Chapter 127 – The Interrupted Trump Card

On the other side, in a hotel not far from the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.

Inside a guest room, the leader of Canghui Academy, Shi Nian, had gathered the entire academy battle team.

Standing with his hands behind his back, Shi Nian glanced at the group led by team captain Shen Xinshui and said,

"Only five teams can qualify from the preliminaries. If we want to make it into the promotion rounds and the final stages, we can afford to lose no more than four matches.

We've already lost to Thunderclap Academy and Divine Wind Academy. Among the remaining opponents, Blazing Fire Academy, Water Sky Academy, Elephant Armored Academy, and Blue Tyrant Academy are all quite strong.

Today's opponent is Blue Tyrant Academy. In this battle, I permit you to use your trump card. We must not lose again!"

Did Canghui Academy have the confidence to win?Certainly.

Their Seven-in-One Soul Fusion Technique, though far weaker than the Seven-in-One Martial Soul Fusion Technique, was still terrifying due to the sheer number of participants. Its power was definitely not inferior to a dual Martial Soul Fusion.

Moreover, Canghui Academy's Seven-in-One Fusion Technique was a mental-type.

As long as they could overpower their opponent at the spiritual level, victory would be decided in an instant.

"Teacher Shi Nian, if we use the 'Seven Shura Illusion Realm' now, future opponents will be on alert. The Fusion Technique requires preparation time. Once they're prepared, we might not get the chance to use it again."

The team captain, Shen Xinshui—whose appearance seemed like a man in his thirties despite being only in his early twenties—voiced his concern.

"No matter," Shi Nian replied."Excluding our trump card, only six of the other twenty-seven teams in the prelims have overall strength greater than ours.

If we can defeat Blue Tyrant Academy today, we can choose to forfeit when facing Blazing Fire and Water Sky.

As for Elephant Armored Academy—they're all defensive-type Soul Masters. Their weakness is speed. Even if our trump card is exposed, they may still not be fast enough to interrupt our Fusion Technique."

As he spoke, Shi Nian waved his hand dismissively, his eyes gleaming with sharp light.

This is a Soul Master Tournament—while raw strength matters, tactics are equally crucial.

When Soul Power levels are similar, and Martial Soul quality and soul ring composition are evenly matched, among all Soul Master categories, the strongest by far is Control-Type Soul Masters, more precisely, Mental Control-Type Soul Masters.

Fortunately, Shen Xinshui was a Soul Sect with four soul rings and specialized in mental control. If only his Martial Soul were stronger, he might even surpass the likes of Yu Tianxin from Thunderclap Academy or Feng Xiaotian from Divine Wind Academy.

With a Mental Control Soul Sect like Shen Xinshui leading the team, Canghui Academy's overall strength was second only to the Five Elemental Academies and Blue Tyrant Academy.

Only five can make it out of the prelims. Unless there's a triangle of defeats—you beat me, I beat him, and he beats you—the maximum number of losses one can afford is four.

With six strong teams to contend with, Shi Nian set his sights on defeating Elephant Armored Academy and Blue Tyrant Academy.

The former had the clearest weaknesses, and were arguably the weakest among the Five Elemental Academies.

As for Blue Tyrant Academy—Shi Nian had a bit of personal history with their Vice Dean, Flender. The grudge wasn't particularly deep, but it still existed, didn't it?

More importantly, Blue Tyrant had already defeated two of the Five Elemental Academies halfway through the preliminaries, showcasing their formidable strength. If Canghui could beat them, wouldn't that speak volumes about their own might?

What about Chu Chengzhou from Blue Tyrant Academy?Yes, he was a bit unusual.

But even so, he was only a four-ring Soul Sect, and his flag-type Martial Soul wasn't spiritual in nature. If caught completely off-guard, could he really withstand their Seven Shura Illusion Realm?

What Shi Nian didn't know was that in a one-on-one fight, Blue Tyrant Academy had another member besides Chu Chengzhou who could potentially sweep the entire tournament.

That was Xiao Wu.

Though she had already made appearances, she had deliberately hidden her fifth soul ring, only showing Soul Sect-level strength. She planned to reveal her Soul King level power only in the finals.

At the Great Soul Arena, in the resting area:

"Today's match is against Canghui Academy. Their team is pretty average. You guys can handle it however you like."

Liu Erlong casually addressed her team.

'Canghui Academy?'Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow.

