wielder because she had backing. Her sixth soul ring came from an extremely rare "Sun Worm"—specifically, its queen. Obtaining it required venturing into zones as perilous as the Star Luo Great Forest's mixed districts—a testament to her favored status in the imperial family.
This soul skill resembled one of Gu La's—it could intensely concentrate solar energy into a highly penetrating beam.
Deployed by her as a Soul Emperor, its power rivaled a normal Soul Saint's full-strength strike.
The scorching, condensed solar beam struck Gu La squarely—he didn't dodge.
As the light faded, Gu La remained standing, not even his clothes singed.
He shook his head, critiquing: "Decent energy concentration. But impure. Scattered, unfocused."
His affinity with the Groudon martial soul had long elevated his fire resistance to near-immunity against fire-attribute laws. Xu Tianzhen's solar energy couldn't even warm him properly.
Xu Tianzhen sighed, dispelling her martial soul. She pouted: "You're really a monster! No wonder you came from Shrek."
Her tone shifted. Eyes sparkling, she stared at Gu La's face with dreamy admiration: "Hey, do you have a girlfriend? What do you think of this young lady?"
The entire audience froze. Other competitors gaped speechlessly. The tone shifted too fast—the arena had turned into a matchmaking stage? Why wasn't the referee intervening?
Zheng Zhan: "..."
What could he do? Both sides weren't fighting—just chatting. He couldn't declare a forfeit.
Gu La was amused by the princess's blunt approach.
He sensed her simplicity—a rare "normal" heart in the Sun Moon imperial family, untouched by power and scheming.
He answered directly: "I have a girlfriend. We love each other deeply. Miss Xu, shall we continue the match?"
Mentioning her surname revealed he knew her identity.
Far away in Shrek's rest area, Xiao Xiao's heart swelled sweetly at his words.
Beside her, Jiang Nannan and Wang Dong'er shot envious glances. A public confession before tens of thousands—how romantic!
Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi felt the weight of their gazes and exchanged bitter smiles. This kind of "romance" is beyond us—without the right moment, copying it would seem forced and awkward.
Xu Tianzhen huffed, disappointment flashing across her face before she forced nonchalance: "This young lady isn't interested either! We forfeit the match—no more fighting!"
Mingdu Soul Engineering Academy surrendered directly. Shrek Academy advanced to the semifinals without shedding a drop of blood.
High above, Xu Tianran snorted coldly, a hint of relief in his voice:
"Gu La knows his place. My imperial sister is no mere consort for the taking!"
Whether a flicker of calculation—weighing political marriage possibilities—had crossed his mind in that moment, only this deep-thinking Prince Regent himself could say.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)