The subsequent matches went smoothly.
They arrived at the Quarter-finals.
There were only seven participants, as the eighth person had withdrawn due to an unexpected reason.
The qualifiers included Gu Yue, Na'er, Arthur, Yuanen Yehui, Long Yue, Dai Yueyan, and Qian Wu.
That's right, Qian Wu was still in it.
The competition was restricted to participants under twenty years old, and Qian Wu, being just over nineteen, managed to enter right before the cutoff.
There was no need to say much about Yuanen Yehui; she only encountered her own teammates, and for some unknown reason, her opponents all conceded by the end.
In the Quarter-finals, only two participants were from Star Luo.
The sighs and murmurs from the Star Luo audience quieted down considerably.
The referee paused the hand holding the lottery cylinder; the pool, having one fewer person, necessitated a temporary adjustment of the rules.
Arthur vs. Long Yue, Gu Yue vs. Na'er, Qian Wu vs. Dai Yueyan.
Yes, Yuanen Yehui received a bye!
The entire venue was in an uproar; the most anticipated battle between Arthur and Long Yue had actually happened prematurely.
Even Dai Tianling on the stage frowned, asking, "How were these lots drawn?"
En Ci, standing nearby, remained silent. He couldn't understand it either. In order to prevent the Douluo Delegation from noticing anything amiss, he had personally intervened in secret to separate Arthur and Long Yue's positions in the draw. How did it turn out like this?
His fingers, hanging at his side, curled slightly, his knuckles turning white. A trace of shock and doubt flashed across his murky eyes.
Could someone have seen through his methods and secretly changed the lots?
Was there another expert operating in the shadows?
"It's just a coincidence," En Ci said, withdrawing his gaze. His voice was low, as if squeezed from his throat, carrying a tension he himself hadn't noticed. "After all, drawing lots is a matter of luck."
...The first match was Qian Wu brutally beating Dai Yueyan.
No one could have predicted this outcome.
Dai Yueyan donned his battle armor, and the moment his White Tiger Martial Soul was released, he went all out.
Silver-white battle armor covered his entire body, faint Soul Power luster flowing through the patterns. The 'King' character pattern on his forehead lit up, and a powerful Martial Soul aura swept across the arena, causing even the ground to tremble slightly.
spirit rings lit up one after another. Under the amplification of the three major Martial Soul Abilities—White Tiger Body Barrier, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and White Tiger Demonic God Transformation—his White Tiger Martial Soul reached its strongest state.
His spirit rings flashed, and he opened his mouth to unleash a shockwave that surged straight toward Qian Wu.
White Tiger Light Wave!
Facing the massive shockwave, Qian Wu was flooded with bad memories. He recalled the scene of almost seeing his life flash before his eyes after being hit by Arthur's Light Cannon.
Thus, he had a stress reaction.
As a Genius who, at the end of First Year, could have forcibly tested into the Shrek Inner Court, he displayed powerful dominance for his age group.
Six spirit rings lit up, and the aura of a Spirit Emperor swept out overwhelmingly, directly suppressing Dai Yueyan's Spirit King pressure.
The entire venue fell silent for a moment, followed by deafening gasps of astonishment. No one expected this contestant, who had been hiding his true strength, to possess the power of a Spirit Emperor!
What was even more horrifying was that, as his spirit rings lit up, a set of dark-gold battle armor covered his entire body. The armor resembled a ferocious giant beast, and a primal aura flowed through its patterns.
The Two-Word Battle Armor, Behemoth.
Sponsored and forged by a certain Little Yellow Hair.
If Qian Wu had relied solely on himself, it might have taken another year or two.
"Roar—"
The moment the battle armor attached, Qian Wu let out a low roar similar to a beast's, his figure suddenly swelled, and his speed increased to the maximum.
His fifth spirit ring flashed, and Hegemonic Body activated.
