As Xu Jiawei's voice faded, Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu instantly appeared atop the platform, his expression as cold as ever. His gaze instinctively drifted toward the two teams. Everything seemed normal on the Sun Moon side—but when he looked toward Shrek Academy, his pupils contracted abruptly, and an intense shock flickered across his eyes.
What had he seen?
Few noticed the shift in Huang Jinxu's expression, but those who did were far from ordinary—Xu Jiawei, Dai Hao, Starlight Douluo Xu Luo, and Elder Ma from the Sun Moon team all picked up on it.
They simultaneously turned their attention toward Shrek Academy's rest area—and their expressions changed as well.
What had they seen?
Inside Shrek's rest zone, four unfamiliar faces had appeared—a pair of elderly man and women and two graceful middle-aged women. These four were without a doubt among the top-tier figures in the intelligence networks of the empires and major powers. Each of them was significant enough that even Xu Jiawei, Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, would greet them with the utmost formality.
Heavenly River Douluo Lin Huiqun.
Divine Eagle Douluo Song Lan.
Martial God Douluo Xian Lin'er.
Radiant Purge Douluo Cai Mei'er.
"Incredible. Both Deans of Shrek Academy and two elders of the Sea God's Pavilion are attending this final in person? Do they value this year's elite tournament this much?" Xu Jiawei murmured in disbelief. He had just recently met Lin Huiqun and Song Lan—but to his surprise, Xian Lin'er and Cai Mei'er had also come.
"Perhaps they're here to protect Zhu Ziyang. After all, he possesses an ultimate light martial soul," Xu Luo offered as explanation, though he too remained puzzled. "But Shrek Academy is going too far. Even with Zhu Ziyang's immense talent, four Super Douluo to guard one person?"
"Four Super Douluo?" Xu Jiujiu, standing nearby, finally processed their conversation and turned her gaze to Shrek's rest area, stunned. Their Star Luo Empire only had three Super Douluo, and Shrek had sent four at once. So this… was the foundation of the number-one academy in the world. Terrifying indeed!
Inside the Sun Moon rest area, Elder Ma's heart was in turmoil. The presence of Lin Huiqun and the others had shaken him deeply. He couldn't grasp Shrek's intentions. If the Sun Moon team won the championship—would those four act against them?
Surely, Shrek wouldn't stoop so low. But if they did… his side, including the students, would be in danger. Elder Ma felt uneasy, but still resolved to give it their all. Oddly enough, he decided to trust in Shrek Academy's reputation.
"Elder Lin, you've arrived!" Wang Yan wasn't surprised by the four's appearance—this had been planned in advance.
"Yes. Proceed as scheduled," Lin Huiqun replied cryptically. The reserve team didn't understand what he meant by "plan," but Zhu Ziyang, Ma Xiaotao, and Jiang Nannan did.
"Elder Lin, can Ziyang really handle this alone?" Ma Xiaotao asked, clearly worried.
"Sister Xiaotao, you should know my strength well by now," Zhu Ziyang smiled confidently.
Their conversation gave the others a vague idea of what Lin Huiqun's plan might be.
Meanwhile, on the stage, Huang Jinxu composed himself and spoke.
"The finals of the All-Continent Elite Soul Master Tournament will now begin. I, Huang Jinxu, will serve as the referee for this match."
"The finals will consist of three formats: team battle, individual battle, and two-two-three cooperative battle. The match follows a best-of-three format. Each team will first send seven members for the team battle. After this match, both sides may switch participants once—only once."
"For the individual and cooperative battles to follow, no further substitutions will be allowed. Only the registered seven participants can take part. The team that wins two of the three formats will be crowned champion."
"Contestants are permitted to go all-out in the matches. I will oversee safety. Should any situation arise that threatens life, I will intervene and disqualify the offending side. However, due to the unpredictable nature of battle, I cannot guarantee absolute safety. I urge all participants to exercise restraint."
"Prepare yourselves. Team members for the team battle will enter the arena in one minute."
The vast Star Luo Square instantly fell silent. Hundreds of thousands of spectators held their breath, fixated on the platform, anticipating each side's lineup and the battle to come.
"Ziyang!" Wang Yan stood up and looked at Zhu Ziyang with a serious gaze. "Good luck!"
"Brother, protect yourself no matter what!" Jiang Nannan gripped Zhu Ziyang's hand, her expression full of concern.
"Elder Lin, let me fight with Ziyang!" Ma Xiaotao pleaded unhappily.
"No," Lin Huiqun shook his head. "Only if Ziyang fights alone can we deliver the greatest shock and showcase his power. And I trust in Ziyang's strength."
At that, even Beibei, Huo Yuhao, and the others understood. Lin Huiqun intended for Zhu Ziyang to fight the Sun Moon team alone. Whether he won or lost, this was an extreme provocation. But remembering Zhu Ziyang's second martial soul, they realized his chances of losing might actually be slim!
"Team battle members, enter the arena!" Huang Jinxu announced.
"Go," Xian Lin'er and Cai Mei'er both patted Zhu Ziyang's shoulder with warm encouragement.
"Everyone, watch me shine!" Zhu Ziyang smiled confidently and strode onto the platform with long strides. He'd been waiting for this moment. After this battle, he would become known across the entire continent.
As Zhu Ziyang stood alone on the stage, the crowd was dumbfounded. This was the finals! What was Shrek doing? Were they forfeiting?
Though Zhu Ziyang had a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and was a Soul Emperor, no one believed he could defeat seven opponents alone—especially not when they included one sixth-rank and six fifth-rank soul engineers!
"Where are the rest of Shrek's team? The match is about to start!" Huang Jinxu asked, struggling to suppress his own confusion and disbelief.
"There are no others. I'm the only one," Zhu Ziyang replied calmly.
"What?!" Huang Jinxu nearly lost composure. He couldn't believe Shrek Academy would make such an absurd decision. It was an insult to him as the referee—and an insult to every spectator present!
The crowd began to murmur, the Sun Moon team's members looked livid. This was blatant humiliation, like having their faces trampled on in public.
Ma Rulong's eyes turned red with anger. Xiao Hongchen's face was ashen. Mi Jia, Xiao Xiafeng, Chen Fei, and Lin Xi gritted their teeth in fury—only Meng Hongchen looked at Zhu Ziyang with admiration.
"Xu Luo, what is Shrek up to?" Xu Jiawei asked with a deep frown, turning to his two advisors.
"Your Majesty, forgive me. I cannot guess their reasoning," Dai Hao shook his head, clearly confused.
"Utterly baffling…" Xu Luo also shook his head, though his eyes flickered. He was thinking more deeply than the others. The arrival of those four Super Douluo had to be related. Could… could it be that Shrek Academy was using Zhu Ziyang as bait? No… was that truly their plan?
Elder Ma had the same thought, and his expression turned ugly. If his suspicions were right, then Shrek was planning to start a war with the Empire. Were they truly strong enough to make the first move?
Elder Ma felt numb. All he could do now was hope that Huang Jinxu would intervene in time and save Zhu Ziyang.
"The rules have already been announced. I won't repeat them. Both sides, step back and prepare to begin!" Huang Jinxu declared, struggling to keep his emotions out of his voice.
Zhu Ziyang stood calmly at Huang Jinxu's right. A faint smile played on his lips as he looked at the Sun Moon team—every member except Meng Hongchen was glaring daggers at him. If looks could kill, he would have died a thousand times over.
Unfazed, Zhu Ziyang walked gracefully to the edge of the stage, his every step steady and composed.
Once both sides had retreated, Huang Jinxu finally shouted the words that made every blood boil—
"The match begins!"
(End of Chapter)
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