Chapter 111: Comparing Thunder? (Two in One)
The first match in the upper half of the tournament saw Shrek Academy facing Tianzheng Academy. Originally, Shrek struggled immensely against this team as their main players had not yet recovered from injuries, and the reserve team had to step in. The reserve team found it exceedingly tough, with each player getting injured during the match.
Using tactics like Xuanwu Awakening, a Super Condensed Soul Guiding Cannon, and the Holy Dragon Awakening of Light by Beibei, they barely scraped through the three matches. However, this time around, Shrek Academy was playing effortlessly. The strongest captain from the opposing team, Ye Wuqing, was merely a Soul King.
With Dai Yueheng as a Soul Emperor and four Soul Kings: Ling Luchen, Gong Yangmo, Chen Zifeng, and Xi Xi, their lineup was overkill against Tianzheng Academy. Du Qianjue initially wanted to see Tianzheng's arrogance, especially since they were so smug against Shrek's reserve team in the original story.
During the group match, Dai Yueheng practically decimated the opposing team, single-handedly dominating the one-on-one fights by overpowering Ye Wuqing on the stage. It was truly Dai Yueheng's moment of glory. Without using soul-guiding devices, the soul masters trained by Shrek showed their superior combat prowess.
After watching Shrek's match, the members of Di Ao Academy remained expressionless, unfazed internally. Although Shrek dominated Tianzheng, it was no different from Di Ao's usual crushing victories.
After Shrek's match, the Star Luo Empire officials quickly repaired the damaged stage, setting the scene for the next match in the lower half: Di Ao Academy vs. Douling Academy. The Di Ao team was all pumped up, particularly Yang Lian and Ouyang Qian, who were scheming to deal a heavy blow to Douling Academy.
There was no love lost between Di Ao and Douling Academies, as the rivalry between the two royal academies was well-documented, similar to the longstanding grievances between Shrek and the Royal Soul Master Academy of the Sun Moon Empire. Adding to that, the strained relations between Tianhun and Douling only intensified the animosity between their academies.
As the teams from Di Ao and Douling walked into the arena, Di Ao's main lineup took the field, each eager to thrash their counterparts from Douling.
"The fifth round of the round-robin match, Di Ao Academy vs. Douling Academy!"
"Competitors, please take your positions!"
As Du Qianjue walked out into the arena, his tall figure was calm and composed, his handsome face expressionless. His eyes, one red and one blue, were tranquil. He was dressed in Di Ao Academy's characteristic goose-yellow uniform with rose-gold embroidered lotuses that sparkled under the sun. By his side stood the equally tall Wei Feng, followed by Lin Weiwei and five others.
Douling's team also emerged, led by their captain Gu Zhu Jian, a level 57 assault-type Soul King with the Purple Glowing Bamboo as his martial soul. Alongside him were the vice-captain Qian Yuan, a bulky man over two meters tall with the Bear Claw martial soul, and Han Ling'er, the only female Soul King of Douling and a rapid-attack type soul master.
Once both teams were positioned on the stage, the referee quickly ascended, putting a significant distance between himself and Du Qianjue, essentially reducing himself to a speck in the sky.
"Ready!" the referee shouted from afar.
"Begin!"
Du Qianjue glanced at the referee who had taken a position well outside the protective soul barrier, his lips twitching slightly.
Was electrifying you once really such a big deal?
On the stage, Di Ao maintained their formation with Du Qianjue and Wei Feng in front, while the rest seemed to be idly waiting behind. Douling quickly rearranged their formation. Captain Gu Zhu Jian positioned himself at the center, with the defense-oriented Soul King Chi Hengyu and the Bear Claw Soul King Qian Yuan shielding the front. Chi Hengyu's massive shield was up, ready for action, while Qian Yuan had already activated his martial soul body enhancement, looking like a war machine ready for battle.
As the audience puzzled over Douling's strange formation, the team members from Douling pulled out metallic blocks from their storage soul-guiding devices. The largest of these was held by Gu Zhu Jian in the center.
"Thunder Cannon? Not afraid I'll scatter your team with a blast?" Du Qianjue raised an eyebrow, surprised to see such an unwieldy device being risked by Douling. This was the same secret weapon Douling had used against Shrek in the original story—a level seven war soul-guiding device, the Thunder Cannon. However, it had been easily countered by Xu Sanshi's Xuanming exchange, swapping Gu Zhu Jian into Shrek's formation before the cannon could even charge, effectively putting Gu Zhu Jian out of action.
With Du Qianjue's speed, he could easily eject the seven Douling players from the stage before the cannon could charge. He didn't understand why Douling would dare to use such a tactic in a match.
"What is that?" Lin Weiwei asked curiously.
"A level seven soul-guiding device, the Thunder Cannon. It's quite powerful, almost on par with a Soul Sage's attack," Du Qianjue explained.
"Should we stop them?"
Hearing about the Thunder Cannon's power startled everyone; Yang Lian immediately inquired if they should intervene.
"Why stop them? Being on par with a Soul Sage's attack doesn't mean it can contend with one. I could handle it with a simple move," Du Qianjue shrugged. "Let them charge. I want to see just how powerful this Thunder Cannon really is."
Compare thunder with me?
Do you think my ultimate lightning attribute is a joke?
"Are you sure?" Wei Feng frowned, his natural prudence making him consider interrupting their preparation—the safest and most logical choice. To take it head-on seemed unwise.
"Just watch. You guys might want to step back," Du Qianjue nodded, lifting his right hand, his fingers curling into a claw shape as fine, deep purple thunder crackled at his fingertips.