He completely ignored the heatwave of the White Tiger Light Wave, transforming into a dark-gold afterimage that forcefully smashed through the Light Wave.
Then, he threw a punch!
Dai Yueyan's pupils contracted sharply. In his haste, he mobilized his battle armor's Soul Power to condense a shield, but Qian Wu's punch contained the pent-up frustration from nearly being blasted to smithereens by Arthur's Light Cannon back then.
Most importantly, this was the crushing superiority of a Spirit Emperor over a Spirit King, and Two-Word Battle Armor over one-word battle armor.
The moment the fist and shield collided, a harsh cracking sound erupted. The silver-white battle armor shield instantly shattered, and the remaining force slammed directly into Dai Yueyan's chest.
"Bang—"
With a muffled thud, Dai Yueyan was struck heavily and sent flying backward, smashing hard against the protective wall at the edge of the arena. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, the aura of his White Tiger Martial Soul instantly dissipated, and the luster of his battle armor dimmed significantly.
Qian Wu, winner.
No one expected this result.
Shrek Academy actually harbored another expert, forcing the Star Luo Empire's strongest prince to stop at the Quarter-finals.
In the waiting area, Long Yue slightly narrowed his eyes. His gaze swept past Qian Wu, who had retracted his battle armor in the center of the arena, and finally landed on Arthur, golden-red light surging in his eyes, carrying undisguised Battle Intent.
He was confident he could achieve the final victory... The second match was Gu Yue against Na'er.
The noise in the arena had not completely subsided, but the appearance of the two girls instantly silenced the air.
Even the Shrek students themselves were filled with anticipation.
"This is great!"
"This is what I wanted to see—a fight between the two most beautiful Class Belles in our class!"
"I bet a bag of grilled fish slices, I'm betting on Gu Yue to win! Her Elemental Control is simply unbeatable!"
"I choose Na'er! You haven't been hit by Na'er before. That thrill, hiss!"
Cheers and jeers rose and fell in the Shrek student section, yet no one dared to shout loudly, fearing they might disturb the two girls in the center of the arena.
"Match start!"
There was no outward release of Soul Power, nor any display of Martial Souls. Gu Yue and Na'er simply stood quietly at opposite ends of the arena, their gazes locked.
Sunlight fell upon Gu Yue's hair tips, plating them with a faint silver glow. Her expression remained indifferent, and subtle elemental fluctuations flowed around her slender figure.
That was the convergence of water and fire, the dormancy of wind and lightning—as if all the elements of the World were subtly pulsating around her.
Na'er was rarely seen wearing a tight-fitting combat suit, her tall figure standing firm.
Her eyes were so clear they reflected Gu Yue's image. She touched her lips and said, "Gu Yue, we are close, how about we just make a token effort and call it a day?"
Gu Yue's elemental fluctuations suddenly paused. When she looked up at Na'er, a faint smile finally flashed across her eyes, gone as quickly as a shooting star. "Do you really think so?"
She glanced at Na'er's attire and her flawless stance.
"I feel like what you're saying is different from what you're doing."
Hearing this, Na'er lightly scratched her cheek, a hint of being seen through flashing in her eyes, but her straight back didn't relax at all.
It radiated a sense of pent-up power ready to erupt.
"No way," she snorted softly, silently grinding her toe against the ground, stirring up a barely perceptible gust of wind.
"I'm just afraid of hurting you."
Before her words finished, the golden Soul Power around her suddenly flared up, but instead of scattering, it was completely contained within her limbs and body, and her entire figure abruptly became "real."
It was a profound heaviness that transcended space.
At this moment, space could no longer affect her.
Na'er claimed she would just make a token effort, but her targeted defense against Gu Yue was uncompromising.
Gu Yue raised an eyebrow, the elements of water and fire quietly rotating in her palm, and a very faint smile curved her lips. "Afraid of hurting me? Then let's find out."
Before she finished speaking, Na'er's figure vanished from the spot.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"