In this tournament, Canghui Academy was something of a dark horse.

In the original timeline, they suffered mental backlash while using their trump card against Tang San, turning into vegetables. Otherwise, they might have snagged one of the five qualifying slots with their hidden ace.

In Chu Chengzhou's eyes, the only people in their team who could resist Canghui's Seven-in-One Fusion Technique were himself and Xiao Wu, who had the power of a Soul King and formidable spiritual force.

"Yeah, best to end this match quickly," he thought."Don't give them the chance to pull a stunt."

Oh right—didn't Shi Nian have a ten-thousand-year head-type soul bone?

After thinking about it, Chu Chengzhou dropped the idea of trying to take it.

Shi Nian hadn't wronged him, and if they hadn't crossed any lines, it wasn't right to kill him and rob his soul bone. That would make him no different from a villain.

"Even if I'm a so-called 'Nine-Leak Fish,' I still have some moral bottom line," he told himself.

'I wonder if Bibi Dong will still offer those three soul bones as the champion prize this year?'

Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but ponder.

But honestly, he doubted it.

In the original timeline, the three soul bones that Shrek received after winning the championship had quite a story behind them.

Originally, there was no prize for the tournament champion, or at least not one involving the six-thousand-year Wisdom Skull Bone and the other two soul bones.

Those three were actually meant for Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan—Bibi Dong's cherished disciples.

But the Elder Hall opposed this favoritism, rejecting the allocation on the grounds that "Soul Bones should not be awarded arbitrarily."Only then did Bibi Dong reluctantly offer them as the prize for the champion team.

After all, with three Soul Kings who also had a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, the Spirit Hall team was expected to win easily.

Unfortunately, things went sideways. Shrek pulled a miracle upset and beat them.

Since the prize had already been publicly announced, Spirit Hall couldn't go back on their word—even if it meant taking the loss.

After all, while the soul bones were precious, they couldn't outweigh the reputation of Spirit Hall.

Given that Chu Chengzhou had already defeated Hu Liena—and even captured her in front of Xie Yue and Yan—he was likely already on Bibi Dong's radar.There was no way she'd offer those soul bones again.

Time passed, and the 16th round of the prelims began.

The match between Blue Tyrant Academy and Canghui Academy was slotted as the third match.

After the first two ended, the next eight teams prepared to enter the arena.

Chu Chengzhou, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Tai Long were selected for this match and walked out alongside Canghui Academy's full team of seven.

"Hey scumbag, that captain from Canghui looks like he's thirty-something. Do you think he lied about his age?"

Ning Rongrong asked suspiciously.

"Ahem, Rongrong—don't call me scumbag in public.

As for lying about age? Impossible. If he's allowed to compete, then he meets the requirements. Maybe he just looks… mature."

Chu Chengzhou whispered back.

"Not call you scumbag? One me, one Xiao Wu still not enough, and now you're flirting with Zhuqing too—"

Before she could finish, Chu Chengzhou quickly covered her mouth.

"We'll talk about this later."

He glanced over at Zhu Zhuqing, whose ears were already tinged red, and shot Rongrong a glare.

"Bullying me again, huh?"Ning Rongrong feigned a pitiful look.

Chu Chengzhou: "..."

After this little interlude, both sides entered the arena.

The cheering from the crowd erupted.

Blue Tyrant Academy's strength was well-known by now. With a series of prior victories, their fame rivaled that of the Five Elemental Academies.

Being the highlight of the round, their match was naturally arranged on the central main arena.

"Go Chu-ge!"

"Rongrong goddess, you got this!"

"Long live Chu-ge!"

"Zhuqing, I love you!"

"Chu-ge, I want to have your baby!"

"Let's go Blue Tyrant! 16-win streak!"

"Damn~! My goddess Xiao Wu isn't in the lineup again?"

Mixed in with fanboy squeals, waves of cheering surged in from the stands. Meanwhile, in the VIP seats, the professional match commentator had already focused attention on the two teams now stepping onto the central battle arena.

"The third match of Group 3 in Round 16 of the preliminaries is about to begin. As you can see, the Blue Tyrant Academy team will be participating in this group.

Their opponent is Canghui Academy, which currently holds a respectable record of 13 wins and 2 losses out of 15 matches. Given their record so far, Canghui Academy still has a shot at making it out of the preliminaries.

Of course, compared to Blue Tyrant Academy, their overall strength is noticeably inferior.

