The Great Stage of Douluo, My Name is Qian Xunji

The Four Element Academies, while technically academies, have always been backed by families. They use the academy title to cultivate their own kin while incidentally absorbing and training some outside geniuses.

After all, the reputation of sects has become somewhat tarnished, and aside from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which occasionally cultivates outsiders, few others do the same.

In other sects, insiders and outsiders are distinguished directly by blood relations. The difference between the two is immense; insiders are naturally well-cared for with priority access to resources, while those poor souls who join the sect must either marry into the family to gain some status or work themselves to the bone as beasts of burden for the sect. If they try to leave, they are branded as traitors and must be eliminated.

Academies, however, have introduced a new model. It is not as rigid as the sects; after graduation, students can join their families, stay on as teachers, or pursue other paths. Yet, this vast network of relationships is, in itself, a massive resource.

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Both sides met, exchanging polite greetings and conversation. Whenever Qian Xunji was in such situations, he appeared exceptionally wise, to the point that even Qian Daoliu could not find a single fault in his conduct.

He expressed the "friendliness" of Martial Soul Hall, pacified the emotions of the people opposite him, projected goodwill, and stated that they merely wished for a friendly exchange to promote mutual progress and the like.

His words were smooth and well-rehearsed. Regardless of what was happening behind the scenes, on the surface, this was indeed as harmonious an exchange tournament as one could ask for.

Behind the scenes, however, it was likely far from harmonious.

Currently, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er were only nine and eight years old, respectively. Shui Bing'er was only at level nineteen, still cultivating at the primary soul master academy and planning to hunt for her second Soul Ring to advance to a Soul Grand Master.

For soul masters, the earlier the stage, the faster the cultivation and leveling process.

This is the norm for geniuses from these major, established powers; if one has good talent, one cultivates soul power with everything they have.

Dai Mubai did not have Innate Full Soul Power, and after indulging himself for so long at Shrek Academy, he was only level thirty-seven at the age of fifteen.

Zhu Qing, with her level seven innate soul power, was one year younger than Tang San and the others when she enrolled, yet she was already level twenty-seven, only two levels lower than the level twenty-nine Tang San.

As for Innate Full Soul Power, because food-system support soul masters cultivate slowly, Oscar was level twenty-nine at fourteen. (To be honest, I truly do not understand the logic behind Flender using Oscar to suppress Ning Rongrong. Ning Rongrong had just turned twelve and occasionally slacked off in her cultivation, yet she was level twenty-six. You, Oscar, had Innate Full Soul Power, were two years older than her, and were only level twenty-nine—there is really nothing to brag about there. If not for the immortal herbs, at that rate of cultivation, Ning Rongrong would have surpassed Oscar in less than two years. The only thing she lacked compared to Oscar was innate soul power, yet she managed to push the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, which should only have seven levels of innate soul power, to nine levels through sheer talent. It can be said that talent defeated genetics; she was far more impressive than Yu Xiaogang, whose martial soul suffered a malignant mutation with only half a level of innate soul power.)

If not for the immortal herbs later helping them "cheat" by catching up on lost progress and age gaps while boosting their aptitude, Tang San and the others would never have made it to the finals.

Or rather, based on the cultivation progress they showed at that time, let alone the talent to become gods, they could only be considered average when compared to other geniuses of their age.

This is because, before officially enrolling, the entire Shrek Seven Devils were either slacking off or possessed various shortcomings.

Ning Rongrong had level nine innate soul power, but having been spoiled since childhood, she could not endure hardship and did not work hard at cultivation.

Zhu Qing simply had low innate soul power and low talent; she became a genius entirely through hard work.

Dai Mubai had enough talent, but he indulged himself and gave up due to his brother's suppression.

Ma Hongjun could not cultivate at full capacity due to his martial soul's defects, and as soon as he had a little money and energy, he would go off to visit brothels.

Oscar, being a food-system soul master, found cultivation difficult and was only level twenty-nine at fourteen.

Tang San did not focus on cultivation; he studied culture in the morning, forged iron in the afternoon, and only cultivated at night. Even with the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he could barely keep up with the team of geniuses.

