When the Heavenfiend Douluo, Huang Jinxu, announced the participants of the first match, the entire arena—filled with tens of thousands of spectators—erupted in astonishment.
In the rest area, members from the Sun Moon Empire and other academies once belonging to the original three nations of the Douluo Continent also stood up, stepping forward to get a better look at the battlefield.
On the VIP platform, the Star Luo Emperor, Xu Jiawei, widened his eyes in shock and asked, "Was this really a random draw?"
Dai Hao nodded. "Yes, it was a random draw. Who would've thought Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy would be matched against each other in the very first round? What a coincidence."
"After this match, I fear the rest of the tournament may seem underwhelming by comparison…" Xu Jiawei muttered, watching as the two schools' team leaders slowly emerged from their rest areas.
These two academies represented the pinnacle of soul master and soul engineer education on the current Douluo Continent.
"Teacher, let me go! Shrek Academy's sending out their reserve team—I can handle them alone!" Ma Rulong volunteered eagerly after their team leader returned from confirming the draw with Huang Jinxu.
"I can go too. Their only real fighter is that half-injured Soul King. It won't be hard," added Xiao Hongchen.
If Shrek Academy was only deploying their reserve team, Ma Rulong—who was a Soul Emperor—could indeed take them all on alone. Xiao Hongchen, though slightly weaker than Ling Luochen, was still more than capable.
But their instructor shook her head.
"Why not, Teacher?" Ma Rulong asked in confusion.
The team leader looked at Xiao Hongchen and Ma Rulong and asked, "What's the purpose of us participating in the Soul Master Tournament? Rulong, Hongchen, tell me."
"To win first place!" Ma Rulong answered without hesitation.
"To enjoy the fight!" Xiao Hongchen grinned.
Meng Hongchen sighed and muttered, "Idiots. That's not the point at all."
"It's not?" Both Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen turned to her, baffled.
The instructor looked at them with a helpless expression. After a long pause, she shook her head and said, "Of course not. Our real goal in entering the tournament is to assess the strength of the new generation from the original three Douluo Continent nations."
Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen finally nodded in realization.
"So, I've decided—we'll also send out our reserve team. The core members won't participate in this match."
"Well said, Teacher!" Xiao Hongchen immediately agreed. As the captain of the reserve team, it didn't bother him at all that the main squad wouldn't be fighting.
Ma Rulong could only sigh in disappointment from the side.
The instructor then arranged the match order: "Meng Hongchen, you'll go first. Then Yuhao, followed by Shengyu. After that, it's Nana, Tang Ya… and Xiao Hongchen, you'll be last."
"Why am I last?" Xiao Hongchen protested.
"Because you're a Soul King, and they've only got one Soul King on their side. If you go up early, what can we learn from that matchup? Just follow the arrangement, Xiao Hongchen."
Seeing her serious expression, Xiao Hongchen could only sigh and respond, "Yes, Ma'am…"
Thanks to the presence of Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong, Xiao Hongchen had grown up in a much warmer and more supportive environment than in the original timeline. That had made him more cheerful and open-hearted, and also helped his cultivation progress faster. As a result, he was now even stronger than his counterpart from the original story at this point in time.
But sometimes, as he now saw, being strong came with drawbacks too.
In the Shrek Academy rest area, Wang Yan stood before his team, his expression solemn. He told them, "The Sun Moon team's average cultivation level is much higher than ours. We can't win this match…"
"Even if we can't win, we have to fight!" Bei Bei stepped forward and said firmly. "Especially when it comes to the Sun Moon Empire—we absolutely cannot back down!"
"That's right, Teacher Wang! We can't bow our heads to the Sun Moon Empire!" He Caitou agreed.
Ling Luochen didn't say anything, but simply looked at Wang Yan, waiting for instructions. As an Inner Court student, her status wasn't far below Wang Yan's—perhaps even higher in some respects.
Wang Dong clenched his fists. "Don't worry, Teacher. Even if we lose, we'll make sure to take a few of them down with us!"
Seeing the fighting spirit blazing in their eyes, Wang Yan took a deep breath and nodded. "Good! You're all outstanding. When this tournament is over, I believe the Academy will not be stingy with its rewards. You are the true pride of Shrek Academy!"
Those words fired everyone up—especially Bei Bei and He Caitou. The phrase "true pride of Shrek Academy" struck a deep chord within them.
Soon, Wang Yan arranged the team's battle order: He Caitou would lead, aiming to exhaust the enemy with soul tools. Then came Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong, Jiang Nannan, Jiang Qingtong, Bei Bei, and finally Ling Luochen.
Placing Ling Luochen at the end would also give her more time to rest and recover.
Once both sides had finalized their lineups, Meng Hongchen and He Caitou took the stage. Standing to the left and right of Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu, they formally announced their names.
"What a strange name—He Caitou?" Meng Hongchen murmured, looking at him with curiosity. Someone's actually named "Caitou"?
Once Huang Jinxu declared the start of the match, He Caitou immediately deployed a large array of soul tools. Seeing this, even the Sun Moon team was visibly surprised.
"He's a soul engineer? Shrek Academy actually has soul engineers? That's unexpected!" Xiao Hongchen commented with a shake of his head as he watched the battle unfold.
Their team leader spoke from the side, "Which is why I keep saying—never underestimate Shrek Academy. Their Soul Tool Department is far more advanced than any of the three former nations of the Douluo Continent. Their dean is an eighth-rank soul engineer, and according to Mingde Hall's projections, at their current pace, Shrek will likely produce their first ninth-rank soul engineer within 200 years."
"Two hundred years from now, who knows what our Sun Moon Empire will look like?" Xiao Hongchen said dismissively. "Let them chase us if they want. The gap between us isn't something they can close so easily."
Indeed, the two sides were on different timelines entirely—this wasn't something that could be bridged with a sprint.
On the stage, He Caitou launched a barrage of firepower at Meng Hongchen. All of his soul tools were around Tier 3 or Tier 4 offensive types. The platform looked more like a battlefield, rocked by constant explosions and artillery fire.
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