Chapter 114: Xu jiujiu: You're So Bad!
In the first match of the top sixteen, after defeating the Spirit Fighting Academy, Wei Feng somehow drew the Sun Moon Royal Academy for the second match. An internal battle of royal academies? Specializing in elite battles?
After advancing to the top sixteen, the seven substitutes of the reserve team barely had a chance to compete; it was always the main team of seven who took the stage. And on the side of the Sun Moon Royal Academy, an unexpected figure appeared.
"Xu jiujiu?" Wei Feng raised an eyebrow.
Hearing her name, Xu jiujiu turned around and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Don't be disrespectful, call me 'little aunt'!"
Wei Feng's face darkened, and his mouth twitched violently.
"Wow, boss, you have such a beautiful 'little aunt'~" Yang Lian taunted, sticking his face close.
"Get lost!"
Wei Feng punched Yang Lian's smirking face and then faced Xu jiujiu with a frown.
"Stop joking around, you're only two months older than me. Do you really want me to call you 'little aunt'?"
"Why not?" Xu jiujiu 's face broke into a glamorous smile, although it seemed full of mockery.
"Just give in, it won't cost you a piece of flesh to call her 'little aunt,'" Du Qianjue patted Wei Feng's shoulder, advising him earnestly.
"Junior brother, stop messing around, she just enjoys teasing people." Wei Feng covered his face with one hand, feeling his captain's dignity was completely undermined by Xu jiujiu.
Du Qianjue's remark also drew Xu jiujiu's attention. She approached with a radiant smile and extended her right hand.
"Long time no see, big genius."
"We just saw each other a few days ago," Du Qianjue responded somewhat speechlessly, though he still shook hands with Xu jiujiu briefly.
One look at Wei Feng's expression was enough to know that Xu jiujiu was not someone easy to deal with; it was better not to provoke her.
But Xu jiujiu clearly did not want to let Du Qianjue go and circled around him, sizing him up.
"I didn't notice at the auction, but you do look quite handsome today," Xu jiujiu appraised honestly.
"Yep, I've always been quite confident about my looks," Du Qianjue seriously nodded. In terms of handsomeness, aside from the readers, he didn't think anyone could surpass him.
"Just like my strength, in terms of looks, no one can beat me!"
Seeing Du Qianjue's boastful appearance, Xu jiujiu chuckled.
"Such narcissism!"
"This is confidence!"
Wei Feng, seeing the two chatting happily, quietly slipped away, relieved that Xu jiujiu's focus was on Du Qianjue; otherwise, he didn't know what this witchy princess would do to torment him.
Despite Xu jiujiu's seemingly dignified and graceful exterior, that was only because she needed to maintain the image of a princess of the Star Luo Empire in front of outsiders. In front of peers, she was never the docile type.
Wei Feng could only describe it as terrifying.
"I really don't know how you train. We discussed strategies all last night, and not one was sure to defeat you," Xu jiujiu also stopped joking, sighing helplessly.
She had made countless preparations for this tournament.
Whether it was the star power charging of her Star Crown martial soul or various high-level soul-guiding devices, all were considered in the tactical discussions.
But still, there was no hope.
"My strength and achievements are all due to my own efforts, Your Highness. If you are not strong enough, it only means you haven't worked hard enough!" Du Qianjue stood with his hands behind his back, his lonely back turned to all living beings.
"Being invincible is indeed lonely..."
"Just shut it, who would believe that nonsense?" Xu jiujiu rolled her eyes, powerless to retort, "You're really terrible."
"The match is about to start, isn't Your Highness going back to your team?" Du Qianjue tilted his head and glanced at Xu jiujiu.
"Who kicks out someone like that?"
Xu jiujiu huffed and strode away without looking back with her long legs.
"Let's also head to the preparation area. Like last time against Spirit Fighting, we aim to take down the Sun Moon Royal Academy in the first match." Yang Lian peeked out, grinning.
"That way, we might not even need to fight one-on-one and could just win three points outright."
"Let's not, we don't have any grudges with Star Luo, and we shouldn't be so absolute." Wei Feng shook his head.
"We are, after all, in Star Luo City; we should give them some face," Du Qianjue agreed with Wei Feng's view.
"But, dealing with that princess will have to be the responsibility of our Prince Captain, right?"
Seeing Du Qianjue's mocking smile, Wei Feng's fists clenched; if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't beat Du Qianjue, he might have challenged him to a real man's duel.
