Yu Tianxin's right claw, which had been struck, clenched tightly. Watching the jade sword slowly disappear, his expression became somewhat strange.
His thoughts were the same as the other four elemental academies. The power of this single sword strike from Oscar made him feel as though he were facing Dai Mubai. With just an ordinary sword strike, Oscar blocked his attack.
Although that was not Yu Tianxin's strongest attack, with the boost from his third and first soul skills as well as the enhancement of his dragon arm after Dragonization, it was not something that an ordinary Soul Ancestor could casually block.
At this moment, the referee finally reacted, glaring angrily at Oscar: "Non-participants are forbidden from making a move. Since this is your first offense, I will let you off, but if it happens again, Shrek Academy will be disqualified!"
Oscar slowly stood up, bowed calmly, and said: "Understood."
Tang San immediately cast Blue Silver Emperor to pull Xiao Wu back. After carefully examining her and finding that she was only paralyzed by lightning, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Tang San nodded to Zhu Zhuqing, who was about to take the stage. Zhu Zhuqing smiled in response: "Leave the rest to me."
Tang San then carried Xiao Wu, bowed to Oscar, and said: "Thank you, senior, for your intervention. Otherwise, Xiao Wu might have been seriously injured this time."
Oscar smiled faintly: "It is nothing, but remember to surrender earlier next time. I will not always be able to act so promptly."
Tang San felt a bit ashamed when he heard this. From the qualifiers until now, Shrek Academy had never lost a match, which had unknowingly given him a kind of confidence. Because of this, he had never expected Xiao Wu to act so decisively and aggressively.
According to his previous plan, Xiao Wu was only supposed to wear down Yu Tianxin's soul power, since she was heavily restrained when facing him.
Now it seemed that this confidence had made him a bit too careless.
Oscar came to stand in front of Tang San and fed Xiao Wu a Super Recovery Sausage. He patted Tang San's shoulder: "As a soul master, you must have the belief in victory, but overconfidence to the point of arrogance is wrong. There must be balance in all things. Xiao San, do not lead yourself astray."
Tang San nodded: "I understand. Thank you for your guidance, senior."
Oscar nodded and turned his attention back to the arena. Zhu Zhuqing had already released her martial soul. Her graceful figure looked even more striking in her tight leather outfit. Two yellow and two purple soul rings rose around her, and the soul power fluctuation of a level forty-five Soul Ancestor suddenly pressed down on Yu Tianxin.
Without saying a word, Zhu Zhuqing attacked as soon as the referee shouted for the match to begin. She activated her first soul skill, Nether Thrust, her body turning into a streak of black light as she instantly closed in on Yu Tianxin.
Yu Tianxin's expression became grim. Even he could not accurately track Zhu Zhuqing's movement. Instead of attacking head-on right away, she circled him at high speed and struck from his blind spot.
Sensing great danger, lightning erupted from Yu Tianxin's body, crackling around him. The endless lightning on his back was ripped apart by Zhu Zhuqing's Nether Hundred Claws, though it managed to block her for an instant.
Yu Tianxin reacted quickly, raising his dragon arm as his Thunder Dragon Claw struck behind him.
But by then Zhu Zhuqing had already turned into a streak of black light again, retreating far away and giving him no chance to counterattack. What she wanted was to use her unmatched speed to wear down Yu Tianxin's state and soul power.
Seeing this, Yu Tianxin realized that staying passive was not an option. Zhu Zhuqing was not Xiao Wu. Her speed far surpassed Xiao Wu's. Although she lacked Xiao Wu's many survival skills, she was even harder to deal with.
Thinking of this, Yu Tianxin knew he had to risk everything.
Watching Zhu Zhuqing circling him at high speed, Yu Tianxin suddenly looked up at the clear sky. In the next moment, he leapt high into the air, his fourth purple soul ring shining brightly. A ferocious and domineering Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon suddenly condensed in the air.
Yu Tianxin stood atop the ten-meter-long dragon, lightning coursing over his body, his aura rising to its peak. The previously clear sky became dark and oppressive as the dragon carried Yu Tianxin into the clouds, filling the sky with thunder.
