On the other side, Shrek Academy possessed two Soul Kings, Ling Luochen and Xi Xi. Even if the strength of the others was somewhat lacking, the comprehensive strength of both sides was clear as day when compared.
However, Huo Yuhao was clearly not satisfied with merely being a foil to Ling Luochen and Xi Xi.
He wanted to posture.
Unexpectedly, just like in the original history, he simulated six hundred-thousand-year soul rings.
Then, he unleashed a martial soul fusion skill.
It was just that the target of the martial soul fusion skill had changed, shifting from Wang Dong'er to Dai Huabin.
The martial soul fusion skill had also changed from "Fading In Radiance, Golden Road" to "Resilience Within Strength · Tiger's Roar at the Spirit Gate (The Power of Hao-Bin)."
Seeing the six hundred-thousand-year soul rings appearing on Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin, let alone the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Master Academy, even their own teammates were profoundly shocked.
With the atmosphere built up to this point, Shrek had already managed to steal the spotlight sufficiently.
They only needed to strike together to easily bring the match to an end.
Yet, Huo Yuhao was clearly not content with just this, and in the next moment, an utterly eye-searing scene unfolded.
Right in front of the high-ranking officials of the Star Luo Empire, over a hundred advanced soul master academies, and hundreds of thousands of spectators.
With a smacking sound, Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin actually merged their martial souls together.
Following that, a golden rectangular beam of light measuring seventy meters long and three meters wide erupted outward.
Not a single member of the seven from the Tian Ling Academy managed to dodge. The two three-ring Soul Elders suffered consecutive explosions of colored light on their bodies as one protective soul tool after another shattered into pieces.
The bodies of the other five Soul Ancestors were also entirely rendered into gate sculptures, looking as if they were sealed within golden rectangular mystical gates, assuming a state of unspeakable eccentricity.
The match ultimately concluded with Shrek Academy's victory.
The result was beyond question; Shrek had taken center stage, but by the same token, they had thoroughly disgusted the hundreds of thousands of people present.
However, Huo Yuhao was clearly oblivious to this point. Facing the densely crowded Star Luo Plaza in front of the imperial city, he actually let out a loud shout, "Please remember, we come from Shrek Academy, from the Tang Sect."
After saying these words, those six soul rings on his body withdrew. Grabbing Dai Huabin's hand, he slowly walked down from the stage.
Ling Luochen, Xi Xi, Wang Dong'er, Wu Feng, and Bei Bei followed silently behind him without uttering a single word.
At this moment, they felt deeply embarrassed—extremely, completely, and utterly embarrassed.
Particularly Bei Bei; ever since he became a eunuch, the only lingering thought in his heart was Tang Ya and the Tang Sect.
Yet, Huo Yuhao chose to let the world witness the rebirth of the Tang Sect once more in this most humiliating manner.
Even Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng wished they could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Especially Dai Yueheng; his own younger brother and his father's illegitimate son had actually displayed that sickening martial soul fusion skill right in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators.
It was unimaginable to what extent the White Tiger Duke's Residence would lose face if Huo Yuhao's true identity were ever exposed to the public.
Zhou Yi alone remained entirely indifferent to all of this. She only knew that Shrek Academy had won, and her position was temporarily secure.
Next, she only needed to lead Shrek Academy to claim the championship, and she would be able to minimize the punishment coming from the academy to the greatest extent possible.
Zhou Yi's right hand seemingly brushed against Huo Yuhao's left hand by accident, her eyes flickering slightly. "Do you want to stay and watch the matches of the others?"
"What is there to see? Let's go back," Huo Yuhao said, acting precisely like a monarch inspecting his subjects as he prepared to walk outward.
The members of the Soul Hall had all cultivated the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye, so they naturally discerned at a single glance that Huo Yuhao was merely acting tough while his soul power was actually completely depleted.
Leading the members of the Soul Hall, Feng Piaoling blocked the path in front of him, speaking with a polite smile, "What's the matter, leaving so soon? Aren't you going to watch our match?"
"There is nothing worth seeing." Huo Yuhao's body trembled slightly.
The members of the Soul Hall spoke no words, merely extending three fingers to begin a countdown, "Three, two, one..."
The moment they counted to one, Huo Yuhao's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed directly toward the ground.
Not only him, but Dai Huabin, who was following closely behind him, also tumbled down.
This scene caused the various participating academies—who had originally been too intimidated to look Shrek in the eye due to Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin revealing six hundred-thousand-year soul rings—to reveal expressions of utter perplexity.
Xiao Hongchen voiced the confusion harbored within everyone's hearts, "What exactly is going on here?"
"What else could it be? These two match-made fellows merely relied on a unique simulation soul skill to simulate six hundred-thousand-year soul rings, bluffin g those fools from the Tian Ling Soul Master Academy until they lost all fighting spirit and got hit by their martial soul fusion skill. In reality, the cultivation of these two lads is merely at the level of a three-ring Soul Elder. After unleashing that sickening martial soul fusion skill just now, their soul power was entirely exhausted."
Feng Piaoling did not deliberately suppress his voice, and since the surrounding individuals were all soul masters, everyone heard him clear as day, and the news quickly spread from one person to ten, and ten to a hundred.
Everyone came to know that both Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin were merely Soul Elders, and they had just been using a simulation soul skill to deceive people.
For a moment, although the various advanced soul master academies still looked at Shrek's members with reverence, it no longer seemed as terrifying.
Particularly the members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy; each of them looked at the Shrek group as if they were looking at clowns.
After all that fuss, it turned out that the ridiculously extravagant soul ring configuration was completely fake.
It appeared that Shrek's team in this session was far more hollow on the inside than in the past.
"Your Majesty, I think I understand why that girl from the Zhu family broke off relations with this Dai Huabin," the Empress of the Star Luo Empire transmitted her voice to Emperor Xu Jiawei with a look of sheer schadenfreude.
Xu Jiawei frequently faced his subjects with a fake smile, but at this moment, a trace of a genuine smile rarely seen surfaced on his face. "I just wonder what the strength of these students participating on behalf of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is like."
The Empress smiled and said, "Just now, I already had someone investigate clearly. They are all soul master geniuses from the three empires of the Douluo Continent. Including that young girl from the Zhu family, the vast majority of them possess clans, making it basically impossible for them to pledge loyalty to the Sun Moon Empire."
"If they hadn't been expelled by this Zhou Yi back then, they would be the ones representing Shrek's preparatory team in the competition right now."
"Presumably because of that ambush a year ago, these individuals harbored resentment toward Shrek and chose to join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, which is the only institution capable of contending against Shrek Academy."
"In my view, Shrek Academy is likely going to encounter a true opponent this time."
Xu Jiawei nodded. "Then I shall wait and see."
Very quickly, the opponent for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was drawn.
It was the Tianxing Advanced Soul Master Academy from the Heavenly Soul Empire.
They possessed four Soul Ancestors and three Soul Elders.
In terms of overall strength, they were merely a notch weaker than the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Master Academy that had just suffered defeat at the hands of Shrek.
Faced with this, Feng Piaoling chose not to take the stage himself, directly arranging for Nanmen Yun'er, Cui Yajie, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluou, Zhu Lu, Huang Chutian, and Wang Gang to go up.
The seven individuals from both sides gathered at their respective corners of the competition stage, gazing at each other from afar.
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