There wasn't much to say about the match. It was nothing more than the Dou Ling team using a "turtle shell" formation, constructing a huge turret under the cover of their control-type battle soul master. In this life, even without Xu Sanshi going on stage to displace the opponent's main general for a group beatdown, under the terrifying amplification of Gongyang Mo and the interference and assistance of Yao Haoxuan, Dai Yueheng, whose combat power was approaching that of a Soul Sage, was more than enough to frontally break through the opponent's defensive fortifications.
Although the Dou Ling team's tactics were not bad, the Shrek team, with all its official members gathered, was undoubtedly a cut above.
The most miserable one on the Dou Ling team was Gu Zhujian. Because there would be an individual knockout match after a day's rest, and the referee was on the other side preventing the one with the highest attack power, Chen Zifeng, from attacking, the black-bellied Dai Yueheng was truly ruthless. Both of Gu Zhujian's arms and legs were broken. Of course, reattaching them was not a problem, but to want to make a move again in a short period of time was absolutely impossible.
Even when the referee ran over from the Shrek Academy side to pull Gu Zhujian out, he had a "you guys are ruthless enough" expression on his face.
Dai Yueheng, on the other hand, had a look of innocence, as if the one who had been ruthless was not him at all, as if to say, "I broke his four limbs, not his five. I've already been very merciful!" Out of a spirit of humanitarianism, Dai Yueheng had knocked Gu Zhujian out before breaking his four limbs, so the one leading the other side had become their vice-captain.
The gazes of the Dou Ling team members as they looked at the members of Shrek Academy were now completely filled with anger.
Xixi snorted coldly, "What are you looking at? If it were you, would you have held back?"
The Dou Ling team, of course, couldn't act shamelessly like Shrek. They turned their heads in a huff and left.
"This is Shrek, a Shrek that erupts with dominance. However, the Dou Ling team is not bad either. It's a pity they encountered such a shameless opponent," His Majesty the Star Luo Emperor commented.
The round of sixteen continued. Unsurprisingly, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy smoothly defeated their opponent in the team battle. And, in the team battle match, their captain, the Soul Emperor-level expert Ma Rulong, still did not fight. They had defeated their enemy merely by relying on their other six main members plus one preparatory team member.
Up to this point, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy even had nine people who had not yet appeared on stage: Captain Ma Rulong, Vice-Captain Ju Zi, as well as preparatory team captain Xiao Hongchen and his sister Meng Hongchen, and Huo Yuhao's five companions.
Now, Shrek Academy had undoubtedly become the biggest favorite to win the championship. Many people had already started placing bets in secret, gambling on who the final champion would be. Although both academies had a Soul Emperor appear, in terms of odds, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy was still a few points behind Shrek Academy.
In the individual knockout matches, Shrek Academy won battle after battle. The White Tiger Battle Soul Emperor, Dai Yueheng, relying on his own formidable strength, took on three opponents by himself, ending this individual knockout match and at the same time sending Shrek Academy into the top eight of this year's tournament. Now, the Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy could pack up and go home.
Then, in the subsequent quarter-finals, Shrek Academy was lucky enough to draw a top-tier lot. The weakest team among the top eight was drawn by them. Speaking of which, they were old acquaintances, precisely the Zhengtian Academy team that had once brought great trouble to Huo Yuhao and the others in the original novel.
The final result was predictable. When the Shrek team only had Dai Yueheng able to go on stage, the Shrek team could still win. Plus a pile of Soul Kings, this match had no suspense. Zhengtian Academy was beaten so badly they couldn't even find north. The Shrek team stepped on them and advanced to the semi-finals.
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, having progressed to this point, was also approaching its end. And the end also meant the arrival of the highest climax.
Huo Yuhao, who had been forced to watch matches for several days in a row, felt extremely tired. After returning to the hotel with the main group, he didn't want to go and watch the semi-finals no matter what.
If they followed the normal timeline, Shrek Academy would be up against the Star Luo National Academy, while their Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy would be up against the Heaven Soul Empire's Di'ao Academy.
There was even less to say about Di'ao Academy. In the original novel, they were instantly killed by the Sun Moon team in the team battle. In the individual matches, their only Soul Emperor was also easily handled by Ma Rulong. There was no need for Huo Yuhao and his companions to help at all.
The reason why the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy was Shrek's strongest opponent was not just because the students they cultivated possessed soul power cultivation that could contend with Shrek's students, but more importantly, their control ability in the field of soul tools.
Without a doubt, for this tournament, the Sun Moon team definitely had many sufficiently strong soul tools that they had not used, specially saved to deal with Shrek.
In recent decades, the Sun Moon Empire's soul tools had been updated very quickly, making the Sun Moon participating teams more and more difficult to deal with.
Therefore, in order to target them, the key to Shrek's tactics lay in adapting to circumstances. In terms of team battles, Shrek would very likely be at a disadvantage due to the other side's group advantage in soul tools. But in the single-person knockout matches, or the two-two-three battle formation that reappeared in the finals, the powerful soul masters cultivated by Shrek would not be at a disadvantage. At least they had a fighting chance.
