"My dear brother, how do you think her set of spirit tools compares to your armor?"
On the imperial city wall beside the arena, Xu Jiawei looked at Dai Hao and asked with a slight smile.
"She's better," Dai Hao shook his head gently. Having fought the Sun Moon Empire for many years, he could immediately tell the difference in Meng Hongchen's spirit tool armor.
"Although my armor is a Level 7 spirit tool, which is one level higher than hers, its craftsmanship is far inferior."
"Her set not only provides defense but also amplifies her spirit power, and to a certain extent, it can even combine with Spirit Abilities. This is a completely different type of spirit tool from what we've seen before."
"Previously, the spirit tools we encountered focused on their inherent functions, and Soul Masters' battles were primarily centered around spirit tools. However, this spirit tool takes a completely different approach; it seems to be designed more for assisting the Spirit Master, with the battle entirely focused on the Spirit Master."
Although Meng Hongchen was quickly defeated by Wang Nan, Xu Jiawei and Dai Hao's discerning eyes could still glean a lot from that brief exchange.
"It seems the Sun Moon Empire has also been influenced by us," Xu Jiawei sighed slightly. "This is only a Level 6 spirit tool. If that armor could reach Level 9 or even higher, it might even bridge the gap between Titled Douluo."
Despite its brief appearance, that ice-blue, armor-like spirit tool still opened everyone's eyes, especially for the various academies below the stage, undoubtedly pointing them toward another path for spirit tool development.
Xiao Hongchen helped his younger sister walk back to the rest area.
Only after putting away her spirit tool armor did Meng Hongchen feel the full force of Wang Nan's strike. At this moment, she couldn't muster any strength in her legs and could only rely on Xiao Hongchen to sit down. She looked up at the figure on the arena, an unconscious trace of fear in her eyes.
Ma Rulong's expression on the side was visibly displeased.
He did indeed possess more than one Level 8 spirit tool, but with his current spirit power, even with Mingde Hall's efforts to minimize the requirements for the user, using it would still overdraw his life force.
Therefore, he had been waiting for Ma Xiaotao to go on stage from the very beginning. Yet now, their strongest team member had not even appeared, and his own team had already lost an important member.
His expression shifted for a moment before he finally made up his mind and stood up.
"Rulong."
As Ma Rulong rose from his seat, an old man behind him suddenly spoke.
This old man had a full beard and short white hair, and at first glance, he bore some resemblance to Ma Rulong.
"Let's… surrender."
After a long hesitation, the old man finally spoke slowly. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt as if he had aged several years, and his back involuntarily hunched.
"I will explain to the Hall Master. You are already capable of crafting Level 7 spirit tools. Your future achievements will be far greater than this, and I truly cannot bear to see your future ruined by this Soul Duel Tournament."
"Sun Moon Royal Academy, according to the Soul Duel Tournament rules, you should send your next contestant up,"
Seeing that the Sun Moon Royal Academy had not sent anyone up for a long time, the referee, Huang Jinxu, spoke to remind them.
For a moment, almost all the audience's gazes were focused on the Sun Moon Royal Academy.
Xiao Hongchen glanced around, finally resting his gaze on Shrek Academy's waiting area. After a moment of silence, he helped Meng Hongchen up. "Elder Ma, let's go. Five years, in five years, we will also have our own Spirit Saint."
The old man, who closely resembled Ma Rulong, sighed and finally spoke, "We surrender."
The entire Star Luo Plaza was buzzing with noise, but immediately afterward, shouts of "Shrek" echoed through the sky.
Although the highly anticipated strongest showdown ended in what seemed like a rather hasty manner, this perfectly aligned with everyone's perception of the continent's number one academy's strength.
Shrek Academy's group rose and left the arena amidst the attention of the crowd, yet no one noticed when the Sun Moon Royal Academy members had departed.
…
The reason Ultimate Spirits are called ultimate is because of their unrivaled strength at the same rank. Coupled with the fact that Ma Xiaotao was the first Spirit Saint under twenty years old in the history of the Soul Duel Tournament, their next opponent, Star Luo Royal Academy, only put up a symbolic resistance before surrendering.
A few days passed quickly, and after nearly a month, the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament was also drawing to a close.
After Shrek Academy had eliminated the Sun Moon Royal Academy early, Dio Academy, which possessed a Spirit Emperor, unsurprisingly became their opponent in the finals.
Although there had been cases of the weak overcoming the strong in the Soul Duel Tournament, such incidents were highly praised precisely because of their rarity. In most cases, having a higher cultivation than the opponent meant victory.
The atmosphere on the day of the finals was still enthusiastic. For almost everyone, there was no suspense in this match. They were there more to witness Shrek once again defend its championship.
"Next, I will announce the rules for the finals."
Huang Jinxu, as the referee, ascended the arena amidst a multitude of gazes. Upon seeing him, the noise from the audience immediately quieted down considerably.
"Please wait a moment."
A voice came from Dio Academy's rest area, and then their captain, Jiang Peng, also walked onto the arena.
He first bowed to Xu Jiawei on the imperial city wall, then turned his gaze to Shrek's side.
"We are not opponents in this match."
Before the surrounding audience could react, his next sentence was already out. "However, as a pure Spirit Master, I want to challenge Shrek Academy. I want to see how much of a gap still exists between the Spirit Masters cultivated by our academy and Shrek Academy."
Although he said this, his gaze did not fall on Ma Xiaotao but instead fixed on Wang Nan.
Huang Jinxu gave him a subtle look, but still turned to look at Xu Jiawei on the city wall.
Xu Jiawei pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"Isn't this guy a bit shameless?" Xu Sanshi spoke with considerable displeasure from Shrek Academy's rest area. "He says he wants to see the gap between Spirit Masters, but he doesn't even dare to look at Senior Sister."
Wang Yan gently shook his head, signaling him to be quiet. Although it was true, with so many spectators watching, it was not appropriate to say anything directly.
"It's fine," Wang Nan stood up. "The Soul Duel Tournament was originally for various academies to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and make up for deficiencies. It was only later, with the emergence of the Sun Moon Empire, that it took on other meanings."
"Since he wants to exchange pointers with me, there's no need for us to refuse."
Wang Yan turned to look at Wang Nan.
Although Wang Nan smiled when he said this, Wang Yan still felt an inexplicable aura from him.
He didn't know when, but his nephew had become different from when he was a child.