Cai Xukun versus Xu Lizhi

Inside the Ming Capital Grand Stadium, the referee's steady and powerful voice echoed throughout the arena, "Group 3: Round 9, Match 1, Cai Xukun versus Li Zhi, the competition is now officially beginning!"

With this announcement, a duel that most Spectator considered a foregone conclusion began.

Why is it said to be a foregone conclusion? Naturally, it's because of the special circumstances surrounding the third group!

The Group Two, where Nan Fusheng was located, was considered the lucky group because it had the fewest Titled Douluo.

The Sixth Group, where the Big White Goose was located, was known as the Group of Death because it had the most Titled Douluo.

The third group, because of the existence of an "Over-spec Monster," was dubbed the "Group of Despair."

This "Over-spec Monster" who put immense pressure on the other contestants in the third group was none other than Cai Xukun, one of the Four Great Spirit Messengers from the Spirit Pagoda.

A level 98 Super Douluo's cultivation is among the top tier of all the participants in the tournament. Such strength appearing in the third group caused the other participants in that group to collectively lament, "There's simply no way to contend with this!"

The stands were already enveloped in a frenzied atmosphere.

"Kunkun! Kunkun! We love you!"

"The Kun Fan Club are here! Everyone else, disperse!"

"Kunkun Kun! You must defeat that fatso on the other side!" Passionate shouts rose and fell, as countless young girls held up carefully crafted flags and banners, fully demonstrating their support and admiration for Cai Xukun.

Cai Xukun was already handsome and outstanding. His level 98 Soul Power cultivation, the noble status of the Spirit Emissary, and the popularity he had accumulated as a streamer in the past had already gathered a huge fan base for him.

Since participating in this conference, he has continued to expand his influence with an impressive record of eight wins out of eight. The combination of newly acquired fans and existing supporters has made him one of the most eye-catching figures at this conference.

Facing the surging cheers and enthusiasm from the stands, Cai Xukun smiled calmly and waved to the Spectator.

"Ah--"

This simple gesture alone elicited excited screams from the fans, and the cheers from the crowd grew louder and louder, almost lifting the roof off the entire arena.

"Gurgle..."

On the field, Xu Lizhi, who was facing Cai Xukun across the arena, unconsciously swallowed, the clear sound of his Adam's apple bobbing barely audible in the noisy environment.

However, although his eyes revealed an undisguised tension, he showed no sign of backing down.

Compared to Cai Xukun's perfect record of eight wins, Xu Lizhi suffered Battle Three. The three losses were all due to his opponents being Titled Douluo. Even if he had won today's match, he would still have been ineligible for the top ten.

Frankly speaking, given the situation, his best course of action should have been to surrender, but he straightened his back and stood resolutely in the center of the ring, his gaze fixed firmly on Cai Xukun.

If the opponent were any other contestant, Xu Lizhi, being Food System Soul Master, might choose to avoid the fight.

After all, Food System Soul Master are at a disadvantage in direct combat, so even if they lose, it's not shameful. But right now, his opponent is someone from the Spirit Pagoda, which makes it impossible for him to take the step of surrendering.

Even though his opponents knew nothing of his true identity, and even though none of the tens of thousands of Spectator present knew that he was a disciple of the Shrek Academy, Xu Lizhi still chose to stand firmly on this stage.

This dedication does not stem from recklessness, but from the legacy he carries—he is one of the contemporary Shrek Seven Devils and the closed-door disciple personally taught by the Light Dark Douluo Long Yeyue.

The moonlight was exceptionally clear the night before the match, Long Yeyue quietly appeared at Xu Lizhi's residence.

When this highly respected Light Dark Douluo learned that his disciple would be facing off against members of the Spirit Pagoda the next day, he made a special trip to have a long talk with Xu Lizhi that was enough to change his mindset.

Unlike typical teachings, Long Yeyue did not preach empty platitudes. Instead, she recounted the legendary past of the first and Second Generation Shrek Seven Devils in a calm tone, with particular emphasis on the deeds of their ancestors, Tang San and Huo Yuhao.

Long Yeyue mentioned that when Tang San's ancestor was cultivating in his early years, his extraordinary talent was inadvertently exposed, which immediately alerted the evil Spirit Hall.

While Tang San was still at the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor level, the Spirit Hall actually dispatched two Titled Douluo, along with thousands of Spirit Master whose cultivation level was at least Soul Elder, to lay a trap and launch an encirclement and annihilation.

To the average person, this would undoubtedly be a certain death situation—for a Soul Ancestor to face such a lineup is almost like a lamb entering a tiger's den.

However, with his extraordinary wisdom and courage, Tang San's ancestor ultimately caused the arrogant Spirit Hall army to suffer a crushing defeat.

