Sixteen to Eight

After defeating Mingdu Soul Master Academy, there were no longer any opponents worth noting in the round-robin stage.

Most teams still relied on Soul Elders and a small number of Soul Ancestors as their main force.

In fact, let alone the main team.

Even without Xia Ming holding down the fort, the reserve team's lineup alone was enough to secure victory with ease.

Thus, Mu En began deliberately rotating the lineup, giving the other reserve members opportunities to gain experience.

Among them, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng, the two assault-type Soul Ancestors, performed particularly brilliantly.

Within the academy, both had been outstanding among their peers and were proud by nature.

Yet after joining the reserve team, they had been constantly beaten down by Xia Ming during daily training.

After coming here, they had barely gotten any chances to take the field, so naturally, they had been feeling stifled.

At last, Mu En gave them an opportunity to let loose.

Against weaker opponents, the two completely unleashed themselves, displaying crushing dominance.

One after another, they achieved records of taking down four opponents alone and three opponents alone in the individual matches.

The others were no less impressive, delivering equally outstanding performances.

There was even one team battle where Xia Ming and Zhang Lexuan, who was responsible for covering any mishaps, watched from the sidelines throughout. The five reserve members alone relied on their seamless coordination to end the battle with ease.

With that, the round-robin stage came to an end. Shrek Academy naturally advanced as the top team in their group with seven straight victories.

As for Mingdu Soul Master Academy, after suffering a crushing defeat against Shrek, they easily won their remaining matches.

They placed second in the group with six wins and one loss, advancing as well.

The top sixteen of this tournament had all been decided. Next came the knockout stage.

Shrek Academy's opponent in the round of sixteen was Canglan Academy from the Heaven Dou Empire.

This academy had not been mentioned in the original work, but it was still a renowned top academy within the Heaven Dou Empire.

Its strength was perhaps second only to Di'ao Academy, which had royal backing, and it was even stronger than Zhengtian Academy.

For this tournament, they had sent out what could be called a luxurious lineup.

They had four Soul Kings, and their captain was even a high-level, fifty-eighth-rank Soul King, only one step away from becoming a Soul Emperor.

Logically speaking, they had a great chance of reaching the quarterfinals and might even have had an opportunity to contend for the semifinals.

Unfortunately, they had run into Shrek Academy ahead of schedule.

When the draw was announced, everyone in Canglan Academy, from the teachers to the team members, could not hide the trace of gloom on their faces.

Facing Shrek, they themselves knew that their chances of advancing were slim to none.

The team battle on the first day ended without any surprises.

Facing the complete main team led by Zhang Lexuan, Canglan Academy gave it their all.

Yet before the absolute gulf in strength, all their efforts appeared futile.

Zhang Lexuan did not even use her full strength, and Shrek's main team proceeded at a crushing pace.

They ended the battle in just a few minutes.

According to the rules, the side that won the team battle only needed to defeat three more opponents in the subsequent individual matches to advance.

The individual matches two days later carried a somewhat subtle atmosphere.

Everyone knew that Canglan Academy, backed into a corner, would inevitably send out their three strongest Soul Kings for one final gamble.

In Shrek's preparation area, Zhang Lexuan quietly rose to her feet.

Her expression was calm as she prepared to take the field and swiftly end all suspense with her absolute strength.

However, at that moment, Mu En's gentle voice rang out, stopping Zhang Lexuan in her tracks.

"Lexuan, wait a moment."

Everyone's gaze focused on him.

He slowly turned his head, his eyes landing on Xia Ming, who sat quietly to the side.

"Xia Ming, you go first."

After a pause, amid everyone's puzzled looks, Mu En made a request that instantly silenced the entire area.

"I want you to defeat at least two Soul Kings, or eliminate their captain."

"What?!"

The moment those words were spoken, a wave of irrepressible gasps erupted from Shrek's preparation area.

Everyone revealed expressions of utter disbelief.

Although Xia Ming had miraculously defeated a Soul King from Mingdu Soul Master Academy before, everyone knew perfectly well.

That was because his opponent had underestimated him and given him ample time to build up momentum.

In a normal individual battle, against a genius Soul King who was fully prepared.

If the other party gave him no openings, it would inevitably be extremely difficult for Xia Ming to win.

Not to mention defeating two in a row.

As for eliminating their captain, that fifty-eighth-rank Soul King?

That would very likely be even more difficult than defeating two Soul Kings.

Even Zhang Lexuan, who knew Xia Ming's true strength, was deeply shocked at this moment.

Had Elder Mu agreed to let Xia Ming reveal more of his strength?

However.

Faced with this seemingly impossible demand, Xia Ming, standing at the center of everyone's attention, showed no sign of difficulty.

He met Mu En's gaze, slowly rose to his feet, and gave him a light nod. "All right, leave it to me."

A hint of gratified smile appeared on Mu En's face.

He nodded slightly. His tone was as gentle as ever, yet filled with absolute trust. "Go."

When Xia Ming appeared on the competition stage, his opponent was briefly stunned, but did not say anything mocking.

In the previous one-on-one match, Xia Ming had eliminated a fifth-level Soul Engineer, which was already enough to prove that he possessed the strength to contend with a Soul King.

Of course, from Canglan Academy's perspective, this was also a sign that Shrek was looking down on them.

Against a team with four Soul Kings, and with the advantageous situation of only needing to defeat three more opponents to advance.

The safest choice was undoubtedly to send Soul Emperor Zhang Lexuan out first and quickly end the suspense with absolute strength.

Yet Shrek had not done so. Instead, they had sent Xia Ming.

What did that mean?

It meant they did not take them seriously at all!

They were once again treating this match as a venue for nurturing a genius!

Xia Ming might indeed be powerful, but Shrek could originally have defeated them steadily without losing a single match!

The first person Canglan Academy sent out was their captain, Huyan Yu.

At this moment, he stood opposite Xia Ming with a solemn expression.

Shrek, you will regret this! Huyan Yu thought. At the very least, I have to win this match!

Ever since the team battle two days ago, when everyone had prepared themselves thoroughly only to be nearly wiped out by a single soul skill from Zhang Lexuan.

He had long since stopped hoping to defeat Shrek.

But that did not mean he would simply give up. If Zhang Lexuan took the field, he naturally would not have the slightest chance.

But since the other side had not sent her out first.

Then before Zhang Lexuan stepped in to end the match, he would eliminate as many Shrek members as possible!

At the very least, he had to win this individual match and recover a shred of dignity for the academy and for himself!

Soon, the two took their positions.

Xia Ming could clearly sense the anger and resolute aura emanating from his opponent!

As the referee's arm dropped, "The match begins!"

In an instant, radiant light burst forth around Huyan Yu.

Two yellow, two purple, and one black—five Soul Rings in the optimal configuration rose abruptly, while powerful Soul Power fluctuations swept through the entire venue like a tidal wave!