Finals

Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu stepped forward quickly and announced the rules of the final in a deep voice:

"The final is a best-of-three series, consisting of a team battle, an individual elimination round, and a two-two-three format. The team battle features seven members, with only one substitution allowed afterward, and the roster remains fixed thereafter. I am responsible for the safety of the match; should a lethal threat arise, I will intervene by force and disqualify the offending party, though I cannot guarantee absolute safety, so I hope both sides will exercise restraint. After one minute of preparation, the team battle begins!"

As his voice fell, the hundreds of thousands of people in Star Luo Plaza fell silent, the entire arena holding its breath in anticipation.

"Will both teams please take the stage!" The minute passed quickly, and Huang Jinxu shouted loudly.

On the side of Zhengtian Academy, only Xiao Jinchen walked onto the competition stage. The rest of the Zhengtian Academy members dared not join him, simply because he could not distinguish friend from foe—take the Buddha Fury Fire Lotus from a few days ago, for example...

Xiao Jinchen stepped onto the stage, and the members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy followed suit.

Leading the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy were Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. As soon as they stepped onto the stage, they scrutinized Xiao Jinchen. Meng Hongchen looked him up and down from head to toe, nodded, and muttered, "He's actually quite handsome."

Xiao Hongchen stepped forward, blocking the lower half of his face with one hand, leaving only his cold, sharp eyes visible. With his fingertips pressed against his brow bone in a rather chuunibyou pose, he said to Xiao Jinchen, "Xiao Jinchen, you are indeed strong, but the future belongs to soul tools. You three nations of the Douluo Continent are stuck in your ways; your prideful soul master system will one day be surpassed by us soul engineers!"

"Mhm, mhm." Xiao Jinchen nodded in agreement and said, "Indeed. In my view, martial souls are an extension of the body, while soul tools are the manifestation of the will. Since both are embodiments of power, why can they not reach the same destination by different paths? Therefore, my Soul Hall will visit Mingde Hall in the Sun Moon Empire in the future."

"Mhm, I knew a genius from the three nations like you would surely reject soul tools... Wait? Something's not right!" Xiao Hongchen stopped mid-sentence, then looked at Xiao Jinchen with surprise, saying, "You actually don't reject soul tools, and you want to visit my Mingde Hall?"

"Mhm." Xiao Jinchen nodded and asked, "What? Is that not allowed?"

"It is! Of course it is!" Xiao Hongchen reached out his right hand toward Xiao Jinchen abruptly. He felt as though he had met a kindred spirit, excitement welling up in his eyes.

In Xiao Hongchen's impression, people from the three nations of the Douluo Continent were supposed to be stubborn and dismissive of soul tools. Yet, this genius before him actually recognized the future development of soul tools. This delighted him; perhaps he could use this opportunity to befriend the mysterious Soul Hall behind the other party.

Xiao Jinchen smiled slightly and stepped forward to shake Xiao Hongchen's hand. The trend of soul tool development was irreversible. He had already decided: the Soul Hall would be used to develop soul tools, and the Pill Tower would be dedicated to refining pills. Heh heh, this way, soul masters and soul engineers could develop in both directions.

The audience was stunned to see Xiao Jinchen and Xiao Hongchen shaking hands on the stage. The two had not lowered their voices, so their conversation was naturally heard by those in the stands, and a wave of whispers immediately broke out.

"I wonder when Brother Xiao will come to visit my Mingde Hall," Xiao Hongchen asked.

"Once I have finished handling the matters at hand," Xiao Jinchen replied.

High in the stands, Xu Jiawei heard Xiao Jinchen's words and was slightly taken aback, then turned to ask Dai Hao beside him, "Brother, what do you think of that boy going to such lengths to embrace soul tools?"

The White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, frowned slightly and said, "They are merely external objects. For a genius like him to spend time on soul tools is simply a waste of time."

Xiao Jinchen and Xiao Hongchen looked at each other and smiled; the tense, hostile atmosphere from moments ago had vanished completely.

"Both sides, retreat." Just then, Huang Jinxu's voice rang out.

Xiao Hongchen nodded at Xiao Jinchen, then followed the other members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy as they retreated.

"Brother, why were you chatting with him?" Meng Hongchen asked Xiao Hongchen as they backed away.

"Meng, you don't understand." Xiao Hongchen shook his head and said, "I feel this is an opportunity for our Mingde Hall to befriend the other side."

"Tch." Meng Hongchen curled her lip and said no more.

"Match start!" Once both sides had retreated to the designated distance, Huang Jinxu shouted, and his figure instantly vanished from the stage.

The seven members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy moved in perfect unison, simultaneously drawing various soul tools from their storage devices.

Every student of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was equipped with standard Level 5 Linked Soul Cannons, mounted on their waists and backs, while Ma Rulong, opposite them, shouldered a Level 6 Energy-Gathering Soul Main Cannon.

In an instant, terrifying soul rays, piercing beams, and countless light orbs condensed from soul power and released through soul tools surged toward Xiao Jinchen like a peacock spreading its tail.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy had formulated a strategy, and it was very simple: saturation fire. They had witnessed Xiao Jinchen's terrifying strength; in the face of absolute power, all techniques were like a mayfly trying to topple a tree. If they used saturation fire from the start, quantitative changes might lead to qualitative ones, perhaps giving them a sliver of a chance to defeat him.

Facing the incoming attacks, Xiao Jinchen merely moved his feet, and several afterimages instantly appeared.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

All the attacks from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy struck Xiao Jinchen's afterimages. The attacks missed their mark and slammed into the ground, creating deafening explosions and kicking up clouds of dust.

"Let's just settle this in the team battle; I can't be bothered with the later matches." Xiao Jinchen moved, appearing instantly in the center of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer formation.

"What! How could you be so fast!?" Ma Rulong was shocked, then roared, "Activate the Invincible Barrier, quickly!"

They were all too familiar with this scene. When Xiao Jinchen fought the Star Luo National Academy, hadn't he also rushed to their rear and wiped them out with a fire lotus soul skill? Thus, Ma Rulong did not hesitate to activate the Invincible Barrier.

In a flash, everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy tapped their chests. A golden light flickered, and a golden barrier instantly enveloped their bodies.

"Soul tools are fine, but they are useless." Xiao Jinchen smiled softly.

"Earth Gale Flame!" Xiao Jinchen shouted in a low voice and stomped his foot heavily. The space beneath his feet instantly began to boil violently.

Ten zhang of scorching magma erupted like a sudden volcanic eruption, shooting straight into the clouds, but in the blink of an eye, it spun wildly, transforming into a suffocating crimson fire tornado that engulfed everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.