Soul Land: Bibi Dong Is My Martial Soul

Chapter 109: Reuniting with the Shrek Team

"Fourth Soul Skill: Lion Tiger Annihilation Slash!"

Roar!

After a grueling battle, Su Mo and Ning Rongrong, in their fusion state, used the strongest single-target attack of the Hunting Soul Spear to defeat their Soul Emperor instructor.

"So strong, unbelievably strong!"

"They actually defeated a level 67 instructor!"

"This time, we truly have a chance to compete for the championship!"

The members of the Heaven Dou Royal Team were in awe and ecstatic after witnessing Su Mo and Ning Rongrong's martial soul fusion technique overpower their instructor.

Defeating the instructor gave Su Mo a clearer understanding of the strength he and Ning Rongrong possessed in their fused state.

While they could contend with and even defeat a Soul Emperor, they still likely couldn't rival Hu Liena and Xie Yue's martial soul fusion technique, as the sibling pair were both Soul Kings. However, if Su Mo added the boost from his external spirit bone, which enhanced his state by another 50%, he felt the battle might become evenly matched.

The problem was that Su Mo and Ning Rongrong hadn't yet tested whether they could use his external spirit bone in their fused state.

The external spirit bone, Eight Spider Lances, belonged to Su Mo, but their fused state used Ning Rongrong's body to fight.

After several attempts, Su Mo realized that while he could sense the Eight Spider Lances during their fusion, he couldn't summon or use them effectively.

Initially, Su Mo believed that practice would allow him to summon the spirit bone. However, repeated attempts yielded no results.

Finally, Su Mo had a new idea: What if he summoned the Eight Spider Lances before activating their fusion?

This attempt succeeded. Once the Eight Spider Lances were summoned and then they fused, the miniature projection of Su Mo floating above Ning Rongrong's head still retained the Eight Spider Lances. The enhancement effect was preserved.

However, his initial hope that the Eight Spider Lances would transfer to Ning Rongrong's body for combat was not realized. Nevertheless, the boost to his overall abilities was enough for Su Mo.

With this discovery, Su Mo and Ning Rongrong refined their strategy just as the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament officially began.

The preliminary rounds were held first. Aside from having one team from each empire guaranteed entry into the finals, each empire would select 15 additional teams.

Heaven Dou Empire, with its four kingdoms and one duchy, allocated two qualifying spots to each region. The remaining teams competed in the Heaven Dou Empire's central division for five qualifying spots.

The 15 teams from the preliminary rounds would advance to the second phase: the ranking matches. These matches determined the ranking of the 15 teams, with higher ranks providing advantages in the final round.

For every team, securing a spot in the preliminary rounds was crucial. Only by qualifying could they showcase themselves on the grand stage of the finals.

Su Mo's Heaven Dou Royal Team, as the seeded team, was directly granted a spot in the finals and didn't need to participate in the preliminary rounds.

Su Mo briefly considered suggesting to the instructor that their team switch places with the second team, allowing the second team to take the seeded spot while they participated in the preliminaries to gain more combat experience.

However, upon reflection, Su Mo dismissed the idea. The finals' second round would require their participation anyway, and exposing their team's strengths prematurely wasn't worth it.

Keeping their techniques hidden would provide a greater advantage in the later stages of the tournament. For example, in the original story, the Shrek Team had revealed their Seven-in-One Fusion Technique too early.

Had they reserved that move for the finals, they could have secured victory with far less effort. With the Seven-in-One Fusion Technique, Tang San had temporarily gained the abilities of a Soul Sage, including the Martial Soul Avatar.

Even with its strongest members, the Spirit Hall team—comprising three Soul Kings—couldn't have matched the power of a Soul Sage.

Yu Xiaogang regretted having Tang San use his Martial Soul Avatar so soon, as it gave the Spirit Hall ample time to prepare. This was also unfair to other teams, so Su Mo refrained from proposing to switch places with the second team.

That decision, however, meant Su Mo's team wouldn't face the Shrek Team until the finals, if at all.

In the original story, the Shrek Team never directly faced the Heaven Dou Royal Team but instead crushed the second team with ease.

"Without the immortal herbs and with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong's departures, the Shrek Team has no chance of competing for the championship this year. Yu Xiaogang is likely setting his sights on the next Soul Master Tournament instead."

"Even if we defeat them this time, it won't be a significant blow to Yu Xiaogang."

"There's no need to focus on them this year. Instead, focus on performing your best and showcasing your own strengths."

When Bibi Dong heard Su Mo's thoughts, she persuaded him to let go of unnecessary concerns about the Shrek Team.

While she would have loved to see Yu Xiaogang's hopes crushed, she understood that he likely didn't place much hope in this year's tournament.

For the Shrek Team, this year was more about gaining experience. Merely qualifying from the preliminaries would be considered a success for them.

"I understand, Sister Rakshasa," Su Mo replied, deciding to put the Shrek Team out of his mind for now.

That didn't mean he could completely ignore Tang San, though. As the protagonist of the original story and the future recipient of dual godhood, Tang San was someone Su Mo would continue to monitor.

As for the rest of the Shrek Seven, Su Mo felt there was little need to pay them much attention.

Without the transformation granted by the immortal herbs, they were merely ordinary geniuses.

