Crowned!

When the Gilded Fireball rose, Jiang Dongjun crushed Chen Yuan, the fourth-year division's top student, with the force of a storm sweeping away rotten timber, completing his conquest of the division.

The most disappointed person present was not one of the academy students whose urge to resist had just been rekindled by Du Weilun's toxic pep talk.

It was Du Weilun himself.

He could not understand how this boy, whose spiritual power cultivation was so abnormal, could truly be a bona fide soul master!

Had this eyesore of a boy revealed a beast martial soul just now, Du Weilun would have arrested him on the spot and taken him to the elders of the academy's Sea God Pavilion, even if he could find no flaws.

Still, that raised another question.

How had this boy's fireball martial soul mutated?

And what soul beast had he hunted for that soul ring, which, by a rough estimate, tripled his speed and strength while also providing terrifying defense?

Faced with an anomaly like Jiang Dongjun, Du Weilun felt that most of his lifetime spent in education had been wasted.

He had seen plenty of monstrous soul masters, but that thing down there...

The fourth-year division really had no one left. This year's intake had not been particularly good.

They did have one-ring soul masters, but what good would sending them up do?

Did they think they could take a beating better than Chen Yuan? Or were they short of that one Gold Soul Coin for medical expenses?

Or did they want to get thrashed to drain his soul power, then claim some credit if the fifth-years won later?

Why bother?

Surrender. Just surrender.

If everyone was nailed to the pillar of shame, then no one was.

Together with Jiang Dongjun, they turned their gazes toward the fifth-year section.

Several imposing soul grandmasters had already gathered there, their faces solemn and their eyes grave.

Once this year was over, they would all enter Shrek Academy and bask in supreme glory.

Before noon today, none of them had imagined that the freshman they regarded as entertainment would, before that glory arrived, prepare to teach them-and very likely succeed in teaching them-a lesson in how "beyond every great person stood someone greater, and beyond every heaven lay another heaven."

Unlike the fourth-years' gloating gazes, Jiang Dongjun's was cautious.

Next came the truly "hard bones to crack"!

Five two-ring soul masters and dozens of one-ring soul masters held two-fifths of the entire academy's fortune. Unless he beat them into submission and took complete control of the academy's fortune, today would amount to nothing more than earning a bit of hard-earned pay.

Moreover, Jiang Dongjun could vaguely sense that the Light of Time and Space's harvest of the Elementary Soul Master Academy's fortune might not be a one-off gain, but a steady stream of income trickling in over time.

If he did not push things to the absolute limit today, his future returns might... no, they would definitely suffer!

The achievement of "dominating the Elementary Soul Master Academy" should resemble the "title douluo potential" he had gained after his martial soul awakening. The vast fortune gathered would surely let him "harvest the crops" every month.

His fighting spirit blazing, Jiang Dongjun issued the first challenge.

"Senior soul grandmasters of the fifth-year division, would you be willing to favor me with your guidance?"

"Does teaching you require a soul grandmaster? Boy, don't think too highly of yourself."

A burly boy nearly a meter sixty tall stepped out of the fifth-years' gathered group and stopped about fifteen meters from Jiang Dongjun.

"Boy, even if you stop here, you've already been impressive enough. So, for the sake of everyone's dignity, we have to make you meet your Waterloo in the fifth-year division-even if we have to resort to some unsavory methods!"

Jiang Dongjun considered those words.

He had already noticed that group whispering about something.

Those so-called unsavory methods probably were not anything too nasty.

Most likely, they would simply send expendable fighters to probe his abilities while draining his stamina and soul power.

The Soul King referee beside them grew wary, however. He shot the burly boy a fierce glare before proceeding with the match.

"Both sides, introduce yourselves."

"Fifth year, Quan Shengzhi, rank eighteen Power Attack System Battle Soul Master!"

Since his opponent was being formal, Jiang Dongjun did not respond carelessly.

"First year, Jiang Dongjun, rank fourteen Power Attack System Battle Soul Master!"

One breath, two breaths... five breaths. The Soul King referee brought his raised hand down sharply.

"Begin!"

Roar!

Golden light burst from Quan Shengzhi's body. His frame swelled, tearing through his clothes, and steel-needle-like golden fur sprouted across his skin. He shot up from a meter sixty to nearly two meters tall, with sloping shoulders and a broad back-the very image of a humanoid bear.

