Unbearably Weak!

Xiao Jinchen quickly arrived at Zhengtian Academy.

"Dean Losk, how long until the tournament begins?" Xiao Jinchen asked with a smile.

"Thirteen days remain. Since you have returned, we can prepare to set out as well." Losk said respectfully, "Let us first go meet the competing team."

"Let's go." Xiao Jinchen casually waved a hand.

This time, the Ice Empress did not enter Zhengtian Academy alongside Xiao Jinchen. Instead, she chose to follow him in secret and did not reveal herself.

Following the direction Losk indicated, Xiao Jinchen passed through deep corridors and arrived at Zhengtian Academy's Soul Fighting Arena.

The grounds were empty in the early morning, with only a few people sparring. By academy custom, the Soul Fighting Arena would be completely cleared during this period before the tournament, reserved exclusively for the competing team's training.

"Everyone, stop for a moment." Losk led Xiao Jinchen onto the Soul Fighting Platform and called the sparring students to a halt. Pointing at Xiao Jinchen beside him, he introduced, "This is the captain of your team for this tournament. Get acquainted with him first."

"Hey, are you the one who replaced me as captain the moment you arrived?" Ye Wuqing stepped forward, his face filled with displeasure.

Xiao Jinchen looked him over a few times, a trace of disdain appearing in his expression. "What do you want?"

"Come on, let me see what you're made of. What gives you the right to replace my—"

Bang!

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Wuqing was sent flying backward like a cannonball. His back slammed viciously into the protective barrier at the edge of the Soul Fighting Platform before he crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"You... you dare hit me!" Ye Wuqing clutched his face, disbelief written all over it.

He was Zhengtian Academy's number one student. Since entering the academy, he had never suffered such humiliation. Once he recovered his senses, Ye Wuqing released his martial soul. The fifth ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring on his body blazed brightly as he roared, "Fifth Soul Skill!"

"I'll give you fifth!"

The instant the Spirit Ring lit up, Xiao Jinchen's plain, unadorned fist slammed solidly into his throat.

The first punch struck his vocal cords first, so he would not be able to beg for mercy.

Only then did the surrounding students abruptly come back to their senses, the boom of bursting air seemingly still echoing in their ears.

Ye Wuqing's fifth Spirit Ring abruptly went dark. His entire body convulsed violently, but he could not make the slightest sound. Even his screams had been forcibly choked back.

Xiao Jinchen gave him no chance to catch his breath. Another punch came down.

Bang!

Ye Wuqing's face smashed heavily into the bluestone floor, the sound of cracking clearly audible. Before he could even raise his head, Xiao Jinchen's right fist came down again. He did not use any Soul Power. If he needed Soul Power to beat a five-ring Soul King, he might as well smash his head into a block of tofu and die.

Pfft!

Ye Wuqing's body curled up like a shrimp as he violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

"This punch was for being arrogant toward me."

Xiao Jinchen grabbed his collar and half-lifted him like a dead dog, then viciously drove his left knee into his chest.

Crack.

The crisp sound of Ye Wuqing's ribs breaking rang out clearly. His eyes rolled back, and his consciousness gradually scattered beneath the agonizing pain. He wanted to beg for mercy, wanted to call for a stop, but he could not even make a sound.

"This blow was because you didn't beg for mercy."

Xiao Jinchen remained expressionless as he looked at that swollen, distorted face. A cruel curve rose at the corner of his mouth as he threw another punch.

"As for this punch..."

The hook slammed heavily into Ye Wuqing's face, knocking his head sideways and leaving him completely limp.

"It was purely because I was getting addicted to hitting you and wanted to keep going."

Xiao Jinchen casually flung him onto the ground, used Emperor Flame to evaporate the blood from his hands, then shook his head in disappointment. His gaze rested pityingly on Ye Wuqing, who was still twitching on the ground.

