Champion

Two soul skills collided in midair, and the resulting energy shockwave instantly slammed against the barrier surrounding the arena.

Ripples spread across its surface.

The barrier trembled.

Sweat beaded on the foreheads of the Soul Emperors responsible for supplying Soul Power to the 108 formation nodes.

In the plaza, the spectators had all been standing. Now, their fists clenched as they stared fixedly at the arena.

They wanted to see what had happened within those endless waves of energy.

Who had won this battle?

In the preparation area.

The teams that had been seated all rose to their feet unconsciously.

Some were astonished; others wailed in despair.

"Is this our opponent?"

Who could possibly beat that?

And Su Fan was only twelve years old.

How far would he have grown by the next tournament?

Some people groaned in despair, their faces filled with hopelessness.

The Sun Moon Royal Team, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen were under the greatest pressure.

They had lost this tournament.

That was not actually too bad, since they could still participate in the next tournament.

But Su Fan was far too monstrous.

Could they really win if they encountered Su Fan next time?

Xiao Hongchen gritted his teeth and consoled himself.

They could win.

"Su Fan still relied on the theory of Fixed Soul Guidance Shells. That is the advantage of our Sun Moon Empire. He used Apertures to replicate the formation of a Fixed Soul Guidance Shell, so I might be able to do the same."

If he had no Apertures, then he would use his body.

Xiao Hongchen lowered his head and glanced at his own body, madness flashing through his eyes.

The shockwave dissipated.

Su Fan stood where he was.

A layer of shielding around his body quietly faded away.

Bang!

A figure fell from the sky. It was Ma Xiaotao.

Traces of black flames still remained on her body, gradually extinguishing.

"Xiaotao!"

Yan Shaozhe had long been unable to hold himself back. He rushed out of the preparation area at once.

Before the barrier that enveloped the entire arena had even been removed, he struck out with his palm and shattered it.

All 108 Soul Emperors coughed up blood, furious and alarmed.

Xu Jiawei clenched his fists as well, glaring fixedly at Yan Shaozhe.

One hundred and eight Soul Emperors were hardly dispensable to Star Luo.

By directly shattering the barrier, Yan Shaozhe had caused all those Soul Emperors to suffer backlash.

Shrek truly was overbearing.

Yan Shaozhe rushed into the arena and arrived beside Ma Xiaotao.

Sensing the sinister aura around her, his expression turned incomparably grim.

Behind him, the phantom of a Bright Phoenix emerged.

The aura of another phoenix suppressed the worsening of Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul.

However, it was already too late.

The corruption had seeped into her bones.

For the sake of cultivation, the Evil Fire Ma Xiaotao had suppressed had long since penetrated her very origin.

So-called falling was merely a matter of a single thought.

Ma Hongjun had consumed the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, yet had not even reached Rank 67 by the age of twenty.

"Why did you force her?"

Yan Shaozhe's aura erupted as he glared furiously at Su Fan.

Su Fan felt the pressure washing over him, but he was not afraid.

"Her own cultivation had a problem, and you're blaming me?"

Although he had long known Shrek would hold him responsible, Su Fan still felt disgusted when they truly tried to shift the blame onto him.

"Meaningless struggle, a little anger, a little resentment, and she fell this far. This is a disciple of your Shrek!"

Su Fan did not hold back with his words.

"This is an Inner Court disciple? Will she become one of Shrek's Seven Devils in the next five years, perhaps even their leader? The leader of the Seven Devils is actually a seed of an Evil Soul Master!"

Every word Su Fan spoke struck home.

He had more to say, but Xuan Zi's Soul Power pressure had already descended.

"Shut up!"

Xuan Zi glared furiously at Su Fan.

Shrek had already lost its ten-thousand-year glory with today's defeat. If Su Fan further tarnished its name, the loss would become even more immeasurable.

"Xuan Zi, after all these years, you still only know how to bully the young!"

A hearty laugh rang out from the spectator stands.

Du Busi leaped into the air, jumping directly into the venue and landing on the arena.

He landed precisely in front of Su Fan, shielding him from Xuan Zi's Soul Power.

Xuan Zi stared fixedly at Du Busi and said, word by word, "You, Du Busi. Why are you here?"

"Xuan Zi, Shrek really ought to reform itself. A disciple merely acted impulsively, yet she fell into such a state. I think Xiaofan was right. She is undeniably a seed of an Evil Soul Master."

Du Busi repeated Su Fan's words.

He was beaming.

Well done.

Well said!

Du Busi was delighted to see Shrek Academy suffer humiliation and have its reputation swept into the dirt.

"Du Busi, this is a matter between us and him." Xuan Zi frowned. "I have no mood to fool around with you right now."

That was a lie.

In truth, he simply could not defeat Du Busi.

Noticing Xuan Zi's change in attitude, Su Fan curled his lips as that thought crossed his mind.

"Hmph, who says this has nothing to do with me?" Du Busi pointed at Su Fan. "Su Fan is a disciple of my Body Sect!"

His face was filled with pride as he said it.

He had picked up a fully trained prodigy for free, and he was quite pleasantly surprised.

Of course, he was not truly proud because the Body Sect had trained Su Fan—it had not trained him at all. What he felt more strongly was that Su Fan was family to the Body Sect and could not be bullied by others.

"Xuan Zi, are you planning to attack a disciple of my Body Sect?"

Du Busi narrowed his eyes. Soul Power surged around him, and Soul Rings seemed poised to burst forth beneath his feet.

Xuan Zi's lips twitched.

"Elder Xuan, Xiaotao is in terrible condition."

Yan Shaozhe spoke up.

He had examined Ma Xiaotao's condition. His face was anxious as he looked toward Xuan Zi.

"Hmph, I have no time to argue with you." Xuan Zi said to Du Busi.

With that, he quickly left the arena with Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao.

The group swiftly departed the scene. They did not even return to their hotel, instead leaving the city directly.

It was as though they did not even wish to attend the subsequent award ceremony.

"Well done."

Du Busi turned around and gave Su Fan a thumbs-up.

"I was lucky."

Su Fan smiled modestly.

"Thank you for stepping in, Sect Master."

"It's nothing. No one can bully a member of our Body Sect!" Du Busi said.

Du Busi and Xuan Zi did not break into conflict.

This left the spectators who had been eagerly watching for drama rather disappointed.

However, the main event of the day was still the final, and its result had already been decided.

"I hereby announce that this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Master Elite Tournament has concluded. The champions of this tournament are the Dou Ling Team!"

Xu Jiawei personally announced the result.

Three Soul Bones were delivered to the Dou Ling Team.

Director Chi handed all three Soul Bones to Su Fan.

Without Su Fan, the Dou Ling Team would have struggled even to reach the semifinals.

These Soul Bones had been earned entirely by Su Fan alone.

Su Fan did not refuse them.

The three Soul Bones were of decent quality, but none were exceptional. He certainly would not absorb them himself.

In the original story, when Shrek won the championship, the prize Xu Jiawei awarded had been somewhat excessive. Although it was still three Soul Bones, he had granted Shrek the right to choose three from the Star Luo Treasury.

Now that the Dou Ling Team had won, Xu Jiawei had not offered anything extra at all.

How stingy.

This was the first time anyone had broken Shrek's monopoly on the tournament championship.

It would surely go down in history.

If people later learned that the champions who had fought so desperately had received only three Soul Bones they could not even use, would Xu Jiawei not be mocked for centuries?

Too stingy.