"23 years old, and already a Soul King!"
"23 years old, Soul King!"
"He's only 23 and he's a Soul King!"
The crowd erupted in shocked disbelief.
Although a Soul King wasn't considered top-tier in the Soul Master world, in the context of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, it was an astonishing feat.
All participants were under 25, and the average level was around Soul Ancestor. So, a Soul King among them was a monstrous existence.
Seated in the royal box, Emperor Xue Ye smiled delightedly as he stroked his beard.
"Shrek Academy has given me quite a surprise. I never imagined I'd see a Soul King appearing here, of all places."
He turned toward Ning Fengzhi and said,
"Patriarch Ning, did you know about this beforehand? Is this why you supported Shrek Academy?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled calmly.
"Your Majesty, I only heard about it from my daughter shortly before the opening ceremony. There was no deliberate concealment."
Xue Ye laughed, "Even better! That makes the surprise all the sweeter. It looks like this year's championship might return to the Heaven Dou Empire!"
But Ning Fengzhi gave a calm warning:
"Your Majesty, don't underestimate the Spirit Hall team this year. They're known as the Golden Generation for a reason."
Hidden in the crowd, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, silently pondered:
"The Spirit Hall team has three Soul Kings. Lin Xuan may be strong, but he's only one person. Taking the championship from Spirit Hall will be like plucking stars from the sky..."
"But—his name is Lin Xuan... only one character different from Lin Fan. And both wield sword-type martial spirits."
"Could they be... father and son? Or perhaps uncle and nephew?"
As she thought about the similarity in their names and martial spirits, Qian Renxue began to seriously suspect a hidden connection between Lin Xuan and Lin Fan.
In another corner, Salas, clearly displeased, turned away with a cold snort after hearing Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi's conversation.
On the battlefield, the seven members of Blazing Fire Academy stared in stunned silence.
A real Soul King.
The five spirit rings floating around Lin Xuan—two yellow, two purple, and one black—were the real deal.
And with the appearance of his Slaughter Sword martial spirit, an oppressive killing aura blanketed the battlefield, instantly breaking their morale.
"Who would've thought Shrek was hiding something like this?" said Huo Wu, stepping forward. "But so what? It's not like we've never fought a Soul King before."
Lin Xuan stood silently, his expression calm and cold.
"Everyone, go all out," Huo Wu ordered.
"Understood, Captain."
The two support-type soul masters activated their buffs:
"First Soul Skill: Scattered Sparks"
"Third Soul Skill: Fire Rain"
Huo Wushuang shouted, "Third Soul Skill: Wrath of the Tyrant Dragon!"
The rest followed suit:
"Third Soul Skill: Fire Crane Clone!"
"Third Soul Skill: Fiery Seven-Star Bomb!"
The four-man offensive surged straight toward Lin Xuan.
But Lin Xuan simply walked forward, neither dodging nor defending.
"What's he doing?" Huo Wu and her teammates froze, baffled.
BOOM—
The attacks landed directly on Lin Xuan, engulfing him in flames.
"Lin Xuan didn't even try to evade… what's going on?" the announcer exclaimed.
Huo Wu and her team stared at the blaze, completely confused. No Soul King should just stand there and take a hit unless—
He wasn't afraid.
From the center of the flames, Lin Xuan calmly stepped out, completely unharmed, the Slaughter Sword still in hand.
"If that's all you've got, you might as well admit defeat now," he said coolly, stopping just five meters in front of them.
"That's impossible! You're just a Soul King—how could you take all that without a scratch?" Huo Wushuang shouted in disbelief.
"Hmph," Lin Xuan snorted.
"Because I'm immune to fire."
The Flame-Delicate Apricot, one of the top-tier immortal herbs, wasn't something he ate for nothing. Against enemies with lesser or equal soul power, fire-type attacks were meaningless to him.
"Fire immunity?" Huo Wu's eyes widened.
"I don't buy it! Use that move!" she snapped.
"Third Soul Skill: Fire Rain!"
"Fourth Soul Skill: Dance of the Blazing Sun!"
With full support from her teammates, Huo Wu unleashed her ultimate move.
Infused with all her soul power, the blazing sun above her was equivalent to a ten-thousand-year soul skill.
Huo Wushuang and the others moved in to defend her from sneak attacks while she charged it up.
A massive fireball formed above Huo Wu's head, blazing like a miniature sun.
"Go!" she roared, swinging her arms as the flaming sphere launched at Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes. His first instinct was to use Sword Soul Undying Aura to reflect the attack, but after estimating the force, he realized it might be strong enough to injure even him.
So instead, he calmly unleashed a blood-red sword slash, slicing straight through the fireball.
A scarlet glow cleaved the fireball in half, splitting it down the middle.
"Still want to continue?" Lin Xuan asked coldly, standing with his right hand gripping his sword and his left hand behind his back.
"Pfft—"
Huo Wu coughed up blood from sheer frustration.
Huo Wushuang quickly caught her.
"We… concede!" he shouted.
The announcer ran to Lin Xuan's side and declared:
"Victory goes to Shrek Academy!"
"Did that even last a full minute? One of the Five Element Academies lost this quickly?"
"I don't think he even used any soul skills!"
"Soul Kings… are terrifying!"
Offstage, Zhao Wuji murmured,
Lin Xuan is far too strong. Though he's a 53rd-level Soul King, his actual combat strength probably rivals a Soul Emperor."
Liu Erlong nodded.
"He has absolute control over his soul power. And to think, he didn't even use a single soul skill to force the Blazing Fire team to concede."
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened even further.
He had known Lin Xuan was strong, but he hadn't expected that defeating Blazing Fire Academy would be this effortless.
With Lin Xuan now on the team, Shrek Academy swept through the remaining matches without resistance.
They quickly racked up a seven-match winning streak, ending the preliminaries with eight victories out of eleven.
Back in Canghui Academy's lounge, a middle-aged man stared at Lin Xuan with a sinister expression.
After the match, Lin Xuan didn't return to the academy with the others—he had a reason.
"Next round will be against Canghui Academy... they'll probably make a move," Lin Xuan thought to himself.
Sure enough, as he walked through a side street, he spotted a suspicious-looking middle-aged man lurking in the shadows.
The man had a strange mark on his forehead and wore a long purple-black robe. His snake-like eyes locked onto Lin Xuan.
"Heh… talented youths are my favorite. Watching them die helplessly in despair… It's delicious."
This man—Shi Nian—quietly activated his martial spirit: Nightmare.
A field of illusion surrounded Lin Xuan, subtly luring him toward the outskirts of town.
"A soul bone like yours… how could I let it go?" Shi Nian thought smugly, as Lin Xuan calmly followed him into the forest.
Lin Xuan came to a stop.
"An illusion?" he muttered.
"Haha! So you finally noticed. But once you're caught in my Nightmare domain, it's already too late," Shi Nian said with a twisted smile.
"Your little Soul Sage illusion isn't even worth using my soul bone skill to break," Lin Xuan replied, summoning his Azure Shadow Sword.
"You dare insult me?! A mere Soul King—wait... those soul rings—"
Before he could finish, Shi Nian's eyes widened in shock.
"You're a Title Douluo?!"
"Second Soul Skill: Draw Blade Slash!"
A wave of green sword energy cut straight through Shi Nian's body.