At the same time, the rules of the finals had also changed. It would adopt a competition of team battle plus individual knockout matches plus the two-two-three battle formation. And, after both sides had selected their seven participating team members, these three matches would be carried out in one go, with no rest in between. The winner of two out of three rounds would be the final champion.
"Yuhao, get up for me!"
Ju Zi looked at Huo Yuhao, who had directly gone to lie on her bed the moment he returned to the hotel. Her heart was both angry and amused. After these few days of recuperation, Huo Yuhao's injuries were long healed. Now he was completely freeloading here. If Xiao Hongchen were to find out, he might just have to be humanely extinguished.
After Huo Yuhao and Ju Zi had completely confirmed their relationship, the latter was still reluctant to break through that final line of defense. In Ju Zi's heart, Huo Yuhao was the prince bestowed upon her by heaven. She hoped that only after that grand event belonging to the two of them in the future would she completely give herself to him.
Huo Yuhao naturally understood her thoughts, but now he was missing Ma Xiaotao and Zhongli Yu by his side. Mu Jin was also far away in Shrek Academy. This made him, who had tasted the marrow, quite uncomfortable.
As for Ning Tian and the others, it went without saying. They were all still too young. Before they were completely settled, Huo Yuhao was unwilling to preemptively possess their future.
So the only thing Huo Yuhao could enjoy was naturally just sleeping while holding Ju Zi.
Before his injuries were healed, it was still fine. Ju Zi, feeling the vigorous life energy pouring into his body, was still quite enjoying it. But as Huo Yuhao's injuries recovered, only then did Ju Zi feel the same as Ning Tian and the other girls.
The feel of Ju Zi's skin was simply too good.
Huo Yuhao's Five Tiger Generals and Five Great Generals often, under the cover of night, galloped across the great rivers and mountains of Ju Zi's body, capturing camps overnight. Several times, they almost penetrated deep into the heartland, going straight for the vital gate of the palace.
This made Ju Zi, whose life gate was on the verge of being lost, wake up in the middle of the night several times. While interrupting Zhuge's spellcasting, she would also take the opportunity to bind those ten great marshals, fully displaying the posture of a generation's war god.
This made the awakened Huo Yuhao sigh at the vast ocean every time. He had no choice but to rein in his horse at the cliff's edge, forcing himself to hold on for the sake of his hundreds of millions of sons and soldiers.
"Sister Ju Zi, just take in this homeless child of mine, won't you?" Huo Yuhao might as well use his simulation soul skill to transform himself into the appearance of a child from the past timeline, trying to stimulate Ju Zi's great maternal brilliance.
"Don't you still have another dimension? I see there's a big bed inside. Even a dozen people could lie on it, right?" Ju Zi sneered coldly, not falling for his trick at all. Last time she had almost fallen for it. The moment this fellow was picked up by her, he had drilled straight between the majestic peaks.
Huo Yuhao was instantly on the verge of tears. Ju Zi was too meticulous. The big bed in his Kamui space where he had previously slept with Cui Yejie and the other four girls still hadn't escaped her magic eye. Last time, after he had killed that Guardian Douluo Cheng Gang, he had taken Ju Zi and the others into the space to take refuge, and she had unintentionally seen it.
If Ju Zi were to know that he still had two great saintesses and a beautiful teacher with whom he had a substantial relationship, wouldn't all hell break loose?
"Alone, dark, dark, scared, scared!" Huo Yuhao changed back, might as well just forcefully hold Ju Zi in his arms, and said coquettishly with a wronged look.
Ju Zi couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. Was she not afraid of this fellow who would push his luck?
"Let's talk business. If we encounter the Shrek team tomorrow, are you going to make a move?"
Huo Yuhao thought for a moment. If this Shrek team without Ma Xiaotao were to face the Sun Moon team head-on, the outcome might not be the same as in the original plot.
"If Xiao Hongchen and the others lose the team battle, I'll go up for the subsequent individual matches and the two-two-three," Huo Yuhao said.
This complete Shrek team, when arranging for a team battle, would surely not prioritize sending out the weaker preparatory team members. So Ma Rulong and the others, relying on the advantage of their soul tools, still had a chance to win.
But for the one-on-one individual matches and the two-two-three, it was hard to say. A soul master's individual strength was bound to be a notch higher than a soul tool master of the same level. This created a variable.
However, there was still a semi-final before the final. Thinking too much was of no use. What was to come would come.
"If you go, no one is your opponent."
Ju Zi still had a certain understanding of Huo Yuhao's strength. As long as Huo Yuhao was willing to help out, then their Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy could not lose.
"What's the use of caring so much? While the moon is dark and the wind is high, why don't we do something happy?" Huo Yuhao buried his head in Ju Zi's neck and took a deep breath.
"You villain!" Ju Zi forcefully tried to push him away but was held even more tightly by him.
