As the competition date drew near, everyone at Shrek Academy began to feel anxious.
The format of the finals was different from the previous qualifying and advancement rounds. At this stage, the teams entered the extremely brutal elimination matches.
Thirty-three teams from the two empires and the Martial Soul Hall competed in five rounds of matches. Except for the final round, where a large number of teams were eliminated in the first four rounds, there was no chance for a comeback.
In the first round, three seeded teams received byes, the top team in the second round received a bye, and the second team in the third round received a bye. Then the remaining six teams competed in the fourth round, followed by determining the final winner.
Shrek Academy, as the top team in the Tian Dou Empire qualifiers, had the privilege of a bye in the second round.
However, even with this privilege, there were still strong opponents among the other teams, making it equally challenging to advance through the two rounds.
Not to mention the possibility of encountering the three seeded teams or the Tian Dou Royal Academy Second Team where Su Cheng was.
"Where did Zhu Qing and Mu Bai go? Why haven't they returned yet?"
"Yeah, if Zhu Qing isn't here, the upcoming matches could be very difficult."
Yu Xiao Gang's face was grim, and Flender was equally anxious.
Next, he would go to draw lots for the match-ups, and without Zhu Zhuqing, the team's strength would at best hover in the middle.
Tang San opened his mouth as if to say something, but then fell silent, his expression turning gloomy.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu gently held his hand.
The elimination matches proceeded quickly.
To the great delight of everyone at Shrek Academy, their luck in the draw was quite good, as they cruised through three rounds of elimination matches.
In the first and third rounds, they faced the significantly weakened teams of Heaven Water Academy, after the departure of Shui Bing Er and Xue Wu, and the last-ranked team from the Star Luo Empire.
With the bye in the second round, they had quietly become one of the final six teams.
But at this point, luck could no longer help them further.
There were no weak teams left among the remaining ones.
Apart from the three seeded teams, there were also the Tian Dou Royal Academy Second Team with Su Cheng and the reorganized Sheng Feng Academy team.
Inside the hotel, Yu Xiao Gang's expression was serious.
"The draw results are out. Tomorrow, we will be facing the Royal Academy team from the Star Luo Empire. If Zhu Zhuqing still can't make it, it will be difficult to win."
Flender sighed, "Xiaogang, you should arrange the tactics first. We must give it our all no matter what."
In these days of elimination matches, the strengths of each team had been fully revealed.
The Royal Academy team from the Star Luo Empire boasted six Soul Masters and had been unstoppable, winning both matches with overwhelming superiority.
In contrast, at Shrek Academy, only Zhu Zhuqing, Tang San, and Xiao Wu had reached Ancestor level so far.
However, among them, Zhu Zhuqing, the strongest, was currently nowhere to be found.
Looking at it this way, the upcoming battle seemed like a sure defeat.
But since they had come this far with great difficulty, no one wanted to give up easily.
With no other choice, Yu Xiaogang could only reluctantly start explaining the battle plan for the next round.
However, the few people at Shrek Academy were unaware that Zhu Zhuqing had already arrived at the Spirit City, but simply hadn't joined them yet.
She had no interest in participating in the previous rounds of the competition.
Zhu Zhuqing was well aware of the strengths of each team.
In her view, since Su Cheng had only asked her to help Shrek Academy advance to the finals, there must be further arrangements. It seemed unnecessary for her to participate, and she expected no surprises.
But she didn't intend to avoid the upcoming battle.
"The Royal Academy from the Star Luo Empire..."
Zhu Zhuqing gazed into the distance towards the center of the Spirit City.
"Dai Mubai, this time I'll spare you, and from now on, we'll be even."
Strolling along the deserted streets of the Spirit City, her mind was filled with countless thoughts.
In the distance, two prominent buildings stood on the hills of the Spirit City.
Even from afar, they were clearly visible.
The golden Pope Hall represented the highest authority of the Spirit Hall, its golden exterior shining brightly in the sunlight, dazzlingly radiant.
But above it, there was another building.
It wasn't as grand as the Pope Hall, nor as ostentatious. Its walls were as white as jade.
However, anyone who looked at it would instinctively feel that this building's status and presence far exceeded that luxurious Pope Hall.
"Is that the Hall of the Worship?"
Zhu Qing spoke softly to herself, her expression calm.
She knew the architectural structure of the Spirit Hall. Wherever the Pope Hall was built, the Hall of the Worship would accompany it and its location would inevitably be higher than the Pope Hall.
Within the Spirit Hall, the Hall of the Douluo held a very special position.
It was precisely because of the existence of this building that the Spirit City was recognized as a holy land by the soul master world after its establishment.
She also knew that the descendants of the Spirit Hall, the Qian Family, were the masters of the Hall of the Worship.
In the first match of the fourth round of elimination, the Spirit Hall Academy team faced the Tian Dou Royal Academy main team.
