The next day,
early in the morning,
all of Shrek Academy was a sea of people.
Shrek's Crimson Sky Douluo was going to fight the War God Temple's Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.
The announcement had gone out two months ago.
Supposedly,
Shrek's leadership and the War God Temple's leadership had arranged this through negotiations, intending to send the outside world a signal that relations between them had improved.
Of course,
this was also the War God Temple's way of building momentum for their newly appointed War God, Long Xiaoyao.
At Shrek Academy's stadium,
the seats were packed before eight o'clock.
Large numbers of high-altitude detection Soul Tools had also been deployed, and a large screen had been placed in the center of the stadium to broadcast this duel live.
Following Chen Xinjie and Yun Ming's match, this was another major contest that drew the world's attention.
In the front row of the stands,
Long Yeyue and Cai Yue'er had arrived early.
Shrek's students had received a rare half-day off, and Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and the others stood at the perimeter to watch.
"My heavens, a battle between two Super Douluos! Just thinking about it is exciting!"
Xie Xie hugged his snacks as he spoke expectantly.
"Wulin, Gu Yue, who do you think will win, our Shrek or the War God Temple?"
Tang Wulin kept his head down, taking huge bites of his steamed buns as he mumbled,
"I think Senior Zhuo Shi will win. Senior Zhuo Shi is one rank higher, and he's already a veteran powerhouse."
"Besides, mm, mm, mm~ Senior Zhuo Shi's Nine Crimson Dragon Forms are incredibly powerful. Just learning one move gave me a much clearer understanding."
By now, Zhuo Shi had acknowledged Tang Wulin as his granddisciple.
As Wu Changkong's master, Zhuo Shi had begun teaching Tang Wulin some techniques for using his bloodline after learning about the bloodline within him.
The Nine Crimson Dragon Forms, for example,
were dragon-type blood essence martial techniques that Zhuo Shi had developed himself.
Gu Yue could not help laughing beside them.
"I really don't think that's certain."
Xie Xie was puzzled. "What's that, Gu Yue? What do you think?"
Gu Yue said slowly, "Battles aren't decided by rank and seniority alone. Especially when both of them have dragon-type Martial Souls."
"Among dragons, Senior Zhuo Shi's Red Armored Dragon only has a top-tier lesser dragon bloodline."
"But that man's Dark Holy Dragon from the War God Temple is a high-ranking, pure-blooded true dragon. There's an enormous gap between their bloodline ranks."
"Then there's how they use their Martial Souls and grasp opportunities in battle. Although Senior Zhuo Shi's Soul Power is one rank higher, that doesn't necessarily mean he's got this in the bag."
"It depends on the specific circumstances on both sides. It's a very complicated question."
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie looked thoughtful.
That did seem to be the case.
Xie Xie recalled when Gu Yue had first enrolled at Eastsea Academy.
Gu Yue, whose Martial Soul was the Elementalist, had been around the same rank as him then.
But when they fought one-on-one,
Xie Xie, an agility attack-type with Martial Souls in both hands, had been thoroughly kited by Gu Yue.
Tang Wulin suddenly asked in puzzlement, "Gu Yue, how do you know so much about dragons? Isn't your Martial Soul the Elementalist?"
Tang Wulin looked at Gu Yue curiously.
He had the Golden Dragon King Bloodline within him, yet even Tang Wulin did not understand dragons as a whole in such depth.
High-ranking dragons, lesser dragon species-Tang Wulin had not even figured out what rank his own Golden Dragon King belonged to yet.
Gu Yue grew slightly nervous. "The elders in my family told me all this. My family's elders have done a lot of research on dragons."
"Oh, I see. I really envy you, Gu Yue."
Tang Wulin nodded without dwelling on it.
Just then,
the entire stadium suddenly erupted in cheers, and all three turned toward the center of the field.
An old man wearing black cloth garments, with short red hair, walked onto the arena with his hands behind his back.
On the other side,
Long Xiaoyao walked up as well, wearing a black tracksuit.
The two walked to the center of the arena and shook hands.
"War God Long."
Zhuo Shi spoke evenly.
Long Xiaoyao glanced at Ye Zhaolu and Li Chen beside the arena, then returned a smile.
