Semifinal Farce

A brilliant light barrier instantly isolated them from the others.

Outside the barrier, Bei Bei and the others were being beaten, while inside, Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena were left without the support of Gongyang Mo.

Xu Jiujiu: "Originally, this move was prepared for your Shrek Soul Emperors, but leaving it for you isn't much worse."

A stream of light flashed in the princess's hand, suppressing the elements controlled by Gu Yuena and forming a light barrier in the air to trap her inside.

Seeing this, He Caitou exclaimed: "An Absolute Defense Soul Tool? A level seven Absolute Defense Soul Tool? Only attacks at the Soul Saint level could possibly break through it."

With Gu Yuena isolated, the wind and fire control of Yi Chen and Wang Shiying was liberated, and they turned their attention to Mu Xuanheng.

Picking them off one by one—this was the goal of Star Luo Academy.

Xu Jiawei, sitting on the high platform, had already settled in; it didn't matter if they had variant soul rings, for under such meticulous planning, there was no way to turn the tide.

The audience couldn't understand what was happening, but they could see Gu Yuena attacking frantically inside the barrier, while the five people outside were being held back by a single Soul King.

Who would win and who would lose seemed so clear at this moment.

"Do you still want to fight?" Xu Jiujiu wore a faint smile; she didn't believe Mu Xuanheng could defeat the six of them.

Mu Xuanheng, however, suddenly clapped his hands: "Well done, but aren't you underestimating us a bit too much?"

"What do you mean?" Xu Jiujiu suddenly felt that something was wrong. Why could Mu Xuanheng still stand there so calmly, and why could Gu Yuena, inside the Absolute Defense Soul Tool, watch them so peacefully?

"Third Soul Skill, Butterfly God Slash."

Outside, Huo Yuhao had set a trap for Chen Xiaojie, making him mistake it for an opportunity, only for Wang Dong to launch an attack on him early. Under the support of Gongyang Mo, all 108 slashes landed on Chen Xiaojie.

The attack didn't end there; Bei Bei immediately followed up: "Reign Over the World!"

This was a self-created soul skill from Mu En, and also Bei Bei's strongest attack.

Even the agility-type Chen Xiaojie couldn't withstand such an attack and had to be rescued by the Heavenly Fiend Douluo.

"Dugu Shangshan!" Xu Jiujiu immediately arranged for another person to go and intercept the remaining five.

But what she didn't expect was that the moment Dugu Shangshan stepped out of the Star Protection, he was attacked by his opponents.

"Wither in the brilliance, Golden Road!" The Martial Soul Fusion Skill of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong immediately sealed Dugu Shangshan's martial soul, and what followed was the artillery fire of soul tools.

With two people falling in succession, Xu Jiujiu's expression turned ugly; she wanted to gamble that the five people outside couldn't break her Star Protection.

Mu Xuanheng was kind enough to remind her: "I advise you not to underestimate the people outside, because they don't just have one Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

Xu Jiujiu's expression changed instantly. Martial Soul Fusion Skills had a cooldown and couldn't be used continuously, but if the opponent had more than one, it was a different story—they could just take turns using them.

She couldn't afford to gamble.

If she sent a third person to intercept, their Nine Transformation Soul Changing Instrument would no longer be able to keep Huang Heyun at the mid-stage Soul Saint level.

Mu Xuanheng shook his hands: "Then it's my turn. Second Soul Skill, Phantom Dragon Demon Body!"

His wings unfurled, dazzling and magnificent.

"Wind and fire control."

"Useless. Do you think I can't control wind and fire?"

Mu Xuanheng's wind and fire were merely weaker than Gu Yuena's, but that didn't mean his control was inferior to other soul masters.

"Star Fall Art!"

Xu Jiujiu used her soul skill, but it was casually scattered by the ice spikes of Mu Xuanheng's Ultimate Ice.

"Ultimate?" The bone-chilling cold was even more intense than Huo Yuhao's. At this moment, Xu Jiujiu knew that Mu Xuanheng was definitely not the pretty boy rumored; on the contrary, he was a genius among geniuses.

The extreme cold froze even the light, and the only one who could resist was Huang Heyun, who was borrowing the power of his teammates.

The black tiger grew a size larger, and a thick aura of darkness surged forward. He threw a heavy punch at Mu Xuanheng, but far from achieving the ideal outcome, he didn't even manage to move him an inch.

"How is this possible?" Three Soul Kings working together, and they were being suppressed by a single Soul Ancestor?

"Don't lose focus!" Mu Xuanheng reminded them, and his Chaofeng Dragon Claw left bloody marks the moment they crossed paths.

At this moment, no one was in a hurry anymore.

