Chapter 112: The Match Begins! Heavenly Soul Team vs. Sun Moon Team
On the night following the conclusion of the drawing ceremony, the top floor of the luxurious Star Luo Hotel was bathed in an icy, silver light. Moonlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, cascading over a mountain of disassembled spirit tool components piled haphazardly across a wide mahogany table. The cold metallic luster reflected off the gears and core arrays, casting sharp shadows across the room.
Captain Ma Rulong leaned over the table, his broad shoulders casting a shadow over a heavily annotated data sheet detailing the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy. A calm, unshakable confidence settled over his features. In his eyes, the Heavenly Soul team's astonishing performance during the round-robin tournament was nothing more than a flashy illusion. To him, they were fundamentally flawed—an extremely unbalanced formation.
"Everyone, look here." Ma Rulong tapped a heavy finger against the parchment, specifically targeting two names: Liu Yuan and Long Aotian. His tone remained flat, analytical.
"According to the multiple data logs recorded by our spirit tool detectors, the true core of this team consists solely of these two individuals. Long Aotian is the chief disciple of the Body Sect. His spirit power rank is exceptionally high, and his physical body strength borders on the unreasonable."
He slid his finger down to the next name. "As for Liu Yuan... his spirit power rank is only forty-nine. However, his Double Pupils martial soul possesses an extremely potent mental impact and the unique ability to see through the origin of attacks. Aside from these two anomalies, the rest of their roster consists of mediocre talents just along for the ride."
Xiao Hongchen lounged on the plush leather sofa, his long, pale fingers deftly twirling a high-level stationary spirit cannon shell like a simple coin. His heterochromatic eyes glinted with naked disdain in the dim light.
"Captain, you are being entirely too cautious," Xiao Hongchen sneered, the metallic shell clicking sharply against his ring. "That outdated concept of 'individual heroism' among Spirit Masters has absolutely no room for survival when faced with large-scale mental control spirit tools and overwhelming firepower coverage. So what if Long Aotian's physical body is tough? The moment I deploy the Slowness Field and Gravity Chains, he won't even be able to exert half of his raw strength. As for that Liu Yuan..."
Xiao Hongchen stopped his spinning. His fingers closed tightly around the cannon shell, a cruel, mocking arc curling the corners of his mouth. "What do mental-type Spirit Masters fear the most? total mental defense spirit tools. I have already prepared three Class 6 Spirit Calming Shields for this exact scenario. As long as we keep them active, his mental impact will be like a sparrow crashing headfirst into an iron plate. He poses zero threat."
Sitting nearby, Meng Hongchen let out a soft, melodic laugh. She casually twirled a lock of her shimmering silver hair around her index finger, her tone dripping with playful arrogance.
"As long as we lock down those two specific points, the remaining members of their team probably won't even last three minutes under our long-range spirit tool artillery volleys."
She tilted her head, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "In this match, our Sun Moon Imperial Academy doesn't just need to win. We must win beautifully. We will let the entire continent witness firsthand how the absolute peak of spirit tool civilization crushes these barbaric Body Martial Souls of the old era."
An atmosphere of absolute, suffocating confidence saturated the room. Ma Rulong nodded, his expression hardening as he finalized their tactical approach.
"Exactly. Tomorrow's tactical core is simple: use soft control to completely suppress Long Aotian, and rely on the Spirit Calming Shields to negate Liu Yuan's visual prowess. Once these two primary troubles are dealt with, our victory is a certainty. Now, everyone return to your rooms and double-check your spirit cores. I do not want to see a single low-level mistake on that stage."
The next day arrived in a flash of morning light.
Star Luo Plaza was packed to the absolute brim, a sea of roaring spectators shaking the very foundations of the arena. As the opening day of the round of sixteen elimination matches, the inaugural bout featured Shrek Academy against Huntian Academy.
Just as Elder Xuan had predicted with his usual stubbornness, Huntian Academy's overall combat strength sat firmly at the very bottom of the top sixteen.
The Shrek reserve team was battered. Most of them carried lingering injuries, their breathing ragged and their movements sluggish. Huo Yuhao stood among them, trapped in an extremely silent, almost unnervingly estranged state, his eyes devoid of their usual spark. Yet, despite their exhausted condition, Shrek ultimately secured a narrow, blood-stained victory, carried entirely on the backs of Bei Bei, Wang Dong, and Xu Sanshi's desperate, teeth-gritting efforts.
Up in the VIP stands, Elder Xuan watched the referee raise Shrek's banner. He shot up from his seat, his entire body trembling with raw excitement.
He uncorked his massive gourd and took a heavy, sloshing swig of wine. Liquor spilled down his chin, but he didn't care. His wrinkled, unkempt face flushed red with unadulterated smugness.