Yu Tianxin's voice boomed: "Wind and rain gather, clouds cover the sun, the dragon's roar commands the heavens!"
The next moment, endless lightning stirred as a divine Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon thrust its head out of the clouds, suddenly locking onto Zhu Zhuqing below, leaving her with nowhere to hide.
Yu Tianxin, as though he had become a true dragon, dove straight down at Zhu Zhuqing.
Sensing the terrifying danger, Zhu Zhuqing remained completely calm, lighting up the fourth soul ring she had never used before.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Nether Shadow Clone!"
With the release of the skill, the shadow below her split into four, all rushing toward the four corners of the arena.
Yu Tianxin suddenly found himself unable to tell which Zhu Zhuqing was the real one.
In his eyes, all four seemed to be the real body yet also seemed not to be.
Zhu Zhuqing's fourth soul skill could create three clones identical to the original, each with forty percent of her attack power. Most importantly, as her number of soul rings increased, she could summon more clones, though their strength would not increase.
These clones could all be the real body, and the real body could swap with any of them at any time.
In the original story, Zhu Zhuqing's fourth soul skill was not this powerful, but because she had chosen a higher-quality soul beast and absorbed a soul ring above her level, its effect had greatly improved.
Yu Tianxin's strongest attack could cover only half the arena at most, and its power weakened toward the edges.
At this point, if Yu Tianxin wanted to hit Zhu Zhuqing, he had to gamble on where her real body was.
But even if he guessed right, Zhu Zhuqing could swap her real body with a clone instantly.
Thunder roared and the thunder dragon howled as the enormous Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon crashed down, obliterating two of Zhu Zhuqing's clones.
Zhu Zhuqing did not even need to swap positions, because Yu Tianxin had guessed wrong.
When the attack ended and the thunder faded, the remaining two Zhu Zhuqings turned into two afterimages, charging toward Yu Tianxin as he fell.
Before Zhu Zhuqing could attack, Yu Tianxin's unwilling voice rang out: "Thunderclap Academy surrenders."
Zhu Zhuqing was slightly stunned. Though Yu Tianxin was destined to lose, Thunderclap Academy still had two members who had not fought. He simply surrendered like this?
For Yu Tianxin, since his strongest attack that consumed nearly all his soul power had failed, there was no point in letting the remaining two Soul Elders fight.
They were no match for Zhu Zhuqing anyway. Rather than getting injured, it was better to save strength for the next matches against other academies.
Zhu Zhuqing stopped her attack, withdrew her clones, and without even glancing at Yu Tianxin, walked straight out of the arena and back to Shrek Academy's viewing area.
It was as if defeating Yu Tianxin had been a trivial matter. Even revealing her fourth soul skill seemed to have little impact on her.
In the eyes of others, her fourth soul skill was just a simple clone technique. No one even knew that her clones possessed forty percent of her attack power, much less that she could swap places with them at will.
Since Yu Tianxin had not been attacked by the clones, he naturally did not know that they could deal damage. Even if others guessed, it did not matter, because the true strength of her skill was still hidden.
With Thunderclap Academy surrendering, Shrek Academy won again, achieving nine consecutive victories in the promotion tournament.
Dai Mubai and Tang San still had not appeared, yet Shrek Academy's strength had already filled the other ten academies from the kingdom and duchy with unprecedented fear.
Yes, fear.
They had thought the Five Element Academies were the strongest in the Heaven Dou Empire division, yet they had not expected a team as unstoppable as Shrek Academy to appear this year.
In the following matches, Shrek Academy continued to sweep one academy after another with overwhelming strength. Their match against Tianshui Academy ended similarly to their match with Thunderclap Academy.
Although Shui Bing'er's martial soul was the powerful top-tier Ice Phoenix, her soul power was only level forty-three. After her soul power was worn down, her fight with Xiao Wu ended in a draw.
Shui Bing'er's freezing ability was a nightmare for all agility-type soul masters, but Xiao Wu had teleportation and Invincible Golden Body. As long as she could get close, she could pose a huge threat to Shui Bing'er.
