Competitions always get more intense as they progress, and this year's competition is especially so. In the third round, over four days, there were contestants who died every day. After four days, the Death toll of this year's competition has reached a terrifying thirty-three people, half of whom died on the arena in the third round, which is regrettable.
A rare one-day break appeared between the third and fourth rounds of the competition, giving all advanced teams time to recuperate. While such a day might be insignificant for strong teams like Shrek Academy, it is quite important for some ordinary teams. After all, an extra day of rest means an extra day to adjust their condition and recuperate their bodies!
However, although the fourth round of the competition was postponed by one day, the draw for the fourth round was completed on the same day the third round ended.
The fourth round of the competition is slightly different from the first three rounds. This round is divided into two parts. The first part is no different from the first three rounds—it's combat. Twenty-three matches are spread over two days. Winners advance to the group stage, while losers enter the second part. Because this year's competition directly determines the top thirty-two teams, teams entering the second part need to be ranked according to their team points, and the top nine teams in points will advance to the group stage.
Shrek Academy's opponent in the fourth round is Tianjia Sect. That's right, the same Tianjia Sect that eliminated Falan Academy. Upon hearing this news, Jiang Nannan immediately became excited. She was already eager to get revenge for her little sister.
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The fourth round of the competition began. The first match was between the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team and the Tang Sect Team. However, to everyone's surprise, the Tang Sect directly forfeited the match. Although it's unclear what considerations led the Tang Sect members to make such a decision, their decisiveness in being able to bend and stretch still drew boos from many Sun Moon Empire citizens.
The competition has been going on for so long that audiences have already memorized the general information of the standout teams. The Tang Sect Team's performance in the first three rounds naturally falls into this category. So, even though the Tang Sect has been in decline for a millennium, when the Sun Moon Empire citizens saw this continent's number one Sect surrender without a fight against their country's number one Academy, they were still very excited, as if the Tang Sect was still the continent's number one Sect, and as if the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had truly won against the continent's number one Sect without a fight.
Soon, the first day of competition was halfway over. In the seventh match, the Shrek Academy Team faced the Tianjia Sect Team.
The Shrek Academy members had already arrived in the waiting area. Everyone looked at Zhu Ziyang, awaiting his arrangements. Jiang Nannan even directly hugged his arm, her two watery big eyes fixed on him, making her intentions clear.
"Oh! Alright, then, Nannan, you go." Zhu Ziyang sighed helplessly, then affectionately stroked Jiang Nannan's head and said, "But remember one thing, don't go too far!"
"Yay!" Jiang Nannan, hearing this, jumped up excitedly, kissed Zhu Ziyang on the cheek, and said, "No problem!"
This action instantly drew the attention of everyone present, as it was simply too conspicuous. The opposing Tianjia Sect members all instantly had dark expressions. This was perhaps too disrespectful to them; were they truly so weak in the eyes of Shrek Academy? The thoughts of other teams and spectators were much simpler: envy mixed with speechlessness. After all, the adult Jiang Nannan's charm was truly something not easily resisted by ordinary people; saying that her smile could bring down a city would absolutely not be an exaggeration.
"Ahem, both contestants please come up to the stage!" On the arena, the referee for this match coughed and called out.
Jiang Nannan and the Tianjia Sect contestant ascended the arena from opposite sides. The Tianjia Sect contestant was a strong young man, but not many spectators paid attention to him. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the elegant and noble Jiang Nannan, who resembled a moon goddess, and the cheers naturally grew louder. People are always more tolerant when facing a beauty.
When Xu Tianran on the main rostrum saw Jiang Nannan, his eyes couldn't help but light up, but then, his eyes quickly darkened, his hands clenched into fists, and a surge of hatred welled up deep in his eyes.
The two parties on the arena exchanged names in front of the referee.
"Shrek Academy, Jiang Nannan."
"Tianjia Sect, Han Yu."
Jiang Nannan's pretty face was expressionless, while Han Yu of Tianjia Sect had a smile on his face. Perhaps he wanted to leave a good impression on Jiang Nannan; this guy, thinking he was clever, actually nodded to Jiang Nannan as if the two had long been acquainted.
Facing the other party's self-important behavior, Jiang Nannan's heart was calm. In fact, at this very moment, she was wondering whether she should go all out or keep some of her trump cards hidden.
"Match start." The referee's right hand suddenly swung down, announcing.
Jiang Nannan's figure instantly vanished. Everyone only felt a silver blur flash past their eyes, but couldn't discern its essence. Only a few powerful Spirit Masters among the audience knew that the silver blur was Jiang Nannan. They couldn't help but gasp, because such speed was definitely not something a Spirit King or Spirit Emperor could possess.
After the referee announced the start of the match, Han Yu of Tianjia Sect also immediately summoned his Spirit. A hexagonal, jet-black shield appeared in his hand, and behind him were five spirit rings: two yellow, two purple, and one black. To be fair, Han Yu's strength was quite good among the many contestants, but unfortunately, he encountered Jiang Nannan.
His Spirit is called Heavenly Armor Shield, a typical defensive Spirit, and the foundation of the Tianjia Sect's establishment. In fact, the Tianjia Sect is a very typical Sect power, built on the foundation of the same family and the same Spirit, supplemented by recruiting some Spirit Masters with similar Spirits. This type of Sect once occupied a large portion of the Spirit Master's world, and some well-known great Sects are family-based Sects, such as the Clear Sky Sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
As soon as Han Yu summoned his Spirit, he looked to the opposite side, only to find Jiang Nannan gone. There was no trace of Jiang Nannan in his perception either, which immediately panicked him. He subconsciously brought the shield to his chest, but as he moved, a silver stream of light appeared with a "whoosh," and then a small pink fist landed on the shield on his chest.
"Bang!"
Han Yu was instantly sent flying. As he flew through the air, he still wore a bewildered expression, accompanied by organ distortion caused by intense pain. He felt as if he had been hit by a bull weighing tens of tons. The immense force, with its strong penetrative power, directly bypassed the shield on his chest and struck him in the chest. He felt as if he was going to die.
"Bang!" "Bang!"
There were two more sounds. It turned out that Han Yu had crashed into the arena's protective shield while flying backward, and then slammed onto the ground along the shield, causing the noise. Han Yu himself, upon contact with the ground, rolled his eyes and fainted directly, ending his journey in this Soul Master Competition somewhat shamefully.
"Next!" From the spot where Han Yu had stood, Jiang Nannan smiled charmingly and said.
Watching Jiang Nannan's captivating smile, the Tianjia Sect contestants below the stage unconsciously swallowed. It wasn't because of Jiang Nannan's charm, but because of Han Yu's experience—it was too terrifying. Such a beautiful woman was actually so formidable, knocking a Spirit King-level Han Yu flying with one punch. Truly terrifying!
Jiang Nannan didn't know that her simple punch had already caused psychological trauma to too many people, because she had already held back a lot, only using subsonic speed. One must know that her current top speed can reach three times the speed of sound! If she had used her full speed just now, a small Spirit King like Han Yu would probably be instantly blasted into smithereens with one punch.