Following that, Long Yeyue continued to recount the experiences of Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao: In the same realm of the Four Realms, Huo Yuhao was feared by the Sun Moon Empire because of his extraordinary talent, and the other party even sent a Limit Douluo to try to eliminate him.

However, due to Huo Yuhao's ingenious plan, this Limit Douluo could only return empty-handed in the end.

At this point, Long Yeyue suddenly chuckled and casually mentioned that when she was Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, she had once defeated a Five-Ring Soul King in a head-on battle.

Xu Lizhi still vividly remembers the shock he felt at that time. Soul Ancestor could defeat two Titled Douluo and a thousand Soul Elder could escape unscathed from Limit Douluo —these feats sounded like something out of a fairy tale.

If he hadn't known that his master was always strict and would never joke about such a thing, he would have almost thought he had misheard.

Long Yeyue did not pause, and continued to tell an even more astonishing legend:

During his time as a Soul Douluo, Tang San's ancestor faced the Sea God Douluo Poseidon, a level 99 High Priestess of Sea God Island, when undergoing the divine trial. With a variety of methods, Tang San, despite his Soul Douluo cultivation, fought this peak expert for a full incense stick's time.

Ten thousand years ago, Huo Yuhao's ancestor, with his Seven Rings cultivation, faced the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian during Beast Tide, ultimately forcing this Beast God to retreat.

Getting carried away, Long Yeyue added with a laugh that when she was Soul Douluo, she once used her "astonishing Charisma" to make a Limit Douluo named "Elder Bei" obey her every word.

Although he sensed a hint of personal bias in his master's words, Xu Lizhi keenly grasped the core meaning. After a moment's thought, he looked up and asked, "Master, do you hope I will have a direct confrontation with Cai Xukun tomorrow?"

A slightly strange smile appeared on Long Yeyue's wrinkled face, "That's not the case. Teacher was just speaking from the heart. Although Teacher doesn't dare to hope to cultivate a god like 'Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang,' he does hope to become an existence like Dragon God Douluo Mu En."

"Li Zhi, you are my last disciple. I'm saying this to make you understand that you must maintain your integrity when facing power, and not lose your courage just because your opponent is strong. In tomorrow's battle, if you feel you are outmatched, surrendering is perfectly acceptable."

Seeing the "sad but expectant" look in his master's eyes, Xu Lizhi had already made up his mind. He solemnly promised, "Even if I cannot win, I will never let my opponent pass easily."

"Good, good, good! You truly are my good disciple!" Upon hearing this, Long Yeyue smiled as brightly as a child. That heartfelt joy strengthened Xu Lizhi's resolve.

Pulling his thoughts away from last night's long conversation, Xu Lizhi refocused his gaze on Cai Xukun across from him.

He took a deep breath, slowly raised his hands, and eight dazzling Soul Ring suddenly rose from beneath his feet, shimmering brilliantly under the spotlight—purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red!

Soul Ring Configuration of three purple, four black, and one red is already extremely powerful for an 81-level Soul Douluo.

Xu Lizhi's round face and small eyes were now filled with determination, showing no trace of his previous tension.

Level 81 and Level 98 represent a gap of seventeen levels, almost an insurmountable difference in strength.

But nourished by the "chicken soup for the soul" that Long Yeyue told him, Xu Lizhi felt no fear, only a burning fighting spirit: he could win.

Tang San's ancestor could fight against Titled Douluo with the Soul Ancestor, Yu Hao's ancestor could face the Beast God with Seven Rings Soul Rings. Why can't Xu Lizhi create his own miracle on this arena?

"Besides, Sister Xing Lan must be watching this match too, and I absolutely cannot let her down!"

Thinking of Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi's fighting spirit soared like a raging fire.

He suddenly raised his hand, and as his Soul Power surged, a Bloodthirsty Red Bean Bun emitting a faint Red Light appeared in his palm. He then stuffed it into his mouth without hesitation.

Perhaps he was too eager, forgot to chew, and swallowed the whole bun whole, even making a strange expression on his face.

"How big of a voice does that take to do..."

Xu Lizhi silently complained to himself, feeling a lump in his throat that made him uncomfortable. But the next moment, the effects of the Bloodthirsty Red Bean Bun had already kicked in, and the scalding energy instantly flowed through his limbs and bones, making his blood seem to boil at that moment.

At the same time, points of light appeared on Xu Lizhi's body, and his deep purple Battle Armor emerged.

Indeed, his Battle Armor was a deep purple, its profound color seemingly capable of swallowing all light, and its energy was contained within, without any attribute-based energy being released outwards.