Golden Bear!

Jiang Dongjun recognized his opponent's martial soul at a glance.

Soul beasts of the same series included Golden Mastiffs, Golden Wolves, Golden Tigers, and Golden Lions, which were kept in Shrek Academy's beast-fighting arena.

"Bear's Strength!"

After his sole hundred-year soul ring strengthened him, Quan Shengzhi lunged at Jiang Dongjun in the form of a savage bear.

Jiang Dongjun did not bother with anything fancy either. Protected by Dusk's Blessing and boosted in every attribute by the Great Sun Golden Body, he met the charge head-on.

Force against force!

Behold the beauty of raw stats!

Those two golden bear arms, thicker than an adult's thighs, came crashing down from above with every advantage-yet Jiang Dongjun caught them firmly in both hands, as though holding up the sky.

He did not show the slightest strain.

What? How was that possible?

The soul masters in the fifth-years' little group were deeply shaken by the sight.

As Quan Shengzhi's classmates, they knew better than anyone how strong he was at full power. Even a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster would have to avoid meeting him head-on.

Yet a tool soul master whose soul power was far below his, and whose martial soul was not strength-oriented, was matching him so effortlessly?

Quan Shengzhi's dark golden pupils contracted sharply. He was practically leaning his entire upper body forward, pressing down with both brute strength and body weight, yet he could not lower Jiang Dongjun's arms by even a fraction.

He tried to wrench free of Jiang Dongjun's grip, only to discover that those hands held him as firmly as iron clamps.

How could the gap be this huge? Which of us was the strength-type soul master here?

Wait, no!

It wasn't just terrifying strength surpassing a two-ring strength-type soul grandmaster. There was also... poison? Was it poison?

You bastard, how did your fireball have poison?!

Only a few breaths had passed since they made contact.

Where his bear arms touched the gauzy energy cloak draped over Jiang Dongjun, a strange power rapidly invaded. The surrounding fur dried up and fell away, the exposed skin swiftly shriveled, and a sense of weakness spread from his arms throughout his body.

What was happening? What should I do? Was I going to be poisoned to death?

The moment their hands met and he lost the advantage in strength, Quan Shengzhi panicked, utterly at a loss.

And compared with winning this match, he was far more worried about his body.

Quan Shengzhi had panicked, but Jiang Dongjun was not going to give him time to regain his composure before attacking.

Jiang Dongjun exerted force through the hands supporting those bear arms, twisted at the waist, and prepared to throw.

Ever since opening his Tailbone Gate, his footing had become solid and his exertion of force exceptionally smooth.

Buddha Hurls the Elephant!

With a twist of his waist, he hurled Quan Shengzhi away.

The powerful, two-meter-tall bear body flew more than twenty meters before crashing heavily onto the lawn.

"Boohoo! Referee, save me! There's poison! My arms, my arms..."

Quan Shengzhi did not get up. He immediately dismissed his martial soul and lay in the crater he had made, squealing like a pig being slaughtered.

"Jiang Dongjun wins!"

The Soul King referee hastily announced the result, then hurried over to check on Quan Shengzhi.

Where would poison come from without a poison soul master?

And his arms? Had a thick-skinned bear soul master actually broken his bones in the fall?

"Teacher! Teacher! Look, my arms are covered in wrinkles! I'm old! Boohoo..."

The Soul King referee glanced at them and was thoroughly speechless.

"Shut up. This should be a negative effect caused by a soul skill. Gather your soul power and try flushing it through the meridians in your arms."

"Huh?... Oh! They're fine! They're fine! I'm young again!"

"Get off the field. Find somewhere to hide for a while afterward, and don't let your homeroom teacher find you."

Listening to the exchange between the referee and Quan Shengzhi, Jiang Dongjun did not mock the latter.

Among the thousand-plus freshmen admitted to Shrek Academy every year, plenty were only vaguely human. Quan Shengzhi had merely feared confrontation and lost his nerve-perfectly human.

Meanwhile, the fifth-years' elite soul masters clustered around their pillar of support, a slender youth with a warm expression.

"Boss Chen, I knew that cowardly bear wouldn't cut it. You should've sent me instead."

"Oh, please, Old Lei. Your crocodile hide can't take as much punishment as Old Quan's bear skin. If you went up there, one slap from him might turn you straight into dried fish."

"..."

The solemn atmosphere eased slightly amid the laughter.

