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Kong Deming's imposing questioning left Xuanzai speechless. Forcing the opponent to hand over their soul guide, especially an eighth-level one, was indeed unreasonable.
It is worth noting that at the auction, Dai Yaoheng spent over one and a half million gold soul coins for an eighth-level soul guide, the Fierce Tiger Soul-Refining Blade.
What Ma Rulong held could only be considered even more precious.
Not only in terms of quality but also due to its usage restrictions.
An eighth-level soul guide that can only be activated by a Soul King!
This was a creation of the highest confidential technology from Mingdetang.
If it were surrendered, the damage to their reputation would be minor; the real loss would be the technology itself.
All of this is without considering the context.
After all, this is the Soul Fighting Competition.
The Sun and Moon Royal Team had just defeated the Shrek Academy Team, winning the championship!
At this moment, Xuanzai was pressuring the champion team to surrender the soul guides they used during the competition.
Even the audience from the three nations felt ashamed.
Especially after being reprimanded by Kong Deming, a more powerful figure, Xuanzai lost any advantage he might have had, making his embarrassment even more pronounced.
"I suspect that the soul guides you used are in violation of the rules."
"I remember that the competition regulations state that apart from fixed-position soul-guiding cannons, any soul guide that can be controlled by a soul master can be used, right? There's no rule saying it must be made by a soul engineer.
"I recall that during the recent match, Shrek also used an Invincible Shield. You're not going to tell me that she can create a fifth-level Invincible Shield, are you?"
Kong Deming's words made Xuanzai's face turn ashen.
Wang Yan also wore a look of utter dismay.
Forget about the Invincible Shield!
"The soul guides you used are too evil; their attacks can induce mutations in the soul masters' martial souls, and they are extremely malevolent mutations!"
To emphasize the malevolence of the Judgment Sword wielded by the Sun and Moon Royal Team, Xuanzai added, "My student's martial soul could even be transformed into an evil martial soul by that sword!"
A stir ran through the audience.
What had been an eerily silent venue was now filled with whispers.
Evil soul master!
Evil martial soul!
These were undoubtedly two terms that sent chills down people's spines.
Could the soul guides of the Sun and Moon Royal Team really induce martial souls to fall into evil?
"What a joke!" Kong Deming sneered.
His imposing presence dominated the entire venue.
Xuanzai secretly marveled.
This old fellow seemed to have broken through!
"I haven't even questioned your Shrek yet, and you're already turning the tables on me."
"Instead of looking for faults within yourselves, you're blaming others."
"Take your student for example. You probably know better than I do what's going on with the evil fire in her martial soul, don't you?"
"Hmph, if we don't strike her down today, she might just be affected in her battle against others, resulting in the same outbreak of evil fire, leading her to become an evil soul master, right?"
Kong Deming was a pillar of the nation—cunning and astute, his words were sharp and directly targeted the core issue.
"If I'm not mistaken, this Ma Xiaotao is still considered the first genius of the past century in your Shrek inner court, right?"
"If you don't resolve the issue with her martial soul and continue to cultivate her so extravagantly, what are you thinking in Shrek?"
"A hundred years' first genius, destined to be one of Shrek's power holders in the future."
"Power holders who could easily fall into becoming high-level evil soul masters!"
"Super Douluo and even Limit Douluo-level evil soul masters—how unimaginable!"
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Kong Deming amplified his voice using soul power, ensuring that everyone could hear him clearly.
Even the audience members who were not well-versed in some of the terms quickly grasped the meanings of evil soul masters, evil martial souls, the inner court, and what Super Douluo and Limit Douluo meant from the discussions around them.
Because they had come to understand these matters, the audience's fear of Kong Deming's alarmist claims grew from the depths of their hearts.
In the eyes of the people of the three nations, Shrek was a savior-like presence. However, now they were being told that the highest echelons of Shrek could become crazed evil soul masters, capable of killing without remorse.
Xuanzai's face changed dramatically.
He wanted to intimidate Kong Deming and make him stop such remarks.
But realizing he might not be able to overpower him, he could only blame himself for inadvertently providing the other party with such an opportunity. A hint of regret flickered in his heart.
Xu Jiawei, seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control, stepped in to mediate between the two.
"Gentlemen, the Soul Fighting Competition isn't truly over yet. Whatever personal grievances you may have, please resolve them after the tournament, rather than engaging in a verbal dispute during the event."
"Teacher, let's not linger too long; we should leave quickly to avoid any further complications."
The Sun and Moon Royal Team did not stay another night in Starluo City and set out to return to the Sun and Moon Empire on the same day they received the championship trophy.
Su Yu remained beside Kong Deming throughout the journey, seeking guidance on soul guides.
On this return trip, Su Yu would also begin to familiarize himself with fifth-level soul guides.
Becoming a Soul King marks a significant turning point among soul masters due to the immense power of ten-thousand-year soul skills.
Similarly, reaching the fifth level for soul guides signifies a crucial threshold, as it is at this level that they possess a true core.
By mastering fifth-level soul guides quickly, Su Yu could accelerate his research in various areas, allowing for deeper and more comprehensive studies.
The Starluo Empire and the Sun and Moon Empire had long been in conflict.
The two armies exchanged blows continually.
There was a considerable buffer zone along the Starluo Empire's border.
Though termed a buffer zone, it was essentially a battlefield, with villages ravaged by war, leaving only ruins in their wake.
A group was entering this buffer zone from the direction of Starluo City.
"Boom!"
Brilliant light illuminated the wilderness.
Various colors of soul rings sparkled.
Yellow, purple, and black dominated the scene.
Among them were also flashes of white light.
"Enemy attack!"
Ma Laoda shouted, immediately summoning his martial soul.
His head instantly grew to an enormous size, and numerous soul guides were retrieved from his storage soul guide.
A massive soul guide shield enveloped everyone within.
Bang!
The soul guide shield shattered.
Another shield was quickly deployed to protect all the students.
This cycle continued.
Ma Laoda, a dignified eighth-level soul master, possessed countless soul guide shields.
Yet, even with this abundance, nearly all were consumed during this wave of attacks.
But it was sufficient.
Within the safety of the shield, Su Yu and the others released their martial souls and prepared for a counterattack.
Their target consisted of only about ten soul kings.
The remaining enemies were all taken down by Kong Deming.
As for the three Titled Douluo leading the attack, Kong Deming unleashed three ninth-level soul guide lasers, causing them to retreat in haste.
"Hmph, overestimating yourselves!"
"Let's go!"
The counterattack was exceptionally swift. With a sudden outburst, Su Yu and the others managed to take down more than ten soul kings.
These soul kings were not particularly formidable; in fact, half of them even had white first soul rings.
Moreover, a significant number lacked black soul rings.
Faced with the Sun and Moon Royal Team, they were naturally overwhelmed.
In the distance, Kong Deming's furious voice echoed.
"Poison isn't enough to kill you! Does the Main Body Sect truly wish to make a complete enemy of my Sun and Moon Empire?"
(End of Chapter)