The draw between them was already a good result. In fact, in one-on-one fights, Shrek Academy's members seemed even harder to deal with than in team battles.
The promotion tournament quickly reached its final stages, with Shrek Academy's last opponent being Godwind Academy.
Facing this team of soul masters all capable of flight, Shrek Academy's advantage was greatly reduced, but no one believed they would lose.
Yet when the match began, an astonishing scene occurred. Dai Mubai, who had not appeared since the promotion tournament began, stepped into the arena. Godwind Academy's first fighter was Feng Xiaotian.
Everyone was puzzled why Dai Mubai would suddenly appear. With Shrek's current strength, they could still win even against a team of fliers. Dai Mubai and Tang San could have continued to stay on the bench.
But for this final match, Dai Mubai was the first to take the field.
It turned out that after the drawing of lots last night, Feng Xiaotian had approached Dai Mubai and proposed a wager.
They would have a one-on-one battle. The loser's team would immediately surrender, meaning only one match would decide the outcome.
For Feng Xiaotian's obvious scheme, Dai Mubai just smiled faintly and accepted the challenge.
Feng Xiaotian was surprised. He had prepared many provocative words to anger Dai Mubai, but before he could say them, Dai Mubai had already agreed.
Noticing Feng Xiaotian's expression, Dai Mubai said only one sentence: "I do not care about your little schemes, but let me tell you this , before absolute strength, all tricks are just illusions."
"Look forward to tomorrow's match. I am going to see my future wife now. Goodbye!"
Watching Dai Mubai leave so casually, Feng Xiaotian clenched his fists. "Fine, then we will just wait and see!"
Feng Xiaotian's thinking was simple. If it was a seven-on-seven match, Godwind Academy had no chance, since Shrek now had four Soul Ancestors and one Soul King.
Challenging Dai Mubai was just a gamble for a sliver of hope. He did not believe Shrek Academy was truly unbeatable, nor that Dai Mubai was invincible.
Geniuses , he was one too.
Until now, Feng Xiaotian had not used his full strength. During the promotion tournament match against Shrek, his Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes had been interrupted by Tang San's soul skill before he could fully unleash it.
This time his opponent was the power-type Dai Mubai. Even though Dai Mubai was a level fifty-five Soul King, Feng Xiaotian wanted to challenge his limits.
Since there was a glimmer of hope, he would not give up. Moreover, he now knew what to do to win Huo Wu's heart.
The final round of the promotion tournament began with the referee's announcement. Dai Mubai and Feng Xiaotian faced each other, releasing their martial souls at the referee's signal.
"Dai Mubai, martial soul: White Tiger, level fifty-five power-attack Battle Soul King."
As his martial soul was released, Dai Mubai's body swelled, white fur grew all over him, and three horizontal stripes and one vertical stripe formed a king character on his forehead. Sharp tiger claws extended from his hands, and two yellow, two purple, and one black soul ring rose and pulsed, radiating the power of a level fifty-five Soul King.
Feng Xiaotian did not back down. His body glowed with cyan light as two yellow and two purple soul rings rose around him. With his martial soul attached, cyan fur covered his body, his frame expanded, and his hands turned into claws.
Strangely, an extra wolf head appeared on his shoulder, making him look as if he had two heads.
"Feng Xiaotian, martial soul: Gale Twin-Headed Wolf, level forty-four power-attack Battle Soul Ancestor."
Feng Xiaotian's Gale Twin-Headed Wolf was a mutated form of the Gale Demon Wolf, which was already a high-level martial soul. After mutation, it had become a top-tier martial soul. Now, the only difference between him and Dai Mubai was their soul power level.
The two geniuses faced each other, and the crowd watched with full attention. After the referee confirmed that their martial souls were fully released, he declared the start of the match.
The moment the referee's voice fell, Dai Mubai let out a thunderous tiger roar, stomped his right foot, and shot forward like a cannonball.
The wolf head on Feng Xiaotian's shoulder also let out a deafening howl as he charged at Dai Mubai.
The clash between two geniuses was about to begin!
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