"All right, quiet down. Listen to my analysis."

The moment Chen Zifeng spoke, everyone fell silent, a clear sign of his prestige among his classmates.

"What made Quan Shengzhi lose his composure should be an effect resembling weakening or aging. Its source should be that layer of orange energy gauze covering him... defense, enhancement, and an additional effect. It covers everything. Strange. Is that really a hundred-year soul ring?"

Chen Zifeng noticed the discrepancy, but did not dwell on it.

"Everyone, our junior is fierce. It looks like we really are going to be nailed to the pillar of shame. Since things have come to this, there's no need to let our reputation sink any further. One-ring soul masters shouldn't participate in the remaining matches. Getting injured would delay your soul power cultivation and hurt your chances of entering Shrek Academy next year. Leave the rest to us soul grandmasters."

Chen Zifeng was unwilling to continue the strategy of wearing Jiang Dongjun down, which the armchair strategist beside him had devised earlier.

"Control counters power attacks. Send a control-type soul master next, someone whose martial soul has powerful vitality-ideally a high-grade plant-type martial soul. Let's test the limits of his 'weakening' effect."

The tall, slender girl beside him gave Chen Zifeng a disdainful look.

"Class President Chen, next time you can just say my name. There's no need to beat around the bush."

"Fifth year, Lin Ya, rank twenty-one control-type Battle Soul Master!"

"First year, Jiang Dongjun, rank fourteen Power Attack System soul master!"

As vines two fingers thick spread across the lawn, slithering forward like snakes to coil around him, Jiang Dongjun almost wondered whether God King Tang's divine punishment had arrived.

A closer look revealed the wrong color.

Well, well. Azure Vine impersonating blue silver grass? Time to come down hard on it!

Chen Zifeng was still too young. He thought he was sending teammates to probe Jiang Dongjun, but in truth, he was sending them to their doom.

A fire-attribute soul master whose soul skill carried withering and decay effects-wasn't that the very daddy of plant-type martial souls?

The combination of Lin Ya's two soul ring skills made Jiang Dongjun want to applaud: Entanglement for the first ring, poison infusion for the second. Young lady, you really worship God King Tang!

Jiang Dongjun let the azure vines wind upward from beneath his feet. A layer of dusk-colored energy gauze remained between him and the vines the entire time.

When the emerald vines pressed against the energy gauze and touched the "power of dusk," their abundant vitality immediately seemed to become infected by a virus.

While their exteriors were still changing from emerald to withered yellow, their interiors dissolved into a puddle of pus first. Then they slipped free of Lin Ya's control, flopped limply to the ground, and died with brutal finality.

As the vines she had grown died, Lin Ya let out a muffled groan from the backlash, and her soul power suffered heavy depletion.

New vines surged forward, but dared not coil around Jiang Dongjun. Instead, they rose around him one by one, forming a forest of vines.

As Lin Ya's second soul ring lit up, jade-green flowers bloomed along the upright vines. Their centers expelled sparkling dust, which drifted onto Jiang Dongjun's energy gauze and was burned clean by the dim yellow flames that flared there, producing no effect whatsoever.

Draped in dusk-colored gauze, Jiang Dongjun walked unhurriedly up to Lin Ya. Nothing had effectively impeded him along the way; beneath his feet lay nothing but withered vines and rotten leaves.

"Senior, are you still going to resist? Still going to fight?"

Remembering Chen Yuan's and Quan Shengzhi's miserable conditions, Lin Ya shook her head repeatedly.

"You win, junior."

"Among all the soul grandmasters in the academy, aside from support-type and Food-Type Soul Masters with no combat ability, I should pose the least threat to you."

Leaving those words with a bitter smile, Lin Ya withdrew.

She returned to the little group.

"Just our rotten luck, running into a real monster right before graduation. If any of you still can't accept it and want to keep building his fame, go ahead and challenge him."

"Class President Chen, you'll go last. If your Soul Chasing Sword can't tear through his defenses, we can all climb onto the pillar of shame together."

Lin Ya solemnly warned her classmates.

Someone spoke up.

"He's certainly strong enough. If he wants to topple his seniors and forge a reputation, I can give him that-but I won't hand it over on a silver platter!"

With that, he stepped into the field.

"Fifth year, Li Tian, rank twenty-one Soul Grandmaster."

