Chapter 121: Soul Master Competition? Or a Culinary Contest!
"Why should I hit you? I don't hit little girls," Du Qianjue said, gently rubbing Xiaoxiao's head. Hmm, feels good.
"I am not a little girl," Xiaoxiao retorted, shaking her head trying to escape Du Qianjue's hand. The little girl struggled. The little girl failed to escape. The little girl resigned herself. The little girl sort of enjoyed it.
Unable to escape Du Qianjue's grasp, Xiaoxiao pouted, allowing him to continue messing with her hair. Despite her reluctance, she felt a warmth in her heart, a comforting sense of safety next to Du Qianjue while everyone else was embroiled in battle.
"Actually, even if you hadn't tried to stop me, I wasn't planning on making a move," Du Qianjue suddenly remarked.
"Ah?" The little girl being petted was confused.
"Your Shrek team isn't at full strength, and Wei Feng and the others wanted to personally take on Shrek. I wasn't going to intervene unless they were eliminated," Du Qianjue shrugged.
Xiaoxiao pursed her lips, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes directed at Wang Yan. All his efforts to hold off Du Qianjue were in vain because Du Qianjue had never planned to fight in the first place. However, Wang Yan's plans seemed to go beyond that.
Xiaoxiao looked down, her green eyes clouded with confusion, a CPU overheating with processing. Of course, Wang Yan wouldn't tell Xiaoxiao the truth; if he did, she surely wouldn't have agreed. He had told her to keep Du Qianjue busy until the others dealt with Wei Feng and his team, then they could all gang up on Du Qianjue.
But actually, Wang Yan hoped that by putting Xiaoxiao in the arena, Du Qianjue would hand over the championship to win her favor. Such convoluted thinking wasn't ordinary.
Seeing Xiaoxiao stay silent, Du Qianjue withdrew his hand and turned his attention to Xu Sanshi, who was making inappropriate remarks towards Ouyang Qian.
Ouyang Qian's frost thorns had already spread across the arena, many vines encircling Xu Sanshi because of his earlier comments.
"Wow, beautiful sister, you're not going to tie me up with these vines, are you? I'm so scared," Xu Sanshi teased, causing Ouyang Qian's cheeks to flush red as more vines attacked him.
Xu Sanshi continued to taunt, "Ah, you can't tie me up. Wow, sister, you're actually whipping me, do it harder, even harder..."
Is this guy for real?
Du Qianjue was embarrassed to watch, and Wei Feng and the others looked at Xu Sanshi disapprovingly, ready to cut him down at any moment.
Rip—
The sound of fabric tearing filled the air as Du Qianjue's school uniform sleeve ripped, revealing his arm transforming into a ghastly gray-white dragon claw. This was his Chaos Dragon King martial spirit, which he rarely used. This was the first time he used it in combat.
Xu Sanshi could be proud that he had forced Du Qianjue to use the Chaos Dragon King spirit. Although it only had two soul rings, the elemental powers in his soul cores could also be utilized by the martial spirit.
Strands of elemental power swirled around the dragon claw, calling upon all elements except time and space. Eventually, Du Qianjue condensed a dove egg-sized colorful orb of light in his hand.
"Want to feel good?" Du Qianjue sneered and flicked his finger, sending the elemental orb crashing against Xu Sanshi's shield.
Xu Sanshi's face paled instantly as he spat out blood. His Xuan Ming shield was pierced through!
Following that, a more violent elemental explosion erupted at Xu Sanshi's location, and his agonizing scream caused Huang Jin Xu's expression to change drastically. He immediately appeared behind Xu Sanshi, grabbing him and pulling him off the stage.
"Well done, junior!" Ouyang Qian breathed heavily, turning back to give Du Qianjue a thumbs up.
Serves him right!
Du Qianjue nodded in response to Ouyang Qian.
Of course, the orb didn't just pierce through Xu Sanshi's shield. The location of the elemental explosion was known only to Du Qianjue and Huang Jin Xu, who had rescued Xu Sanshi. Even Xu Sanshi was unaware, only feeling an unbearable pain before blacking out.
Du Qianjue, one hand on the little girl's head and the other propping up his chin, wore a radiant smile. Hehehe! Say goodbye to your shield, buddy! I said I'd do it!