During his training on Demon Island years ago, he faced the Power of Destruction that was capable of destroying everything. Not only was he not devoured by it, but he also successfully absorbed it into his body.

Now, although Demon Island has lost contact due to unknown changes, the Power of Destruction it absorbed back then has become increasingly powerful under his deliberate nurturing, using his own body as nourishment.

Holy Spirit Douluo had repeatedly advised him to give up cultivating such Berserk power, stating that it was subtly Erosion Element his vitality and even causing him to gradually lose his fertility. He said that if he stopped the damage in time, there was still a glimmer of hope.

But Xu Lizhi never wavered—he longed to become like Oscar First Generation Shrek Seven Devils, breaking the shackles that Food System Soul Master could only support and possessing the offensive power to stand alone.

He didn't want to be someone his companions protected forever, especially when Ye Xinglan needed him. He wanted to step forward instead of just standing behind her. Therefore, even knowing the Holy Spirit Douluo's good intentions, he could only continue on his own path with a guilty conscience.

Interestingly, Master Long Yeyue strongly supported this, even jokingly saying, "As expected of my disciple Long Yeyue, you must have this kind of 'what the hell' courage!"

With the Three-word Battle Armor donning its power, Xu Lizhi's spirit and energy instantly soared several levels. He softly chanted a spell. "The Buns Have Meat Regardless of Pleats."

A small, Light Agile Soup Dumpling was tossed into his mouth, and the air around him instantly became Feather Fall and agile. With a sway of his body, he pounced towards Cai Xukun using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

When Xu Lizhi had previously observed Cai Xukun's matches, he had already noticed that this level 98 Super Douluo's fighting style was always simple and direct—sweeping through everything with overwhelming Soul Power.

He was certain that Cai Xukun would not make the first move against him, an 81-level Soul Douluo. And this was his only chance to break the deadlock.

As Xu Lizhi had predicted, things unfolded as he had. Faced with his attack, Cai Xukun merely smiled calmly, neither dodging nor retaliating, simply watching him approach quietly.

"Now!"

Xu Lizhi's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his Seventh Spirit Ring suddenly lit up. A dazzling purple light instantly swept over his entire body, and even his deep purple Battle Armor emitted a blinding glow.

In an instant, the entire sky above the stadium was bathed in this purple light, as if auspicious purple clouds were rising from the east, creating a magnificent and awe-inspiring spectacle that captivated the entire audience.

Immediately afterwards, under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of Spectator, a giant Steamer with a diameter of over ten meters appeared out of thin air and stood across the arena.

That's right, it's the Steamer — Xu Lizhi's Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!

The next moment, Xu Lizhi's figure disappeared into the Steamer, while Cai Xukun was also completely enveloped by this sudden, enormous Steamer, his figure instantly swallowed up.

In mid-air, only that enormous object, emitting a faint purple glow, remained, like a giant cauldron that had fallen from the sky, engulfing both contestants.

A commotion erupted in the stands, the Spectator utterly dumbfounded. "That's... Steamer? What kind of Spirit Skill is that?"

"Cai Xukun is locked up? He's Super Douluo!"

"Who exactly is this Li Zhi, that he possesses such bizarre methods?"

In the contestants' rest area, Tang Wulin stared intently at the enormous Steamer on the arena, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists. As a close friend of Xu Lizhi, she understood the difficulty of this duel better than anyone else.

"Li Zhi's Martial Soul Avatar, which he had never used in previous matches, was precisely to catch Cai Xukun off guard at this moment."

She murmured to herself, her eyes filled with worry and anticipation, "Even Titled Douluo would probably not be able to withstand the Erosion Element of being enveloped in Steamer imbued with Power of Destruction."

"So, can I win?" Just as Tang Wulin was pondering this, the giant Steamer on the arena suddenly underwent an astonishing change.

The previously stable purple light began to flicker violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the Steamer, as if it would collapse at any moment.

The roar inside grew increasingly Berserk, even carrying a harsh, metallic Distortion sound, clearly indicating that the situation inside the Steamer was undergoing a dramatic reversal.

"Boom--"

The next moment, the Steamer shattered, and a round, dumpling-like figure plummeted from the sky, landing heavily on the ground. The moment it hit the ground, the earth shook violently!

Cai Xukun stood in mid-air, his posture upright, no different from when he first appeared.

On the ground, a figure appeared in the deep pit, already unconscious. It was none other than Xu Lizhi.

However, he looked truly pitiful. His Battle Armor was in disarray, with many parts damaged. Even the parts that weren't shattered were covered in dents. It was a truly tragic sight.

"The winner of the first match in Group 3 Cai Xukun!"

"Oh!!!"

The Spectator erupted in enthusiastic applause, a stark contrast to Xu Lizhi's miserable state.