Chapter 116: The Brutal Semifinals
Di Ao Academy, having already secured a place in the top eight, got a bye in the subsequent draws, allowing the Spirit Fighting Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Academy to thrash the other five teams.
Though at the bottom among the royal academies, the Spirit Fighting Academy was still a royal team and they didn't hold back against other teams.
Under Xu jiujiu's leadership, the Sun Moon Royal Academy also battered their opponents mercilessly. Finally, along with Di Ao and Spirit Fighting Academy, they advanced to the top eight.
Another team, average in strength but lucky in the draw, also made it into the top eight surprisingly.
Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy effortlessly dominated the upper half of the bracket without facing each other.
The sixteen-strong battles passed quickly, and the top eight draws were about to begin.
Under the watchful eyes of many, the captains of the eight teams stood on the platform, waiting for the draw results.
Xu Jiawei personally conducted the draw and once the results were announced, the captain of the Spirit Fighting Academy turned green.
Shrek Academy vs. Thousand Spirit Academy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy vs. Tian Zheng Academy, Di Ao Academy vs. Spirit Fighting Academy, Sun Moon Royal Academy vs. that lucky lower bracket academy.
The weakest team got drawn by the Sun Moon Royal Academy, raising suspicions of a minor manipulation by Xu Jiawei.
Clearly, they were no longer planning to play fair with the Spirit Fighting team, deciding to stop them from advancing past the top eight this time. Facing Di Ao Academy in the top eight, the Spirit Fighting team could only go so far.
Despite having consistently made it to the top eight in the past few tournaments, the team was never able to break into the semifinals…
This situation absolutely blew the minds of everyone from the Spirit Fighting Academy.
Di Ao! You again!!!
Then, a dramatic scene unfolded—the first team in history to forfeit before fighting in the top eight emerged…
Du Qianjue vaguely saw the Spirit Fighting Academy members cursing as they left.
"F*ck this! What kind of damn draw is this! I'm cursing your stars!"
Di Ao Academy, initially scheduled for the third match, advanced directly to the semifinals, bypassing both Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, becoming the first to advance.
This left the other teams somewhat sighing.
The Spirit Fighting team seemed to have developed a psychological shadow from Du Qianjue, opting to flee as soon as they drew Di Ao Academy.
The other three matches were somewhat anti-climactic. The teams that made it to the top eight, including Shrek, Sun Moon, and Star Luo, were already satisfied, so they didn't fight too hard, making the top eight matches seem more like friendly matches.
Thus, after the top eight draw, Xu Jiawei stood again for the drawing…
By then, the atmosphere among the four teams' captains on the stage had become a bit strange.
Wei Feng appeared nonchalant, as if the semifinals' draw outcome didn't matter at all. Indeed, with Du Qianjue present, he had already virtually booked the championship; the matches were just a formality.
The captains of the other three teams, Dai Yueheng, Xu jiujiu, and Ma Rulong, looked significantly more tense, none wanting to face Di Ao Academy in the semifinals. Drawing Di Ao Academy meant they could only compete for second place with another team.
Du Qianjue: So you all came here to fight for second place?
"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament semifinals draw begins!" Xu Jiawei, looking indifferent, casually waved his hand in the box, and the match table came out.
Sky Fiend Douluo Huang Jin Xu glanced at the draw results and announced loudly: "The draw results are out!"
"Upper bracket: Shrek Academy vs. Star Luo Royal Academy!"
"Lower bracket: Di Ao Academy vs. Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy!"
Ma Rulong's face turned green.
If there was no rigging, he'd go back to Gotham and lie down for Batman to hit him.
Alright, alright, playing like this, huh?
In contrast, Xu jiujiu, the beautiful face of the Star Luo princess, was all smiles, just like Xu Jiawei. This draw was incredibly favorable for their Star Luo Royal Academy.
Di Ao Academy was undisputedly the strongest team in the tournament; no one could gauge the limits of Du Qianjue's strength. Against any opponent, Du Qianjue always managed to defeat them effortlessly, shrouded in mystery.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was also formidable, hiding many cards even this late into the tournament. It was clear to everyone that from the start of the tournament, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had been holding back.
Star Luo Royal Academy, facing either of these teams, was in a no-win situation.
And Shrek Academy, without Ma Xiaotao participating in this tournament, only had Dai Yueheng as a Soul Emperor, with just four Soul Kings.
