Individual elimination tournament

Back in the preparation area, Ye Wuqing kept his brows furrowed.

He worked to steady his mindset, then slowly said, "That man was very strong. Even I'm not confident I could beat him."

Everyone froze at his words. Tang Xiaolei said, "That's impossible, isn't it, captain? You're a rank 58 Soul King."

Ye Wuqing shook his head expressionlessly. "Nothing is impossible. I suspect he's one of Shrek Academy's main team members. There's a very good chance he's a Soul Emperor."

"So what if he's a Soul Emperor? It's not like we haven't fought Soul Emperors at the academy," Yu Mengdi said.

"Besides, Shrek Academy only added one person. I don't believe he can fight through the entire lineup alone."

Wang Yan sighed and said, "Since we've drawn the individual elimination tournament, we'll follow the tactics we arranged last night. You'll take the stage in order of cultivation, from lowest to highest..."

Chen Tianyuan stood up and said, "There's no need, Teacher Wang. I've been wanting to test my current strength anyway. I alone will be enough for this match."

"No." Wang Yan immediately moved to dissuade him.

"If you reveal too much, the other academies' teams will definitely study tactics specifically designed to counter you. That will put us at a disadvantage in the later matches."

Chen Tianyuan's gaze was firm. "Don't worry, Teacher Wang. Taking on a group of Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings alone won't force me to reveal much."

"Besides, Shrek Academy has had to swallow so much frustration in the last few matches. We need an overwhelming victory to show everyone that the continent's number one academy hasn't earned its reputation for nothing."

At that, Wang Yan stopped trying to dissuade him. He patted Chen Tianyuan's shoulder. "All right, then. Be sure to hold back when necessary."

The referee's voice rang throughout the venue through the Amplifying Soul Tool. "Competitors from both academies, please take the stage within one minute."

Chen Tianyuan strode onto the Soul Fighting Arena and waited for the match to begin.

Fifty meters across from him stood Zhengtian Academy's first competitor, a male team member a head taller than Chen Tianyuan.

Hovering in the air, the referee called out, "The match will begin once both sides have introduced themselves."

"Shrek Academy, Chen Tianyuan."

"Zhengtian Academy, Yang Yifan."

The instant he finished speaking, Yang Yifan summoned his Martial Soul, a long dagger. Despite his towering build, he was actually an Agility Attack System Soul Ancestor.

Chen Tianyuan, however, remained utterly unruffled. He did not even release his Martial Soul, merely curling a finger at Yang Yifan to invite him to come at him.

Yang Yifan frowned. His opponent was very likely a Soul Emperor. All he could do was drain his opponent's Soul Power and improve his teammates' chances of victory.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple-four Soul Rings appeared beneath him. The two purple Soul Rings lit up one after another, sharpening the dagger in his hand even further and greatly increasing his speed.

Yang Yifan charged forward, his dagger aimed straight at Chen Tianyuan.

Chen Tianyuan stood as immovable as a mountain, quietly applying Dragon Transformation to his right hand while a bolt of golden lightning gathered in his palm.

But just as the dagger was about to touch Chen Tianyuan, Yang Yifan suddenly vanished from in front of him and appeared behind him.

With spiritual power far beyond that of Soul Masters at his level, Chen Tianyuan had already anticipated this.

He reached his right hand behind his back and actually caught Yang Yifan's dagger barehanded.

Yang Yifan immediately sensed danger and tried to pull his blade free and retreat, but Chen Tianyuan held the blade fast as golden lightning erupted.

Ultimate Lightning instantly coursed through Yang Yifan's entire body. He convulsed uncontrollably and collapsed to the ground within a few breaths.

Chen Tianyuan released his grip. Only a faint white mark remained on his dragon-transformed right hand.

"Shrek Academy wins the first bout."

A teacher from Zhengtian Academy immediately came onto the stage and carried Yang Yifan away. Fortunately, Chen Tianyuan had not struck too hard; Yang Yifan had merely passed out.

Chen Tianyuan looked toward Zhengtian Academy's preparation area and said softly, "Next."

A dozen or so seconds later, Zhengtian Academy's second competitor took the stage.

She was a woman with long red hair. Her looks were not outstanding, but they were distinctive. The aura she gave off was not strong, only at the Soul Ancestor level.

"Zhengtian Academy, Yan'er. Please show me what you can do."

Chen Tianyuan continued to meet every change by remaining unchanged, waiting for Yan'er to attack first.

Yan'er summoned her Martial Soul, raising the temperature around her. Her Martial Soul was not the fire element, but a lower-quality fireball.

Four Soul Rings of the standard configuration appeared beneath her. Yan'er gave a low shout. "Continuous Fireball Technique!"

In an instant, more than a dozen fireballs, each a meter in diameter, came bombarding toward Chen Tianyuan.

The temperature radiating from these fireballs was not particularly high, but it could still melt certain metals.

Since his opponent was a mage, Chen Tianyuan chose to take the initiative.

A black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring appeared beneath him. It was his Third Soul Ring, whose Soul Skill was Purple Lightning Thunder God Dash. Its original effect increased his speed by one hundred percent and his attack power by thirty percent, but as its age increased, those effects had risen to a three-hundred-percent speed boost and a one-hundred-percent attack boost.

Yan'er had yet to react and was still hurling fireballs, but in the blink of an eye, Chen Tianyuan had already appeared behind her.

Losing sight of her target, Yan'er suddenly felt a chill at her back. The next second, golden lightning coursed through her entire body as well, and she instantly lost consciousness.

From beginning to end, the entire fight had lasted less than a minute.

"Shrek Academy wins the second bout."

The spectators had yet to recover from the previous victory when the second bout was already over. Everyone was curious about Chen Tianyuan's identity, and also wondered where the person with the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring at the start of the tournament had gone.

Up on the imperial city's walls, Xu Jiawei was also watching the match. Though he was the ruler of a nation, he too had a heart that revered martial prowess.

He looked at Xu Jiujiu beside him and asked curiously, "Does Shrek Academy have someone like him?"

Xu Jiujiu furrowed her brows. "I'm not sure, but there's something familiar about him."

Zhengtian Academy's third competitor took the stage, a lean man with dark red hair whose height was close to Chen Tianyuan's.

"Zhengtian Academy, Blood Wolf."

His Martial Soul was the same as his name: a blood wolf.

Just as when he fought Yang Yifan, Chen Tianyuan remained standing where he was, waiting for his opponent to attack.

Blood Wolf appeared calm, but inwardly he was extremely tense. According to Ye Wuqing's tactics, everyone had to fight quickly and decisively. They could not drag things out and give Chen Tianyuan a chance to recover his Soul Power. This was the only approach they could think of.

He activated Martial Soul Possession. A blood-red wolf silhouette appeared behind him, and his entire body grew considerably more robust.

The Soul Rings beneath Blood Wolf lit up, and several blood-red wolf phantoms appeared out of thin air, lunging at Chen Tianyuan.

His other Soul Rings lit up as well. Blood Wolf's aura surged as he charged forward alongside the wolf phantoms.

The corners of Chen Tianyuan's mouth lifted. Since I'm going to blow them away, I might as well do it with brute force.

His ten-thousand-year First Soul Ring lit up. The original Hell Thunder Sky-Rending Claw had also evolved, increasing his attack power by three hundred percent while creating a field within three meters of his body. This field was not a domain, but its effect was similar: anything entering its range would be attacked by Ultimate Lightning.