Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 422 Shrek vs. Sun and Moon

Seeing the team's low morale and near-collapse, Xiao Hongchen suddenly stood up, his voice resolute, and surveyed his teammates:
"Gentlemen! Raise your heads! His Majesty the Regent is watching us from the high platform! Countless citizens of the Empire are watching us! In this competition, we bear the glory of the Empire; we can only fight to the death, not admit defeat!"

He turned his gaze to his sister and said in a deep voice, "Meng, you're going in this round. Bring enough invincibility shields. Our goal remains the same. If... if Gula goes on the field, you must find a way to force him to use his soul skill at least once to wear him down!"

Meng Hongchen suppressed her usual admiration for Gula's appearance, her pretty face tense, and nodded heavily: "I understand, brother."

She knew very well that at this moment, personal victory or defeat, or even life or death, was far less important than the strategic objective.

Meng Hongchen's Zhu Qingbing Toad Martial Soul contains a wide range of deadly poison, and her cultivation level is one level higher than Zhou Sichen's.

Despite Zhou Sichen's summoned beasts and soul tools harassing her, she didn't even move much. She simply released a cold, poisonous mist, which easily thwarted Zhou Sichen's offensive and secured victory.

After referee Zheng Zhan announced the result of the match, Meng Hongchen quickly took out a milk bottle to recover her soul power while nervously looking towards Shrek Academy's rest area, waiting for the opponent's next opponent to appear, her heart pounding.

Gula tapped rhythmically on the armrest of the chair, a playful smile on his face.

He never intended to completely defeat the Sun and Moon team in the individual competition; that would be too boring.

What could possibly stir the sensitive nerves of the people of the Sun Moon Empire more than overwhelmingly defeating the strongest team from the Sun Moon Empire in a highly anticipated team competition, and generate a powerful force of belief that would cause them to fluctuate violently amidst despair and anger?

"Ning Tian, ​​Cao Jinxuan," Gula said calmly.

"Yes, Captain."

"You two, come up on stage one by one and admit defeat immediately."

Cao Jinxuan was stunned: "Huh? Captain, why?" Isn't this practically giving it away for free?
Ning Tian was also deep in thought, but he couldn't quite grasp the key to it for the time being.

Gula smiled and explained, "Do as I say. We need to 'lose' these three matches to give them a respectable reason and a way out to give up the individual competition. We need to force them to admit that they don't even have the right to let me take the field in the individual competition."

Ning Tian suddenly realized what was going on, and then felt speechless at Gula's almost cruel and perverse sense of humor.

This is a devastating blow, designed to force the Sun and Moon team to humiliatingly admit defeat once again in the individual competition.

She couldn't help but remind her, "Captain, the Sun and Moon Team also has a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Isn't it too risky to compete in a team competition?"

Gula shook his head, his tone filled with absolute confidence: "No."

Thus, to the astonishment of the audience and the members of the Sun and Moon team, Ning Tian and Cao Jinxuan from Shrek Academy went up on stage one after another and, facing the prepared Meng Hongchen, directly admitted defeat to the referee.

When Ning Tian went on stage, she even "inadvertently" released her dazzling Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul. The pure support-type brilliance was more like a silent mockery - we even sent a support-type character up here to make a show of it, which clearly means we don't want to fight you in an individual competition.

Meng Hongchen was completely bewildered after "winning" two matches. She felt no joy, only humiliation from being looked down upon and even greater unease.

Xiao Hongchen's face was so dark it looked like it could drip water.

He saw right through Gura's scheme!
Gula is using a calculated move to force him to make a choice: not to admit defeat? Gula will inevitably be the next one to go up. Given his previous ruthlessness, and considering the battle between the Tang Sect and the Sun Moon Team, anyone who goes up there will either die or be crippled!
Admitting defeat? That would be tantamount to admitting once again in front of countless citizens of the empire that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy is inferior to Shrek Academy and Gura in individual combat!
He, Xiao Hongchen, is determined to take the blame for this enormous mess!
On the high platform, Xu Tianran also saw the tactical maneuvering and humiliation involved, and his anger surged.

Gula's scheme is utterly arrogant!

They completely disregarded the Sun Moon Team and his Sun Moon Empire. This was a blatant threat based on absolute power, and it was unfolding right on his own soil, right before his eyes!
Orange, who was standing nearby, could feel the chill emanating from Xu Tianran and gently comforted him:

“Your Highness, there is no need to be angry over an arrogant madman. To destroy someone, you must first make them mad. Gula is so domineering and arrogant, he will bring about his own destruction sooner or later.”

