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"Hum—"
Beneath the blade's edge, all sound and air vanished into perfect vacuum.
The terrifying killing intent and piercing sword aura crushed the Tianling team like a tide of corpses and blood flooding through an ancient sword graveyard. Fear and disbelief spread across the faces of all seven competitors, their charges halting abruptly as they froze in paralyzed awe, staring helplessly as the blade descended.
Seeing this, the Tianling Academy's team instructor immediately shouted, "Tianling concedes!"
The referee reacted instantly—his Soul Power flared, and he leapt forward with his own Soul Body activated, boldly intercepting the Seven Kill Sword.
There was no time for Chen Junting to stop it.
"Boom!"
The brilliant cerulean blade met the referee's hastily erected defensive barrier mid-air—and shattered with a deafening crack that echoed across the entire city of Xingluo.
Under the sheer force of the sword's razor edge and the suffocating killing intent, the temporary barrier dissolved into a thousand shimmering specks of light within an instant. The referee himself was flung backward like a ragdoll, crashing into the stands.
The seven Tianling students stood utterly motionless, stunned beyond words. They had never imagined their own referee—trained and seasoned—would be obliterated so easily. Now… who would save them?
"Return!"
Chen Junting uttered a single soft command.
Behind him, the towering spectral figure froze mid-swing. Brilliant cerulean light and glowing runes surged from the blade's surface, rushing back into his body like a river returning to its source.
The crushing pressure lifted. The Tianling team collapsed to their knees, gasping for breath as if they had just escaped death itself.
The entire Xingluo Square fell into stunned silence.
Not a cheer. Not a whisper.
Not from the general spectators. Not from the imperial family. Not even from the other competing academies or the imperial ministers.
Until—
"Can the match be officially declared over?"
With the referee lying unconscious beyond the arena, Chen Junting turned his gaze upward toward the imperial balcony. His calm voice, amplified through a soul guidance device, rang clearly across the entire square.
Is it… really over?
The crowd was the first to react. Faces flushed with exhilaration, they erupted into a deafening roar of cheers that shook the heavens—joy so raw, so uncontainable, it felt as though the very earth trembled.
What a spectacle!
Worth every single coin!
Yet while the masses celebrated, Emperor Xu Jiawei remained frozen in his seat, eyes wide with disbelief. As a Soul Master who wielded a tool-type Soul, he understood perfectly what he had just witnessed.
He had never expected—on the very first round of elimination—that Shrek would be able to use a Martial Soul True Body… and with only two Soul Ancestors.
But what truly intrigued him was Chen Junting himself—and the Soul Guidance Device he had used.
"Who is that boy? I must know his identity—and I must know the truth behind that Soul Guidance Device."
Moments later—
"Your Majesty."
A shadow materialized silently beside Emperor Xu.
The figure leaned in, whispering into his ear: "The Shrek student's martial soul is the Seven Kill Sword. The girl beside him is the beloved daughter of Lord Ning. And his Soul Guidance Device… its effect closely resembles a seven-in-one fusion technique."
"So he's from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect," Emperor Xu murmured, his expression unreadable.
He had heard Chen Junting's chant clearly: "Sword Dao—Chen Xin." Memories of recent diplomatic overtures from the Sun Moon Empire and the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's public declarations surfaced in his mind. He whispered, almost to himself, "The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect… has been waiting for a thousand years… are they finally preparing to…"
His voice faded into silence, too low for anyone to catch.
Meanwhile—
"This is impossible!"
On the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy side, Xiao Hongchen's confident smirk vanished, replaced by pure disbelief.
He, too, relied on soul guidance devices to win battles—and he had confidence in his own strength.
But what shattered his composure wasn't just the slaughter of the Tianling team—it was the fact that Chen Junting had, for an instant, reached the power level of a Soul Saint… and he had done it not through pure cultivation, but through a soul guidance device he couldn't even begin to comprehend.
Even the two veteran Soul Engineers leading the Sun Moon delegation—both Rank 8 Soul Engineers—were now grim-faced. They had spent decades analyzing soul guidance devices, yet they could not identify a single component of the six-item composite system Chen Junting had deployed. All they could do was guess based on the effects they'd just witnessed.
What did this mean?!
Their eyes met. A single thought passed between them.
They must report this to the Hall Master immediately!
