Before the four-team showdown had even begun, rumors were already running wild.
Both the Sun Moon and Di'ao teams had Soul Emperors, while every member of Star Luo's team was a Soul King.
Shrek, meanwhile, was the subject of a different kind of gossip. After sweeping Zhengtian Academy, Gu Yuena had said that Mu Xuanheng would take the field. Countless people were now watching him, wondering how strong he really was.
"Could he have a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring too?"
"Impossible. Having one genius like that is already incredible. How could there be two?"
The doubts and speculation went on without end.
At last, the semifinals arrived, with everyone eagerly awaiting the matches.
Their opponent was once again the Star Luo National Academy.
"Mu Xuanheng will take Xiao Xiao's place. There's no need to say much about tactics. With you two on the team, there's no way we'll lose." Wang Yan had given up on devising a strategy. After all, any strategy depended on the gap between the two sides' strengths not being too great.
Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena were simply too powerful.
On the high platform, the emperor of the Star Luo Empire sat upright, occasionally speaking with the ministers around him.
"Do you think we can win this match?"
"Your Majesty, I believe we can. Shrek has only one Soul King, and she's a support-type Soul Master. She has no real combat ability. In a seven-on-seven team battle, we have a huge advantage."
Xu Jiawei nodded. As emperor, he couldn't possibly say his own team's going to lose.
"Brother, what do you think?"
Dai Hao had returned from the western frontier and was seated beside Xu Jiawei.
"Wasn't your eldest son supposed to compete in this Soul Fighting Tournament? Why isn't he here?"
"Your Majesty, my eldest son encountered a Soul Saint-level Evil Soul Master while carrying out a Shrek mission. He was poisoned and is unable to fight. He's still recovering at Shrek."
"A Soul Saint-level Evil Soul Master? Did you send troops to eliminate him, or was it one of Shrek's teachers?"
Dai Hao shook his head. He didn't know what had happened. "Shrek hasn't explained anything. The letter I received from my younger brother said that Mu Xuanheng was the one who held off the enemy."
The emperor and the ministers looked toward Shrek.
Among the seven competitors who took the field was Mu Xuanheng.
"He's on the field! He really is! That bastard actually dared to show his face?"
"He stole my goddess! That's the same as stealing my wife!"
Mu Xuanheng waved a hand. "Why are there even more people now? And so many of them are cursing me."
Bei Bei grinned. "Do you not know what you did? You announced it in front of everyone. If you'd done that somewhere else, you'd probably have been mobbed."
Gu Yuena stood a little farther from him than usual. "Once you show them your strength, hardly anyone will question you."
"Uh, I only just came out today. I'd been recovering from my injuries before."
He hadn't competed at first because of injuries from fighting the Evil Soul Master. He'd missed the last match because Gu Yuena had beaten him, and he'd made up the injury excuse himself.
"Competitors, take your positions." Heavenly Fiend Douluo's voice interrupted Mu Xuanheng as he teased Gu Yuena.
They took their places and saw the Star Luo Empire's lineup. The golden-haired princess stood right in the middle.
"Begin!"
Starlight shone from Xu Jiujiu's forehead, and a magnificent crown appeared on her head, glittering with light. Her two yellow, two purple, and one black Soul Rings showed that she was a Soul King.
Every competitor from the Star Luo National Academy was a Soul King.
She was a princess, her Martial Soul was a royal one, and she was immensely powerful. Yet at that moment, no one was looking at her.
Her teammates—and even Xu Jiujiu herself—were staring intently at the young man on the opposite side.
"Impossible!" A teacher from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy jumped to his feet and cried out in disbelief.
Xu Jiawei and Dai Hao also rose and stepped closer to the platform.
The audience stood as well. They rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things, then pinched themselves to make sure they weren't dreaming.
"How can there be an orange Soul Ring?"
Mu Xuanheng had revealed his orange Soul Rings a year ago, but unless people had seen them with their own eyes, who would dare believe they existed?
White, yellow, purple, black, and red were the known Soul Ring colors. Gold appeared only in legends. And now there was orange.
"Could it be fake? Can't someone change the color of a Soul Ring?"
