When Zhu Ziyang shattered the Absolute Defense Soul Tool, the situation on the arena was at a stalemate.
Six members remained on the Dou Spirit Empire's Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team. Among them, although Huang Heyun had been injured by Ma Xiaotao's explosive burst, he still had fighting strength. With support from the wind-element Soul King Wang Shiying, he could still hold Ma Xiaotao at bay. Ma Xiaotao couldn't break through to threaten Xu Jiujiu, nor could she retreat to assist Jiang Nannan — this left her extremely frustrated.
On Jiang Nannan's side, she had initially suppressed Chen Xiaojie thanks to her superior speed and martial soul. But with the addition of Dugu Shangshan, facing two enemies at once made it tough. She had to rely on agile movement and footwork, weaving between them, sometimes landing a few surprise blows. Though it didn't cause real harm, it annoyed both Chen Xiaojie and Dugu Shangshan immensely.
As for the last two, Sheng Yi remained close to Xu Jiujiu at all times. His sole task was to protect her. Xu Jiujiu, on the other hand, had no time to worry about the other four because Zhu Ziyang, after breaking free, charged straight at her.
Without hesitation, Xu Jiujiu unleashed her second soul skill, firing a large burst of starlight at Zhu Ziyang — but he easily dodged every strike.
Sheng Yi, seeing Zhu Ziyang rushing toward them, didn't dare be careless. His fifth soul ring lit up immediately, and his iron-gray wings expanded, forming a protective semi-circle to shield both himself and Xu Jiujiu.
Zhu Ziyang sneered at Sheng Yi's action. With one leap, he was above them, and brought down the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe. The first strike made the wings tremble slightly, and the second came immediately after — infused with cold killing intent — making the tremors worse.
Beneath the wings, Sheng Yi turned pale under the force of the second blow. Before he could recover, the third strike, carrying even more power, landed fiercely. Sheng Yi's knees buckled, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth — he couldn't hold on any longer.
Xu Jiujiu's face went pale watching Sheng Yi suffer. She felt helpless. This was the cruel reality of being a support-type soul master — in moments of crisis, there was nothing she could do but watch her teammate suffer.
She bit her lip and said bitterly, "Sheng Yi, let it go. Don't force it anymore!"
Sheng Yi looked up with a tragic smile. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, his expression froze. A moment later, he collapsed to the ground with a crash. His massive wings retracted and disappeared. He had fainted!
Xu Jiujiu was stunned. Then she looked up and saw Zhu Ziyang floating in midair, smiling calmly.
"This Sheng Yi isn't bad. He actually took four of my strikes head-on."
"You..." Xu Jiujiu stared at him, dazed. Her body instinctively stepped back.
Zhu Ziyang didn't say another word. He raised the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe, its tip aimed at her. A terrifying pressure radiated from him like an emperor descending, crashing down on Xu Jiujiu.
She stumbled and fell to the ground, eyes filled with shock and fear, her delicate body trembling.
"Your Highness the Princess, you've lost," Zhu Ziyang said with a sunny smile — but what he did next made Xu Jiujiu want to scream. He controlled the scythe, slid its tip beneath her legs, and with a flick, sent her flying off the stage.
Xu Jiujiu was completely stunned. After being caught by Huang Jinxu and standing there blankly for a few seconds, she finally came to her senses. Then a wave of shame and fury surged through her. She clenched her teeth and said bitterly, "So ungentlemanly!"
Everyone had witnessed Zhu Ziyang's "scythe flick" of the princess. Up on the royal platform, Xu Jiawei let out a helpless smile.
"Well, Jiujiu really got embarrassed this time!"
"Your Highness, this might not be a bad thing," said Elder Luo with a smile. "Jiujiu may not be as talented as Zhu Ziyang, but she'd still rank among Shrek Academy's elites. If we..."
"Elder Luo, you mean...?" Though Elder Luo didn't finish, Xu Jiawei instantly understood. His eyes lit up as he began seriously considering the idea.
Zhu Ziyang didn't care about Xu Jiujiu's reaction. After sending her offstage, he turned to help Jiang Nannan — only to find she didn't need help.
Somehow, Chen Xiaojie had already been sent out of the arena.
As it turned out, when Zhu Ziyang broke through the Absolute Defense Soul Tool and attacked Xu Jiujiu and Sheng Yi, the rest of the Sun Moon Royal Academy team was mentally shaken. The threat of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring couldn't be ignored.
Their ambush strategy fell apart. Chen Xiaojie hesitated for a moment — and Jiang Nannan seized it, using Silver Moon Sky Flash to throw him off the stage.
With Chen Xiaojie out, Dugu Shangshan alone wasn't enough to threaten Jiang Nannan anymore. Zhu Ziyang, seeing this, was about to help Ma Xiaotao instead.
But Ma Xiaotao didn't need help either. Though Huang Heyun and Wang Shiying had coordinated well to pressure her, she never lost her composure. She patiently searched for openings.
Then, in a flash, she caught both off guard, taking out the weaker Wang Shiying first. With Wang Shiying down, Huang Heyun couldn't last long.
The result of the match was now obvious. With Ma Xiaotao defeating Huang Heyun and Jiang Nannan finishing off Dugu Shangshan, all seven members of the opposing team were down.
"The first semifinal team battle — Shrek Academy defeats Star Luo Empire's Royal Academy!" announced Heavenly River Douluo Huang Jinxu loudly from the arena.
With the team battle done, the overall outcome was clear. In the afternoon's individual rounds, the Royal Academy could only preserve some dignity by admitting defeat. After all, both Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao were in top condition, while only Xu Jiujiu remained uninjured on the other side — the other six were wounded and unfit to fight.
As expected, the Royal Academy's team leader didn't wait for the afternoon. He went straight up to speak to Huang Jinxu.
Seeing this from the resting area, Zhu Ziyang and the others smiled and said to Wang Yan, "Teacher Wang, looks like the afternoon matches will be canceled."
"That's a good thing," Wang Yan replied with a smile.
Sure enough, not long after they spoke, Huang Jinxu announced:
"Due to the poor condition of the Star Luo Empire Royal Academy team, they have decided to forfeit the afternoon's individual matches. Therefore, I declare Shrek Academy the winner — advancing to the grand finals!"
There was no surprise among the audience. It was the obvious choice. With Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao around, no school could beat Shrek Academy in solo matches.
As news of the canceled individual matches spread, the crowd began to disperse. The four finalist teams also started leaving through their exclusive exits.
"Alright kids, let's head back to the hotel," Wang Yan said with a big smile.
Everyone got up and exited the rest area through the team passage. Coincidentally, they ran into the Royal Academy's team — heads hung low in classic defeat.
"Zhu Ziyang!" Xu Jiujiu immediately shouted through gritted teeth.
"Oh? It's Her Highness the Princess!" Zhu Ziyang turned with a cheerful grin.
"You! I'll remember this!" she said, blushing furiously — whether from anger or embarrassment, it wasn't clear.
"Will you? What an honor for me," Zhu Ziyang said, flashing the smile that made her even angrier.
"Hmph!" She stomped her foot and stormed off.
"Ha ha ha!" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but laugh at her retreating figure — until it turned to misery. Two hands grabbed his waist from both sides.
"The princess was very pretty, wasn't she, brother?" Jiang Nannan smiled sweetly — quite the contrast to Ma Xiaotao's fiery glare.
(End of Chapter)
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