On the judging panel, the gazes of Emperor Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi froze, as did those of Platinum Bishop Salas.
It can be said that every Soul Master above level sixty and over fifty years old at this moment was deeply shocked.
They all knew very well what that small black hammer represented.
It was the Martial Soul that had created countless glorious histories in the entire Soul Master world, the pinnacle existence of Martial Souls.
It represented a sect, countless powerful individuals, and the most powerful strength as well as Weapon type Martial Spirits.
That was the Haotian Hammer.
Apart from the Haotian Hammer, the four pitch-black Soul Rings beneath Tang San's feet were equally eye-catching, stirring the nerves of everyone present.
Twin Martial Souls!
The second Martial Soul with all ten thousand-year Soul Rings!
Emperor Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi exchanged a silent glance, their gazes showing a hint of seriousness.
They certainly knew the power of the Haotian Hammer, and they had heard countless legends about the Haotian Sect.
When this overwhelmingly dominant Martial Soul, combined with the innate talent of the Twin Martial Souls, how terrifying would it be?!
Salas quickly regained his composure.
His eyelids drooped, concealing the sharpness in his eyes, and he glanced at Su Cheng in the direction of the Tian Dou Imperial Academy.
As a Platinum Bishop who held a high position in the Martial Soul Hall, his knowledge was far superior to that of the Emperor and the others.
The Haotian Hammer was indeed powerful, standing at the pinnacle of the Martial Soul pyramid.
The innate talent of the Twin Martial Souls was also impressive.
Unfortunately, switching to cultivating them in advance was equivalent to wasting at least half of their potential.
Moreover...
That Su Cheng was simply a monster!
Emperor Xue Ye couldn't understand, and Ning Fengzhi only had a vague idea, because their strength and knowledge were insufficient.
If it were Chen Xin, he could easily discern the difference with a glance.
Salas had seen too many geniuses.
What was another Twin Martial Soul?
That Su Cheng was someone even the Pope had to be cautious of, a figure involved in the power struggles at the core of Martial Soul City.
But he only knew a little about these high-level struggles, and he had decided to watch from the sidelines.
As someone who could sit in the position of Platinum Bishop, he wasn't a fool.
The current situation in Martial Soul City was definitely not something a mere Soul Douluo like him could meddle in.
On the competition stage.
After knocking his opponent away, Tang San walked back to his starting position as if nothing had happened.
He appeared calm, but the teachers and team members from the Tian Dou Imperial Academy were not having it.
Wang Yu's injuries were extremely severe; half of his body was already soaked in blood.
He was still unconscious, his right arm hanging limply, with fractures varying in severity from his shoulder to his arm.
The teachers from the Tian Dou Imperial Academy almost immediately lodged a protest with the competition committee.
The referee hurried over to Tang San to inquire.
Tang San's explanation was simple.
Although he had quickly shattered his opponent's defense and gained the upper hand, his opponent hadn't conceded.
He hadn't intended to kill his opponent; he merely knocked him out of bounds, which didn't violate the rules of the match.
And that was the truth.
Regardless of how you looked at it, Tang San had no intention of killing his opponent, and at the time, the Tian Dou Imperial Academy hadn't indicated surrender either.
Tang San remained standing in the center of the arena, turning back to look at Xiao Wu, who still looked pale despite her calm demeanor.
In his heart, he silently vowed, "Xiao Wu, anyone who harms you will undoubtedly pay the price."
Then, he looked down at the Haotian Hammer in his hand.
The powerful sensation of strength surged and boiled in his heart.
Finally...
This formidable strength was finally starting to show itself.
He had had enough of the feeling of powerlessness brought about by the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul...
In the Tian Dou Imperial Academy team.
Su Cheng's gaze moved away from Tang San's face and looked at Ning Rongrong, who was returning to the team with a grim expression. "What's the result?"
"No way, the other side didn't violate the rules."
Su Cheng nodded lightly, as he expected.
Then he asked, "What about Wang Yu, how is he?"
"The healing teacher said he'll need at least half a month to recover. It's uncertain how long it will take for him to fully recover."
Ning Rongrong's expression was extremely angry.
The other side had been too ruthless; they were clearly aiming to disable him. It was only because they didn't hit a vital point that they didn't kill him.
Wang Yu had fought completely normally during the battle and had no ill intentions.
She couldn't understand why the other side had acted so ruthlessly.
"Well, I see. Did it affect his foundation?"
"No, but he probably won't be able to fight for a long time. He definitely won't be able to continue in the subsequent qualifying matches, and he might not even be able to participate in the finals."
"Okay, tell him when Wang Yu wakes up that he did a good job. Give him all the golden soul coins from my prize money and let him buy some medicine to recuperate."
