At this moment, although Liu Yuan's heart was filled with boundless anticipation for the upcoming top-tier auction, he wished he could fast-forward time straight to its opening.
Especially when he thought of the fate-altering Heal Ball and the soon-to-appear Snow Empress, the urge became even stronger.
But reality was reality. Time would never speed up just because of one person's will.
The preparations for the top-tier auction still required time, and the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was still in full swing.
So, back in his luxury suite at the Star Emperor Grand Hotel, Liu Yuan forcibly calmed his restless emotions.
He double-locked the door, then activated the room's soundproofing soul tool barrier.
After finishing all this, he sat cross-legged on the bed. With a flick of his wrist, the crystal box containing the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife appeared in his palm.
"Whew…"
Liu Yuan took a deep breath and carefully mobilized a sliver of spirit power, cautiously probing into the crystal box, trying to make contact with the gold of living beings beneath that layer of resentment.
However, the instant his spirit power touched the carving knife itself—
Buzz!
A shrill scream suddenly erupted in his spiritual sea, as if countless resentful souls were wailing directly into his ears. The pitch-black current of negative emotions surged back along his spirit power, attempting to erode his sanity.
Liu Yuan frowned and acted decisively, severing that trace of spirit power at once. He closed the crystal box again and stored it back into his storage soul tool.
"As expected… forcibly absorbing this thing is still not an option."
Liu Yuan opened his eyes. A thin sheen of cold sweat had formed on his forehead, yet his gaze remained clear and steady.
He didn't feel discouraged.
After all, in the original storyline, Huo Yuhao had been able to purify this knife because Electrolux resided within him, and he also had a million-year spiritual-type spirit beast—the Heavenly Dream Iceworm—as a safety net.
Liu Yuan couldn't replicate that, so he would simply change his approach.
"Since Dean Jing Hongchen told me not to rush things, I'll listen and play it safe."
A relaxed smile appeared at the corner of Liu Yuan's mouth.
"Besides, this thing already belongs to me. It's not going anywhere."
"Once the tournament ends, I'll obtain the Snow Empress, then return to the Sun Moon Empire and have the Dean gather several ninth-rank soul engineers to set up a grand formation and refine it slowly. That'll be far more secure."
Having sorted this out, Liu Yuan no longer fixated on the matter.
Right now, his priorities were adjusting his condition, preparing for the upcoming matches, and… waiting for the perfect moment to capture the Snow Empress.
…
The next few days passed without any major incidents.
Liu Yuan and the members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy returned to their usual rhythm.
During the day, they went to Star Luo Plaza to watch matches, analyzing the tactics and strength of potential opponents.
At night, they either cultivated individually or gathered to discuss strategy.
As time went on, the round-robin stage of the tournament finally came to an end.
Although this year's competition had seemed especially turbulent due to Shrek Academy's repeated "incidents," the battles between the other academies were just as fierce.
After countless clashes soaked in sweat and blood, only sixteen elite teams remained from the original hundred-plus participants.
Each of these sixteen teams had fought their way through layers of elimination and brutal selection.
With the round-robin stage concluded, the tournament was about to enter its most brutal and exhilarating phase—the Top Sixteen Elimination Rounds.
Unlike the round-robin format, where a single loss still left room for recovery, the elimination rounds were an asura battlefield where one match determined everything.
Win, and you advance to the top eight, continuing your march toward the championship.
Lose, and you pack up and leave immediately, with all your effort and sweat rendered meaningless.
This format compressed the margin for error to the absolute minimum, pushing the tension of the competition to its peak.
…
Inside a conference room at the Star Luo Grand Hotel.
All members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy were seated together. The atmosphere was relaxed, yet beneath it lay a faint killing intent.
Jing Hongchen sat at the head of the table, holding the freshly released list of the top sixteen. His gaze swept across the room before finally settling on Liu Yuan, Ma Rulong, and the others.
"The round-robin stage is over. Starting tomorrow, the real fighting begins."
Jing Hongchen's voice was calm and powerful.
"Tonight, the drawing ceremony for the Top Sixteen Elimination Rounds will take place. There are no avoidance rules—everything depends purely on luck."
"In other words, we could face any team that advanced from the group stage."
At this point, Jing Hongchen paused, a confident smile appearing on his face.
"Of course, with the strength of our Sun Moon team, there's no need to fear anyone we draw."
The team members nodded in unison, their battle intent surging.
Liu Yuan sat in a corner, lightly tapping his fingers against the table. His gaze drifted through the conference room window toward the area where Shrek Academy was staying.
Even from this distance, he seemed to sense the oppressive atmosphere emanating from that direction.
Over the past few days, while watching matches, he had paid particular attention to the Shrek team's condition.
It had to be said—Shrek Academy truly deserved its reputation as the number one academy on the continent. Its foundations were indeed profound.
Ma Xiaotao, who had suffered heavy injuries in her battle against him, had already returned to full health.
However, what surprised Liu Yuan was how absurdly poor this group's ability to handle pressure seemed to be.
Ever since Ma Xiaotao lost to him, the Shrek team had behaved as if their souls had been knocked out of them.
Their morale was visibly low.
Liu Yuan had originally assumed they would recover quickly.
But days had passed, and the Shrek team's condition still hadn't improved.
Especially when Liu Yuan heard other spectators discussing the possibility that Shrek might lose if they encountered the Sun Moon team in the later rounds…
Within the pupils of the Shrek team members, there always seemed to be a faint, flickering trace of fear.
It was somewhat ridiculous.
Liu Yuan pondered quietly.
Perhaps…
This was what people meant by "the higher you stand, the harder you fall"?
Or…
Was it simply that the pressure imposed by the so-called "Glory of Shrek" was too heavy for them to bear?
The more Liu Yuan thought about it, the more it made sense.
Before this—when Shrek Academy had never lost, when defeat was unthinkable—that so-called "Glory of Shrek" probably didn't feel oppressive at all.
But now it was different.
They likely still hadn't found a way to defeat him.
And so, that "Glory of Shrek" had turned into shackles.
If he put himself in their shoes—if he were a member of Shrek Academy, facing the possibility of breaking Shrek's ten-thousand-year undefeated record—he would feel immense pressure as well.
So it wasn't strange that the Shrek team was in this state.
However…
Liu Yuan and Shrek were enemies.
The misfortune of one's enemy only brings sorrow to their loved ones and joy to their foes.
And right now, Liu Yuan was enjoying himself quite a bit.
He was even thinking—how wonderful would it be if, later during the draw, they actually ended up facing the Shrek team in the top sixteen?
Given Shrek's current condition, they were clearly in disarray.
It would be the perfect opportunity for the Sun Moon team to defeat them.
If they really drew Shrek, there was a very high chance they could eliminate them on the spot.
And when that happened—
The reigning champions, Shrek Academy, eliminated in the top sixteen?
Just imagining that scenario was enough to make it entertaining beyond belief.