Shrek, Unable to Accept Defeat-Xuanzi's Interception!

This scene briefly plunged the entire venue into silence.

Upon hearing those words, the Shrek group, who had still been immersed in grief, were instantly dumbfounded.

But the first to object was none other than Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao's eyes were red. Ma Xiaotao had only just become his sworn sister, and after so many years, he had finally felt something akin to maternal love from her.

And now, Ma Xiaotao was dead?

How could he accept that? How could he let it go? How could he surrender to the enemy that had killed those from Shrek Academy?

"Elder Xuan, we won't surrender! We'll keep fighting! Shrek's glory, passed down for ten thousand years, cannot end in our hands!"

Killing intent radiated from Huo Yuhao's entire body, and he was trembling.

What he left unsaid was that he wanted revenge against the Sun Moon Empire.

Dai Yueheng likewise took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice.

"Elder Xuan, I also refuse to surrender!"

"Why should we give up like this?"

"That's right!"

Bei Bei and He Caitou both spoke up in agreement.

They spoke of glory, but the undisguised killing intent in their eyes betrayed their true thoughts.

As for Xuanzi, he could only forcibly suppress his rage and killing intent as he stepped before them and spoke in a deep voice.

"Do you think I want to witness the end of that glory with my own eyes?"

"You are Shrek Academy's future. Nothing can happen to you again."

"Besides, the Sun Moon Empire still has many main forces who haven't entered the field. Lin Yuan, that little beast, isn't their only hidden trump card."

Hearing this, the people from Shrek Academy subconsciously looked at one another before glancing toward the Sun Moon Empire.

The difference in strength between the two sides was immense. Though they were unwilling to admit it, it was an undeniable fact before their eyes.

Yet, conditioned as they were, they still found it hard to abandon their obsession with glory and revenge.

"Then did they die for nothing? They gave so much for Shrek, yet we have to let their spirits in heaven watch us surrender?"

Huo Yuhao's eyes remained red as he nearly roared those words.

"Do you want them to watch every one of you go join them?"

"Is this one battle all that remains of your lives?"

As Xuanzi spoke, his figure moved like a ghost. He suddenly struck Huo Yuhao unconscious.

Then he casually tossed him to Wang Dong.

"Make him calm down."

"There's still the next All-Continent Elite Soul Master Tournament, but you absolutely cannot let anything happen again."

Seeing that Xuanzi's attitude had become this resolute,

even though Dai Yueheng was the vice-captain and remained unwilling to accept it, and no matter how reluctant he was to lose the chance to prove himself before his father, he knew it was completely gone today.

He could only lower his head in extreme unwillingness.

As Shrek fell silent, Huang Jinxu turned to Xuanzi for confirmation.

"Shrek Academy confirms its surrender, correct?"

"Confirmed..."

After Xuanzi forced those words out through gritted teeth,

the previously silent stands erupted in earth-shaking cheers.

Shrek's ten-thousand-year rule had officially been broken at this moment.

A new king had risen!

"I hereby announce that the champion of this All-Continent Elite Soul Master Tournament is the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy!"

At those words, everyone from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy rose to their feet.

Many were moved to tears, but three among them wore somewhat complicated expressions.

One was Ma Rulong, the captain, whose ultimate move had not even been used.

The other two were the Hongchen siblings.

"Clearly, my sister and I were supposed to be the trump cards..."

Xiao Hongchen muttered in dissatisfaction, but said nothing more.

Everyone at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy knew that, with the terrifying strength Lin Yuan had displayed, he stood in a league of his own in this tournament.

Even the corrupted Ma Xiaotao, whom none of them dared face, had been defeated and crushed head-on by him.

Before leaving, Xuanzi looked at Lin Yuan, who was receiving his award on the stage, as well as the people from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, and silently mouthed two words.

"Just wait."

Seeing that Xuanzi made no effort to hide the killing intent in his eyes, Lin Yuan merely shrugged.

Instead, a playful curve formed at the corner of his mouth.

He was rather looking forward to Xuanzi courting death. It would also give him a chance to see just how strong this so-called guardian, Gu Yuena, truly was.

Whether she possessed Battle Armor.

A Rank 98 with Battle Armor and a Rank 98 without it were on entirely different levels.

Just as Xuanzi turned to leave, Huang Jinxu called out to him.

"Your Excellency Gluttonous Douluo, you damaged the arena just now. You'll need to compensate us for the repairs."

That caused the killing intent of the already enraged Xuanzi to surge so violently that it seemed on the verge of becoming tangible.

But when he saw Huang Jinxu's timid glance toward the high platform and the undisguised indifference in the Star Luo Emperor's eyes,

Xuanzi saw this sum of money as nothing more than an insult to himself. Yet for the sake of the students, he could only endure it. In the Star Luo Emperor's eyes, however, Xuanzi had repeatedly slapped them in the face.

He was merely handling public matters by the book.

After the cheers died down, while they were being escorted back,

Meng Hongchen's eyes seemed to sparkle with stars as she looked at Lin Yuan and could not help asking curiously,

"Lin Yuan, are you the legendary Trinity Martial Soul?"

The others said nothing, but their curious gazes were also fixed on Lin Yuan. After all, he had displayed three martial souls before their very eyes.

Lin Yuan merely rubbed his nose and shook his head. "No. My strength mainly came from a dreamlike encounter..."

After Lin Yuan brought out the explanation he had prepared long ago,

everyone from the Sun Moon Empire could only think of one possibility.

A divine miracle!

It seemed that only those lofty gods could explain the changes in Lin Yuan.

Even Jing Hongchen, who had always been exceptionally meticulous, did not harbor much suspicion after hearing that explanation.

After sensing him briefly, Jing Hongchen found that Lin Yuan no longer seemed to carry the aura of his original martial soul.

Other than a god, there seemed to be little else that could explain it.

After returning to the hotel, they discovered that the people from Shrek Academy had already left early.

Jing Hongchen's expression, however, was somewhat grave. He understood Xuanzi's temperament very well; Xuanzi would certainly be lying in ambush outside Star Luo City.

It was an unsolvable open scheme. Given the other side's strength, Jing Hongchen could not possibly conceal their movements while traveling with a group of students.

Thus, after making up his mind, Jing Hongchen took out a black soul communication device.

"I can agree to the cooperation you mentioned before, but I have one condition right now..."

Later, during the awards ceremony, Lin Yuan did not directly ask for any of the three Soul Bones that had been distributed.

He merely hinted that this Soul Bone might be rather difficult to absorb.

Meng Hongchen assumed Lin Yuan wanted it. Strictly speaking, Lin Yuan's Heavenly Stem Qilin of yin-yang and five elements could absorb it as well. Just as she instinctively wanted to hand it over, Lin Yuan gently shook his head.

"You can try absorbing it when the time comes, but someone will need to guard you."

"I once read an ancient text. If the quality of the absorber's ice-attributed martial soul isn't high enough, there's a strong chance they'll fail to absorb a Soul Bone from this kind of soul beast."

The others had initially worn somewhat subtle expressions. Although Lin Yuan seemed to be the main contributor, the Soul Bone truly suited Meng Hongchen. Only after hearing his explanation did their expressions return to normal.

In fact, seven days after the awards ceremony ended,

before dawn arrived, the figures of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy vanished from that place.

But before they had gone very far, a figure gnawing on a chicken leg appeared in front of them...