Zhang Lexuan Takes the Initiative

The opening ceremony ended, and the competition officially began.

As the most closely watched team, the Shrek Representative Team had been arranged to play the opening match. Their first battle ended without suspense amid thunderous cheers.

Their opponents were not particularly strong; they did not even have a single Soul King.

For that reason, Shrek's accompanying teacher did not send out all the Main Selection Team members to crush them outright. Instead, he sent reserve members such as Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen onto the field, with Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo from the Main Selection Team controlling the match.

This was considered "training troops" on the competition stage, allowing the reserve members to become somewhat familiar with the tournament and prepare for the next one.

Ma Xiaotao and the other Reserve Team members did not disappoint their teacher. Though they were somewhat inexperienced, their performance was exceptionally outstanding. Through their coordination, they easily defeated their opponents, fully displaying Shrek's deep foundations and the quality of its students.

At that moment, the reserve members' faces were filled with excitement and pride as they immersed themselves in Shrek's glory.

Yet as the captain, Zhang Lexuan showed no excitement in her eyes, only calmness.

Perhaps even Zhang Lexuan herself had not realized that the "glory of Shrek" in her eyes had long since lost its radiance through repeated disappointments.

All that remained was rotten dregs draped in the splendid garments of the past—glittering on the outside, yet decayed and spoiled within, revolting to behold.

"Lexuan?" Han Ruoruo could not help speaking up.

Zhang Lexuan came back to herself and gently shook her head. "I'm fine."

After a slight pause, she continued,

"...There's another elimination match this afternoon. I looked into it—the opponent isn't strong. You, Wu Ming, and a few others should have no trouble winning.

"I'm a little tired. I want to return to the hotel and rest first."

Han Ruoruo was doubtful, but Zhang Lexuan did not linger. She rose and headed straight out of the competition venue.

Han Ruoruo watched Zhang Lexuan's departing figure, the concern in her eyes undiminished. After a brief hesitation, she looked into the distance.

"Wu Ming!"

"Hm? What is it, Sister Ruoruo?" Wu Ming leaned closer, somewhat puzzled.

"Come with me. I feel like something happened to Lexuan." Han Ruoruo's tone was unusually serious.

"What could possibly happen to Sister Lexuan... Hey, hey, hey! Sister Ruoruo, don't drag me! I can walk by myself..."

Han Ruoruo turned a deaf ear and dragged Wu Ming toward the direction Zhang Lexuan had left in.

Elsewhere, Zhang Lexuan walked out of Shrek's resting area, but her steps did not take her toward the hotel. Instead, she entered the bustling crowd.

Before long, following the information she had gathered in advance, she arrived at the entrance to another sub-venue.

Here, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Representative Team's match was about to begin.

Although the Sun Moon Representative Team was strong, perhaps because of the Empire's political stance, the spectator stands were far less lively than those at the main venue. Most people seemed to have come merely to watch the spectacle.

Using her status as a participant, Zhang Lexuan directly found a seat near the front and looked down at the arena below.

The Sun Moon Representative Team's opponents in this match were the Tianxiang Advanced Soul Master Academy Representative Team, a local team from the Heaven Dou Empire. Their seven-member lineup was complete, their Soul Rings gleaming. They had two Soul Kings and five Soul Ancestors in total, which was already considered quite strong among the many representative teams.

On the other side, the seven members of the Sun Moon Representative Team slowly entered the arena.

Zhang Lexuan's gaze searched among them. Soon, she found the person she had come looking for at the very front of the group.

He was a young man whose face could even be described as childish. Perhaps because of his age, his build was somewhat slender, making him look rather frail. Combined with that excessively handsome face, he seemed utterly out of place amid the atmosphere of this grand tournament.

Excited and curious voices drifted from the stands into Zhang Lexuan's ears, most of them discussing the young man's appearance and age.

She paid them no heed. Her gaze remained tightly fixed on him, unwilling to shift away even slightly.

She had come to find Kong Ming'an. She wanted to make her background clear to him and reject him outright. That was what she had come to do.

Now that she had confirmed he was here, she only needed to go speak with him later. Presumably... there would not be any problems.

A slight breath of relief escaped her heart. Zhang Lexuan relaxed somewhat and prepared to watch the match, gathering information about the Sun Moon Representative Team along the way. It might prove useful in later matches.

Yet in the next instant, her expression changed slightly.

On the competition stage, the young man alone slowly walked forward, while the other six casually sat at the edge of the arena, seeming to have no intention of making a move.

The Tianxiang Team's captain could not help looking toward the referee. The referee was also stunned for a moment. After contacting the staff outside the arena, however, he received confirmation that there was no issue.

The Tianxiang Team members exchanged glances. In the end, they suppressed their doubts and stared solemnly at the somewhat solitary young man ahead.

Whether their opponent was being arrogant or truly had something to rely on, they had to give it their all. That was respect for the competition.

"Match begin!"

As the referee's voice fell, the seven members of the Tianxiang Team instantly released their Martial Souls. Their Soul Rings shone brilliantly as they spread out in a tactical formation, cautiously yet swiftly closing in.

At that very moment, Kong Ming'an moved.

He casually took a step forward. In the next instant, scorching Vitality erupted around him like a tangible crimson tide!

The temperature in the surrounding area surged dramatically, and the air twisted and warped under the blazing heat. Terrifying Vitality boiled as it slowly condensed and took shape behind him, faintly forming an enormous humanoid phantom with indistinct features!

The Tianxiang Team members' breathing stopped. Beads of sweat the size of beans slid down from their temples as they stared fixedly at that colossal phantom, their pupils trembling uncontrollably.

They instinctively tried to flee, but it was as though an invisible mountain were pressing down upon them. Even the circulation of their Soul Power became sluggish, completely suppressed.

What exactly... was that thing?!

As Soul Masters, although they did not come from any top-tier Soul Master Academy, they still possessed the basic knowledge they should have had.

Thus, they instantly determined that the enormous crimson humanoid phantom was definitely not a Martial Soul Avatar, because it did not contain even the slightest trace of a Martial Soul's aura!

Though it was crimson in color, it held none of the sinister evil of an Evil Soul Master. There was only a pure, weighty sense of power originating from the source of Life, radiating a crushing pressure that made both their bodies and wills tremble!

Under that indescribable pressure, the Tianxiang Team members stood frozen in place. Their bodies and pupils trembled slightly, their will to resist completely devoured by their bodies' instinctive fear. Only bewilderment and terror remained in their eyes.

The Soul Douluo referee responsible for safety was uncertain whether he should intervene, but in the next moment, the young man lightly clapped his hands. The terrifying Vitality that had blanketed the arena, along with the crimson phantom behind him, surged back into his body like a receding tide.

Everything returned to normal, as though everything that had just happened had been an illusion.

Kong Ming'an's gaze was calm as he looked up at the referee in midair.

"The victor has already been decided."

As his words fell, the Tianxiang Representative Team members collapsed one after another like stalks of straw, unable to rise again.

The entire venue fell silent.