Before Zheng Zhan could finish speaking, Jili had already released his martial soul first. With swift movements, he charged straight toward Wang Qiu'er.
In fact, throughout Shrek Academy's journey to the top eight, Wang Qiu'er herself had not displayed much of her true power. Her fifth and sixth soul skills at the ten-thousand-year level had never been used publicly.
Jili knew very well that Wang Qiu'er was definitely not as easy to deal with as that previous overconfident, foolish woman. However, his Brain-Eating Beast martial soul specialized in mid-to-close-range combat. Naturally, he first needed to close the distance with Wang Qiu'er.
Unlike Jili, who was eager to seize control of the match, Wang Qiu'er stood completely still, like a statue.
But the moment Jili crossed the center of the arena, Wang Qiu'er abruptly opened her eyes. Her pink-blue pupils instantly transformed into dazzling gold, carrying the innate majesty and nobility of a sovereign.
Behind her, a golden silhouette resembling a lion with dragon-like claws quietly emerged. Its entire body was wrapped in golden flames, extraordinarily divine. Beneath the golden fur were dense golden scales, and on its forehead was a faint, eerie blood-red line.
Wang Qiu'er proudly raised her head and coldly stared at Jili opposite her.
The instant their eyes met, Jili's mind suddenly froze. The last thing he saw was the black fifth soul ring shining beside Wang Qiu'er, and the golden radiance that engulfed his body.
The three-eyed golden lion phantom behind Wang Qiu'er raised its head and let out a long roar. A powerful arc-shaped light wave instantly covered the entire competition stage, as if a giant golden sun with a diameter of a hundred meters had descended upon the world.
The dazzling golden light dyed thousands of meters of space in the same color. The blinding brilliance forced the audience to close their eyes. Only the top eight teams in the rest area, as well as powerhouses on the rostrum like Xu Tianran, Zhong Liwu, and Jing Hongchen, remained relatively unaffected and stared fixedly at the competition stage.
Thanks to the isolation of the soul guidance protective shield, no sound from inside the stage could be heard outside. But the flowing and flickering golden light waves slamming against the protective shield produced continuous rumbling booms.
"Buzz buzz buzz—"
Even space itself seemed to be shattering layer by layer, trembling and humming.
This was precisely Wang Qiu'er's fifth soul skill, Space-Shattering Roar, or more accurately, Golden Lion Space-Shattering Roar. Whether in terms of power or momentum, it far surpassed Beibei's Dragon Emperor Evil-Breaking Slash and Dragon Emperor Shock Domain Realm.
Both were powerful soul skills that mobilized the martial soul's origin and were not restricted by soul ring age limits. Yet Wang Qiu'er's Three-Eyed Golden Lion martial soul and bloodline were undoubtedly nobler than Beibei's Bright Holy Dragon.
After several seconds, the light finally dimmed.
On the deliberately reinforced metal floor of the competition stage, layers of cracks had appeared. Jili's figure remained frozen in place, his eyes lifeless. Golden flames burned and rose from his body surface. Then, trembling, his figure turned to ashes and dissipated into the air.
The entire arena fell deathly silent, but soon after came earth-shaking cheers. This scene was simply too shocking. Wang Qiu'er's fifth soul skill was actually this terrifying.
It wasn't just Wang Qiu'er's fans; almost the entire audience felt the same way. Even people from the Sun Moon Empire would not support these evil, sinister, cruel evil soul masters.
The other six top-eight teams in the rest area all wore grave expressions. After today's match, they realized a very serious problem: Shrek Academy's strength was definitely not due to Yu Tianhuang alone.
At the very least, Wang Qiu'er was also at the same level as their team captains.
On Shrek Academy's side, everyone appeared very calm. Meanwhile, in the Saint Spirit Team's waiting area opposite them, although the remaining six people looked slightly gloomy, they did not show much anger.
Evil soul masters were like this, emotionally indifferent by nature. Jili's death on the competition stage was purely because his strength was insufficient.
They did feel wary of Wang Qiu'er, but they never thought Shrek Academy had any chance of winning. After all, their Saint Spirit Team had those two sitting there.
Thinking of this, Yan Feng couldn't help but glance sideways at the two black-robed women.
The two black-robed women showed no emotional fluctuation. One of them spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Next, Lu Genggeng, you go."
