All the spectators in Star Luo Square stared in stunned silence.
Though they knew the grand final would be a clash of titans, no one expected Shrek Academy to unleash their full force from the very start, choosing to meet the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's firepower head-on.
In terms of ranged firepower suppression, soul engineers had always held the advantage.
Yet, before the spectators could fully process this, Shrek Academy's area-of-effect soul skills collided with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's ranged soul tool attacks.
Compared to the Sun Moon team's soul tool barrages, Shrek Academy's area-of-effect soul skills appeared noticeably more dazzling.
Ma Xiaotao and Xu Zihuang's Phoenix Meteor Shower was the most striking, with meteors at least five meters in diameter crashing down like extraterrestrial asteroids, exerting immense pressure on the Sun Moon team.
Golden-red flames blazed on the Phoenix Meteors. Despite being dozens of meters away from the Sun Moon team, the scorching air had already turned into waves, surging one after another.
They completely enveloped the half of the arena occupied by the Sun Moon team.
Chen Zifeng's fifth soul skill, Soul Chasing Sword Array, and Dai Yueheng's fourth soul skill, White Tiger Meteor Shower, precisely wove through the gaps between the Phoenix Meteors.
Xu Zihuang's first soul skill, White Whale Chant, granted the two a ten percent boost in mental strength, significantly enhancing their control over their soul skills compared to before.
As a Soul Emperor, Dai Yueheng, under the dual amplification of Xu Zihuang and Gong Yangmo, unleashed his fourth soul skill with power nearly comparable to a Soul Emperor's sixth soul skill.
Chen Zifeng was no less impressive. As an assault-type tool soul master specializing in slaughter and terrifying attack power, his offensive strength surpassed even Dai Yueheng's under the same soul ring conditions.
Moreover, he was using his strongest fifth soul skill, which was even more grandiose than Dai Yueheng's fourth soul skill, White Tiger Meteor Shower.
His fifth soul skill, Soul Chasing Sword Array, was somewhat similar to Gu Fengli's fourth soul skill, Seven Star Sword Rain, from Sylves Academy. Both unleashed a torrent of sword shadows.
However, Gu Fengli's Seven Star Sword Rain paled in comparison to Chen Zifeng's fifth soul skill, both in the power of individual sword shadows and their sheer number.
Each blood-red sword shadow seemed to transform into a cold, murderous Soul Chasing Sword, streaking through the air with blood-red arcs. The razor-sharp aura felt as if it could slice through the very air itself.
Bei bei's fourth soul skill, Thunderous Dragon Head, and He Caitou's ranged soul tool attacks using the soul cannon turret strategy were somewhat less impressive.
But that depended on the comparison. While they fell short of Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, Xu Zihuang, and Ma Xiaotao, they were not necessarily inferior to the level-five soul engineers on the Sun Moon team.
On the Sun Moon team, aside from Ma Rulong, a Soul Emperor and level-six soul engineer, only two of the remaining six had soul power above level 55. The other four, including the siblings Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, hovered around levels 51 or 52.
With Gong Yangmo's sixty percent soul power amplification, this gap in soul power was instantly bridged.
At this moment, the sky above the competition stage was painted in a myriad of colors.
Golden-red flaming Phoenix Meteors, platinum White Tiger Meteor Shower, blood-red Soul Chasing Sword shadows, deep purple Thunder Dragon Head, and the pale white soul cannon blasts fired through He Caitou's dark metal barrels.
The Sun Moon team, in contrast, unleashed uniform white light orbs, spheres, and projectiles.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of deafening explosions erupted, with terrifying energy impacts raging wildly in the space above the stage.
Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Meteor Shower alone completely suppressed the Sun Moon team's assault.
This was an ultimate fire-level ten-thousand-year sixth soul skill, amplified by Gong Yangmo's support. Even a Soul Douluo might struggle to unleash a soul skill of such power.
The dense pale white light orbs, spheres, and projectiles, as they approached the Phoenix Meteor Shower, began to show signs of vaporization under the influence of the ultimate fire's intense heat.
