Chapter 26

As the smoke cleared, Lin Chen knelt on one knee on the ground, his clothes in tatters, coughing up blood continuously.

Yu Mengdi on the other side was not having a good time either, in a state quite similar to Lin Chen's.

"Goodness, what did I just see?"

"A Soul King actually fighting a Soul Elder to a draw."

Vigorous discussions broke out in the spectator stands.

The move just now was the Fighting Kill Whirlwind Round Sword, self-created by the strongest Punishing Knight of the Saint Demon Continent, Long Xingyu. It allowed the user to accumulate power while continuously attacking the enemy, thereby erupting with attack power far exceeding their own soul power. It worked best when facing opponents who needed time to charge up or were relatively slow, and its effect would be minimal if matched against agile attack-type soul masters.

Douluo Continent was not as strictly graded as the Saint Demon Continent, making cross-tier battles comparatively much easier. Xie Yue at level 52 could rely on his own self-created soul skill to defeat a level 68 teacher, so why couldn't Lin Chen?

Lin Chen felt that this skill happened to match the Seven Kill Sword well, so he began studying and practicing it.

On the other side, relying on the advantage of soul tools, He Caitou abruptly exhausted his opponent's soul power, then blasted him out of the match with a single shot.

He Caitou walked over to Lin Chen's side and handed him a soul power-enhancing snow ru.

Lin Chen stood up with some difficulty, took the snow ru from He Caitou's hand, and took a deep breath, his condition improving slightly.

"Thanks, Senior."

"Small matter!"

Regaining a bit of soul power, Lin Chen gripped the Seven Kill Sword and charged toward Yu Mengdi opposite him.

"I concede!" Yu Mengdi directly chose to concede.

The referee made a move and intercepted Lin Chen.

"The first match of Shrek Academy against Zheng Tian Academy, Shrek Academy wins!"

Lin Chen and He Caitou walked slowly down the soul fighting platform and returned to the resting area.

"Little Earth, what was that move you used just now? So cool!" As soon as they sat down, the little loli swarmed around Lin Chen and chattered incessantly.

"Yeah Lin Chen, what on earth was that? You were actually able to fight a Soul King to a draw." Wang Dong also voiced his question.

"That was just something I fumbled around with blindly on my own, nothing impressive."

In the Star Luo Imperial Family's exclusive viewing platform:

"It seems the Seven Kill Sword is about to reappear on the continent," Xu Jiawei said.

"To be able to fight a five-ring Soul King to a draw with the strength of three rings, he truly has a bit of the demeanor of that person from ten thousand years ago. Shrek genuinely produces generation after generation of talent," Dai Hao also agreed.

"You speak falsely; although that person couldn't compare to Sea God Tang San, he was still an existence capable of taking on four by himself. The gap in strength between Title Douluo is nothing like these three or five rings," Guardian Douluo Cheng Gang retorted instead.

With Lin Chen acting as an assist, Beibei and Xu Sanshi volunteered to go on stage to fight for the second match.

Zheng Tian Academy's tactics also changed, replacing Tang Xiaolei, who was originally scheduled for the second match, with Ye Wuqing.

After a somewhat arduous battle under the joint forces of the outer court's strongest attack and the outer court's strongest defense, they secured victory without mishap. The audience present also witnessed the awakening of the Bright Holy Dragon and the Divine Beast Xuanwu, and the scene was exceptionally shocking!

Xu Sanshi actually awakened under Beibei's stimulation, and Lin Chen also felt it was somewhat unbelievable. Wasn't this guy only able to be stimulated by Jiang Nannan?

At the time, under Ye Wuqing's bombardment, Beibei vowed to secure victory and actively stimulated the bloodline of the Bright Holy Dragon.

Seeing Beibei fight so desperately, it successfully aroused Xu Sanshi's fighting spirit, prompting his Black Tortoise bloodline to be briefly stimulated. With the cooperation of offense and defense, they claimed this match.

After the match ended, everyone returned to the hotel to rest. As Huo Yuhao did not go on stage for the match, he did not expose the Ice Empress's aura, thus sparing him a severe beating from Guardian Douluo Cheng Gang.

Actually, Lin Chen's purpose was very simple: he just didn't want Xiao Xiao, a two-ringed soul master, to act as cannon fodder. A shattered martial soul was a very serious matter, and if she didn't possess a second martial soul, she would have been finished with the upcoming matches.

As for the relationship between Xiao Xiao and He Caitou, it was none of his business.

Early the next morning, in the conference room:

Just as everyone was discussing tactics, the door was knocked.

Wang Yan went to open the door.

The visitor was none other than Qing Ya of the Starlight Auction House. "Distinguished guests of Shrek, apologies for the abrupt interruption. Tonight, our establishment will hold a top-tier auction, and we sincerely invite all distinguished guests to attend."

"Many thanks, our academy will definitely attend on time," Wang Yan replied.

As night fell, Wang Yan led the Shrek group to the Starlight Auction House.

Lin Chen did not go, choosing to cultivate alone in the hotel.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door opened, and Zhang Lexuan's face appeared before Lin Chen.

"Sister Lexuan, let's go grab a late-night snack! Cultivating all alone all the time is so annoying," Lin Chen said with a smile.

"It's you who can't endure the loneliness, right? I'm not annoyed at all," Zhang Lexuan shot him a sidelong glance.

"Though my stomach happens to be a little hungry," Zhang Lexuan added.

Lin Chen and Zhang Lexuan walked through the alleys and streets of the Star Luo Empire. Lin Chen held various barbecues in both hands, his mouth never stopping as he periodically handed a skewer to Zhang Lexuan.

"Speaking of which, why didn't you go to the auction with Teacher Wang and the others?" Zhang Lexuan asked.

"I just simply didn't want to go, felt it was quite boring," Lin Chen answered casually while eating.

"I really give up on you..."

The two of them chatted casually like this, and Zhang Lexuan also felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

From being exterminated and becoming an orphan, to being adopted by Mu En and becoming Beibei's child-bride, and then to Beibei meeting Tang Ya, until Mu En told her she no longer needed to abide by the promise—over these years, Zhang Lexuan's mood had actually never been particularly good, she had just been forcing herself to hold on all along.

Zhang Lexuan seemed to discover that her originally ice-frozen heart had been pried open a bit by the youth before her.

Time was slipping away bit by bit, and the pedestrians on the street were becoming fewer and fewer.

"It's getting late, Sister Lexuan, let's head back to cultivate."

Head back? Head back my foot! You probably have no idea, but I won't have a way to calm my mind to cultivate tonight either.

"Stroll for a bit longer, we'll go back later," Zhang Lexuan said indifferently.

"Ah? Sister Lexuan, it's so late..."

"Shut up."

The two of them walked like this through the streets in the dead of night.

At around two in the morning, Lin Chen and Zhang Lexuan finally returned to the hotel. It was impossible for Zhang Lexuan to calm her mind and cultivate, so she simply took a bath and went straight to sleep, while Lin Chen cultivated.

After all, time waits for no one, and Mu En's limit was not far off. By then, the crises he would face would only be greater.

Only by forging ahead against the current could one find a glimmer of survival.

Thinking over and over, Lin Chen felt it was also time to find an opportunity to make a trip to the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well.

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