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Sword Chen Xin secretly transmitted a message to Dugu Bo, Ke Jie, and Ning Tianchen, "Don't act rashly. This is Jin E Douluo, the second elder of the Spirit Hall. He is of the same generation as my grandfather."
Though brief, Jian Douluo's words conveyed much information.
Ke Jie and Dugu Bo were shocked.
After all, Chen Xin was already in his nineties, meaning his grandfather must have been over 130 years old.
For Jin E Douluo to live so long while maintaining such youthful vigor, his strength must have reached an extremely terrifying level.
Ning Tianchen was aware of Jin E Douluo's existence but had never seen him before today, so he couldn't immediately recognize him.
In the current timeline, Jin E Douluo's strength ranked among the top three on the continent, second only to Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu and Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi, making him an undisputed powerhouse.
With him present, Tang Hao would likely be unable to rescue Tang San and Xiao Wu from the Pope's Palace later. As for whether Xiao Wu would be exposed, Ning Tianchen didn't know.
Knowing Yu Xiaogang's sharp tongue, Jin E Douluo decided not to engage further. "Except for Title Douluos and those with special statuses, kneeling before the Pope is everyone's duty."
"In that case, Master Yu and everyone from Shrek Academy must consider themselves special? Or are you all Title Douluos? Hmph, unless I'm mistaken, you're just a twenty-nine-level Soul Grandmaster."
"What crime is it to openly disturb the order of the Pope's Palace!"
Yu Xiaogang's lack of cultivation had always been a sore spot. Being publicly called out, he could clearly feel the ridicule from the surrounding crowd.
He began panting heavily, his face flushed red. But the remaining rationality in his mind told him that if they were found guilty of the accusations, everyone from Shrek Academy would be thrown into the dungeon—a place no one wanted to go.
He loudly retorted, "We haven't disturbed the order of the Pope's Palace. Don't slander us with lies!"
Jin E Douluo sneered, "Hmph, shouting brazenly in front of the Spirit Hall. Since you don't want to show respect, I'll help you do so. Ghost Mei, Yue Guan, make them bow their heads and apologize to His Holiness the Pope—make sure it's loud and clear!"
The elders' orders were equivalent to the Pope's. However, to avoid offending Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum and Ghost quickly exchanged glances for her tacit approval.
Upon receiving her silent consent, they acted without hesitation, stepping forward in a flash.
The oppressive aura of Title Douluos immediately bore down on everyone from the Shrek team. Except for Jiang Zhu, the others' knees buckled under the pressure, and they collapsed onto the stone tiles with a thud.
Seeing the others' plight, Jiang Zhu instinctively wanted to persuade them to abandon their foolish pride.
But Tang San's next words stopped her from doing so.
"Rather die as jade than live as cracked tile. Today, even if I, Tang San, die standing, I will not..."
As the pressure increased, Tang San's bones creaked under the strain, and he was crushed onto the stone tiles, losing the strength to speak.
Ghost Douluo sneered coldly, "Hmph, how dare a mere Soul Ancestor act arrogantly in front of the Pope's Palace."
Dai Mubai, seeing things going south, quickly brought up his status. "I am the future crown prince of the Star Luo Empire. Spirit Hall, are you trying to start a war with the Star Luo Empire?"
In the audience stands, Prince William of the Star Luo Empire leaned toward Dai Weisi and whispered, "Your Highness, rest assured. I will report yesterday's match truthfully to His Majesty. Dai Mubai didn't defeat you; he merely benefited from his teammates' efforts."
Dai Weisi, having locked himself in his room all night thinking, naturally considered this issue as well.
In the match, it was Tang San who truly defeated him, not Dai Mubai. According to the rules of the Star Luo Crown Prince succession system, this match didn't count.
"Uncle, there's no need to thank me. If I ever inherit the throne, Cousin Walsh will also be granted the title of duke."
The Star Luo Empire did have princes, but these princes weren't direct descendants of the royal family—they were born of concubines.
However, these princely titles were inherited through generations, diminishing each time, until they eventually disappeared entirely.
Prince William siding with Dai Weisi naturally meant he wanted benefits.
If his son were granted a dukedom, their lineage could enjoy another generation of wealth and power.
Prince William was very satisfied with this.