Su Cheng said indifferently.
"The next one up is me. Let that guy rest for half a month as well."
Upon hearing this, all the team members, including Ning Rongrong, were instantly invigorated.
They didn't know what the Haotian Hammer was.
Those four ten-thousand-year Soul Rings did look intimidating.
But so what?
In their eyes, Su Cheng was invincible.
This matter was also somewhat coincidental.
Because it was the first match, Su Cheng had come to watch the excitement, so he had added his own name to the submitted list.
Otherwise, he might not have been able to find this opportunity.
On the arena, punches and kicks were blind, and it was normal to have serious or minor injuries.
Tang San played it like this, logically speaking, there was no problem. As long as no one was killed, no one could say much.
But you did the first one, then I'll do the fifteenth, emphasizing fairness and justice.
Seeing Su Cheng step onto the stage, Tang San's face darkened as he watched him.
Very well.
Is the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul trash in your mouth? Then what about the Haotian Hammer?
After today, will you still dare to underestimate me?
The people from Shrek Academy watching from the sidelines were all focused on the central stage.
They knew that the person in front of them was the biggest opponent in the subsequent qualifying matches. It could even be said that he was the biggest obstacle in this tournament, second only to the Martial Soul Hall team.
In Yu Xiaogang's heart, there was a flash of his previous conversation with Bibi Dong in the Pope's Palace.
Indeed, Su Cheng's Soul Ring configuration was unexpected.
But if faced with the unrivaled Haotian Hammer, coupled with four ten-thousand-year Soul Rings, what then?
The immense talent of the Twin Martial Souls was always beyond the reach of other Soul Masters.
Dai Mubai's face was filled with excitement as he glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, who was observing calmly beside him.
"Zhuqing, with Little San's current strength, should he be able to defeat Su Cheng from the Tian Dou Imperial Academy?"
"Perhaps," Zhu Zhuqing said nonchalantly.
She said this, but inwardly, she chuckled to herself.
Just relying on Tang San?
He couldn't even defeat herself, let alone defeat that bastard Su Cheng.
Don't embarrass yourself by being defeated by that guy in one move.
But that scoundrel was really infuriating.
What was he up to all these days?
She was constantly distracted by him, while he acted as if nothing was going on.
Thinking about this, Zhu Zhuqing's expression grew even darker.
"Let the match begin."
As the referee's voice sounded, Su Cheng didn't waste any time.
The first Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up, and the Eternal Sword in his hand instantly expanded to more than twice its original size.
Everyone's hearts shook at the sight.
This was the first time Su Cheng had used a Soul Skill outside of his third Soul Ring since the match began.
Although it was only the first Soul Skill with the lowest level of Soul Rings, they didn't know that all five of Su Cheng's Soul Rings were at the ten-thousand-year level.
And in terms of power, the boost from the first Soul Ring was actually the greatest.
Tang San, seeing this, didn't dare to be careless. The first, second, and fourth Soul Rings lit up simultaneously.
The enormous Haotian Hammer was gripped in both hands, its hammer body shimmering with a deep and mysterious light.
However, in the next moment, Su Cheng's sword struck with lightning speed. At that moment, Tang San's soul power had only just begun to circulate.
Meridians Severing and Qi Replenishment.
This was the first time Su Cheng had used this technique in a match.
Tang San, who was already slower in speed, couldn't react in time. In a hurry, he could only rely on instinct to sweep the Haotian Hammer upwards.
"Second Sword, Slash!"
This strike was completely different from the usual slashes Su Cheng made casually.
This was the second sword of the three basic sword techniques Su Cheng had practiced tirelessly.
In addition to merging sword intent and incorporating bodily instinct, it also possessed extremely strong locking ability.
Unless someone's spiritual power far surpassed his own, there was no way to avoid it; there was simply no chance to evade.
And without considering attribute restraint and intent suppression, in terms of strength alone, this sword was actually the most powerful of all his sword techniques.
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, the Haotian Hammer in Tang San's hand was directly sent flying.
But it wasn't over yet.
The Eternal Sword in Su Cheng's hand continued unabated, and its strength didn't diminish in the slightest because of Tang San's attempt to block it with the Haotian Hammer earlier.
The sword's speed was too fast. Tang San saw that the sword's edge was about to cut him in half.
No one had anticipated that, after Tang San had used three Soul Skills, the first confrontation between the two would be such a one-sided crushing situation.
In the eyes of everyone from Shrek Academy, it was too late for Yu Xiaogang to surrender even if he wanted to.