Xu Tianran forcibly suppressed his anger and said calmly with a blank expression, "That's right, just an arrogant fool who doesn't know his own limitations."

On the Tang Sect's side, Huo Yuhao also quietly explained to his companions the meaning behind Shrek Academy's repeated surrenders.

Xu Sanshi clicked his tongue and said, "Gula is really ruthless. He's attacking the heart! Xiao Hongchen admitted defeat to us once before, and now if he admits defeat to Shrek Academy again..."

"Hehe, won't the spittle from the audience in the Sun Moon Empire drown him? That's so satisfying!" He was just enjoying the show.

Huo Yuhao calmly replied, "Since we've already identified them as enemies, using psychological tactics against them is already considered mild."

Xiao Hongchen was experiencing a fierce internal struggle as he watched as Gula stood up from the Shrek rest area, seemingly ready to make his appearance.

Unable to bear the immense pressure of potentially sending his teammates to their deaths and the endless follow-up pressure, he finally shouted hoarsely with all his might, "Referee! Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy... concedes defeat in the individual competition!"

Referee Zheng Zhan sighed inwardly. He was generally fair, but as a citizen of the Sun Moon Empire, he felt extremely aggrieved to see his country's top team forced to admit defeat again in this way.

Gula clearly had the ability to win easily, but he deliberately chose not to. He wanted to play with his opponent's mentality like a cat toying with a mouse within the rules.

Some viewers who didn't understand the tactics got the hang of it after being explained by others, and immediately felt intense anger, hatred and rejection towards Gura and Shrek Academy.

Gula accepted it all without question; he disliked these mixed and impure negative beliefs, but the psychological warfare had already achieved its effect.

Zheng Zhan took a deep breath and announced loudly: "The individual competition is over. Shrek Academy won three matches, and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy won four. Shrek Academy has four points, and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy has three points. Now we will move on to the team competition. Please bring your teams to the stage!"

On the Sun and Moon team's side, the players who took the stage were Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, Lan Xiu, Qiu Yi, Ye Nongfeng, Ding Xiaobu, and... Ye Canshang, who was lucky enough not to face Gula in the individual competition, for a total of seven people.

On the Shrek team's side, Zhou Sichen still did not play, and Gula led the other six main players to take the stage.

"Game start!"

Both sides instantly released their martial spirits. Gula wore that chillingly faint smile on his face, and seven spirit rings—four black and three red—rose slowly beneath his feet. That eerie and terrifying configuration made him seem like a great demon king descending upon the world, exuding an unparalleled sense of oppression.

Xiao Hongchen was also a seven-ring Soul Saint, but he had forcibly reached that level using drugs, at the cost of his cultivation remaining stagnant for the next five years. He roared, and the seven members of the Sun and Moon Team simultaneously shone brightly, activating a special linked defensive soul tool.

This was developed by Mingdetang specifically to counter Gura's powerful fire abilities, with fire resistance pushed to the extreme.

Although it doesn't achieve complete immunity, the level six protective shield is enough to filter out most of the energy impact of level seven fire attribute attacks, leaving only pure soul power impact, which is then resisted by the soul power defense soul tool worn inside.

Although it would rapidly deplete their soul power, the soul masters of the Sun Moon Empire were skilled at using medicine to temporarily enhance and restore their cultivation, and their soul skills were mostly geared towards this purpose, so they could barely sustain themselves for a period of time.

Gula's Eye of Appraisal instantly saw through the principle and weakness of this soul tool. He smiled and didn't care. In the face of absolute strength, any clever tricks would only make him look ridiculous.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Holy Radiance Domain!"

When the 100,000-year-old spirit ring suddenly shone with a dazzling light, everyone in the audience held their breath, not daring to miss any detail.

Xiao Hongchen, like a startled bird, roared in alarm, "Dream, come back!"

He and Meng Hongchen instantly closed in, their soul power surging wildly as they unleashed their strongest trump card—the Soul Fusion Skill: Red Dust Yearning!
A giant, golden toad phantom appeared, enveloping the brother and sister.

However, Gula just tilted his head, looked at their tense expressions, and teased, "Don't be nervous, it's just opening a domain, are you scared?"
Inside the enormous golden toad, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were ashen-faced, but had no time to respond.

The next moment, endless flames appeared out of thin air within the entire arena, holy and scorching, burning equally every target within the area.

Even referee Zheng Zhan was affected. He raised his soul power shield, his face turning black, but he dared not go far away—if too many members of the Sun Moon Team died, he would be seriously derelict in his duty.