After all, when they faced off against Thunderclap Academy and Divine Wind Academy, they were completely overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Blue Tyrant Academy decisively defeated two other elemental academies: Blazing Fire Academy and Elephant Armor Academy.

So, with Canghui facing off against Blue Tyrant today, I personally believe there's no suspense regarding the outcome. The only question is: how long can Canghui withstand Blue Tyrant's assault?"

The commentator's remarks were certainly sharp, but as a professional, he had no personal bias. His slant simply aligned with the audience's sentiment—which, at the moment, overwhelmingly favored Blue Tyrant Academy. His commentary no doubt pushed the stadium's atmosphere to a fever pitch.

"Ah~ Look, everyone!

In previous matches against Blazing Fire and Elephant Armor Academies, Blue Tyrant's lineup consisted of their captain Chu Chengzhou, food-type Soul Ancestor Oscar, and the rest—Ma Hongjun, Tailong, Jiangzhu, Jing Ling, and Huang Yuan—were all Soul Experts with three rings.

But today, facing Canghui Academy, Blue Tyrant has swapped out Oscar and Ma Hongjun for auxiliary-type Soul Ancestor Ning Rongrong and agility-type Soul Ancestor Zhu Zhuqing. This lineup is noticeably stronger than in their earlier matches.

Could it be that, in their eyes, Canghui is even stronger than Blazing Fire and Elephant Armor?"

"Oh~ I get it! Maybe because they've already achieved a perfect record of 15 straight wins, Blue Tyrant is being extra cautious. That's why they fielded a more powerful team—to avoid any unexpected upsets.

Such prudence! No wonder they're called a team of kings. I can't wait to see how they perform in the finals!"

Chu Chengzhou: "..."

This had nothing to do with Canghui being stronger, nor was it about being cautious. The real reason? The two girls just got lucky and drew lots to appear today.

The commentator's passionate commentary not only riled up the crowd, it also angered three teams in particular.

First, the team he predicted to lose—Canghui Academy. The other two? Naturally, Blazing Fire and Elephant Armor Academies, who were indirectly insulted by being compared unfavorably to Canghui.

As elemental academies, how could they be seen as inferior to Canghui?

On the battlefield, all eight teams from Group 3 had entered the arena, and the four platforms were now in final preparations, as declared by the referees.

What do audiences love most?

As the saying goes, amateurs watch the spectacle. During the pre-battle preparation phase, the moment when all Soul Masters release their Martial Souls is the most dazzling.

The blooming of soul rings, the radiant transformations and materializations of each Martial Soul—it all sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Soul Masters might not be overwhelmingly powerful by fantasy standards—on the Douluo Continent, they might even rank below some average martial worlds, basically "entry-level fantasy" or "sewer tier." But when it came to Soul Master battles, the strange Martial Souls and flashy Soul Skills turned them into an absolute visual feast.

With three Soul Ancestors (above level 40) and four Soul Experts (above level 30), Blue Tyrant Academy completely overpowered their opponents in terms of soul power even before the match started.

Canghui, on the other hand, only had one Soul Ancestor—team captain Shen Xinshui. The remaining six were Soul Experts, and one of them didn't even have an optimal soul ring configuration, having only three yellow rings.

Still, the seven members of Canghui appeared cautious. As soon as the referee gave the signal to release Martial Souls, they quickly grouped together with Shen Xinshui at the center, forming a hexagonal formation.

"All gem-type Martial Souls?"

Seeing that all seven members of Canghui possessed gem-type Martial Souls, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but mutter.

Curiosity aside, for someone like Ning Rongrong, whose Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was a top-tier gem Martial Soul, this was an advantage—higher-grade Martial Souls could suppress lower-grade ones when close.

Of course, with her team being so powerful and her role as a backline support, this advantage likely wouldn't come into play.

"Preparation time is up! The match officially begins!"

The brief prep time flew by. The referee's voice echoed.

Instantly, Chu Chengzhou's first soul ring lit up as he held his True Spirit Banner Martial Soul. With the surge of soul power, the massive Azure Tree spirit beast—Xiao Qing—was summoned.

At the same time, Canghui's seven raised their gem Martial Souls, their soul rings flashing.

However, a key difference: Shen Xinshui's fourth ring lit up, while the others activated their third.

