The referee waves, and the game begins.
The Ironclad Rhinoceros Soul Master was the first to attack, his right fist, encased in bone armor, slamming down with a heavy force.
Instead of retreating, Xiao Mu advanced, slightly shifting his body to the side so that his fist grazed past his ear. At the same time, he took a half step forward with his left foot and his right fist slammed solidly into the bone armor on his opponent's abdomen.
A ring of cracks exploded on the surface of the bone armor, and the eyes of the Ironclad Rhinoceros Soul Master bulged out, a breath being forced out of his throat.
Xiao Mu didn't stop. His left fist followed up and slammed into the same spot, then his right fist, left fist, and right fist—the speed of his punches was so fast that only a blur of fist shadows remained on the stage, each punch landing precisely on the same point.
Fragments of bone armor flew everywhere, the sound of impacts as dense as the hammering of a blacksmith.
The Ironclad Rhinoceros Soul Master finally reacted, roaring as he swept his arms out in an attempt to force Xiao Mu back.
But Xiao Mu had already circled behind him, grabbed his belt with both hands, and with a burst of power from his waist and abdomen, executed a standard over-the-shoulder throw, lifting the burly man weighing over 200 pounds and slamming him onto the ring.
The arena trembled, and the bone armor shattered completely. Xiao Mu pressed one knee against his chest, his fist hovering three inches in front of his face, but did not strike.
The referee hesitated for half a second before raising his hand. " Xiao Mu."
In the stands, in the Monster Academy's reserved seats, Long Yue his arms crossed, leaning slightly forward. Next to him Dai Yueyan put down the match schedule and took a deep breath. "Pure hand-to-hand combat, no Soul Skill, no mecha, not even Battle Armor. His strength level is at least Soul Emperor level—no, he probably didn't even go all out."
Su Mei toyed with a strand of hair and coldly commented, "Good punching rhythm, looks like you have good skill."
Long Yue did not participate in the discussion. He stared at Xiao Mu, who was walking off the stage, and remained silent for a moment before leaning back in his chair.
Dai Yun'er was also stunned, not expecting Xiao Mu's strength to be so much greater than she had imagined.
After the preliminary rounds of the individual competition concluded, Xiao Mu and his group returned to the players' rest area.
Except for Na'er, who played around on stage for a while longer and used her Silver Dragon Spear to send a defensive Soul Master flying three times before stopping, everyone else won cleanly and decisively.
Gu Yue didn't even make a move; her opponent forfeited immediately after seeing her Soul Ring Configuration.
Xiao Mu leaned back on the bench in the rest area, unscrewed a bottle of water, took a couple of gulps, and glanced at the others. "Did you find out anything? The exact strength of those eight from the Monster Academy?"
Long Chen spoke first. He had just come from the next competition area and was still wiping the sweat from his neck with a towel. " Long Yue, the leader of the Eight Kings, the Dragon King of Martial Soul Mountain Dragon King. Twenty years old, Soul Emperor. The only one of the younger generation in the Star Luo Empire to reach the Soul Emperor level. His defense and attack power are said to be invincible among those of the same level."
He thought for a moment, then added, "I heard from people at the Star Luo Royal Academy in the contestant tunnel that he single-handedly withstood an attack from an ordinary Soul Saint without taking a single step back."
Yuanen Yehui continued, her information clearly compiled from the arena bulletin board and player handbook. " Dai Yueyan, Tiger King, Martial Soul: Hell White Tiger, Soul King. The Fourth Prince of the Star Luo Empire, Long Yue's friend, follows a strong offensive style. You've met his sister, Dai Yun'er, Spirit King, Twin Martial Souls — Spirit Eyes and Hell Spirit Cat, Soul Ancestor. Dual cultivation of mental control and agility attack."
" Su Mei, Fox King." Xu Xiaoyan looked up from her Star Staff, clearly having done her research as well. " Martial Soul: Nine-Tailed Fox, Soul King, skilled in control."
"When I was inquiring about her, a Star Luo Empire student specifically warned me, 'Don't fight Su Mei, she's disgusting.'"
Gu Yue added the last few, " Lin San, Wind King, Soul King, his Martial Soul seems to be wind, which is a bit too low-key. Teng Teng, Shadow King, Martial Soul shadow, Soul King. Hua Landang, Wolf King, Martial Soul Dragon Wolf, Soul King, proficient in both agility and power attacks, his Martial Soul Dragon Wolf is a hybrid of dragon and wolf. Ye Zhi, Tower King, Martial Soul Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Soul King, support type, she is the only pure support Soul Master in the Monster Academy."
Xiao Mu screwed the cap back on the water bottle and placed it aside, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces. "So the setup is: one Soul Emperor, six Soul King, and one Soul Ancestor, with strong offense, control, agility, and support all included. A standard team battle setup; they should be the strongest favorites to win the seven-person team competition."
"The individual competition is a different story." Long Chen draped a towel over his shoulder, a slight smile playing on his lips. "There's only one Soul Emperor, Long Yue."
Xiao Mu nodded, saying nothing more, just as he remembered. Apart from Long Yue, only Fox King Su Mei was somewhat interesting.
As evening fell, Star Luo City was bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, and the group slowly made their way back along the stone path outside the stadium.
Xu Xiaoyan walked alongside Xiao Mu, her fingertips holding the competition schedule she had just received, her eyes scanning the paper carefully.
"The doubles tournament starts in three days." She flipped to the doubles event page, her finger slowly sliding down the matchups. "There's no knockout stage; it starts with a group stage. We're in group three, and our opponents include a pair from the Star Luo Royal Academy, and—" Her finger suddenly stopped, " Monster Academy?"
Na'er quickly squeezed forward from behind, craning her neck between the two and peering closely at the schedule. "Isn't it Monster Academy?"
"It's alright." Xiao Mu reached out and took the schedule from Xu Xiaoyan's hand, carefully folded it, and put it in his pocket. "We're guaranteed to win."
Xu Xiaoyan turned her head to look at him, a faint smile playing on her lips, "So confident?"
"Your Star Staff Star Chain are locked." Xiao Mu kicked a pebble from the roadside, sending it rolling into the drainage ditch with a crisp sound. "Then I can just use Long Yue."
Xu Xiaoyan paused for a moment, flipped through the schedule again, and looked up at him. "That makes sense. There are only four groups anyway, what are the chances of such a coincidence in promotion?"
Na'er said from behind, "You just squeezed the captain's hand until it was swollen at the state banquet, and now you're going to beat him up in the doubles match. Bro, you and Long Yue are really at odds."
"We might not even meet." Xiao Mu put his hands in his pockets and continued walking along the stone path. "This is the Star Luo Empire Ranking Competition; there's no way we'll meet someone so soon."
"So you still really want to run into them." Xu Xiaoyan didn't ask a question.
Xiao Mu did not deny it. The setting sun burned the skyline of Star Luo City into an orange-red hue, and his shadow was stretched long, overlapping the cracks in the stone pavement.
"The leader of the Eight Kings, possessing the Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul, is the strongest among the younger generation of the Star Luo Empire. How will you know how tough he is if you don't fight him?"
"Don't underestimate Long Yue." Gu Yue's voice came from behind, following at the back of the group at a leisurely pace. "Don't underestimate his strength. His attacks aren't just physical; they also involve mountains and rivers. You need to be careful."
"Once you get caught up in his rhythm, you can't play however you want anymore."
Xiao Mu nodded. "I understand, just hit whoever you want."