While the two conversed quietly, Jin E Douluo's deep voice boomed, "Prince William, I recall that Dai Weisi is the crown prince of Star Luo. Yet this Dai Mubai claims to be the crown prince too. What's going on here?"
Being addressed directly, Prince William stood up, bowed slightly toward Bibi Dong, and then said, "Esteemed elder, the imperial crown prince has always been Dai Weisi. Though Dai Mubai is the third son of His Majesty, he left the palace long ago. His actions have nothing to do with the Star Luo Empire."
He certainly wouldn't risk trouble for Dai Mubai. If Dai Mubai were captured by the Spirit Hall, he'd laugh in his sleep.
"In that case, let them kowtow." Jin E Douluo waved his hand, and Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo simultaneously unleashed their soul power, slamming the heads of the Shrek team members forcefully onto the ground.
Bones weren't harder than the stone tiles in front of the Pope's Palace. In an instant, the foreheads of the Seven Freaks of Shrek swelled red.
During the qualifying matches, Ma Hongjun had suffered a severe head injury that hadn't fully healed. The intense impact left him dizzy, foaming at the mouth, and unconscious.
The others weren't faring much better.
Flender, watching from behind, braced against the pressure and spoke gravely, "Your Holiness, it's my fault as their principal for failing to teach them properly. Please consider that they still have upcoming matches. Could you spare them? We older ones are willing to take their punishment."
Yu Xiaogang, pinned down by soul power like an old dog unable to move, couldn't say a word.
In his heart, he was cursing Flender to hell.
Let the kids suffer if they must! If you want to endure punishment, don't drag me into it!
On the high platform, Ning Fengzhi shook his head helplessly. "Shrek Academy has always been arrogant. They disrespected royalty during the preliminaries and qualifiers, yet His Majesty didn't hold it against them. Now they've met a tough opponent in the Spirit Hall. Hopefully, they'll learn their lesson."
Chen Xin sneered, "When the upper beams are crooked, the lower ones follow suit. Luckily, Tianchen and Rongrong left Shrek Academy early. Fengzhi, when making decisions in the future, investigate thoroughly and don't let yourself be deceived."
Ning Fengzhi felt bitter inside.
Back then, he had only heard rumors about Shrek Academy and thought it was a good place to send Ning Rongrong for character-building. Who would have guessed that Shrek Academy was nothing more than a scam school preying on fools?
Moreover, this matter had long passed. Dragging it up again now would surely tarnish his lifelong reputation.
"Uncle Sword, this matter is in the past," Ning Fengzhi gently reminded.
"Haha, finally, these Shrek bastards are getting what they deserve. It's only because our Emperor Xue Ye is magnanimous that he didn't hold their rude remarks against them. Now that they've offended His Holiness the Pope, they're in for it," Ning Rongrong gloated.
Oscar didn't miss the chance to kick them while they were down. "Cursed Shrek Academy! Good thing we transferred out early. Otherwise, we'd be suffering alongside them right now."
Originally, even after leaving Shrek Academy, he still harbored some goodwill toward it. But that day, when Dai Mubai threatened his life to force him to betray his current teammates, his feelings toward Shrek Academy turned to utter disdain.
Regardless of whether it was Dai Mubai's personal actions or not, the fact that Shrek Academy produced such scum proved that it wasn't a good place, and the teachers' moral compasses were clearly askew.
...
Flender was merely a Soul Sage, and Jin E Douluo paid no heed to his pleas. At his signal, the Shrek Seven Monsters were forced to kowtow several more times with loud thuds.
Even though Ma Hongjun had already fallen unconscious, he wasn't spared!
Not only that, but their three teachers were also forced to bow their heads along with them.
Yu Xiaogang, however, fainted before his head even touched the ground. Liu Erlong, on the other hand, remained stubborn. Even as her forehead split open and bled, she didn't cry out or beg for mercy.
Seeing that everyone from Shrek Academy had lost consciousness, Jin E Douluo finally signaled Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo to stop.
This act was clearly meant to "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys." As for who the "monkeys" were, it was obvious to anyone with eyes.
Jin E Douluo stepped back, and Bibi Dong stepped forward to announce, "Excuse us for this little scene, everyone. Please rise."
A chorus of voices rang out from the crowd: "Thank you, Your Holiness the Pope."
Bibi Dong turned slightly and said, "Today marks the start of the finals. Lord Ning, please use your abilities so that certain contestants don't delay the opening ceremony of the finals."
