The marble square in front of the Papal Hall is so large that horses can run across it.
All around were palace guards wearing iron-leaf armor and carrying long swords. In the middle of the high platform, Bibi Dong sat Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin carrying a sword, and Gui Mei with a black cloth tightly wrapped around its right shoulder and a severed arm.
In the second round of the knockout stage, before the drums had even sounded, the air was thick with tension.
The passageway for waiting was very narrow, and people on both sides bumped into each other.
The seven students from the Star Luo Royal Academy came to greet them head to head. Each of them wore a Red-Robed Bishops embroidered with gold thread, with white fox fur collars turned up. Their chins were held high, as if they wanted to look down on people.
The burly man leading the group looked about seven or eight parts like Dai Mubai, but was two or three years older. His face was shaved smooth, and a cold smile played on his lips.
It was none other than the Star Luo Empire Crown Prince, Dai Weisi.
Beside him, arm in arm, was a woman with a very voluptuous figure, her long, wavy hair piled on top of her head, long black lines drawn at the corners of her eyes, and she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and sneered.
Zhu Zhuyun, the eldest daughter of the Zhu Family.
"Oh, who's gathered here? It turns out to be my second brother who ran away with his tail between his legs back in Star Luo City."
Dai Weisi stopped in the middle of the road, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and glanced sideways at Dai Mubai, scoffing, "You've been running off to some backwater like Heaven Dou for a few years, and you haven't improved your skills, but you've certainly gotten along well with a bunch of peasants. What, you really think that just because you stumbled into the Grand Finals luck, you can turn the Star Luo Empire?"
Zhu Zhuyun glanced at Zhu Zhuqing out of the corner of her eye and sneered sarcastically, "My dear sister, you haven't lost your figure since leaving home, but how come you've become as shallow as Delia? You'd better kowtow and admit defeat off the stage, and when you return to the Star Luo Empire, your sister can still beg His Highness the Prince to give you a shabby woodshed to live in."
Back in Suotuo City, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing would have been so angry they 'Crunch their teeth and their eyes would have been blazing with fury.
But right now, Dai Mubai had his hands in his shorts pockets, not even glancing at Dai Weisi's face, and turned to grin at Ma Hongjun:
"Fatty, I bet you five pounds of braised beef, and you'll see how many slaps I give that long face covered in two ounces of face powder later!"
Ma Hongjun chewed on some dried meat, his small eyes narrowed into slits. "A slap isn't enough! Boss Dai, if you ask me, we should just use a big shoe sole to leave a muddy mark on his cheek to really vent our anger!"
Ling Yun, leaning against a stone pillar with half a green jujube in his mouth and drooping eyelids, casually said to Zhu Zhuqing:
"Zhu Zhuqing, don't waste your breath on her when you go up there. That woman's hair is piled up so high, when you get on stage, grab the hairpins at the back of her head and mess up her elegant bun like a bird's nest. When a woman's hair is down, half her spirit disappears on the spot, and you can kick her from behind however you want."
With a chuckle, Xiao Wu doubled over with laughter.
Zhu Zhuqing's usually aloof lips couldn't help but curl upwards slightly, and she replied crisply, "Understood, Brother Yun."
"You... you bunch of bastards!!"
Dai Weisi's fair face instantly turned a deep purplish-red with anger, his fingers trembling as he pointed at Dai Mubai. He was used to running rampant in the Star Luo Imperial Palace; he had never been humiliated like this in public!
"Enough talk, let's see who's the best in the Arena!"
Dai Weisi flicked his sleeves and strode up the white jade platform with Zhu Zhuyun, whose face was covered in frost.
"Second round of the Grand Finals, the knockout stage!"
"Star Luo Empire's top seed Star Luo Empire Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy, versus -- Heaven Dou Blue Tyrant Advanced Soul Master Academy!!"
The cardinal struck the Bronze Gong in his hand with a clang.
"Roar--!"