"Yes."
Lu Genggeng was the tallest and most robust among the remaining four young evil soul masters. His voice was deep and resonant, not carrying much gloominess, but instead full of masculine vigor, a stark contrast to the black-robed female evil soul master who had just spoken.
At the same time, Zhong Liwu, who was beside Xu Tianran, lowered his head again and moved his lips toward the Saint Spirit Team's rest area, whispering something.
Sitting at the very back of the Saint Spirit Team, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng stood up with a dark expression.
"As expected. Near-extreme light and fire attributes. Just as the Cult Master said, this person absolutely cannot be allowed to live."
Among all martial souls in the world, the attribute that most suppressed evil soul masters was the sacred attribute, followed by lightning, light, and fire attributes. Wang Qiu'er's martial soul possessed near-extreme light and fire attributes, and she had perfectly fused the two together.
A person like this posed no less threat to the Holy Spirit Cult than a soul master with a Sacred Angel martial soul.
Xu Tianran was also sizing up Wang Qiu'er with great interest. Although Wang Qiu'er's fifth soul skill was powerful, at its root, it was still because her attributes completely countered Jili of the Saint Spirit Team.
He was considering whether he could later have Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan secretly protect Wang Qiu'er. If he could recruit Wang Qiu'er to his side, then when he eventually turned against those evil soul masters in the future, he would have one more powerful card in hand.
But this idea was quickly dismissed. With Zhong Liwu by his side, it was not convenient for him to act. Moreover, his subsequent plans still depended heavily on the Holy Spirit Cult. If he did this now, it would be equivalent to openly showing distrust toward the Holy Spirit Cult and wanting to keep a backup plan.
That was a major taboo.
"What a pity. If only I had discovered her earlier…" Xu Tianran muttered to himself in his heart. Then, thinking of something, a trace of cruelty flashed uncontrollably in the depths of his eyes as he glanced sideways at the dignified and graceful Ju Zi beside him.
If he hadn't lost his manhood, once he unified the continent and took beauties like Wang Qiu'er and Tang Wutong into his harem one by one, how satisfying that would be!
But what Xu Tianran did not know was that Ju Zi, whom he believed had already wholeheartedly submitted to him, had been thinking of another man from beginning to end.
And that man was his own cousin.
At this moment, Zheng Zhan descended from the sky and landed on the competition stage. The gaze he directed toward Wang Qiu'er carried a hint of unusual color. His thoughts were the same as Xu Tianran's, he felt both appreciation and regret toward Wang Qiu'er.
Before the match began, he had received instructions from above: there was no need to interfere too much, and it was acceptable to allow a certain degree of escalation. Still, he hadn't expected that a fairly strong six-ring evil soul master like Jili would be instantly killed by Wang Qiu'er in one move.
However, he had no favorable opinion of evil soul masters anyway. Jili's dying here caused him no psychological burden.
Seeing Lu Genggeng step onto the stage, Zheng Zhan retreated while once again routinely presiding over the match.
"Personal elimination match, second round. Both sides, state your names."
"Saint Spirit Team, Lu Genggeng."
"Shrek Academy, Wang Qiu'er." Wang Qiu'er stood at the edge of the competition stage, her beautiful face filled with arrogance and coldness. From the first match onward, she had not moved from her position even once.
"Match begins!" Without hesitation, Zheng Zhan shouted and retreated to the other side of the arena.
In the second match, the one who acted first was once again someone from the Saint Spirit Team.
Lu Genggeng pushed off with both legs and performed a leaping motion forward. The height of his jump wasn't great, only four or five meters.
But after that burly body of his jumped into the air, it strangely began to inflate like a balloon being blown up.
The moment he crashed back down, the black robe on his body had been completely torn apart. His entire figure had transformed into an extremely massive, terrifying monster.
After releasing his martial soul, Lu Genggeng's height exceeded five meters. His gigantic body was so fat it resembled a meatball, even more exaggerated than when Xie Huanyue of Shrek Academy's team activated his martial soul.
Comically, compared to his current massive body, his thick legs looked extremely short. When both feet landed, the entire competition stage trembled and let out painful groans.