"His Holiness Scarlet Dragon."
Zhuo Shi suddenly leaned a little closer. "Long Xiaoyao, I heard you deliberately humiliated Your Eminence Silver Moon yesterday. Is that true?"
Long Xiaoyao frowned. "Do all you Shrek people have sensitive skin? If exchanging a few sharp words counts as humiliation, then I have nothing to say."
"You!"
Zhuo Shi flew into a rage.
Last night, Long Yeyue had told him that Long Xiaoyao had angered Cai Yue'er to tears.
After all, Zhuo Shi had only agreed to fight Long Xiaoyao out of consideration for Silver Moon Douluo.
Seeing Long Xiaoyao's attitude now, Zhuo Shi felt his blood surge.
"Young man, don't be so hotheaded!"
Long Xiaoyao withdrew his hand and said coldly, "Would I still be a young man if I weren't hotheaded?!"
Zhuo Shi took a deep breath.
No one had dared speak to him like this in years.
Moreover, Long Xiaoyao was a man, yet he was making things difficult for a woman like Cai Yue'er. Zhuo Shi could not tolerate that.
Men ought to cherish and protect women!
That was Zhuo Shi's principle. After all, he had treated his beloved Ya Li that way back then, although Yun Ming had ultimately stolen her away.
Long Xiaoyao turned away. "Enough nonsense! His Holiness Scarlet Dragon, whatever you have to say, let our fists do the talking!"
Long Xiaoyao had no intention of indulging him. Quite the opposite-at this moment, he felt somewhat disgusted with all of Shrek.
Damn it, they act nice to me out of nowhere, and the moment I don't accept it, they call me arrogant.
Isn't this fucking holding me hostage?
"Hmph!"
Zhuo Shi snorted coldly, his imposing presence abruptly surging!
"Whoa!"
The entire audience cried out in astonishment.
"Heavens, are they starting the fight as soon as they meet?"
"Hey! That's a Shrek powerhouse for you. If fists can settle it, there's no point arguing!"
"Go, Senior Zhuo Shi!"
"Shrek will win!"
"Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!"
Since this was Shrek's home ground and most of those present were from Shrek, the Shrek students throughout the stadium began chanting.
As for the War God Temple,
only Divine Brush Douluo Yu Guanzhi had come.
There were also a small number of fans supporting Long Xiaoyao.
Yu Guanzhi shouted,
"Brother Long, don't be nervous. Just fight however you need to!"
Long Xiaoyao nodded.
Just then, Ye Zhaolu suddenly spoke. "Go, War God Long! I'm cheering for you!"
Long Xiaoyao froze briefly, then looked back in delighted surprise.
"Mm."
Then Long Xiaoyao's imposing presence also surged!
Yu Guanzhi glanced in surprise at Ye Zhaolu, who was sitting in the distance.
"Looks like that's the woman Brother Long likes? Hmm, he has taste. Good, as long as she isn't from Shrek."
On the arena,
there was no referee.
The two figures flashed forward and collided!
Boom!
Long Xiaoyao threw a full-force punch, meeting Zhuo Shi's fist head-on!
The arena immediately activated its protective barrier, neutralizing the formidable physical strength of the two Super Douluos.
Soul Masters with dragon-type Martial Souls were all like this; their bodies were far stronger than those of other Soul Masters.
With nothing but a clash of physical strength, the two produced sonic booms!
"Long Xiaoyao, today I shall show you what Shrek's foundations truly mean!"
"Crimson Dragon True Body!"
After exchanging a few punches with Long Xiaoyao,
Zhuo Shi instantly transformed into a giant dragon, clearly intending to get serious right away.
"Hmph!"
"Dragon Emperor True Body!"
Not yielding in the slightest, Long Xiaoyao transformed completely into an enormous black dragon.
Two giant dragons, one red and one black, appeared, pushing the match to a climax just as it began!
"My heavens! Have they already lost their tempers?"
"Is this how the seniors fight? Zero-frame startup?!"
"This is so hot-blooded!"
As the whole stadium screamed,
the red dragon Zhuo Shi had become took straight to the air.
"Let's fight in the sky!"
"Bring it on!"
