Zhengtian Academy

Wang Yan's tone noticeably changed when he spoke of Yu Mengdi.

Having spent so many years immersed in Martial Soul research, he naturally knew of many rare and powerful Martial Souls.

Wang Yan adjusted his glasses and said slowly, "To be precise, Yu Mengdi's Martial Soul should currently be called a two-winged angel. But once she reaches rank 70, it will evolve into a four-winged angel. If she reaches Titled Douluo, it will evolve again into a six-winged angel."

"A six-winged angel!"

Everyone was stunned. They all knew that ten thousand years ago, Spirit Hall's inherited Martial Soul had been the six-winged angel. That was a god-level Martial Soul!

Wang Yan chuckled. "Spirit Hall was destroyed ten thousand years ago. The pure six-winged angel bloodline wasn't passed down."

"The angel Martial Souls appearing on the continent today are all lesser forms of the true six-winged angel."

"So I suspect that even if Yu Mengdi really does become a Titled Douluo, her Martial Soul will, at most, rival a Body Martial Soul in strength."

Wang Yan cleared his throat twice. "Let's get back to the matter at hand. Since Tianyuan is back, we need to revise tomorrow's tactics."

"Tomorrow is the third round of the round-robin stage."

"The possible formats are seven-on-seven, two-two-three, and individual elimination."

"Let's start with the team battle and two-two-three formats, which favor us."

"My plan for the team battle is for Xu Sanshi to use Xuanming Displacement to swap Ye Wuqing into our midst, then focus our attacks and take him out instantly. Meanwhile, Xu Sanshi will have to withstand attacks from the other six opponents. At the very least, you can't fall before Ye Wuqing is eliminated."

"But Xu Sanshi has already revealed Xuanming Displacement, so Zhengtian Academy will certainly be prepared. Just swap over any one of their three Soul Kings."

Xu Sanshi's mouth twitched at that. "Teacher Wang, is this a plan to shatter jade rather than leave it whole?"

Wang Yan ignored him and continued, "Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong haven't revealed their Martial Soul Fusion Skill yet, so they'll definitely be able to catch the enemy off guard. While all their Martial Souls are sealed, we'll have our best chance to finish the fight."

"Next is the two-two-three format. Strictly speaking, it doesn't favor us either. They have three Soul Kings, so they can field at least one in every match, whereas Gongyang Mo is our only Soul King. But I say it favors us because we can concede the first match and focus on the last two."

"My arrangement is for Gongyang Mo and Bei Bei to fight in the second match. You must win that one, no matter what."

Bei Bei and Gongyang Mo nodded firmly. During the days Chen Tianyuan had been away, Gongyang Mo had discovered that his support effects increased for anyone with a dragon-type Martial Soul. Though the increase wasn't as great as it was with Chen Tianyuan, it was still over sixty percent.

"And for the third match, Tianyuan, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan will take the stage."

"Ye Wuqing will most likely appear as their trump card, so Sanshi, your task with Jiang Nannan is to hold him off. Let Tianyuan deal with the other two first, then fight him three-on-one."

"No," Chen Tianyuan interrupted Wang Yan.

"I can deal with Ye Wuqing alone, so Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan only need to handle the other two."

Wang Yan nodded. "All right, we'll do it your way."

He sighed. "Lastly, there's individual elimination, which undoubtedly puts us at a disadvantage. First of all, Gongyang Mo won't be taking part. Then, aside from Tianyuan, we have four Soul Ancestors, one Soul Elder, and two Soul Grandmasters."

"There are seven bouts in individual elimination. Each side selects seven people, and victory is only decided once all seven on one side have fallen..."

Shrek Academy's team wasn't the only one feeling tense. Several members of Zhengtian Academy were as well.

Ye Wuqing tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He was nineteen this year, with a Martial Soul rank of 58. If the Soul Fighting Tournament had been held a year later, he could have entered as a Soul Emperor, becoming the highest-ranked contestant Zhengtian Academy had ever fielded.

But whenever he thought of Chen Tianyuan, who hadn't appeared on Shrek Academy's team for quite some time, his mind refused to settle.

He had watched the opening match. He still remembered that Soul Emperor-level pressure, especially that terrifying Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring...

The next morning.

After washing up and eating breakfast, the Shrek team set out for Star Luo Plaza.

Even at that early hour, Star Luo Plaza was packed with spectators, most of whom had come to watch Shrek Academy's match. Shrek Academy hadn't displayed its overwhelming dominance again in the previous matches, leading everyone to believe it was holding back.

But today, its opponent was Zhengtian Academy, with three Soul Kings anchoring its team. Surely Shrek couldn't keep holding back?

In the waiting area, everyone from Shrek Academy sat quietly with their eyes closed, resting. A fierce battle awaited them.

As the clock reached half past nine, the referee appeared on the Soul Fighting Arena in an instant.

He raised the Amplifying Soul Tool in his hand and announced loudly, "Third match of the round-robin stage: Shrek Academy versus Zhengtian Academy."

"Representatives of both sides, please come up to draw lots."

Everyone opened their eyes and looked at Chen Tianyuan in unison.

With no other choice, Chen Tianyuan rose and headed toward the stage.

Everyone froze at the sight of him. Was this one of Shrek Academy's main team members? Why hadn't they seen him before?

In the Sun Moon Empire's waiting area, Xiao Hongchen frowned deeply as he watched Chen Tianyuan. Something about this person made him feel as though they had met somewhere before.

Meng Hongchen stared at him, entranced. How could someone be so handsome? Those eyes...

Wait! Didn't those eyes belong to Chen Tianyuan?

She turned to Xiao Hongchen in astonishment. "Brother, that's Chen Tianyuan, the Soul Emperor who appeared that day!"

Xiao Hongchen's pupils jolted as he shouted, "They're the same fucking person?"

Zhengtian Academy's captain, Ye Wuqing, came up to draw lots.

Ye Wuqing was very handsome and stood over 1.8 meters tall, a little taller than Chen Tianyuan.

Wang Yan thought very highly of him. He hadn't fought once since the tournament began...

As he looked at Chen Tianyuan, Ye Wuqing's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. He could sense an immense threat from Chen Tianyuan, and a faint voice rose within him: I can't beat him.

Ye Wuqing crushed that thought, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

But when he met Chen Tianyuan's calm gaze, he suddenly felt cold all over. A shudder of dread rose from the depths of his heart.

The referee said solemnly, "The draw begins. Both sides, please bear witness."

He then began shaking the earthen-colored wooden box in his hands. A few seconds later, a ball of paper fell out.

Unfolding it, the referee announced loudly, "Shrek Academy versus Zhengtian Academy. The format is individual elimination."

In an instant, thunderous cheers erupted from the spectator stands.

Compared with seven-on-seven team battles and the two-two-three format, individual elimination was undoubtedly the best way to showcase individual strength...

And wasn't that immense individual power precisely why ordinary people admired Soul Masters?