The enormous Lu Genggeng was surrounded by rising dark-green soul power. His head was spherical, and a pair of tiny blood-red eyes radiated murderous intent. Because of his bloated body, the six soul rings around him appeared especially huge.
What made the audience's scalps go numb the most was that on Lu Genggeng's exposed arms and shoulders were countless stitched-up scars, his skin looking like patchwork. When he opened his enormous bloody maw, drool continuously dripped down, sizzling and smoking as it hit the metal floor.
In terms of both size and aura, the oppressive pressure Lu Genggeng brought was far greater than Jili's.
This time, however, Wang Qiu'er did not intend to let Lu Genggeng approach her freely. She took a step forward with her left foot, half-turned her slender body, and with a flash of golden light, the Golden Dragon Spear appeared in her right hand. She immediately assumed a posture to gather power for a throw.
Lu Genggeng instantly felt an indescribably terrifying aura lock onto him.
"Impossible to dodge?!"
Lu Genggeng was shocked and immediately made a judgment. In his field of vision, Wang Qiu'er's entire figure became somewhat blurred. The two-segmented sharp spear in her hand erupted with dazzling golden light, entwined with golden flames.
Jili, being instantly killed by Wang Qiu'er in one move earlier, served as a stark warning. Although his defense far surpassed Jili's, he still felt an extreme palpitation in his heart.
It was precisely because of this brief hesitation that the first and second soul rings around Wang Qiu'er both blazed brightly.
First soul skill, Golden Dragon Body. Second soul skill, Golden Dragon Power.
A layer of golden scales spread from the right hand gripping the Golden Dragon Spear across her entire body. As the golden flames on the Golden Dragon Spear intensified, her body was almost completely concealed within them. The golden light flames gradually converged into the shape of a massive golden dragon head, letting out roars that filled people with dread.
And the Golden Dragon Spear seemed to serve as the spine supporting this miniature golden dragon.
"Woo—" A deep dragon roar sounded. Golden light instantly tore through the sky. Without the slightest pause, Wang Qiu'er hurled the Golden Dragon Spear in her hand.
The golden dragon head rose upward, its terrifying aura enough to make anyone tremble in fear.
Although Lu Genggeng was not the most outstanding among the younger generation of the Holy Spirit Cult, when it came to defensive power, he was number one.
At the critical moment, his purple third soul ring (thousand-year) lit up in time. His already massive body swelled another size, like a mountain of flesh occupying a large portion of the competition stage.
"Puff—" The Golden Dragon Spear pierced straight through the left side of his chest. This should have been where the heart was. But from the wound, only large clumps of disgusting, semi-transparent yellow fat slid out, giving off an unbearable stench.
Lu Genggeng let out a painful cry. The blood-red in his eyes became even brighter, but it was now mixed with a touch of mockery.
The most special thing about his Abomination martial soul was that he could shift his core to any position within his body fat. As long as the location of his core could not be found, even if he was riddled with holes, he could still recover.
Before the thought even faded, Lu Genggeng's body suddenly trembled violently. He looked back in disbelief.
At some point, Wang Qiu'er had appeared behind him. Holding the Golden Dragon Spear in a reverse grip with her right hand, she twisted her slender body and delivered another spear thrust that pierced straight through him again.
And this spear precisely struck the location of his core.
The entire arena fell silent once more. Everyone present, including the top-eight teams, was seeing Wang Qiu'er use the Golden Dragon Spear for the first time.
What shocked them even more was that Wang Qiu'er's body had just now seemed to tear through space and instantly appear beside the Golden Dragon Spear.
Those who could reach the top eight of this tournament all had extraordinary experience. They could be certain that this was definitely not a soul ring or soul bone skill, it was very likely an ability possessed by the golden spear itself.
A space-transcending soul guidance device?!
The people from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and the Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy found it the most unbelievable. Everyone knew that spatial soul guidance devices had always been the most cutting-edge research topic of the Sun Moon Empire, and that topic had still not been conquered to this day.
"This is impossible! How could you possibly know where my core is?!" Lu Genggeng let out a frenzied roar, struggling madly. The fear of death was slowly eating away at his mind.
But unfortunately, everything was beyond saving.
Looking at the coldness and calm in Wang Qiu'er's eyes, the terror in Lu Genggeng's eyes was quickly replaced by venom and madness.
