Battle! The Careless Duo!

Xiao Jinchen's words were utterly arrogant, startling everyone from Zhengtian Academy. But upon recalling his terrifying strength, they all nodded in agreement.

Among them, Ye Wuqing nodded most enthusiastically. After all, he had personally experienced what it felt like to be dealt with by Xiao Jinchen.

"Alright, then let's head out now." Losk could not help but smile. It seemed that Shrek Academy, the number one academy on the continent, was about to be defeated by Zhengtian Academy.

The group marched out of the Star Emperor Grand Hotel and headed for the arena.

Upon entering the waiting area, Zhengtian Academy's side was far more relaxed than Shrek's solemn group. In their eyes, this match was already theirs for the taking, while the Ice Empress had hidden herself away, lurking in the shadows.

The referee stepped onto the stage. A sound-amplifying Soul Tool carried his voice far into the distance.

"Round-robin stage, third round, first match. The competing sides are Zhengtian Academy's representative team and Shrek Academy's representative team. Both sides, please enter the preparation areas. Team captains, come onstage to draw the match format."

Xiao Jinchen rose to his feet, rolled his neck, and strode toward the stage.

The instant he stepped onto the stairs, he sharply sensed a strand of spiritual power sweeping toward him.

"Hm?" Xiao Jinchen's eyes abruptly turned cold as he instantly locked onto the source of that spiritual power—an unkempt old man holding a Chicken Leg.

"Xuan Zi?"

Xiao Jinchen's gaze hardened. A powerful surge of spiritual power pressed back without mercy, directly crushing Xuan Zi's spiritual power into nothing.

"What powerful spiritual power." Xuan Zi was startled, and the Chicken Leg in his hand nearly fell to the ground.

Xiao Jinchen quickly climbed onto the competition stage and looked at Beibei across from him. The latter wore a smile on his face.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness suddenly began writhing violently the moment he saw Xiao Jinchen.

Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback and asked within his sea of consciousness, "Brother Sky Dream, what's wrong?"

"Yuhao, do you remember when I took you to the Far North Lands to obtain your second martial soul?"

Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. "Of course I remember, Brother Sky Dream. What is it?"

"Look at that person on the stage! It's him! He's the one who stole my Bingbing!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eyes turned crimson as he roared breathlessly within Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness.

Huo Yuhao was startled and looked toward Xiao Jinchen, who was waiting onstage for the drawing results.

The referee said solemnly, "The draw begins. Both sides, please bear witness."

The referee checked the result and announced loudly, "Zhengtian Academy versus Shrek Academy has drawn the two-two-three format. That is, there will first be two two-versus-two matches, followed by a three-versus-three match. Best two out of three. If one side wins both of the first two matches, the final three-versus-three match will be canceled. Both captains may step down and prepare."

Xiao Jinchen walked off the stage and instructed the Zhengtian Academy students, "For the two-two-three format, you only need to win the first match. Then I'll take the field, and we'll win."

"Do you understand?"

"Understood!" everyone from Zhengtian Academy answered in unison.

"Good." Xiao Jinchen nodded in satisfaction. "Yang Yifan, Yu Mengdi, you two will compete."

"Huh?" Yang Yifan and Yu Mengdi were both stunned. They did not understand why he had called on them when Ye Wuqing was clearly the strongest among them, but they still agreed.

Xiao Jinchen's plan was simple. He wanted to torment Huo Yuhao during the final three-versus-three match and see whether he could erase that giant grub inside Huo Yuhao's head while he was at it.

However, what surprised Xiao Jinchen was that Shrek did not send out Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan as in the original story. Instead, they sent Beibei and Xu Sanshi.

"Oh? Have things diverged from the original plot?" Xiao Jinchen watched Beibei and Xu Sanshi on the stage with interest.

The result was the same as in the original story: Shrek Academy won, though the process was different. Beibei had even directly activated his bloodline awakening to defeat his opponents.

Just as Xiao Jinchen was wondering what Shrek was up to, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng leaped directly onto the competition stage.

Then Ma Xiaotao shouted toward Xiao Jinchen in the waiting area, "Xiao Jinchen, you looked rather relaxed watching the earlier match. Since you dared to observe the entire battle from the sidelines, do you dare come onstage and fight Dai Yueheng and me? Or do you only dare watch from below, without the courage to step onto the stage and fight?"

In Ma Xiaotao's eyes, Shrek had already secured one victory. As long as they won one more round, they could lock in the overall victory. As for Xiao Jinchen, he was surely sitting on pins and needles by now.

Since that was the case, they might as well strike first, seize the initiative firmly in their own hands, and completely overwhelm the other side in momentum.

"Whoa!"

The moment Ma Xiaotao finished speaking, an uproar swept through the stands.

Word of Xiao Jinchen's Soul Douluo cultivation had long spread. Ma Xiaotao knew the gap between their cultivation levels yet still provoked him, clearly intending to goad him into taking the stage.

"Oh?" Xiao Jinchen looked at the arrogant Ma Xiaotao onstage. Killing intent surged in his eyes as he murmured, "Since you're so arrogant, then Shrek can lose two geniuses."

"Heh, then I truly want to see what makes the students taught by the continent's number one academy so extraordinary." A gentle smile curled across Xiao Jinchen's lips. Before his words had even faded, his body had transformed into a streak of blue lightning, landing on the competition stage in the blink of an eye.

"So fast!" Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were both shaken.

Before they could recover, Xiao Jinchen placed one hand behind his back, slightly lifted his chin, and casually crooked a finger at them.

The provocation was unmistakable.

"Arrogant!" Ma Xiaotao's temper instantly ignited. Her martial soul possessed her body at once, and powerful Soul Power erupted like a volcano. Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black—six Spirit Rings rose beneath her feet.

Dai Yueheng beside her also underwent Martial Soul Possession. A wave of Soul Power slightly weaker than Ma Xiaotao's spread outward, while six Spirit Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black—also rose and revolved around him.

"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!"

The two coordinated perfectly and attacked at the same time. Red and white beams intertwined, carrying scorching heat and violent Soul Power as they shot toward Xiao Jinchen.

Facing the howling combined killing move, Xiao Jinchen could not even be bothered to release his martial soul, much less dodge.

At the critical instant when the beams were about to swallow his head, he merely lazily tilted his head.

Boom!

The violent energy grazed past his ear. The searing airwave tousled several strands of his hair, yet failed to harm him in the slightest. The red and white beams slammed into the Soul Tool protective barrier behind him and exploded, setting off a violent storm of energy.

Xiao Jinchen calmly smoothed back his windblown bangs, looked at the two across from him, and smiled mockingly. "Your bearing is not bad. Your strength, however, is lacking."

Roar!

A deep roar suddenly burst from Dai Yueheng's throat. In the next instant, a fierce, savage aura swept out from his eyes.

"First Soul Skill, White Tiger Protection Barrier!"

"Third Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"

"Fifth Soul Skill, White Tiger Demon God Transformation!"

The first, third, and fifth Spirit Rings on his body lit up simultaneously, and powerful Soul Power fluctuations erupted without restraint.