Ning Fengzhi inwardly grumbled.
Jin E Douluo and Bibi Dong were playing good cop, bad cop—one harsh, the other lenient—and now they wanted him to clean up the mess.
However, among the powerful individuals present, aside from Ning Fengzhi, who possessed some healing abilities, everyone else was a battle-type soul master.
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul appeared in his hand, and he casually tossed it onto the heads of the Shrek team members.
Ning Fengzhi didn't hold back. Activating his martial soul's true form, warm seven-colored light flowed into Tang San and the others' bodies.
While it couldn't fully heal their injuries, it was enough to restore their consciousness.
Among them, Yu Xiaogang, who had suffered the least damage, was the first to wake up.
Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo had originally been under Qian Xunji's command and knew about the relationship between Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang.
Out of respect for Bibi Dong, they hadn't been too harsh on Yu Xiaogang. On the other hand, Liu Erlong's injuries were far worse than Flender's.
"I'm still alive." Tang San suddenly sat up, his gaze sweeping around as he searched for Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu's face was so swollen it looked like a pig's head. If not for her clothes, Tang San wouldn't have recognized her.
For a moment, Tang San clenched his fists tightly, his gaze fierce as he glared in the direction of the Pope's Palace.
"Injuring Xiao Wu and humiliating my teacher—Bibi Dong, you've already sealed your fate."
These words, Tang San only dared to think in his heart. If anyone overheard them, the angry mob would tear them apart long before Bibi Dong could act.
Soon, under Ning Fengzhi's healing, everyone from Shrek Academy regained consciousness.
Of course, they were only awake—their injuries still required the intervention of a healing-type soul master to fully recover.
This was the second time Ning Fengzhi had helped Shrek Academy, whether or not it was at Bibi Dong's behest. The favor was real.
However, at this moment, instead of feeling grateful toward Ning Fengzhi, the members of Shrek Academy inwardly criticized him for his inaction.
Shrek Academy was, after all, a team from the Tiandou Empire. Ning Fengzhi, as the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and the highest-ranking official in the empire, had simply stood by and watched as the Spirit Hall humiliated them. Now, he wanted to curry favor? Shrek Academy wasn't falling for it.
---
On the square
The Seven Treasures Academy team and the Spirit Hall Academy team stood tall like pines, their posture upright and dignified.
In contrast, the members of Shrek Academy lay sprawled, slouched, seated, crouched, kneeling—all in disarray, completely undisciplined.
However, given that they had already been punished, no one made further comments about their behavior.
Bibi Dong's gaze swept over the members of the first two teams, avoiding the Shrek Seven Monsters. Finally, she glanced briefly at Yu Xiaogang before withdrawing her gaze.
"In all of you, I see the vitality of youth and the arrogance of genius. The purpose of the Soul Master Tournament is to select the strongest geniuses of this generation. To reward the champion team, the Spirit Hall has prepared generous prizes."
As she spoke, she lightly waved her scepter.
Ordinary soul masters couldn't discern her technique, but after the scepter passed, three spirit bones floated silently in mid-air.
Dugu Bo sneered. "Putting on a show."
It was clear that Bibi Dong had simply taken the spirit bones out of her ring-type soul tool, yet she insisted on making such a spectacle.
The glow of the spirit bones was extraordinarily dazzling, visible even from the base of the Pope Mountain.
These three spirit bones were of exceptional quality, flawless in every way.
At the sight of this, countless people began breathing heavily, their eyes filled with greed.
These were spirit bones!
On the Douluo Continent, soul masters seeking new soul skills relied either on soul rings or spirit bones.
Soul rings were limited in number, with only one obtainable every ten levels. Spirit bones, however, had no such restrictions. Even a child who had just awakened their martial soul could absorb a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone, gaining its power and associated soul skill.
There was a theory on the continent: if a newly awakened genius absorbed six hundred-thousand-year spirit bones, their first soul ring could reach the ten-thousand-year level right from the start. They might even break through to become a Title Douluo before the age of thirty.
Of course, this was only a hypothesis.
On the Douluo Continent, there were only a handful of experts with ten-thousand-year soul rings. Whether six hundred-thousand-year spirit bones could even be gathered was debatable. And even if they existed, using them on a child would be an egregious waste.
---
Pope's Palace guards streamed out from both sides of the square, their vigilant gazes guarding the spirit bones.