Yao Haoxuan was seriously injured, the fifth-level soul master from the inner court died, and Mu En, just like in the original plot, didn't send other inner court students for support.
Shrek's nominal strength, even less than that of Di Ao Academy without Du Qianjue. Even without Du Qianjue, Di Ao Academy still had one Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings, and Wei Feng's strength might not necessarily be inferior to Dai Yueheng.
So Shrek Academy was actually the weakest on paper among the three teams, which was why Xu Jiawei drew such a lot.
It didn't matter if they lost; after all, Shrek Academy had always been strong, losing wasn't a disgrace, and at least they made it to the top four.
But if they won, they would be the only team in millennia to defeat Shrek Academy, which would undoubtedly greatly enhance the prestige of the Star Luo Empire.
Xu Jiawei's calculations were so obvious that even Du Qianjue watching from below could see it.
But this was Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire.
Even though many saw through it, they dared not say much, at most discussing it privately, since these were mere maneuvers and not outright cheating.
No one could accuse Xu Jiawei, the Emperor of Star Luo.
Even Ma Rulong, who had gotten a raw deal, dared not complain too much.
The Shrek team, treated like a soft persimmon, had very uncomfortable expressions, except for Dai Yueheng, who as the legitimate son of the White Tiger Duke, couldn't say much as Xu Jiawei was scheming for the Star Luo Empire.
But the expressions of others were quite ugly.
Each one fiercely stared at the Star Luo Royal Academy's preparation area.
As students of Shrek Academy, their pride did not allow them to be treated like pushovers!
"Semifinal first match, Shrek Academy vs. Star Luo Royal Academy!"
"Both sides, prepare to enter the stage!"
Sky Fiend Douluo Huang Jin Xu's voice spread throughout the entire Spirit Fighting Arena. Shrek, excluding Dai Yueheng, six people bristling with murderous intent, marched toward the stage.
Shrek's lineup: Captain Dai Yueheng, Ice Control Soul King Ling Luochen, Rainbow Dragon Assistant Soul King Gong Yang Mo, Soul Chasing Sword Offensive Soul King Chen Zifeng, Agility Soul King Xi Xi, Defense System Soul Sage Xu Sanshi, and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Sage Bei Bei.
The Star Luo Royal Academy's lineup was still the same as when they faced Di Ao Academy.
The match could only be described as brutal.
Right from the start, Xu jiujiu used an eighth-grade absolute defense soul-guided device to trap Dai Yueheng, the highest-ranked Soul Emperor.
Even Ma Xiaotao, stronger than Dai Yueheng, couldn't break this absolute defense soul-guided device; it wasn't something he could handle.
With Dai Yueheng banned from the start, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi went all out.
Assisted by Gong Yang Mo, the brothers each used their awakened states: Bei Bei awakened the Light Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, and Xu Sanshi the Black Tortoise.
Bei Bei's awakened Light Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, compared to Mu En's Light Holy Dragon, was not inferior, and Bei Bei also inherited Mu En's unique skills.
Tyrant King: Thunder Domain!
This was the variant method of using the fourth soul skill after Bei Bei's martial soul bloodline awakening. Under Gong Yang Mo's assistance, whose ability was close to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, Bei Bei's offensive capability could even match a Soul Emperor.
Due to the rapid recovery this tournament, Dai Yueheng and the others didn't use their bloodline awakening abilities, leading Xu jiujiu to be completely unaware of this trump card!
Caught off guard, the Ghostly Wild Lion Dugu Shangshan was fiercely attacked by an enraged Bei Bei and was severely injured and eliminated.
Xu Sanshi's fourth soul skill after the Black Tortoise bloodline awakening, also enhanced to Black Tortoise Displacement, directly broke through Xu jiujiu 's Starlight Barrier, targeting the opponent's fire control soul master and throwing her out of the arena.
The moment of displacement, he forcibly unleashed his innate domain, Black Tortoise Domain, entangling the defensive Giant Winged Eagle soul master trying to assist, and dragged down Xu jiujiu and the wind control soul master.
Agility Soul King Xi Xi, not being a flying-type soul master, couldn't reach Chen Xiao Jie flying above and was suppressed by Chen Xiao Jie's aerial advantage in the corner.
Chen Xiao Jie even had the leisure to occasionally glance at the powerless Gong Yang Mo, forcing Gong Yang Mo to dare not fly too high.
