Semifinal Draw

"Got it! Twenty million Gold Soul Coins. Sect Master Du, how generous!" Song Que laughed.

Huo Yuhao hurriedly bowed. "Thank you, Teacher."

Du Busi shot Song Que an annoyed look. "You talk too much, kid. It's only twenty million. The Body Sect is the greatest sect in the world. That's nothing to us."

"And you don't need to thank me. Since you became my disciple, I haven't given you a proper gift. Consider this left arm bone your initiation gift."

Song Que chuckled, his eyes fixed on the hazy white mass on the screen, anticipation shining in them.

That must be the Snow Empress, he thought.

Yuhao has already left Shrek, so he won't have a chance to study at Virtue Hall. I absolutely can't let them take this away.

Electrolux has already taught us how to create a Soul Spirit. We just haven't had a chance to try it. If we can get this, now's the time.

If Yuhao successfully absorbs the Snow Empress as a Soul Spirit, I won't have to worry so much about him afterward.

A sudden commotion in the VIP lounge snapped Song Que out of his thoughts.

"One hundred and fifty million! Jing Hongchen's really willing to throw money around."

Everyone in front of the screen stared wide-eyed, stunned by Jing Hongchen's wealth.

"As expected of the master of Virtue Hall. He certainly has deep pockets," Vena murmured.

Du Busi merely smiled. "No matter. Let them hold on to it for us for a few days."

With the final lot sold, the auction came to a smooth close.

Huo Yuhao had secured the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, just as he had hoped.

And as everyone had expected, the night's grand finale—the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast embryo—was bought by Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

Once the auction ended, everyone went their separate ways.

The teams returned to their hotels early to rest up for the next day's matches.

The following morning.

Star Luo Plaza was packed. A dark sea of spectators crowded every side of the arena.

The round of sixteen was in full swing.

Shrek Academy, Just Sky Academy, and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy—the three favorites to win the championship—had all been lucky enough to avoid one another.

The results held no surprises.

The quarterfinals followed the same pattern, with no upsets.

All three teams advanced smoothly to the semifinals.

The last semifinal spot went to the host team, Star Luo Royal Academy.

Whether there had been any behind-the-scenes manipulation was anyone's guess.

Several days passed in a flash.

On the day of the semifinals, in the Sun Moon team's preparation area.

After hearing the draw, Xiao Hongchen shook his head.

"I have to admit, Shrek's luck is incredible."

"They managed to avoid both us and Just Sky Academy in the semifinal draw. Unbelievable."

"But that's fine. It'll mean more when we eliminate Shrek ourselves in the final and take the championship."

Jing Hongchen smiled and nodded approvingly. "Exactly. That's the confidence I want to see."

"I believe this year's championship will be yours."

Elder Ma, the team's supervising teacher, nodded and stepped before the group, his expression serious. "Just Sky Academy is strong. Don't underestimate them."

"Their strongest member, Ye Wuqing, has reached level fifty-eight in Soul Power. His Golden Leaf martial soul is formidable in both attack and defense."

"Next is Yu Mengdi. She's a Soul King, and her Angel Martial Soul has been passed down for ten thousand years. She's not to be underestimated either."

"Then there's Song Que. His abilities are rather unusual, but he seems to have a wind-attribute tool martial soul. He's extremely fast and may even possess a teleportation skill."

"Song Que and several of his teammates—Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong—all withdrew from Shrek."

"Several of them have exceptionally powerful martial souls and talent, especially Huo Yuhao. Someone like him is rarely seen. Fortunately, they're still young, and their Soul Power levels aren't high."

"I wonder why they left Shrek..."

At the same time, in Just Sky Academy's team lounge.

Ye Wuqing returned holding the newly announced draw, his expression grim.

Yu Mengdi looked at him. "What's wrong? You don't look happy. Did we get a bad draw?"

Ye Wuqing sighed. "We did. Our semifinal opponent is Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy."

"And our match has been moved to the opening slot, replacing the Shrek Academy versus Star Luo Royal Academy match."

Song Que remained calm. "It's fine. We'd have to face them sooner or later. It makes no difference when."

"The Sun Moon team might be a little stronger overall than Shrek Academy is now, but the gap isn't large."

"As for our lineup in the first team battle..."

Song Que lowered his head to think, but before he could continue, Tang Ya spoke up. "Put me in. I'd like to test myself."

Light flashed in Tang Ya's hand, and her Blue Silver Grass martial soul appeared.

"Is that—?!" Song Que's pupils contracted in surprise.

Tang Ya smiled. "Hehe, I did it. My martial soul successfully evolved into the Blue Silver King Martial Soul."

Song Que examined it closely. "The leaves are much broader than before, and they seem tougher, too. Most importantly, the veins have turned silver-white. The whole thing looks sturdier than ordinary Blue Silver Grass."

Bei Bei smiled. "We really should thank you. If you hadn't given Xiao Ya that advice back then, perhaps she..."

Song Que waved him off. "Having her mutated Blue Silver Grass absorb the life energy of other Blue Silver Grass was only a guess. There was no guarantee it would work."

"I was worried she'd get desperate and try absorbing things at random. It would've been a problem if she accidentally became an Evil Soul Master."

Tang Ya shook her head. "I'm thanking you anyway."

"Thanks to the method you gave me, my Soul Power has grown quickly over the years. And with my martial soul's successful evolution, I've reached level forty-five. I'm nearly caught up with Bei Bei and the others."

Xu Sanshi teased, "Bei Bei, you'd better watch yourself. It'll be embarrassing if Tang Ya overtakes you."

Bei Bei rolled his eyes. "You talk too much. Get lost."

"Xiao Ya and I don't care about that. Whether I'm ahead of her or she's ahead of me, it's all the same. Heh."

Song Que smiled. "In that case, Tang Ya's in."

"Today's starting lineup for the team battle will be me, Ye Wuqing, Yu Mengdi, Tang Xiaolei, Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Xu Sanshi."

"We'll decide on the individual matches later and adapt as needed."

Everyone nodded in agreement.