The blazing fire tornado slowly dissipated, and all seven members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy lay unconscious on the ground.
Instant kill!
Their Invincible Barrier hadn't even managed to do a thing before it was shattered.
Only a few breaths had passed from the beginning of the match to its end.
Xiao Jinchen knew some of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's trump cards. It seemed Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill called Red Dust Attachment, but unfortunately, they'd had no chance to use it.
He'd also controlled his strength, making sure their injuries were severe enough to keep them from competing in the matches to come. He simply couldn't be bothered to fight anymore; he still had plenty to do, and his Eighth Soul Ring had already been delayed for a long time.
At last, the dust had settled.
Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu looked at the sole slender figure standing on the stage and couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. A moment later, his voice rang across all of Star Luo Plaza, carried by Soul Power:
"I announce that the champion of this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament is..."
"Zhengtian Academy!"
Losk, down below, was already flushed with excitement.
"Hahaha! Heaven blesses Zhengtian Academy!" Losk roared with laughter. Xiao Jinchen might not represent Zhengtian Academy in the next Continental Soul Master Tournament, but this time, Zhengtian Academy had truly won the championship.
"Zhengtian Academy! Zhengtian Academy! Zhengtian Academy!"
Star Luo Plaza had become a boiling sea. Countless people were chanting the name of Zhengtian Academy.
The flames of the Continental Advanced Soul Master and Soul Engineer Academy Soul Fighting Tournament had finally gone out. With them, Star Luo City shed the fervor and clamor of the past several days, returning to its usual peace and order.
For the sake of safety and discretion, the final awards ceremony wasn't made public, and the event itself wasn't particularly grand or lavish.
That didn't diminish the value of the prizes, however. The weighty rewards were still enough to make any Soul Master in the world green with envy.
Aside from the generous amount of Gold Soul Coins, the most eye-catching prizes were undoubtedly the three rare Spirit Bones.
Xiao Jinchen entrusted Losk with the task of collecting the Spirit Bones. By then, Xiao Jinchen had already been escorted by the two great demon queens all the way to Evil Demon Forest.
"Ah Chen, are you really going to absorb a seven-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year-old Evil Emperor as your Eighth Soul Ring? Will you be all right?" Worry filled Bing'er's little face.
That's right. Xiao Jinchen's target this time was the Evil Emperor! The Evil Emperor as his Eighth Soul Ring! A seven-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year-old Evil Emperor!
"Bing'er, don't worry. It's only seven hundred and ninety thousand years. It won't be a problem." Xiao Jinchen gently patted Ice Empress's hand, soothing her.
"Just be careful you don't burst from the inside," Snow Empress said, pursing her lips at Xiao Jinchen's expression.
"What?" Xiao Jinchen's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Snow Empress, are you worried about me along with Bing'er?"
"Who's worried about you!" Snow Empress froze for a moment, then her pretty face reddened. "I just don't want you to die and leave my Bing'er a widow."
"I'll be the one to test the Evil Emperor first. If I can't handle it, you can step in, all right?" Xiao Jinchen turned to Bing'er and Snow Empress and reminded them. He wanted to test the power of the Four-Colored Fire Lotus, the Destruction Fire Lotus, on the Evil Emperor. With the two great demon queens protecting him, he had nothing to fear even if things went wrong.
"All right." Bing'er and Snow Empress both nodded, agreeing.
They both now had the strength of Level 99 Limit Douluos. There was probably no one on Douluo Continent who could stop them from protecting Xiao Jinchen. And they weren't ordinary Level 99s, either: one wielded Ultimate Ice, the other Ultimate Snow, and they also had the Martial Soul Fusion Skill Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses. Their combat strength could only be described as terrifying.
Unless those two "licking beasts" from the Clear Sky Sect broke their seals and returned to the level of God Officials—in other words, Dou Zong—there shouldn't be anyone on Douluo Continent who could lay a hand on him.
Soon, the three of them reached the core area of Evil Demon Forest. Xiao Jinchen motioned for Bing'er and Snow Empress to hide nearby, then condensed a pair of energy wings and flew into the sky above the core area.
He seemed to remember that the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters was based in Evil Demon Forest. But that didn't matter; he could leave it to Bing'er and Snow Empress.
"Evil Emperor! Come out!" Xiao Jinchen's eyes narrowed, and his voice, carried by Soul Power, spread through every corner of the core area of Evil Demon Forest.
The instant Xiao Jinchen's words fell, the entire space seemed to tremble violently. A terrifying Spiritual Power, vast as a mountain, descended from the sky, covering two-thirds of Evil Demon Forest.
"What powerful Spiritual Power," Ice Empress exclaimed from her hiding place.
"The Evil Emperor is a Ferocious Beast who once grievously wounded Di Tian. Even I had to avoid its edge back then," Snow Empress said, looking up at Xiao Jinchen.
"Xue'er, do you think Ah Chen can kill the Evil Emperor by himself, so we won't have to step in?" Ice Empress asked.
"Probably not," Snow Empress said after a moment's thought. "Although he can briefly unleash the combat strength of a Limit Douluo, the Evil Emperor has a move called Light of Time and Space, which fuses the laws of time and space. Time stops and space shatters within its range, and it can sever an opponent's Spiritual Origin. Di Tian was grievously wounded by that very move."
As soon as Snow Empress finished speaking, a deep, dignified, icy voice echoed through the sky.
"Who dares disturb this sovereign's slumber? Who dares speak this sovereign's name!" Along with that deep voice, the sky began to twist before turning completely dark.
Black as ink, the dark clouds slowly split apart. It was as if the entire sky had been torn open, and a gigantic eye appeared in midair. Its gaze was fixed on Xiao Jinchen, hovering in the sky.
"Human, you dared offend this sovereign's dignity. Today, you will remain in Evil Demon Forest forever!" The Evil Emperor's voice rang out abruptly.
Immediately afterward, a dark-red beam of light more than a hundred zhang wide suddenly descended from the sky, engulfing Xiao Jinchen.
"Heh, Evil Emperor, I won't waste time shooting the breeze with you. I came to Evil Demon Forest for one reason: you." Xiao Jinchen grinned at the Evil Emperor. "Today is the day you die."
"Boy, what arrogance! You think your cultivation as an Level 80 Quasi-Soul Douluo is enough to hunt this sovereign? What a joke!" The Evil Emperor scoffed. The dark-red beams it had fired suddenly converged inward. Then a terrifying Spiritual storm erupted in midair.
The sky turned red in an instant, like a sea of blood. The violent fluctuations of Spiritual Power made every Soul Beast in Evil Demon Forest prostrate itself on the ground, not daring to move a muscle.