Oscar, despite his innate full soul power, would find it challenging to reach the rank of Titled Douluo on his own.

Ma Hongjun, with his Evil Fire Phoenix, had potential, but his uncontrollable evil fire was a disaster waiting to happen. Without a method to suppress it, he might one day burn himself to death.

As for Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, failing to win this tournament meant they wouldn't have the confidence to return and vie for the crown prince position.

Even if they won the next tournament, by then the Star Luo Empire would have likely already finalized its choice of crown prince. Without the immortal herbs, they lacked the excellence of their original counterparts and had little chance of success in their family's fierce competition.

Currently, Xiao Wu should have returned to the Star Dou Forest. As for her future, it's hard to say.

If the current Pope, Bibi Dong, still goes to the Star Dou Forest to hunt 100,000-year-old soul beasts, Xiao Wu's fate likely won't turn out well either.

The Heaven Dou Empire's central division matches were held at the Imperial City's Battle Arena.

Before the tournament began, the Battle Arena underwent renovations to accommodate more spectators. After the competition, it would return to its standard format, optimized for profitability during regular events.

On the tournament's opening day, Su Mo and Ning Rongrong naturally came to witness the grand event.

Ning Fengzhi was invited as one of the prestigious guest observers, alongside Heaven Dou Empire's Emperor Xue Ye and the Holy Temple's Platinum Bishop, Salas, representing the Spirit Hall.

"Brother Su Mo, Junior Sister, let's watch the matches from here. The view is excellent!"

Su Mo and Ning Rongrong were invited by Qian Renxue to join her at another observation platform. Though their position wasn't as prominent as Ning Fengzhi's or Xue Ye's, it was still on the highest tier of the arena.

"This spot is indeed excellent. Thank you, Senior Sister!"

Su Mo smiled and sat with Ning Rongrong, waiting for the Soul Master Tournament to officially begin.

Before the matches, there were pre-show entertainment activities.

Many female soul masters from various academies formed dance teams and performed on the stage, providing a visually delightful spectacle.

Among them, a team composed entirely of tournament participants ignited the audience's enthusiasm.

"Team Tianshui! Team Tianshui!"

The crowd cheered as the dance team revealed themselves to be members of Tianshui Academy's battle team.

"Tianshui Academy is truly unique—not only does it only recruit ice- and water-attribute students, but it also only accepts female students. It's the most distinctive academy in the Heaven Dou Empire!"

"Not only that, they're incredibly strong. Their team has always qualified in every Soul Master Tournament!"

Watching Tianshui Academy's performance, Qian Renxue seemed thoroughly entertained.

"They are indeed quite distinctive," Su Mo commented casually, refraining from saying more.

If Ning Rongrong weren't sitting beside him, he might have chatted with Qian Renxue about the dancers. But with Ning Rongrong there, he decided against it.

When Tianshui Academy's performance ended, the Soul Master Tournament officially began.

The beautiful host, Dou Dou, introduced each participating team as they entered the arena.

In the central division alone, dozens of teams competed, and each team's entrance was met with cheers from the audience, heightening the anticipation.

"Next, let us welcome the Shrek Team!"

When the Shrek Team entered, the crowd fell into confusion.

"What academy is this?"

"Why have I never heard of it?"

"And their uniforms are hideous!"

"Yeah, they even have advertisements on their clothes. How ridiculous!"

The audience's first impression of the Shrek Team was overwhelmingly negative.

Not only was the name unfamiliar, but their uniforms were also peculiar, being the only ones plastered with advertisements.

"It's Tang San and the others!"

At that moment, Ning Rongrong turned her attention to the Shrek Team.

Although she had left the team, her dissatisfaction was only directed at Yu Xiaogang. She still had feelings for her former teammates and naturally paid attention to them.

"Their uniforms are so embarrassing. This must be Principal Flender's idea. I'm so glad we left; otherwise, we'd be walking out in those uniforms too!"

Ning Rongrong quickly identified the uniforms as Flender's handiwork and felt a wave of relief that she no longer had to endure such indignity.

"Brother Su Mo, Junior Sister, is this the Shrek Team you used to be part of?"

"It seems leaving was the right choice after all!"

"But I'm curious. You two are so outstanding—what made you join such an academy in the first place?" Qian Renxue asked curiously, her interest piqued by the sight of the Shrek Team.

"Because the academy had unique admission criteria—it only accepted 'monsters,'" Ning Rongrong replied with pride.

Shrek's stringent admission standards were something she was still proud of. Despite her disdain for Yu Xiaogang, she had genuinely liked the uniqueness of the team.

"Oh? So does that mean all the members of Shrek are as exceptional as you two?"

Qian Renxue's curiosity grew.

"They're decent, but we're not sure what level they've reached now," Su Mo said with a nod of acknowledgment.

"That's easy to find out!"

Qian Renxue smiled faintly and summoned a subordinate, instructing them to retrieve the Shrek Team's information.

"Su Mo, what do you think Tang San's current soul power level is?"

"If Tang San and the others find out our current levels, they'll be shocked, won't they?"

"It's been so long since I've seen Zhu Zhuqing. Let's go say hello to them later!" Ning Rongrong was curious about her former teammates' progress and could already imagine their astonishment upon learning of her and Su Mo's current soul power levels.

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