Chapter 96: Honor? Or Profit!In the Shrek resting area after the round-robin tournament concluded, the atmosphere was not as joyous as the outside world might have imagined.The door was tightly shut. Teacher Zhou's face was ashen, and her unprecedentedly stern gaze was fixed intently on Ma Xiaotao, who wore a look of defiance."Ma Xiaotao! Do you have any idea what you've done?" Zhou Yi's voice was squeezed out almost through gritted teeth, suppressing intense anger. "You deliberately exposed your strongest Sixth Spirit Ability right before the semifinals! How is that different from suicide? The opponents can now formulate countless tactics to counter you, targeting the characteristics of your Spirit Ability, the charging time required, the spirit power consumption, and even the cooldown time! You have placed yourself and the entire team in danger!"Ma Xiaotao knew she was in the wrong and lowered her head, but there was still a trace of defiant stubbornness between her brows. She simply couldn't stand the resentment of being controlled.Zhou Yi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her rage. "Scolding you won't help now. All of our overt strength has been nearly figured out by the opponents. We must prepare new trump cards, otherwise, we will be unable to advance in the semifinals and finals!"Her gaze turned to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, and a look of determination flashed in her eyes. "Yuhao, Wang Dong. I have a bold hypothesis. Both of you possess multiple Spirits, yet you can execute the Spirit Fusion Ability, Golden Road, with one hundred percent synchronization. This is an extremely rare situation. It means that there might be a deeper, perfect compatibility between all your Spirits that we haven't fully understood yet."She proposed an earth-shattering idea. "Since two Spirits can fuse, is it possible that your four Spirits could be paired up to derive—more than one Spirit Fusion Ability?"As soon as she said this, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were stunned simultaneously, and then their eyes burst forth with incredible, brilliant light. This idea was too bold, yet filled with infinite temptation. They had never considered this direction before."Different Spirit combinations might produce completely different Fusion effects, granting entirely new capabilities and tremendous power!" Zhou Yi's voice was encouraging. "This is the only direction we currently have to quickly form new combat power. During the upcoming break, don't go anywhere; focus entirely on researching this possibility!""Yes, Teacher Zhou!" The two said in unison, filled with excitement and fighting Spirit, and immediately moved aside to begin whispering their discussion and attempts.The next day, after a brief rest and emergency specialized training, all Shrek members gathered again in the conference room, the atmosphere solemn.Zhou Yi got straight to the point without preamble. "The list of the final four has been released: Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Star Luo National Academy, Tianhun Diao Academy, and our Shrek Academy."Her gaze swept over everyone, her tone heavy but honest. "To be fair, in terms of theoretical strength, our Shrek team is the weakest among the final four. The other three academies can each field at least five Spirit King level members. Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and Diao Academy even have Spirit Emperors of the same rank as Ma Xiaotao leading their teams.""Furthermore, in this era of rapidly developing spirit tools, Spirit Emperor level experts no longer possess absolute dominance. A powerful, highly specialized spirit tool could completely enable a Spirit Ancestor or Spirit King to threaten a Spirit Emperor. Xiaotao's situation will be more difficult than any Spirit Emperor in previous tournaments."After speaking, she turned her gaze toward Dai Youheng, who was sitting quietly beside her, his expression consistently calm."Youheng." Zhou Yi's tone carried unprecedented solemnity and a hint of earnestness. "From the round-robin tournament until now, no matter the opponent, you seemed to fight effortlessly, never showing your full depth. I believe this is certainly not your full strength. For the final two matches, the Academy needs you; it needs you to hold nothing back and give everything you have!"She brought up Shrek's ten thousand years of glory, saying, "Since Ancestor Tang San led the first generation of Shrek Seven Devils to defeat Spirit Hall Academy and win the championship ten thousand years ago, this championship trophy has never left Shrek for an entire ten thousand years! This honor, this tradition, absolutely cannot be broken in our hands! We cannot become sinners of Shrek!"Dai Youheng secretly curled his lip. What did Shrek's ten thousand years of honor have to do with him? He entered the competition first to gain experience and display his strength, and second, to gain the attention and investment of Xu Jiujiu and Dai Hao, paving the way for his future plans.A look of difficulty appeared on his face. "Teacher Zhou, I understand what you mean. But I am only a Spirit Ancestor, after all, with limited strength. I can only—do my best."Zhou Yi was extremely shrewd and immediately understood the subtext in his words: he wouldn't act without seeing the rabbit first (no gain, no effort).She gritted her teeth and offered a substantial temptation. "The championship prize for this tournament is three Spirit Bones of extremely high quality. Historically, the