The team exchanged looks and collectively retreated several meters, leaving the stage to Du Qianjue.
"You don't recognize our soul-guiding device?" Gu Zhu Jian was perplexed. There wasn't even a hint of interruption from their opponents.
They were equipped with an invincible shield to prevent disruption of their formation. Only the Thunder Cannon, a soul-guiding device of Soul Sage caliber, gave them a sliver of confidence against Du Qianjue, a Soul Sage.
Originally, they planned to concede against Di Ao Academy. Even losing in the top sixteen wouldn't eliminate their chances of making it to the quarterfinals. But the longstanding grudges against Di Ao made them reluctant to show any weakness, prompting them to deploy their trump card: the Thunder Cannon, which could be operated in formation by all seven members.
Thus, the current scene unfolded.
"Of course, I recognize it. It's the Thunder Cannon," Du Qianjue tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Your Thunder Cannon's superior model, the level nine Thunder Annihilation, I've handled before. This is just a level seven trinket.
"Knowing it's the Thunder Cannon and still letting us charge, Di Ao Academy is truly arrogant," Gu Zhu Jian's face darkened.
"Don't overestimate yourselves. Letting you charge? A mere gesture from my junior can flatten you all!" Yang Lian, although not required to engage directly, didn't miss the opportunity to taunt.
Yang Lian's mockery turned Gu Zhu Jian's face crimson with rage, and the other six members of Douling's team also turned blue with fury.
"Then let's see how strong your reliance is!" Gu Zhu Jian clenched his teeth, his eyes nearly spewing fire.
He increased the output of his soul power, and the six small core arrays connected to the main core array in his hands radiated brilliantly. The dazzling thunder enveloped the members of Douling.
"Zzzz... Crack—"
The virtual cannon slowly materialized, its barrel aimed directly at Du Qianjue.
"Comparing thunder with me? Let's give it a try!"
Du Qianjue smirked, his seven soul rings rising up, with the fourth ring of the Thunder Devil Vine flashing ominously.
The variant of Heavenly Thunder Prison—Destruction Beam!
A golf ball-sized sphere of thunder formed in his right hand, now clenched in a claw-like grip. The extremely condensed and violent thunder property even manifested as plasma.
Streams of plasma flowed over the sphere, etching pits into the stage beneath Du Qianjue's feet.
This was Du Qianjue's self-created technique: Destruction Beam! It compressed the large area effect of Heavenly Thunder Prison into a highly condensed pure thunder attribute, which burst forth in a single-target explosion.
As this technique was still new to him and not fully mastered, he needed the support of the Thunder Devil Vine's soul ring. Once he perfected it, he could use this move even without releasing his martial soul, utilizing the internal thunder elements of his body.
This was a new kind of self-created soul skill, like the ones developed by Sword Douluo Chenxin in ancient times, further refining the existing soul ring skills to create something even more powerful and suitable.
Du Qianjue never thought he'd get a chance to use such a powerful technique. But here were the members of Douling, daring enough to play such a high-stakes game.
"Hey, referee, you might want to get a Title Douluo over here. This match might get a bit intense, and your little frame might not hold up!" Du Qianjue shouted up to the referee.
Little frame? Not holding up?
The referee's face turned green, his lips and eyes askew with irritation from Du Qianjue's comment. But considering his own soul power level and the scene unfolding on the stage with Du Qianjue charging his attack and the Thunder Cannon powering up, he silently nodded in agreement.
"Ha ha, young friend, don't worry. I am Star Luo's patron, Title Douluo Suixing. With me here, just focus on your fight," reassured an elderly man with white hair and a healthy complexion who suddenly appeared on the stage, chuckling softly.
Du Qianjue blinked but said nothing more. This old man who was now striking poses and stroking his beard on stage also appeared in the original story, with a soul power level in the nineties, if he remembered correctly.
Since that was the case, then there was no issue. It's just a match, after all. There was no need to actually kill anyone—overkill for a tournament, and potentially damaging to the Body Sect's reputation.
"Du Qianjue, taste our Thunder Cannon! And let me see just how strong the number one person of this Soul Sage-level competition really is!" Gu Zhu Jian's voice trembled, his face pale from the excessive consumption of his soul power, but his spirit was feverishly high.
The rest of Douling's team was no different, with Han Ling'er's legs shaking under the strain, yet they persisted in powering the Thunder Cannon.
"Bring it on. Let me show you that true power isn't something these external devices can match," Du Qianjue said with a slight smile.
"Hmph, less talk, more action. Thunder Cannon, fire!" Gu Zhu Jian snorted and then slammed his hands down on the core array.
The mouth of the Thunder Cannon burst with a pale, barrel-thick bolt of lightning. The extremely high temperature seemed to ignite the air, distorting it as the thunderous energy exploded outward with a crackling fury.
"I've been waiting for you..." Du Qianjue raised his right hand towards the oncoming attack and slapped out. The golf ball-sized thunder orb exploded into a deep purple beam of lightning, meeting the Thunder Cannon's blast head-on.
"Boom—"
The moment the two attacks collided, a blinding light burst forth on the stage, making the civilians in the audience feel as though they were staring directly at the sun. Those without soul power and low-level soul masters quickly covered their eyes.
Even a fleeting glimpse left their eyes streaming with tears from the intense light.
As the light faded, dust swirled on the stage, remnants of the shattered arena visible in the settling haze.
What appeared to be a massive, unclear crater now marred the stage...