Douluo Continent: The Twin Sons of the Styx River, Shaking the World and Destroying the Heavens

Chapter 196 Conflict
The captain of Tianjia Sect, like Han Yu whom Dai Huabin faced in his first match, was a Soul King, while the rest of the team members were all Soul Masters. In the Mingdu Tournament, where the overall strength had improved significantly compared to the previous tournament, Tianjia Sect undoubtedly belonged to the bottom tier of teams.

With six members of their team already eliminated, captain Han Jian immediately stood up and announced their surrender in the individual elimination rounds, with both teams advancing directly to the team competition. Seeing that Tianjia Sect still intended to continue the team battle under these circumstances, Fan Yu narrowed his eyes.

He pondered to himself: What trump cards does the Heavenly Armor Sect hold that give them the courage to confront Shrek Academy head-on instead of submitting to Shrek's overwhelming strength?

Soon, Mu Mingtian led his team onto the competition stage.

Mu Mingtian and Dai Huabin stood side by side in the front row, while Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan were at the back of the line. Xie Huanyue followed closely behind Mu Mingtian, with Zhu Lu and Ye Yu on the left and right sides respectively. The group quickly took their positions, forming a neat team formation.

Meanwhile, on the Tianjia Sect's side, the team members quickly formed a curved, enveloping formation. The front-row members slightly bent over, their Tianjia shields gleaming faintly, while the back-row members positioned themselves on the inner side of the arc, their postures tense. Clearly, they intended to use this formation to firmly lock down the opponent's offensive in front, while creating opportunities for their own subsequent counterattacks.

At the same time, the simulated battlefield has also been opened, with the scenario being [Light and Darkness Realm 406].

The two teams were instantly placed in a peculiar forest—clearly divided in two. One half was bathed in a soft, pale light, the vegetation seemingly radiating a sacred glow; the other half was shrouded in thick darkness, where even light seemed to be swallowed, creating a cold and oppressive atmosphere. This stark contrast between light and darkness, yet their eerie coexistence, instilled a strange sense of unease in everyone present.

[The match begins]

As soon as the words appeared on the screen above, Mu Mingtian took immediate action.

In an instant, an enormous phantom of a dragon appeared before everyone's eyes. Its body was a tapestry of gold and black, and its eyes were one a dazzling gold and the other a deep, dark black, exuding an indescribable majesty. Mu Mingtian's long, snow-white hair flowed behind him, and a pair of dragon wings, interwoven with light and darkness, spread out behind him. His sharp gaze fixed on the Heavenly Armor Sect members opposite him, his aura fully unleashed.

Besides Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Xie Huanyue, who have already appeared, Cao Jinxuan, the team's main controller, is also a Soul Emperor, and even the substitute Zhou Sichen has reached the Soul Emperor level.

Each team boasted at least two Soul Douluos, two Soul Saints, and three Soul Emperors. The moment the Divine Soul Sect unleashed their Martial Souls, a powerful aura swept over the audience, immediately silencing the boos. Clearly, this formidable lineup had deterred many initially prejudiced spectators from their disdain. In the waiting area, watching the audience's reactions on the screen, the seven members of the Divine Soul Sect wore expressions of satisfaction.

This is the treatment that Shrek disciples should rightfully enjoy!
However, in the brief moment they were stunned, the seven members of the Heavenly Armor Sect had already taken action.

Instead of charging forward, they let out a loud shout and hurled their Heavenly Armor Shields into the air. The Heavenly Armor Shields disintegrated in mid-air, transforming into countless hexagonal armor plates.

"This is a seven-in-one?!" Fan Yu exclaimed in surprise, but then quickly realized, "No, it's not a spirit fusion skill, it's just a spirit combination skill."

Despite this, Fan Yu's expression remained extremely unpleasant.

On the arena, the seven Heavenly Armor Shields, transformed into countless armor plates, began to converge towards the center, rapidly combining to form an enormous Heavenly Armor Shield. At the same time, the surfaces of the armor plates turned a deep red, like a red-hot iron, and were equally smooth as a mirror.

Behind the massive Heavenly Armor Shield, the disciples of the Heavenly Armor Sect all lit up their fourth soul rings, emitting extremely intense soul power fluctuations, clearly activating the giant shield they had assembled with all their might.

Compared to Martial Soul Fusion Skills, Martial Soul Combination Skills are easier to execute.

Generally speaking, a martial soul combination skill involves stacking identical martial souls together and launching an attack by concentrating all their power. Having identical martial souls is only a basic requirement; the soul skills must also be consistent, along with sufficient teamwork, for a successful execution to be possible.

Fan Yu had no idea that the Heavenly Armor Sect had such a trump card, and the seven people enjoying their moment of glory on the competition stage were equally unprepared. Compared to family-style sects, academies rarely admit so many students with the same martial soul, and even if they do, they are rarely in the same age group. Therefore, this martial soul combination skill was almost the first time everyone present had seen it directly.

The moment the massive red Heavenly Armor Shield formed, everyone was astonished. The seven members of the Heavenly Armor Sect naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity presented by the Divine Soul Sect. Captain Han Jian immediately activated the combined martial soul technique—the Combined Heavenly Armor Needles—formed from the seven members' fourth soul skills.

Just then, a huge phantom clock appeared behind Cao Jinxuan. As the team's main control Soul Master, the time on the phantom clock behind him was normally synchronized with reality, but the moment he released his Soul Skill, a ball of silver light lit up on the clock, and the second hand of the clock abruptly stopped.

