Before the Battle Begins, How Can Victory or Defeat Be Discussed?

Of the three matches, each was more suspenseful than the last.

The team battle came first, essentially setting the tone.

It was also the most spectacular event, with all fourteen competitors releasing their soul rings at once in a dazzling display that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The side that lost the team battle would inevitably do everything possible to win the following 2-2-3 Team Battle. This was where the true high-level contest between the two sides began.

Lineup arrangements and decisions over the order of battle.

Those were all highlights.

If the side that lost the team battle won the 2-2-3 Team Battle, then the individual elimination rounds would become even fiercer.

In the end, the individual elimination rounds would determine a true hero!

Naturally, the teams that came to compete all sought collective honor.

But in such a widely watched tournament, who did not want to become the most dazzling hero?

This was an MVP selection!

It was no wonder the host was so excited.

In the final of this tournament, who would not hope for the tension to build layer by layer and experience that mounting pressure firsthand?

"Please welcome both sides to the stage!"

"First up, the champions of previous tournaments—the only team to have won the Soul Master Tournament so far, the Shrek Team!"

The host spoke with impassioned fervor.

When he introduced the Dou Ling Team, his tone was equally excited.

"Next is the Dou Ling Team, who rose as a dark horse, fought their way into the finals, defeated the Sun Moon Royal Team, and eliminated them before the finals!"

He was from the Star Luo Empire.

The Dou Ling Team had kicked the Sun Moon Royal Team out before the finals in a Soul Master Tournament hosted by Star Luo, so of course he was excited.

"Let us welcome the members of both teams onto the stage with our warmest applause!"

Thunderous applause erupted across the plaza.

In the preparation area.

The members of the Sun Moon Royal Team looked awful.

They had become the Dou Ling Team's stepping stone.

"Brother, do you think the Dou Ling Team can win the championship?" Meng Hongchen suddenly asked.

Xiao Hongchen snorted coldly.

"With their strength, what gives them the right to win?" He wore a furious expression as he said, "If we hadn't had such bad luck and met the Dou Ling Team early, then Shrek Team or Star Luo Team would have been the ones to fall."

It was obvious that he still refused to accept his earlier loss to the Dou Ling Team.

In terms of raw numbers, they had crushed the Dou Ling Team.

Even Su Fan's abilities were not impossible to counter.

They had simply been outmaneuvered.

The trump card they had prepared had actually struck their own side, leaving Xiao Hongchen extremely frustrated.

More importantly, in the following 2-2-3 Team Battle format, his Martial Soul Fusion Skill had barely had a chance to do anything before the other side surrendered outright.

He had originally planned to shine brilliantly in this tournament and shock the entire Soul Master world five years early. Instead, he had become the stepping stone for another Soul Master who had shone five years ahead of time.

He was absolutely furious!

On the arena stage.

Shrek Team: Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Xixi, Wang Dong, and Huo Yuhao.

Five official members, along with Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, who possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

On the surface, they had added the two with the lowest Soul Power.

In reality, they were the most useful combination.

Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing was practically a cheat in a team battle.

It provided more than a full-range view of everything it detected.

It also granted energy perception, allowing them to sense the flow of an enemy's Soul Power and predict their movements in advance.

And those predictions came with alerts.

It was fully automatic, and even came with AI.

All that could be said was that a million-year soul beast still carried immense weight.

No matter how foolish it was, it was still a million-year soul ring. If its soul skill lacked overwhelming numbers, then its mechanics were absurdly overpowered.

On the Dou Ling Team's side, it was still Su Fan and his six teammates.

"You cannot possibly be our opponents." Ma Xiaotao raised her chin and addressed Su Fan and the others. "Surrender now."

She had every confidence in saying so. Their strength was one reason, while the fact that all of Su Fan's abilities had been exposed was another.

Of course, more importantly, they had Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing.

With that ability, their capacity to handle unexpected situations far surpassed that of the Sun Moon Royal Team.

Su Fan shook his head.

"If we do not fight, how can we know who will win?"

Behind him, Guzhu Jian listened to Su Fan's words and took a deep breath.

Their side did not have a single Soul Emperor, while the other side had two—and both were powerful among Soul Emperors.

Dai Yueheng's White Tiger Martial Soul gave him formidable combat power even among Soul Emperors.

Ma Xiaotao's Soul Power Level had reached level seventy-six. Her Evil Fire Phoenix was incredibly powerful, and her strength was even a level above Dai Yueheng's.

Where did Su Fan get such confidence?

Though puzzled, Guzhu Jian was still infected by Su Fan's confidence.

That was the psychological effect Su Fan's performance in the earlier matches had left on them.

"The match begins!"

At the referee's command, both sides released their soul rings simultaneously.

Yellow, purple, black, black.

Four soul rings rose beneath their feet in sequence.

Su Fan drew a deep breath, his expression more solemn than ever.

"Until we have fought, who can know victory or defeat?"

He repeated himself, his voice powerful and full of conviction.

Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng on the other side had already begun their charge. One took to the air while the other rushed forward at high speed.

When they heard Su Fan's words, neither took them seriously.

The Sun Moon Royal Team should have eliminated the Dou Ling Team.

If they had not been caught off guard by Su Fan's soul skill, the Sun Moon Royal Team could never have lost.

With an absolute advantage in raw strength, victory and defeat had long been decided!

Su Fan knew they did not take him seriously.

He did not care.

Before today, no one would have believed that a Soul Ancestor could defeat two genius Soul Emperors across such a vast gap.

But after today, the entire continent would remember the name Su Fan.

From the corner of his eye, he saw an elderly man with dark green hair seated in the front row of the plaza's spectator stands.

The final weight in his heart fell away.

The greatest psychological obstacle to defeating Shrek was not his own strength.

It was the pressure from Shrek.

Now that someone was bearing that pressure for him, he could finally unleash everything he had.

"Not good! Why is his Soul Power fluctuation so strong?"

Huo Yuhao's expression changed slightly.

Under the view of Spiritual Detection, thirty-six points of light within Su Fan's body shone at the same time.

Every point carried Soul Power fluctuations close to the level of a Soul King.

This view was also transmitted directly into the minds of Ma Xiaotao and the others.

They all saw the changes occurring within Su Fan's body.

"I have opened the Aperture-Opening Dao and created the path of Martial Dao. Today, I invite you all to witness it!"

Su Fan laughed loudly.

The apertures within his body rumbled.

In truth, the Soul Power within more than a hundred apertures had been mobilized.

He had merely used the line of a Fixed Soul Guidance Shell to connect thirty-six key apertures.

The Soul Power from the other apertures was also erupting, converging toward those thirty-six apertures.

At that moment, Su Fan's aura began to soar wildly.

"This is a Soul Ancestor?"

Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection issued frantic warnings, while Tian Meng howled within his Sea of Consciousness.

"If all that energy erupts, it may possess the might of a Soul Saint."

Tian Meng's words made Huo Yuhao's heart sink.

He relayed this assessment to Ma Xiaotao and the others.

Ma Xiaotao finally began to take Su Fan seriously.

She cried out toward the sky.

Three of her six soul rings flashed at once.

She was going all out!