Xiao Wu was purely there to play and never took her cultivation seriously.

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Chapter 76: A Feint

After the friendly meeting, they began to get down to business.

Although Dean Shui Qing'er of Skywater Academy remained composed and her expression did not change much, the aura around her grew colder.

This was because she had clearly seen the appearance of the children behind Qian Xunji; these were naturally the students who had come to participate in the exchange tournament.

Martial Soul Hall had always been the champion of the Advanced Soul Master Tournament, and she had prepared herself for the possibility of losing today's exchange.

She had arranged for the academy's most outstanding students to compete, standing at the ready, striving to showcase the strength of Skywater Academy so as not to lose too embarrassingly.

Yet, the team arranged by Martial Soul Hall was so "perfunctory"!

She recognized those two bronze-skinned muscular men as students from Elephant Armor Academy; they had appeared many times in past exchanges between Skywater Academy and Elephant Armor Academy.

As for the other four participating students, they looked far too young. As a Soul Douluo, Shui Qing'er's perception was naturally sharp. While she could not determine their exact age like a bone-reading, she could still estimate it.

That short-haired purple girl looked to be about fifteen or sixteen.

The blond boy looked to be the same age as the purple-haired girl, but his true age was not high—at most nine or ten.

The other three blond children were even more absurd; in Shui Qing'er's perception, they were at most under nine years old.

But what was even more absurd was the soul power level she sensed from them.

Not to mention the two brothers from Elephant Armor Academy.

That little purple-haired girl being a level thirty-two Soul Elder at that age could be considered a minor genius.

However, the blond boy and one of the blond long-haired girls were already level thirty-eight.

The other two blond children were also at level twenty-nine, looking as if they could break through at any moment.

To become a Soul Elder at that age—they could be called monsters.

Was Martial Soul Hall trying to use the reputation of the Four Element Academies to build momentum for their super geniuses?

If the Four Element Academies were defeated by eight-year-old children, their reputation would plummet, while the Martial Soul Hall Academy would rise even further.

However, that would depend on whether they had the ability to do so.

Normally, if both sides brought their strongest forces, Skywater Academy would almost certainly lose, but since Martial Soul Hall insisted on playing this game...

Shui Qing'er instead saw a glimmer of hope for victory. She sneered inwardly and led Qian Xunji toward the platform.

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The two stood on high ground, just enough to overlook the area below.

In the seats beside them sat the deacon bishop of Martial Soul Hall and the teachers from Skywater Academy.

Both sides watched the battle stage below intently as their respective students walked up together.

The two sides performed a formal salute, the basic courtesy of an exchange match, then stepped back to create distance, waiting for the teacher to announce the official start of the match.

Shui Qing'er looked at the Skywater Academy team below, her expression gentle, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as she felt inwardly satisfied.

This team had been cultivated by the academy for a long time, prepared specifically for the Advanced Soul Master Tournament. The captain was a level 43 Soul Ancestor, the vice-captain was a level 42 Soul Ancestor, and the remaining members were slightly weaker: two level 40 Soul Ancestors and four level 39 Soul Elders. The team possessed high synergy and a wealth of tactics.

Winning the Advanced Soul Master Tournament might be unlikely, but wouldn't taking down a team consisting of two level 41 Soul Ancestors, two level 38 and one level 32 Soul Elders, and two level 29 Soul Grand Masters be a piece of cake?

"Match start!" Following the announcement.

Huyan Qian and Huyan Shan of Elephant Armor Academy stood at the very front according to their pre-arranged tactics.

Qian Renxue and Xiang Yu spread their wings and flew into the air. Qian Renxue's first soul skill, Angel Assault, was a melee skill capable of both offense and defense, carrying a piercing effect that ignored 30% of defense and prevented life regeneration for three seconds.

Her second soul skill, Wings of Void, had the primary effect of granting immunity to all physical attacks, reducing energy attack damage by 50%, and simultaneously increasing movement speed by 200%.

Her third soul skill, Angel Protection, was a group support skill that strengthened defense.

Xiang Yu's first and second soul skills were both attribute-boosting, amplifying his ultimate move, Overlord's Burning Boats.

