The referee opened his mouth, seemingly still unable to recover from the one-sided outcome.
Several seconds later, he finally raised his hand stiffly.
"All seven members of Plant Academy have left the arena and lost their ability to fight. Shrek Academy wins!"
The entire venue fell silent for an instant.
Then, applause and uproar erupted, sweeping through the stadium.
In the spectator stands, the teacher leading Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy wore a grim expression.
"He's far too young. He may not amount to much in this tournament, but by the next one, he'll definitely become a formidable enemy."
"At his age, he could even compete in the tournament after next. By then, who could possibly be his opponent?"
He thought of his hall master's grandson and granddaughter. Though they were not yet ten years old, both had already become Soul Elders and third-rank Soul Engineers.
Although medicinal pills had played a role, their talent was indeed rare even in the history of the Sun Moon Empire.
Perhaps by the next tournament, they would become Soul Kings, and by the one after that, at least high-ranking Soul Emperors.
Yet compared to the Shrek boy before them, they were younger, but their combat strength was vastly inferior.
Still, when he thought of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill the two possessed, his expression improved considerably.
In the next two tournaments, if they joined forces, they might not necessarily lose to Xia Ming.
At the same time, the Heavenly Soul Emperor in the stands also changed expression slightly. "Shrek Academy has gained another monster-level genius!"
However, he did not feel greatly threatened.
At least for now, Shrek Academy's strength was not a bad thing for the Heaven Dou Empire.
In recent years, the Sun Moon Empire's intentions to wage war had become increasingly obvious. The three original nations of Douluo Continent still needed Shrek to keep them in check.
On the contrary, if Xia Ming had been a genius of the Sun Moon Empire, he would truly have been unable to sleep or eat in peace.
He turned to the elderly man beside him. "What do you think, Your Excellency?"
The old man shook his head. "He truly is a genius. His vitality and blood energy are incredibly vigorous. Among those of the same age, he may be even stronger than my disciple."
Yet his gaze had never rested on Xia Ming. Instead, he stared fixedly at Shrek Academy's leading teacher.
At that moment, Mu En seemed to notice his gaze as well. He raised his head and smiled faintly at him.
The old man remained motionless for a long while.
After quite some time, he finally spoke.
"It seems that, for the time being, we need not worry about the Sun Moon Empire."
"Your Excellency...?"
The Heavenly Soul Emperor was somewhat puzzled.
But the old man merely shook his head and said nothing further.
Xia Ming and the others stepped down from the competition stage and returned to Shrek's group.
Faced with his astonishing performance, most of those present looked as though it were only natural.
The reserve team had long known part of Xia Ming's strength. What he had displayed now was still inferior to what he had shown while training with them.
Although the other members of the main team did not know his true strength, Xia Ming's reputation as a genius had long spread throughout the Inner Court.
Besides, over the past few days, they had already learned some things from the reserve team members.
Only Wu Feng and Tang Ya, who were seeing Xia Ming fight for the first time, were deeply shocked.
If I had this kind of strength, would the Tang Sect never have been destroyed?
Tang Ya stared blankly at Xia Ming's figure, unable to stop herself from thinking that.
In truth, with the strength Xia Ming had just displayed, protecting the Tang Sect from being wiped out by the Iron Blood Sect would have been easy.
After all, even the Iron Blood Sect several years later had nearly been defeated single-handedly by Tang Ya when she had only just become a Soul Ancestor. Its strength truly could not be considered formidable.
Unwillingness and longing coiled around her heart like poisonous vines.
Meanwhile, Wu Feng's cheeks had flushed crimson, her gaze wandering as though she were lost in thought.
Only when Xia Ming's gaze swept over her did she lower her head as if struck by lightning.
"Good work." Mu En nodded lightly at Xia Ming, his gaze as gentle as ever.
Then he turned to everyone.
"Our matches are over for today. You can return to the hotel first. Those who want to watch the other matches may stay."
The crowd gradually dispersed.
After the final student left, a green-haired, green-eyed figure seemed to appear out of thin air beside Mu En.
He was the old man who had stood beside the Heavenly Soul Emperor earlier—the current sect master of the Body Sect, the ninety-eighth-rank Super Douluo, Du Busi!
"It's been a long time, Busi," Mu En said gently.
Yet Du Busi stared at him as though he had seen a ghost.
"You're still not dead?"
"How did your injuries heal?"
"Hehe."
Mu En merely smiled without answering. With a turn of his palm, a medicinal herb wreathed in hazy radiant light quietly appeared.
As its leaves unfurled, dense life energy spread like a tide.
Du Busi's pupils abruptly contracted!
"This is an immortal herb. If you consume it yourself, you may have a chance to break through your bottleneck."
"If a young genius consumes it, it can at least create a Super Douluo."
"Really?!" Du Busi's breathing grew heavy, and a terrifying gleam burst from his eyes.
But the next moment, he abruptly restrained all his emotions and furrowed his brow tightly.
"Mu En, what do you want from me?"
"I want the Body-Tempering Secret Art of your Body Sect."
"Impossible!" Du Busi roared, the aura around him suddenly turning violent.
"This is the foundation upon which the Body Sect stands. How could I possibly hand it over to an outsider?"
"Forget about setting your sights on it. Otherwise, even if I have to risk my life, I'll leave some wounds on you."
"I can guarantee that only one person will learn it," Mu En continued, as though he had not heard the threat.
Suddenly, Du Busi's eyes shifted as he probed, "Could it be...?"
Mu En chuckled and shook his head. "Stop thinking about it. It isn't a child with a Body Martial Soul."
"It's the child who competed today. He is my disciple."
"Oh." Du Busi suddenly lost interest, but he still nodded.
"That child's vitality and blood energy are indeed vigorous, and his body is absurdly strong. If he hadn't activated his Martial Soul today, I would have suspected that he possessed the same Martial Soul as me."
Du Busi's Martial Soul was his own body, and it could practically be called the strongest Body Martial Soul.
Even when fighting desperately, he could unleash strength close to that of a rank ninety-nine Limit Douluo, largely because of this Martial Soul.
"Ah—"
Suddenly, Du Busi let out a long sigh, revealing a rare trace of weariness.
"If he truly had a Body Martial Soul, even if it meant going to war with your Shrek, I would definitely seize him and bring him back."
"To this day, my Body Sect still has no one capable of inheriting the Seed of Inheritance."
As he spoke of this, his eyes could not help dimming. But he quickly recovered and said seriously,
"In any case, stop coveting my Body Sect's secret art."
Before his words had even faded, Du Busi silently departed.
Mu En stood alone in the empty resting area, gazing in the direction Du Busi had vanished before gently shaking his head.
Before you continue