The atmosphere on the tournament stage had reached its peak of tension.
Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng, like ferocious warriors, pressed in from left and right, their assault closing in on the Dark Demon Tiger like an unbreakable wall.
Their movements were swift and precise, dragon claws and tiger palms striking in rapid succession, leaving behind claw shadows and palm winds that roared through the air.
Every attack carried a surge of soul power, aimed at the vital points of the Dark Demon Tiger.
Having successfully resisted their fierce offensive, Huang Heyun's counterattacks surged forward like a relentless tide, wave after wave without pause.
His aura suddenly spiked. The first soul ring on his body flared with dazzling brilliance, glowing like a radiant star.
Under the torrent of soul power pouring forth without restraint, what was originally an ordinary hundred-year soul skill was now infused with immense force, its power magnified far beyond its natural limit.
It was like comparing a first soul skill cast by a five-ring Soul King to the same skill unleashed by a seven-ring Soul Sage.
Though the soul ring's age had not changed, the sheer difference in soul power foundation made the effect worlds apart.
At this moment, Huang Heyun had fully entered Martial Soul Possession, exuding a terrifying aura.
When he activated his first soul skill, the jet-black markings across his body flared to life like ancient runes, glowing faintly with an eerie light.
Above, the golden brilliance of Xu Jiujing's Starshine Art combined flawlessly with him, the two resonating as one.
Then Huang Heyun opened his mouth wide, unleashing a jet of black mist like a raging beast, surging outward with world-shaking force.
"First Soul Skill: Dark Wave!" His roar echoed across the stage, filled with unshakable power and confidence.
Pure darkness erupted like a black tidal wave, devouring everything in its path.
That flood of dark energy surged toward Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng with astonishing speed, threatening to engulf them completely.
Meanwhile, behind Shrek Academy's formation, Dugu Xianmeng stood like a cold, unfeeling archer of the night.
Her expression was calm yet razor-focused. She smoothly drew her bow into a full moon shape, the bowstring taut and humming.
Several poison-tipped arrows, shimmering with a chilling light, were ready to strike.
With a subtle release of her fingers, the arrows shot forth like lightning, slicing through the air with a piercing whistle toward Xingluo National Academy's formation.
Ling Luochen was not idle either. Her soul rings pulsed with alternating glimmers as she summoned a dense wave of ice mist.
The freezing fog rolled forward like a surging white sea, crashing toward Xingluo Academy's ranks.
Wherever it passed, the temperature plummeted, frost rapidly forming on the ground, filling the air with biting cold.
Even spectators behind the protective barrier shivered as if they could feel that icy chill seep into their bones.
Just as Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng were momentarily checked by Huang Heyun's third soul skill, Heaven-Shaking Demon Tiger, Dugu Xianmeng's poisonous arrows whistled through the air with blinding speed.
But Princess Jiujing had anticipated this long ago. Her tactical planning was precise, as though everything unfolded under her control.
At the very moment Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao were first trapped, Xu Jiujing's fourth soul ring had already lit up like a dazzling star.
Radiant starlight erupted from her body, spreading outward in a brilliant tide of light.
This time, the starlight was blinding, like a sun hanging high in the sky, bathing everything in its glow.
The light condensed into a solid barrier that enveloped all seven members of Xingluo's team, along with the embattled Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng, and even the trapped Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao.
The eighteen stars of her Star Crown Martial Soul gleamed like embedded jewels across the shield's surface, emanating a mysterious, indomitable aura.
The defensive strength of this barrier was astonishing. Ling Luochen's surging ice mist slammed against it, but the golden brilliance repelled the freezing fog entirely.
Dugu Xianmeng's poisonous arrows exploded upon contact, filling the air with toxic miasma, but even the corrosive venom failed to breach the shimmering shield.
This was Xu Jiujing's fourth soul skill—Star Guardian, the strongest defensive skill of the Star Crown lineage.
Its consumption was unique: instead of ordinary soul power, it drew upon the vast reserves of stellar force stored within the Star Crown itself.
Even with her extraordinary talent, after each full use of this skill Jiujing required at least three days of cultivation to replenish the necessary star power.
This meant that Star Guardian, when fully unleashed, could only be used once every three days at best.
Though the restriction was harsh, its power was overwhelming—a defensive barrier of absolute isolation with a massive area of effect.
Now, deployed just before Ling Luochen's and Dugu Xianmeng's attacks landed, the barrier stood as an impregnable fortress shielding every ally within.
Though Ling Luochen and Dugu Xianmeng's faces remained calm, their actions never slowed.
They relentlessly pushed their poison fog and ice mist forward like two ferocious beasts gnawing at the barrier.
Yet under their constant assault, one of the eighteen stars atop the shield began to dim, its glow flickering as though its life force was waning.
It was clear: once all eighteen stars lost their light, the barrier would collapse completely.
Inside the Star Guardian, Jiujing's gaze remained serene. She glanced at the swirling mists outside, her lips curling into a confident smile.
Without hesitation, she directed nearly all of her Starshine Art's amplification onto Huang Heyun alone.
Bereft of support, Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng's situation worsened rapidly, their momentum sinking like they had fallen into quicksand.
Huang Heyun's first soul skill, Dark Wave, though not the strongest in raw power, carried intense dark properties. Coupled with the isolating effects of Starshine Art and Star Guardian, it quietly nullified Gongyang Mo's attribute buffs on Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng.
Even their Icejade Armor began to corrode under the constant dark energy, layer by layer fading away.
On the stage, the Dark Demon Tiger, even with its limbs severed and chest pierced by their attacks, regenerated swiftly under Huang Heyun's replenishing dark power, seemingly immortal.
Meanwhile, Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng had lost Gongyang Mo's vital support, cut off from Dugu Xianmeng and Ling Luochen's aid by Star Guardian's barrier, completely isolated.
And Shrek's two strongest attackers—Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao—remained trapped and unable to break free quickly.
In this moment, Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng faced the daunting reality of a two-versus-seven battle.
Huang Heyun, empowered by the mysterious Ninefold Soul Converter soul tool and supported by his three Soul King teammates, wielded soul power on par with a Soul Sage.
Yi Chen and Wang Shiying's wind-fire dual control followed up instantly, their storm and flames weaving into a blazing inferno.
Xu Jiujing's Starshine Art continued amplifying her allies while weakening Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng's strikes in turn.
Under this shifting balance, Shrek's captain Zhou Sicheng and the assault-type Soul Emperor Dai Yueheng suddenly found themselves pushed into a desperate corner, as though dragged into a bottomless abyss.
The audience held their breath, hearts pounding in their throats.
They had never seen the legendary Shrek Academy so thoroughly suppressed, forced into such a dire situation.
At this rate, Shrek Academy seemed on the verge of losing two of its strongest members.
If Xingluo National Academy eliminated Zhou Sicheng and Dai Yueheng first, then turned to deal with the trapped Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao, Shrek's remaining control- and support-type Soul Kings would be left without offense or defense—unable to overturn the match.
In the semifinals, Xingluo National Academy had been deemed the weakest of the four. After all, their lineup didn't even include a single Soul Emperor.
But what they displayed now shocked everyone—their clever tactics, seamless teamwork, and devastating soul skill combinations left the crowd in awe.
Countless spectators stared in disbelief, a single question echoing in their hearts:
Could the mighty Shrek Academy truly be about to fall here?
****
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