"Boom!"
As the silver moonlight collided with the golden torrent, the arena seemed to pause. Countless spectators clearly saw the silver light irresistibly pierce through the golden leaf torrent. Ye Wuqing's offensive, painstakingly cultivated through four Soul Skills, seemed utterly meaningless.
Amidst the chaotic Soul Power, the golden leaves vanished into dust. Ye Wuqing, whose Soul Power reached level 58, was struck as if by lightning. He staggered back several steps, unable to halt his retreat.
His face turned deathly pale, and his brain felt as though it had suffered a heavy blow. The pain made him clutch his head, trembling with cold. With a thud, he collapsed to the ground.
Cold Moon Gaze, Xu Tianxi's first Soul Skill, delivered both physical and spiritual attacks. Even as a Soul Master, he had used it to defeat Xu Sanshi, who was a Great Soul Master.
He used it again today. Xu Tianxi's Spiritual Power far surpassed Ye Wuqing's, and his total Soul Power was also greater. Furthermore, this Soul Ring had been enhanced to a 50,000-year level by the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm. Even though he restrained most of his Spiritual Power, it still delivered a fatal blow to Ye Wuqing.
It's worth noting that with Xu Tianxi's current Spiritual Power, he no longer needed to release it through his eyes. He could condense moon phases with Spiritual Power and Soul Power, launching attacks from thin air, making them increasingly unpredictable.
The power a 50,000-year Soul Ring could unleash was far greater than this; he had already controlled it repeatedly.
Having dealt with Ye Wuqing in one strike, Xu Tianxi flicked a healing Elixir into Ye Wuqing's mouth. With his hands clasped behind his back, he turned to leave the stage, calling out from afar:
"To make me use a Soul Skill, Zheng Tian Academy, not bad."
"Thump!"
Ye Wuqing, who still wanted to utter some harsh words, fiercely fainted on the competition stage, unwilling to wake up.
The people from Zheng Tian Academy, who had been individually dealt with by Xu Tianxi below the stage, all felt an urge to faint on the spot. Sir, you really didn't need to say that!
Shangguan Can suddenly rose, shouting angrily, "That Sun Moon expert, don't leave! I, Shangguan Can, will fight you again!"
Xu Tianxi, who was walking back to the Sun Moon resting area, turned his head slightly and said, "You, a Control Type Soul Ancestor, want to fight me?"
Shangguan Can took out his Soul-Seizing Bell Martial Soul and said fiercely, "My Martial Soul is spiritual. It might just make your forehead hurt!"
He knew winning was impossible, but he wouldn't lose morale.
Xu Tianxi smiled, genuinely surprised, and nodded, "Alright, then come attack me."
"As you wish!"
Shangguan Can immediately shook the Soul-Seizing Bell, producing a series of "ding-a-ling" sounds that carried for hundreds of meters.
The referee on the competition stage wanted to say that Xu Tianxi had already left the stage and that fighting like this violated the rules. But since His Majesty the Emperor hadn't told him to stop it, he wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he watched with rapt attention.
On the battlements of the imperial city, Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire couldn't help but press his hands against the battlements, staring intently at Xu Tianxi, who let the spiritual attack wash over him. His expression was extremely solemn.
Seeing Xu Tianxi casually deal with the six experts from Zheng Tian Academy, Xu Jiawei no longer held any hope. This person was truly worthy of being the Sun Moon Empire's greatest genius in a thousand years. What he could do now was to probe for his weaknesses.
However, even with his Titled Douluo vision, he couldn't discern Xu Tianxi's true depth for a moment. It was as if Xu Tianxi possessed an extremely precious treasure that prevented outsiders from probing him.
Fortunately, this person's surname is Kong, not Xu, so he has no claim to the throne—but perhaps this can be exploited to incite internal strife within the Sun Moon Imperial Family. Xu Jiawei secretly rejoiced that Xu Tianxi was not the Sun Moon's old emperor's son. Then, he remembered the frequent bloodshed within the Sun Moon Imperial Family and immediately had an idea.
It would be difficult for them to kill Kong Tianxi, but there was no shortage of "werewolves" within the Sun Moon Empire. For the throne, the actions of the Xu Family descendants were even more ruthless than those of the Dai Family years ago.
