Artillery fire was dense, and the rumble echoed above the arena. Metal barrels spat tongues of flame; even though they were scorching hot, they fulfilled their mission to the fullest. Situ Yu dared not hold back in the slightest, pouring in all his strength.
The fortress tactic's strength was its stability, defense, and firepower. Most soul engineers couldn't do what Xiao Hongchen could—conjure nearly a hundred fifth-level soul cannons with a few techniques and bare hands. Instead, they had to rely on storage soul tools to build a clunky fortress, with the obvious downside—it was hard to move.
However, with such strong firepower and defense, mobility could be ignored. Even though he was only a Soul Ancestor, Situ Yu could temporarily raise his firepower to the level of a Soul King with this metal fortress.
He truly wanted to know just how big the gap was between himself and the continent's top geniuses.
Meanwhile, offstage—
Xiao Hongchen gripped the railing tightly, eyes glued to the smoke and fire.
"Brother?" Meng Hongchen called out in confusion.
Even Ma Rulong's expression grew serious. All the soul engineer geniuses stared at the smoke-shrouded area.
Seconds later—
The smoke cleared, and a figure slowly emerged.
"Su Wen!"
The audience gasped, followed by a round of applause and cheers. They had worried about Su Wen, but seeing him unharmed put many at ease.
Xiao Hongchen and the others, however, looked even more grave.
"He didn't use a soul tool!" Xiao Hongchen's fingers trembled, unable to hide his shock.
"Nor did he use soul power."
Ma Rulong took a deep breath, looking at Su Wen with unprecedented seriousness.
"You mean..." Meng Hongchen's pupils widened.
Only now did they realize they'd barely scratched the surface with Su Wen. This was pure physical strength! Even Ma Rulong—a Soul Emperor—wasn't confident he could take that kind of hit with just his body.
To reach this level, your physical strength would have to be at least Soul Sage grade!
Maybe even a bit more for defense.
"His clothes are a bit torn, but he's completely unharmed," Xiao Hongchen swallowed.
It was his first time seeing this kind of humanoid "soul beast."
The most terrifying thing was, physical strength is usually the least impressive thing about a soul master; in other words, what Su Wen showed was just the tip of the iceberg.
But even that tip was enough to give them a headache.
Is this kind of opponent really just a reserve team member?!!
"Pick up your pride. A little carelessness, and this young dragon could devour you, let alone with the Clear Sky Sect stirring things up. Rulong, you'll need to give it your all for this match," Old Ma sighed.
"Yes, Teacher Ma."
Ma Rulong's sharpness faded, and he stared intently at Su Wen.
No one knew what he was thinking.
…
"Did you see that?" Su Wen calmly looked at Situ Yu in the fortress, asking softly.
"I—I saw it..."
Situ Yu gulped, staring as Su Wen slowly approached, like some ancient beast disguised in human skin.
Being on the same battlefield, he felt the horror of his opponent most directly.
What's the biggest difference between humans and soul beasts?
Physical strength. Many soul beasts kill humans not with fancy skills, but with sheer physical power, speed, defense, and attack.
Su Wen's figure flashed. The next instant, he was in front of Situ Yu's fortress.
"Energy shield!" Situ Yu instinctively activated the fourth-level energy shield—the fortress's last card.
A fully charged shield could withstand a Soul King's full-force blow.
Maybe it was an instinctive defense mechanism, triggered by Su Wen's pressure.
But in the next moment—
"Boom!!!"
Su Wen threw a casual punch.
His sleeve trembled, the force swelling it out, and the energy shield, in Situ Yu's horrified eyes, seemed to shatter in slow motion.
His fist swept past the defense soul tool, smashing into the fortress shell.
Heart stopped.
A wave of air blasted out on both sides.
Situ Yu's body smashed through the metal behind him, driven by terrifying force, and crashed into the distant energy barrier—just like Ma Yingjun before him, except this time the injuries were clearly much worse.
The shield dissipated.
The Cloud Luo team rushed up, hauling him away.
Their captain was seriously injured, but none of them glared at Su Wen in anger. They knew Su Wen had held back—otherwise, that punch could have easily blown Situ Yu's head off.
"Thank you..."
Blood trickled from Situ Yu's lips. Through his blurred vision, he looked at the calm figure on stage, and with effort, squeezed out those words.
Only now did he realize how laughable his so-called "full power" was.
The gap between them was as vast as a chasm.
"Thank you."
Shang Yue's expression was complicated; she bowed to Su Wen on stage.
As a rarely described side character in the original, this girl was especially long-legged and attractive—even Xu Sanshi was amazed. Su Wen glanced at her, then left the stage.
"In the end, you're from two different worlds, Shang Yue. Don't get any ideas you shouldn't," the Cloud Luo team's teacher sighed.
"Yes..." Shang Yue replied quietly.
…
Normally, in individual knockout matches, it's rare for anyone to take down seven opponents single-handedly.
This kind of gauntlet is a huge test of soul power reserves—even a genius like Xiao Hongchen, with Soul King strength, would have a hard time soloing the little-known Cloud Luo Academy (even in the original, Xiao Hongchen admitted he couldn't do it).
To actually one-vs-seven, you'd need to be above Soul Emperor level, like top genius Ma Rulong, and the opponents must be a weak team—both conditions were necessary.
So, in the tournament's history, managing a one-vs-seven—even against any team—was extremely rare, and if it happened, it would set the whole arena ablaze.