"Good! Well played!" Elder Xuan paced back and forth behind the preparation area, his heavy footsteps thudding against the stone floor. He muttered to himself, his voice thick with ecstatic relief. "I knew it—the Heavens still favor our Shrek! Winning this match means we have officially stepped across the threshold into the top eight. This victory carries immense strategic significance!"
The more Elder Xuan chewed on the thought, the more he convinced himself that the previous drawing ceremony had been a stroke of divine genius.
In his clouded mind, as long as they could buy just a few more days of rest, the lingering evil fire and severe injuries plaguing Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng could be completely suppressed with a mountain of top-tier Spirit Medicine. By the time the semi-finals arrived, with the triumphant return of two six-ring Spirit Emperors, Shrek would once again stand as the unshakeable, supreme overlord of the continent.
"Liu Yuan, oh Liu Yuan... so what if your talent reaches the heavens?" Elder Xuan sneered, his grip tightening around the neck of his wine gourd until his knuckles turned white. "Once you are utterly eliminated by those metal-clad freaks from the Sun Moon Imperial Academy, you will finally realize that only Shrek is destined to stand at the absolute peak. When that moment comes, in front of the entire continent, I want to see your face twist with agonizing regret."
He took another long gulp of wine. That blind, intoxicating confidence washed over him, making his chest swell with renewed arrogance.
As the sun climbed higher, the round of sixteen elimination matches proceeded at a suffocatingly tight pace.
One by one, the top eight slots were violently claimed.
Soon, only the final bracket of the round of sixteen stage remained. It was the singular match that had the entire continent holding its breath, watching with unblinking eyes—
Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
To the countless spectators packed into the plaza, this was no mere elimination round. This was a premature final.
On one side stood the Heavenly Soul Team, wielding the heaven-defying miracle of the Double Pupils and the brutal, ancient heritage of the Body Sect. On the other side stood the Sun Moon Team, armed to the teeth with advanced technology, representing the absolute apex of spirit tool civilization.
"Will the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy team and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy team please have their participating members take the stage!"
The Chief Referee's steady, amplified voice echoed like thunder across the vast venue. The previously deafening roar of the audience seats instantly died down, plunging the plaza into a heavy, deathly silence.
Liu Yuan walked at the very front of his team, his footsteps silent against the stone tiles.
Today, he wore a sharp, impeccably tailored set of dark purple martial attire that seemed to absorb the surrounding light. His Double Pupils were currently hidden beneath his slightly lowered eyelids, his gaze as calm and unfathomable as a bottomless abyss.
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, Electrolux was emitting bursts of low-frequency, rhythmic pulses. It was the harmonious resonance born from the complete, flawless fusion of the gold of life and the undead origin.
On the opposite side of the arena, Captain Ma Rulong led Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and the rest of the Sun Moon vanguard onto the stage. Their boots struck the ground in perfect, militaristic rhythm.
Extremely complex, high-tier spirit cores were embedded into their waists, chests, and arms. The metallic arrays hummed with suppressed energy, emitting a dazzling, blinding radiance under the midday sun.
Their posture was rigid, overflowing with an almost suffocating level of confidence. They did not look like competitors walking into a life-or-death elimination match; they looked like royalty casually strolling toward their own grand coronation.
The two teams came to a halt, standing exactly thirty meters apart in the dead center of the massive stage.
Xiao Hongchen tilted his chin up, his heterochromatic eyes locking onto Liu Yuan. Without breaking eye contact, he slowly raised his right hand in front of the entire stadium and dragged his thumb across his throat in an extremely provocative, mocking gesture.
His voice, amplified by the ambient spirit power, cut through the tense silence of the arena.
"Liu Yuan, your streak of good luck ends right here. Today, we will use the blinding light of our spirit tools to completely burn out those so-called Double Pupils of yours."
Captain Ma Rulong stepped forward, his expression cold and unyielding. "Heavenly Soul Team, if it were just Long Aotian fighting alone, he might possess the sheer durability to hold out for a little while. But on this stage, against our full formation? You have absolutely no chance."
Liu Yuan did not respond.
He didn't sneer. He didn't shout back.
He only slowly, deliberately raised his head.
Beneath his eyelids, those terrifying Double Pupils finally opened. A dark, suffocating purple brilliance, accompanied by a faint, haunting emerald shadow, quietly blossomed within his irises.
In that singular instant, the air between them seemed to freeze.
Xiao Hongchen's arrogant smirk stiffened. For absolutely no logical reason, his heart violently skipped a beat, a sudden, icy dread gripping his chest as he stared into that abyssal gaze.
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