Really Took Them Out in One Hit?

The long blade in Song Que's hand lifted slightly.

Then five Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black—lit up in sequence, and the blade suddenly changed form.

"A Soul King?"

"How is that possible?!"

Du Fei's pupils contracted, and his heart tightened.

A conventional Soul King was far harder to deal with than a level-five Soul Engineer.

Song Que smiled. His first Soul Ring lit up.

The blade in his hand released its power once more.

"Turn to dust, Tsuchinamazuki!"

Song Que swung his Zanpakutō. Emerald light burst forth, and countless green threads of wind swept across the arena.

At the same time, Shangguan Can's second Soul Ring lit up, and the Soul-Seizing Bell in his hand shook violently.

Its piercing chime unleashed a savage wave of sound. Du Fei and Ling Luochеn felt their scalps go numb.

In the instant Du Fei lost focus, the wind threads slashed him from all sides, spraying blood. He never even had a chance to activate his invincibility barrier.

Ling Luochеn had sensed the danger earlier. Though the wind threads cut her too, she reacted quickly, raising an Ice Prison around herself and blocking most of the attack.

Battered, Du Fei barely steadied himself and gritted his teeth, ready to counterattack.

But Song Que had already become a blur and vanished.

Boom!

An explosion thundered through the arena.

Song Que appeared behind Du Fei in an instant. White light blazed from Tsuchinamazuki as he brought it down in an explosive slash.

The impact blasted Du Fei straight off the platform. He passed out on the spot.

Looking at Du Fei lying motionless, even Song Que froze for a moment.

"Huh?!"

"Did I really take him out in one move?"

He glanced down at Tsuchinamazuki and smiled.

"Have I really gotten that strong?"

"Useless!" Ma Xiaotao cursed under her breath from below the platform, though surprise flashed in her eyes. "There's something different about his blade!"

Her gaze shifted as she thought, I knew it. How could a martial soul with Innate Full Soul Power really be mediocre?

Was Teacher... actually wrong?

But his martial soul showed no signs of changing for years. It was only natural for the academy to give up on him... So why did his blade suddenly awaken so soon after he left?

Mu Jin's complaint interrupted her thoughts.

"Du Fei is useless! He went down that easily. How is Ling Luochеn supposed to fight alone...?"

"It's all over now."

Ma Xiaotao's heart sank. She watched Ling Luochеn struggle on the platform, her expression grave, and said nothing.

Boom!

Another deafening blast erupted.

Layers of ice shields barely held against Tsuchinamazuki's explosive force, but Ling Luochеn still staggered back several steps.

"That's more like it..." Song Que pursed his lips, then smiled at Du Fei sprawled on the ground. "I thought my Tsuchinamazuki had become ridiculously powerful."

"Turns out you're just too weak."

Seeing Song Que's attention wander, Ling Luochеn seized her chance. Soul Power surged around her, and a massive Ice Prison rose from the ground, trapping him inside.

But a moment later, the prison was empty.

"Hadō Number Four: White Lightning!"

With Flash Step, Song Que moved behind Ling Luochеn in an instant. A streak of white lightning shot from his fingertip toward her back.

The flash vanished as quickly as it came. With a sharp crackle, it tore through the air and slammed into her ice shield.

Crack!

The solid shield fractured instantly, its surface scorched and pitted by the lightning.

A blade of wind streaked with green and white struck right behind it.

Bang!

As the dust billowed outward, Ling Luochеn stumbled several steps and dropped to one knee. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.

"That's enough, Ling Luochеn," Song Que said evenly. "Let's end it here. You can't win."

Ling Luochеn froze. A short blade was already at her neck, though she had no idea when it had reached her. She gave a helpless, bitter smile and raised a hand in surrender.

Below the platform, Mu Jin's face went pale. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"We lost..."

"We still lost..."

Is Shrek's honor really going to be ruined on my watch...?

On the platform, Song Que and Shangguan Can exchanged smiles, then turned and stepped down.

"The match is over! Just Sky Academy wins!"

"The winner of this round-robin match between Shrek Academy and Just Sky Academy is Just Sky Academy!"

As the Referee's announcement rang out, everyone in Shrek Academy's rest area went rigid.

They had lost. Just like that.

They had all seen it coming, but the result had arrived so suddenly that they still struggled to accept it.

Ma Xiaotao had not even taken the field.

It wasn't only them. Just Sky Academy's side had fallen silent too.

A few seconds later, everyone finally reacted.

"We... won? Just like that?!"

"It hardly felt like a tough fight."

They stared at one another, then erupted in uncontrollable joy.

Ye Wuqing, Yu Mengdi, and the other original Just Sky Academy students looked especially incredulous.

Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined they would personally bring the seemingly invincible Shrek down from its pedestal.

After a brief hush around the platform, Star Luo Plaza erupted.

Shocked cries, heated discussion, and waves of jeers swept through the crowd.

Everyone knew Shrek's team was short-handed and would lose sooner or later.

But no one had expected them to lose so quickly, so suddenly, and with so little chance to fight back.

The Shrek contingent hung their heads in silence. None dared look up and face the crowd's mockery.

Mu Jin trembled, his face white as paper.

Clutching the wound on her chest, Ling Luochеn walked silently off the platform, looking utterly forlorn.

Ma Xiaotao walked at the rear of the group. Her scarlet eyes fixed on Just Sky Academy, her expression frighteningly dark.

She gritted her teeth as anger and humiliation piled up inside her. The evil fire hidden within her began to stir under the strain of her emotions.

That night, news of Shrek's defeat filled every street and alley of Star Luo City.

For the first time in the continent-wide tournament, Shrek's ten-thousand-year legend had fallen from its pedestal.

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

The next day, the draw for the round-robin matches began as scheduled.

The shadow of yesterday's defeat still hung heavy over the Shrek team.

Morale was low, and every face was grim.

Ma Xiaotao's most of all.

She had not slept a wink. Her anger had not faded; it had only grown. The evil fire inside her churned without rest, making her temper ever more violent.

Soon, the results of the draw were announced.

Shrek Academy versus Changning Academy. Match format: seven-on-seven team battle.

"Hahaha! Shrek's era is long over! Today's the day Changning Academy makes its name!"

Changning Academy's captain shouted his taunt as he led his laughing teammates onto the platform.

One teammate joked, "Captain, aren't you getting a little cocky? They've got a Soul Emperor over there!"

The captain scoffed. "Oh, do they? They have a Soul Emperor? Then why didn't she show up when they lost yesterday?"

"My mistake. Guess I didn't know! Hahaha!"

"Besides, their Soul King and level-five Soul Engineer are both injured. They've only got one Soul Emperor left. What's she going to do, beat all seven of us by herself?"

"Just watch. We'll knock Shrek out of the tournament today!"

Across the platform, Ma Xiaotao was unnaturally calm.

Only the scarlet deep in her eyes grew more intense.

"A team battle, is it?"

She spoke softly. Her red hair stirred, and the air around her quietly grew hotter.

"Good."

"I'll make them pay for yesterday's humiliation myself!"