Seeing Xia Ming charge straight at him, Chen Yan's expression instantly shifted from solemn to vicious.
"Arrogant! I'll let you have a taste of being bombarded!"
With a low roar, his two yellow and two purple Soul Rings flared brilliantly at the same time!
Like many Soul Engineers, all four of his soul skills amplified Soul Power. Otherwise, he could never have sustained the Soul Power consumption of a Soul Guidance Artillery Platform.
"Buzz—"
The next moment, Chen Yan seemed to transform into a supernova on the verge of eruption!
More than thirty Level Four Soul Guidance Ray emitters lit up simultaneously with dazzling white light.
The hum produced by the violent gathering of energy merged into one continuous roar, turning his entire body into a blazing mass of light too intense to look at directly.
"Boom—!"
A violent explosion suddenly rang out.
Under the minute adjustments of the artillery platform's base, the more than thirty Level Four Soul Guidance Rays did not fire chaotically.
Instead, ahead of Xia Ming's charge path, they wove together into a fan-shaped barrage with virtually no blind spots. With piercing shrieks that tore through the air, they completely engulfed him!
Light swallowed Xia Ming's figure. The shockwave from the explosions and the blinding glare made even the front-row spectators narrow their eyes.
Dozens of scorched furrows were gouged into the Soul Fighting Platform, while smoke, dust, and scattered particles of energy light spread through the air.
Faced with such an assault, even an ordinary Soul King would never dare take it head-on.
But Xia Ming naturally had no fear of such an attack. For his opponent to break through his defenses, he would need at least two or three more Soul Rings.
Still, to avoid appearing quite so shocking, his two purple Soul Rings lit up at the same time.
That way, to outsiders, it looked as though he had withstood the attack only after using two soul skills simultaneously.
Chen Yan's face gradually turned pale. After that round of attacks, nearly all his Soul Power had been depleted.
This was also the greatest drawback of the Soul Cannon Turret Tactics. Activating dozens of offensive Soul Tools at once would drain even a Soul Master with abundant Soul Power dry.
However, the tactic he had pinned his hopes on had failed to work.
Xia Ming broke through the obstruction of every Soul Guidance Ray and arrived before him in an instant.
He merely drew his fist back to his waist, then threw a punch!
That punch looked plain and unremarkable.
Yet at the instant he struck, Xia Ming poured the embryonic form of "Reign Over the World," fused with spiritual pressure and his own imposing aura, into it without reservation!
"Boom—!"
The instant his fist struck the base, a terrifying boom erupted!
A vast and overwhelming force poured down through his fist, accompanied by a spiritual shock as though it were being suppressed beneath the will of a sovereign!
"Crack—!"
Chen Yan had forged the base from all manner of precious metals, and he had believed it capable of withstanding attacks at the Soul King level.
Yet beneath this punch, it was instantly smashed into a twisted, warped shape.
Chen Yan only felt an utterly irresistible force crash into him. His chest erupted in pain, his blood and energy churned, and the spiritual impact blanked his mind completely.
The next moment, he and the already ruined Soul Guidance Artillery Platform were blasted into the air!
"Bang—!"
A heavy impact rang out as Chen Yan slammed viciously into the protective barrier at the edge of the arena, sending violent ripples across its surface.
Only then did he slide limply down the light barrier and collapse to the ground, completely unconscious.
The metal wreckage on his body clattered to the floor. Visible to the naked eye, many of its components had been completely destroyed.
The first match ended just like that.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. Only a few breaths had passed since the match began.
The entire venue fell silent.
Many spectators had not even had time to gasp at Chen Yan's terrifying number of Soul Guidance Rays before the battle came to an abrupt end in such an utterly crushing fashion.
The referee was clearly stunned for a moment before hurrying forward to examine Chen Yan's condition. Then he took a deep breath and announced loudly:
"First match, Shrek Academy wins!"
After a brief silence, the stands erupted with thunderous uproar and discussion.
Meanwhile, Chen Yan was swiftly carried away by his companions.
He soon regained consciousness, his face extremely grim.
Losing to a child more than ten years younger than himself was a humiliation that would be enough to haunt him for life.
But what truly made his heart bleed was this.
After inspecting it, he found that the Soul Guidance Artillery Platform he treasured as dearly as his life was more than seventy percent destroyed!
Most of those expensive rare metals and core arrays would need to be completely replaced or repaired.
The resource expenditure would leave him struggling for a long time to come.
Just thinking about it made his vision go dark.
On the arena, Xia Ming slowly withdrew his fist, and the flickering light of his Soul Rings gradually subsided as well.
His expression remained calm. Thanks to the absurd recovery effect of his second soul skill, the Soul Power within him had almost instantly returned to its peak.
But he also knew that if he appeared too relaxed right now, it would be a bad thing instead.
Thus, beneath the gaze of the entire crowd, he calmly took out a Milk Bottle, held it in his hand, and pretended to begin recovering his Soul Power.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and furrowed his brow, as though he were struggling to regulate his breathing and ease the enormous expenditure caused by taking that barrage head-on.
"Mingdu Soul Master Academy, please send your next contestant onto the stage!"
The referee's voice rang out once more, breaking the brief atmosphere of rest.
In Mingdu Soul Master Academy's waiting area, the atmosphere was exceptionally grim.
After a short discussion, a figure steadily leaped onto the arena.
This man was around twenty years old and powerfully built. He was none other than Luo Jiang, one of Mingdu Soul Master Academy's only three Soul Kings!
Clearly, Xia Ming's earlier performance had made them unwilling to hold anything back or continue testing him. They had directly sent out one of their trump cards!
After Luo Jiang took the stage, Xia Ming's expression hardened.
He knew that even if he defeated his opponent, this would more or less be the end of the line for him.
Facing a five-ring Soul King who was also a Level Five Soul Engineer, he could naturally win with ease if he unleashed his full strength. But suppressing his power to the level of a Soul Ancestor would clearly be far more difficult.
Besides, for a Soul Grandmaster, performing like this was already excessively genius. He could not reveal too much more.
With that thought in mind, Xia Ming's match quickly began.
Without the slightest hesitation, the moment the referee's words fell, his figure shot forward once again like an arrow released from a bow!
He intended to maintain this fierce, aggressive fighting style and continue taking the initiative!
Luo Jiang did not choose to meet him head-on. Instead, he stepped half a pace back and brushed his right hand over his storage Soul Tool.
An ancient-looking round shield appeared in his hand.
The moment the shield appeared, it automatically floated before him. Its surface tilted slightly, and a heavy Soul Power fluctuation like a mountain spread outward.
This shield was Luo Jiang's signature defensive method, a Level Five defensive Soul Tool.
Theoretically, its defense was even stronger than that of most defense-type Soul Kings.
His plan was simple: use an absolute, unbreakable defense to exhaust his opponent's Soul Power first.
You were strong and had high defense, weren't you?
Then I'll let you attack and see how long the Soul Power of a mere Soul Grandmaster can sustain such high-intensity assaults!
Before you continue