By the time they collided with the Phoenix Meteors, they had noticeably dimmed, their power reduced to less than half its original strength.
They could only slightly slow the descent of the Phoenix Meteor Shower, as Shrek Academy's attacks blanketed half the arena without any blind spots.
The faces of the Sun Moon team members turned grim, some even showing traces of panic and fear.
Who could have anticipated Ma Xiaotao's sudden surge in power? They had closely observed Shrek Academy's previous matches, and while Ma Xiaotao had always been formidable, she had never been this overwhelming.
At the very least, Ma Rulong had been confident he could hold his own against her.
But now, he felt only intense frustration and unwillingness, gritting his teeth as he activated the level-six invincible shield he wore.
In this moment, the calmest was not Ma Rulong but Xiao Hongchen.
The greater the crisis, the clearer Xiao Hongchen's thoughts became. This trait was not something everyone possessed and could be considered a unique talent in its own right.
His peculiar green-and-blue dual-colored eyes glinted, and without hesitation, he retrieved an elliptical metal plate from his soul tool.
The metal plate was extremely thin, radiating a soft golden glow. Most striking were the intricate openwork patterns, fine and orderly yet brimming with creativity and imagination.
No soul power fluctuations emanated from it, yet it exuded an unshakable, mountain-like quality.
This soul tool was a level-nine defensive soul tool, crafted by his grandfather, Jing Hongchen, called the Hongchen Blessing.
It was a triggered soul tool. When placed on the chest, it would automatically adhere to the soul master's body, becoming one with it. When the soul master was attacked, it would preemptively sense and activate its defense.
It had no soul power cultivation requirement, usable even by one- or two-ring soul masters.
Its defensive power was equivalent to the user's full soul power concentrated into a single strike without using soul skills, yet it consumed only one-fifth of the user's total soul power.
What made it a level-nine soul tool, however, was its alternate activation method. By actively triggering its core array, it could generate an invincible shield lasting fifteen seconds. However, each use required recharging. Its defensive power could reach three times the user's cultivation level.
By comparison, the highly valuable invincible shields typically lasted only three seconds and were single-use.
This alone demonstrated the extraordinary nature of the level-nine soul tool, Hongchen Blessing.
While retrieving the Hongchen Blessing, Xiao Hongchen unhesitatingly positioned himself in front of Meng Hongchen, who was closest to him.
The Hongchen Blessing had already been pre-charged by his grandfather, Jing Hongchen. Though much of the stored soul power would dissipate upon changing users, preventing it from achieving the near-Super Douluo-level defense it could offer under Jing Hongchen's use, it was more than sufficient to withstand Shrek Academy's attacks.
Xiao Hongchen was a proud individual and had initially planned not to use this level-nine soul tool in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. He could accept using other high-level soul tools crafted by his grandfather, as background and resources were part of one's strength.
But the Hongchen Blessing, infused with his grandfather's soul power, was different.
Yet, to protect himself and his sister, he had no choice.
He wasn't certain other defensive soul tools could withstand the attack, nor was he willing to gamble on whether Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu would rescue them in time.
The moment he activated the Hongchen Blessing's invincible shield effect, Shrek Academy's ranged soul skill attacks arrived, completely enveloping the Sun Moon team's half of the arena.
The terrifying energy impact caused ripples to spread across the brilliant golden soul tool barrier covering the stage.
The 108 Soul Kings maintaining the barrier at the arena's edge turned pale.
Fortunately, the soul skills didn't directly strike the barrier, or it might have shattered on the spot.
After all, Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Meteor Shower alone carried the attack power of a Soul Douluo.
The violent booming lasted for several breaths, the ground trembling as if quaking. The Sun Moon team's half of the arena was filled with golden-red flames, deep purple lightning, platinum light waves, blood-red sword shadows, and pale white soul cannon blasts.
Amid the deafening roars, dust and smoke rose, obscuring the scene.
The spectators gasped in shock.
Elder Ma, the team leader of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, stood abruptly, his face dark as a storm.