"Your movements are sloppy, you have no technique, your Soul Power is unstable, and you cannot even release a Soul Skill. You are far worse than I expected."

Xiao Jinchen paused, then uttered four words.

"Unbearably weak!"

The surroundings fell deathly silent. The students' faces had gone pale with fright, and some even covered their mouths, not daring to make a sound.

"Who else is unconvinced? Come at me together. It'll save me the trouble of dealing with you one by one and wasting time." Xiao Jinchen tilted his head toward Zhengtian Academy's competing members.

Everyone's faces were deathly pale, and no one dared answer. Looking at their captain lying on the ground, dead or alive unknown, fear was all that remained in their hearts.

Seeing that no one responded, Xiao Jinchen's lips curled into a mocking smile. He took several pills from his Storage Ring and casually tossed them to Losk.

"Give these to him. He'll recover within three days. In three days, we leave directly for the Star Luo Empire."

Over the next three days, Xiao Jinchen simply set aside his cultivation and traveled around the Heaven Dou Empire with the Ice Empress, treating it as a chance to relax before crushing some weaklings.

Three days later, Xiao Jinchen returned to Zhengtian Academy. Looking at the competing members lined up and waiting, he raised an eyebrow slightly. It seemed that beating Ye Wuqing a few days ago had indeed served well as a warning to the others. No one in the team now dared harbor any ulterior thoughts. Dean Losk personally led the expedition, and after a brief round of preparations, the group immediately set off.

After several days of travel, they successfully arrived at their destination—the capital of the Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City.

As a premier establishment under the Star Luo imperial family, the Star Emperor Grand Hotel was cleared out whenever the tournament was held and reserved exclusively for the competing teams.

Thanks to its top-eight finish in the previous tournament, Zhengtian Academy naturally moved into the hotel's most luxurious top floor.

However, they did not have the entire floor to themselves. The previous tournament's runner-up, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy; reigning champion Shrek Academy; and fellow semifinalists Star Luo Royal Academy and Di'ao Academy were also staying there.

It was worth mentioning that this would be Shrek Academy's final participation in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament. In the next tournament, a school called Jia Nan Academy would take its place.

With a week remaining until the tournament officially began, Xiao Jinchen simply stayed at the hotel and continued refining his spear techniques under the pretense of sparring with the Ice Empress.

In order to thoroughly conquer the Ice Empress, Xiao Jinchen held nothing back this time. He even used the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations.

The sparring match lasted a full five days and five nights. Not until the night of the sixth day did the Ice Empress finally fail to withstand Xiao Jinchen's relentless assault. She could only grit her teeth and beg for mercy, and only then did Xiao Jinchen reluctantly withdraw his spear and stop.

After the morning drawing of lots, the match schedule was immediately finalized. By convention, reigning champion Shrek Academy naturally took the field for the opening match.

As the host, the Star Luo Empire naturally assigned this certain-loss draw of death to a foreign team in order to preserve its citizens' enthusiasm for watching.

Though it seemed biased, it was a tacit compromise in how the tournament operated. Of course, true fairness existed only on the arena, where everything was determined by strength.

This time, the unfortunate team chosen as Shrek's opening backdrop was Tianling Academy from the Dou Ling Empire.

The battle unfolded exactly as it had in the original story. Huo Yuhao was the first to release six hundred-thousand-year Spirit Rings, using his terrifying Soul Power pressure to shock the entire arena.

Immediately afterward, he and Wang Dong joined forces in perfect coordination and unleashed the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Withered in Brilliance: Golden Road, instantly crushing Tianling Academy's seven members.

As he stepped down from the match platform, Huo Yuhao left behind a resounding declaration:

"Remember this: I am from Shrek, from the Tang Sect!"

"Oh? The Tang Sect?" Xiao Jinchen looked toward Shrek Academy, a smile lifting the corner of his mouth as he murmured, "Then the name of my Soul Hall should also resound throughout the Star Luo Empire."