Book 14: The Finals!
When Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen walked up to the competition stage, their minds were still pre-occupied by Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng’s lost looks.
In the previous round, Ma Xiaotao had still managed to defeat them even though she was outnumbered and had to face the frightening attacks of the Class 8 Judgement Sword. Ma Xiaotao didn’t just achieve victory. She even dented their confidence.
This was especially so for Ma Rulong. Although he was not heavily hurt, he was tormented internally.
As their team leader, he still lost even though he had used such a powerful soul tool, combusted his own life power and had a numerical advantage over Ma Xiaotao.
The over-depletion of his soul power meant that his powers would not just stagnate for a year. What was even more frightening was that Ma Xiaotao’s black flames had left a trauma in his heart that couldn’t be obliterated. Both he and Xiao Xiafeng had been trounced in their fight.
However, Shrek wasn’t in good shape either. They no longer had any alternatives. However, they could become the eventual champions of the tournament if they managed to achieve victory in this upcoming 2 v 2 battle.
“Younger sister, I must admit that my past opinion about Shrek Academy was wrong. Shrek is really powerful.” Xiao Hongchen did not look arrogant anymore. He was still a little pale from the injury he had received. But there was a sense of resilience amidst that paleness that had never been there before.
Meng Hongchen sighed. “If all their official team members were here, we’d not even stand a chance.”
Xiao Hongchen looked into the sky. The rain was getting heavier, and there was even a layer of mist in the air. Their clothing was also wet, but didn’t become drenched, as their soul power evaporated some of the rain.
“I must stabilize myself after this tournament. Grandpa was right. It’s not a good thing to increase our cultivation so quickly. It’s not just because our bodies can’t handle the burden. It’s more because of our psychological mindset. If I don’t stabilize myself, I’m afraid that I’ll continue to be unable to reach my peak.”
Meng Hongchen nodded her head hardily and said, “Alright, I shall accompany you.”
Meng Hongchen’s eyes suddenly lit up, “But we have to win this battle first. Our partners can’t just die for nothing. We must snatch our glory back from Shrek’s hands. We must win this battle.”
Meng Hongchen’s eyes lit up too. At this point, she saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ascending the stage holding hands. Wang Dong’s pinkish-blue eyes were filled with his fighting spirit. As Meng Hongchen looked at him, her heartstrings were tugged.
“Yes, we must win.”
The four of them took their positions on the competition stage. Their competitive streaks rose as they looked at one another. Besides Meng Hongchen’s gaze that carried a slight bizarrerie when she looked at Wang Dong, the rest were all resolute.
The four of them also had another feeling at this point. It was as if something had guided all of them to gather on this stage and meet one another in this important tournament.
Was this fate? If this was really fate, then perhaps they were destined to be rivals. 5 years later, they would still compete for their respective academies in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. They were bound to be the main forces in their respective teams then. What could change after 5 years? They didn’t know. Right now, they only knew that they had to be the champions.
More than a month had already passed. After all the hard-fought battles and effort they had made, they had finally reached this stage. This was especially so for everyone on Shrek’s team. It wasn’t easy for them to be standing here in the final.
The burning competitive streak in Huo Yuhao’s eyes dipped a little. In his eyes, a dim golden light subtly appeared. Although he wore an obvious look of innocence, there was also a shocking calmness about him too.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were different. A light seemed to shine from Wang Dong’s body. That pure feeling of light seemed to cause his body to burn up. No matter how gloomy it was or how the raindrops kept on falling, everything around seemed to turn clear as he stood there.
Xiao Hongchen was a five-ringed soul king. His martial soul was a Three-Legged Golden Toad, and he was a Class 5 soul engineer.
Meng Hongchen was a five-ringed soul king too. Her martial soul was a Vermilion Clear Icetoad, and she was also a Class 5 soul engineer.
Huo Yuhao had two soul rings. His martial souls were the Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Empress. He was a Class 2 soul engineer.