Dai Weisi roared furiously as soon as he stepped onto the stage. Four Soul Rings, two yellow and two purple, exploded from the soles of his feet. A huge, black and white tiger phantom slammed violently on the ground behind him. The pressure of a level 47 Battle Soul Ancestor pushed over like a solid wall!
"Dai Mubai, the Star Luo Imperial Family's ironclad rule is that traitors will have their arms and legs severed! Today, I'll cleanse the family of this traitor on behalf of my father!"
At the same moment, four Soul Rings on Zhu Zhuyun's body also shone brightly. The Hell Spirit Cat moved like the wind, transforming into a black shadow and grabbing at Zhu Zhuqing's face!
From the perspective of the Star Luo Empire Royal Family, this should have been a one-sided crushing defeat. The younger one was three years younger and had Soul Power nearly ten levels lower. In the past, when successors fought each other, the younger one wouldn't even be left with bones.
But Dai Mubai strode into the center of the stage, his fierce gaze more terrifying than that of a wolf that hadn't eaten for half a month.
After being relentlessly tortured by Ling Yun for several months, his skin and flesh became as firm as tempered iron, and his Soul Power was no longer the weak, puffed-up stuff of the Star Luo Imperial Family, which relied on medicine!
"Bullshit! Those lousy rules of the Star Luo Empire, I'll smash your teeth to pieces today!"
Boom!!
Dai Mubai took a step forward, his joints cracking like popping beans, and the White Tiger Protection Barrier and the White Tiger Vajra Transformation activated in an instant!
The blinding white light made it impossible to open one's eyes. His entire body suddenly grew a size taller. Without even using his Soul Skill, he twisted his body to the side as Dai Weisi's tiger claw came down on him, Mountain-Crashing Shoulder- hugging strike that slammed him right into Dai Weisi's arms!
Bang!!
The dull thud of flesh hitting flesh sounded like the beating of a large drum!
Dai Weisi felt as if he had crashed into a pillar of iron; a tightness gripped his chest, and he staggered back three steps, his eyes wide with horror. "How could your strength... be so heavy?!"
"I carry a thousand-pound iron chain and squat in a horse stance under the waterfall every day. Do you think I'm like you, sitting in the palace drinking sweet soup with women?!"
Dai Mubai burst into laughter and charged forward, his two large hands transforming into a flurry of cracking tiger claw afterimages, relentlessly striking Dai Weisi's face and chest with every punch!
Ling Yun, who was watching the spectacle from below the stage, had his hands in his shorts pockets, was chewing on a date, and was shouting loudly from below the stage:
"Boss Dai, your lower body is weak! Stop slapping his face, raise your knee and shove it into his crotch!"
Alright!!
Dai Mubai replied in a hoarse voice, then suddenly bent his right leg, which was enveloped in a fierce and domineering white light, and charged viciously towards Dai Weisi's lower body!
Dai Weisi was terrified, a chill ran down his spine, and he frantically pressed his legs together, forcing his way down until he let out a scream and nearly collapsed onto the Plate.
On the other side...
Zhu Zhuyun originally relied on her high Soul Power, and her ten cat claws pressed down with a whooshing sound, but Zhu Zhuqing's body was as slippery as an eel!
With a slip and a twist of his foot, he executed the Close-Quarters Short-Strike Footwork taught by Ling Yun.
Zhu Zhuqing ducked to avoid the two claws, and with a swift flick of her wrist, the black claw tip grazed Zhu Zhuyun's cheek, and then, without missing a beat, it caught the neatly coiled white fox fur bun at the back of Zhu Zhuyun's head!
Click!
The jade hairpin shattered into three pieces on the spot!
With a ripping sound, Zhu Zhuyun's long, glossy black hair was ripped open, looking as disheveled as a madwoman who had just rolled in a mud pit, and her eyes were completely covered!
"My hair! You little bitch, how dare you grab my hair!!" Zhu Zhuyun screamed until her voice cracked.
