As the host's voice faded, Xu Tianhao looked toward the Shrek Academy resting area, from which seven people slowly walked out.
Zhang Lexuan, as the captain of Shrek Academy, remained steadily seated in place, showing no signs of getting up.
She lowered her eyelids slightly, her gaze resting calmly on the spirit tool screen in front of her, as if the match about to begin on the field had nothing to do with her.
There was no expression on her face; no disdain, no nervousness, only indifference and self-confidence.
Just as Xu Tianran had guessed, she truly disdained to personally make a move against an opponent like the Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy.
In Zhang Lexuan's view, even though the opponent had a lineup of seven Spirit Kings, it was enough for her teammates to handle in front of Shrek Academy.
The reason she insisted on participating in this Soul Fighting Tournament was primarily to hold the line and prevent any unexpected situations during the matches.
Unless necessary, she didn't even plan to make a move easily.
If the members of Shrek Academy couldn't even defeat a team with this level of configuration, then they wouldn't deserve to be called the continent's number one academy, nor would they deserve to carry the glory of Shrek.
This self-confidence was not blind arrogance, but stemmed from Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year heritage.
It stemmed from the painstaking cultivation of every student day after day, and from being tempered on the edge of life and death countless times.
(Calling out Xuan Zi, those who died don't deserve to be called geniuses. Doge)
They were just that confident—confident in their ability to defeat all opponents, confident in their ability to defend the glory of the championship.
But for this session, Zhang Lexuan was not entirely without concerns.
Because she had also received detailed information about the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
The talent and strength of this captain, Xu Tianran, made her have to take him seriously.
Just now, when the brothers Xu Tianran and Xu Tianhao were discussing Shrek Academy in low voices, the members of Shrek Academy were actually observing them in secret.
To the people of Shrek Academy, the Spirit Masters of the Sun Moon Empire were always known for their spirit tools; in terms of pure Spirit Master strength, they had always felt the other side was slightly inferior.
But this time, seeing the calm and composed demeanor of Xu Tianran, a ripple arose in their hearts.
They couldn't imagine that this group of guys from the Sun Moon Empire, obsessed with researching spirit tools, could actually cultivate such a genius Spirit Master.
The key was that this guy was actually the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire!
Such a gifted genius Spirit Master, if he were to control the Sun Moon Empire in the future, would absolutely be a disaster for the three original Empires of the Douluo Continent!
The atmosphere in the resting area gradually became subtle.
On one side was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, ready to go; on the other, the confident and composed Shrek Academy.
An invisible aura collided and intertwined in the air.
...
The host introduced the team members one by one, both teams entered the field, and after the host's voice faded, the first intense match kicked off.
Shrek Academy had a lineup of one Spirit Emperor, five Spirit Kings, and one Spirit Ancestor, while Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy had a lineup of all Spirit Kings.
From the perspective of raw strength, although Shrek Academy had one Spirit Ancestor, the strength of the Spirit Emperor was stronger, enough to make up for this loophole.
Therefore, Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy was already a notch below Shrek Academy.
But a duel between Spirit Masters who were all at least at the Spirit Ancestor level meant that this opening match was destined to be very intense.
The seven members of Shrek Academy who took the field were:
Han Ruoruo, Spirit: Shaking Gold Rope, Level 66 control system Battle Spirit Emperor.
Wu Ming, Spirit: Golden Crow, Level 59 attack system Battle Spirit King.
Gu Fan, Spirit: Swan, Level 55 support system Spirit King.
Hua Yao, Spirit: Lotus, Level 55 control system Battle Spirit King.
Lu Zhongyin, Spirit: Iron Fist Tiger, Level 53 attack system Battle Spirit King.
Li Muhua, Spirit: Stone Armor Bear, Level 52 defense system Battle Spirit King.
Dai Yaoheng, Spirit: White Tiger, Level 45 attack system Spirit Ancestor.
Among them, Dai Yaoheng was a substitute member and also the captain of the substitute team.
With Zhang Lexuan not participating, Dai Yaoheng naturally stepped up.