Wang Yan from Shrek Academy swallowed hard, and even Elder Xuan paused his chewing, his gaze fixed curiously on the stage.
At that moment, Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu, using several starlight clusters, escorted the four heavily injured and unconscious Sun Moon team members—Mika and the others—off the stage.
Now, only Ma Rulong and the siblings Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen remained on the Sun Moon team's side.
As the dust gradually settled, all eyes in the arena focused on the Sun Moon team's half of the stage. The entire square fell silent.
The figures of Ma Rulong, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen emerged.
Ma Rulong was on one knee in a massive crater, his body trembling uncontrollably. He was covered in blood and grime, with blood seeping from his seven orifices. The intense heat had baked the blood on his body, leaving it dry and charred.
His head had enlarged significantly, his hair sparse and patchy, giving him a grotesque and somewhat ugly appearance.
Around him, two yellow, two purple, and two black soul rings—six in total—continued to glow.
The changes in his body were clearly the result of beast martial soul possession. His martial soul, the Big-Headed Spirit Ape, like most soul engineers' martial souls, was not particularly powerful.
Not far behind Ma Rulong, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen stood unscathed.
The granite floor beneath their feet remained intact, forming a perfect circle, protected by a dazzling golden shield.
Both siblings, however, wore expressions of lingering fear.
Ma Rulong's chest heaved as he stared at Xu Zihuang and the others from afar, his fists clenched tightly.
Though he retained consciousness and remained on the stage, his soul power was depleted, and his severe injuries had robbed him of any fighting ability.
He had misjudged. Had he chosen to concede the team battle immediately, they might all have been safely rescued by Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu.
But now, it was too late to say anything.
Seeing his grandson's wretched state, Elder Ma took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm.
Then, in a deep voice, he declared:
"The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy concedes the team battle."
His grandson's severe injuries were bad enough, but if anything happened to Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, given the temperament of the Illustrious Virtue Hall's master, their entire family would be doomed.
The 108 Soul Kings simultaneously deactivated the soul tool barrier, and Elder Ma hurriedly rushed to the stage to check on Ma Rulong's condition.
Other Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy students also carried their four unconscious teammates away.
Though heavily injured, none were in life-threatening danger, and their future development would likely remain unaffected.
Elder Ma was in a foul mood, but before leaving the stage with the others, he politely nodded to Heavenly Fiend Douluo.
He knew that if Heavenly Fiend Douluo had any ill intent and delayed his intervention, the students might not have died but would have certainly suffered irreversible damage.
Soul engineers' bodies were far more fragile than traditional soul masters', and a single misstep could ruin their futures.
The ever-proud Heavenly Fiend Douluo naturally disdained such tactics. He cared little for the Sun Moon team's lives but valued his own reputation.
Xiao Hongchen, unusually, did not contest Elder Ma's decision. He exchanged a deep glance with Meng Hongchen and returned to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's rest area.
After a brief silence, Star Luo Square erupted in thunderous applause and cheers that echoed throughout.
The original Douluo Continent harbored strong prejudice against the Sun Moon Empire, and the spectators naturally supported Shrek Academy, the continent's premier academy.
Another absolute domination.
Xu Zihuang and the other six from Shrek Academy also left the stage.
Wang Yan approached them, his gaze lingering on Xu Zihuang. With a dry tone, he gave a wry smile. "It's been who knows how many years since Shrek Academy last defeated the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy so decisively in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament."
"It's mainly because Tianhuang's soul skill is too powerful," Dai Yueheng said, looking at Xu Zihuang with a strange expression. Only those who had experienced it firsthand could truly understand how extraordinary Yu Tianhuang's soul skill was.
Xu Zihuang smiled without responding, neither overly modest nor boastful.
Wang Yan looked at Xu Zihuang with satisfaction. In this student, he saw all the qualities a future top-tier powerhouse should possess.
"Alright, everyone, rest and recover your soul power to its peak condition. Prepare for the upcoming individual elimination matches."
Wang Yan gave his instructions and submitted the list of seven participants for the individual elimination matches.
After the team battle, both sides were allowed to make one change to their participant lineup.
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