Gu Sheng hurled it backhanded.
The ring-shaped great blade flew back several times faster than it had come.
There was a muffled thud.
The blade's back slammed hard into Sun Chuantao's chest.
Sun Chuantao staggered back several steps, spat out a large mouthful of blood, and collapsed, unable to get up.
In just a few breaths, more than half of the Martial Soul Hall Team had already fallen.
Xu Yu, standing in the back row, panicked.
He frantically unleashed his Soul Skills and furiously triggered the Hidden Weapons in his sleeves.
A dense storm of steel needles and throwing knives swept toward Gu Sheng.
Gu Sheng still didn't dodge.
Void activated again.
Countless Hidden Weapons passed straight through Gu Sheng without resistance, peppering the ground behind him with tiny holes.
Facing the rain of Hidden Weapons, Gu Sheng simply walked out of the metal storm, one step at a time.
He strolled along as leisurely as if he were walking through his own backyard.
The distance between them shrank.
Xu Yu's eyes widened. His face turned deathly pale as he backed away in terror.
"D-don't come any closer!"
Xu Yu's voice was breaking into a sob.
Gu Sheng walked up to him without a word.
He raised his hand and clenched his fist.
His punch landed squarely on Xu Yu's face.
Xu Yu spun through the air and went flying.
He crashed heavily onto the hard floor, bounced twice, and lay still.
The enormous Martial Arts Arena fell deathly silent.
The Martial Soul Hall Team, which had been so imposing moments ago,
now had only two people still standing.
Xie Yue and Hu Liena.
Xie Yue gripped the Moon Blade, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, but his hands trembled uncontrollably.
He looked at his teammates, groaning or unconscious on the ground, then at Gu Sheng, completely unharmed.
"You..."
Xie Yue's voice was hoarse, as if his throat were stuffed with sand.
"What kind of monster are you?"
He had only twenty levels of Soul Power, yet possessed such an unreasonable defense and such devastating offensive power.
This had completely shattered Xie Yue's understanding of the Soul Master world.
Gu Sheng turned around, his deep gaze settling on Xie Yue.
There was not a trace of pride in his expression, nor any mockery of the defeated.
Only calm.
"Kneel."
Gu Sheng spoke in a steady voice, but his words carried absolute authority.
Xie Yue clenched his teeth, his eyes reddening with humiliation.
He was the leading figure of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, a peerless genius in the eyes of countless people.
Kneeling before someone with only twenty levels of Soul Power would be worse than death.
"In your dreams!"
Xie Yue roared, forcibly squeezing out the last of his Soul Power as he raised the Moon Blade high.
He would fight with everything he had. Even if he died, he would strike while standing.
But Gu Sheng wasn't even interested in watching him try.
A streak of Aurora shot through the air.
It moved so fast, it seemed to cross the distance between spaces.
It struck the Moon Blade in Xie Yue's raised hand with pinpoint accuracy.
A tremendous force rebounded through it, and Xie Yue let out a muffled groan.
The Moon Blade flew from his grasp, spinning several times in the air before embedding itself deep in the stone floor in the distance with a sharp hiss.
Xie Yue clutched his wrist in pain.
A charred wound had appeared there, the torn flesh giving off a scorched smell.
The intense pain made his whole body convulse.
He could no longer hold his Moon Blade.
Gu Sheng started forward and slowly walked up to Xie Yue.
He looked down at the proud genius.
Gu Sheng raised his foot and kicked Xie Yue hard in the chest, without mercy.
"Thud!"
Xie Yue's knees buckled, and he fell heavily to his knees in front of Gu Sheng.
He opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of blood, splattering the ground in front of him.
"I told you to kneel."
Gu Sheng's voice came from above him.
Xie Yue lowered his head and clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his flesh as blood trickled between his fingers.
Hatred.
Resentment.
Humiliation.
Countless emotions churned inside Xie Yue, but he no longer had the strength to resist.
In the face of absolute power, pride was worthless.
Only Hu Liena remained standing on the field.
She stared blankly at everything unfolding before her.
The twenty-level boy they had dismissed as useless now seemed like an invincible god, trampling all their dignity beneath his feet.
Gu Sheng turned to look at Hu Liena.
He stepped forward, walking toward her alluring figure.
Hu Liena instinctively took a step back.
Her long, straight legs trembled slightly.
Her snug Spirit Hall uniform accentuated her stunning, temptingly curvaceous figure. Yet amid her breathtaking beauty, there was now a helpless, frightened look.
Gu Sheng stopped two meters in front of her.
"And you?"
The two calm words weighed on Hu Liena's shoulders like a mountain.
Hu Liena bit down hard on her lovely lips, leaving a row of deep, pale teeth marks.
Should she admit defeat?
Or refuse?
She thought of who she was: the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall, someone countless people looked up to.
She thought of her teacher, Bibi Dong, and the high hopes Bibi Dong had placed in her. She thought of her teacher's lofty authority.
Then she looked around.
Xie Yue knelt on the ground, coughing up blood.
Yan lay amid the ruins, his life or death uncertain.
Li Kai, Zhang Ping, and the others lay scattered across the ground.
The whole team had been wiped out.
Hu Liena raised her head and met Gu Sheng's eyes.
There was no killing intent or contempt in them, only the same calm as before.
It was as if sweeping the entire team aside had been no more than brushing a speck of dust off his clothes.
Gu Sheng slowly raised his right hand.
His index finger curled slightly, and a dazzling streak of Aurora lit up at its tip.
The threat of death was right before her.
Hu Liena froze. At last, her taut nerves snapped.
"I surrender..."
Hu Liena closed her eyes, and two clear tears slid down her beautiful cheeks.
Her alluring figure sagged helplessly, her shapely legs bending slightly as she gave up all resistance.
Hearing her words, Gu Sheng made no unnecessary move.
He flicked his wrist.
The Aurora at his fingertip vanished into thin air.
He turned and walked away at an even pace.
He passed Xie Yue, still kneeling on the ground.
He passed Yan, lying amid the ruins.
He passed all the fallen team members.
When he reached the center of the Martial Arts Arena,
Gu Sheng stopped and turned around, his gaze sweeping across the wrecked battlefield.
"Starting today, I'm the captain!"
The boy's voice echoed through the empty arena.
No one objected.
No one dared to object.
The night before the finals.
The Shrek Academy residence, in the pre-battle meeting room.
The room was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was tense.
Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang sat at the head of the long table, holding a slightly yellowed sheet of paper.
His expression was grim, and his breathing was heavier than usual.
"I've just received some news."
Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat and looked around at the Shrek Seven Devils seated before him.
"The Martial Soul Hall Team has changed captains."
Before you continue