The next day,
Shrek Academy's second round-robin match was about to begin. This time, their opponent was no pushover, but the Qian Ling Advanced Spirit Master Academy from the Dou Ling Empire.
This academy ranked among the top three in the Dou Ling Empire—exceptionally strong.
"Qian Ling Academy versus Shrek Academy—team battle!"
A team battle?
Su Yunlin stood up. Wang Dong, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Chen Zifeng, and Huo Yuhao followed suit, walking over to Beibei's side.
Xiao Xiao remained below, cheering them on.
Stepping onto the stage, Su Yunlin casually glanced at Chen Zifeng beside him and said, "Senior Chen, that Thousand Strike Spear over there looks pretty troublesome. How about you take him out?"
Shen Ce, the Thousand Strike Spear on the opposing side, was momentarily stunned before his expression turned serious. He recognized Chen Zifeng—one of Shrek's main team members, and a former reserve member in the previous tournament.
He was one of Shen Ce's greatest threats. The other was Su Yunlin, who was rumored to possess eight hundred-thousand-year Spirit Rings. Shen Ce didn't believe Su Yunlin was a Spirit Douluo, and those Spirit Rings were definitely fake—but his cultivation was at least at the Spirit King or even Spirit Emperor level.
Chen Zifeng smiled. "Junior, you must be joking. In terms of strength, you're above me. Beating them should be easy for you."
"I'm the trump card. Can I just casually make a move? Senior, let them witness the strength of a main team member!" Su Yunlin grinned. He had no intention of exerting himself—why bother when Chen Zifeng was here?
"Alright!"
Qian Ling Academy's lineup consisted of four shield users, one spear user, and dual control-type Spirit Masters—one ice, one fire.
The strongest among them was the Thousand Strike Spear Spirit King, around Rank 53.
"Match—begin!"
"Xuanming Displacement!"
Xu Sanshi made the first move, instantly swapping positions with the opposing Thousand Strike Spear Spirit King. Since he was their main attacker, he had to be dealt with immediately!
"What?!"
Shen Ce was completely dumbfounded. How had he suddenly appeared in the middle of Shrek's formation? Then it hit him—the Xuanming Turtle Spirit Elder among Shrek's ranks!
The earlier conversation between Su Yunlin and Chen Zifeng had been a distraction. His attention had been entirely focused on them, causing him to forget that every member of Shrek Academy was formidable.
"Damn it! Fifth Spirit Ability—ugh—!"
"Spiritual Shock!" Huo Yuhao unleashed a mental attack, throwing Shen Ce's mind into disarray.
"First Spirit Ability, Waist Bow!"
Jiang Nannan struck first, kicking Shen Ce into the air.
"Fourth Spirit Ability, Lightning Dragon Head!"
Beibei followed up instantly, his attack slamming into Shen Ce mid-air.
"Out you go!"
Su Yunlin stepped forward and finished it with a single punch, knocking Shen Ce straight out of the arena.
How long had it even been since the match began? Shrek had already eliminated Qian Ling Academy's strongest member—their Spirit King captain.
It was too fast to react to.
"My turn!"
Xu Sanshi wore a pair of special gloves, which suddenly emitted a dazzling light. A powerful surge of Spirit Power and spiritual force struck Qian Ling Academy's remaining six members, locking them in place.
"Fourth Spirit Ability, Chase! Fifth Spirit Ability, Sever!"
Chen Zifeng unleashed his strongest techniques, charging straight toward the Qian Ling team. Wielding the Soul-Chasing Sword, he darted through their ranks at incredible speed.
Slash—
All six members of Qian Ling Academy were struck by his overwhelming sword energy, collapsing to the ground one after another.
Too fast. Barely moments after the match began, Shrek Academy had crushed Qian Ling Academy with unstoppable momentum. Only a handful of Shrek members had even made a move, and yet their true strength remained largely concealed.
Shen Ce slowly sat up, his body wracked with pain. But more than the pain, he felt stunned.
He had been eliminated… just like that?
The relentless chain of attacks from Shrek had sent him flying off the stage before he could even react. Rising to his feet, Shen Ce looked toward his fallen teammates…
The result was clear—their team members had been instantly eliminated by one of Shrek's main team members. Shen Ce took a deep breath. As expected of Shrek Academy… he was still too inexperienced.
