Douluo Continent: I can overdraft the future in advance

Shen Yi was stunned.

He looked at the slowly rotating yellow-purple soul ring on Luo Yun's body, opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

A thousand-year-old soul ring.

He knew in his heart that he had been subconsciously thinking, "You are a Great Soul Master, and I am a Soul Venerable," and had labeled himself and his opponent in his mind.

How could a Soul Master possibly lose to a Soul Venerable? Little did they know that it was precisely this arrogance that led to their current defeat.

He wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

"You win," Shen Yi finally said.

He walked in the opposite direction from Jin Qiao'er. Jin Qiao'er was still trapped by Chen Jiyong's earthen wall, with the heavy walls closing in from four directions, trapping her firmly in the middle.

"Jin Qiao'er, stop now," Shen Yi said. "We've lost."

Jin Qiao'er sighed and retrieved the ring. The two silver bracelets slipped off Chen Jiyong's wrist and flew back into her hand.

"Surrender," she said.

Chen Jiyong felt his wrist loosen, and all his strength seemed to be drained away. His legs went weak, and he sat down on the ground with a thud.

"I...we won?" He looked up at Luo Yun.

Luo Yun nodded.

"We won."

The referee raised his hand, his voice echoing throughout the arena: "Class 4 Shen Yi's team surrenders! Class 3 Luo Yun's team wins! Advances to the semifinals!"

There was a moment of silence in the stands, then a deafening roar of cheers erupted.

Chen Jiyong got up from the ground and staggered toward Luo Yun.

"Yun-ge! We won! We won!" His voice trembled, and his eyes were red. "I can't believe it... we really won..."

Luo Yun's wound throbbed from the hug, and she gasped, but didn't push him away. He reached out and patted Chen Jiyong's back, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Chen Jiyong released him, wiped his eyes, and chuckled.

Su Xiaowan walked up from below the stage.

"Xiao Wan, that move of yours was too ruthless." Chen Jiyong looked at her and gave her a thumbs up. "I almost thought you were going to die with him."

Su Xiaowan glanced at him and said calmly, "His defense is too strong; we can't win in a head-on fight. This is the only way."

Chen Jiyong was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised his fist and shouted, "We are the champions!"

Su Xiaowan glanced at him: "It's not over yet, we've only made it to the semifinals."

"Reaching the semifinals is still a win!" Chen Jiyong didn't care at all. "Beating two Soul Master teams is the same as winning the championship! Of the remaining teams, who can be stronger than Shen Yi's team?"

Su Xiaowan thought for a moment and remained silent. Indeed, Shen Yi's team was the top-ranked favorite to win the championship, and with them eliminated, the remaining opponents were not a threat.

On the other side of the stands, Yan Shaozhe stood up from his seat. He stood at the highest point of the stands, his hands behind his back, looking down at the three children on the fighting stage, his gaze lingering on Luo Yun for a few seconds.

Then he turned around and left the Soul Fighting Zone without a sound.

Luo Yun and the other two returned to the rest area, where Zhou Yi was already waiting.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, watching the three men approach. As they drew nearer, she looked them up and down, her gaze sweeping over their wounds.

"You played well, go get healed," she said.

---

On the other side, in the inner courtyard, in Yan Shaozhe's office.

Yan Shaozhe had barely sat down for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea when there was a knock on his office door.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and Ma Xiaotao walked in.

"Teacher, did you go to watch that freshman's competition today?"

Yan Shaozhe opened his eyes and glanced at her.

How did you know?

"Many teachers saw it," Ma Xiaotao said matter-of-factly. "So what? So what? How well did he fight?"

Yan Shaozhe did not answer immediately. He sat up straight, put on his glasses, looked at his impatient disciple, and his lips twitched slightly.

"good."

"Not bad?" Ma Xiaotao was not satisfied with the answer. "Teacher, what does 'not bad' mean? Please explain in more detail."

Yan Shaozhe leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of his abdomen.

"His opponent was a level 32, a three-ring agility-type Soul Master with the Martial Soul Shadow Leopard. He won."

Ma Xiaotao's eyes lit up: "He beat a Soul Master? He, a second-ring cultivator, defeated a third-ring cultivator?"

"Yes. With proper tactical execution and coordination with teammates, the opponent's speed advantage was limited, ultimately leading to a head-on defeat." Yan Shaozhe paused, "His physical attributes are indeed far superior to his peers, and his strength is comparable to that of a power-attack type Soul Master of the same level."

Ma Xiaotao sat down in the chair, leaned forward, placed her hands on her knees, and listened very attentively.

"What about his ice? How is it? Is it an extreme attribute?"

"It's low enough," Yan Shaozhe said, "but not the absolute minimum of ice."

Ma Xiaotao frowned slightly.

"His martial soul is the Ice Falcon, a mid-to-high-grade beast martial soul. To be able to suppress the temperature of ice to such a low level at this grade, he must have had some kind of extraordinary encounter that caused his martial soul to mutate. However, this mutation will not continue to evolve as his soul power increases; it will stagnate at a certain point."

He looked at Ma Xiaotao, his tone becoming serious.

"However, although it's not the ultimate ice, its ice attribute quality is indeed very good. As long as he doesn't slack off in his cultivation, with his talent and temperament, it's only a matter of time before he advances to the inner court."

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this year's freshman champions will likely be their team. They'll have the benefits of being core disciples and access to more cultivation resources."

After listening, Ma Xiaotao remained silent for a while, then nodded.

"That's good." She stood up, walked to the door, then stopped, turned back to look at Yan Shaozhe, "Teacher, can I go see him after he finishes his freshman assessment?"

Yan Shaozhe didn't answer immediately. He was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Let's talk about it after he's finished."

The office door closed, and the room returned to silence.

Yan Shaozhe sat in his chair, his gaze falling on Luo Yun's file on the corner of the table. He picked up the file and turned to the second page—it stated that Luo Yun's Soul Master level was Level Two.

Level 2 Soul Master.

An eleven-year-old level two Soul Master is among the best in Shrek Academy's Soul Guidance Department. Cultivating both Martial Soul and Soul Guidance Device, and reaching the second ring and obtaining a near-millennium Soul Ring at eleven—this talent is top-tier even within the entire Shrek Academy.

Luo Yun is able to balance both now because of his high talent and solid foundation. However, as he progresses into higher grades, with the increase in soul power level and the growing difficulty of soul tools, this balance will inevitably be broken sooner or later.

Fortunately, this kid applied for the Martial Soul system, which proves that he still knows that the Martial Soul system is the foundation of Shrek Academy and that Soul Masters are the right path.

There happens to be one ice-attribute soul bone in the academy's treasury.

If that soul bone is given as a reward, it can not only help him improve his strength, but also make him feel the academy's attention—it can also be seen as a signal: if you focus on the path of martial souls, the academy will not treat you unfairly.

As for soul tools, you can play around with them occasionally, but you can't make them your main job.

---

In the treatment room of the Soul Fighting Zone, a healing-type Soul Master at the level of an eight-ring Soul Douluo treated their injuries, and all three of them recovered completely.

Two days later in the afternoon

The referee raised his hand, his voice echoing under the dome of the fighting arena:

"Class 5 Sun Hao's team surrenders! Class 3 Luo Yun's team wins!"

"Championship – Class 3, Luo Yun's Team!"

Chen Jiyong stood in the center of the arena, hands raised above his head, letting out a long roar. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice trembled: "We are the champions! We are the champions!"