The rest of Shrek looked on with tingling scalps, their gazes turning to the sinister-smiling Du Qianjue, shivering collectively.
Though they didn't know Xu Sanshi's exact condition after Du Qianjue's attack, his scream suggested it was nothing good. No one wanted to be suddenly struck down hard by Du Qianjue in the midst of battle!
As the other five members of Shrek kept a wary eye on Du Qianjue, preparing for any potential moves, Du Qianjue acted. He pulled Xiaoxiao down from the Three Lives Soul Cauldron.
Xiaoxiao didn't know what Du Qianjue was planning but obediently stood by his side.
"The competition is getting boring. Let me borrow your cauldron for a bit," Du Qianjue said.
Xiaoxiao nodded instinctively, then watched Du Qianjue's next move...
What is a cauldron? In ancient times, besides being used for rituals, it was also a cooking vessel.
Du Qianjue rubbed his stomach, then with his left hand, he fetched a large piece of quality beef from his storage soul guidance device. With a wave of his right hand, wind elements sliced the beef into even slices. He did the same with a large beef heart.
He then coated the beef slices and heart with cassava flour and set them aside. Airborne ice elements began to condense into a large block of pure ice, which Du Qianjue tossed into the cauldron. At the same time, he ignited a fierce fire beneath it.
"Are you... cooking?" Xiaoxiao, already overwhelmed by her "burnt-out CPU," felt dizzy. "Brother, this is the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament! And it's the final! This isn't the place for a barbecue!"
"Yeah, just watching is so boring. Let me cook something nice for you," Du Qianjue nodded, then shouted back to Wei Feng, "Senior Wei, don't finish the fight too quickly. If you do, my food won't be ready yet."
Wei Feng's eye twitched, but he nodded anyway. If you want to cook, I'll let you.
Lin Weilin's eyes lit up. After boosting her teammates with some support, she ran over to Du Qianjue. "What's cooking?"
Lin "The Foodie" Weilin is online!
"Cauldrons are only good for boiling; they're not convenient for frying or other methods. Let's make some beef tripe soup," Du Qianjue chuckled. The ice had melted under the intense heat, and the bubbling water in the cauldron boiled.
Du Qianjue threw the prepared beef and heart into the cauldron, followed by beef tripe, crispy intestines, kidneys, and other ingredients...
After seasoning and extinguishing the fierce fire, a rich aroma wafted freely around the arena...
Watching the steamy, aromatic cauldron in front of Du Qianjue, Wei Feng, Lin Mo, Yang Lian, Ouyang Qian, and Zhao Jian all simultaneously swallowed their saliva. Dang, that's tempting!
In contrast, the Shrek team members turned dark with anger, their teeth gritted in frustration. They had come to compete, not to watch a culinary show, and Du Qianjue turning the Soul Master Tournament into a food festival was too much, even more humiliating than a swift defeat.
Dai Yueheng and the others were so infuriated they almost wanted to drop their opponents and attack Du Qianjue directly. But they held back their impulses and fought even more fiercely against Wei Feng and his team.
"Delicious!" Xiaoxiao inhaled the fragrant air, her eyes lighting up as she looked at her cauldron. Wow, my cauldron can do this? You've grown up, my martial soul; you need to learn to cook to sustain your Soul Master!
Xiaoxiao kept swallowing her saliva, her eyes full of desire for the food.
Du Qianjue laughed heartily, pulling out porcelain bowls and jade chopsticks from his soul guidance device, filling a bowl for Xiaoxiao. Lin Weilin wasn't left out either.
"Hisss..." Xiaoxiao couldn't wait to taste the soup, hissing as the hot broth scalded her, her little tongue sticking out, red and tender.
Lin Weilin had no ill feelings towards the little girl, just amusement as she watched her alternating between being burned and eagerly eating.
Bang—
Bei Bei, the Soul Master with the lowest cultivation level who couldn't use his Bright Blue Tyrannosaurus Rex awakening, was the first to be thrown out. Without his awakening and facing opponents who were all Soul Kings, he was at a clear disadvantage. With Xu Sanshi eliminated earlier, Shrek was down by one.
Adhering to the strategy of "it's better to break one finger than to injure ten," Lin Mo, together with Ouyang Qian, first eliminated Bei Bei.