It is worth mentioning that Dai Yaoheng was indeed a genius; in the original work, by the next tournament five years later, this guy's cultivation had reached the Spirit Emperor level.
The result of this battle had no suspense; even though Shrek Academy had a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor in Dai Yaoheng as a weak point, Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy still lost in the end.
However, Shrek Academy didn't win easily; Dai Yaoheng's left arm was broken, and Li Muhua's chest was caved in; both were seriously injured.
But a win is a win.
Furthermore, even if Dai Yaoheng and Li Muhua were seriously injured, other Spirit Master academies still couldn't possibly defeat Shrek Academy.
Most teams were considered strong if they had just one Spirit King, while Shrek, besides Zhang Lexuan, still had a Spirit Emperor and four Spirit Kings holding the fort.
Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy suffered a first-round exit; when Captain Zhang Xin saw Xu Tianran, he silently lowered his head.
"Your Highness, we lost."
Xu Tianran patted Zhang Xin on the shoulder: "Your opponent was Shrek, and furthermore, you seriously injured two of their members; you did quite well."
"Go recover from your injuries, and watch as we charge into the finals and kick Shrek Academy off their pedestal."
Zhang Xin nodded upon hearing this, hope reigniting in his eyes: "Your Highness, I leave it to you."
...
The subsequent matches continued. The opponents of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy in the elimination rounds were of average strength, with only one Spirit King leading the team.
Xu Tianran didn't even have to make a move, and they easily resolved the opponents.
In the subsequent round-robin, Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals, Xu Tianran only played in five matches total, and didn't even use his Spirit, using only spirit tools.
Xu Tianran's strength was unquestionable; even using only spirit tools, he could not be defeated by others.
Because Xu Tianran was there to guarantee victory, this was the first time the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy entered the semifinals with a perfect record.
Also entering the semifinals with a perfect record, just like the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, was Shrek Academy.
Zhang Lexuan also played in five matches, and her strength was formidable enough to inspire awe.
The two teams hadn't met before, and they didn't match up in the semifinals either.
Now, Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had become the biggest topics of conversation.
Everyone was discussing whether Shrek Academy would continue to defend their title, or if the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy would take the crown.
If it were in the past, everyone might not hesitate and would choose Shrek Academy directly.
But now, the strength of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was well known, which made the final champion a suspense.
But this was the result the organizers wanted; the Douling officials hyped this gimmick up, thereby attracting countless eyes and making a fortune.
After the semifinals, Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy undoubtedly emerged victorious.
At the same time, both teams had three days of adjustment time; after three days, the grand final would begin!
The tournament had been going on for a month now; in this month or so, Xu Tianhao had also made some good gains.
In the Tianling Grand Auction House, he had successfully bid on that spirit devouring engraving knife forged from Life Gold from the original work!
At the time, this gain almost made Xu Tianhao fly with excitement; he had originally thought he would need to go to the Star Luo Empire to find an opportunity, but he didn't expect this thing to appear now.
However, Xu Tianhao wasn't surprised; after all, the spirit devouring engraving knife was a cursed engraving knife, and although it was ranked 99th on the list of engraving knives, no one dared to use it.
The seller wanted to sell it for a good price, and it was most hopeful to auction it during the tournament because there were the most people at this time.
Xu Tianhao was now a Level 2 Soul Engineer, and had sufficient reason to auction this engraving knife.
Although he was not short of listed engraving knives in his hands.
After all, his teacher was Kong Deming; the top five engraving knives on the list were all in Kong Deming's hands, and Xu Tianhao could use them whenever he wanted.
But now that he had encountered the spirit devouring engraving knife, he bought it directly.
According to his excuse, even if he didn't use it, he couldn't not have it.
Xu Tianhao used the excuse that he wanted to collect all the listed engraving knives, and even Kong Deming didn't discover any clues.
But Kong Deming did not advise Xu Tianhao to use this engraving knife, and Xu Tianhao readily agreed.
Because before finding a way to purify this engraving knife, he didn't dare to use it easily, lest he be cursed himself.