The later a competition gets, the fiercer it becomes—especially so in this year's tournament. In the third round alone, every day saw contestants dying on the battlefield. By the end of the four-day round, a terrifying total of thirty-three participants had perished—over half of them in the third round—leaving many lamenting in grief.
Between the third and fourth rounds, the tournament granted a rare rest day. All qualifying teams received a break to recuperate. While a day's rest meant little to powerhouse teams like Shrek Academy, it was incredibly valuable for average teams who could take the time to recover physically and mentally, regaining their optimal condition.
Though the fourth round was postponed by a day, the match-up draw had already taken place immediately after the third round concluded.
The format for the fourth round differed slightly from the previous ones. It was divided into two parts. The first part remained the same—direct combat. Twenty-three matches would be spread across two days. Winners would advance to the group stage, while the losing teams would enter the second part. Since this tournament would determine the top thirty-two teams directly, those entering part two would be ranked by accumulated points. The top nine among them would still proceed to the group stage.
Shrek Academy's opponent in the fourth round was the Tyrant Armour Sect—yes, the same sect that had eliminated Falan Academy. Upon hearing this, Jiang Nannan immediately became excited, eager to avenge her little sister.
——
The fourth round began. The first match was between the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and the Tang Sect. To everyone's surprise, Tang Sect forfeited outright. While it was unclear what their reasoning was, their decisiveness earned mixed reactions—including boos from the Sun Moon Empire crowd.
At this point in the tournament, the audience had already memorized the standout teams, and Tang Sect had clearly become one of them after their previous rounds. Despite their long decline over the past millennium, the citizens of the Sun Moon Empire were thrilled to see their top academy claim a victory—even by default—over what was once the continent's number one sect. It almost felt like a symbolic triumph, as if the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had crushed the legendary Tang Sect.
Soon, the day's matches reached their midpoint. Match seven: Shrek Academy vs. Tyrant Armour Sect.
The Shrek team had arrived in the waiting area, all looking to Zhu Ziyang for direction. Jiang Nannan, in particular, clung to his arm, her watery, innocent eyes gazing up at him—her intentions crystal clear.
"Sigh... Alright, Nannan, you can go," Zhu Ziyang said helplessly, reaching out to gently pat her head with a slightly doting smile. "But remember—don't overdo it!"
"Yay!" Jiang Nannan exclaimed, planting a quick kiss on Zhu Ziyang's cheek. "No problem!"
Her affectionate gesture immediately drew the attention of everyone present. It was simply too bold. The Tyrant Armour Sect members all wore dark expressions—was Shrek Academy looking down on them that much? Meanwhile, the rest of the audience and teams could only watch in silent envy. After all, Jiang Nannan was an absolute beauty in her prime. Calling her stunning would be an understatement.
"Ahem. Contestants, take the stage!" The referee, standing atop the platform, cleared his throat and called out.
Jiang Nannan and her opponent from Tyrant Armour Sect ascended the stage from opposite sides. The latter was a burly young man, but few took notice of him. All eyes were on Jiang Nannan, elegant and regal like a moon goddess. Her entrance alone stirred the crowd into cheers—such was the natural grace of a true beauty.
On the VIP platform, Xu Tianran's eyes lit up the moment he saw her, but that sparkle quickly darkened. His fists clenched, and a deep hatred brewed in his gaze.
Onstage, the referee oversaw the introductions.
"Shrek Academy, Jiang Nannan."
"Tyrant Armour Sect, Han Yu."
Jiang Nannan's delicate face was expressionless. Han Yu, on the other hand, wore a friendly smile—perhaps hoping to impress her. He even nodded slightly, pretending as if they were already acquainted.
Unimpressed, Jiang Nannan felt nothing. In fact, her mind was occupied with a more important question—should she go all out, or hold back a little?
"Begin!" The referee's arm dropped.
In an instant, Jiang Nannan's figure vanished. All anyone saw was a flash of silver streaking across their vision—too fast for most to process. Only a handful of high-level experts could make out that the silver light was Jiang Nannan herself. Those who could see gasped inwardly. That level of speed was beyond anything a typical Soul King or Soul Emperor could reach.
Meanwhile, Han Yu had just summoned his martial soul—a large, hexagonal black shield—and his five soul rings: two yellow, two purple, one black. By any standard, he was a top-tier contestant. Unfortunately, he was facing Jiang Nannan.
His martial soul, the Sky Armor Shield, was a quintessential defense-type weapon and the foundation of the Tyrant Armour Sect's legacy. Like many traditional sects, Tyrant Armour was structured around a single family and martial soul line. Many of the continent's famous clans operated this way—Clear Sky Sect, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and so on.
No sooner had Han Yu summoned his shield than he realized Jiang Nannan had disappeared. He couldn't sense her presence at all. In a panic, he instinctively raised his shield to guard his chest.
Too late.
A silver blur zipped in—and a petite pink fist struck his shield.
Boom!
Han Yu flew backward. Even mid-air, his face contorted in shock and pain. It felt like being hit by a speeding truck—like a massive steel beast had slammed straight through his shield and into his chest. The force bypassed his defenses entirely and struck him internally.
Thud! Bang!
He collided with the barrier behind the platform, then crashed to the ground. Eyes rolling back, Han Yu fainted on the spot, marking a humiliating end to his tournament journey.
"Next," Jiang Nannan said sweetly from where she once stood, smiling gently.
Her dazzling smile made every male member of Tyrant Armour Sect swallow nervously. Not because of her beauty, but because of what she just did to Han Yu.
A single punch had sent a Soul King flying.
She was terrifying!
What no one knew was that Jiang Nannan hadn't even gone all out. She'd merely used subsonic speed for that attack. If she'd used her full power—triple the speed of sound—Han Yu would've been obliterated.
(End of Chapter)
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