Chapter 70: The Eve of the Tournament (Part 3)
Lin Mo's jaw clenched.
His usually reserved nature grew even more solemn, and the rest of the team began to question their reality. The reserve team members, in particular, fell into a deep silence.
Du Qianjue may be tall, but looking at his face, it was clear he wasn't much older than them.
The highest-ranking member of the reserve team was only a newly promoted Soul Elder.
Yet this guy, who wasn't much older than them, was already a Soul Sage?
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
If the reserve team members knew that Du Qianjue was actually younger than some of them, their resolve would probably shatter.
Cultivate? What's the point?
"You really are a monster. Compared to you, the Shrek Academy bunch doesn't deserve to be called monsters," Wei Feng said with a wry smile, patting Du Qianjue on the shoulder.
But soon, he perked up.
"Everyone, this year we have the strongest team Di'ao Academy has ever had. Tell me, do we have the confidence to defeat Shrek and bring the championship back to Tianhun?" Wei Feng shouted.
"Yes!" The team shouted in unison.
Wei Feng extended his hand, and everyone placed their hands on his. Du Qianjue, not wanting to undermine Wei Feng, also placed his hand on the pile.
"Tianhun will win!!!"
...
Two days later, at dusk.
The dean of Di'ao Academy personally visited Du Qianjue's villa to deliver the dark demon evil god tiger skin coat.
The tiger skin was incredibly intact, producing three coats and leaving enough scraps for wristbands and gloves.
But Du Qianjue didn't like wearing gloves or wristbands, so he stored them in his soul guide device for collection.
Wearing the tiger skin coat, Du Qianjue was very satisfied.
The coat was designed to resemble a trench coat, with a pure black exterior and a majestic tiger embroidered in gold using diamond essence thread.
Just the diamond essence thread used for the tiger embroidery was astronomical.
Not to mention the unique dark demon evil god tiger skin.
According to the dean, the seamstress who took the job was both thrilled and pained.
Thrilled because she had never handled such fine material in her life, even bringing out her treasured diamond essence thread.
Pained because the tiger skin was incredibly tough, making it hard to cut into shapes suitable for clothing.
In total, the coat cost nearly three hundred thousand gold soul coins, mostly for the diamond essence thread. The seamstress barely charged for her labor.
The seamstress said she could brag about making these coats for the rest of her life, so she didn't need a labor fee.
The seamstress was satisfied.
Du Qianjue was also satisfied.
The seamstress's craftsmanship was excellent. The coat was luxurious yet not gaudy, elegant yet not pretentious.
Even Du bushi was envious and asked Du Qianjue for one.
Du Qianjue didn't mind, as there were three coats, and they were not easily damaged, so he gave one to Du bushi.
Wearing matching tiger skin coats, Du Qianjue and Du bushi looked like brothers rather than grandfather and grandson.
After breaking through his limits, Du bushi reverted to a youthful appearance, and the coat surprisingly suited him, complementing his authoritative demeanor when silent.
But once he spoke, the effect was ruined.
Either cursing or being overly mischievous.
Du Qianjue was helpless. He didn't know who had influenced Du bushi to turn out this way (the culprit had no self-awareness).
Besides delivering the coat, the dean also came to inform them about the upcoming trip to Xingluo City for the tournament, which was scheduled for the next day.
Du Qianjue didn't have much to pack, just a few changes of clothes.
The next day, Du Qianjue, along with the other team members, left Tiandou City for Xingluo City in the Xingluo Empire, where the tournament would be held.
...
Shrek Academy.
For some reason, the plot seemed to correct itself, and Huo Yuhao was participating in the tournament.
The eight-petaled orchid Tang San had sent to Huo Yuhao proved invaluable. Originally, Huo Yuhao hadn't broken through to Soul Elder by this point in the original story, but now he was already a Soul Elder.
His second and third soul rings also provided powerful skills.
First skill: Illusion. Second skill: Confusion. Third skill: Demon Eye.
All three skills were potent control-type abilities, and given his martial soul was already of the spiritual type, no one at the Soul Elder level could resist his control.
Losing his attack-type soul skills turned out to be a blessing in disguise, enhancing Huo Yuhao's control abilities severalfold.
This time, the main team didn't include Ma Xiaotao. Without the extreme ice to suppress her evil fire, she was on the verge of becoming an evil soul master, leaving her no mind for tournaments.
So the main team's captain remained Dai Yueheng, and the Level 5 soul engineer wasn't kicked out by Ma Xiaotao either.
The reserve team's lineup remained unchanged. As long as He Caitou, a Level 4 soul engineer, was there, teaming up with him made Huo Yuhao and his group nearly unbeatable.
Low-level soul engineers facing low-level soul masters was like a hot knife through butter, akin to feeding ordinary people peanuts, with fatal results.
The real question was, why did Shrek Academy let second-year students participate in the reserve team selection if Huo Yuhao no longer had a twin martial soul with extreme ice?
The answer remains unknown.
Regardless, the reserve and main team rosters were finalized.
Outside Shrek City, the Chicken Drumstick Douluo, having put down his beloved chicken drumstick, addressed the Shrek team with a speech.
His speech revolved around the responsibilities and honor of Shrek, stirring the inexperienced young members into a fervor, eager to join the so-called Shrek Monitoring Group.
Then disaster struck.
Just after the Chicken Drumstick Douluo mentioned the high casualty rate of the Shrek Monitoring Group, they encountered the series' most dangerous Soul King.
The Evil "Watch Me Explode" Soul Master.
Fortunately, this time they had a soul engineer with them. Although only Level 5, his contributions were significant.
Just before the explosion, the Level 5 soul engineer quickly deployed five soul shields, protecting everyone except for the one furthest away, Ling Luochen.
So he perished, leaving no trace, without feeling any pain.
The others, though injured, were not severely hurt, avoiding the dire scenes of death or severe injury.
Ling Luochen, being further away and having an ice armor defensive skill, sustained less damage than those with soul shields.
The reserve team members were stunned, and the Chicken Drumstick Douluo was also shocked.
One moment, the Shrek main team were heroes. The next, they were a dead and injured mess.
The Chicken Drumstick Douluo was furious, nearly fuming from the ears.
(End of Chapter)
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