In the desperate gaze of everyone from Shrek Academy, Su Cheng lightly flicked his wrist, and the sword edge turned into a sword spine, striking again.
"Smack!"
The same scene unfolded once more, but this time, it was a different person who was sent flying.
Tang San's body fell to the ground, blood spraying from his mouth.
"..."
Emperor Xue Yi and Ning Fengzhi looked at each other in astonishment. Was the Haotian Hammer so weak? Were those four ten-thousand-year Soul Rings just for show? When facing Su Cheng, there was no difference from facing other contestants; it was all over in an instant.
"Thud!"
In the next moment, Tang San's body fell to the ground, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out.
The people from Shrek Academy who were watching from the sidelines rushed over to treat him.
Due to their astonishment, the people hadn't even reacted in time to catch Tang San, resulting in a secondary injury.
"Fairness and justice, I'll give you half a month off," Su Cheng said calmly, almost casually.
"Not wanting your little girlfriend to get hurt, why let her participate in battles? Don't join the competition, just go home and drink milk," he added, his voice carrying across the arena, eliciting laughter.
"You!" Tang San glared at Su Cheng with reddened eyes but lacked the strength to say more.
Feeling the surrounding gazes and laughter, Tang San, physically and mentally exhausted, finally couldn't stay conscious any longer and passed out.
"What's wrong, brother!"
"Little San!"
"Will he be okay?"
"..."
Seeing Tang San's condition, Su Cheng had a good idea. The blow he delivered was enough for Tang San to lie down for over half a month without affecting the subsequent finals.
Tang San's unconsciousness at this point was normal.
If not for his strong mental power, he would have fallen unconscious when he was struck due to his body's self-protection mechanism.
"What do you mean!"
Just as Su Cheng was about to leave the stage, a cold voice echoed throughout the arena.
Then, a figure appeared on the edge of the field.
With an overwhelming aura, the figure's presence dominated the arena.
But the most intense oppression was directed at Su Cheng.
Under the overwhelming aura, the laughter in the arena instantly ceased, and everyone fell silent.
The appearance of the figure was none other than Liu Erlong.
"Spirit Saint?" Su Cheng raised an eyebrow, looking back at Liu Erlong with interest.
He wasn't afraid of her at all.
Su Cheng's ability to single-handedly challenge ordinary Spirit Saints referred to those at full strength after unlocking their Martial Soul True Body.
If the opponent wanted to overwhelm him with just their aura, it was simply laughable.
"If Dean Liu Erlong is not convinced, you can come into the arena and spar with me," Su Cheng said, holding his sword with one hand as the Five Elemental Domain spread out, majestic sword shadows rising behind him, confronting Liu Erlong's aura.
For a moment, it seemed like a standoff.
"What did you say?!" Liu Erlong looked astonished, her eyes slightly widened, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Her fiery temper led her to appear in the arena without much consideration.
She even attempted to oppress her opponent with a higher level of aura.
But she didn't expect her opponent to be completely unfazed, leaving her unsure how to respond.
As Su Cheng's aura continued to strengthen, Liu Erlong felt a sense of being locked in, a vague sense of danger creeping in.
She paused, her expression becoming serious.
"This guy..."
Liu Erlong couldn't afford to slack off and adjusted her state silently, facing her opponent directly.
She felt as if she would be struck down with a sword if she chose to restrain her aura or retreat at this moment.
Liu Erlong focused her energy to face Su Cheng, and the overwhelming aura covering the entire arena gradually receded.
"..."
"Boom!"
After a brief silence, the noise in the arena resumed, with laughter even louder than before.
The standoff between Liu Erlong and Su Cheng looked peculiar to the ordinary students.
In their eyes, it seemed like Liu Erlong was genuinely trying to teach Su Cheng a lesson, unaware of her current predicament.
These participating students were all among the best of their age group.
As talented Soul Masters, who didn't have a temper?
Why should Liu Erlong, relying on her age and high cultivation level, casually step onto the stage and intimidate others, making them inexplicably oppressed by her aura? Why should she be allowed to go all out while forbidding others from fighting back, then have the elders step in? It was simply ridiculous.
Not just the Tian Dou Royal Academy, even the students from the Elemental Academies felt resentful towards her behavior.
Previously, when they fought against Su Cheng, they were mostly overwhelmed.
But it was evident that Su Cheng only aimed to teach them and occasionally offer guidance, without any intention of holding grudges.
Why did it turn into injuring someone severely as soon as it reached her?
Was it necessary to be so extreme?
"..."
As the clamor outside intensified, Liu Erlong's face flushed, and her breath grew restless.
Her temper was already extremely fiery, and now she couldn't help but prepare to take action.
However, not everyone failed to see through the situation in the arena.