At the arena's edge, all one hundred and eight Soul Kings who had been maintaining the protective barrier now withdrew their Soul Power. None dared speak of the terror they'd felt—how each tremor of the blade's residual energy had threatened to shatter their barrier into oblivion.
Under Xingluo Empire's swift coordination, a new referee arrived on the arena floor and stood at its center. He glanced at Chen Junting with lingering unease—his colleague's fate still fresh in his mind.
But as a professional, he quickly steeled his expression and raised his voice.
"The first match of the first elimination round: Shrek Academy versus Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy—the winner is Shrek Academy!"
Amid thunderous applause, Chen Junting and Ning Tian joined their five teammates, preparing to descend from the arena.
As the Tianling team's instructor hurried forward to help his shaken students off the field, their captain suddenly called out to Chen Junting:
"Thank you for holding back!"
"Might I ask your name?"
Chen Junting did not turn around. He merely tilted his head slightly.
"Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Chen Junting."
His voice was cool, detached—yet it carried through the entire arena like a bell tolling in stillness.
Down on the sidelines, Teacher Wang Yan and the others rushed forward to meet them.
"Now that's what I call a grand spectacle!" Wang Yan exclaimed, shaking his head in awe.
Even though they had discussed the possibility, none of them had truly believed Chen Junting would unleash the "Sword Dao—Chen Xin"—and they were still stunned.
"Oh, it was nothing," Chen Junting waved it off with a light laugh, the cold demeanor of moments before already melted away. "Just a small thing."
"A small thing? You've stolen the entire show today," Wang Dong muttered from beside him. "I feel like I just came up here to be your cheerleader."
"Hah! We all were!" someone joked.
"Enough," Wang Yan clapped his hands to regain control. "Don't block the next team's entrance. Let's head to the rest area—talk once we're seated."
And so, under the gaze of thousands, the Shrek team marched off in triumph toward their designated seats.
But their departure did not quiet the crowd—it only deepened the anticipation. Every eye now burned with eagerness for Shrek's next appearance.
…
Inside the Star Emperor Hotel.
After the first day's matches concluded, the Shrek team returned one by one to their quarters. As they prepared to rest, Teacher Wang Yan summoned them to the meeting room.
But when they entered, the figure seated at the head of the table was not Wang Yan.
It was an elderly woman, radiant with quiet authority.
The moment Chen Junting met her gaze, the warmth he usually carried vanished—he felt as though he had stared into an endless abyss. The others felt it too.
As he wondered whether this was one of the ancient elders of the Sea God Pavilion, Wang Yan spoke.
"Everyone, Master Xuan remains at the academy due to unforeseen circumstances. For your safety, the academy has sent another elder of the Sea God Pavilion—this is Elder Song, the Level 97 Greenshadow Douluo."
"Greetings, Elder Song," the team bowed in unison.
"Ah, no need for formalities," Elder Song smiled warmly at the young faces before her. "I watched your match. Impressive. Especially you, boy." Her gaze settled on Chen Junting, sharp and knowing. "Using a Soul Guidance Device to activate a seven-in-one fusion technique? Even this old woman was startled."
Chen Junting's heart stirred slightly.
He understood her meaning: many eyes were already fixed on him—not just him, but the device he had revealed.
He didn't mind. He had used it only because he had the backing of those who could shield him.
And more importantly—he needed to let its influence grow, slowly, deliberately.
After offering praise to the others, Elder Song turned to criticism.
The one who received the harshest scolding was Ma Xiaotao.
Her reckless, impulsive actions had landed her in the exact same condition as Dai Yueheng—when she could have avoided it entirely.
Once her reprimand was complete, Elder Song introduced another point.
"When opponents do not field Soul Kings or higher, we will not send our core team to crush them. Instead, reserve members will handle such matches. It preserves the opponent's morale and gives our own students valuable experience."
"Of course," she added, smiling directly at Chen Junting, "you're the exception. Your power level is already beyond standard. In your own rank, save for those with Ultimate attributes or divine beast-bloodline Souls, no one stands a chance against you."
"Long live Elder Song!"
Wang Dong leapt to his feet first, cheering wildly.
After all, his experience had been… he'd give it one star.
Now, at last, it was his turn.
"I'll fight ten… thirteen matches!"
The next second, Wu Feng jabbed him hard in the ribs.
"You're only a Soul Grandmaster. You're the one who's gonna get crushed."
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