Chapter 87: Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Victorious!
Losing means losing. There's no such thing as using the excuse of withdrawing to cover up the fact that Shrek lost.
If other academies follow suit later—withdraw as soon as things don't go their way—then how can the competition continue?
Xuan Zi's expression was conflicted; making him make this decision was worse than killing him.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to admit defeat, but what about the children from the inspection team who died? How could he explain bringing students to participate without Elder Mu's explicit permission to provide support?
Dai Huabin was dead, Dai Yueheng was severely injured, and all the trouble from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion would fall on him.
There was also the Xuanming Sect, the Elders of Yao Haoxuan and Xi Xi, and Xiao Tao's evil fire. All troubles would come at once. If they won, everything would be fine, but there was nothing worse than the current situation.
But there was no more time for him to hesitate because Ma Xiaotao on the field had completely lost control.
The evil fire had completely eroded her rationality. Ma Xiaotao had now unleashed Soul Skill compression, one of Shrek's secret techniques.
Bathing Fire Phoenix + Phoenix Cloud Piercing Strike, simultaneously linked with her right arm Soul Bone Skill, Phoenix Rupture. The fusion of these three Soul Skills was clearly aimed at killing Ma Rulong and the others.
Did you think Ma Rulong and the others would choose to resist head-on? That would be purely idiotic. It was clear that this Shrek 'chicken' already showed a tendency to turn into an Evil Soul Master. Of course, they would cause as much trouble for Shrek as possible within the rules of the competition.
Huang Jinxu also realized something was wrong. At this moment, he temporarily had no time to deal with the three Old Monsters beside him, so he directly stepped in to take Ma Xiaotao's full-power blow.
But what was even more outrageous was that because this attack had an extremely wide range, coupled with the Sun Moon side being prepared early with several invincible shields, the unlucky ones were actually the people from Shrek.
Su Tong and Ling Luochen directly took Zhu Lu, who was still grieving, off the field. Although they still wanted to struggle, if they didn't dodge Ma Xiaotao's attack, they would truly die.
However, Ma Xiaotao, who was corrupted by the evil fire, had no distinction between friend and foe in her eyes at this moment. The Soul Skill of Overlord Tiger Soul Blade could still be released, and it directly attacked Huang Jinxu, the referee.
"What?"
Not only was Huang Jinxu stunned by this scene, but many spectators also subtly felt that something was wrong.
Feeling the thoroughly evil and murderous soul power, and Ma Xiaotao, whose face was full of killing intent and who had lost her rationality, countless people began to exclaim:
"Fallen one!"
"This Shrek captain is a fallen one!"
In this era, the definition of a fallen one is different from that of ten thousand years ago. It refers to Soul Masters whose Martial Souls have not been completely corrupted and whose humanity has not been fully twisted.
The difference from an Evil Soul Master is that a fallen one has stepped halfway into the threshold of the Evil Soul Master definition—uh... a semi-finished product.
Good, good, good— it really happened. At this moment, Huo Yuhao, watching this scene on the field, didn't know how to describe Xuan Zi.
Knowing that Ma Xiaotao's evil fire was unstable, yet still daring to let her indulge in its erosion so recklessly, leading to the current situation—could this guy really be the Holy Spirit Cult's Grand Elder?
He had created a Holy Maiden for the Holy Spirit Cult.
Indeed, in the spectator stands below, there were actually two Soul Masters whose eyes lit up at this scene. Fortunately, Kong Deming, Du Busi, Xuan Zi, and others attracted most of the attention; otherwise, the fanaticism in their eyes would have caused big trouble.
The two exchanged glances and quietly withdrew from the area.
"Old Monster, I didn't expect it—your Shrek actually cultivates Evil Soul Masters!"
Du Busi didn't care about all that. "Didn't your Shrek say before that eradicating Evil Soul Masters causes casualties? Then explain what's going on with a student in your team who might fall into being an Evil Soul Master?"
As mentioned before, the definition of an Evil Soul Master was unified across the Three Kingdoms and even Shrek: any Soul Master with a fallen attribute or an evil Martial Soul could be directly defined as an Evil Soul Master.
This was the definition given by Shrek, and it was this statement that stifled many young Soul Masters who, despite not knowing what an Evil Soul Master was, possessed Martial Souls with fallen attributes.