Zheng Zhan, being a Title Douluo, could still manage despite the boost from medication. But the rest of the Sun Moon Team were in a much worse state.

Night's Skeleton Martial Soul was extremely Yin and evil, and was completely countered by the Light Flame, which contained the attributes of holiness and ultimate light. Almost the instant the domain was deployed, Night's Skeleton Martial Soul was defeated.

He was like a torch doused with gasoline; he barely managed to scream before his martial spirit was ignited and purified, ultimately turning into a small pile of ashes.

The evolved 100,000-year domain soul skill is so domineering and unparalleled in power!
The poisonous mist from the Zhu Qing Ice Toad that Meng Hongchen had laid down to control the situation was completely burned away the moment the light appeared.

The various soul tools they wore, whether offensive or defensive, began to glow red, soften, and deform from the inside out, eventually becoming completely ineffective.

The other four Soul King and Soul Emperor level team members were built on drugs, making their strength weak and unstable. Under the indiscriminate and continuous burning of the domain, they couldn't even last three seconds before losing their ability to fight. Zheng Zhan, with quick eyes and hands, picked them up one by one and threw them out of the arena.

If Meng Hongchen hadn't been in a state of Martial Soul Fusion Skill, protected by powerful soul power, given the nature of her ice-attribute Martial Soul, she would likely have been instantly severely injured or even killed within this domain of extreme light and fire.

The entire audience was stunned.

Their proud Imperial First Academy assembled its seven strongest members and even prepared specialized soul tools, yet... under a single domain soul skill from the opponent, five were instantly wiped out, leaving only a single Martial Soul Fusion Skill struggling to hold on.

This gap is no longer a chasm, but an insurmountable chasm!

Gula conjured the Holy Sun Angel Sword in his hand, casually twirled it, and turned his gaze to the giant golden toad, asking in a relaxed tone, "Want to fight some more?"

His answer was action; the golden toad suddenly opened its massive jaws, unleashing a torrent of metal!
Countless molten metals, like a river bursting its banks, surged toward Gula with an aura of utter destruction.

Laughing at the world's indifference, Gula's mortal body could ignore their attacks like a domain!

Gula's eyes narrowed slightly, his mocking expression vanishing. He raised his lightsaber and, with a simple slash, slashed forward.

There was no flashy light, only a sun-like sword intent condensed to its extreme!
This imagery is like a miniature sun, brilliant and dazzling, carrying the will to burn everything and reign supreme.

Guided by sword intent, the power of the martial soul's origin was perfectly fused with the ultimate light and fire attributes. It struck first despite being behind, and collided head-on with the massive torrent of metal!

"laugh--!"

Like a red-hot iron cutting into ice and snow, the massive torrent of metal was split in two by the incredibly refined solar sword intent. The blazing sword intent continued its momentum and struck the golden toad's body with precision.

"boom!

The Martial Soul Fusion Skill was forcibly broken!
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were sent flying backwards, spitting out blood as they flew through the air, before crashing heavily to the ground and falling into a deep coma.

"Red dust!"

With a roar, Jing Hongchen, the master of Mingde Hall, could no longer restrain himself. He rushed onto the arena like lightning, picked up his grandson and granddaughter, turned around and glared fiercely at Gula with bloodshot eyes full of deep hatred. In the end, he said nothing and left quickly with his men.

Referee Zheng Zhan was quite annoyed by Jing Hongchen's disregard for the rules and rushing onto the stage, but he knew it wasn't the time to argue. He immediately announced loudly, "In the team competition, Shrek Academy wins! The overall score is Shrek Academy wins! Nine points!"

The scene fell into dead silence.

Gula's performance was too outstanding. In just two moves, with a single domain and a single sword strike, he defeated a top-tier team that possessed both Soul Saint and Martial Soul Fusion Techniques.

This was completely beyond their understanding of the Soul Master Competition.
Almost all the teams tacitly agreed that the champion of this tournament was Shrek Academy, without a doubt!
Many teams looked at Gula's figure with eyes filled with helplessness and despair, their fighting spirit almost completely shattered.

On the high platform, Xu Tianran's face was ashen, and his fingers, gripping the armrest tightly, turned white from the force. He squeezed out a word through gritted teeth: "Useless!"

Mingming had just praised Mingdetang for Xiao Hongchen's display of Soul Saint cultivation, but now he wished he could tear Jing Hongchen and his two grandsons to pieces to vent his hatred.

Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; it couldn't be more true. And Gula was that fierce tiger that forcibly invaded his territory and wantonly trampled on his majesty.

(End of this chapter)