"You're all here for the matches, not me. In that case… let the games begin."
The Star Luo Emperor stood on the wall, smiling.
A mountain-roaring, sea-crashing cheer swept the square.
He glanced at Su Wen, and seeing no oddity in the youth's face, he relaxed. It seemed the only pending problem was the Shrek powerhouse on the way…
On the field.
The referee delivered a passionate speech.
"This tournament has 133 academies, for 66 knockout matches, with one bye."
"First match: Dou Ling Empire's Tianling Academy versus… the number one on the continent, bearer of countless honors, and focus of all eyes—Shrek Academy!"
The crowd boiled.
A main event right away—clearly, the hosts knew what the audience came for.
"Shrek!!!"
Countless voices roared.
But that overwhelming cheer pressed down on Shrek's reserves.
"Huff…" Ling Luochen's eyes narrowed.
Last time she came as a reserve, and the seniors had their backs. Shrek's power gave safety.
This time, it was on their ragtag band.
"Xiao Wen, if the pressure is too much, let Gu Yuena and Mu Qiuer go with you," Wang Yan said, face pale, fingers clenched white.
"Mm." Mu Qiuer nodded, eager.
"No need," Su Wen shook his head.
He exhaled.
It was a shocking scene—close to a million spectators. In his past life that only happened in live streams. Feeling all those eyes on you—no way one wouldn't be nervous.
But nerves could fuel adrenaline.
"Both sides to the stage!"
"Wah!"
Cheers split the sky.
They wanted a one-sided stomp. That visceral thrill is hard to replace—like watching underground black-boxing. Seeing prodigies clash with abandon carries a special rush.
Those with poor talent projected their hopes onto the youths in the ring. Watching their team win felt like they themselves dominated the arena.
Thus Shrek had the most fans, the loudest voices.
Some had bet their fortunes on Shrek, screaming even harder.
"Whew…"
Su Wen stepped onto the stage.
Across from him, Tianling Academy came in full force—the seven starters, no holding back, faces solemn, even their steps trembling. Shrek's renown was known to all. Hitting them in round one was bad luck.
But rumor said this Shrek was crippled and only brought reserves—so maybe they had a shot.
Then they saw only one opponent step up.
All of them were stunned.
"Captain, they… sent just one?!" a female teammate frowned.
"Heh, Shrek's always arrogant. No main roster this time, and they think a reserve captain can scare us off?! This empty-fort trick—who are they fooling?" The captain narrowed his eyes as his legs trembled even harder.
It wasn't fear now, but excitement.
This was a knockout.
If they knocked Shrek out in round one, it'd be the upset of the tournament; as captain of Tianling this year, his name would echo across the continent!
No one would care how they won.
Eliminating Shrek would be pinned to them, with endless benefits to follow.
"Hahaha, sending one—what nerve." On the wall, Xu Jiawei liked Su Wen more the longer he watched, praising nonstop.
"A punch to open the way," Duke Dai Hao nodded.
The frontier marshal had returned to the capital—showing the Empire's emphasis.
"Then, by your judgment—who wins?" the emperor smiled.
"Su Wen, certainly," Dai Hao said without doubt.
"Oh? So sure?!" Xu Jiawei blinked.
"This youth isn't a show-off. He's thorough. If he dares stand alone, he has the capital. In fact, I suspect… he won't just win—he'll carve them up like vegetables." Dai Hao mused.
"Ahahaha, worthy of the White Tiger Duke—your eye for people is keen." Xu Jiawei laughed.
"The Duke just returned today; you must not know what happened last night."
"…"
After an explanation, Dai Hao was dumbfounded.
"He cut into the Cheng estate and escaped under a soul sage?!!"
"Not escape," Xu Jiawei smiled. "If the Guardian Consecrate had been later, the Cheng clan might have been wiped out."
"Ah?!" Dai Hao stared, looking toward Guardian Douluo.
The latter wore his permanent cold face. Seeing Dai Hao's questioning gaze, he nodded. "That kid has a several-thousand-year Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear—nearly slapped that soul sage to death—and a white ape around soul emperor level. Given time, with those two beasts cooperating, wiping the Chengs out wasn't hard."
"Hiss…"
Dai Hao sucked in a breath.
So Shrek didn't fail to send support; it just wasn't necessary. Everyone underestimated the boy because "reserve captain" sounded dismissible. In truth…
He was the main event of this tournament!
He didn't need five years until the next one—this one alone could showcase his edge, vying for top-three!
"Shrek truly churns out monsters," Dai Hao sighed.
"But Cheng Gang…" Dai Hao narrowed his eyes. "Too much seclusion made him stupid. If Shrek's powerhouse arrives soon, then…"
"Depends who," Xu Jiawei sighed.
…
"Shrek Academy… only sent one?"
Even the referee's voice had a hint of doubt.
The tsunami of cheers dipped a notch. The crowd stared blankly at the lone Su Wen. A cacophony of muttering rose.
It was suspicion—a sense of betrayal by their team.
At his age, he was obviously a reserve.
In such an important match, they sent only a reserve?! What was Shrek's coach thinking!
On the platform, the two sides faced off.
