The group stage round-robin may seem complicated, but in reality, for each team, it only requires following the scheduled matches and competing once every other day until they have faced all the other seven teams in their group.
The other six teams that Shrek Academy had to face were generally average in strength, without even a single Soul Emperor-level powerhouse among them. Under Wang Qiu'er's leadership, they encountered virtually no obstacles and smoothly secured victories in the subsequent five matches.
This morning's match would be Shrek Academy's representative team's final battle in the group stage round-robin phase.
Approaching late spring, the temperature was gradually rising. The bright sunshine dispelled the last trace of chill in the spring breeze blowing against their faces, making it comfortable and pleasant.
Although Xu Zihuang had not participated in these few matches, Shrek Academy's matches remained the focus of attention for the vast majority of the audience present.
This was not only because of Shrek Academy's title as the number one academy on the Douluo Continent and the countless glories it had achieved in the past, but even more so because of the formidable overall strength of the Shrek team.
Especially Wang Qiu'er, her stunning appearance, combined with an extremely ferocious fighting style, had even won her some loyal fans.
Xu Zihuang received similar treatment. The difference was that those who adored him were mostly young women, such as noble young ladies, female soul masters from sect clans, and female soul masters from academies. Wang Qiu'er's fans, on the other hand, covered a much broader range, harvesting the support of male audiences almost regardless of age.
As soon as Wang Qiu'er led the Shrek Academy representative team onto the competition stage, the entire venue immediately erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
Shrek Academy's opponent today was a sect called the Sea Wave Sect, hailing from the Star Luo Empire.
The Sea Wave Sect's sect residence was located in a city along the southeastern coast of the Star Luo Empire. Because it was far from the Sun Moon Empire's mainland and all its members were sea soul masters, they had always strongly rejected soul tools. It was the kind of purely traditional soul master sect.
At this moment, the expressions on the faces of the entire Sea Wave Sect team did not look good. From the very beginning, their momentum was already weaker by more than just one level. After all, in the previous individual elimination matches, including their captain, three consecutive members had been easily defeated by Wang Qiu'er.
It was Wang Qiu'er who had voluntarily given up the remaining individual elimination matches, which allowed them to engage in this seven-versus-seven team battle.
Following behind Wang Qiu'er were Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, Nanmen Yun'er, Xiao Xiao, Zhu Lu, and Ning Tian. Using this lineup for the team battle had a very clear purpose: to pursue explosive power and aggressive assault.
This was Zhang Lexuan's arrangement. She was deliberately training and integrating the members of the Shrek Academy representative team. Although the Sea Wave Sect posed no threat to them, the final stage later on would not be so easy.
The Haotian Sect, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, the Holy Spirit Team, the Heavenly Dragon Gate, and even the Snow Demon Sect with hidden members from the Body Sect, all were extremely competitive opponents.
Moreover, Yu Tianhuang had entered a state of deep meditation. When he would finish cultivating and emerge to participate in matches remained unknown.
Unless necessary, Zhang Lexuan did not want to disturb Yu Tianhuang and waste this hard-earned opportunity for deep meditation. So she could only make preparations early.
In fact, even without Yu Tianhuang, the Shrek Academy representative team might not necessarily be weaker than those other teams.
With Ning Tian possessing the continent's number one support-type tool martial soul, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, in team battles, the Shrek team would inevitably hold an enormous advantage.
Therefore, Zhang Lexuan chose to use battles as training. In several of the remaining six group stage matches, there were opportunities to decide victory in the individual elimination rounds, but they deliberately held back and chose to proceed to the subsequent team battles.
Every match of Shrek Academy was hosted by the Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan. Zheng Zhan stood in the center of the competition stage. After both sides had taken their positions, without any unnecessary words, he directly announced the start of the match.
By this point in the competition, there was naturally no need to explain the team battle rules in detail again.
Both sides released their martial souls simultaneously, and the gap in overall strength was immediately apparent.
Although the seven members of the Sea Wave Sect had different martial souls, their soul power was uniformly deep blue. The space behind them was rendered as profound as the sea.
Among the Sea Wave Sect team's seven members, there were three Soul Kings and four Soul Ancestors.
