The first rays of dawn spilled across the Grand Arena of the Continental Soul Master Tournament. After a long night's rest, the next day of competition quietly arrived.
Because the Star Luo National Academy had chosen to forfeit their one-on-one round against Shrek Academy, the morning schedule was compressed, and the highly anticipated match between Di'ao Academy and the Sun and Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was pushed forward.
Amidst thunderous applause and expectant cheers from the audience, the rules were once again explained in an orderly fashion.
Presiding over the battle was Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu, his cold and imposing presence as sharp as ever. Each deliberate step he took onto the stage carried an invisible weight, commanding silence and respect—symbolizing fairness and authority.
Di'ao Academy's first representative was their captain, Jiang Peng—a tall, broad-shouldered young man radiating natural confidence and vigor. The enormous battle-axe in his hands gleamed with a chilling light, as though it could split mountains and skies alike.
From the Sun and Moon side, Mika, a five-ring Soul King, took the stage. Though his soul power was slightly inferior to Jiang Peng's, the sophisticated Soul Tools strapped across his body exuded an aura of precision and menace.
As soon as the match began, Mika launched his assault. The Soul Tools in his hands blazed to life, releasing beams of focused energy that shot toward Jiang Peng like bolts of lightning.
But Jiang Peng showed no fear. With a thunderous roar, he swung his Heaven-Shaking Axe, unleashing a wave of pure Soul Power that smashed through every incoming blast.
Then, his figure blurred forward like a hunting tiger. With explosive strength, he brought his axe down in a devastating arc.
Mika fought valiantly, but against Jiang Peng's overwhelming might, his defenses quickly crumbled.
Moments later, before he could even activate a full Soul Tool skill, Mika was blasted clean off the platform.
The audience erupted in shock and admiration—Jiang Peng's dominance was absolute.
However, the Sun and Moon team remained composed. Their captain, Ma Rulong, calmly stepped onto the stage.
His expression was cool, his gaze steady and confident. Each step he took exuded quiet control, as if he were walking straight into destiny.
When Jiang Peng saw him, his eyes narrowed. Both hands tightened around the Heaven-Shaking Axe, his stance firm and focused.
He knew this fight was crucial. If he could defeat Ma Rulong, Di'ao Academy's chances of an upset would greatly increase.
"I'll defeat you," Jiang Peng declared, pointing his axe at Ma Rulong. His booming voice echoed through the arena like a war drum.
Ma Rulong only smiled faintly, his tone relaxed yet piercing:
"Do you really think words like that can provoke me?"
Though his voice wasn't loud, it carried clearly to every corner of the coliseum—firm, confident, and calm.
As they retreated to their starting positions, the air between them seemed to thicken with tension. The audience collectively held its breath.
Jiang Peng snorted coldly. "Ma Rulong, I'll show you that Soul Masters who rely on their own cultivation and potential are far above you Soul Engineers who depend on external tools. You'll fall just like the last one."
His tone dripped with pride and disdain for Soul Engineers.
But Ma Rulong remained unruffled. "Mika didn't fight at his full strength. Beating him doesn't prove Soul Masters are superior."
He continued steadily, "The Soul Tools he used weren't of his own design—they were built specifically to counter you. A Soul Engineer is strongest when using his own creations."
His eyes gleamed with quiet pride. "Every Soul Tool I wield was forged by my own hands. Allow me to show you what a true Soul Engineer can do."
Jiang Peng scoffed, though his expression betrayed a flicker of doubt. "You expect me to believe you made a seventh-tier Soul Tool yourself?"
Deep down, he hesitated. After all, just last night, he had witnessed someone whose genius in Soul Tool crafting had shaken his beliefs—Zhou Sicheng.
That encounter had changed him. Though he still mocked Soul Engineers publicly, Jiang Peng could no longer deny the power of Soul Tools. He had even begun to imagine how they could enhance a Soul Master's might when used properly.
So when Ma Rulong sneered, "You'll soon experience what it means to be dominated by Soul Tools," Jiang Peng only gave a low laugh. "Talk is cheap. Show me your strength."
Both men took their final positions.
Then Huang Jinxu's cold, impartial voice cut through the tension:
"Begin."
Those simple words struck like thunder.
Jiang Peng exploded forward, his full six-ring Soul Emperor power unleashed. His six Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—flared brilliantly as his aura surged.
He charged like a cannonball, Heaven-Shaking Axe raised high, aiming to end the battle in one strike.
In response, Ma Rulong raised his right hand, where each finger bore a gleaming Soul Tool ring. The first ring flashed, and a massive metallic cannon—over a meter and a half long and ten centimeters wide—materialized in his grasp. With practiced ease, he shouldered it.
At the same time, his Martial Soul manifested. His head swelled disproportionately large, his features twisting into something both bizarre and unsettling—the Great-Headed Spirit Ape, an auxiliary-type beast spirit.
Like most Soul Engineers, Ma Rulong's spirit skills primarily enhanced his Soul Power output and stamina, allowing him to wield high-tier Soul Tools longer and more efficiently.
