When Lin Xiao saw that Shrek Academy's first contestant was Beibei, he finally let go of all worries.
Even with Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yaoheng, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy's overall strength still surpassed Shrek's.
Their previous defeat had stemmed precisely from losing two key fighters in an instant during the team battle.
Lin Xi's death had thrown them into complete disarray afterwards; their planned tactics collapsed, and lineup choices became almost spontaneous.
But now, the team-battle outcome had changed. Under the influence of Meng Hongchen's poison, the current Beibei would probably be unable to participate in the remaining matches.
Once the individual elimination round began, the order of appearance could no longer be altered. How many people Meng Hongchen could affect now depended entirely on when Wang Yan sent out his two Soul Emperors.
Regardless, facing a Shrek Academy already short-handed, even if Meng Hongchen only poisoned one or two, the final result of this tournament was set in stone.
Lin Xiao exhaled softly.
All these years, being inside Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy had always given him a sense of calm, as if he truly were an ordinary student, allowing him to temporarily forget the Holy Spirit Church.
Whatever the case, he genuinely enjoyed life at Sun Moon Academy. Let this Soul Duelling Tournament championship be his gift in return.
Below the stage, thoughts surged in Lin Xiao's mind while above, the one-on-one elimination rounds continued one after another.
Though it surprised Lin Xiao slightly that Dai Yaoheng and Ma Xiaotao were not the last to appear, before Dai Yaoheng, Beibei, Jiang Nannan, and Ling Luochen had already faced Meng Hongchen.
Under the cover of self-propelled soul guide cannons, Meng Hongchen only needed to stall forily for the poison to enter their bodies and bar them from later matches.
"Sorry, I lost."
In the rest area, Meng Hongchen murmured. Against Dai Yaoheng, the soul-power gap finally forced her defeat.
"No matter—you did amazingly," Lin Xiao waved it off, turning to Mi Jia. "Like we said: keep draining their soul power."
"Dai Yaoheng already has a lot of poison in him. Go up, drag it out, let the toxin spread completely."
"Understood, Senior." Mi Jia nodded and walked step by step toward the arena. The championship felt closer than ever.
The stands thundered with cries of "Shrek." Dai Yaoheng's victory seemed to rekindle memories of the miracle-creating Shrek of days past; the crowd hungered for the next miracle.
Lin Xiao swept a glance over them—every eye burned with feverish hope.
Yet among them glimmered a few calm gazes, utterly indifferent to the arena's outcome.
"Lin Xiao, you were right."
Ma Rulong's father spoke softly, yet clearly enough for Lin Xiao to hear.
Before Lin Xiao could reply, the old man turned fully. "I'll report every detail of this tournament to the academy. If you choose to stay after graduation, I'll recommend you as the next Soul Duelling Tournament team leader."
Lin Xiao looked at the old man whose heart lived only for the tournament and smiled, shaking his head. "This time, I just happened to know them well. Future tournaments will still need Teacher Ma's hard work."
Compared to the harmony in Sun Moon's rest area, Shrek's was silent as a grave.
Wang Yan's face was grim. He had seen through Sun Moon's tactics completely, yet had no counter.
Some tactics could bridge gaps in strength, but when the gap was too wide, tactics alone were useless.
Take Meng Hongchen: anyone below Soul Emperor was helpless against her. Their lack of intelligence on her had put them on the back foot from the start; they could only watch one teammate after another fall to her poison.
Wang Yan knew in his heart that the outcome was sealed.
"I remember now."
Amid the silence, He Caitou suddenly spoke, drawing every gaze.
"What is it, Caitou?"
Wang Yan turned.
"I remember where I've seen that person." He Caitou's eyes locked on Lin Xiao, who was speaking with Ma Rulong's father.
"Teacher Wang, you know Teacher Fan brought me back to the academy from the Soul Tool Department."
"Right." Wang Yan nodded; everyone had learned of his childhood over these days.
"The first time I met Teacher, that guy was right beside him." He Caitou's voice grew certain. "His face has changed a little, but it's definitely him."
"I asked the Teacher about him once. The teacher said it was rare to find someone in the heaven-soul-hating Heavenly Soul Empire with such unique insight into soul tools."
"The teacher mentioned it often. Now I understand—he was never from the Heavenly Soul Empire. He's from the Sun Moon Empire. No wonder he understood soul tools so well."
Wang Yan turned back, faintly disappointed. Knowing Lin Xiao's past changed nothing now.
"After confirmation by this referee, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy forfeits the remaining individual matches. Winner of this round: Shrek Academy."
"2-2-3 battle begins in one minute."
Huang Jinxu's voice rang across the arena, yet watching Dai Yaoheng collapse from poison, Wang Yan felt no joy in victory.
Lin Xiao glanced toward Shrek.
Even if Ma Xiaotao, like in his memories, took one win single-handedly, the pair Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong would then face Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen in near-perfect condition—not the gravely wounded Xiao and heavily drained Meng of the original timeline.
If two Soul Kings with a martial soul fusion skill in peak form still couldn't defeat Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, then Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy might as well close its doors.
"Lin Xiao, after this ends, come with me to receive the trophy," Ma Rulong's father was already planning the victory ceremony.
"No need, Teacher Ma. I was never registered for this tournament. You take them up to collect the award. I'll head back to the academy first—I still have to report to Illustrious Virtue Hall. I've waited a long time for this day."
"Very well." Ma Rulong's father nodded, excitement shining in his eyes.
Lin Xiao smiled, gaze sweeping the stands. Those few indifferent eyes had vanished completely.
A storm was coming.
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