But now that your Shrek suddenly has one, how do you explain it?
You can't possibly say that you'll judge based on behavior and whether a Soul Master causes slaughter for power, right? Who would believe that? No one would.
You say you won't fall—how do you prove it?
Huang Jinxu had already knocked Ma Xiaotao unconscious and, with a grim expression, handed her over to Xuan Zi.
This kind of situation is truly unsolvable.
Shrek is in this situation because of Evil Soul Masters. Fine, those crazy followers might still believe it, but now that an Evil Soul Master has appeared in Shrek's own team, what else is there to say?
Oh, if they're not from your Shrek, then having evil and fallen attributes means they deserve to die; but if they're from your Shrek, you hide them and even bring them to participate in the Soul Master Competition. Double standards—this is simply too much.
Kong Deming didn't hold back his sarcasm: "It's hard to say about such matters. Perhaps the Evil Soul Masters on the continent are actually indulged by Shrek."
"Self-theft, rampant Evil Soul Masters—that organization of Shrek's, what's it called—the inspection team—then has sufficient reason to interfere in the affairs of the Douluo Three Kingdoms, doesn't it!"
These were truly damning words, evident from the expression on Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei's face. Yet, Xuan Zi, the Old Monster, was so enraged that he didn't know how to explain himself.
At this moment, many Soul Masters who had knowledge of the continent's history began to discuss:
"It seems that way. Evil Soul Masters on the continent have always been impossible to eradicate. Could it really be Shrek supporting them from behind?"
"I've studied the continent's history. The Evil Soul Masters ten thousand years ago truly weren't as rampant as in our era."
"Hiss, the more you think about it, the more terrifying it becomes—the more terrifying it becomes~"
Xuan Zi's state of mind was almost shattered. "Enough! Shrek's actions are witnessed by the continent. How can you define everything Shrek has done?"
"Xiao Tao just took a wrong path for a moment. Shrek's attitude towards Evil Soul Masters is only one: never tolerate them."
"Ten thousand years ago, our ancestor, Sea God Tang San, personally destroyed Slaughter City, a gathering place for countless fallen ones. Shrek has also fought against Evil Soul Masters for countless years. How dare you question us!"
Slaughter City?
For many Soul Masters without much background, this was the first time they learned of such a secret.
However, among the hundreds of thousands of spectators, many smart people now seemed to vaguely understand. So, the reason was here? The destruction of the Evil Soul Master's gathering place was the main reason for the current rampant Evil Soul Masters?
But that doesn't make sense, does it?
Xuan Zi didn't care what others thought. He finally recovered, knowing that with public opinion fermenting, any explanation he gave would be pale. Coupled with Ma Xiaotao's uncontrollable situation, he was unwilling to delay further.
"Shrek surrenders."
"But remember this: Shrek has held the championship for nearly ten thousand years. In the next Soul Master Competition, a Shrek that has suffered no losses and is at its peak will show you what the number one academy on the continent truly is!"
This wasn't an evasion like withdrawing from the competition, but a genuine admission of defeat in battle. After saying this, Xuan Zi felt as if he had expended too much mental effort, and his eyes dimmed.
But he could only utter threats, as facing Kong Deming and Du Busi alone now truly put immense pressure on him.
He wanted to leave, but the matter of him casually interfering and influencing the competition hadn't been settled yet.
"Your academy's Evil Soul Master, that Soul Skill fusion secret technique she used just now is quite good. Hand it over, and I can let bygones be bygones regarding your, Old Monster, casually interfering with the competition and attempting to harm my disciple."
Du Busi also released his Martial Soul, jointly pressuring Xuan Zi. He regretted it a bit—damn it, he was careless; he should have been the one to say that. That child, Yuhao, wouldn't blame him, would he?
"Good!"
Xuan Zi could only grit his teeth and swallow this bitter pill, handing the Soul Skill fusion secret technique to Kong Deming. Then, he and Elder Zhuang prepared to leave with their team.
As for why Elder Zhuang, a Titled Douluo, didn't step forward, it was, of course, because he was a healing type. In this situation, his presence would only make things worse.
"Announce the results!"
Huang Jinxu finally reacted, respectfully nodding before saying:
"In the semifinals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Competition, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy versus Shrek Academy, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is victorious!!"
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End of Chapter