As Xiao Qing's massive body manifested, its dense roots spread across the arena. Then, seven beams of rainbow light rose from the Canghui team, forming around Shen Xinshui.

Next moment, the beams converged into a giant pillar of rainbow light centered on his Martial Soul.

Just as this colossal rainbow pillar was about to envelop the Canghui team in their special formation—Xiao Qing moved.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh——"

With a rush of air, Xiao Qing's seemingly harmless tree roots wrapped around the ankles of the seven Canghui members. With a tug, they were instantly pulled into full-on splits.

Yep. Full splits. On seven men. Out of nowhere.

It looked painful. The kind of pain that made every guy watching wince with a phantom ache.

But that wasn't the main point.

The key was: their formation was disrupted, the massive rainbow pillar vanished.

"Pfft—!"

With their seven-in-one fusion skill broken at the critical moment, all seven Canghui members suffered backlash and vomited blood in unison.

Then, the tree vines surged again—art in motion! The entire Canghui team was hoisted up into the air, hanging from the branches like decorative ornaments.

Their pose? Uniform. Flawless.

"Nine Treasures Glazed Tile, First: Strength! Second: Speed! Third..."

Seeing this, Ning Rongrong's soul rings glowed as she started applying buffs—only to pause in confusion.

"Wait... it's already over?"

The super support hadn't even finished buffing her team, and the battle was done.

Aside from the other three platforms still mid-battle, the whole arena went quiet for two seconds—then erupted in thunderous cheers.

This—this was a true one-shot kill!

Barely three seconds into the match, the entire opposing team had been dealt with.

Aside from matches where one side surrendered before the fight even began, this was the fastest victory ever recorded!

On the other platforms, the other matches had barely even started.

"I declare: in the 16th round of the preliminaries, Blue Tyrant Academy versus Canghui Academy—Blue Tyrant wins!"

The referee had just stepped off the stage when he had to turn around and return to the platform to announce the result.

In the VIP box:

"Sect Master Ning, you're a wise man, deeply versed in Martial Soul theory. Did you see what kind of technique Canghui tried to use earlier?"

Emperor Xue Ye turned to the man seated to his left—Ning Fengzhi.

He had seen it clearly: Canghui had tried to unleash a powerful trump card—a massive rainbow light column—but was interrupted by Chu Chengzhou's summoned beast.

The backlash confirmed it.

"They didn't complete the technique, so it's hard to say," Ning Fengzhi replied after a moment's thought. "But it looked somewhat like a Martial Soul fusion technique."

"Fusion? That's not possible, is it?"

Emperor Xue Ye's eyes widened.

As far as he knew, Martial Soul fusions were typically done between two people. Three-person fusions were extremely rare—there was only one known case, and two of those people were Liu Erlong and Flender from Blue Tyrant.

More than three? Theoretically possible, but no historical records exist—let alone seven-person Martial Soul fusion!

Fusion skills between two Soul Masters could raise their power by a full grade; three-person fusions could bump it two grades. If this was a seven-person fusion? Then even a Titled Douluo might not be able to stop it.

No way. Absolutely impossible!

Ning Fengzhi considered this and nodded. "Yes, it's highly unlikely. If it were truly a seven-person Martial Soul fusion, that would be heaven-defying. Perhaps it was just a seven-in-one soul skill fusion?"

If it really were a full seven-person Martial Soul fusion, Ning Fengzhi wouldn't hesitate—he'd have Sword Douluo Chenxin escort those seven back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School immediately and worship them like ancestors.

"A seven-in-one soul skill fusion? Still not bad," Xue Ye mused. "It seems our empire has more and more outstanding youths. Sect Master Ning, perhaps the royal family should engage more with them?"

He smiled.

Even if this wasn't a full Martial Soul fusion but a soul skill fusion, it was still formidable.

Quantity leads to quality—such a technique could potentially surpass two-person Martial Soul fusions.

Though most of the Canghui team weren't top talents—aside from Shen Xinshui, the rest were just average—one even had sub-optimal soul rings.

But standing on the Soul Master Tournament stage meant they were already elite among the continent's younger generation. The only reason they seemed ordinary was because they were being compared to true prodigies.

And the Heaven Dou Empire placed great importance on such youth.

By expressing interest in building ties with the Canghui seven, Emperor Xue Ye made his intentions clear:

"These seven are ours. Sect Master Ning—don't even think about stealing them."

T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at p@treon.com/LordHipposApostle