"Shrek Academy—victory!"
In the stands, where Su Yunlin's family was seated—
Xu Yunyue leapt to her feet in excitement and shouted, "Well done, son!"
Su Jinming hurriedly pulled his wife back down, afraid that her excitement might disturb the pregnancy.
…
In the meeting room,
Wang Yan once again gathered everyone for a discussion. Their next opponent was very strong—three Spirit Kings and four Spirit Elders.
At present, Shrek's team only had two Spirit Kings: Su Yunlin and Chen Zifeng. The opposing team's captain possessed both exceptional talent and high cultivation, meaning Shrek didn't hold a clear advantage.
Team battles and individual matches were manageable—Su Yunlin and Chen Zifeng were strong enough that even the opponent's captain wouldn't be a match for them. But for a two-two-three formation, Wang Yan felt it would be difficult.
"You all did well."
An aged voice sounded—it was Elder Xuan, sitting on the windowsill, drinking from his gourd.
"Elder Xuan!"
"Elder Xuan, have the replacement team members arrived?"
Elder Xuan shook his head. "There are no substitutes. You'll have to rely on yourselves. Oh, right—Su Yunlin, Elder Mu asked me to pass along a message. He said to act boldly and without worry. He'll take responsibility for everything."
Su Yunlin stroked his chin, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Then I've got nothing to be afraid of. Elder Xuan, do you think I should use the Dark Devilgod Tiger?"
Elder Xuan hesitated. "I'm not sure how to answer that. That Dark Devilgod Tiger—is it your Spirit Ability? I sensed it before; it seems closely connected to you. Do you control it?"
"That's right, it's my Spirit Ability. I can have it fight for one minute. If Wang Dong assists me, it can last about a minute and a half. A minute and a half is enough to severely injure an ordinary Title Douluo."
"There are no Title Douluo in the tournament. Against opponents who haven't even reached the Spirit Sage level, it's one slap each." Su Yunlin crossed his arms, brimming with confidence.
Chen Zifeng looked at him. "Junior, during the bandit suppression mission, what was that scythe you used?"
"That's my second Martial Soul."
"Twin Martial Souls?!"
The moment those words were spoken, everyone present was shocked. Su Yunlin was already monstrous enough—yet he also possessed twin Martial Souls.
Wang Yan let out a long breath. The pressure he had been under these past days finally eased.
Elder Xuan, never one for deep thinking, waved his hand. "Do as you see fit. No one can touch you anyway! If anyone dares try anything—this old man will turn Star Luo City upside down! Hm? Who's there?!"
Elder Xuan suddenly turned toward a direction, sensing an extremely powerful aura—one that matched his own at Rank 98.
"Elder Xuan, long time no see."
Su Tianxuan slowly appeared.
"You? You've broken through to Rank 98?" Elder Xuan was surprised. He had some impression of Su Tianxuan—back then, he had been an outstanding graduate of Shrek's inner court, later earning great merit fighting for the Heavenly Soul Empire.
Later, Yan Shaozhe had a conflict with Su Tianxuan's future daughter-in-law. Su Tianxuan had stormed into Shrek Academy demanding an explanation. At the time, his aura had been weak—he had come prepared to die.
If Shrek refused to give an explanation, he would have detonated himself within the academy!
In the end, Elder Mu personally intervened, reprimanded Yan Shaozhe, forced him to apologize to Xu Yunyue, and compensated her with a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone.
Only then was the matter settled.
Who would have thought that with time, Su Tianxuan had now reached Rank 98? The frailty he once showed was gone—his current condition was exceptionally strong.
Although Elder Xuan still believed himself to be stronger—after all, he had remained at Rank 98 for decades—Su Tianxuan was much younger, over eighty years his junior.
Whether Elder Xuan could even live another eighty years was uncertain, while Su Tianxuan still had ample time to strive toward the Ultimate Douluo realm.
"Elder Xuan, how about sparring with me? I've just broken through and need an opponent to temper my strength," Su Tianxuan said with a smile.
Elder Xuan chuckled. "Good! Let this old man see just how strong one of our academy's finest graduates has become!"
...
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