Standing at the very front was the Sea Wave Sect team's captain, a defense-type battle Soul King. His skin was swarthy, and his entire body was enveloped in a thick layer of blue light. A heavy, deep-blue turtle shell suddenly surged from his body surface, wrapping around his burly frame.
Unlike ordinary turtle martial souls, the shapes and patterns on both sides of his turtle shell were identical. At this moment, he looked as if he were clad in special double-sided turtle shell armor.
The other two Soul Kings also had very distinctive martial souls: a seahorse and a jellyfish.
As for the remaining four, the changes after their martial souls possessed them were relatively uniform. Certain parts of their bodies gained fine, dense scales. These were not dragon scales, but fish scales. It was obvious that their martial souls were some kind of fish soul beast living in the sea.
After the Shrek Academy members released their martial souls, they took the lead in launching a unified charge.
Wang Qiu'er charged ahead at the forefront. Dai Huabin and Wu Feng, both strong-attack system battle soul masters like her, flanked her on either side. Zhu Lu quietly concealed herself behind the three of them, while Nanmen Yun'er dove down from the air toward the seven members of the Sea Wave Sect team.
"Nine Treasures turn out with Glazed Tile." Ning Tian, who stayed at the back, extended her right hand and let out a soft shout.
Her body spun gracefully in place, and brilliant nine-colored radiance immediately burst forth from within her.
The nine-colored light gathered in Ning Tian's palm, forming a tower more than a foot tall that shimmered with nine colors. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda overflowed with dazzling light everywhere, as if embedded with countless gems. The five soul rings around it flashed in succession, and beams of brilliant colored light shot out from the pagoda, accurately landing on Wang Qiu'er and the other five.
The seahorse Soul King from the Sea Wave Sect side also possessed the optimal soul ring configuration. According to the Sea Wave Sect team's pre-planned battle strategy, he unhesitatingly activated his ten-thousand-year level fifth soul skill.
"Fifth soul skill, Water Prison!" The seahorse Soul King fiercely slammed his right hand onto the ground. A black soul ring halo rippled outward, and a deep-blue seawater vortex surged around his body, instantly enveloping half of the competition stage and showing signs of continuing to expand.
However, due to the restriction of the soul guidance protective barrier, the range of his fifth soul skill, Water Prison, was limited only to the competition stage.
His four teammates with fish-type martial souls truly felt as if they were fish in water. Their soul rings rotated as they swiftly swam within the water prison, appearing fully ready to strike.
But the one who received the greatest amplification was their main control-type soul master. This main control soul master was the only female soul master in the Sea Wave Sect team. The woman had a petite figure, healthy wheat-colored skin, and fairly delicate and pretty features.
Her martial soul was a special jellyfish that contained potent poison. Dense pink tentacles floated within the water prison, and in the next instant, they followed the expanding seawater vortex and wound toward the Shrek team members.
The Sea Wave Sect team had not advanced to the group stage round-robin purely by luck after passing the first three preliminary elimination rounds.
Although they did not have an advantage in soul power cultivation, their sea soul master abilities were unique. Their opponents in the previous few rounds had not understood their capabilities well enough.
In those three consecutive preliminary elimination rounds, they had relied on the seahorse Soul King's Water Prison soul skill amplification to win in team battles and ultimately claim victory.
The water prison filling the entire competition stage provided the Sea Wave Sect team with an environment similar to being in the ocean. Only in such conditions could sea soul masters display their strongest power.
Just as it seemed they were about to be engulfed by the water prison, the Shrek Academy representative team's charge did not slow in the slightest.
Under the amplification of Ning Tian's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, Wang Qiu'er's aura suddenly surged dramatically. Golden light flashed on her right hand, and an incomparably solid golden dragon head condensed into form. It looked as if it had been carved from solid gold, lifelike in every detail.
Golden flames entwined around the golden dragon's head, divine and extraordinary.
This was precisely Wang Qiu'er's golden dragon head, imbued with the effect of her fourth soul skill. With the multiplicative effects of the two soul skills, combined with the amplification from Ning Tian's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, the power of her golden dragon head had far surpassed that of an ordinary ten-thousand-year soul skill.