Under the Spirit Hall's tight security, no one could possibly snatch the spirit bones—not even a Title Douluo.
"The three spirit bones are: the Wisdom Skull of Spiritual Concentration, the Flame Right Arm of Explosive Blaze, and the Wind-chasing Left Leg of Swift Advance. These spirit bones all come from ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Among them, the Wisdom Skull of Spiritual Concentration comes from a soul beast over fifty thousand years old. It was personally slain by the previous Pope and is considered one of the finest spirit bones, second only to external spirit bones and top-tier bones produced by hundred-thousand-year soul beasts."
Ghost Douluo's voice was low, but everyone present heard him clearly.
Bibi Dong lightly tapped her scepter on the ground and announced, "There can only be one champion. These three spirit bones are the reward for the champion team. I hope you give your all in the upcoming finals."
It was plain to see that the attributes of these three spirit bones corresponded to the three members of the Golden Generation.
By offering such rewards, the Spirit Hall was confident that no one could challenge their academy team.
Among the Seven Treasures Academy team, Feng Xiaotian whispered, "Headmaster Huo instructed me to tell everyone that if we win the championship, he'll trade a thirty-thousand-year spirit bone for this twenty-five-thousand-year flame spirit bone."
This wasn't surprising.
The Seven Treasures team had no fire-attribute soul masters, so this spirit bone was useless to them. On the other hand, the Huo family—Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu—both needed this spirit bone to boost their strength.
After the Pope finished speaking, the red-robed cardinal in charge of maintaining order immediately announced, "This morning, each of the three teams will send seven participants for individual elimination matches. The last contestant standing on the stage will directly advance to the final championship match. The other two teams will compete in the loser's bracket finals this afternoon. The winner will qualify to enter the championship match."
The Seven Treasures Academy team had only eight members, two of whom were auxiliary-type soul masters. In one-on-one battles, they only had six fighters. Bao Zhen and Huang Wu, as substitutes, weren't standing here with the rest.
"Should we call Huang Wu over?" Feng Xiaotian asked.
Ning Tianchen shook his head. "Not yet. Let's see what the organizers say first."
Shrek Academy was clearly in no condition to compete. If the match continued, they were guaranteed to lose.
"Shrek Academy voluntarily enters the loser's bracket finals," Yu Xiaogang declared.
Of the three teachers from Shrek Academy, he was the only one still somewhat coherent.
Once the individual battles began, given Shrek Academy's current state, they wouldn't gain any advantage. Worse, they'd likely become targets of malicious attacks from the Seven Treasures team and the Spirit Hall team.
If that happened, wouldn't they be eliminated outright?
"Oh?" Bibi Dong wasn't surprised, smiling as she said, "Mr. Yu Xiaogang, this is the finals. Wouldn't forfeiting leave you with regrets? Can you explain your reasoning?"
Yu Xiaogang retorted confidently, "Your Holiness, forfeiting is our right. There's no rule in the tournament prohibiting us from doing so."
To argue for forfeiting with such confidence—Yu Xiaogang truly lived up to his reputation as the continent's number one.
However, there was clearly some resentment in his tone.
Hadn't Shrek Academy ended up in this state because of the Spirit Hall?
Just as the red-robed cardinal was about to lash out, Bibi Dong stopped him. "Indeed, it's their right. Very well, the individual battles will continue. The Spirit Hall Academy team will face off against the Seven Treasures Academy team to determine the ultimate victor."
Ke Jie transmitted a message to Ning Tianchen: "The Spirit Hall Academy team's individual strength is formidable. To win this individual battle, we must reveal our trump cards. Shrek Academy's decision to step aside is clearly to assess our true strength."
"Whether to fight or not, I won't make any suggestions. Decide for yourself—I'll support whatever you choose."
Both Ning Tianchen and the rest of the Seven Treasures team dreamed of personally teaching Shrek Academy a lesson. Since the latter had voluntarily entered the loser's bracket, they had no reason to let them off.
After a brief discussion with his teammates, Ning Tianchen turned to Bibi Dong and bowed. "Your Holiness, after consulting with my teammates, we've decided that the Seven Treasures Academy acknowledges we're no match for the Spirit Hall Academy team in the individual battles. Therefore, we voluntarily enter the loser's bracket finals."
"Approved." Bibi Dong waved her hand dismissively.
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