distribution rights belong to the team leader. If you can help the team win the final championship, I guarantee you, as the team leader, that one of those three Spirit Bones will be yours!"Upon hearing this, a genuinely sincere smile finally appeared at the corner of Dai Youheng's mouth.That's more like it. What good is empty talk of honor? Tangible profit is what truly matters.Of course, pleasantries still needed to be exchanged. He immediately straightened his posture, replacing his expression with one of passionate fervor. "Teacher Zhou, please rest assured! For the Academy's ten thousand years of glory, and for the beliefs of Shrek, I, Dai Youheng, will definitely fight with all my strength until death!"Naturally, he added internally, this was merely the "full strength" of his Evil Shadow Demonic Tiger Spirit and tyrant tiger soul refining saber. Trump cards like the fate reversal heavenly demon pill and the external Spirit Bone ice fire lotus wings were absolutely impossible to expose in this setting.With the tactical arrangements complete, everyone headed to the semifinal venue, harboring various thoughts.Today, the atmosphere at Star Luo Plaza was more enthusiastic and solemn than on any previous day.Starting from the final four battles, the format was no longer drawn from one of the three options: team battle, single combat, or two-two-three combat.Instead, all three matches had to be fought, and the team that won two out of three would advance.Day one: Team Battle.With less than five minutes remaining before the draw began, the Imperial City gates opened wide, and Star Luo Emperor Emperor Xu Jiawei strode out, surrounded by guards, walking toward the competition stage. He had personally come to the venue today."Long live! Long live! Long live!" All the soldiers responsible for maintaining order raised their weapons and shouted cheers that echoed like mountains.The members of the four battle teams also rose and bowed respectfully to His Majesty the Emperor.Emperor Emperor Xu Jiawei was surrounded by four elderly men. Although there weren't many guards around him, the protective force surrounding him seemed deceptively weak.However, everyone actually knew that this escort team could be described as extremely luxurious, because those four elderly men were likely all Titled Douluo level powerhouses of the Star Luo Empire.Since Spirit Hall, which once controlled the strongest Spirit Master force on the Continent, was destroyed by Tang San ten thousand years ago.The vast majority of powerhouses in the Spirit Master's world were recruited by the major Empires. As Spirit Masters gained more insight into Cultivating Spirits, coupled with various medicinal aids available in this era, the frequency of Titled Douluo appearing has increased significantly compared to ten thousand years ago.However, a large portion of these Titled Douluo relied on medicine to overcome their final Bottleneck. This method of relying on medicinal aids meant that their true strength was considerably weaker than those who achieved Breakthroughs on their own.Nevertheless, even so, the total number of Titled Douluo remains scarce. For every nation, a Titled Douluo is a national treasure.Moreover, even among Titled Douluo, their Spirits, spirit rings, Spirit Bones, and other factors differ. Their cultivation levels can be said to be worlds apart.For example, experts like Elder Mu Xuan Zi could easily handle those four Titled Douluo combined, using only one hand.Emperor Xu Jiawei ascended the competition stage, surrounded by the four Titled Douluo, and facing Star Luo Plaza, he smiled and said, "My subjects, you may rise!""The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is the most important grand event held every five years on our Douluo Continent. I am deeply honored that this tournament can be hosted in my Star Luo Empire. I must first thank the academy representative teams from various nations, as they have presented fair and magnificent matches, allowing us to witness the rapid development of Spirit Masters and Soul Engineers across the Continent.""The semifinals for the final four will begin shortly, and this Soul Fighting Tournament is drawing to a close. The draw for the final four is also the last round of drawing for this tournament, so I have decided to personally preside over it. I hope Shrek Academy, Diao Academy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, and our Star Luo National Academy can all present a thrilling visual feast for everyone in the final matches."Emperor Xu Jiawei spoke passionately, and as soon as his voice fell, it once again triggered cheers from the entire crowd."This tournament has now reached its final climax. To ensure absolute fairness and safety in the semifinals and finals, I have decided to specially invite the Empire's Protector Douluo, Senior Tiansha Douluo Huang Jinxu, to personally serve as the referee for the subsequent matches!"As soon as his voice stopped, a figure appeared silently in the center of the stage, like a Gui Mei.The newcomer wore a plain gray robe, his face was gaunt, and his eyes were indifferent, as if he held no attachment to anything in the world. Yet, his presence exuded a chilling solitude and powerful oppressive aura, which must have been the unique temperament granted by his Spirit."Heavenly Fiend Douluo, Tiansha Douluo Huang Jinxu!" Teacher Ma, the leading teacher of the Sun Moon Empire team, exclaimed softly, his expression slightly changing, clearly aware of this person's power.