The black dragon followed without the slightest hesitation.
As two Super Douluo combatants, they naturally could not really fight on the ground, or more than half the students present would probably die.
They could only take to the sky, where large numbers of detectors had also been deployed to broadcast the battle live onto the large screen.
The black dragon ascended, but just as he caught up,
Zhuo Shi sneered, suddenly wheeled around, and charged at Long Xiaoyao.
"Crimson Dragon Shocks the Heavens!"
Zhuo Shi held nothing back, opening with the first of his self-created Nine Crimson Dragon Forms!
The red dragon's claws gathered blazing red light and raked down with full force!
"This is bad!"
Below the arena, Yu Guanzhi frowned. "Why is this old fellow even launching a sneak attack?"
Beside him, Ye Zhaolu also frowned.
Zhuo Shi had actually doubled back to attack before reaching sufficient altitude. Most of the people below belonged to his own Shrek.
Meanwhile,
Long Yeyue watched the scene, the corners of her lips rising.
"Well done. The world only knows the Dark Holy Dragon as a Power Attack System Martial Soul, but having Zhuo Shi strike faster and harder will let him crush him outright!"
Beside her, Cai Yue'er said happily, "How wise, Elder Long! If Long Xiaoyao gets instantly defeated in full view of everyone, let's see how he keeps acting so arrogant!"
High in the air,
seeing Zhuo Shi suddenly attack right before him,
"You old bastard!"
Long Xiaoyao cursed. He had not expected Zhuo Shi, a veteran powerhouse, to resort to such underhanded tricks.
"Dragon Emperor Domain!"
Long Xiaoyao did not dare be careless either. He immediately unfurled a pitch-black domain, and the sky above the entire stadium suddenly darkened.
Zhuo Shi was briefly puzzled, but still landed a vicious blow on Long Xiaoyao.
Bam!
That claw strike sent the black dragon flying backward and crashing into the ground.
"Hmph! Brat, today this old man will teach you what experience means!"
Zhuo Shi's red dragon dove again. Inwardly thanking Long Yeyue for her guidance, he unleashed all Nine Crimson Dragon Forms, brutally pummeling the black dragon!
Long Xiaoyao's black dragon could only shield his head and body with his wings, enduring the tempest of attacks.
For a time,
the battle became completely one-sided!
"Shrek is fucking awesome!"
"His Holiness Scarlet Dragon is fucking awesome!"
All the Shrek students in the arena grew excited.
Was this what their Shrek's powerhouses were like?
He was only one level higher, but in an actual fight, his combat strength utterly crushed those from outside!
This was their Shrek of monsters, an invincible existence among those of the same level!
Zhuo Shi laughed savagely as he hammered away, utterly disregarding the possibility of catching the students outside the arena in his attacks.
"Brat, your Dark Holy Dragon isn't good at defense, is it? Let's see how much longer you can hold out!"
"Eighth Soul Skill, Crimson Dragon Destroys the World!"
The red dragon flew high into the sky and suddenly spewed out a great mouthful of dragon breath!
"Heh, heh."
Just as Zhuo Shi thought he was about to crush Long Xiaoyao, the black dragon suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Who told you the Dark Holy Dragon wasn't good at defense?"
The next moment,
The black dragon that had been taking a beating suddenly spread his wings, his black draconic head concentrating an immensely powerful energy attack!
"What's this?"
Zhuo Shi was bewildered.
"No! That's the energy from my earlier attacks. He actually absorbed all of it?!"
Zhuo Shi was instantly scared out of his wits and looked toward Long Yeyue at the edge of the arena in astonishment.
Wait, Elder Long, are you fucking setting me up?
Didn't you say the Dark Holy Dragon could only attack head-on?
Long Yeyue was stunned as well.
The Dark Holy Dragon could devour energy too? How did I not know?!
"An old veteran? Try this on for size!"
Long Xiaoyao, who had been taking a beating all this time, was thoroughly enraged as well. He opened his mouth and roared out an immensely powerful beam of energy!
Humm-
The crimson beam of energy struck Zhuo Shi directly, instantly blasting him away!
"Elder Long, you set me up!"
Zhuo Shi shouted furiously, his face stricken with panic.