Outside, they were being suppressed in a one-versus-many fight, and inside, they were still being suppressed in a many-versus-one fight. And even then, they had only managed to outmaneuver Gu Yuena, a powerful combatant. If she were released, they would undoubtedly lose.

Xu Jiujiu, however, did not panic, because she still had her final fifth soul skill.

"Mu Xuanheng, you are very strong, but you absolutely cannot defeat us!"

Before her fifth soul ring could even light up, the Heavenly Fiend Douluo suddenly carried her out of the arena.

Everyone was shocked.

Why? Wasn't the Heavenly Fiend Douluo the protector of the Star Luo Empire? Why would he help Shrek?

The rescued Xu Jiujiu looked fierce: "Huang Jinxu, what are you doing!"

"Jiujiu, don't be rude." Xu Jiawei on the viewing platform immediately intervened. He hadn't felt it clearly from the sidelines, but he knew there must be a reason for Huang Jinxu's actions.

"Fixed match! Corruption!" The shouts grew more intense; the audience demanded an explanation.

On the arena, Mu Xuanheng clicked his tongue: "Such fast reflexes; as expected of a Title Douluo with the Heavenly Fiend Lone Star, his perception of danger is quite sharp."

Heavenly Fiend Douluo: "I am not certain of the specific reason, but it seems contestant Mu Xuanheng possesses a soul skill that transcends space. I only acted because I sensed that Princess Xu Jiujiu was in mortal danger."

Even with an explanation, it failed to convince the majority; they could not see the crisis at hand.

The clamor grew increasingly intense, forcing Xu Jiawei to use his imperial authority to suppress the noise: "We must trust the judgment of senior Huang Jinxu. Spirit master abilities are myriad, and this is merely a competition; do not take any lives."

Even so, the sounds of dissatisfaction persisted.

"I ask you, must it be this troublesome?" The farce had disrupted the competition's schedule, and Mu Xuanheng was quite displeased. "If you are unconvinced, how about we go back up there and let life and death be decided by fate?"

"Fine, I don't believe it!" Just as Xu Jiujiu stepped forward, she was pinned in place by Xu Jiawei from the high platform: "Nonsense! You have already been saved by the referee; how can you step onto the stage again?"

Mu Xuanheng: "It's fine, off the stage is the same. You had better bring the Medical Immortal Douluo over."

An old woman appeared at the edge of the arena: "Do not take any lives."

The audience was dumbfounded. What was the meaning of this? Was he going to attack someone off the stage while standing on it?

Xu Jiawei released his control over Xu Jiujiu: "Senior, do not save her. Let her suffer a loss just this once."

Mu Xuanheng sneered. This was the true dark curtain—being able to return to the stage even after being saved.

The emperor and the Title Douluo were singing from the same song sheet, wanting her to return to the stage while avoiding the public backlash of such a decision. They wanted both the face and the substance.

"What a farce." Mu Xuanheng glanced at Huang Jinxu: "When will the match continue?"

The Heavenly Fiend Douluo waved his hand: "The match continues."

The moment his voice fell, Xu Jiujiu spat out a large mouthful of blood.

At that instant, every Title Douluo present felt it clearly: that was the power of tearing through space.

Huang Jinxu expressionlessly swept Xu Jiujiu toward the Medical Immortal Douluo.

Mu Xuanheng snorted: "You don't even trust your own Title Douluo. To be able to force the emperor to let you return to the stage—anyone who didn't know better would think this Star Luo Empire belonged to you."

The recovering Xu Jiujiu spat blood once more. She knew that from now on, the emperor would never let her appear in the public eye again, nor would he allow her to participate in decisions involving high-level spirit masters.

Her willfulness today had offended Huang Jinxu.

This was, after all, a sign of distrust toward a Title Douluo.

The small farce ended, and the match had to continue, only now it was without the Star Protection of Xu Jiujiu. Gongyang Mo's strengthening spirit skill arrived immediately, and a halo of many colors appeared above Mu Xuanheng's head.

"The three of you should also be leaving the stage."

Huang Heyun still wanted to make a final struggle: "Fifth spirit skill, Dark Hurricane."

"Emperor Sword, Ice Extreme Peerless!"

Under the augmentation of Gongyang Mo, Mu Xuanheng slashed through the hurricane with a single strike.

The Heavenly Fiend Douluo intervened again, but this time, no one questioned his judgment.

Because even the arm of a Title Douluo had been frozen; had it been a Spirit King, they would have simply become an ice sculpture.

Of the seven, only one remained entangled with Bei Bei, and in the end, they had no choice but to concede.

The two-two-three and individual matches lost their meaning. They had entered the finals.

The strength and uniqueness displayed by Mu Xuanheng were enough to make everyone shut their mouths.

He stood on the stage side by side with Gu Yuena, looking down upon the heroes.