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As the reigning champions, Shrek Academy always appeared first, kicking off the competition.
"Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!"
The shouts for Shrek Academy echoed through almost every corner of the plaza.
Facing such a scene, the reserve team members, who were about to enter the arena, were extremely nervous. Their faces were even somewhat pale. This was hundreds of thousands of spectators! If they lost this match under everyone's watchful eyes, and Shrek Academy was eliminated, they would become Shrek's eternal sinners.
"Everyone, don't panic. These cheers are the glory Shrek Academy has accumulated over ten thousand years. In the last competition, I faced the same situation. I can understand your nervousness, but what I want to tell you is that your opponents will be ten or even a hundred times more nervous than you, because they are about to face Shrek Academy," Ma Xiaotao said.
Her words of comfort instantly calmed the minds of the reserve members.
"Hehe, let's go!" Zhou Yi smiled. With Ma Xiaotao present, she was much more confident than Wang Yan in the original story, completely unperturbed.
As Ma Xiaotao said, when Huo Yuhao stepped onto the Soul Dueling Arena, he found that their opponents were a hundred times more nervous than them. Their opponents were from Heavenly Spirit Academy, just a small academy. They drew Shrek in the first round of the lottery. The people from the opposing academy probably felt their lives had turned bleak.
Yuwen Tuo leaned against the academy's passage entrance, his gaze sweeping over the various academies watching the match. He suddenly noticed that at Imperial Academy, a man and a woman stood beside Captain Jiang Peng, and Jiang Peng treated them with extreme respect. It seemed their status was even higher than Jiang Peng's.
Yuwen Tuo immediately guessed the identities of these two people. "Hehe, it's them. Good timing. The more noble the identities of those who come, the bigger a stir this matter will cause."
These two were, one should be Princess Vina of the Heavenly Soul Empire, a disciple of the Body Sect, with twin Martial Souls: the healing-type Snow Lotus and the control-type Brain. She was good friends with Princess Xu Jiujiu of the Star Luo Empire, often calling her "Sister."
The man was her future fiancĂŠ. This person possessed a very punchable name: Long Aotian. His Martial Soul was Skin. He was originally meant to make his official debut at the competition five years later and was one of the top few individuals at that time, possessing the strength of a Soul Sage.
Of course, he hadn't reached that level yet; he was only a Soul King. The Body Sect, in order to hide his strength, didn't let him participate in this competition. Otherwise, he could certainly have been one of Imperial Academy's main forces.
The referee was now in position, making a gesture for both sides to come forward. The seven students from both sides quickly gathered in the center of the arena. Up close, the young reserve members could see their opponents' incredibly dark expressions. Countless historical precedents had already shown what the outcome would be for those who encountered Shrek Academy in the first round.
And this time, Shrek was not fielding a full reserve lineup. Standing at the very front was Soul Sage Ma Xiaotao, and in the center was the control-type Soul Master Ling Luochen. Of course, they wouldn't directly intervene. Their more important purpose was to hold the line, which also counted as preserving some strength. The main force for this match was the reserve team.
"Everyone, we must not only win, but win beautifully. It's best if we don't even need our two senior sisters to make a move," Beibei said.
"No problem," Huo Yuhao said confidently. Teacher Zhou had told him before the match that as long as he flexibly used his second Soul Skill, he could easily win this match.
The referee said in a deep voice: "First round, elimination match, team battle. Both sides may use some soul tools permitted by the rules in the competition. However, during the soul duel, if one side concedes, the other side must not continue to attack. Some fixed-form soul cannons with excessive destructive power are absolutely forbidden. Have you all understood?"
"Understood," both sides replied.
The match officially began. Heavenly Spirit Academy adopted a traditional formation, also known as the three-two-one-one formation. The three in front were responsible for strong attacks or defense, providing resistance. The two on the sides were agile attackers, responsible for cutting off the opponent's backline. The one in the middle was for support, overseeing the entire field. The one at the very back was for support or healing.
However, at this moment, very few people were focusing their attention on the Heavenly Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy, which was about to become cannon fodder. Almost everyone's attention was fixed on Shrek. This was because Shrek Academy had displayed a strange formation that they simply couldn't understand and had never seen before.
Huo Yuhao stood at the very front, his youthful face filled with arrogance. The other six people were all behind him, forming a fan shape, like stars surrounding the moon, as if he were the core of the Shrek team. Seeing this formation, Yuwen Tuo guessed that Huo Yuhao was about to use his familiar 'old 6' tactic again. Indeed, this tactic was very effective at the beginning. It could not only easily win this soul duel but also intimidate other academies.
As the match began, a blood-red light instantly illuminated the entire arena. A cold and terrifying aura suddenly erupted. Both sides released their Soul Rings. Heavenly Spirit Academy mostly had conventional yellow and purple Soul Rings, at most four rings, with no Soul Kings among them. In contrast, Huo Yuhao possessed a full six ten-thousand-year Soul Rings. Not only were their colors blood-red, but the aura they exuded was also like that of true ten-thousand-year Soul Rings.
The most exquisite part of Huo Yuhao's Simulated Soul Skill was that it didn't just simulate appearance and color; it could even simulate aura, allowing it to perfectly deceive. This instantly terrified everyone present. Everyone knew what red Soul Rings represented.
They represented the highest known level under normal circumstances: ten-thousand-year Soul Rings! How could they not be terrified by a full six ten-thousand-year Soul Rings appearing on a student?
"Holy cow, is that real or fake? Is this Huo Yuhao really that amazing? Vina, Aotian, your Body Sect is about to strike gold this time," Jiang Peng said in shock.
"Idiot, of course it's fake!" Long Aotian scoffed. If he hadn't known beforehand, he might actually have been fooled. But now that he knew this person possessed a spirit-type Spirit Eye Martial Soul, how could he not guess the truth?
"Brother Jiang, this is a simulated soul skill. It can distort space through mental fluctuations, mimicking various forms with oneself as the base," Vina explained.
"Now I'm sure that Huo Yuhao not only possesses a spiritual-type Spirit Eye Martial Soul, but also that this Martial Soul is of extremely high quality. Otherwise, it would be impossible to simulate it so perfectly, not only in appearance but even in aura, making it indistinguishable from the real thing. It's truly amazing. This time, we must take him with us," Vina said with a smile.
This soul duel quickly concluded. The opponents were completely stunned by Huo Yuhao's six ten-thousand-year Soul Rings. As a result, they huddled together, neither dodging nor evading, directly taking Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Golden Road. All seven were instantly defeated and sealed, unable to move.
This battle was indeed a beautiful victory. Not only was it easy, but it also greatly intimidated the other academies.