In an instant, everything around them, except for the seven of them, was frozen in place.

Mu Mingtian's third spirit ring—the one representing ten thousand years of cultivation—suddenly lit up. In an instant, golden and black dragon phantoms appeared on his left and right sides respectively. The two dragons circled in the air once, and then suddenly surrounded the seven members of the Heavenly Armor Sect.

The next moment, the ultimate power of light and the ultimate power of darkness erupted, a deafening roar that shook the entire arena. The terrifying power spread in all directions, carrying both the brilliant afterglow of light and the chilling coldness of darkness.

After the explosion, countless vortexes of varying sizes were left on the ground. These vortexes were formed by the fusion of extreme light and extreme darkness, emitting a chilling energy fluctuation.

Once this power strikes its target, the opponent's soul power and martial soul begin to slowly dissipate, as if being devoured by an invisible force. This dissipation cannot be stopped unless the physical body and soul are completely annihilated, making it extremely domineering. When they recovered from their state of stillness, they were completely unprepared for the fact that their trump card, the Seven-in-One Martial Soul Combination Technique, had been so easily broken by the Divine Soul Sect, and their own power was still dissipating.

Seeing this, Han Zhanhu, the leader of the Tianjia Sect, could no longer care about anything else and hurriedly announced his surrender.

However, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu on Shrek's side were both holding back their anger. Their previous exchange had made them unconsciously strike harder, and they were planning to take advantage of the situation to rush over.

"Mu Mingtian, what are you doing!" Dai Huabin roared angrily, the ferocity in his eyes still lingering.

Mu Mingtian glanced at him coldly and said in a deep voice, "They have already admitted defeat, there's no need to take any further action. Do you want to repeat the mistakes of five years ago?"

A single sentence was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the restlessness in Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's hearts. If it weren't for Xia Die five years ago, Shrek Academy would have suffered another loss of life.

"Hmph, Mu Mingtian, don't think you're so great just because you're the captain. Stop being so arrogant!" Dai Huabin sneered, his tone full of resentment. "You're just relying on having a sister who can become a god, aren't you? Do you really think we're afraid of you?"

The air around them seemed to freeze at his words. Zhu Lu tugged at Dai Huabin's sleeve, clearly feeling that his words had gone too far, but Dai Huabin stubbornly refused to back down, staring directly at Mu Mingtian with a defiant look.

Mu Mingtian sneered, his gaze sweeping indifferently over Dai Huabin: "Dai Huabin, you're quite capable. But you'll be in trouble yourself in the future, so I don't need to bother with you."

As soon as the words were spoken, both teams withdrew from the simulated battlefield, and the atmosphere on the field became particularly tense because of these few words of exchange.

Although Shrek Academy won this battle, it felt more like a defeat to them.

Looking at the tense atmosphere among the team members, Fan Yu couldn't help but recall the previous Soul Fighting Tournament held in Xingluo City.

For some reason, a strange unease lingered in his heart, as if something bad was about to happen, causing him to furrow his brow and remain uneasy.

Mu Mingtian suddenly reached out and grabbed Dai Huabin's wrist. The force was so great that Dai Huabin gasped in pain and instinctively tried to pull his hand back.

"Mu Mingtian, what are you doing!" Upon seeing this, Zhu Lu immediately stepped forward, speaking urgently with her eyes full of vigilance as she looked at Mu Mingtian, fearing that the two would clash on the spot.

“Since you’re not convinced by me,” Mu Mingtian said, placing a firm hand on Dai Huabin’s shoulder with an irresistible force, “Let’s go. We’re both Soul Masters. Let’s go outside Mingdu and have a good fight to see who’s better.”

Dai Huabin's stubbornness was provoked by his forceful attitude. Unable to break free, he stubbornly shouted, "Come on then! Who's afraid of who!"

Although Dai Huabin was tested by the Asura God and possessed the potential to become a top god, Mu Mingtian's foundation was even more astonishing—he had already been recognized by the Heavenly Ranking as a seed of the Supreme God King, and his chosen godhood was the Nine Heavens Thunder God.

This divine position combines the ultimate powers of lightning, light, and darkness to form a supreme divine status unique to him, and its power and level clearly have a broader scope.

The seven Shrek Academy students walked off the stage with grim faces. Before going on stage, they were laughing and joking, even enjoying the smugness of being the center of attention; but after going on stage, everything changed—even though they won the match in the end, there was no sense of victory, but rather it felt like swallowing a mouthful of bitter medicine.

In the rest area of ​​the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, Meng Hongchen looked at the tense faces on the screen and couldn't help but chuckle: "The faces of those people from Shrek Academy look like they've eaten shit."

Xiao Hongchen, however, showed no sign of a smile. He simply said, "Dream, heroes are as numerous as carp crossing a river. If you're not careful, you'll always encounter someone who can make you capsize in a ditch."

"Hey, bro, don't spoil the mood!" Meng Hongchen pouted in dissatisfaction. "Besides, Shrek Academy is always like this. Now that they're all wearing those sullen faces, can't I even laugh a couple of times?"

Xiao Hongchen gently shook his head: "I just wanted to remind you not to follow in their footsteps... I originally thought that in five years, they would have made some progress."

"Hmph." Meng Hongchen hummed an unknown tune, her fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the table. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she looked up and asked, "Next up is the Holy Spirit Sect's team, right?"

"Hmm." Xiao Hongchen nodded slightly, his gaze returning to the screen in the center of the arena.

(End of this chapter)