His third soul skill was not the amplification skill he had wanted, but rather a flight speed and damage reduction skill similar to Qian Renxue's.

Xiang Yu felt that for soul masters like them who already had wings, needing to obtain a flight-type soul skill just to fly was simply a fool's skill.

The effect of his ultimate, Burning Boats, was to unleash a blade of energy after charging, dealing physical damage to enemies in its path. In particular, enemies struck by the blade would take additional damage and be stunned for 1 second.

Xiang Yu's passive skill, Will of the Vanguard, not only reduced damage taken but also allowed Xiang Yu to deal more damage as his health dropped lower.

It could be called a god-tier skill for turning the tide of battle.

Because he was currently at full health, the passive had not been triggered; although Xiang Yu's ultimate damage was high, it was not yet in its most powerful state.

A massive sword energy swept from top to bottom, covering nearly half of the battle stage.

And because the Huyan brothers were blocking the front, the only way to avoid it was to move to one side of the stage.

Meanwhile, Qian Renxue's Angel Protection enhanced the Huyan brothers' defense by 50%, and combined with the fact that they were already defense-type soul masters, they were immovable.

Skywater Academy's attempts to break through their defensive line all ended in failure.

All their soul skills were blocked.

By this time, the formation of the Skywater Academy team had changed; they had gathered together to avoid the previous large-scale attack.

Then, they had to face a golden stream of light that instantly passed right in front of them.

Mirror Space deployed!

Before the members of Skywater Academy could react, they were frozen by this golden figure.

This was a test of agility and reaction speed; if the Skywater Academy support soul master had a crowd-control cleanse or a displacement skill, they could have dodged it.

However, in this regard, Qian Xunji had yet to see anyone who could beat Dongfang Jing, known as the "Flying Thunder God."

Golden shards from the Mirror Space flew toward the group. The golden light flashed twice, and Dongfang Jing switched back to her mirror clone, returning to her own team.

It wasn't that she didn't want to continue, but Xiang Yu's second ultimate was already charged, and she needed to avoid the damage.

The massive sword energy swept across most of the battlefield again, striking the Skywater Academy members who were unable to move due to the stun. Six of them were sent flying, while one remained in the air, having dodged Dongfang Jing's control and Xiang Yu's ultimate. However, with only her left, it didn't mean much.

Their soul skill power might not have been bad, but their combat awareness, coordination, and on-the-spot reactions could not compare to these heroes who had experienced countless life-and-death struggles.

Xiang Yu's initial ultimate was meant to restrict their positioning, making it easier for Dongfang Jing to act.

This was a common tactic in canyon team fights: feint an attack, restrict the enemy's range, then coordinate with teammates to initiate, follow up control with the teammates' ultimates, land full damage, and directly output explosive damage to instantly kill the opponent.

On a battle stage with such a "small" range, this tactic was unexpectedly effective.

Arthur retracted the pre-cast of his Martial Soul Fusion Skill with some disappointment; there hadn't been any opportunity for him to act at all!

Chapter 77: Like an Angel

The outcome was decided in just a few short seconds.

They lost quickly, and they lost thoroughly!

Among the Skywater Academy team, some hadn't even managed to use their soul skills.

Xiang Yu was somewhat disappointed. At this level, if there were no strong crowd-control soul skills, Dongfang Jing, carrying the Holy Grail, could have solved it alone.

Their combat awareness was too poor.

With his positioning restriction so obvious, not one of them noticed it. They had just blindly rushed forward to attack the Huyan brothers, lining up in a straight line and giving Jing the chance to stun all six of them at once.

As for the soul master who had accidentally dodged by flying into the air, when Jing used "Flying Thunder God," logically speaking, even if she couldn't interrupt it, she should have been able to save two teammates. But in that one second, she couldn't react, and her speed wasn't enough.

Of course, the main reason was that the damage overlap between Dongfang Jing and Xiang Yu was too high. Dongfang Jing's initial "Flying Thunder God" had already dealt light injuries to them in an instant, and Xiang Yu's ultimate was an explosive output amplified by his first and second soul skills.