Du Shaofu, seeing the large blue net flying toward him, realized he would be trapped if he didn't react. He was forced to abandon his attack on Zhu Ziyang and twisted his body midair to dodge Tang Ya's Blue Silver Net.
On the ground, Zhu Ziyang and Lu Shaoyou had already clashed. The Scythe of Life and Death collided with Lu Shaoyou's massive bear claws. The Earthburst Bear, known for its strength, managed to hold off Zhu Ziyang thanks to two soul skill boosts. But Zhu Ziyang quickly retracted his blade and struck again. The scythe and the bear claws clashed once more—this time, Lu Shaoyou was forced to retreat slightly.
Zhu Ziyang pressed the attack. His third slash forced Lu Shaoyou back by more than a meter. Lu's eyes widened in disbelief—his first soul skill increased his strength by 50%, and his teammate Wang Shaowei's first skill granted an additional 10%. Even so, he couldn't withstand Zhu Ziyang's assault.
Was this guy really just a Tool Soul Master?
Before he could think more, the fourth strike came. The overwhelming force told him instantly: I can't block this!
Panicking, Lu Shaoyou dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the scythe's blow. The blade hit the ground and split the earth in a 3-meter-long crack!
"…!" Lu's eyes went wide as saucers, only to be smacked by the scythe's handle mid-turn, sending him flying ten meters across the ground, caught just in time by referee Liu Xue.
While Lu Shaoyou was being crushed, his teammates fared no better.
Du Shaofu, an agility-type, was at a disadvantage against the control-type Tang Ya, whose barrage of hidden weapons left him scrambling defensively.
Wang Shaowei, a food-type Soul Master, had no chance against the speed and power of Jiang Nannan. Despite his second soul skill being a speed boost, he quickly surrendered when she got in close and grabbed his waist.
"Match over! Class Four's Zhu Ziyang's team wins!" Liu Xue declared after catching Lu and hearing the other two surrender.
The match had lasted less than ten minutes—possibly the shortest of the day.
"Next match in three minutes," she announced. "Class Five: Wang Hai, Luo Xiaoyi, Guan Tingting. Versus Class Six: Tian Mufei, Yang Guang, Li Yushan. Prepare yourselves."
The six called students tensed. Meanwhile, Zhu Ziyang's team left the field to rest in a corner—they knew they'd have more matches that afternoon.
Sure enough, match four came around, and they fought again—this time against a team of three one-ring Soul Masters. The battle lasted less than five minutes, ending in another easy win.
By 6:00 PM, Arena 12 had completed nine matches, the first to do so. Zhu Ziyang's team led the standings with a 2–0 win record.
"Today's matches are done. Be back at 6 a.m. tomorrow," Liu Xue said cheerfully, clearly in a good mood.
Finally, time to clock out!
—
As they prepared to leave, Lu Shaoyou's team approached them.
"Zhu Ziyang, thank you for going easy on me," Lu said sincerely.
They had only fought once and still had zero points, but being one of the only all-Grandmaster teams, they weren't too worried about elimination. Their concern now was whether they could reach the top 64.
"You're welcome—it's just a match, after all," Zhu Ziyang smiled. Indeed, he had pulled his final blow; otherwise, Lu wouldn't have been gently intercepted by Liu Xue.
"I hope you guys win the championship!" the three said admiringly before leaving.
"Let's go," Zhu Ziyang said.
"Let's find Beibei. We might get a chance to observe their strength," Tang Ya suggested.
"Is that really necessary?" Jiang Nannan asked with a confident smile. "With my brother here, even if Beibei has the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, he's no threat to us. Besides, he might not even be competing right now."
"Of course it's necessary!" Tang Ya replied quickly. "We know how strong Beibei is, but not his teammates. Know yourself, know your enemy! He's in Arena Three. Let's go!"
"Alright," said Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, following her lead.
—
Meanwhile, at the main observation platform, Liu Xue walked over with a bright smile.
Where should I go tonight for fun? she thought to herself.
"Hey! Liu Xue, aren't you supposed to be proctoring? Why are you back so early? Don't tell me you slacked off and didn't finish all nine matches?" called out Meng Fei, the homeroom teacher of Class Two.
Other teachers also noticed her return.
"No way! Of course I finished all nine. I'm here to hand in the results," Liu Xue replied cheerfully.
"All finished? That fast?" the teachers were shocked.
Xia Yu frowned slightly. "You were at Arena 12, right?"
He remembered—Zhu Ziyang's team had been assigned to Arena 12. He didn't even consider the possibility of them losing.
"That's right, Brother Yu," Liu Xue replied, handing over the match results with a smile. "Your Zhu Ziyang team won two out of two, and in record time."
"Mind if I take a look?"
A gentle, pleasant voice interrupted from behind.
The teachers turned and saw the white-robed elder, followed closely by Director Du Weilan of the Martial Soul Department.
That voice came from none other than—
"Dean Yan!"
All the teachers immediately stood at attention and bowed respectfully.
This elder was none other than the current dean of Shrek Academy, a Level 95 Super Douluo, known as the Radiant Phoenix Douluo, Yan Shaozhe.
"No need for formalities," he said with a kind smile. He waved at them and turned to Liu Xue.
"Teacher Liu, may I see the battle report?"
"Y-Yes, of course!" she stammered slightly, clearly excited. She hurriedly handed him the match report.
Despite having seen Yan Shaozhe countless times, Liu Xue still couldn't help but be starstruck.
After all, this was Dean Yan—a man whose name could shake the entire Douluo Continent!