His martial soul was the Giant-Horned Bull. His first soul ring strengthened his horns until they were over half a meter long, their tips glinting coldly; his second soul ring enhanced his strength and defense.

His fate was much like Quan Shengzhi's.

His four limbs became hooves planted on the ground. Lowering his head to reveal a pair of enormous, executioner's-blade-like horns, he charged at Jiang Dongjun with a truly fearsome presence.

Yet Jiang Dongjun caught his horns head-on and forcibly halted his charge without retreating half a step. Pressing down with both arms, he drove Li Chen's bull head straight into the lawn.

With a twist of his waist, he used Buddha Hurls the Elephant once again.

Li Tian withdrew.

Every teacher and student present stared, dumbfounded.

Who still remembered that this monster, whose strength in battle could "uproot mountains and whose spirit overshadowed the world," actually had a fireball for his martial soul?

In their habitual way of thinking, shouldn't his fighting style have involved firing off fireballs, fire arrows, and the like with a "puff, puff, puff"?

"Fifth year, Wang Fu, rank twenty-two Power Attack System Battle Soul Master."

"Other than the fifth-year division's top student, I'm the only soul grandmaster left who can come up and fight. Aside from him, the only other soul grandmaster in our division is a healing type. In other words, once you defeat me, you'll be just one step away from fulfilling your boast-beating every student in this Soul Master Academy into submission!"

Jiang Dongjun cupped his fist toward Wang Fu.

"First year, Jiang Dongjun, rank fourteen Power Attack System Battle Soul Master!"

"Please instruct me!"

Jiang Dongjun caught Wang Fu's Nine-Ring Ghost-Head Saber bare-handed, his palm wrapped in a thin veil of dusk-colored gauze. Then he unleashed heavy punch after heavy punch, clashing head-on with the blade until the saber was jolted from Wang Fu's grip and both his wrists swelled like purple steamed buns.

Wang Fu withdrew, convinced of his defeat.

Chen Zifeng sensed that things were going terribly wrong.

How could the defensive effect provided by a hundred-year soul ring skill be this formidable?

In truth, Dusk's Blessing had performed so outrageously because Jiang Dongjun had subsequently increased the density of his Fireball Martial Soul to four tons per cubic meter.

Simply put, the gauzy energy robe could be seen as a fireball molded into shape.

With greater density came naturally stronger defense.

At last.

King met king!

The fifth-year chief student, upon whom the students who still refused to concede had pinned their hopes, finally took the stage: the foremost Soul Master of Shrek City Elementary Soul Master Academy, Soul Chasing Sword-Chen Zifeng.

"Junior, do you need to recover some Soul Power?"

"No need. As long as I have enough Soul Power left to use one Soul Skill, I have enough to end this match."

Boom!

The entire crowd erupted!

Arrogant!

Utterly arrogant!

He had already gone this far. Why bother being humble now?

He might as well carry that arrogance through to the end and establish his persona first. Perhaps leaving a deep enough impression on all the academy's teachers and students would help him devour the flourishing fortune of the entire Elementary Soul Master Academy.

Chen Zifeng's expression remained unchanged as he asked with a smile, "I'm curious, Junior. What made you decide to beat the entire Elementary Soul Master Academy into submission? Are you hoping your record will let you skip grades and enter the academy next door early?"

Jiang Dongjun inwardly rolled his eyes.

Heh. If it weren't for fortune and Soul Liquid, do you think I'd want to come dominate a kindergarten with such an embarrassingly overdramatic stunt?

Yet with the way my cheat works, this sort of swaggering behavior will probably follow me for the rest of my life...

Jiang Dongjun kept his mask of haughty arrogance in place.

"Senior, you guessed wrong. Beating Shrek Academy's students into submission is something for later. There's no need to skip grades and go there now.

"There's no particular reason. The thought struck me, and I wanted to do it, so I did.

"At the very least, sufficient strength means sufficient freedom. If I fight my way through the whole academy now, doesn't that mean I can do whatever I please for the rest of my time at the Elementary Soul Master Academy?"

Was that really all? Chen Zifeng smiled easily.

"Come, Junior. Defeat me and see your whim through to the end!"

"Defeat me, and you'll be the foremost Soul Master of Shrek City Elementary Soul Master Academy. You'll be the authority, and you'll have all the freedom you need here. Whatever you do will be right!"

Chen Zifeng formed a sword gesture with his fingers and pointed at Jiang Dongjun from afar.