"Alright, I'll take care of Xu jiujiu." Wei Feng sighed.
"To give them face, I won't make a move in the team battle. You guys fight them, and I'll just make sure we don't lose this match," Du Qianjue said.
"Unless we win, or you all get eliminated, I won't step in, so don't make it look too ugly."
The others nodded silently.
Since the start of the tournament, it had mostly been Du Qianjue taking action, and he had been overwhelmingly defeating the opponents. They hardly had to fight at all.
The others, also geniuses, naturally wanted to show their strength, but every time Du Qianjue stepped in, they could only watch from the sidelines.
It was itching for the veterans.
"I don't care, I'm just a support, junior brother, you have to protect me well," Lin Weiwei puffed up her cheeks.
"Okay, then we'll exclude Sister Lin," Du Qianjue nodded.
"That's settled then, let's head out." Wei Feng clapped his hands and stood up, walking out of the rest area towards the preparation area.
The others also stood up and followed Wei Feng.
Since the start of the tournament, this match was perhaps the most gold-worthy.
Di Ao Academy vs. Sun Moon Royal Academy!
With Du Qianjue at Di Ao Academy, he alone could attract a large audience, and adding the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Academy as the other competitor in this match only intensified the public's desire to watch in Star Luo City. The arena, capable of holding hundreds of thousands, was packed to capacity, a sea of heads under a din of cheers and applause.
"The second round of the top sixteen, Sun Moon Royal Academy vs. Di Ao Academy!"
"The first match, team battle! Please welcome the competitors from both sides to the stage!"
The referee's shout echoed, and competitors from both areas stood up and then entered the arena from the pathways on either side.
As expected, the centerpiece of the Sun Moon Royal Academy was none other than Princess Xu jiujiu.
On the Di Ao Academy side, Du Qianjue, unusually, was not walking next to Wei Feng but had moved to the very back, standing with Lin Weiwei.
Across the arena, Xu jiujiu blinked, puzzled by Du Qianjue's positioning.
"Why has he moved to the back?"
"Does he not plan to take action?" a petite girl next to Xu jiujiu whispered.
Xu jiujiu shook her head without speaking, instead instructing her teammates to form up.
Wei Feng also organized his team's formation, taking the lead with Yang Lian and Ouyang Qian on the flanks, Lin Mo in the center, and Du Qianjue with Lin Weiwei at the very back.
"Both sides ready, I am the referee for this match, titled Sky Fiend," Huang Jin Xu stood calmly in the air, his nine soul rings orbiting around him.
With Xu jiujiu participating, her brother Xu Jiawei, for his sister's safety, had directly brought out the Protector Douluo, Huang Jin Xu, ahead of time.
Normally, Huang Jin Xu would only oversee matches during the semifinals and finals, but he appeared early in the top sixteen.
This showed how high Xu Jiawei's protective nature towards his sister was.
However, truth be told, even though Huang Jin Xu's Sky Fiend Lone Star martial soul was strong, and he was close to a Super Douluo in strength, he really couldn't stop Du Qianjue.
It was more about psychological comfort.
"The match begins!" Huang Jin Xu drifted away, watching the arena from the sky.
As Huang Jin Xu's voice fell, Xu jiujiu raised her hand elegantly, and brilliant starlight shimmered in her hand. At the same time, a magnificent crystal star crown appeared on her head.
This was the inherited martial soul of the Star Luo royal family, the Star Crown, which had even been listed in the patterns of the Spirit Hall elders' commands ten thousand years ago.
Sword, Hammer, Dragon, Chrysanthemum, Ghost, Crown.
The last crown represented the Star Crown martial soul of the original Star Crown Sect.
With its control and support dual abilities, the Star Crown martial soul was ranked alongside the Seven Kill Sword, Hao Tian Hammer, and the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon.
One could imagine the strength of this martial soul.
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black—five soul rings rose beneath Xu jiujiu feet, the third purple ring suddenly lighting up, countless golden light showers falling from the sky, enveloping the seven members of the Sun Moon Royal Academy.
Wei Feng and the others didn't sit idly; they also released their martial souls.
After Lin Weiwei released her martial soul, she sequentially lit up her soul rings, applying various enhancement soul skills to Wei Feng and the others.
Wei Feng roared, holding the Soul-Cleaving Knife and charging forward first.
Yang Lian's Sky Falcon martial soul took over, his five soul rings moving around his body, a pair of three-meter wings appearing on his back. With a slight flap, he shot out like a black lightning bolt.