A large number of spectators, as well as members of the teams from many participating academies, gathered silently in the audience seats of the arena.
During the previous matches, none of the legendary trio who had obtained the Purple Record Medal had appeared among the seven members of the Spirit Hall Academy team, yet they had already easily won.
Now, however, the composition of this team had changed.
In the Spirit Hall Academy team, four unfamiliar faces had replaced the original members.
Dugu Bo silently appeared among the members of the Tian Dou Royal Academy Second Team, standing beside Su Cheng.
Apart from him, Ning Rong Rong, Feng Qing Yu, Shui Bing Er, Hu Yan Li, and others were also present.
"The three people in the second row are the three geniuses hailed by the Spirit Hall as the Golden Generation."
"The black-haired youth in the middle is called Xie Yue, a Level 52 power-type Assault Soul King, with his martial soul being the Moon Blade."
"The red-haired man to his right is called Yan, a Level 52 fire-type power Assault Soul King, with his martial soul being the Flame Lord."
"The girl on the other side of Xie Yue is his sister, named Hu Liena, a Level 51 control-type Assault Soul King, with her martial soul being the Fox."
"Xie Yue and Hu Liena each inherited the surnames and martial souls of their parents."
Shui Bing Er and the others felt a heavy weight in their hearts. "Sure enough, three Soul Kings."
But compared to these three, the woman walking at the forefront of the group—
"...she is Qian Renxue, rumored to be the daughter of the former Pope Qian Xun Ji. With extraordinary talent, her true strength is unknown, but it can be confirmed that she has already reached the peak of the Soul Emperor realm."
In the team from Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang's heavy words timely rang out.
"Soul Emperor..."
Tang San and the others couldn't help but fall silent.
Su Cheng, a Soul King alone, already brought suffocating pressure. How much stronger would a peak Soul Emperor be?
They had been avoiding this question all along, but now that the team had come this far, they had to face this reality.
Although they still had to face the Royal Academy team from the Star Luo Empire.
But since they were standing here, who wouldn't want to win the ultimate championship?
The Spirit Hall Academy team's uniforms were pure white, embroidered with six symbols representing the Spirit Hall.
On the left chest of the three men and women in the middle, they each wore a purple badge shaped like a book, symbolizing their honor—the rarely seen Purple Record Medal of the Spirit Hall.
It seemed that there was an invisible belief emanating from them.
It was the invincible momentum possessed only by those who had experienced countless victories and defeated countless opponents.
However strong their momentum might be, others couldn't tolerate their presence at all.
Or rather, everyone's gaze subconsciously converged on the woman leading the group.
In the crowd, Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at the massive arena.
The person on the stage was stunningly beautiful, composed, with a hint of casualness always lingering at the corner of her mouth.
But there was no warmth in that smile, sending chills down people's spines.
Instead, it seemed even more fierce and ruthless, as if she were looking down on all beings like a deity.
To her, all these genius soul masters were nothing but insignificant insects, not worth mentioning.
She didn't even have the intention to make a move at this moment.
She just stood there with her arms crossed, suppressing the members of the Tian Dou Royal Academy team with a solemn expression.
"Nana, Xie Yue, you two go. Don't waste time, finish it quickly."
Qian Renxue's figure remained still as she spoke lightly.
Xie Yue and Hu Liena immediately stepped forward without a word.
Yu Tian Heng and Dugu Yan and the others did not feel any resentment for this disdain. Their gazes immediately shifted away from Qian Renxue and solemnly looked at the two in front of them.
With a light lotus step, Hu Liena's figure spun, already at the forefront.
As her martial soul was released, a furry tail grew out from behind her, making her already enchanting figure even more seductive.
The next moment, the five soul rings on Hu Liena's body flashed in a regular pattern.
First, the black fifth soul ring, then the fourth, third, second, until the last yellow first soul ring. With each soul ring's fluctuation, the red light on her body became stronger.
Then, Xie Yue behind her also made a move.
The two moon blades in Xie Yue's hands were blood-red all over, resembling crescent moons. At this moment, as his body moved, his hands stretched out, and his whole person rushed towards his sister from behind.
A red light curtain suddenly appeared and spread out. At the moment when Xie Yue and Hu Liena's bodies collided, the layer of red light enveloped them both. At the same time, the red light also instantly exploded, like a light ball spreading, encompassing nearly half of the arena.
Soul fusion skill, Charm!
Amidst the flickering red light, the original two individuals turned into one figure with long red hair, indistinguishable between male and female.
Then, this figure began to move. Two moon blades, enlarged to twice their original size, quietly sliced out with rainbow-like brilliance.
The one-sided battle quickly began.
But Zhu Zhuqing had no intention of watching the overwhelmingly one-sided battle. She just kept her gaze firmly locked on that figure who seemed to be in the battlefield but appeared to be standing outside of the world.
She lightly bit her lip.
"So she's Qian Renxue..."