Even if he died, he would drag Wang Qiu'er down with him!
Lu Genggeng's body swelled again. Even his skin turned blood-red. Like a constantly growing tumor, grotesque and hideous.
Wang Qiu'er's gaze sharpened. She could locate Lu Genggeng's core thanks to her innate talent called Golden Perception. Therefore, she could clearly sense the changes happening in Lu Genggeng's body right now.
She immediately retrieved the Golden Dragon Spear and rapidly retreated.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom—" The tumor exploded. Deafening explosions rang out continuously for more than ten seconds.
The soul guidance protective shield around the competition stage rippled densely. If it hadn't been reinforced beforehand, the protective shield would likely have shattered long ago.
The power of Lu Genggeng's self-destruction was no less than the corpse explosion of that Death God Emissary back then. Even a Soul Saint-level powerhouse would not be able to emerge unscathed from such close range.
One could imagine what kind of crisis Wang Qiu'er was facing right now.
On Shrek Academy's side, everyone except Xu Zihuang had stood up, looking anxiously toward the competition stage.
When the explosions finally stopped and the dust settled, a huge crater more than five meters deep and over fifty meters in diameter had appeared in the center of the competition stage.
Wang Qiu'er stood inside that crater. She supported herself with the Golden Dragon Spear, her back ramrod straight, just like her never-bending personality. Her pink-blue hair, originally tied in a ponytail, had been loosened by the violent shockwave of the explosion, cascading over her fragrant shoulders and falling all the way down to her perfectly rounded hips.
Only the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and her pale complexion showed that her current condition was far from good.
The entire arena fell silent once again. With her dominant performance, Wang Qiu'er had consecutively slain two six-ring Soul Emperor evil soul masters. Even more inspiring to them was Wang Qiu'er's spirit.
Wang Qiu'er turned her head and looked toward Xu Zihuang, who was sitting in the waiting area with his eyes closed, cultivating. The stubbornness and pride in her eyes were plain to see as she bit her lip tightly.
Back then, she had said that even without Xu Zihuang, Shrek Academy would not lose, and she was determined to prove it.
In the Haotian Sect rest area, Tang Wutong looked at Wang Qiu'er in this state and also furrowed her beautiful brows slightly.
This inferior copy was not entirely useless. Still, she could not understand why her father had deliberately influenced Wang Qiu'er's transformation, making her look exactly like herself.
She detested this feeling intensely. If it were only for Wang Qiu'er's soul rings and soul bones, there would be truly no need.
In Shrek Academy's rest area, Zhang Lexuan showed no joy of victory on her face, only deep anxiety.
She understood Wang Qiu'er's personality too well. Even if gravely injured, she would absolutely not give up the remaining matches. But once a match began, only the participating team member or the team captain could choose to voluntarily forfeit. As the team leader, she had no authority to make that decision on behalf of the contestants.
Now she could only place her hopes on Yu Tianhuang.
"Tianhuang, time is running out for you. Finish it quickly."
On the competition stage, neither her rapid breathing nor her pale face could affect the persistent shine in Wang Qiu'er's eyes.
"Personal elimination match, second round, Shrek Academy wins." Even Zheng Zhan, who announced the result, showed a slight emotional fluctuation and could not help asking,
"Wang Qiu'er, do you wish to remain on the competition stage and continue with the third match of the personal elimination round?"
"Continue." Wang Qiu'er replied expressionlessly. She pulled the Golden Dragon Spear out from the titanium alloy foundation, turned around, and walked toward the edge of the competition stage closer to Shrek Academy's side.
Looking at the grave expressions on the faces of Shrek Academy's members, Wang Qiu'er had already guessed who her third opponent would be.
She slowly turned around, her back facing the Shrek Academy crowd, and raised her head. A handsome young man appeared in her line of sight.
The third person sent out by the Saint Spirit Team was none other than Yan Feng, who had previously spoken harsh words, a seven-ring Soul Saint-level evil soul master.
In the personal elimination round, as long as one side won three matches first, they had the right to forfeit all remaining personal elimination matches and demand the start of the team battle.
Because three points from personal elimination plus five points from the team battle would be higher than the maximum seven points obtainable from completing all personal elimination matches.
But… could Wang Qiu'er really win?
Almost everyone in the audience had the same thought.
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