Before Yang Lian could harass from the air, the opponent's agility soul master found him.
The agility soul master from the Sun Moon Royal Academy was also a Soul King named Chen Xiao Jie, with a falcon-type martial soul, specifically the Lightning Falcon.
His speed was somewhat faster than Yang Lian's, but his attack power was slightly lacking.
The two agility soul masters with flight-type martial souls clashed first in the air, their attacks colliding and bursting into brilliant sparks.
With Lin Weiwei's support, Yang Lian faced Chen Xiao Jie, who was also supported by Xu jiujiu.
For a time, the two were evenly matched.
Wei Feng's opponent, bolstered by Xu jiujiu, also rushed out, a lot of starlight falling on him as his body gradually transformed into a tiger type.
Dark Magic Tiger, Huang He Yun!
Although Huang He Yun was only a Soul King, under Xu jiujiu's support, his aura was almost on par with Wei Feng.
The black tiger claws and the dark red blade instantly collided, sparking off tiny sparks.
"Get down!" Wei Feng roared, and after a horizontal slash with both hands on the knife, he chopped towards Huang He Yun with a forceful split.
Huang He Yun, unable to dodge in time, brought his tiger claws together in front of his chest, taking Wei Feng's blade strike head-on.
"Shh—"
Even under Xu jiujiu's support which greatly increased his defense, Huang He Yun's hands were still cut by the exceptionally sharp Soul-Cleaving Knife, blood streaming down.
Xu jiujiu's slender fingers pointed in the air towards Huang He Yun, a massive amount of starlight falling on him again. While it didn't heal the wounds on his hands, it stopped the bleeding and his aura surged once more.
At the same time, another beast martial soul Soul King from Xu jiujiu's team, the Ghostly Wild Lion Battle Soul King Dugu Shangshan, also charged at Wei Feng.
Their goal was clear, to eliminate Wei Feng, the strongest member besides Du Qianjue.
As for Du Qianjue.
He was still standing at the back, arms folded, watching the spectacle.
Zhao Jian also took action, a huge shield appearing in his hands. Holding the shield like a door panel, he directly slapped it towards Dugu Shangshan.
Although Zhao Jian was a defense soul master, his shield was not light; if it hit squarely, Dugu Shangshan would definitely be in trouble.
Blocked, Dugu Shangshan had no choice but to give up attacking Wei Feng with Huang He Yun and turn to face Zhao Jian.
Lin Mo, possessing a Dark Monster martial soul, had acted from the start. His eyes turned pitch black, and he watched Xu jiujiu with a serious expression.
The opponent's fire control soul master was controlled by him without warning, just as he was about to eliminate Xu jiujiu, he felt his spiritual power being blocked.
Fortunately, the control skill had already been successfully released, and the opponent's fire control soul master wouldn't be able to recover for a while.
Mental attacks are not so easy to bear.
Xu jiujiu's expression turned ugly; she thought that only Du Qianjue would be difficult to deal with at Di Ao Academy, but it turned out the entire academy was tough to chew.
Of course, if they weren't strong, they couldn't have advanced to the top four in the original story.
Xu jiujiu breathed a sigh of relief.
It looked like it was time to use her trump card.
Xu jiujiu's starry eyes slightly closed, the eighteen golden stars on her head's Star Crown illuminated by the fourth soul ring at her feet.
Although Xu jiujiu's fourth soul ring was only a thousand-year ring, the effect of this soul skill was extremely powerful.
The eighteen golden stars represented the star power Xu jiujiu had absorbed over eighteen nights. When used for defense, no soul master below the level of Soul Saint could break through unless the power of all eighteen stars was exhausted.
Star Guardian.
This was Xu jiujiu's fourth soul skill, also a very powerful trump card of the Star Crown martial soul.
As they fought, Huang He Yun, Chen Xiao Jie, and Dugu Shangshan all gained a thin layer of golden shields, bolstered by Star Guardian, they completely gave up defense and started attacking recklessly.
Since the opponent's attacks would be blocked by Star Guardian.
Lin Weiwei, maintaining everyone's state, was already sweating from her forehead. As a support-type soul master, her martial soul was far inferior to Xu jiujiu's.
Du Qianjue was still eating melon seeds.
"This Star Guardian soul skill is nice, just a pity that the energy storage time is too long." He tossed away the cleaned melon seed shells, offering a fair critique.
"Bang—"
Yang Lian was the first to be eliminated.
(End of Chapter)