In the past, the current emperor massacred his brother's entire family to ascend the throne. More recently, there was the struggle between the Crown Prince and other imperial princes. It was said that the Sun Moon Crown Prince's legs were destroyed by the Second Imperial Prince, and that Second Imperial Prince's entire family had been killed by the Sun Moon Crown Prince.
Although Kong Tianxi had no claim to the throne, the brilliance he displayed was too strong and too dazzling. His future was visibly bright. Could the Crown Prince and other Xu Family princes truly allow such a royal genius to grow unchecked?
Just then, Shangguan Can's scream echoed from below the competition stage, interrupting Xu Jiawei's thoughts.
Shangguan Can, whose first three Soul Rings pulsed simultaneously as he shook the Soul-Seizing Bell to produce sharp sounds and launch spiritual attacks, suddenly stiffened. Blood streamed uncontrollably from his nostrils and mouth. With a muffled groan, he toppled to the ground.
Evidently, this was a backlash from unleashing a spiritual attack, directly causing him to lose all combat ability and sustain serious injuries.
On the other side, Kong Tianxi's eyes were slightly closed, and a hint of fatigue, imperceptible to ordinary people but discernible to Soul King-level experts and above upon close inspection, flashed across his face before disappearing.
"Zheng Tian Academy, commendable courage."
After uttering a word of praise, Xu Tianxi dropped his feigned demeanor and strode back to the Sun Moon Battle Team's resting area.
Lin Jiayi, the Hongchen siblings, Ma Rulong, and others came forward one after another, excitedly celebrating Xu Tianxi's complete victory.
Seeing this, many strong individuals with sharp gazes, some even containing killing intent, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
That's good, that's good. This person isn't completely invincible. Defeating seven people in a row still took some toll. He's not so powerful as to be despair-inducing.
In the Shrek resting area, Ma Xiaotao, who rarely paid attention to peers, relaxed the intense vigilance in her eyes. Patting her chest, she said in a relaxed tone:
"This kid from the Sun Moon Battle Team is indeed formidable, but he's no match for me. We've got a shot."
Wang Yan also wiped his sweaty forehead and nodded, "Yes, it seems he does have weaknesses. Compared to his Soul Power, his Spiritual Power isn't very strong. Continuous battles might exhaust him."
That makes sense. How could the Sun Moon Empire really cultivate such an all-around terrifying genius? They must have fed him a large amount of temporary Soul Power-boosting Elixirs to achieve his current cultivation and strength, but Spiritual Power is difficult to account for.
The Hongchen siblings likely had similar issues. This was a very good breakthrough point.
Zhang Lexuan's face was still clouded with worry. Hearing this, she pondered, It seems the Sun Moon Empire's cultivation methods still have some flaws after all.
What they didn't know was that Xu Tianxi did this intentionally to conceal most of his strength and to give them a tiny, seemingly tangible, yet nonexistent "hope."
In Xu Tianxi's eyes, his opponents were no longer just these people on the arena, but Shrek Academy, the three great empires behind them, and even a certain God King in the heavens. Whether it was useful or not, concealing a few points was always harmless.
Furthermore, he couldn't yet contend with those old geezers who had cultivated for decades. If he was too astonishing and attracted a group of old fogeys to assassinate him, it would be quite troublesome. It wouldn't be good to always bother his elders.
Moments later, the Soul Master responsible for earthworks restored the competition stage to its original state, and the referee announced the next competing teams.
The battle involving the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's group concluded quickly. The referee promptly announced the Sun Moon Battle Team's overwhelming victory, securing their advancement as the group's top seed. Zheng Tian Academy came in second in the group, and both teams qualified for the top sixteen.
The next round-robin group to compete was, surprisingly, Shrek's group.
The first match in this group was between Shrek Academy and their opponent, Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy from the Sun Moon Empire. Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy's reputation in the Sun Moon Empire was second only to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. The format for the match was a 2-2-3 system.
Compared to the battle between the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and Zheng Tian Academy, this match was clearly more anticipated. The Star Luo government was skilled at arranging things.
At the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's resting area.