Su Wen clearly saw the opponent captain's provocation.
The latter gave a thumbs-up, then turned it down. The surrounding teammates were equally elated.
The closer they got and the clearer Su Wen's face, the more they craved the coming victory. They'd already imagined the awe of junior schoolmates, the pride of teachers, and the recruitment offers after graduation.
"Both sides retreat to the edge," the referee continued.
"Soul tools allowed. Excessively lethal fixed-mounted soul tools are banned. Violators will be disqualified."
"Match… begin!"
"Buzz!"
"Buzz!"
"Buzz!"
Tianling took a 3-2-2 formation.
Three frontliners, two flankers on the sides, and a control plus support at mid-back.
Soul rings rose humming underfoot.
An optimal setup: five four-ring soul ancestors, two three-ring soul elders. Strong enough for top 30 among 133 teams!
But countless gazes focused more on the solitary Su Wen.
In the Heaven Dou Academy section.
Jiang Peng crossed his arms, eyes narrowed, staring at Su Wen. Shrek wasn't stupid. If they couldn't fight, they'd likely quit directly—without Shrek, the tournament is incomplete; your victory is hollow.
But since Shrek sent someone—only one reserve—
Either Shrek was addled, the coach mule-kicked in the head.
Or… this youth had the power to 1v7.
Yet Tianling's captain was level 49, peak soul ancestor, plus four other sects and two elders—coordinated, they weren't just additive. To beat them securely, you'd need… a peak soul king at least.
In other words, Jiang Peng could do it—but he was a soul emperor.
A typical peak soul king could still flip the car, let alone a reserve!
If someone said Su Wen had soul emperor strength, he wouldn't believe it.
That wasn't just "defying the heavens." The youngest soul emperor in history wasn't under sixteen, right?
He exhaled, stopped overthinking.
The answers would arrive shortly.
"Go!"
Tianling's captain shouted.
The two flankers darted out, wings sprouting from their shoulders—flying beast spirits. Their thousand-year rings flared as they charged at Su Wen, killing intent blazing.
All they needed was to throw him off the stage!
Victory would be theirs!
So close to glory, their eyes shone with frenzy, their close-combat soul tools gleaming once infused with soul power…
Then, a sudden change.
A massive figure blocked their path before Su Wen.
Tianling's captain slammed on mental brakes, staring upward—right into the hurricane-gale gaze of a predator looking down on ants. Terror shot up his spine, hair standing on end. He'd never felt such ferocity!
"Knock them off."
Su Wen stood on the platform and spoke lightly.
"Roar~!!!"
The white ape—Gale—threw back its head and howled, making Tianling's squad's skin crawl.
"Full assault!" the captain grit out, calling for coordination.
Their support and control at the back both popped big skills, light showering the three frontliners and two flankers. A black glow fell on Gale as a debuff, but it did almost nothing.
In the next instant—
He saw Gale sneer like a person.
Then the hulking frame vanished, ghosting to his flank. His heart stuttered to a stop; fear flooded him. He tried to react, but his body wouldn't keep up. Terrifying force crashed into him; it felt like all his bones shattered. He felt himself fly, blood gushing from his mouth. As his vision dimmed, the last thing he saw was a white blur hammering his teammates one by one off the platform—
And behind the white ape, that indifferent figure.
It wasn't fear of them—he'd never deigned to speak to ants.
So this was Shrek?
The two flankers, seeing their captain and two frontliners sent flying, life or death unknown, were overcome by terror and instinctively fled backward, even firing off soul skills.
But the white blur moved like a monkey, speed almost invisible to the eye, catching them within a breath and smashing them out of bounds.
Then the support and control were tossed off as well.
"…"
The arena fell deathly silent.
Countless gulps sounded.
"Can you announce the result?" Su Wen looked at the referee, still offhand.
"Y-Yes. Shrek Academy wins!" The referee snapped out of it.
The mercurial opening match ended with an even more unexpected conclusion.
The boy won—and so cleanly.
This meant all the doubts and conjectures about Shrek had to be scrapped.
No matter how weak Shrek's other members were, he alone could rewrite the narrative. Shrek's sagging support spiked. Su Wen's name spread through underground casinos and among common folk overnight.
Cheers drowned the arena.
They watched Su Wen walk off as if he'd done something trivial.
Winning—and crushing—are different beasts.
"Hiss…"
Jiang Peng gaped.
"Captain, is that beast-taming?!" a teammate swallowed.
"A life-bonded beast," Jiang Peng shook his head, eyes narrowing.
If it were true beast-taming—that'd be insane.
But if the white ape was a detached martial spirit, perhaps he used a secret art to boost its strength. And secret arts have costs…
"Burning his future to gamble for a championship?"
Jiang Peng's tone was distant.
"Such an opponent deserves respect."
"Captain, can you handle that white ape?" a teammate asked.
"Difficult, but not too much…" He shook his head.
"If it's only what we saw today, it's merely troublesome. What truly worries me is Shrek's soul emperor, Ma Xiaotao…"
"This boy's secret art likely won't last to the finals. By then, our biggest enemy will probably be Ma Xiaotao."
"…"