Su Wen didn't manage a one-vs-seven,
But his crushing, visually stunning battle still brought cheers from the crowd—especially when the referee announced Shrek Academy's victory, the place erupted.
"Shrek!"
"Shrek!"
"..."
In the rest area—
Xu Jiujiu stared at the figure on the field.
He wasn't a shapeshifted fierce beast,
But his physical strength was this monstrous. There were way too many secrets on Su Wen...
But now it was Star Luo's turn to take the stage.
…
"Elder Xuan is a level 98 Super Douluo, with few rivals on the whole continent," Wang Yan explained.
This surprised Jiang Nannan, Wang Dong'er, and the other reserve members.
Even Elder Xuan wore an unusually proud expression.
"Ordinary Titled Douluos run when they see 100,000-year soul beasts. Only level 92-93 Titled Douluos can face one head-on. But if you reach level 95 Super Douluo, the soul beast should be the one to run. Even 200,000-year fierce beasts can be suppressed. Elder Xuan's level can even match 500,000–600,000-year peerless fierce beasts."
Wang Yan was setting up for his next point.
"Yet, even at Elder Xuan's level, many level-9 soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire can hold their own against him. This shows that after thousands of years of development, soul tools aren't just low-level soul masters' weapons anymore—they can influence high-level battles."
"Next, the Star Luo Empire is holding a soul tool–exclusive auction. I hope you'll all come with me. If you see anything you like, I'll apply for academy reimbursement."
He was being upfront—no hidden agenda, just thinking of Shrek's future.
He looked first at Su Wen.
As the soul of the team, as long as Su Wen agreed, the others wouldn't object.
"Alright," Su Wen nodded.
The Spirit-Devouring Engraving Knife—
That was one of his goals for this trip.
"Teacher Wang is right. As Shrek elites, while we shouldn't forget the glory of the Spirit system, boycotting soul tools for the sake of it is unwise," Su Wen added.
"If we'd each had an invincible shield in the Ming Dou Mountains—even just fifth-level (enough to withstand a Soul Douluo's firepower for three seconds)—we wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state."
"..."
The brutality of the Ming Dou Mountains left everyone silent.
Especially Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen.
The feeling of brushing so close to death still felt unreal to them.
Seeing Ma Xiaotao uncharacteristically silent, Su Wen smiled, ruffling her smooth hair. "Let's go, Xiaotao."
Ma Xiaotao: (〝▼皿▼)
Courting death!
…
"We should embrace soul tools for the academy's future, and invest in research. But we can't be blind about it," Su Wen discussed with Wang Yan on the way.
"For example, for support-type soul masters like Xiao Tian, using long-range soul cannons is counterproductive. Soul tools drain soul power, and her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda drains even more. The soul tool's effect can't match the strength boost she gives teammates, and just uses up her soul power—totally unwise."
Su Wen pondered aloud.
"And for Xiaotao and the others, unless it's a soul tool custom-made by a level-9 engineer, it's best not to bother—most melee and ranged soul tools are just burdens for them, draining soul power and not making use of their martial soul's advantages."
"But invincible shields are always useful. Also, healing bottles and flight soul tools are great as support."
"You're right," Wang Yan nodded thoughtfully.
Su Wen always surprised him.
With someone like Su Wen leading Shrek Academy, how far could they go? It was exciting to think about...
"..."
Star Luo Royal Auction House.
But today's auction was not the main event—just a regular auction, held in Hall 12.
Su Wen remembered that in the original, it was Dai Yueheng's recommendation that let them enter easily—otherwise, there'd be troublesome procedures like asset verification.
But this time, Xu Jiujiu brought them in.
Maybe Xu Jiawei had arranged it,
To repay a previous promise.
The Spirit-Devouring Engraving Knife wasn't a bad knife. If Su Wen really wanted to use that favor for this, so be it.
"Please~"
Xu Jiujiu gracefully bowed her slender waist and smiled at Su Wen.
"I wouldn't dare."
Su Wen noticed the surprised looks from many maids in the distance and shook his head helplessly. Even the masked guests looked over in surprise. Although everyone wore masks, Su Wen's group of beautiful girls made them stand out anyway.
The top contenders for the championship were as popular as celebrities.
And, as is Douluo Continent tradition, every tournament draws bets. Countless people had staked their fortunes on Shrek winning—how could they not recognize them?
"Food, drinks, top service, simple yet luxurious..." Xu Jiujiu led the group to their seats, quietly instructing a pretty maid in a white dress.
"Yes."
The maid looked stunned, nodded quickly, and rushed off.
This was Hall 12, the lowest-class white hall, far from high-end. Yet Princess Xu Jiujiu herself was present—definitely odd.
Even the auctioneer in a purple dress was momentarily stunned.
But her professionalism showed; she quickly smiled and began the auction.
Even a fake smile takes skill.
"Teacher Wang Yan, what do you think?" Su Wen teased Wang Yan, who was staring at the purple-dressed auctioneer.
"Be—Beautiful."
Usually so eloquent, Wang Yan instantly blushed and lowered his head.
The purple-dressed maid was named Qing Ya, in her thirties, like calm water.
She was very attractive to Wang Yan.
But in the original, the two never got together.
One auction item after another was brought up.
Third-level soul tool: Paralysis Ray. Fourth-level defense soul tool. All auxiliary. Wang Dong'er bid for the Paralysis Ray; Bei Bei for the defense tool; Jiang Nannan for a speed-increasing soul tool, and Ling Luochen for a fourth-level healing bottle.
Overall, a fruitful haul.