Xiao Hongchen sipped his chilled juice and asked with a smile, "Everyone, what do you think will happen in this match? Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy has four fifth-level Soul Engineers this time."
Aside from Xu Tianzhen's generation in the original story, Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy had almost never reached the top eight in its history. Its strength was a tier below Shrek Academy and the four great imperial academies. However, Shrek Academy was currently in a severely weakened state. They only had three Soul Kings at most. They did have a Soul Emperor in Ma Xiaotao, but she hadn't appeared in any matches since the competition began.
"I think Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy is in for some bad luck," Ma Rulong said with a steady voice. He mused, "Junior Brother Kong's feat of defeating seven opponents single-handedly was too terrifying. He alone overshadowed all the attention Shrek had gained recently. If Shrek wants to regain face, they'll have to do something big."
Meng Hongchen said, "Senior Brother Ma, are you suggesting they might send out that Soul Emperor?"
Ma Rulong nodded. "Very likely."
Xu Tianxi frowned slightly and asked Lin Jiayi, "Director, what's our relationship with Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy like?"
Lin Jiayi was momentarily stunned before replying, "It's alright, not too close, not too distant. Our academy is undeniably the best in Sun Moon, and they compete with several other academies for second place. We've had some academic exchanges, mainly them coming to us to learn."
Xu Tianxi thought for a moment and said, "I suggest they surrender after two matches."
"Why?"
Xu Tianxi's gaze fell on Shrek's resting area. He calmly stated, "Because I know that Soul Emperor from Shrek is a very skilled killer, extremely dangerous."
"Even with an Invincible Shield, it's hard to escape that crazy woman's grasp. If they don't want to die, they can only surrender. It's not shameful anyway."
Lin Jiayi's expression tightened. He nodded and sent a signal to the lead teacher of Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy next door. As for whether the other party would accept the advice, that was Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy's own business. All they could do was warn them.
At Shrek's resting area, Ma Xiaotao's peach-blossom-colored eyes gleamed with excitement as she said to Zhang Lexuan:
"Senior Sister, you saw it. Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy has four Soul Kings. This time, I absolutely must participate and secure a great victory!"
Zhang Lexuan glanced at Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy's team and softly said, "I think those Soul Kings look like they just broke through recently. Their strength might not even be as good as Bei Bei's. There's no need for you to act. It's better to let the junior brothers and sisters get more practice."
Dai Huabin excitedly raised his hand. "Senior Sister, I think Zhu Lu and I can go on. We definitely won't disappoint you."
"Go, go, go! What's a kid who isn't even a Soul Ancestorinterjecting for? Do you think this is a game?" Ma Xiaotao's voice was filled with disdain, effectively shutting Dai Huabin down. Then, ignoring Dai Huabin's grim expression, she continued speaking to Zhang Lexuan:
"Senior Sister, you just saw it. That ruthless kid from the Sun Moon Empire defeated seven opponents from Zheng Tian Academy by himself. Many spectators are now doubting whether our Shrek can defend our title. At this moment, I absolutely must go out there and show Shrek's power to reassure the audience!"
"This..." Zhang Lexuan showed hesitation.
"Xiaotao is right, that's exactly what we should do!" Cai Meier spoke up in support of Ma Xiaotao, encouraging her, "I'll make the decision this time. Xiaotao, you'll anchor the 2-2-3 formation. If you get a chance to act, you must unleash Thunderbolt and knock them all down!"
Ma Xiaotao was overjoyed and agreed, "Dean, don't worry! I will definitely display my strongest power!"
Zhang Lexuan furrowed her brows, trying to stop her. "Xiaotao, your Evil Fire hasn't been resolved yet. What if something unexpected happens if you go all out?"
"Don't worry, Senior Sister, I know my limits. Besides, the teacher who's helping me is already at the hotel, right?" Ma Xiaotao said with an unconcerned smile. At that moment, all she could think about was getting on the competition stage and having a good fight. She didn't even care about the threat of the Evil Fire.
"And even if I overexert myself, this time the opponents are from the Sun Moon Empire. What's there to worry about? I won't be afraid even if accidentally killing someone falls on me."
At this moment, black flames seemed to dance in Ma Xiaotao's eyes.