The Evil Eye White Tiger roared towards the sky as Dai Mubai activated his White Tiger Vajra Transformation, charging recklessly into the Heaven Dou Academy team.
From the very start of the battle, the Shrek Academy Team held an absolute advantage.
In less than a minute, screams and the sound of breaking bones echoed across the arena.
Dugu Feng glanced around.
This Soul Duel Arena was quite modern, equipped with amplification devices that projected every bone-crunching impact to every corner of the venue.
The intense sound waves violently stimulated the audience's adrenaline.
Eliciting thunderous cheers from the entire crowd.
The Heaven Dou Second Team surrendered without any suspense.
And their defeat was brutal.
Dai Mubai, Tang San, Huang Yuan, and Tai Long were all adept at delivering merciless blows.
The Soul Masters of Heaven Dou Second Team were left battered and bloody, with broken bones and torn flesh.
The gruesome scene shocked the audience more than Tang San's group's actual combat prowess.
A wave of intense discussion erupted among the spectators.
In the VIP seats, both Qian Renxue and Salas wore thoughtful expressions.
The Shrek Academy Team led by Tang San had truly left a deep impression on them.
Tang San was impressive!
As the first Soul Duel concluded—the only one scheduled for the day—Dugu Feng's group prepared to leave.
Upon exiting, they encountered Ning Fengzhi.
As expected, Ning Fengzhi had come for Tang San, entrusted by Qian Renxue to arrange an introduction.
Dugu Feng's expression revealed his satisfaction—his strong recommendation had successfully drawn Qian Renxue's attention to Tang San.
This was exactly right!
Now that the Clear Sky Sect's full strength had been revealed, posing a genuine threat to the Spirit Hall,
He was eager to see how Qian Renxue would handle Tang San this time.
Let the Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue, and the Clear Sky Sect engage in a chaotic struggle.
"What's with that sinister smirk? What are you plotting?"
Ning Rongrong, clinging to Dugu Feng's arm, suddenly pinched him.
"Was I?"
Was it that obvious?
He wasn't one to smile often.
"Not obviously, but I could tell you were smiling just from the slight twitch of your lips!"
Ning Rongrong laughed triumphantly.
Was there anyone who understood Dugu Feng better than her? Absolutely not.
Dugu Feng thought to himself—recent developments had been going smoothly, putting him in high spirits, which made him more expressive around Ning Rongrong than usual.
He'd have to be more careful in the future.
In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.
Gem Academy was about to begin their first match.
Dugu Feng sat in the spectator stands with Ning Rongrong, who wasn't participating in this battle.
Shi Nian was also conserving their strength.
The team consisted of Du Gu Mo, Zhang Jingyang, Dong Heguang, and four other Soul Experts.
Dong Heguang was also a Soul Ancestor, with Soul Power at the 41st rank.
Their opponents were Purple Star Academy.
According to intelligence gathered by Shi Nian, their adversaries weren't particularly strong, with only one Soul Ancestor.
Against such a team, Gem Academy had deployed three Soul Ancestors—already a cautious approach.
Barring any surprises, this lineup would be used against all teams except the Four Elemental Academies.
To Dugu Feng's left sat Little Snake.
"If I were fighting, just seven strikes of my Azure Phosphorous Finger Force would poison them all into retreat!"
Little Snake murmured.
Dugu Feng ignored him completely, instead turning his attention to a nearby match.
The Soul Duel Arena was divided into a main stage and several auxiliary stages.
The sub-arena also hosted Soul Duels from other academies.
Dugu Feng focused particularly on the Four Elements Academy.
Thunder Academy, Blazing Fire Academy, Divine Wind Academy, and Heaven Water Academy were all institutions that pursued extreme specialization.
Previously, there had been the Elephant Armor Academy forming the Five Element Alliance together with them.
Now it had become the Four Elements Alliance.
"Actually, Gem Academy follows the same path as the Four Elements Academy—both maximize the potential of a single Martial Soul, representing the Extreme School!" Dugu Feng remarked.
"That works out perfectly. Gem Academy could join the Four Elements Alliance to fill Elephant Armor Academy's spot. This is characteristic of our Heaven Dou Empire, unlike the Star Luo Empire or Spirit Hall, which emphasize balance," Ning Rongrong added casually.
Dugu Feng's eyes lit up—perhaps this could really work.
Moreover, he agreed with the Extreme School's philosophy.
Balance and coordination were only useful for low-level Soul Masters during Soul Duels.
The Balanced School emphasized two aspects of equilibrium: one was teamwork and coordination with others, requiring balanced team composition.
The other was the combination of different Spirit Rings within an individual—some for attack, some for defensive Soul Skills, and others for control.
Once reaching the high-level Soul Master stage, the disparity in strength between Soul Masters became vast, with significant gaps even among those of the same rank.
Dugu Feng believed true strength lay in mastering a single attribute to its extreme and integrating it thoroughly—only then could one become a true powerhouse.
Yang Wudi, for instance, attached only offensive Spirit Rings to himself.
Similarly, Dugu Feng's own Spirit Rings were all attack-oriented Soul Skills, aiming to push venom cultivation to its limits—essentially practicing the Extreme School as well.
Suddenly, Dugu Feng had an epiphany: neither school could be said to be stronger or weaker.
Each simply had its own strengths.
The Extreme School was more focused, making it easier to produce true powerhouses—those capable of challenging higher ranks and surpassing limits. It suited talented Soul Masters who could grow rapidly.
The Balanced School, on the other hand, provided more versatility for those with average talent and lower ceilings, since not everyone could cultivate to high-level Soul Master status.
It was like studying: one could severely specialize in a single field, becoming a top expert in that domain with extraordinary achievements.
The other approach avoided specialization but achieved average competence—lower in ceiling, yet still survivable.
His Dugu Family's Poison Cultivation Lineage followed the Extreme School. They would rather die than fail to produce a powerhouse capable of changing the family's destiny.
Thus, the Dugu Family and the Four Elements Alliance were of the same type.
With Thunder Academy's presence, the Four Elements Alliance had long maintained a semi-dependent relationship with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family.
If Gem Academy joined, the Dugu Family's strength would gradually dominate the alliance. Would this lead to conflict with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family?
But after a moment, Dugu Feng smirked coldly.
He truly wasn't afraid of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family—it was just another old dragon.
With Old Snake's breakthrough to Soul Douluo, Old Nine had likely advanced as well.
The Dugu Family now had three Soul Douluo, plus the intimidating presence of Dugu Bo.
Dugu Feng wasn't the least bit concerned.
His gaze returned to the arena. In this first round of Soul Duels, there were no clashes between powerhouses.
The Four Elements Academy and Gem Academy all faced weak opponents.
By the time he finished his thoughts, the matches on stage had already concluded.
The all-female beauty squad of Tianshui Academy received the loudest cheers, with their opponents already half-defeated before the match even began.
The seven members of Divine Wind Academy soared through the skies like eagles, diving down to attack in the most spectacular and visually stunning display.
Thunder Academy unleashed furious lightning assaults - when all seven members simultaneously executed Thousand Jun of Thunder, their opponents would surrender without even fighting.
Blazing Fire Academy's flames swept across the entire arena, leaving their rivals completely singed with no hair or eyebrows left.
The four elemental academies created wave after wave of dazzling storms, truly an astonishing sight.
(End of Chapter)