After Bei Bei's elimination, the two turned their gaze to Xixi, who was entangled with Yang Lian. The three together quickly eliminated Xixi, the agility attack type.
With this, Shrek Academy was left with Xiaoxiao enjoying a meal with Du Qianjue, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi eliminated, and Xixi out.
Only Dai Yueheng, Gongyang Mo, and Ling Luochen remained.
Freed, Yang Lian immediately charged at the support type Gongyang Mo, while Lin Mo and Ouyang Qian, both control types, restrained Ling Luochen. Wei Feng, along with Zhao Jian, fought fiercely with Dai Yueheng.
Dai Yueheng felt helpless, facing two tough opponents, one offensive and one defensive; he couldn't spare any effort to help his teammates. Ling Luochen, targeted by two of the same level control types, was in grave danger.
Gongyang Mo was thrown out by Yang Lian.
Only Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen were left struggling to support alone. Although Dai Yueheng managed to take out the energy-depleted Zhao Jian, they still lost.
As for Xiaoxiao?
Having had her fill, Du Qianjue simply waved his hand, and a gust of wind whisked her down from the stage.
Huang Jin Xu returned to the arena, his nose twitching as the rich scent of meat entered his lungs, awakening an appetite he hadn't felt in a long time. He glanced at Du Qianjue somewhat speechlessly before announcing the victory of Di Ao Academy in the team battle.
An hour later, the individual battles would begin.
Huang Jin Xu was truly speechless; this tournament had brought out such an extraordinary yet incredibly powerful Soul Saint. As a referee, he was utterly exhausted.
Look at what Du Qianjue turned the Soul Master Tournament into: a father beating up his son, war correspondents, If You Are the One, and a food broadcast.
A proper competition turned into a variety show.
Wang Yan's face was ashen, his expression hollow. Clearly, his plans had failed.
Du Qianjue had never intended to hand over the championship, though he had indeed been kind to Xiaoxiao. Not only had he refrained from attacking her on the field, but he had also treated her to a meal with her martial spirit.
Even he had to admit, Du Qianjue's cooking was really good, not just the audience but even Wang Yan himself felt his appetite grow.
What a shame.
Wang Yan looked at Xiaoxiao returning to the waiting area with light steps, opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
After all, it wasn't Xiaoxiao's fault, and she had done everything Wang Yan had asked. Du Qianjue hadn't made a move from start to finish. Well, except for dealing with Xu Sanshi.
Thinking of Xu Sanshi, Wang Yan felt a headache coming on. The healers said Xu Sanshi had only sustained minor injuries and would recover quickly.
But he probably wouldn't be able to speak of 'invulnerability' anymore...
Jiang Nannan sat in the waiting area of Shrek Academy, her gaze strange, filled with a mix of satisfaction, schadenfreude, and a sense of revenge.
An old fan-shaped statistical chart indeed.
The one-hour rest period quickly passed, and thanks to devices like the soul-guiding milk bottles that could rapidly restore soul power, both teams had recovered quickly. Although they hadn't fully regained their strength, their soul power had mostly returned...
Just as Dai Yueheng was about to step onto the stage to continue his manly duel with Wei Feng, he saw the opponent Shrek was sending out.
Du Qianjue...
"Teacher Wang, let's just admit defeat," Dai Yueheng said with a wry smile, pointing to the stage.
Wang Yan abruptly looked up, anger flashing in his eyes, but before he could speak, he saw Du Qianjue standing arms crossed on the stage, and a cold bucket of water seemed to douse his fire.
"Yeah, let's surrender," Wang Yan sighed dejectedly, waving his hand weakly.
I really am a sinner now...
Wang Yan, always so erudite and wise, now seemed like a child, his nose tingling as tears began to fall uncontrollably.
The others felt the same.
They had set out from Shrek Academy full of fighting spirit, coming to Star Luo City to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, hoping to bring glory to their school and win another championship.
But they hadn't expected to encounter a sun-like Du Qianjue, under whose brilliance their own light faded.
Upon receiving the news of Shrek's surrender, Huang Jin Xu's expression was bizarre.
Shrek had actually surrendered?
But these weren't his concern. He was only there to announce the results.
"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, the final battle, individual battle, Shrek Academy has surrendered!"
"Congratulations to Di Ao Academy for winning this tournament's championship!"
(End of Chapter)