The moment this golden flame appeared on the golden dragon's head, all seven members of the Sea Wave Sect team froze in place, an instinctive fear originating from their martial soul's very essence surging up within them.
Strictly speaking, water-attribute martial souls and fire-attribute martial souls mutually suppressed each other. Wang Qiu'er's current martial soul was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, possessing a fire attribute close to the extreme, naturally forming an overwhelming suppression in terms of attributes.
"Boom—" The instant Wang Qiu'er blasted out the golden dragon head, it suddenly expanded outward. Although its color became illusory, it seemed like a true golden dragon raising its head and descending upon the mortal world.
As the dragon head passed through, the swirling water prison instantly evaporated into nothingness.
The Sea Wave Sect captain's expression became extremely grave as he activated his strongest soul skill to block in front. The deep-blue turtle shell formed an enormous shield. Yet in the face of this golden dragon head that suppressed him in both attribute and power, it was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
His double-sided turtle shell protecting his chest and back was shattered by the golden dragon's head, and his body was sent flying backward, slamming heavily into the soul guidance protective barrier.
Just as the remaining six members of the Sea Wave Sect team prepared to unleash soul skills for defense, Xiao Xiao, standing in front of Ning Tian, suddenly focused her gaze and raised both hands.
A trace of softness seemed to appear on her face, and a verdant green jade xiao appeared in her hands.
The xiao was very long, engraved with a vivid phoenix relief.
A faint melody arose, and a layer of verdant green light halo spread outward with Xiao Xiao's body at the center.
Just a momentary lag was enough to decide the Sea Wave Sect team's fate.
The verdant green light swept past. Nanmen Yun'er severed the countless pink tentacles of the Sea Wave Sect team's main control soul master, her sharp jade-green blade pointing directly at the space between the opponent's neck.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's methods were far less gentle than Nanmen Yun'er's. Especially Wu Feng, during this period, watching Ning Tian and Yu Tianhuang interact so intimately had already accumulated countless negative emotions in her heart. She showed absolutely no intention of holding back.
Both dragon claws extended forward, her fourth soul ring flashing. Her body vanished, and fiery red light converged into a red dragon silhouette that flashed through the air and disappeared.
Fourth soul skill, Dragon Soaring.
The four Sea Wave Sect team members with fish-type martial souls, now that the water prison had vanished, were falling from midair toward the ground. They were perfectly engulfed by this red dragon silhouette.
Fortunately, the referee Zheng Zhan intervened in time, preventing the four from suffering serious injuries.
Finally, that seahorse Soul King was also overwhelmingly crushed by Dai Huabin. With his martial soul quality and soul power cultivation advantage, plus the amplification from Ning Tian's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, if he still couldn't achieve such overwhelming dominance, then he would not deserve to be called an elite disciple of Shrek Academy's inner court.
Zhu Lu, who did not need to act herself, quietly revealed her figure beside Dai Huabin.
Like a force that crushes dry weeds and breaks rotten wood, the fully comprehensive Shrek representative team completely crushed this team of sea soul masters with their unique abilities.
And this was still far from their limit. Even now, without Xu Zihuang present, no one dared to underestimate this Shrek team.
After the Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan announced the match result, the Shrek team calmly and composedly withdrew from the stage ahead of time. There was no exchange among the members during the process. This display only added more mystery and shock to the audience present.
With this battle concluded, it meant that the Shrek team had already advanced to the next finals stage as the group's first place.
The next match was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's battle. Although Xiao Hongchen had not returned, under Meng Hongchen's leadership, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy representative team also defeated their opponent without suspense and advanced alongside Shrek Academy.
And the match between the Tang Sect team and the Holy Spirit Team was scheduled for this afternoon.
Bright Moon Hotel, fourth floor.
Huo Yuhao sat on the bed in his room, head lowered in silence. His messy, long, black hair covered his face, making his expression impossible to see.
Tang Wutong's cultivation far surpassed Huo Yuhao's. Merely from the soul power shock inflicted by Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao had needed nearly half a month of recuperation before fully recovering.
During this period of recuperation, the disdainful and disgusted expression on Tang Wutong's face, along with that word "trash" that completely shattered his psychological defenses, kept replaying in his mind.