If it weren't for buying several high-powered fifth-grade soul-guided devices in advance, which made Chen Xiao Jie, a fragile agility attacker, hesitant to approach directly, Chen Xiao Jie would have surely eliminated the unprotected assistant first.
Defense Soul Sage Xu Sanshi directly ran into the opponent's formation, and Chen Zifeng also had to deal with Huang He Yun, who re-entered berserk mode under Xu jiujiu 's Star Guardian boost.
The power of the Dark Demon Tiger was fully demonstrated among peers.
Facing Soul Emperor Wei Feng, even in berserk mode, Huang He Yun couldn't inflict much damage; Wei Feng always managed to forcibly withstand him using his powerful soul power.
But against Chen Zifeng, who also had a weapon-type martial soul but only Soul King-level soul power, facing Huang He Yun was extremely difficult.
The saying "dragons produce clouds and tigers produce wind" has always existed. Although the Dark Demon Tiger isn't a wind attribute, its speed is still ridiculously fast. Even with Gong Yang Mo's all-around attribute enhancement, how could a Soul Chasing Sword block a pair of tiger claws?
This could be seen from Chen Zifeng's uniform shredded into strips, with bloodstains all over his chest and back.
Already holding back his anger, Chen Zifeng's eyes turned red, and he directly activated the fifth-grade invincible shield Wei Yan equipped them with.
The three-second real man shield worth a hundred thousand gold soul coins.
Chen Zifeng's five soul rings flashed like neon lights, completely unconcerned with soul power consumption. After using the first four restraining soul skills, he infused most of his soul power into the fifth soul ring.
The profound blackness made Chen Zifeng's gritted expression appear like a hellish demon.
Even Huang He Yun, in berserk mode, was startled by the star guardian's inability to provide him security.
Regardless, Chen Zifeng, representing Shrek Academy in combat, was an outstanding inner court student. In his desperate mode, Xu jiujiu's Star Guardian might not really be able to protect Huang He Yun.
After all, the weakness of Star Guardian is that it's easily broken point-by-point, and the advantage of the Soul Chasing Sword is that its penetration power is maxed out, perfectly suited to break through point-by-point.
If Huang He Yun didn't make any move, he would definitely be pierced through by the desperate Chen Zifeng.
Huang He Yun's expression turned from madness to seriousness, and his five soul rings, like Chen Zifeng's, lit up one by one.
"Dark Fury!" "Magic Tiger Pounce!" "Black Tiger Heart Pluck!" I'm Black Tiger Ah Fu; prepare to die!
Once Huang He Yun's fifth soul ring lit up, his pair of tiger claws tripled in size, and his aura peaked.
"Come on! Who's afraid of who!" Huang He Yun grinned, his laughter deafening.
"Heh, my sword returns, and your life has no return!!!" Chen Zifeng's Soul Chasing Sword turned completely crimson, as if blood was flowing on the blade.
"Come fight!" "Come!"
Chen Zifeng held his sword at his waist.
Horizontal slash, thrust!
Huang He Yun raised his tiger claws high, each claw like a blade gleaming with cold light, and swung down instantly!
Chen Zifeng's slash and thrust collided with Huang He Yun's X-shaped strike.
"Sss—" "Pfft—"
Chen Zifeng's horizontal slash was blocked by Huang He Yun, but the thrusting sword qi directly penetrated the star guardian shield, bursting out from behind Huang He Yun.
The slightly weakened X-shaped claw strike from the powerful bow's end smashed the invincible shield and tore through Chen Zifeng's chest.
Deep gashes on both shoulders spread to his waist.
Both were severely injured!
Huang Jin Xu was startled and quickly lifted both out of the arena, sending them to the healing soul masters for treatment.
Bei Bei also went mad, directly charging to the back row of Star Luo Royal Academy, combining with Xu Sanshi's Black Tortoise Domain to fully unleash Tyrant King: Thunder Domain.
But as a Soul Sage, Bei Bei's soul power was ultimately limited. If he had been a Soul Emperor, paired with Xu Sanshi, they could have resolved the situation in minutes.
Protected by the opposing Giant Winged Eagle soul master, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi only managed to barely eliminate the opponent's wind control soul master before they ran out of soul power and passed out.
Brutal!
(End of Chapter)