That was precisely how he was able to both craft and wield seventh-tier Soul Tools despite not being a Soul Sage.
And with that, their battle began in earnest.
Both possessed ideal Soul Ring configurations, but Jiang Peng's traditional training made his Soul Power foundation denser and his Martial Soul's strength purer.
Ma Rulong, though partly reliant on elixirs, had the advantage of strategy and equipment.
Their clash was fierce.
Ma Rulong's cannon fired a relentless barrage of radiant energy beams. Each one burned with destructive might, slicing through the air like a storm of lasers.
Jiang Peng countered with sweeping axe strikes, each swing radiating surging waves of Soul Power that rippled across the arena.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, the man who had just mocked Soul Engineers began using Soul Tools himself.
A shimmering energy shield enveloped Jiang Peng's body, blocking several blasts. He held the Heaven-Shaking Axe in one hand while the other gripped a shoulder-mounted Soul Cannon, launching explosive shells toward Ma Rulong like guided missiles.
Ma Rulong's brows twitched. This guy? He mocked Soul Engineers and now he's using Soul Tools himself?
Still, Jiang Peng's devices were crude—simple to operate, low-level models, obviously used without deep understanding.
Even so, they gave Ma Rulong some trouble, forcing him to expend energy and focus on defense.
After gauging Jiang Peng's rhythm, Ma Rulong finally unveiled his trump card—a Seventh-Tier Soul Tool: High-Temperature Radiation Cannon.
The moment it appeared, waves of heat rippled through the arena. The cannon glowed like a miniature sun, radiating devastating energy.
Ma Rulong took aim and fired.
A blinding beam erupted forth, striking faster than lightning. Jiang Peng couldn't dodge—it pierced through his Heaven-Shaking Axe's Soul Power projection and sent him flying across the stage.
But Jiang Peng's spirit was unbreakable. Even as he was thrown back, he retaliated.
He activated every Soul Tool on his body, their combined light flaring like a blazing constellation. With a roar, he hurled a tracking Soul Cannon shell that screamed through the air toward Ma Rulong.
At the same time, his first Soul Skill ignited—the unique control ability of his Martial Soul. Though the axe had left his hands, it floated and moved like an extension of his body.
"Dragon-Slaying Eighteen Strikes!" he bellowed.
Eighteen axe lights filled the sky, each infused with soul power so fierce that they tore grooves into the stage itself.
Ma Rulong responded flawlessly. He predicted the tracking shell's path, detonating it mid-air with a perfectly timed energy pulse, then resumed his relentless counterfire.
Blinding beams of molten energy tore through the space between them.
The two clashed again and again—soul power and mechanical firepower colliding in thunderous explosions that shook the stands. The crowd roared in excitement and disbelief.
As the fight dragged on, Jiang Peng's soul power waned. His movements slowed, his strikes weakened.
Ma Rulong seized the moment, intensifying his assault. His Soul Tools rotated and switched with dazzling speed, his mastery undeniable.
Finally, after an exhausting exchange, Ma Rulong triumphed.
Yet victory came at a price. Though uninjured, he had been forced to use several costly one-time-use Soul Tools and lost over half his soul power in the process.
Panting, Jiang Peng stood bloodied but unbowed.
Ma Rulong regarded him silently, then said, "You fought well—but this is as far as you go."
As Jiang Peng was carried off the field by healing-type Soul Masters, he gave only a faint smile.
He had lost, yes—but his understanding of Soul Tools had deepened. What he once dismissed as crutches now seemed like limitless potential.
For him, that revelation was worth more than victory.
Because only Shrek Academy, he realized, possessed the power to challenge a force as formidable as the Sun and Moon Empire.
After Huang Jinxu announced the result—"First round: Sun and Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, victory. Di'ao Academy, send your next representative."—the match resumed.
Ma Rulong remained on stage, quickly drinking a restorative potion.
His instincts told him this fight wasn't over. Di'ao Academy's members might have learned from Jiang Peng's example—and he was right.
The next opponent also came equipped with Soul Tools.
Despite the vast difference in cultivation—Ma Rulong's Soul Emperor power should have crushed a Soul King—the battle was fierce. His opponent's synchronized use of Martial Soul and Soul Tools made every exchange unpredictable.
Even so, Ma Rulong endured, winning two consecutive rounds before exhaustion finally caught up to him.
By the third match, his soul power was depleted. Though still uninjured, he was forced to retire after burning through several more one-use Soul Tools.
Subsequent matches continued in similar fashion. Every Di'ao Academy student entered the ring armed with basic Soul Tools, combining brute force with technology.
The Sun and Moon team struggled to keep up. The arena thundered with explosions and shouts, the tension mounting with each battle.
When the final one-on-one bout ended, the scoreboard froze at Sun and Moon Academy: 7 – Di'ao Academy: 5.
They had won—but barely.
Every Sun and Moon competitor, including Ma Rulong himself, had expended massive resources and Soul Power to secure the victory.
It was a costly lesson—one that reminded them all:
In this tournament, no opponent is to be underestimated.
Even those they once looked down upon… could rise and force them to fight with everything they had.
****
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