Xu Jiawei remained standing. He couldn't sit down. This was a major event that would change the Soul Master World's understanding of things.
When people changed Soul Ring colors, they only altered them to known colors. No one would be foolish enough to change one to a color that had never appeared before. Besides, he could feel immense power emanating from those two Soul Rings.
"Investigate!"
He wanted to find out not only what the orange Soul Rings were, but also who Mu Xuanheng was and why he was the first to possess them.
This challenged common knowledge and could affect the entire world. The sooner he knew more, the better.
The Star Luo Academy competitors facing Mu Xuanheng were under tremendous pressure. They had no idea how powerful orange Soul Rings were, but they had a good point of comparison: Gu Yuena.
"Don't be afraid. No matter how unusual his Soul Rings are, he's still only a Soul Ancestor. Third Soul Skill: Star Shine Art!"
A pillar of light rose beneath her feet, trailing a great deal of luminous mist. The mist spread to the other six team members.
A Soul King roared, black stripes appearing across his body. He was Huang Heyun, the strongest member of Star Luo Academy, whose Martial Soul was a Dark Demon Tiger.
He charged forward, aiming to break through to Gongyang Mo.
As the team's only Soul King and its support-type Soul Master, Gongyang Mo provided no less of a boost than the Star Shine Art cast by the Star Crown Martial Soul.
The Rainbow Dragon's Martial Soul lit up, and rings of red and orange light appeared above the heads of the Shrek team members. Their attack power and speed both increased.
Bei Bei's confidence soared, and he met Huang Heyun head-on with Thunder Dragon Claw.
The moment their fists clashed, Bei Bei knew something was wrong. His attack had been weakened.
"Second Soul Skill: Butterfly Goddess Light!" Wang Dong was a little farther away and provided cover for Bei Bei.
He Caitou set up his cannon platform once again.
But the opposing Lightning Falcon Soul Master targeted the platform, a nimble Soul King keeping He Caitou's cannon fire at bay.
With the boost from Star Shine Art, He Caitou couldn't bring his strength to bear at all.
After being beaten back, Bei Bei stayed near Gongyang Mo and Huo Yuhao's group, acting as their guard with a blade.
The Lightning Falcon Soul Master didn't go after Gongyang Mo either, because Bei Bei was keeping him occupied.
Huang Heyun didn't pursue Bei Bei, either. He had a more important task.
"Nine Transformation Soul Changing Instrument?" Wang Yan recognized the Soul Tool from below the stage.
It could gather the strength of several Soul Masters and transfer it to one person, though it could only be used by Soul Masters below the seven-ring level.
Dugu Shangshan went straight for Mu Xuanheng. As the unknown variable, Mu Xuanheng needed to be kept busy.
"You only have one fighter with Soul Emperor-level strength. You've already lost."
"Have you got something wrong?" A violent gale carrying flames swept toward Huang Heyun.
That was why the dual wind-and-fire controllers hadn't made a move. As long as Gu Yuena was there, they would be useless.
Chen Xiaojie, the Lightning Falcon agility-type Soul Master, kept the others at bay. Huang Heyun and three teammates joined forces to suppress Gu Yuena, waiting for Dugu Shangshan to break through so they could defeat the others one by one.
It was a fine plan, but Mu Xuanheng was Dugu Shangshan's opponent.
A close-range strike from Chaofeng Dragon Claw left Dugu Shangshan bleeding.
"That's some Star Shine Art. It weakened my attacks quite a bit."
The dragon claw broke through Dugu Shangshan's defense, leaving several bloody gashes on his arm.
"Second Soul Skill: Star Fall Art." Guided by the starlight, the stars seemed poised to crash down on them both.
But the unexpected happened: the starlight didn't fall on either of them. They had both taken control of the light.
Xu Jiujiu knew they couldn't afford to drag this out any longer.
From the moment Dugu Shangshan began fighting Mu Xuanheng, she knew he had Soul Emperor-level strength too.
Dugu Shangshan alone had no chance of defeating Mu Xuanheng. He'd only be overwhelmed quickly, especially with Gongyang Mo boosting Shrek's team.
"Then there's only one option. Fourth Soul Skill: Star Protection!"
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