"Fifth year, Chen Zifeng, level twenty-four Power Attack System Battle Soul Master!"

"First year, Jiang Dongjun, level fourteen Power Attack System Battle Soul Master!"

With their formal introductions complete, both released their Martial Souls at the Soul King referee's command.

A Gilded Fireball hovered three feet above Jiang Dongjun's head. As the Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up, it shed dusky yellow flames that wove into a twilight-colored gauze robe draped over him.

Dense blood-red light rose from Chen Zifeng, his imposing aura climbing to its peak. His eyes turned crimson, and a razor-sharp killing intent radiated from him.

A streak of bloody radiance shot out of him and hovered at his side. It was a slender sword just over three feet long, with no guard and only three blood grooves along its blade. Two pulsating Yellow Soul Rings encircled it.

Sharpness!

Piercing!

Both Soul Rings lit up at once, strengthening the Soul Chasing Sword until it seemed to have emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, its savage might blazing.

Someone weak-willed would have been frightened into reacting too late and taking a sword strike.

Jiang Dongjun, however, was clearly not among them.

Chen Zifeng's sword fingers moved in rapid succession, controlling his sword through the air. The Soul Chasing Sword swept out a sky-shaking crimson rainbow and hurtled toward Jiang Dongjun.

"A flying sword! So cool! No, pfft! I can control a sword with my Yin Spirit too. I'm not jealous at all!"

His Spiritual Power cultivation was formidable. Even when Jiang Dongjun did not actively use it, it worked passively, granting him exceptionally keen perception and naturally precise judgment of distance.

The crimson rainbow closed in. Even though the thrust came from an extremely tricky angle, Jiang Dongjun answered with an equally tricky punch, smashing it away.

He lowered his head to look at the spot where his fist had met the blade. A small slit had been cut into the twilight-colored energy gauze, but it had not gone all the way through. Particles flowed, quickly closing the cut.

"Senior, your sword still needs sharpening. You can't break through my defense. Once I catch you, you're finished!"

Jiang Dongjun grinned, then exploded into motion, charging toward Chen Zifeng at an unbelievable speed.

In Shrek Academy's freshman tournament, a Soul Grandmaster with a forty-percent speed boost could claim to rival a Soul Elder.

Bathed in the blazing sun, Jiang Dongjun received a 3.5-fold speed boost. That was downright terrifying!

Chen Zifeng had deliberately trained his movement techniques and had excellent footwork. He fled across the playground while moving his sword fingers, controlling the Soul Chasing Sword through the air to stab Jiang Dongjun in the back.

But Jiang Dongjun seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Even when the sword struck from a blind spot behind him, all he needed was a slight twist and a backward sweep of his arm to smash the Soul Chasing Sword away.

The Soul Chasing Sword only managed three attacks, all perfectly blocked by Jiang Dongjun, before he closed to within ten feet of Chen Zifeng.

A baleful aura and waves of heat bore down on Chen Zifeng head-on.

With a bitter smile on his face, Chen Zifeng was forced to recall the Soul Chasing Sword and grip it in his hand. He delivered a sweeping slash, hoping to drive Jiang Dongjun back.

Who could have imagined that Jiang Dongjun would seize the naked blade barehanded? His left hand intercepted the sweeping slash with perfect precision, clamping down on the blade like an iron vise.

Without giving Chen Zifeng a chance to withdraw, he gripped the sword tightly with his left hand and yanked it back hard. Closing in, he raised his right elbow and drove it heavily into Chen Zifeng's chest.

Man!

His powerful body, tempered by ten-thousand-year whale glue until it could withstand a four-thousand-year Soul Ring, had then been enhanced 3.5-fold. It was simply terrifying!

Of course, Jiang Dongjun once again held back on the finishing blow.

Pfft-

The Soul Chasing Sword flew from his hand. Chen Zifeng was blasted away like a cannonball, coughing up a mouthful of blood in midair. He slammed into the ground and lay motionless.

The Soul King referee hurried over to check on him.

Then he helped the still-conscious Chen Zifeng up and announced the result.

"Jiang Dongjun wins!"

The referee drew a deep breath, faintly shaken.

"If, after ten breaths, no other student challenges Jiang Dongjun and defeats him, he will be crowned number one in the academy, becoming the undisputed chief student of Shrek City Elementary Soul Master Academy!"