Wang Dong had three soul rings. His martial souls were the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Clear Sky Hammer.
The difference in cultivation between both sides was very obvious. But no one thought that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would definitely emerge victorious.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had created a lot of miracles in this tournament. Moreover, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were both hurt now, and their soul power had been depleted greatly too. Their soul power could be replenished by soul tools like the Milk Bottle, but what about their vigor? What about their injuries?
Their powers waxed and waned, making the gap in their powers less obvious than the gap in their ranks.
“Both sides, please step back.” The Heavenfiend Douluo shouted. This was likely to be the last match that he would referee. Huang Jinxu swore to himself secretly that he wouldn’t serve as a referee if there was a next time.
No one was more shocked than him right now. As the referee, he could truly sense the power of these youths. He saw many things on them that he shouldn’t have seen on youths. Top-ranked martial souls, twin martial souls and even Class 8 soul tools. The transformation of Ma Xiaotao’s martial soul earlier left him the most appalled. His Heavenfiend Lonestar was even unable to entirely resist Ma Xiaotao’s black flames. What was it exactly? Were these youths really not even 20 yet?
Especially these two representing Shrek Academy now. They were probably not even 15 years old yet, much less 20 years old.
However, the expression in their eyes told Huang Jinxu that they were confident they would win.
The Heavenfiend Douluo was even in a slight trance now. That’s because he recalled when he was only 15. He was trying his best to cultivate then, and his family hadn’t been killed by his Heavenfiend Lonestar’s curse yet. But he didn’t even know much about the world of soul masters then!
He couldn’t imagine how far these youths could go 20 and even 30 years from now.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong held each other’s hands as they stepped back. They knew that this was probably the toughest and the most intense battle that they were going to fight ever since they had entered Shrek Academy.
It was no longer just a tournament. It was war. It was a war where their lives were at stake.
But the more it was like that, the more excited they felt. Their potential seemed to be completely stimulated now.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were the kind of talented youths that resembled sponges that had fully absorbed water. The greater the pressure, the greater the potential they showed. Before the competition even began, their energies had reached their peaks already.
As they held each other’s hands, their minds were connected.
Huo Yuhao’s figure flashed, and he moved behind Wang Dong after they retreated to the edge of the competition stage. He placed his hands on Wang Dong’s waist, while Wang Dong was calm as he looked opposite him.
This was already starkly different from what they had displayed in this tournament before.
In the previous rounds, Huo Yuhao took the lead when they unleashed their martial soul fusion skill. Everyone believed that Wang Dong was only his aide. Besides unleashing their martial soul fusion skill together, Wang Dong didn’t really stand out. The only surprise that he gave was probably when he unleashed his Clear Sky Hammer. But that was the only time.
There were very few who remembered Wang Dong. But no one would forget Huo Yuhao’s six hundred thousand year soul rings at the start of the tournament! Although everyone found out that it was fake, the shock that they felt was still deeply imprinted in their minds.
Huo Yuhao was actually standing behind Wang Dong right now. It was obvious that Wang Dong was going to lead this time. No one expected this, even their opponents.
After seeing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s movements, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen’s expressions changed slightly. They discovered that they knew very little about Wang Dong.
To everyone, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao came as a single entity. They fought together from the start. But what were his abilities? What was his martial soul? Many were already starting to think about this question.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen retreated to the edge of the competition stage too. Meng Hongchen stood in front, while Xiao Hongchen took up the rear. But neither of them made any contact with each other.
Xiao Hongchen was not physically well yet. His physical body was completely ravaged by Dai Yueheng, and he didn’t even dare to use the Milk Bottle to restore his soul power. That was because his passageways couldn’t handle it.
His dislocated bones were already set, and his injuries were already healing too. But he still felt tremendous pain throughout his body at times. He was not even up to thirty percent of his peak condition. That was why he could only aid his younger sister. Meng Hongchen was the one leading now.
Do you want to read up to 20 unreleased chapters? Support UTS on !
Previous ChapterNext Chapte