Those who reached the Spirit Saint level or above could discern the subtleties.
Salas's expression became unusually serious. He was shocked internally, "Is it already at this level?"
Seeing Liu Erlong becoming somewhat unable to control her emotions, he narrowed his eyes.
"This is a competition. What are you trying to do?"
A deep, cold voice echoed in the arena.
If Liu Erlong's voice was awe-inspiring, then this voice made everyone's body chill, with an even stronger sense of oppression.
At some point, Salas stood up from the VIP stand, staring coldly at Liu Erlong in the arena.
He knew whom he should support at this moment.
Although Su Cheng might not need his help.
Upon hearing Yu Xiaogang's voice, Liu Erlong hesitated for a moment, then, after glaring fiercely at Su Cheng, sighed and ultimately said nothing more.
She adjusted her steps and returned to the preparation area of Shrek Academy.
Seeing this, Su Cheng also withdrew amidst the uproar, causing Zhu Zhuqing to furrow her brows slightly.
After returning to the preparation area, he glanced at the other team members.
"You guys handle the rest. I won't steal your limelight anymore. Winning or losing doesn't matter. After all, His Majesty the Emperor is watching your performance from the VIP stand."
...
"That girl Xiao Wu, is she the transformation spirit beast you mentioned before?"
At night, Ah Yin appeared beside Su Cheng and asked softly.
Through Xiaowu's battle during the day and Tang San's reaction after her injury, she had guessed that this person was probably the 100,000-year transformation spirit beast Su Cheng mentioned.Before, due to the sedative potion and also because she had never seen the other party in a combat scene, she couldn't identify who Su Cheng's target was.
"Yes, it's her."
After the improvement in the journey through the Blue Silver Grass Forest, Ah Yin's strength had become very strong, and her behavior was no different from a real person's.
In addition, she herself usually paid great attention to propriety and never caused trouble at critical moments, so Su Cheng had never restricted her activities.
Seeing her hesitation at this moment, Su Cheng couldn't help but frown, "What do you want to say?"
After a moment of silence, Ah Yin looked at Su Cheng and asked, "Haven't you already been able to gather soul rings on your own? And they are all soul rings of the highest quality. You won't reach level sixty in a short time, so why do you want to kill her? For her spirit bone?"
Su Cheng was somewhat surprised at her words.
Was this sympathy for one's own kind?
Although they were different races, they were both rare choices to transform into human form as soul beasts.
For her, Xiao Wu's existence was probably indeed somewhat unique.
No wonder she hadn't been coming out much lately.
Su Cheng glanced at her, "Have you been holding back these words for a long time?"
To be precise, it had been three months since she first learned that there were other hundred-thousand-year-old transformed soul beasts.
"Alright, I won't kill her," Su Cheng said lightly.
"..." Ah Yin was stunned at his words.
She knew Su Cheng wasn't the kind of person who would easily change his mind.
Even if he did change his mind, it wouldn't be because of her.
Originally, she had a lot more to say to continue persuading him, but she didn't expect him to just brush off the matter like this, directly shutting down all the things she wanted to say next.
"Are you serious?" Ah Yin visibly relaxed, seeming to let go of a burden.
But there was still a hint of doubt in her expression.
"I haven't lied to you, and I won't lie to you."
"..."
Upon hearing this, A-Yin looked at him in astonishment, hesitated for a moment, pursed her lips, as if she wanted to say something.
But in the end, she fell silent again.
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel suspicious and asked, "What else do you want to say?"
He felt that Ah Yin's emotions were somewhat strange at the moment.
She was the kind of person who couldn't hide her feelings, and they were easy to see through.
Now, this appearance clearly indicated that there was something else going on.
After hesitating for a moment, Ah Yin shook her head and said, "It's nothing."
Then she returned to the Eternal Sword and disappeared.
Seeing this, Su Cheng frowned, but he didn't dwell on it, just thinking that the old girl was starting to be overly sensitive again.
...
The qualifying stage progressed quickly.
After the conflicts on the first day passed, the subsequent matches proceeded extremely normally and harmoniously.
Although Tang San was bedridden, Shrek Academy still had Zhu Zhuqing.
Her strength was extraordinary, and her performance in solo battles was even stronger than in team battles.
At the same time, due to the lack of cooperation from teammates, Heaven Water Academy's Bing'er couldn't use soul fusion skills, and Feng Xiaotian's self-created soul skills were also difficult to execute.
Coupled with Su Cheng not appearing in matches after the first day, the result was that Shrek Academy's team unexpectedly achieved a perfect record under Zhu Zhuqing's leadership, advancing to the final round with the highest score.