"You high-and-mighty young masters from great families have looked down on me from beginning to end, so why bother pretending?!" Huo Yuhao's expression twisted ferociously as he clenched his fists tightly.
Just now, Beibei had come to check on his physical condition. From his perspective, there was only hypocrisy and sanctimonious pretense. He even began to imagine on his own that Beibei was doing this so that he would participate in this afternoon's match against the Holy Spirit Team.
"Make me risk my life for your Tang Sect? In your dreams! If you want to go die, go die yourselves!"
Huo Yuhao snorted coldly and stood up, storing all his luggage into his storage-type soul guidance device. Having personally witnessed the bizarre methods of those evil soul masters, he did not believe Beibei and the others had any chance of winning.
"It is time to leave the Tang Sect."
Huo Yuhao made up his mind in his heart. Not only to escape facing those evil soul masters, but also to seek another path.
Inside the Tang Sect, he saw no hope of becoming a top powerhouse and avenging his mother.
However, before leaving, there was still one person he could not let go of.
In the neighboring room, Dai Luoli, who was meditating to maintain his condition, suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Dai Luoli stood up in confusion and opened the door. Seeing Huo Yuhao standing at the entrance, he furrowed his brows slightly.
"Is something the matter?"
Ever since discovering that Huo Yuhao harbored hostility toward Yu Tianhuang, he had always maintained this lukewarm attitude toward Huo Yuhao. Moreover, judging from the various things Huo Yuhao had shown in daily life, he also felt this person was not worth befriending deeply.
Huo Yuhao walked in, closed the door, raised his head to look at Dai Luoli, and went straight to the point.
"Luoli, give up this match. Those evil soul masters are not someone you can deal with. There is no need to put yourself in danger."
"What did you say?"
Dai Luoli was slightly stunned, then righteously rejected it: "I don't know why you're telling me this, but my father taught me from a young age that once a man makes a promise, he must keep it. Since I promised Brother Bei and Sister Xiaoya to represent the Tang Sect in this tournament, I will not retreat."
"Father? Keep promises?" Hearing these keywords, a surge of hostility instantly filled Huo Yuhao's heart, his eyes turning bloodshot.
"Moreover, I don't want to disappoint Brother Yu. If Brother Yu were here, he definitely wouldn't avoid fighting just to selfishly preserve himself!"
And Dai Luoli's subsequent addition completely detonated the emotions Huo Yuhao had suppressed for so long. He roared furiously.
"Are the words your father said necessarily correct?! You defend him so much, but has he ever cared about you?! If he truly cared about you, would you have been in that kind of situation in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion back then?! To outsiders, he is a hero guarding the nation's border, but to me, he is nothing but scum!"
"And you keep calling him Brother Yu. Do you think someone like Yu Tianhuang would ever look up to you?! That kind of young master from a great family, raised in luxury since childhood, is born thinking he is superior to others. He will never understand what you have experienced. He taught you a self-created soul skill. Do you think he truly values you?! It's merely the condescending charity of someone in a superior position!"
Huo Yuhao appeared to be questioning Dai Luoli, but in reality, he was looking in the mirror at himself. Moreover, he forcibly projected all the injustices and feelings he believed he had suffered onto Dai Luoli.
It was clear that he had become desperate.
And Dai Luoli also became furious. Blood-colored soul power formed a tiger head silhouette wrapping around his right fist, which he smashed fiercely into Huo Yuhao's face.
"Shut up! What right do you have to insult my father and Brother Yu?!"
Dai Luoli instinctively used the Thought of Winter Fist. Although his kind-hearted nature made him regain some reason afterward and restrain his strength, Huo Yuhao was still sent staggering back dozens of steps by this punch, his back slamming into the wall with a muffled groan.
Fragments of teeth mixed with blood spilled from Huo Yuhao's mouth. Dai Luoli's punch had left a deep fist imprint on his face. At this moment, he looked especially terrifying.
Dai Luoli reacted and felt guilt rising in his heart.
"I..."
"Heh." Huo Yuhao coldly stared at Dai Luoli, gave a self-mocking laugh, then staggered as he opened the door and left without looking back.
If you are willing to die on the competition stage, that is your freedom. From now on, you and I have no further connection.
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