"Brother Yun is right, when your hair is disheveled, your spirits are scattered."
Zhu Zhuqing's cold voice rang in her ear, followed by a clean and swift side kick that landed heavily on Zhu Zhuyun's lower back!
Thump!
Zhu Zhuyun fell Sturdy on her face, her entire face slamming into the Plate. Blood streamed from her nose, and her messy hair was covered in white lime. She looked utterly disheveled!
"Hell White Tiger, Zhu Yun, unite."
Dai Weisi, his face covered in blood, had his molars shattered by two punches from Dai Mubai, and roared furiously.
But before Zhu Zhuyun could get up and go over,
Ma Hongjun, who was watching the play from below the stage, suddenly flapped his crimson-gold fire wings and soared into the air. A thick, Pure Yang Fire, as thick as a water vat, transformed into a wall of fire, which stood between the two of them!
Ning Rongrong, holding the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, crisply handed it over from behind. "Third: Soul! First: Strength!!"
Boom!!
Dai Mubai's Soul Power surged by another 30%, and he stepped across the sea of fire like a meteor of iron, Sturdy a powerful downward kick that slammed solidly into Dai Weisi's shoulder!
A crisp snap
Dai Weisi's left shoulder pad, along with his collarbone, shattered into pieces on the spot. His body, weighing over 200 pounds, was slammed to his knees, his knees creating Spider Web -like craters in the granite floor tiles!
Dai Mubai grabbed Dai Weisi by the collar, raised his large hand, and in front of thousands of people in front of the Papal Hall, slapped him repeatedly across the face!
Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!
Blood and spittle mixed with broken teeth splattered everywhere. Dai Weisi's face was swollen like a pig's head, his eyes rolled back, and he couldn't even groan.
Who are the abandoned pawns? And who are the family dogs?
Dai Mubai spat in his face, then kicked the mud-like Dai Weisi dozens of feet away, sending him crashing like a dead dog in front of the Star Luo Empire waiting area.
Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing unleashed a barrage of Hell Stab, and before Zhu Zhuyun could even regain her Martial Soul, she was kicked, breaking her ribs and flying off the stage, completely unconscious.
The general's defeat happened in the time it takes to drink a bowl of tea.
The remaining five Star Luo Empire team members were so frightened that they turned pale and lost the courage to step forward. They slunk away and threw down their command flags, admitting defeat.
The entire Papal Hall Square was so quiet that you could hear the flags fluttering in the wind.
Bibi Dong sat on the highest throne, her golden scepter clenched so tightly it turned white, her eyes twitching incessantly.
She originally intended to use the Star Luo Imperial Family as a weapon to expose all of Blue Tyrant's secrets and force Ling Yun to reveal his trump card.
The result was quite good.
Ling Yun finished eating half a green date with his hands in his pockets under the stage Blue Tyrant didn't even move his real ace. With just Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, they beat the Star Luo Empire's number one ace into a dead dog right there in the street!
"The winner... Blue Tyrant Advanced Soul Master Academy!!" the referee shouted, wiping away sweat.
Dai Mubai jumped off the stage, wiped the sweat from his face, and finally released all the pent-up frustration that had been building up in his chest for over a decade, laughing heartily to the sky.
Ling Yun patted his shoulder, spat the rotten date pit in his mouth onto the ground, turned around, and his deep blue eyes pierced through the crowd, heading straight for the Spirit Hall Golden Generation standing under the gate of the Papal Hall.
Hu Liena clutched her throbbing forehead, her face pale; Xie Yue's knuckles turned white as he pressed on the Moon Blade; Yan's body flared with anger, his eyes filled with a ferocious, almost predatory look.
Ling Yun grinned and slowly uttered a sentence, his voice not loud, but it clearly hit everyone's ears:
"Star Luo Empire's pet dogs are done fighting."
"It's your turn, you golden retrievers guarding the gate."