Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
The match had barely lasted half a minute when Su Yu claimed victory, leaving the Douling Team utterly stunned.
After regaining their composure, they started analyzing the situation and concluded that Su Yu must have activated all his soul skills at once. Particularly, they noted that his third soul skill caused a significant burst of soul power at that time.
Thus, before their next fighter stepped into the arena, the Douling Team decided to stall, hoping to buy time. Their tactic wasn't unusual; any competent team leader would take advantage of the opportunity to drain the opponent's strength. And it was fully within the rules. However, those rules allowed only a one-minute delay.
Still, with Chi Hengyu stepping down and the next contender, Gu Zhu Jian, taking his place, another minute passed. The preparations dragged on, consuming over half a minute more, all the while allowing the surge in Su Yu's soul power from Life Imprint to subside.
Yet Su Yu's expression didn't change. His fourth soul ring glowed, with the silver sword emblem shining continuously, storing energy.
The God-Slaying Sword drew in the surrounding energy, gathering sword aura for an earth-shattering strike. Every second remaining in the third soul ring was dedicated to this attack's buildup.
"Begin the match!"
The moment Gu Zhu Jian was ready, Su Yu's fourth soul ring flared with dazzling white light. A sword manifested in Su Yu's hand, and a terrifying sword aura erupted from the God-Slaying Sword.
"Slash!"
The strike was unleashed in an instant, far too quickly for Gu Zhu Jian to react. His body activated a protective shield automatically.
It was a level-five Invincible Shield, capable of withstanding any attack below the Soul Douluo level.
But even against this shield, Su Yu's sword strike left it visibly shaken. The concentrated sword aura struck at a single point, creating intense ripples in the shield.
Ultimately, the level-five Invincible Shield, capable of fending off any Soul Douluo-level attack, managed to withstand Su Yu's blow.
However, the assault had exhausted Gu Zhu Jian's strength to its limit.
An Invincible Shield is not truly invincible; it drains the user's soul power while blocking an attack.
At only level fifty-two, Gu Zhu Jian's status as a Soul King barely allowed him to activate the shield. After Su Yu's strike, his soul power had dropped by nearly a third.
As soon as the shield's three-second duration ended, Su Yu unleashed another charged strike.
While the Invincible Shield was active, Gu Zhu Jian was immobilized, unable to take any other actions, and could only watch as Su Yu stood ready with the charged God-Slaying Sword.
Within the domain, the surrounding energy gathered rapidly.
As the Invincible Shield disappeared, Su Yu's sword fell.
Desperation flashed across Gu Zhu Jian's face.
The referee stepped in to block the blow, disqualifying Gu Zhu Jian in the process.
Su Yu's face had paled slightly; more than half of his soul power had been consumed.
"It seems I was a bit too aggressive."
Following this, Su Yu performed an astonishing seven-person sweep, battling through all seven members of the Douling Team.
And this wasn't just any team—Douling was a strong contender for a top-four position in the tournament!
In a series of one-on-one matches, Su Yu, a mere Soul Ancestor, defeated five Soul Kings and two high-ranking Soul Elders in succession.
The stadium fell silent.
Even the atmosphere in Shrek's resting area was overwhelmingly tense.
"Even I wouldn't guarantee a win against him," Dai Yueheng remarked grimly.
Su Yu's attacks had reached Soul Emperor levels, and his endurance was equally overwhelming.
Since the beginning, Su Yu had been using his first and second soul skills, which Wang Yan had identified early on as restorative-type abilities.
Combined with his domain, it was truly monstrous.
"And his martial soul is Blue Silver Grass!"
This was perhaps the most incredible part.
Wang Yan's eyes shone as he looked at Su Yu's Blue Silver Grass, his desire to study it stronger than ever.
Hidden in the shadows, Xuanzi stopped munching on a chicken leg, his gaze fixed on Su Yu with a glimmer of interest.
Could it really be an ultimate attribute?
He sensed a peculiar, almost unnaturally powerful life force emanating from Su Yu's Blue Silver Grass.
Su Yu wasn't reckless either; as he wielded his martial soul, he ensured that its full attributes remained concealed. Xuanzi couldn't definitively confirm whether this was truly an ultimate attribute, yet he was certain of one thing—Su Yu's Blue Silver Grass possessed an unparalleled life force.
Blue Silver Emperor?
It didn't seem to match. Shrek Academy held the most extensive records on the Blue Silver Emperor, and this was clearly different.
Su Yu calmly stepped down from the stage.
Elder Ma suppressed his own astonishment, deciding that Su Yu should participate as little as possible in the upcoming rounds. Su Yu's third soul skill required a cooldown period; Laughing Red Dust had informed him of this. To ensure Su Yu preserved his peak power for the finals, Elder Ma was determined to keep him benched for now.
Su Yu was quite pleased with this. He could finally enjoy a few days of well-earned rest.
That evening, Su Yu and his companions attended the auction.
"First time I've heard of an auction being delayed," Laughing Red Dust chuckled. It was quite unexpected that an auction would be postponed by two days due to unforeseen events.
Apparently, to celebrate the Soul-Battle Tournament, the Xingluo Empire had decided to pool together all valuable items from recent auctions and place them on the block tonight.
Su Yu couldn't help but find this a bit absurd. "Let's hope they don't pull some items off the auction list," he murmured.
Tonight's event was an elite auction—the caliber of the items presented here would be unprecedented.
Su Yu had his eye on a few specific items and was only concerned that his targeted treasures might be withdrawn.
"First, there's the Gold of Life. I have to obtain it."
This treasure was vital for the growth of Su Yu's martial soul, and he was determined not to let it fall into anyone else's hands. Besides, the Gold of Life was essential for Elder Yi's recovery.
"Aside from the Gold of Life, I might also bid on the Ice Jade Scorpion's left arm bone. Meng likely doesn't need it, but Huo Yuhao can use it. It would tie that kid to me for good."
Granting favors was one of the most direct ways to secure loyalty—especially for someone like Huo Yuhao. Su Yu knew that Huo Yuhao's current position at the Sun and Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was primarily due to circumstance. With Mirror Red Dust having personally taken him in, there wasn't much Huo Yuhao could do about it.
With Mingdetang's ample supply of gold soul coins, Su Yu figured that Mirror Red Dust would be more than willing to spend what was necessary to win Huo Yuhao's allegiance.
"And then there's the Snow Empress Embryo. That's another must-have."
Though, in the original storyline, this very item had led the Body Sect to attack Mingdetang, causing severe losses, the importance of the Snow Empress Embryo couldn't be overstated. Ranked third among the top ten fierce beasts, the Snow Empress may not have rivaled individuals like Moon or other ultimate Douluos, but she was close in strength.
Filled with anticipation for these three items, Su Yu entered the auction hall.
"Welcome, everyone, to Xingluo Empire's Starlight Auction. I am today's auctioneer, Xu Jiujiiu."
"Princess Jiujiiu!"
The crowd erupted, and the excitement in the auction hall was unprecedented. The delay hadn't dampened the atmosphere in the least.
"Now, here is our first item up for auction."
As Xu Jiujiiu's voice echoed, the first auction item was presented on the stage. The soul-guided display screen provided a clear view of the platform and everything atop it.
"The Dominant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade, an eighth-level melee soul guide."
(End of Chapter)