Plenty happened before the finals, including the auction where the Snow Empress Embryo had been put up for sale in the original story.
But since Ming Zhao had intercepted the Snow Empress, she had stayed in the Far North with the Ice Empress. She had never taken human form, nor had she been captured and placed in the God Sealing Altar for auction.
So this time, the auction naturally had little worth seeing.
The Star Luo Empire had no particularly special treasures, so it stirred up no trouble and only hoped to recoup some resources through the auction.
Xu Jiawei had not even brought out the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone.
Outside the auction, nothing unexpected happened in the tournament either. The royal academies of the four great empires advanced to the semifinals.
The Star Luo Empire had slyly matched the Sun Moon Team against the Di'ao Team, making the two teams with Soul Emperors fight each other, while it was matched against the Dou Ling Team, the weakest of the four royal academies.
In the end, the Sun Moon Team and the Star Luo Team naturally advanced to the finals.
Xu Jiawei had made extensive preparations for the Star Luo Team led by Xu Jiujiu, but they were ultimately less thorough than the Sun Moon Team's. Their defeat was already sealed, especially when the Hongchen siblings used their Martial Soul Fusion Skill and Ma Rulong brought out the Sword of Judgment, a Class 8 close-combat Soul Tool.
Only after Ma Rulong brought out the Sword of Judgment did Ming Zhao sit up straight, his eyes fixed on the peculiar greatsword, whose two edges were black and white.
The Sword of Judgment was a major reason he had patiently watched this far.
"Light and darkness transform into each other. Jing Hongchen's attainments in Soul Guidance Technology are indeed unique. If this sword fell into my hands, I would not only gain another means at my disposal, but might also be able to strengthen my Martial Soul Fusion Skill." Ming Zhao rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
He watched as the Sun Moon Team completed their championship ceremony and pocketed the champion's rewards offered by the Star Luo Empire, their faces wreathed in smiles.
This also marked the end of the tournament.
The world would keep turning just the same without anyone.
Shrek's withdrawal had indeed caused quite a stir at first, but as the tournament went on, everyone found that its absence was no great loss. The matches went on, people still watched the Soul Fights, and they were just as exciting.
Only some of Shrek's religiously devoted fans stubbornly insisted that a Soul Fighting Tournament without Shrek was utterly meaningless, and that this tournament's champions were nothing but false champions whose title carried no weight.
After the tournament, Meng Hongchen and the others inevitably heard similar remarks, and much of their joy at having just won the championship faded.
Xiao Hongchen, a staunch anti-Shrek fighter, was even more furious when he heard those remarks. He swore that in the next tournament, he would crush Shrek and show the world that Shrek was not worth mentioning, and that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was the greatest academy of all!
"Brother Ming!"
Meng Hongchen sought Ming Zhao out once again and threw herself straight into his arms.
She lay in his embrace, her head resting on his shoulder, and gazed at his profile with big, sparkling, moist eyes, a sweet smile on her face.
After spending more than a month together, Meng Hongchen had grown less and less reserved. She treated Ming Zhao entirely as her boyfriend and, when they were together, paid no heed to propriety between men and women, naturally taking his hand or hugging him.
Though neither of them had made a confession or anything of the sort, and they had not officially established themselves as a couple.
"What is it?" Ming Zhao set down the Soul Tool Technology notes Meng Hongchen had given him and looked down at her.
"The tournament is over, and we're the champions!" Meng Hongchen said with a smile, her eyes curving as she sought a little praise.
"Mm, I watched the match. You were impressive," Ming Zhao said with a nod of approval. "The Star Luo Royal Team wasn't weak either, but compared with your Sun Moon Team, they were far behind. They didn't have the slightest chance of turning the match around."
"It's just a shame we didn't get to beat Shrek Academy head-on." Meng Hongchen was a little disappointed.
Even now, she still did not know why Shrek had withdrawn.
"I do know a little." Ming Zhao intended to reveal a bit of information and use the Sun Moon Team to spread word of Shrek's dismal performance.
"As everyone knows, Shrek Academy has an inner-court Inspection Corps. Every student who enters the inner court must join it, taking it upon themselves to maintain peace on the continent and eliminate the threat of Evil Soul Masters."
"This tournament's Shrek team were naturally members too. Before coming to the Star Luo Empire, they went to hunt down an Evil Soul Master at the Soul King level. But that Evil Soul Master had a few tricks, and they were far too arrogant. The Evil Soul Master took them down with him, which was why they never made it to the tournament."
"Something like that happened?" Meng Hongchen's eyes widened.
"Mm, it's true. Shrek's reserve team and main team for this tournament had fourteen people in all. With the teacher leading them, all fifteen died on the border in the Ming Dou Mountain Range." Ming Zhao nodded gently.
Then Meng Hongchen let out a laugh and could no longer contain herself. She collapsed against Ming Zhao, laughing so hard her whole body shook.
"This... this is Shrek... pfft, hahahaha..."
"Yes, this is Shrek." Ming Zhao pressed his lips together, saying nothing about how Shrek's wipeout had actually been his doing.
It was a long while before Meng Hongchen finished laughing at Shrek and pushed herself upright again.
"Hmph, the people of the Douluo Three Kingdoms even said our Sun Moon Team's championship title carried no weight. They were all wiped out by a Soul King Evil Soul Master. This tournament's Shrek Seven Devils weren't much after all!" Meng Hongchen had her pride too; she simply had not shown it in front of Ming Zhao.
Those rumors had affected the young lady's mood somewhat.
Now, hearing this information from Ming Zhao, something outsiders did not know, much of the frustration in her heart faded.
But just as she was secretly rejoicing, her little hand touched something hard.
Meng Hongchen: ?
"Brother Ming, what's this?"
Ming Zhao's expression did not change, but his voice took on a slight "tremor." "Don't touch things. Take your hand back."
"Hee-hee~ I won't!" Meng Hongchen's face flushed, and she soon realized something was wrong. Maidenly shyness made her want to pull back, but when she saw an unnatural expression on Ming Zhao's cold face, she became eager instead.
After spending a month with him, she had come to know his icy temperament all too well. It was rare to see him embarrassed, so she had to tease him some more.
Especially since, in her eyes, a shy touch of pink had actually appeared on Ming Zhao's face.
That made Miss Meng even more excited, and her mischievous little hand grew increasingly restless.
The two gazed at each other as the atmosphere in the room grew ever more intimate, the air passing their lips and noses becoming hotter and hotter.
"Brother Ming..."
Who was the hunter, and who was the prey?