"Ju Zi, you are so beautiful," Huo Yuhao's nose slid across her neck, her chin, and finally, he took a bite of her delicate and dripping red lips.
Ju Zi only felt her mind go completely blank, but she soon sank into Huo Yuhao's tenderness.
In the end, Huo Yuhao did not succeed and was driven out of the room by Ju Zi, who was both shy and angry after coming back to her senses.
Huo Yuhao was instantly on the verge of tears. You can't play like this...
He looked around, confirmed Wu Feng's room, and directly used his Spirit Eyes' third soul skill to drill in.
"Yuhao?" A panicked voice immediately came from within the room.
"Sister Feng, dark, dark, scared, scared! Kisses!"
"Mmph mmph..."
A night without words.
The facts proved that with the two great saintesses and the beautiful teacher not around, Wu Feng's figure was second to none. When Ning Tian and Nanmen Yun'er came to wake Wu Feng up in the morning, they happened to run into the Wu Feng with panda eyes in Huo Yuhao's arms.
Even if Huo Yuhao hadn't crossed that line, he still had to satisfy his hand and mouth addictions. In the past, with all four girls stationed together, it was still fine. At least there was someone to help share the burden.
"Ning Tian, save me, I'm scared—"
In the early morning: wash up, breakfast, set out for battle, the semi-finals!
The Shrek Academy team, dressed in their shit-green tight-fitting suits, the moment they appeared on Star Luo Plaza, caused a tsunami-like cheer.
From the initial more than a hundred teams in the competition, to now the final four being decided, the tournament had already taken more than a month. Huo Yuhao's group of companions had all had some breakthroughs in their soul power.
For the remaining four teams, each team at most only had two great battles left. The decisive moment had arrived, and the time to fight with all their might had also come.
The rest area had been renovated and now only had four areas left. Each team was quite far from each other.
There was still nearly half a shichen (one hour) before the start of the competition, but the people from the four teams had all already arrived.
Occasional eye contact, and sparks would fly between the four teams. While their battle intent was high, the atmosphere in the rest area also became solemn, tense, and even had a bit of a murderous air.
The daylight gradually brightened. The weather today was still not bad. The sunlight shone on the wide Star Luo Plaza, covering the entire plaza with a faint layer of gold. But in the eyes of the four teams that had entered the semi-finals, this was not just sunlight, but also the glory they had to fight for with all their might.
The first day of the semi-finals, team battle.
Before long, His Majesty the Emperor also arrived. After a round of magnificent yet not without humor nonsense, the drawing of lots also officially began.
The Heaven-Shaking Douluo took two steps across and, facing the direction of the rest area, said in a deep voice, "Will the captains of the four teams please come up to the stage to draw lots."
An indescribably powerful aura suddenly burst out from his body. The astonishing pressure even made everyone on Star Luo Plaza feel as if the sky had darkened.
Huo Yuhao understood that the Star Luo Empire's move was undoubtedly a show of force to the various countries of the continent, to display its national strength.
However, a few trashy ordinary Titled Douluo who weren't even Super Douluo, what use would they be in a future war?
In the original novel, Huo Yuhao, who had condensed the yin-yang complementary dual soul cores, had just become a Titled Douluo, and killing ordinary Titled Douluo was as simple as killing a chicken.
If one did not have the strength of a Super Douluo, when a future war started, the combat power of an ordinary Titled Douluo wouldn't even be presentable.
Just as the leading teachers of the various academies were introducing the origin of this Heaven-Shaking Douluo to their team members, the four team captains representing the top four had already come onto the stage.
On Shrek Academy's side was Dai Yueheng. On the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy's side was Ma Rulong. Di'ao Academy's was a youth of medium build, with broad shoulders and a wide back, looking very steady, with a feeling of being as solid as a rock. The one representing the Star Luo National Academy on stage was surprisingly a young girl, a rare female captain. This young girl, Huo Yuhao, as well as the members of Shrek Academy, had all seen before. It was surprisingly the chief auctioneer they had met at the Starlight Auction House, Her Highness Princess Jiujiu.
The competition uniform of the Star Luo National Academy was a light yellow tight-fitting suit. Today, this princess was different from her elegance and nobility at the auction that day. Dressed in a tight-fitting suit, her temperament had changed. Her whole person appeared heroic and valiant. Her long golden hair was neatly tied into a ponytail. A faint smile was on her pretty face. A well-tailored yellow tight-fitting suit perfectly outlined her delicate body.
Ma Rulong only glanced at this princess, a slight look of surprise in his eyes, before immediately turning his gaze elsewhere. And the captain of the Di'ao Academy, however, stared at Princess Jiujiu with deep affection for a while before finally moving his gaze away.
Regarding the information on this princess, whether it was any of the academy teams, their minds were a complete blank.
But Huo Yuhao, who had a god's perspective, knew the name of this princess's martial soul.
Seeing Ju Zi cast an inquiring look at him, Huo Yuhao said, "Let's watch the draw first."
The four captains representing the four great academies had already come onto the stage. The draw began.