In this stage of the competition, Tang San was the only loser.
On the first day, he had shown off with the Haotian Hammer enhanced with four ten-thousand-year soul rings, thinking he could become famous in one battle.
As a result, he became a laughingstock and, just like Su Cheng, took a half-month break from the subsequent matches.
After the matches ended, the Emperor undoubtedly delivered another passionate and inspiring speech.
Next, the final round was about to begin, which would truly determine the strongest academy on the continent.
As an emperor, Emperor Xue Yi naturally couldn't leave Tian Dou City without permission.
After the speech, the Emperor announced that his son, Xue Beng, would represent him as the envoy of the Tian Dou Empire to participate in the judging work of the tournament. The fifteen teams from the Tian Dou Empire would also be accompanied by him personally and would go to the Soul Palace at the border of the two empires for the final showdown.
The teams were given only three days to adjust. Three days later, more than a thousand people set off together, including teachers and five hundred Royal Knights as escorts, heading to the Soul Palace.
From Tian Dou City to the Soul Palace, it was about a twenty-day journey.
The Soul Palace attached great importance to this final round.
During the qualifying matches, a special venue had already been set up in the Soul Palace for the final round of this elite competition among advanced soul master academies from across the continent.
At the same time, the Soul Palace issued a decree that during the competition, non-soul masters were strictly prohibited from entering to watch the matches, even nobles were not allowed, adding a sense of mystery to the final showdown.
The common people didn't feel resentful about the decree from the Soul Palace since, for them, soul masters were already elevated figures. The Soul Palace was their temple, their sacred place. Who dared to say anything against the decree issued by the Pope?
Three days passed quickly.
A group of over a thousand people set off in a grand procession.
Although each academy had its own arrangements, they represented the Tian Dou Empire after all, and as they spent more time together, the students began to appreciate each other.
Among them, the relationships between several academies were closer, and they walked together.
The Royal Academy of Tian Dou was undoubtedly the most watched side, especially with Su Cheng's presence, far more so than Shrek Academy, which had secured first place in the qualifying round.
Many people were secretly looking forward to the sparks that would fly when this secondary team met the main team in the Soul Palace.
To ensure that the participating players could rest well, the Tian Dou Empire specially prepared fifteen luxurious, giant carriages for the teams to ride in.
Even some basic soul engineering technology was used on these carriages, with excellent shock absorption performance, making the ride exceptionally smooth.
Since the day they set off, Shrek Academy had been missing two team members, Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai.
The teachers of the academy were actually somewhat dissatisfied with this matter.
When Zhu Zhuqing first proposed wanting to take a temporary leave from the academy, she was promptly rejected by Yu Xiaogang and Flender.
The reason was that they were worried they wouldn't make it to the final match on time and also needed to adjust their state on the way.
But they didn't expect that on the night before the team's departure, they would just quietly leave without saying a word.
It didn't matter if Dai Mubai was there or not.
It seemed that his potential had been completely exhausted, and his cultivation hadn't improved in all these years.
But Zhu Zhuqing was different.
She was the main force of the team.
If she wasn't there, relying solely on Tang San wouldn't give them much chance of winning matches.
This had already been proven by the one-on-one match between him and Su Cheng during the qualifying round.
But Zhu Zhuqing had always been willful, and Dai Mubai obeyed her every word.
Now that the two of them chose to leave directly, the others had no choice but to hope that they wouldn't delay the match time. Or maybe they would get a few good draws in the beginning, so they wouldn't have to face too strong opponents.
On the other hand, in the carriage of the Royal Academy of Tian Dou, Su Cheng sat calmly in the corner.
He wasn't worried about the upcoming final round at all, as Qian Renxue would arrange everything when the time came.
The so-called drawing lots could be manipulated in secret, so ensuring that Shrek Academy made it to the fourth round would be effortless.
In the huge carriage, besides the original team members, there were also Feng Qingyu from the Godwind Academy and Hu Yanli from the Elephant Armored Academy.
Ning Rongrong was not here at the moment.
At the end of the qualifying round, she had finally broken through to the fortieth rank. At this moment, she was following Chen Xin to hunt soul beasts to obtain her fourth soul ring in preparation for advancing to the Soul Ancestor level.
She had also agreed with Su Cheng and the others to meet directly in the Soul Palace at that time.
At this moment, Su Cheng suddenly moved and said, "Open the door."
The other team members looked puzzled at his words, but they didn't ask more and moved closer to the front, one of them reaching out to open the door.
Not long after, several beautiful figures suddenly appeared at the door.
"Captain Su Cheng, classmates, sorry for the interruption."
The people who came were the members of the Heaven Water Academy team.