Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
Several days later.
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament officially began that day.
A tremendous blast of horns resounded through the clouds, deep and powerful, instantly igniting the feverish atmosphere throughout the arena.
In the main VIP seats.
Emperor Xue Ye sat upright in the center, dressed in magnificent gold-and-red robes, exuding an imperial majesty.
The eldest prince, Xue Qinghe, stood quietly beside the emperor, his gentle gaze sweeping over the grounds below.
In the neighboring seat sat Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, refined in white robes, with a smile on his face.
As the ceremonial cannons thundered, the academies began entering one after another.
"First to enter is Godwind Academy!"
The announcer proclaimed loudly.
Feng Xiaotian walked at the head of the procession, followed by Feng Peng and the other core team members.
A burst of enthusiastic cheers immediately erupted throughout the arena.
Next, Thunder Academy, Skywater Academy, and Elephant Armor Academy entered the grounds in succession.
Discussions filled the spectator stands.
"This year's lineup is stronger than ever. All the Elemental Academies have sent their finest geniuses."
"Exactly. This tournament is bound to be spectacular."
Just as everyone was discussing it enthusiastically, the announcer's voice rang out again:
"Next to enter is Shrek Academy!"
The Shrek group slowly entered the passage.
They wore plain, even shabby clothing, utterly out of place amid the resplendent decorations around them.
The stands instantly erupted in uproarious laughter.
"What impoverished backwater did this academy crawl out of?"
"Does a school this shabby even deserve to attend such a grand event?"
Taunts rose one after another, surging toward them like a tide.
Ma Hongjun flushed crimson and abruptly strode forward, pointing at the stands as he angrily shouted:
"Stop looking down on us! The championship of this tournament is destined to belong to Shrek!"
Far from intimidating the crowd, his words only invited even more unrestrained mockery.
"Is there something wrong with that fatty's head?"
"A no-name, fly-by-night academy nobody's even heard of actually dares to boast about winning the championship?"
"They really don't know their own limits!"
Hearing their ridicule, Ma Hongjun gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, poised to rush forward and argue with them.
A broad hand settled firmly on Ma Hongjun's shoulder.
Yu Xiaogang's expression remained composed:
"There's no need to concern yourselves with how others see you. Next, prove everything with your strength."
Ma Hongjun drew a deep breath and ultimately restrained his anger, stepping back into the group.
The Shrek group had only just taken their places.
The announcer's loud cry once again carried throughout the arena:
"Next, please welcome Blazing Fire Academy!"
At the passage entrance.
Huo Wushuang, Huo Wu, and the other elite members of the Blazing Fire Team slowly emerged.
However.
The person walking at the very front was not Huo Wushuang.
It was a figure dressed in white.
Chen Jin looked calm, his footsteps steady.
At that moment, everyone from Shrek Academy turned their eyes toward him in unison.
Their gazes fixed on Chen Jin.
Shock.
Confusion.
All manner of emotions intertwined on the faces of everyone from Shrek.
Xiao Wu rubbed her eyes and tugged at the sleeve of the person beside her:
"Brother San, isn't that Chen Jin?"
Tang San froze where he stood, as though struck by lightning.
His mind went blank.
How could it be Chen Jin?
Wasn't Chen Jin supposed to have died in the desolate Gobi?
"That's impossible..."
Tang San muttered to himself, his eyes filled with horror.
How could it be Chen Jin?
Chen Jin wasn't dead?
Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
Golden sunlight streamed diagonally through the enormous dome.
The grounds were bathed in golden splendor.
Under the eyes of countless spectators, Blazing Fire Academy's team entered the grounds at an unhurried pace.
Chen Jin, walking at the very front, looked perfectly composed.
His robes, whiter than snow, stood out especially sharply amid the Blazing Fire Team's fiery-red uniforms.
His steps were steady, each one seeming to land on a unique beat.
His incomparably handsome face held no extraneous expression, only calm.
That otherworldly bearing instantly drew the attention of many powerful figures in the VIP seats.
Xue Qinghe stood beside Emperor Xue Ye, his gentle gaze resting on Chen Jin all the while.
Ning Fengzhi also turned to look, a trace of appreciation showing in his eyes.
However.
In the area occupied by Shrek Academy, the atmosphere had grown unbearably oppressive.
Tang San's body stiffened at that moment.
His eyes stared at the white-clad figure walking at the very front.
How was this possible?
This was absolutely impossible.
Why had that traitor, who should have been burned to ashes by Evil Fire, appeared here completely unharmed?
And what was more.
As the captain of Blazing Fire Academy, one of the Five Elemental Academies.
Tang San's breathing grew heavy.
His fists clenched.
Beside him, Xiao Wu's little mouth also hung open, her face full of disbelief.
Dai Mubai's sinister eyes were filled with horror, and even his breathing stopped for a moment.
Facing the gazes converging on him from every direction, Chen Jin remained composed.
His keen perception detected those intense stares coming from Shrek's direction.
However.
Chen Jin did not even lift his eyelids.
His eyes reflected the Great Soul Arena's expansive grounds, but held no trace of the Shrek group.
Leading the Blazing Fire team members behind him, he walked straight toward their designated position.
He stopped.
Turned around.
His hands hung naturally at his sides.
From beginning to end, he never once glanced toward Shrek Academy.
On Shrek's side.
Ma Hongjun was already trembling all over with anger, his face flushed bright red.
His voice carried jealousy and shock he could hardly conceal:
"How is this possible?"
"Why is that brat Chen Jin still alive?"
"I know better than anyone what Evil Fire backlash feels like."
"If you don't go to those places to vent it, your body simply can't withstand it."
"Out in that utterly deserted Gobi, without any women, how could that brat possibly have survived?"
The red-haired fatty's words plunged the surrounding Shrek team members into silence.
Dai Mubai's face was ashen as he spoke through gritted teeth:
"What's even stranger is that the announcer just declared Chen Jin was actually the Blazing Fire Team's captain."
"How could those arrogant people at Blazing Fire Academy allow an outsider, and a mere Soul Elder at that, to become their leader?"
Jealousy flashed in the blond man's sinister eyes.
Chen Jin, someone they had regarded as a traitor and a weakling, now stood at the pinnacle of one of the Five Elemental Academies.
At the back of Shrek's group.
A graceful figure in black trembled.
On Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face, usually cold and aloof, a breathtaking joy now appeared.
Her beautiful eyes gazed at Chen Jin in the distance.
Alive.
He really was still alive.
And he looked even more dazzling, even more otherworldly than he had at Shrek.
A gentle curve touched the lips of the black-clad woman.
The gloom that had weighed on her heart for days vanished like smoke and scattered clouds at that moment.
As long as he was safe and sound, that was enough.
Yu Xiaogang stood at the very front of the group, his expression shifting uncertainly across his stiff face.
Only after a long while did this Grandmaster, who proclaimed himself unrivaled in theory, slowly exhale and regain his composure.
With his hands clasped behind his back, a gleam of self-assured wisdom flashed in his eyes:
"This isn't difficult to explain."
"When Chen Jin left Shrek, he kept insisting that he refused to wallow in the same mire as Evil Fire, that he would remain true to himself."
"But now it seems those were nothing more than hypocritical excuses."
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